The Bottlenecks and Breakthroughs in the Development of the Web3 Ecosystem

During periods of market downturn, industry insiders often blame the issues on the lack of Web2 users joining, believing this has led to a scarcity of new capital. This viewpoint raises the so-called "mass adoption" theory, which suggests that Web3 products should cater to non-profit-oriented Web2 users. However, this logic has obvious flaws.

Understanding the True Meaning of "Public"

When discussing mass adoption, we first need to clarify the definition of "the public". It is inappropriate to simply equate it with traditional Web2 users. In fact, "the public" is composed of individuals with different characteristics but can be categorized.

The core value of Web3 lies in its permissionless nature, which is primarily aimed at countering the restrictions on freedom imposed by banks, governments, and large corporations. Therefore, the potential user base of Web3 is not the general public, but rather those "social outsiders" who understand arbitrage and are anti-establishment. These individuals may not be wealthy, but they possess the qualities of "entrepreneurs"—skilled at fully pricing their time, energy, and networks.

The Actual Adoption Level of Web3

Based on global income data and cryptocurrency user statistics, we may be nearing the actual market size limit of Web3. A significant portion of the top 10% of income earners globally may have already been exposed to cryptocurrencies. In 2024, it will be rare for someone with a higher education to have not heard of Bitcoin.

Focus on the existing market and high-frequency users

The growth model of the Web3 industry is similar to that of the gambling industry; both are global and not restricted by regions. A decline in performance is usually not due to a lack of new users, but rather a decrease in engagement from existing users. Therefore, the focus of Web3 development should be on cultivating high-frequency users and large accounts.

From "Mass Adoption" to "Mass Access"

The Web3 ecosystem needs to clarify its core objective: to attract users to make money. We should provide a platform for "merchants" around the world to earn money, provided they learn and abide by the rules of Web3. Users primarily profit through games involving capital flow, such as trading, staking, and lending.

Participants who do not follow the rules or fail due to lack of skills will be eliminated, while the remaining experts will become high-frequency users, and the best among them may enter the "VIP" level. The construction of the ecosystem should focus on how to encourage more people to participate in this "trial," making it faster, more diverse, and attractive.

Conclusion

The concept of "massive access" should become the core logic of project development and evaluation. From this perspective, we can better understand why certain projects (such as meme coins, inscriptions, and certain public chains) achieve great success, while other projects (such as certain VC-backed tokens or physical asset tokenization projects) remain relatively quiet. This also explains why developer resources are more important than mere "users."