apps · Tier 1

Forks

Forks & Clones

Proven code from elsewhere, redeployed here. Proof the chain runs.

What it is

Every new chain's first apps are copies. A Uniswap. An Aave. A Curve. The code already works somewhere else; you're just running it on new rails. This is not a criticism — it's the equivalent of getting the electricity turned on.

How you’d recognise it

Open a chain's TVL leaderboard. If the top four names are all names you already knew from Ethereum, you are looking at Tier 1.

Worked examples

Monad, six months in

Monad went live on 24 November 2025 after raising $244M led by Paradigm and Coinbase Ventures, with 10,000 TPS and sub-second finality. Six months later, its four largest apps by TVL are established EVM incumbents, led by Uniswap v4 at $25M. Blockworks' read at launch was blunt: the apps are things we've seen time and again in other ecosystems. A world-class engine, running other people's cars.

Monad mainnet live 24 Nov 2025; 10,000 TPS, sub-second finalityconfidence highsource: monad-launch ↗verified 2026-07-12
$244M raised, led by Paradigm and Coinbase Venturesconfidence highsource: monad-raise ↗verified 2026-07-12
Four largest apps by TVL are EVM incumbents; Uniswap v4 leads at $25Mconfidence highsource: monad-uniswap-tvl ↗verified 2026-07-12
Monad apps are things already seen in other ecosystemsconfidence highsource: monad-apps-unexciting ↗verified 2026-07-12

What it buys

Proof the chain doesn’t fall over. A liquidity floor. Developer confidence.

What it does NOT buy

A single reason to use this chain instead of the one the app came from. Nobody has ever switched chains for a fork of software they already use.

Verdict

Table stakes. Necessary. Never sufficient.

high

cite thisverified 2026-07-12

“Forks & Clones” — The Ecosystem Tech Tree (v1.0). https://pareen.xyz/eco-techtree/tile/apps-t1. Last verified 2026-07-12.

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