Web3 Watch: EthCC attendees ask: “Where are the apps?”

Plus, a layer-1 for intellectual property is launching and Farcaster users peaked

article-image

EthCC modified by Blockworks

share

This week, crypto descended on Brussels for EthCC.

Given that Ethereum popularized smart contracts and was the home of NFTs during the space’s 2021 craze, it seems like consumer applications could have been prominently featured at the yearly Ethereum gathering. But some attendees felt that apps were too muted at the conference — and that crypto’s infrastructure era has overstayed its welcome.

The social lead of the Milk Road newsletter wrote that it “[f]eels like we’ve come to a consensus that we don’t need more infra. We just need usable apps.”

2077 Collective director Emmanuel Awosika said “one of those things I’m excited about is people finally (!) acknowledging consumer apps are necessary.”

Arbitrum developer Offchain Labs’ A.J. Warner said he “heard 10x the number of interoperability/crosschain proving ideas compared to novel user applications” at the conference.

Crypto may still be lacking in compelling consumer apps, but EthCC exit reviews definitely showed that the desire is there. This wishful thinking has shown up in other places too: The Arbitrum DAO notably is aiming to pour $215 million into crypto gaming projects.

Source: EthCC

Read more: The crypto infrastructure is here, but where are the apps?

This week, Electric Capital general partner Maria Shen released a “market map” categorizing over 1,500 crypto projects. Interestingly, more than one-third of the projects were labeled as apps. 

There’s also a case to be made that insisting on more apps might be putting the cart before the horse. Celestia Labs CEO Mustafa Al-Bassam said that crypto should focus on mastering its original use case of payments before it moves on to more complex applications.

Read more: Helio upgrades its Solana Pay plugin for Shopify

There are also crypto apps with real users, even if they don’t currently compete with the titans of Web2. Telegram has a lot of users, and the loosely-associated TON blockchain is drawing lots of attention (alongside lots of bots) to (admittedly rudimentary) Telegram games.

And with Solana blinks, you can now play Pokemon onchain directly within your X feed. So that’s something, right?

Story Protocol is launching a layer-1

A16z-backed Story Protocol announced this week it would be launching the “world’s first [intellectual property] blockchain” with its new Story network. 

The chain will let creators upload their intellectual property to the blockchain, where they can then set the terms for how the intellectual property can be used and monetized. Story cast the onchain intellectual property as being like legos, saying the chain would create an internet “legoland.”

In a seeming homage to the week’s frustration with crypto’s dearth of widely-used applications, Story co-founder S.Y. Lee said the protocol wouldn’t just be the “millionth defi chain/app without a clear use case in mind.”

One interesting stat:

  • Farcaster’s daily active users hit an all-time high for seven-day trailing average at around 67,000 late last week, according to a Dune dashboard.

Also of note:

  • Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic published a report linking “pig butchering” crypto scams to a “multi-billion dollar marketplace” popular in Southeast Asia named Huione Guarantee.
  • Soccer stars Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho promoted a memecoin called WaterCoin.
  • The forthcoming mobile shooter game “For The Win” announced it would be building on Solana.

Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

recent research

Unlocked Advisory-min.png

Research

This report distills Blockworks Advisory’s research on incentive programs and their analysis, offering a foundation for designing future initiatives and advancing industry-wide standards. By highlighting key lessons and methodologies, we aim to empower protocols to make informed, data-driven decisions.

article-image

Many analysts expected bitcoin to top $100K before year-end, though it’s been on a post-election tear

article-image

Will investors take a 10% lower return to get access to a regulated investment wrapper?

article-image

Brian Armstrong called out the hire of Gurbir Grewal, who had been the SEC’s enforcement division director since 2021

article-image

Certain senators will be interested to learn about Atkins’s private sector business interests, specifically those related to crypto

article-image

Innovative smart debt and collateral features are fueling Fluid’s rise to $1.2 billion TVL, reshaping the Instadapp brand

article-image

Crypto’s liquidity engine is now worth over $300 billion