Author: Vince Quill, CoinTelegraph; Compiled by: White Water, Golden Finance

2024 is an important year for cryptocurrency and blockchain networks. The year saw the launch of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for Bitcoin and Ethereum in the United States, major protocol upgrades for altcoins, and the launch of new infrastructure networks.

The following are 10 crypto projects that have implemented major protocol upgrades or launched mainnets in 2024, ranked in no particular order.

Avalanche9000/Etna Protocol Upgrade

Avalanche Network's Avalanche9000 upgrade, also known as Etna, is hailed as the largest upgrade in the history of the protocol and was launched on Avalanche on December 16 after a testing phase on the Fuji testnet. Mainnet launch.

This update simplifies the process of launching a subnet (now called "Tier 1") and changes the staking requirements for subnet validators from a fixed 2,000 AVAX to being based on the node the validator is running on Volume fee structure.

According to the Avalanche Foundation, this upgrade reduces subnet deployment costs by 99.9% and reduces C-Chain network fees by 96%.

The update also shifts the responsibility for managing validators from the Avalanche P-Chain to Layer 1, giving them greater autonomy and control over their network.

Sui implements Mysticeti consensus engine

Sui protocol is a high-throughput blockchain that implemented the Mysticeti consensus engine in August.

According to a spokesperson for Mysten Labs, the developer of Sui, the update reduces consensus latency to 390 milliseconds and minimizes cross-validator communication to increase efficiency.

Sui’s ability to process a large number of transactions per second (TPS) and its monolithic architecture help it and other monolithic chains gain a foothold on existing smart contract platform Ethereum by 2024.

Mysticeti’s throughput and latency. Source: Sui

Sonic Foundation Launches Sonic Mainnet

In May 2024, the Fantom Foundation (the organization behind the Fantom Network) announced that the Sonic Foundation will oversee the deployment of its Sonic Chain.

Sonic Chain is an Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible Layer-1 blockchain with sub-second finality, 10,000 TPS throughput and the introduction of Sonic GFeatures of ateway (bridge between Sonic and Ethereum).

On December 18, Sonic mainnet was launched. Fantom token holders can switch to the new network through a one-to-one upgrade from FTM to S tokens, the Sonic network’s native asset.

Hyperliquid launches token, enables staking

Hyperliquid, a Layer-1 blockchain optimized for decentralized finance, launched one of the largest token airdrops in cryptocurrency history on November 29.

The project distributed 310 million HYPE tokens to community members, valued at $1.2 billion at launch. HYPE’s initial price was $3.90 and is currently trading around $26.80.

On December 30, Hyper Foundation announced the launch of native staking on the Hyperliquid protocol, allowing users to secure the network by locking tokens in exchange for returns.

HYPE token price trend. Source: CoinMarketCap

Ethereum Dencun upgrade goes live

Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade went live on March 13, reducing fees on the Ethereum layer 2 network by up to 99%.

However, significant reductions in L2 network fees also caused Ethereum Layer 1 fees to plummet in August and September as users migrated to the lower-cost Layer 2.

Ethereum layer 1 network fees rebounded in November to levels seen in early 2024 before Dencun was implemented, according to Token Terminal.

The upgrade prompted mixed reactions from the Ethereum community, with some praising the affordability of transactions through Layer 2 and others criticizing the network’s many L2 solutions for cannibalizing Ethereum’s 1st layer level of income.

Ethereum layer 1 network fees from January to December 2024. Source: Token Terminal

Cardano’s Chang hard fork introduces on-chain governance

Cardano’s Chang hard fork was implemented on September 1, bringing on-chain, decentralized governance to the network.

This update enables all holders of Cardano’s token ADA to participate in the voting process and determine the future direction of the Layer 1 chain.

Near Protocol by Nightshade 2.0 Enables stateless verification

Near Protocol, a Layer-1 blockchain focused on decentralized artificial intelligence, changed its network architecture in August by implementing the Nightshade 2.0 update.

The protocol upgrade to Near introduces stateless verification, allowing validator nodes to verify transactions without storing a copy of the blockchain on their device.

This approach reduces the hardware requirements to run a validator node and lowers the barrier to entry for new participants.

After the launch of Nightshade 2.0, the protocol’s native asset NEAR surged 50% in a month.

Near's sharding design. Source: NEARWEEK

Movement mainnet launched

On December 9, the Movement Network Foundation launched the Movement mainnet (an Ethereum scaling solution that uses the Move virtual machine to settle transactions to the Ethereum network) and MOVE token.

According to a foundation spokesperson, the Move mainnet has sub-second finalization times and leverages the Move programming language.

The programming language is widely praised by blockchain developers for its ease of use and expressiveness.

Chainlink Launches Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol

Oracle Network Chainlink launched the Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) in April 2024.

CCIP facilitates cross-chain transfer of tokens and smart contract communication between different blockchain ecosystems.

Since the interoperability solution’s debut, CCIP has been integrated by multiple blockchain networks, including layer 2 scaling solution ZKsync and gaming blockchain network Ronin.

A brief description of Chainlink CCIP. Source: Chainlink

Stacks Completes Nakamoto Upgrade

Stacks, Bitcoin’s layer 2 scaling solution, completed the Nakamoto upgrade via a hard fork on October 9.

This upgrade introduces 100% Bitcoin finality and increases network throughput.

After the update, block production is no longer determined by miner elections. Instead, blocks are now produced at regular intervals.

In the weeks leading up to the protocol upgrade, the number of smart contracts on Stacks hit an all-time high of 1,400 monthly contracts.