Table of Contents

1. Project Overview

2. 1Q24 Highlights
2-1. Key highlights
2-2. Key metrics
2-3. Partnering with Supervillain Labs to expand gaming ecosystem and advance to Korean market
2-4. Partnering with Jambo for Web3 mass adoption in emerging markets
2-5. Building developer-friendly environment through Aptos Assistant, Aptos Game Stack, etc.
2-6. Partnering with Daehong Communications to expand NFT ecosystem and advance to Korean market

3. On-chain Performance
3-1. Network activity
3-2. Network security

4. Recap

1. Project Overview

Aptos is a monolithic PoS blockchain built by former developers of Project Diem with a focus on speed and reliability. Aptos is designed to achieve a theoretical TPS of over 100k and sub-second latency through technologies such as AptosBFT and BlockSTM. It also provides a stable, fast, and flexible development environment via the Move language to deliver a blockchain experience that satisfies both builders and users.

2. 1Q24 Highlights

2.1 Key highlights

• Partnering with Supervillain Labs to expand gaming ecosystem and advance into the Korean market.
• Partnering with smartphone manufacturer Jambo to attempt expanding ecosystem in emerging markets.
• Building developer-friendly environment through Aptos Assistant, Aptos Game Stack, etc.
• Partnering with Daehong Communications to expand NFT ecosystem and advance into the Korean market.
• TVL surged by over 300%, reaching $500M within 1Q.

2-2. Key metrics

2-3. Partnering with Supervillain Labs to expand gaming ecosystem and advance to Korean market

Source: Medium (Supervillain Labs)

Aptos Labs announced a partnership with Supervillain Labs, a game developer founded by the core members of the Metapixe team that were in charge of the Web3 division of NPIXEL, a famous South Korean game company. In order to combine Web3 and games, fast processing speed is a prerequisite. Thus, Supervillain Labs partnered with Aptos Labs that boasts theoretical TPS of over 100k and sub-second latency, as well as a stable mainnet. Supervillain Labs is to launch its “Villain’s Idle RPG” on the Aptos network between Q2 and Q3 of 2024, which called for the community initiative “SuperVillain Suitability Test” in February. Users could log in with their social accounts and take a short test to receive items that could be utilized in the upcoming game. The test brought in about 60k new users. In March, Supervillain Labs also minted the Sidekick NFT through the “Supervillain Sidekick Draw” event that can be used in the game. Users who held items or partner NFTs received through the suitability test or those that participated in community events could earn free tickets to mint Sidekick NFTs. In total, 83,102 Sidekick NFTs were issued through this event.

It is worth noting that the Villain’s Idle RPG is going to be launched by Supervillain Labs, a company founded by the well-experienced members of the Metapixel team. In fact, the ecosystem has already attracted close to 100k users even before launch. This partnership between Supervillain Labs and Aptos Labs is expected to further grow the gaming ecosystem on the Aptos Network. Not only that, it is also expected to a positive impact on the expansion of the ecosystem in the South Korean market as a major Korean team is launching the game.

2-4. Partnering with Jambo for Web3 mass adoption in emerging markets

Source: Aptos Foundation

Source: Aptos Foundation Aptos Foundation has announced a partnership with Jambo, a blockchain-integrated smartphone manufacturer, to help revitalize the digital economy and expand Web3 user onboarding in emerging markets across Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Through this partnership, they aim to reduce the entry barrier to Web3 for users in emerging markets and make the Web3 industry accessible to all. Jambo's smartphone, the JamboPhone, is priced at the reasonable sum of $99 and is available in over 40 countries. It is seamlessly compatible with the Aptos ecosystem through pre-installed apps such as the Pentra wallet and Jambo App. JamboPhone also provides users with educational content and learning tools on Web3, DeFi, P2E, and more. JamboPhone is expected to gain traction in emerging markets due to its low price and wide range of content for new Web3 users, which could lead to Aptos' expansion into emerging markets.

2-5. Building developer-friendly environment through Aptos Assistant, Aptos Game Stack, etc.

Launching AI Development solution “Aptos Assistant” with Microsoft to lower entry barrier to Web3 development

Source: Aptos Foundation

Aptos Labs has shown a real commitment to onboarding global Web2 companies into the Web3 ecosystem. With a network of contacts from Facebook (now Meta), Aptos Labs has expanded its customer base through partnerships with many global organizations including Microsoft, Google, and Mastercard. This was possible thanks to Aptos Labs' technical excellence and active community, which is expected to be key infrastructure for sustainable growth in the future. For example, in February, Aptos Labs officially launched Aptos Assistant, a Web3 solution that combines Microsoft's generative AI with Aptos blockchain technology. It is a solution to support Web3 development, making it easier for developers to do their jobs even if they are not familiar with blockchain technology. In turn, Aptos Labs aims to lower the barrier to entry and popularize Web3 development.

Partnering with Google Cloud and launching Aptos Game Stack to support game development

Source: X (@AptosLabs)

Aptos Labs announced a partnership with Google Cloud to launch Aptos Game Stack, which combines Google Cloud's analytics, AI/ML tools, and Web3 tools and features provided by Aptos Labs. With Aptos Game Stack, developers can create, integrate, and connect various Web3 elements into their games, including login solutions, NFT standards, and more. This will ease the entry barriers for game development in the Aptos ecosystem and revitalize the gaming ecosystem on the Aptos Network.

Proposing Keyless Accounts for seamless user experience

Source: GitHub (Aptos Foundation)

One of the main barriers to usability in blockchain is private key-based account management. The only way to secure an account is to protect the private key, which puts all the accountability of theft and loss on the user. To address this issue, there are custody services like Web3Auth that manage private keys with identity authentication using social logins. These services have great usability benefits, but they require trust in a centralized entity. In order to work out this kink, Aptos proposed AIP-61, which creates keyless accounts on-chain. This is designed to create accounts using social service account information instead of mnemonics or private keys. As for the privacy concerns of using social accounts, Aptos proposes to not provide a user's email address to anyone on-chain, including validators and users, and to not disclose transaction information associated with a user's blockchain address to social login service providers. Keyless account is expected to significantly improve the user experience by enabling Web2 accounts to be used on Web3 as well. It currently supports login via Google account and will support account creation through various social media by supporting OpenID Connect (OIDC) standard in the future.

2-6. Partnering with Daehong Communications to expand NFT ecosystem and advance to Korean market

Source: X (@Daehongofficial)

Aptos Foundation has announced a partnership with Daehong Communications, a Lotte Group subsidiary and its Web3 business hub that is currently working on various projects, including the NFT project BellyGom and the loyalty program for soccer fans, Baekho Eleven. Through this partnership, Daehong aims to expand its Web3 business to global markets.
As the first step of the partnership, Daehong will transfer some NFTs from the Bellygom project to the Aptos mainnet. Users can exchange the acquired goods (Bubble Gum, Jelly) for points on the Aptos mainnet, which can later be exchanged for Aptos tokens. In addition to Bellygom, Daehong Communications will also showcase various Lotte Group Web3 projects on the Aptos Mainnet.

With this partnership, Daehong will be able to benefit from the scalability and fast processing speed of the Aptos mainnet, and Aptos will be able to accelerate its entry into the South Korean market and expand its NFT ecosystem.

3. On-chain Performance

3-1. Network activity

In Q1, the Aptos Network recorded 759.8K daily transactions, a 57.4% increase QoQ. The number of daily transactions has been trending upward in Q1, with two significant spikes on February 8 at 23.6M and March 1 at 30.4M. This increase reflects the overall increase of activity in the ecosystem due to the launch of new DeFi protocols, the launch of loyalty programs by major DeFi protocols, and the partnership with Ondo Finance.

The number of daily active wallets on the Aptos network grew 95.1% QoQ to 116.5K in Q1. The increase in daily active wallets also reflects the effects of new DeFi protocol launches, loyalty program launches from major DeFi protocols, and the partnership with Ondo Finance. The steeper growth in daily active wallets compared to daily transactions likely reflects increased multi-account activity in loyalty programs.

TVL on the Aptos network grew 312.6% QoQ to $486M in Q1. Aptos definitely showcased strong performance in Q1 that compares favorably even against major Layer 1 players such as Solana and Sui. This is likely a reflection of overall activity across Aptos' DeFi ecosystem. Aptos has high TPS, instant latency, and is constantly being updated for even higher performance. As a result, performance-critical DeFi protocols continue to launch on the Aptos network. During Q1, Selena Finance, Echelon Market, and Econia launched on the Aptos Network. In addition, major DeFi protocols such as Aries Markets and Kana Labs launched point programs, and Thala's support for trading $USDY (a token issued by Ondo Finance backed by U.S. Treasuries) also contributed to the TVL increase. The growth of the DeFi ecosystem was also driven by the Aptos Foundation's active involvement. Aptos Foundation has held various programs such as its own summit and the Hong Kong DeFi Summit and is supporting dApp onboarding in various aspects such as marketing and technology.

3-2. Network security

There were 135 validators on the Aptos network as of 1Q24, evenly distributed across 21 countries including the United States, Europe, Russia, Japan, and South Korea. The largest number of validators is in the United States at 18. Other countries include Germany with 13, the United Kingdom with 11, and Singapore with also 11. South Korea had 9 validators in Q1, the same as the previous quarter. No single country has more than 20 validators, indicating that the Aptos network is sufficiently decentralized. There are currently 876.3M $APT staked on the Aptos network, which is 80.2% of the total supply.

4. Recap

The Aptos network has achieved significant growth during 1Q24. The network's performance has enabled growth in a plethora of areas, including NFTs and gaming, and the DeFi ecosystem has seen remarkable growth in particular. On-chain performance was also remarkable, with daily transaction count , daily active wallet count, and TVL up 57.4%, 95.1%, and 312.6% QoQ, respectively. Moreover, Aptos Labs partnered with global companies such as Microsoft and Google Cloud to enhance technical reliability, and with Daehong Communications and Supervillain Labs to expand the ecosystem and enter the South Korean market. The Aptos network is expected to continue to grow on the back of its performance, and following the growth in Q1, Q2 is anticipated to showcase performance just as strong.