The Deep Revolution of the Bitcoin Ecosystem: The Inevitable Evolution from Meme Narratives to Value Accumulation
Since the official release of the Ordinals protocol at the end of 2022, people have begun to see different possibilities for the Bitcoin value network, with more and more individuals exploring what narratives the Bitcoin network can actually support. This exploration is gradually changing the narrative model of digital assets, and the Meme, as a direction that has been long validated, is once again revitalizing itself on the Bitcoin network. However, a review of the data clearly shows that the popularity of Meme narratives on Bitcoin is continuously declining between 2023 and 2024. Many communities feel fatigued by this and are eagerly searching for the next new breakout point, indicating that the Bitcoin ecosystem is about to undergo a transformation from short-term frenzy to long-term value.
From the launch of CryptoKitties in 2017, which initiated the Meme narrative trend and sparked a wave of Meme narrative assets on the Ethereum network, to the popularity of concepts like the Ordinals protocol, inscriptions (BRC20), and runes (Runes) on Bitcoin in 2022, Bitcoin and Ethereum have gradually formed their unique trajectories in this narrative evolution. However, these Meme Tokens and NFT narratives, which generated immense enthusiasm in the short term, are now facing calm reflection and deeper transformations from the community over time.
In this process, the decentralization of issuance mechanisms and the individualization of issuing units have become hallmarks of the transition in Meme narratives. Early Meme assets were primarily issued by project teams, with market promotion and capital support as the main driving forces. However, in the Bitcoin ecosystem, a community-driven Meme mechanism has taken over, making issuing units more decentralized, independent, and even individualized. Although this de-capitalization evolution aligns with Bitcoin's core spirit, it essentially remains a zero-sum game, with many projects still seeking value through speculation and high-frequency trading. The limitations of this model are gradually becoming apparent, prompting many investors and community members to ponder: Can crypto assets break through short-term games and truly become tools for carrying value and empowering real applications?
This reflection has sparked the crypto community's attention towards Web3 applications and actual value accumulation. More and more people are beginning to abandon their focus on Memes and instead turn their attention to Web3 applications that can provide real value, such as Friend.tech, Bluesky, and Lens, which have received varying degrees of attention. We can observe that the narrative of Web3 applications is rapidly accumulating its audience, showing a trend to replace Meme narratives and becoming an important force driving technological advancement and ecosystem expansion.
From decentralized finance (DeFi) to decentralized social media and gaming, Web3 applications provide a more substantive empowerment pathway for the digital economy. Compared to the singular Meme model, Web3 application scenarios not only meet developers' needs for innovation but also allow users to directly participate in and benefit from the growth and value appreciation of the ecosystem. This is not just a change in narrative but a qualitative transformation from speculative games to value accumulation.
The trend of Web3 applications in the Bitcoin ecosystem also reflects the continuous advancement of underlying blockchain technology. With the evolution of Bitcoin and sidechain solutions, its high performance, low fees, and security have made significant progress, supporting more complex and high-frequency application scenarios. An increasing number of innovative projects are beginning to explore Web3 applications on Bitcoin, bringing more stable liquidity and more genuine user demand to the ecosystem. This means that Bitcoin is not only a medium for storing digital gold but has also become the underlying infrastructure for decentralized applications, providing a more solid foundation for value accumulation.
The Future Path of Web3 Applications: Overcoming Existing Barriers to Achieve a Decentralized Value Vision
To realize the true potential of Web3 and the decentralized value vision, Web3 applications must overcome key obstacles currently hindering their development. Although the vision of Web3 applications is to give users data sovereignty and the freedom to enjoy a decentralized ecosystem, real-world issues such as data silos and high costs still restrict the widespread implementation and actual value of Web3 applications. Below, we will analyze the current obstacles to the development of Web3 applications from four aspects and explore possible paths to overcome these bottlenecks in conjunction with applications that have already been implemented in the market.
1. Data Silos: Breaking Down Application Barriers and Restoring User Data Sovereignty
The core idea of Web3 applications is that users own data sovereignty, allowing them to freely traverse different platforms with their data. However, many Web3 applications still tend to build their own user circles, attempting to establish a "decentralized" version of a moat. This phenomenon of data silos makes it difficult for users to seamlessly migrate their data or identity between different applications, resulting in issues similar to application barriers in Web2.
True Web3 applications should possess the characteristic of "data privatization": users own and control their data and can choose to bring their data to different applications without being constrained by platforms or data providers. For example, user data on a decentralized social platform should be able to be directly transferred to another Web3 application without needing to recreate identity or data. This would not only make the user experience of Web3 applications smoother but also lay the foundation for richer user interactions and ecosystem collaboration. Further development of data privatization and open protocols can provide the technical basis for breaking down data silos.
2. Lack of Unified Identity: Building On-chain Identity Systems for Seamless Interoperability
As mentioned in the previous point, users currently need to recreate their identities in each Web3 application they traverse. This limitation not only brings inconvenience but also makes interoperability among Web3 applications extremely complex. An ideal Web3 ecosystem should support users in maintaining a unified identity across different applications without needing repeated authentication or migration.
On-chain identity systems can provide a solution to this problem. By creating verifiable digital identities on the blockchain, users can seamlessly traverse multiple Web3 applications. This system allows users to easily switch between decentralized social, financial, and even metaverse applications within a single on-chain identity framework. This not only enhances user mobility and experience but also makes data and asset interoperability between applications more convenient and reliable. The realization of this unified identity system is not only a sign of Web3 applications maturing but also creates conditions for promoting cross-ecosystem collaboration.
3. High Costs: Seeking Low-Cost, Sustainable Solutions
High transaction costs are a major bottleneck in the development of Web3 applications, especially evident in networks like Ethereum and Bitcoin. For most users, the costs of frequent transactions and interactions make it difficult to sustain the use of Web3 applications. Therefore, to make costs more bearable for users, many projects have begun designing economic models to subsidize users, but this approach is not a long-term solution, as high costs still limit the expansion of the Web3 ecosystem.
Some low-cost blockchain networks and sidechain solutions provide ideas for addressing this issue. For example, Bitcoin's MVC sidechain solution has achieved significant results in high performance and low fees, making complex applications and frequent interactions more feasible. In the future, the blockchain industry should further develop low-cost scalability solutions or use Layer 2 scaling technologies to reduce transaction costs to a range acceptable to users, enabling Web3 applications to reach a broader user base.
4. Non-Closed Ecosystem: Cross-Platform Interoperability to Create a One-Stop User Experience
Currently, interactions between Web3 and Web2 applications are similar: users need to switch applications to complete various interactions across different platforms. However, the moat effect of different platforms in the Web3 ecosystem is more pronounced, making it difficult to provide a one-stop seamless experience. For example, assets obtained by users in on-chain financial applications are difficult to transfer conveniently to social or gaming applications, leading to fragmented application scenarios and disjointed experiences.
To solve this problem, Web3 needs to build a tighter, interconnected ecosystem that allows users to perform cross-application operations within the same ecosystem. Web3 applications can achieve interoperability through open protocols and can also design cross-platform asset sharing and operation models. For instance, yields generated in decentralized finance (DeFi) can be directly applied to decentralized games or converted into rewards in decentralized social applications, thus forming a closed-loop ecological experience. In this closed-loop system, the Web3 ecosystem will truly realize the vision of "one-stop" operations, allowing users to experience a smoother and more natural interaction without repeatedly switching platforms.
How Web3 Can Rapidly Develop: Finding Inspiration from Existing Applications
Although the development of Web3 applications is accompanied by many real-world challenges, there are already some applications and protocols in the market exploring feasible paths to solve these key issues, mainly concentrated in the rich practices accumulated in the Ethereum and Bitcoin ecosystems. However, from historical data, although Ethereum has hosted a large number of Web3 applications early on, scalability and cost issues have always limited its development among a broader user base; in contrast, since the release of the Ordinals protocol, the potential for running Web3 applications on Bitcoin's layer one network has gradually emerged, although it also faces obstacles such as high costs. However, through the interaction between Bitcoin and Layer 2 networks and the application of different decentralized protocols, we can find some ideas worth referencing.
From the cost perspective, although the security of the Bitcoin network is well recognized, its fees are still relatively high for the operation of daily applications, making even simple interactions expensive and difficult to popularize. We find that a Layer 2 network called MVC may provide a practically feasible solution, offering a viable path for the long-term implementation of applications with high performance and low fees. On the MVC network, zero-block confirmation technology allows transactions to be confirmed in real-time, with costs only one five-hundred-thousandth of the Bitcoin main chain fees. This feature makes MVC an ideal storage chain, capable of offloading frequent data interactions from the Bitcoin layer one network, thereby reducing user burdens and enhancing application usability. From this practical application, it may be possible in the future to achieve high-frequency, low-cost interactive experiences through the collaborative division of labor between layer one and layer two chains while ensuring security.
Moreover, the issues of data silos and unified identity also severely restrict the overall collaboration and user experience of the Web3 application ecosystem. In the market, the Nostr and MetaID protocols have conducted long-term explorations in this area, providing some practical solutions. The Nostr protocol gained attention in 2022, leading to decentralized social applications like Damus, Amethyst, and snort.social. These applications attempt to achieve data openness and user autonomy in a decentralized environment, allowing users to control their data flow more freely and avoiding the hassle of duplicate identity registration. Nostr's exploration emphasizes the portability of user data, providing valuable technical insights for cross-application collaboration and unified identity management.
On the other hand, the practice of MetaID in addressing the data silo issue is also impressive. As a protocol developed from the BSV network, MetaID has undergone a longer period of iteration and has accumulated rich experience in decentralized data management. Through the MetaID protocol, users' data can not only flow freely between different applications but also seamlessly connect with various types of decentralized social platforms such as Show, Buzz, and BitBuzz, further demonstrating the potential for data privatization and controllable circulation. This application scenario indicates that solutions for unified identity management and data privatization can be advanced through the standardization and openness of protocols, thereby more effectively addressing the data silo problem.
In terms of ecological closure, the MetaID protocol showcases a more comprehensive solution. MetaID not only supports social applications but also provides a platform for trading, managing, and issuing NFTs and Tokens. This multifunctional ecological structure facilitates users in completing different operations within the same protocol system. At the same time, with its unified identity system, users can freely traverse different applications, achieving a one-stop operational experience through a single identity. This architecture effectively avoids the hassle of repeatedly using different wallets and creating wallets across various applications, significantly enhancing the fluidity of use.
This model brings another significant advantage, as protocol-level incentive schemes become possible. With the design of MetaID, users can access protocol-level incentive schemes while participating in any application, enjoying the benefits brought by the ecological closure. This model expands incentives beyond a single application to become foundational support for the entire ecosystem, allowing users to continuously receive incentives while using various applications. This design of ecological closure and unified incentives not only increases user stickiness but also provides solid support for the sustainable development of the protocol.
Although the practical implementation of Web3 applications faces numerous obstacles, feasible solutions to these problems are gradually taking shape with the support of high-performance, low-cost Layer 2 networks and decentralized data protocols. The division of labor between Bitcoin's layer one and the MVC network, as well as the data sharing and unified identity practices of the Nostr and MetaID protocols, demonstrate a clear direction for progress. Through these innovative application explorations, the future of Web3 is not limited to technological breakthroughs but also lies in how to truly realize user rights and value transmission in a decentralized ecosystem.
The Eve of Revolution: The Web3 Ecosystem is Poised for Takeoff
With the gradual improvement of underlying infrastructure such as costs and identity protocols, we may truly look forward to the accelerated arrival of a comprehensive and prosperous Web3 ecosystem. Recently, the open-source middleware MetaSo, which focuses on the Web3 social ecosystem, was officially released, bringing new innovative opportunities for developers. With its highly integrated architecture, developers can complete the deployment of social network nodes in just 20 minutes, establishing a decentralized social network system through simple operations. Data ownership, protocol-level incentive mechanisms, and user-friendliness converge in MetaSo, allowing everyone to operate their own social network nodes and truly connect to the vast world of Web3.
Of course, although MetaSo significantly lowers the technical threshold, deploying nodes still involves certain basic costs such as domain name registration and server leasing. For any Web3 network hoping to achieve healthy and sustainable development, refined incentive schemes for operators are indispensable. Looking back, whether it is Lens or Bluesky, although they are both decentralized social platforms, these applications have always lacked in the design of incentive mechanisms, often adopting a centralized approach in their explorations. However, MetaSo's ambitions clearly extend beyond this; it aims to build a collaborative and shared network ecosystem and connect every node and user through protocol-level incentives.
Combining the previously mentioned protocol-level incentive model, MetaSo extends the incentive links directly to every participant and node. High-quality, influential users can not only drive node visibility but also have their influence ranking directly determine the incentive amounts that nodes can receive. This straightforward incentive logic inadvertently gives rise to two important ecological development paths: on one hand, nodes will continuously iterate and explore diversified token economic mechanisms to attract high-quality users; on the other hand, users will be motivated to enhance their influence to earn more incentives. This top-down and bottom-up dual incentive mechanism is expected to effectively promote a virtuous cycle and sustained activity within the entire Web3 social network. For ordinary users, MetaSo also supports nodes in deciding their own incentive distribution amounts, allowing users to "earn from interaction."
In the past, such incentives and ecological co-construction were often constrained by incomplete toolchains and weak infrastructure, but MetaSo has broken through this bottleneck with its well-prepared ecosystem. Whether it is token issuance or asset circulation, developers can choose from a variety of launch schemes and DEX platforms within MetaSo, greatly enhancing overall scalability and collaborative efficiency. This highly integrated ecological system is the core driving force behind the rapid growth of the Web3 social network.
It is worth noting that shortly after its release, MetaSo has spawned a series of innovative applications. For example, developers have deeply expanded based on MetaSo to create bots that can directly access Web3 functionalities in chat groups. Through such tools, users can seamlessly publish Web3 updates, send digital currency red envelopes, and participate in various interactive applications within group chat scenarios. These spontaneous innovations are just the tip of the iceberg of ecological vitality, and with the continued participation of more nodes and developers, the full explosion of the future Web3 ecosystem is highly anticipated. Moreover, according to data at the time of writing, MetaSo's total transaction count has surpassed 110 million, and the number of nodes has expanded to 30, indicating that there are already 30 different applications within the MetaSo ecosystem.
Conclusion
The Bitcoin ecosystem is brewing an unprecedented transformation, as Web3 embarks on a turning point from "meme narratives" to true value accumulation. This is not just an evolution of the blockchain ecosystem but a redefinition of the decentralized concept. From high-performance Layer 2 networks to unified identity and data privatized closed-loop ecosystems, Web3 will bring a comprehensive revolution in user experience, value transmission, and incentive models. What we are witnessing is not merely a stacking of technologies but a revolution that re-empowers users, laying out a future blueprint for decentralized applications.
On the eve of this revolution, innovations on Bitcoin are continuously accumulating power. Protocols like MetaID and MetaSo are paving the way to break through data silos, dismantle identity barriers, and lower cost thresholds. As these applications expand, they will gradually cultivate a brand new track, and value will return to every actual user with such development. In the future, true decentralized value transmission will no longer be a vision but will become the core of our digital lives.
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