Current Status and Future Challenges of Consumer Chain Projects

In recent years, a large number of projects centered around the concept of "consumer chain" have emerged in the blockchain industry, aiming to attract more traditional internet users into the Web3 world by lowering user thresholds and simplifying operational processes. Taking a consumer Layer project in the TON ecosystem as an example, it quickly attracted millions of users with its EVM compatibility and social platform points tokenization feature.

However, as the project progresses, the feedback from users and the market presents a polarized situation: on one hand, the project's technological innovation and user growth are remarkable; on the other hand, some users question its business model due to losses incurred from participating in activities. This article will start from this case to explore the essence of the consumption chain: is it a pioneer of industry transformation, or another form of speculative tool?

1. Innovations and Achievements of Consumer Chain Projects

Technological Breakthrough: EVM Compatibility and Integration of Social Ecosystem

The biggest highlight of this project is its EVM compatibility, which allows developers to build applications in the TON ecosystem using the familiar Solidity language, significantly lowering the development threshold. At the same time, through the tokenization of points on social platforms, it converts Web2 users' points into on-chain assets, further simplifying the user transition to Web3. This technological integration not only brings new liquidity to the TON ecosystem but also provides billions of social platform users with a seamless on-chain experience.

User Growth and Ecosystem Expansion

Since the testnet went live, the project has attracted over 5.3 million users, with the number of paying users in the testnet activities exceeding 1 million and on-chain transaction volume surpassing 29 million. After the mainnet launch, the number of active wallets quickly surpassed 1 million, with on-chain transaction volume exceeding 5 million, demonstrating strong user growth momentum. In addition, the project has also partnered with several well-known blockchain projects, further expanding its ecosystem.

Token Economics and Incentive Mechanisms

The total supply of the project's token is 10 billion, of which 77% is allocated to community and ecosystem development, including 50% for airdrops, and 20% to support ecosystem development, among others. This incentive mechanism aims to attract user participation through airdrops and staking activities, while also providing financial support for ecosystem projects.

II. Behind User Losses: Concerns in the Consumption Chain

The rules of the event are complex, and the cost for users to participate is high.

Although the project has attracted a large number of users through airdrops and staking activities, some users have reported that the activity rules are complex and the participation costs are high. For example, users need to stake a certain amount of assets to receive airdrop rewards, and in cases of significant market volatility, the value of the staked assets may decrease sharply, resulting in actual user returns being lower than expected. This design has been questioned by some users as a disguised way of cutting leeks.

The limitations of social credit tokenization ###

The social points tokenization feature of this project, while lowering the barrier for users to enter Web3, has limited practical application scenarios. Currently, the tokenized points are mainly used for paying Gas fees and participating in on-chain activities, and have not yet formed widespread consumption scenarios. This limitation may lead users to doubt the long-term value of the project.

Insufficient ecological liquidity

Although the project is committed to integrating liquidity from multiple ecosystems, the DeFi protocols and applications within its ecosystem are still in the early stages, and liquidity is relatively insufficient. This fragmentation of liquidity may limit users' actual experience, thereby affecting the long-term development of the project.

3. The Essence of the Consumption Chain: Industry Transformation or Another Form of Speculation?

The potential for industry transformation

The core goal of the consumption chain is to lower the user threshold through technological innovation and promote the migration of Web2 users to Web3. EVM compatibility and the tokenization of social points are embodiments of this concept. This compatibility not only allows for a smooth transition of existing Web2 applications to the Web3 ecosystem but also provides developers with more powerful tool support, enhancing user experience and application adoption rates. If the issues of insufficient liquidity and limited application scenarios can be effectively resolved, the consumption chain is expected to become a catalyst for large-scale application in the blockchain industry, promoting the comprehensive development of the decentralized economy.

speculative risk

However, the incentive mechanisms and business models behind the consumption chain can also be easily abused. Some projects may attract user funds through complex participation rules and high entry costs, ultimately causing losses to investors. This behavior of luring with high returns at the expense of user funds is not new in the blockchain field, especially in the absence of effective regulation, which may exacerbate irrational speculative behavior in the market and harm the interests of ordinary users. Therefore, ensuring the transparency and sustainability of the consumption chain mechanism, protecting user rights, building user trust, and ensuring the healthy development of the market have become key challenges for its future development.

4. Case Insights of Consumer Chain Projects: Predicaments and Solutions

The double-edged sword of tokenomics design

The token economic model of this project is at the heart of its controversy. Although it allocates 77% of the tokens to the community in an attempt to attract user participation through high incentives, historical airdrop data indicates that over 88% of the tokens experienced significant depreciation due to sell pressure within three months after the airdrop. This model can quickly accumulate users in the short term, but without actual application scenarios to support it, the token value is difficult to maintain, ultimately leading to users suffering losses due to asset shrinkage. For example, users in the project's testnet activities deposited 9.3 million social points, but the usage scenarios after tokenization were limited to paying gas fees and staking, failing to form a consumption closed loop.

The Distinction Between Virtual and Real in Technological Integration

The project's technological innovations—such as EVM compatibility, tokenization of social points, and cross-chain liquidity integration—are packaged as "industry revolution," but the actual implementation effects still need to be verified. For example, its claimed "integration of multi-ecosystem liquidity" relies on cross-chain bridges and incentive mechanisms, but the TVL of the TON ecosystem is only $700 million (90% is TON and USDC), indicating weak underlying support for liquidity integration. Furthermore, although the development threshold has been lowered through specific architectures, the DApps in the TON ecosystem are still mainly focused on Meme and simple GameFi applications, lacking complex applications.

Community-driven sustainability challenges

The project's "fun community culture" is a highlight of its user growth, attracting millions of users through gamified interactions designed by bots. However, this model heavily relies on short-term incentives, raising concerns about user retention rates. Data shows that during its testnet phase, 230,000 users charged social points, but after the mainnet launch, the growth rate of on-chain transaction volume slowed, indicating that user activity may decline following the end of airdrops. In contrast, a mature consumer chain needs to establish a long-term value capture mechanism, such as converting user behavior into on-chain productivity through DeFi protocols, rather than solely relying on a "traffic-airdrop" cycle.

5. The Future of the Consumption Chain: From "Traffic Games" to "Value Networks"

return to the essence of user needs

The core proposition of the consumption chain should be to lower the barriers to using Web3 and create real demand. Tokenizing social points to allow users to "seamlessly go on-chain" is an important attempt, but if it only stays at the level of paying Gas fees, it is no different from Web2 point systems. In the future, it is necessary to expand application scenarios, such as using points for social rewards, content subscriptions, and other high-frequency consumption behaviors, forming a "points-consumption-revenue" closed loop.

Deepening the technology of liquidity integration

Current cross-chain liquidity integration relies heavily on bridging protocols, but security and efficiency issues are prominent. If consumer chain projects want to truly break the ecological isolation, they need to explore more fundamental solutions, such as implementing lightweight cross-chain verification using ZK technology or aggregating multi-chain assets through unified liquidity pools. At the same time, introducing real yield protocols (such as lending and derivatives) can enhance capital utilization and avoid "false prosperity" in liquidity.

Building a regulatory and compliance framework

The "mass adoption" vision of the consumption chain needs to face regulatory challenges head-on. For example, social points as an entry point for fiat currency may involve KYC/AML issues, while the financial attributes of tokenized points may also fall under securities regulation. Consumption chain projects need to collaborate with compliance agencies to explore the integration of on-chain identity and compliant payment channels, rather than solely relying on "regulatory arbitrage."

6. Conclusion

The case of the consumption chain project reflects the typical contradictions in this track: on one hand is the innovative potential of technological integration and user growth, while on the other hand is the bubble of token economies and the risks of short-term profit-seeking. Its future success will depend on whether the expansion of application scenarios can evolve from simple memes and games to high-frequency demands such as social interaction and finance. The so-called liquidity and cross-chain integration must truly enhance capital efficiency, rather than merely staying at the surface of account data, and whether its community governance can shift from short-term profit-driven "wool-pulling" to active ecological co-builders participating in long-term value distribution.

If a consumption chain project only uses "lowering the threshold" as a guise for "traffic harvesting," it will inevitably become another form of speculative tool; only by deeply binding technological innovation with user value can it secure a place in the industry transformation.