If you're looking for a platform that makes creating custom blockchains as easy as launching an app, Caldera offers tools to build purpose-built rollups that connect to a vast network of interconnected chains. We are excited to announce that Caldera (ERA) is now available on Bitget!

What is Caldera (ERA)?

Caldera is a network of interconnected, purpose-built blockchains that settle on Ethereum, designed to empower developers and communities to create their own customizable blockchain environments. The platform emphasizes scalability, flexibility, and cross-chain connectivity within its ecosystem.

Caldera addresses critical challenges in blockchain development by allowing developers to build fully customizable chains using their Rollup Engine, enabling applications that require massive scale without being bottlenecked by traditional blockchain limitations. With the Metalayer feature, Caldera rollups can connect to a constellation of chains, enabling cross-chain interactions and shared liquidity across the network.

Who Created Caldera (ERA)?

Caldera was founded in 2022 by two Stanford University computer science students who left their studies to pursue their blockchain vision:

Matt Katz (CEO & Co-founder):

● Discovered Bitcoin at age 12 and studied computer science at Stanford before dropping out in 2022 to create Caldera

● Brings experience from Apple, A Thinking Ape, Skiff, and competitive hackathons with multiple awards

● Under his leadership, Caldera has raised over $25 million from top investors

Parker Jou (CTO & Co-founder):

● Met Katz while studying computer science at Stanford University

● Has professional experience at Nvidia, Apple, Waymo, and Skiff

● Leads technology development focusing on scalable blockchain infrastructure and rollup deployment tooling

Team Expansion: The broader team includes veterans from Coinbase, Google, Scale AI, Jump Trading, and Amazon, bringing diverse skills needed for scaling blockchains and enabling cross-chain communication.

What VCs Back Caldera (ERA)?

Caldera has raised approximately $25 million across two major funding rounds from top-tier venture capital firms:

Series A (July 2024) - $15 million:

● Lead Investor: Founders Fund

● Participants: Dragonfly, Sequoia Capital, Arkstream Capital, Lattice Capital, TrueBridge Capital

Seed Round (February 2023) - $9 million:

● Co-Lead Investors: Sequoia Capital, Dragonfly Capital

● Participants: 1kx, Ethereal Ventures, Alliance DAO, SevenX Ventures, Neo

Accelerator Programs: Caldera graduated from Alliance Accelerator Cohort 10 and participated in the Stanford Blockchain Accelerator, providing access to mentorship and investor networks instrumental in its growth.

How Caldera (ERA) Works

Caldera functions as a comprehensive platform for building and managing custom blockchain environments with seamless interoperability:

Custom Rollup Creation

Instead of building apps on crowded, generic blockchains, developers get their own dedicated blockchain road using Caldera's Rollup Engine. This plug-and-play system allows teams to focus on their products rather than blockchain maintenance, with each chain inheriting Ethereum's security while maintaining speed and custom features.

Metalayer Connectivity

Caldera's Metalayer acts as a universal adapter, connecting custom blockchains to a network of other chains. This enables users to move tokens, assets, and data across different platforms quickly, tapping into shared liquidity and a larger ecosystem without being limited to isolated platforms.

Multi-Framework Support

Developers can choose among major rollup frameworks including Arbitrum Nitro, Optimism Bedrock, zkSync, and Polygon CDK, allowing chain design tailored precisely for app needs, performance, and security requirements.

You can explore Caldera's platform and tools at their official website and access technical documentation.

Caldera Token (ERA) and Economics

The ERA token serves as the native utility and governance token for the Caldera ecosystem, powering network operations and decentralized governance.

Source - Caldera Foundation

Token Details

● Name: Caldera (ERA)

● Total Supply: 1,000,000,000 ERA tokens (fixed)

● Primary Blockchains: Ethereum and BNB Chain

● Contract Address (Ethereum): 0xE2AD0BF751834f2fbdC62A41014f84d67cA1de2A

Token Distribution

● Early Backers & Investors (32.06%): 320,600,000 ERA

● Community Treasury (21.00%): 210,000,000 ERA

● Foundation (14.94%): 149,400,000 ERA

● Core Team (14.75%): 147,500,000 ERA

● Research & Development (10.25%): 102,500,000 ERA

● Community Airdrop (7.00%): 70,000,000 ERA

Vesting Schedule

● Team & Investors: 1-year lockup followed by 24-month linear vesting

● Foundation, R&D, Treasury: 25% unlock at launch, remainder vests over 4 years

● Initial Circulating Supply: 148,500,000 ERA (14.85% of total supply)

Token Utilities

● Transaction Fees: Native currency for gas fees on Caldera-powered rollups

● Staking & Security: Stake to secure cross-chain operations and earn protocol rewards

● Governance: Vote on protocol upgrades, network parameters, and treasury usage

● Cross-Chain Operations: Fuel interoperability and bridging between Caldera rollups

Why Caldera?

Traditional blockchain development requires deep technical expertise, significant capital, and complex infrastructure management. Caldera transforms this landscape with several key advantages:

Proven Scale and Adoption: The platform has achieved impressive metrics with $1B+ total value locked, 550+ million transactions, 17 million unique wallets, and 75+ deployed Caldera chains, demonstrating real-world usage and adoption.

Enterprise Grade Infrastructure: Caldera provides turnkey custom blockchain deployment with multi-framework support, integrated infrastructure (RPC nodes, block explorers, data indexers), and seamless bridges for easy connection to settlement layers.

The Internet of Chains Vision: Rather than isolated blockchains, Caldera creates an interconnected ecosystem where purpose-built chains can communicate, share liquidity, and transfer assets instantly through the Metalayer network.

Top Tier Partnerships: The platform powers high-profile projects including Manta Pacific, ApeChain, Kinto, RARI Chain, and collaborates with leading infrastructure providers like EigenLayer, Nansen, Hypernative, and GenLayer.

Advanced Technology Stack: Features include Rollup-as-a-Service platform, dynamic Rollup Engine, intent-based bridging, alternative data availability solutions, and decentralized sequencing for enhanced security and performance.

The platform successfully addresses the bottlenecks in scalability, customization, and cross-chain interactions, unlocking new classes of decentralized applications for gaming, AI, DeFi, and large-scale user platforms.