Metis releases 2026 strategy: From fee wars to new tracks of AI+L2

Metis Decentralized Coordinator Natalia Ameline released a community letter today, officially outlining the project’s core strategic direction for 2026. The core logic is very clear: as the market shifts from speculation-driven to real applications, Metis will focus on promoting the deep integration of AI and high-performance blockchains, building a complete ecosystem through a unified technology stack and a single token economy.

The Three-Layer Stack Architecture Has Taken Shape

Metis has completed the construction of a unified stack covering three key layers:

This design logic is quite interesting. Andromeda addresses cost issues (a $0.01 fee is already quite low in L2), Hyperion solves throughput problems (a 50% performance boost can significantly improve user experience in real applications), and LazAI natively integrates AI capabilities into the application layer.

Practical Progress in the Application Ecosystem

Looking at specific applications, Metis’s strategy is not just theoretical:

• CreateAI: Minted 20,000 works within three hours, demonstrating the practical feasibility of AI creative applications.
• Lazbubu: The whitelist event for AI companionship DAT attracted over 90,000 participants, indicating genuine market demand for AI applications.
• GMPayer: The payment product has achieved autonomous AI agent trading, which is the most direct embodiment of practicality.

These are not just proof-of-concept but real applications in operation. Especially, Lazbubu’s participation (90,000 users) reflects strong user interest in AI companionship applications.

Single-Token Economic Design

Setting METIS as the native Gas token for LazAI to realize a single-token economy across the entire ecosystem is a noteworthy decision. The benefits are obvious: users and developers only need to hold one type of token within the ecosystem, reducing complexity and increasing the practical demand for METIS.

In market performance, METIS is currently priced at $5.14, down 6.28% in 24 hours, with a market cap of approximately $37.54 million. Although under short-term pressure, this more reflects overall market volatility rather than a rejection of the strategy.

Strategic Significance in Several Dimensions

Modular L2 as a New Competitive Direction

The L2 space is already very crowded, but most projects are still competing on fees and speed. Metis’s choice of AI + L2 is essentially seeking a differentiated competitive edge. The advantage of this direction lies in the fact that AI applications inherently require high-performance and low-cost on-chain infrastructure, and the combination of the two has a natural synergy.

From Market Shift from Speculation to Application

Natalia Ameline’s statement that “the market is shifting from speculation-driven to real applications” is very critical. The actual applications like CreateAI, Lazbubu’s user engagement, and GMPayer’s transaction features all point to one direction: Metis is preparing for real application scenarios rather than hype.

Personal Opinion

This strategic letter is quite pragmatic. Metis does not hype any “revolutionary breakthroughs,” but clearly states specific metrics for the three-layer stack, actual application progress, and the logic behind the token economy. This level of transparency is helpful for both investors and developers.

Summary

Metis’s core strategy for 2026 is the deep integration of AI and high-performance blockchain, rather than merely competing on fees. Through the three-layer stack of Andromeda, Hyperion, and LazAI, the project has established a complete technical foundation. The actual progress of applications like CreateAI, Lazbubu, and GMPayer shows this is not just a paper plan. The single-token economy design enhances the practical value of METIS. In the increasingly fierce L2 competition landscape, this differentiated approach offers some room for imagination. Future focus should be on whether these applications can truly gain user recognition and whether AI integration can become Metis’s core competitive advantage compared to other L2s.