ARK researcher compares L1 value-capture models across Ethereum, Solana, and Hyperliquid using fast-food analogies, analyzing fee distribution and vertical integration tradeoffs.
Tech & Launches ·
ARK Invest researcher Lorenzo Valente has framed three major blockchains through a fast-food lens to explain their contrasting approaches to value capture. Ethereum operates as a franchise system via layer-2s but extracts insufficient fees at settlement, Solana retains more revenue and MEV through vertical integration, and Hyperliquid pursues the most consolidated model with minimal intermediaries.
Hyperliquid's structure relies on tight vertical integration without venture capital backing, instead funding token buybacks from protocol fees. This streamlined architecture creates exposure to concentration risk across its product suite, team, and revenue sources—a tradeoff against the efficiency gains of its integrated design compared to the more distributed models of its peers.