From Hong Kong to Denver: Ethereum's Turning Point

Recent industry conferences have left many feeling disappointed about the prospects of the cryptocurrency industry, believing that a bear market has arrived. Short-term speculation is rampant, with some traders adopting aggressive positioning strategies, investing 90% of their funds into Bitcoin and 10% for active trading. Meanwhile, the attention economy is on the rise, ushering content creators into a golden age.

In contrast, the Ethereum ecosystem seems to lack vitality. Long-term holders are starting to lose confidence in it and are turning their attention to other public chains. Some believe that Ethereum developers lack a sense of urgency and are slower to respond compared to other public chains. This may be a warning from the market regarding Ethereum's leadership position.

The industry currently exhibits a prevalent tendency towards short-termism, with many participants seemingly losing their long-term ideals and focusing only on immediate benefits. Some exchanges have lowered their listing standards to support their own projects. Certain well-known projects view token issuance as an opportunity to withdraw funds. Market makers leverage their network connections to acquire free tokens, managing to achieve considerable profits even during an overall market downturn. This short-term speculative atmosphere is affecting the entrepreneurs who are committed to building.

The current situation is similar to the downturns in 2018 and 2022. Many practitioners have left the industry because they see no hope. The remaining teams are under immense pressure and need to hold firm to their beliefs and values. Certain political events have also influenced the core values of the industry to some extent, sparking some speculative behavior.

At the conference in Denver, founders of infrastructure projects were generally pessimistic, while those in the application and artificial intelligence sectors remained optimistic. Some developers who have long been working in the Ethereum ecosystem suddenly realized the need to adjust their strategies and began to seriously consider how to develop products with actual revenue and user bases. For these founders, large-scale layoffs and a thorough reflection on past decisions may be necessary, which presents a huge challenge.

However, the integration of artificial intelligence and Web3 is bringing new opportunities. The Ethereum community is actively embracing emerging technologies and making innovative attempts in various fields. Some well-known investment institutions have begun to invest heavily in Web3 LLM companies. Various AI-based open-source products and platforms have been showcased at industry conferences, and developers are exploring how to apply AI to Web3 scenarios.

In terms of the macro environment, U.S. institutions remain optimistic about crypto policies. Banks may soon allow Bitcoin and Ether as collateral, which will bring new liquidity to the industry. Positive signals from regulatory aspects may exceed market expectations. In the next two years, we may see more traditional companies and even government agencies entering Layer 2 networks and issuing their own decentralized networks.

Ethereum is undergoing an organizational restructuring, and the new leadership team will be dedicated to pushing Ethereum towards mainstream adoption and commercialization. As the cornerstone of Web3, Ethereum is also actively exploring Layer 2 solutions and technological upgrades to meet the growing application demands.

For Ethereum, application development at the current stage may be more important than technological research and development. Whether Ethereum can produce epoch-making super applications will be the next important milestone and will also provide the greatest confidence to ecosystem builders.

Organizations that achieve capital accumulation and stable business income in the industry should contribute to the future of the industry, which can be done through donations to open-source organizations, creating opportunities for young people, providing financing support, and more. Especially in the difficult startup environment in Asia, support from early-stage venture capital is particularly important. It is recommended that exchanges allocate a certain percentage of their income each year to support the development and innovation of the Ethereum open-source ecosystem.

In the long run, Ethereum is unlikely to perish in the next cycle. As the most successful decentralized organization in the Web3 industry, we should not let it fail. The failure of Ethereum would lead to a long-term stagnation of the entire industry. Therefore, we should maintain confidence in Ethereum and view its value and innovation from a longer-term perspective. It is especially important to remain optimistic during difficult times.