From Kaspa’s breakout to BlockDAG’s rise: Is this hybrid architecture the next big Layer 1?

With $312m raised, 2m miners, and a $0.0018 price until June 20, BlockDAG blends Bitcoin’s PoW security, Kaspa’s DAG scalability, and Ethereum’s smart contracts.

In 2022, Kaspa caught the market off-guard. Its Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) architecture, optimized for ultra-fast throughput, showed that blockchain bottlenecks could be overcome. Since then, Kaspa’s rise has inspired a wave of innovation, but few projects have evolved the concept as thoroughly as BlockDAG.

BlockDAG doesn’t just replicate DAG scalability. It pairs it with Bitcoin’s proven proof-of-work consensus for robust decentralization. Then it goes a step further, offering Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility, a low-code smart contract builder, and a fully interoperable testnet that’s already live. As of now, it has sold over 22.9 billion coins, raised more than $312 million in presale funding, and attracted over 2 million mobile miners to its X1 app.

In short, BlockDAG isn’t theorizing. It’s building.

A hybrid model that bridges the best of three giants

BlockDAG is a rare combination of what made Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Kaspa great.

• Like Bitcoin, it’s based on proof-of-work for maximum security and resistance to centralization.
• Like Kaspa, it uses DAG architecture to enable up to 15,000 transactions per second.
• Like Ethereum, it offers smart contract capabilities and full EVM compatibility.

But the most telling difference is how early it’s delivering. BlockDAG already has a no-code dApp builder that allows even non-developers to deploy on-chain applications. This means that unlike Kaspa, which is still largely infrastructure-focused, BlockDAG is onboarding builders before its token even hits exchanges.

And that brings us to the core difference: strategy.

Pre-launch ecosystem momentum, not just a whitepaper promise

While many Layer 1 projects spend years building before achieving user traction, BlockDAG has reversed the order. Its testnet is live. Over 22.9 billion BDAG coins have already been sold. The community is thriving with 2M+ X1 app users and 100,000+ members in its Telegram group.

The team has also confirmed 20 exchange listings in advance of its listing day, including tier-1 platforms. And for those watching closely, a U.S-based sponsorship campaign is quietly brewing in the background, one that could echo the kind of visibility Polygon gained during its high-profile sports partnerships.

The roadmap ahead is just as structured. Six weeks before launch, the presale will close and staking will end. Four weeks out, the mainnet goes live. Two weeks before listing, 40% of presale tokens will be airdropped. And by listing week, all core DeFi infrastructure, DEX, bridge, launchpad, oracles, will already be in place.

This isn’t a concept. It’s an unfolding ecosystem.

Why developers are quietly watching this project

It’s easy to miss what BlockDAG is doing if you focus only on token price. But the developer incentives tell the real story. Grants are being rolled out pre-launch. Hackathons are planned. A no-code builder and low-code smart contract interface are already operational. There’s even a plan to support over 1,000 dApps by 2026.

Compare that with Solana’s early days, when developers struggled with tooling and network consistency. Or Avalanche, which saw bursts of interest but couldn’t maintain ecosystem momentum. BlockDAG seems to have studied those arcs, and is executing with less noise and more groundwork.

The $600 million presale target isn’t about hype, it’s about liquidity, infrastructure scaling, and long-term support for builders.

A new chapter in Layer 1 architecture?

BlockDAG may not be in the top 50 yet, but it’s building like it will be. Its combination of speed, security, and usability puts it in a unique class of Layer 1 contenders. Analysts are projecting a short-term post-listing price of $1 and long-term targets as high as $4, based on ecosystem traction and developer velocity.

At the current special price of $0.0018 (valid until June 20), the potential ROI remains staggering, over 2,660% from the earliest batches, and 2,677% if you buy now and hold through listing at $0.05.

More than numbers, though, it’s about timing. The 6-week launch countdown hasn’t even begun, which means those entering now are still early. And in crypto, being early, when the architecture, app layer, and liquidity plans are already in motion, is often the difference between 2x and 20x.

BlockDAG isn’t promising the future. It’s coding it now.

To learn more about BlockDAG, visit its presale, website, Telegram, and Discord.