The Web3 Bull Run Battle For Attention

Over the past few weeks, the crypto market has heated up, with Bitcoin breaking all-time highs almost daily. As time passed, funds flowed out of BTC and into memecoins, pumping those as well.

Alongside this has been the speculation that the bull market is back and that the number will always go up. That was until the inevitable correction sparked a few moments of panic.

Those waiting for the altcoin season were bitterly disappointed that their bags didn’t pump as much as they’d hoped. Underlying that disappointment was a misunderstanding of what was happening in the markets.

Liquidity flows in the market drive peaks and troughs in prices, and the fundamental misunderstanding of what was happening was the assumption that this was a bull market following similar patterns to previous ones. Although the market has risen, the reason was institutional rather than retail, which was a first for Web3.

When markets started to crash at the beginning of the crypto winter, liquidity flowed out of the crypto market and into safe-haven assets such as government bonds. However, the liquidity flow wasn’t just capital; it was people as well.

As prices fell, retail investors became increasingly disillusioned with crypto and turned their attention elsewhere. This was clear to anyone observing social metrics.

Views and engagement started to fall on YouTube and X among crypto channels and projects as prices also fell. Those who could understand what was happening pivoted and began to change their content accordingly, focusing on strengthening their communities and appealing to long-term HODLers.

Those who didn’t understand what was happening blamed the algorithms and tried to use clickbait titles to boost engagement. It wasn’t shadow banning or a change to the algorithm that was taking place though; it was retail investors moving on to other things.

Looking at inflows of funds and people during the latest rally, it is clear that liquidity is coming from something other than retail investors. The recent capital flows into the crypto market have come from institutions now that the spot Bitcoin ETFs have been approved.

While prices have risen significantly, social metrics haven’t. So, we’re witnessing a mini bull run driven by demand for BTC, which is why views and engagement amongst crypto projects and influencers are still lagging.

This means that although funds are becoming easier to secure, communities aren’t. Projects are battling one another for the attention of a small pool of people.

The actual bull run will be characterized by significant inflows of both capital and retail investors. They’ll be looking for information about tokens and Web3 projects, but the difference this time is that they’ll gravitate toward projects with a familiar look and feel to Web2 projects.

Projects must capitalize on the latest developments, such as account abstraction, to prepare for this influx of new people. This hides the technicalities of Web3 behind more familiar Web2 interfaces and makes the user experience seamless.

Engagement strategies to build communities will also need to leverage gamification. Those projects that try simple like/follow reward campaigns will be left behind by those that can offer users a more exciting SocialFi experience.

That’s why Zesh is positioning itself to be able to offer the tools projects will need to succeed in this new Web3 landscape. We also recognize that AI has changed users’ expectations since the last bull market, and we’re integrating it into all of our DApps.

Thinking a simple copy-and-paste approach taken from the last bull run will work in the upcoming one will only lead to failure. Not only has the crypto market changed, but the outlook of new users has also changed.

As projects fight each other for attention, Zesh will enable forward-thinking projects to implement the latest in Web3 technology, both behind the scenes and in their public-facing platforms. We’re getting ready for the new Web3 space; are you?