2023 Crypto Assets Industry Depth Observation

This article delves into the current development status of the Crypto Assets industry, focusing primarily on the changes in investment institutions, industry trends, and user demographics.

Challenges Faced by Investment Institutions

Currently, many first-level investment institutions are experiencing severe tests. Most institutions provide negative feedback, and some even assert that "the primary market is dead." These institutions generally face the following issues:

1. A large number of unlisted or listed but not yet unlocked crypto assets have significantly depreciated in value.
2. The over-the-counter trading market is shrinking, and multiple transactions find it hard to locate buyers.
3. New fund-raising is difficult, and the actual funds received may only be one-tenth of the claimed size.
4. Investment strategy adjustment, forced to increase the amount of a single investment and raise project valuation.
5. Lack of large institutional support like FTX.

In the face of these challenges, many institutions are beginning to consider shifting towards the project incubation field. However, most institutions do not align with the incubation needs in terms of staffing and the capabilities of managing partners, lacking practical experience in incubating projects from scratch.

Industry Trends and Real Application Scenarios

Industry insiders generally express concern for projects that have real income, users, and application scenarios, such as RWA, AI, and Depin. However, this tendency may stem from a lack of truly convincing investment arguments.

In fact, attempts to directly apply Web2 scenarios to Web3 have been proven to be unfeasible in 2022. Looking back at the projects recently listed by Binance, those claiming to have "real application scenarios" performed the worst. This does not mean that the Crypto Assets industry does not need innovation, but rather indicates that these projects are not closely related to the core advantage of Crypto Assets — asset liquidity.

The Rise of New User Groups

Although industry insiders generally believe that there is a lack of new users and new funds entering the market, the reality may not be so. A new generation of users is entering the Crypto Assets space in unprecedented ways:

1. Social Media Influence: For example, IGGY AZALEA hosted a highly controversial yet creative event in the history of Crypto Assets, successfully attracting attention from outside the circle.
2. Innovative content creation: A group of emerging KOLs (such as SolJakey, solanasteve_, chooserich, etc.) are reporting and interpreting the dynamics of the Crypto Assets field in a whole new way.
3. Trend of Youthfulness: Many founders of Solana ecosystem projects are under 20 years old, bringing new project narrative logic, operational methods, and communication strategies.

These changes indicate that a new generation of users is rapidly entering the market in ways that traditional practitioners find difficult to understand. This could fundamentally change the ecosystem of the entire Crypto Assets industry in the short term.

Conclusion

The Crypto Assets industry is facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities. Traditional mindsets may not be able to adapt to this rapidly changing field. The future of the industry will be determined by the cognition and understanding of a new generation of users, rather than relying on so-called "real scenarios" or the entry of traditional funds.

To succeed in this constantly evolving industry, one needs to break free from conventional thinking and embrace new ideas and methods. Only by truly understanding and adapting to these changes can one occupy a favorable position in the future waves of Crypto Assets.