2025-12-28 15:22:27

Having been in the Web3 space for so long, I've recently experienced some aesthetic fatigue. The projects' concepts are becoming increasingly grand, and their technical solutions seem more and more innovative, but when it comes to the application stage, a real problem becomes apparent: not many users are willing to continue opening and using the platform.

This has also changed my approach to evaluating projects. Now, when screening projects, I ask the most straightforward question—are there really people spending money to use it?

It's not about how impressive the funding rounds are, nor about how deep the technical whitepapers are written, but about the actual user payment situation. This is the true litmus test for whether a project has genuine vitality. If real users are willing to pay for the service, then this project is worth paying attention to.

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HalfBuddhaMoney

· 8h ago

It's quite revealing; most projects are just paper talk, very few are actually used by people. Money is the key, I stopped paying attention to those funding news a long time ago. No matter how impressive the white paper is, without users, it's all pointless. This summary hits the mark. Grand concepts are bullshit; it all depends on DAU (Daily Active Users), otherwise it's just air. Hmm, the standard for screening projects is correct, but execution is just too difficult. User payment data is indeed the most straightforward; nine out of ten hyped projects end up failing. Now, entering the market depends on actual data; many funding rounds are just scams. I agree, aesthetic fatigue has turned into money fatigue; there's simply no money to invest anymore.

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GateUser-addcaaf7

· 22h ago

Exactly right, now it's all about who can retain users Real paying users are the true metric; everything else is虚 No matter how fancy the white paper is, it’s useless; the key is daily active users Raising more funds doesn’t mean the product is good; it still depends on on-chain data Many projects are just concept killers; the user base is clearly nonexistent Here's a most painful question: haven't opened it in months? I also now only look at DAU and gas fees, skipping everything else directly This is the harsh reality; the cooling-off period for the industry has arrived

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CryptoHistoryClass

· 22h ago

ah, the classic "adoption doesn't match the hype" phase. we literally did this exact same dance in 2017-2018... whitepaper porn followed by the capitulation realization lmao

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SnapshotBot

· 22h ago

That's very true, now it's all about real money and silver. No matter how impressive the talk is, it doesn't matter; it depends on actual retention. Same here, reading a bunch of whitepapers makes me want to vomit; ultimately, DAU speaks the truth. 99% of Web3 projects are just storytelling; very few are actually used by people.

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screenshot_gains

· 22h ago

You're absolutely right, don't be fooled by funding news. Real money is the most honest; those PPT projects should have died long ago. If users aren't paying, no matter how innovative the technology is, it's just a castle in the air. This wave of awakening is a bit late, but it's still better than always being the one paying. User retention rate is the true litmus test; stop fooling yourself. Alright, time to review the holdings again... let's see who really has popularity. Actually, everyone knows deep down, they just don't want to admit it. No matter how flashy the white paper is, it’s useless; we need to look at DAU, brother. I'll ask right now—what happens if we stop updates for three months? Will anyone still come?

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MetaverseMortgage

· 23h ago

Honestly, I agree with this point. Anyone can write a flashy white paper, but the key is whether anyone actually uses it. To put it plainly, DAU (Daily Active Users) is the real truth. Raising funds looks good? Nonsense. The number of genuine users with real money in their pockets speaks volumes. These days, there are too many projects; you have to learn to see through the falsehoods. I am increasingly paying attention to user payments; everything else is just clouds. Thinking of those projects with astronomical funding, what are they like now... probably a mess. Without DAU, it's ultimately just an illusion. Yes, paying users are the most honest voting machines. This is all that matters now; tricks won't fool me. Really, I've seen too many concepts explode while having zero users.

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