Title: Unveiling the Secrets of Creating a Successful Crypto Ecosystem
Introduction:
In my previous blog post, “What Kind of DApp Do We Need?” I shared my insights into the key components of a successful application: product, subculture, and economic model. I predicted that meme tokens would become a trend in this cycle, and my prediction came true months before the rise of Memes in 2024.
Why do some blockchain networks thrive with a plethora of meme coins, while others become “ghost chains” after airdrops? Before diving into this discussion, let’s first understand the concept of “Meta.”
What is “Meta”?
You may have heard the terms “metaverse” or “Meta” (Facebook) countless times, but what do they actually mean? In the world of gaming, “Meta” usually refers to the strategy considered the best. If you know the “Meta” of a video game, you can easily dominate every game.
For example, in “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” shooting arrows at your house after setting them on fire allows you to get infinite arrows, which is a small Meta strategy in the game. Another Meta strategy in games is the ban phase in MOBA games like DOTA and LOL. Mastering the meta requires in-depth knowledge of the game version, understanding the latest values of heroes, and grasping the win rates of each hero in battles.
Building Your Ecosystem’s “Meta”:
In the context of a cryptocurrency project building its own ecosystem, we can compare projects like public chains to countries or cities, and the “Meta” of these entities can be equated to their culture, including language, history, and art.
Naming and Mascots:
Consider a memorable name for your public chain, such as Berachain. An animal-inspired name is not only easy to remember but also user-friendly as it reduces technical jargon. If your brand already has a technical or geeky name, consider adopting an official mascot that embodies a charming animal image.
Solana has dogs (Dogwifhat, Bonkinu) and cats (Wen, Meow), while Monad chose a purple hedgehog named Molandak as its mascot. The crypto industry is full of technical terms and numbers, and incorporating more adorable pets and animal images can increase the appeal of your project.
Language:
Language is the soul of culture. When you use a language understood only by your community, it enhances the bond between its members. Being able to speak a language that only a specific group understands can be exciting and unique.
Similar to how wizards can summon magical spells in the Harry Potter universe, but muggles cannot, Berachain community uses “Ooga Booga” as a way to say “hello” or “good morning,” mimicking the sound made by cavemen.
Jesse Pollak, the founder of Base Chain, has been using the word “Based” when retweeting various ecosystem projects related to Base Chain. Therefore, “Based” has become the unofficial slogan of Base Chain. In the Base Chain community, “Based” also means “cool” or “awesome.”
Here’s a riddle: a project has already written its slogan in cipher. Can you guess its meaning? The answer will be revealed at the end of the article. (Hint: Find the corresponding letters in the image below.)
Community and Applications:
Just as a country’s culture is not solely determined by its leaders, the Meta of a crypto project is usually not designed solely by the core team or foundation. So how do we involve the community? One way is by bringing users into non-DeFi projects.
DeFi projects mainly focus on APY and complex calculations, attracting liquidity providers, sophisticated users, and airdrop hunters. If a token is airdropped or its APY decreases slightly, these users tend to migrate to places with higher yields because their loyalty lies in DeFi returns.
Base Chain set a strong precedent with its Onchain Summer launch program, which lasted for a month. The NFT collection event involved over 50 renowned brands, creators, artists, and builders, covering areas such as blockchain art, gaming, and music.
Additionally, their flagship application, Farcaster, serves as a social network on-chain, providing an open space for the community to share content beyond cryptocurrency. This is why the Base community naturally created meme coins like “Degen.” (To find out what made Degen reach a value of $1 billion in just three months, refer to my previous blog post: [link])
In terms of community involvement, the influence of Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) is undeniable. Instead of seeking already popular KOLs, it’s better to elevate early supporters of the community as KOLs within the ecosystem. This way, they can grow alongside the project, enjoy the benefits of ecosystem growth, and strengthen their loyalty.
Preparations Before Building Your “Meta”:
Building an affordable and reliable infrastructure:
For regular users, encountering gas fees exceeding $10 or cross-chain fees as high as $50 can be discouraging. More affordable gas fees combined with user-friendly bridges (centralized or decentralized) will make the onboarding process smoother.
Distribute some free goodies to your users:
Users often find it frustrating to go through numerous quests without receiving any rewards. Therefore, sometimes it’s worth considering introducing test tokens or free NFTs through a fair launch method as an alternative.
For example, Jupiter first launched a meme coin called “Wen” before its official token release. This freely airdropped token is now worth $174 million. Similarly, Hyperliquid also distributed its meme token called “purr” before its native token.
Another example of asset-first approach comes from the Asian team Bitmap Tech. They launched BRC-420 with an initial minting price of only $0.1, and its peak price reached nearly 0.8 Bitcoin (approximately $50,000). Starting from NFT collections, the team introduced their own Bitcoin Layer 2 called Merlin, with a Total Value Locked (TVL) exceeding $3 billion.
In conclusion, I have constructed a triangle model to illustrate the construction of “Meta” for convenience. The chart below demonstrates the interaction between the community, culture, and non-DeFi products.
PS. The answer to the cipher text is: “We are so early.”
PSS: This article doesn’t have any valuable content; it’s just a meme.