Lens Social Media Protocol Unveils Layer 3 Scaling Solution

Lens, the decentralized social media protocol from the team behind Aave, has begun beta-testing Momoka, a bespoke Layer 3 scaling solution.

“The main challenge for decentralized social networks is to ensure that users have control over their content, while still being just as user-friendly as traditional social networks,” Lens said.

Beta participants include Lenstube, an open-source video-sharing platform, Orb, an online creator monetization app, and Lens explorer protocols Bttrfly and Phaver.

AppChain Model

The news comes as the Ethereum ecosystem is pivoting towards Layer 3 networks, also called AppChains, as the scaling solution of choice for enabling the next generation of decentralized applications.

dYdX, the popular derivatives trading platform, DeFi Kingdoms, the play-to-earn game, and Nubank, a Latin American fintech with more than 70M users, are among the teams that have deployed a Layer 3.

Ethereum scaling teams have taken note, with Arbitrum and Polygon each launching protocols streamlining L3 development in recent months.

Momoka

Lens describes Momoka as an Optimistic Layer 3 data availability layer.

Data availability layers are utilized to reduce on-chain storage requirements, allowing Lens to minimize the costs associated with using its platform.

“While content on Lens may include an on-chain transaction, the content data is linked to a data availability location, like Momoka,” Lens said. “Momoka serves as a scaling solution that processes Polygon transactions off-chain… Unlike L2 solutions, Momoka doesn’t compress transactions into L1, it sends and stores them on a data availability layer.”

Lens said it partnered with Arweave and Bundlr on Momoka, and said both teams are helping to facilitate the rapid publishing of data on Momoka. The protocol has also launched a block explorer for Momoka, allowing users to search transactions and monitor the network’s performance.

Lens Activity Soars

Lens completed its closed launch last February, allowing whitelisted users to begin experimenting with the protocol.

According to data from Dune Analytics, the protocol enjoyed a recent surge in activity, with daily user actions surging from roughly 20,000 at the start of the year to a record high of 168,000 in late March.

The monthly average number of Lens users also jumped from a January low of 10,000 to a record high of 130,000 the following month. The figure has since pulled back to 40,000.

Aave Votes On Initial GHO Parameters

Lens isn’t the only recent development from Aave, as the team is also working to launch a native stablecoin called GHO. Aave users will be able to mint GHO against their deposits.

On April 29, The Aave community began voting on proposed initial parameters for GHO. More than 99% of votes cast so far support “Option A,” which would impose an annual fee of 1.5% on outstanding GHO, a 30% discount on fees for Aave stakers, and a debt ceiling of 100M GHO.

AAVE is down 6% in the past 30 days.