Consumption Chain: A New Opportunity or an Old Trap in the Blockchain Industry?

In recent years, a large number of projects centered around the concept of "consumption chain" have emerged in the Blockchain industry, aiming to attract more Web2 users into the Web3 world by simplifying operational processes and lowering barriers. A certain consumer Layer project has stood out in the TON ecosystem, rapidly attracting millions of users with its EVM compatibility and social platform point tokenization feature.

However, as the project progresses, the market response is showing a polarization: on one hand, the project's technological innovation and user growth are remarkable; on the other hand, some users have suffered losses due to participating in activities, questioning the rationality of its business model. This article will use this case as a starting point to explore the essence of the consumption chain: can it truly drive industry transformation, or is it merely a tool for harvesting profits in a different form?

1. Innovation and Achievements of Consumption Chain Projects

Technological Breakthrough: EVM Compatibility and Social Ecosystem Integration

The most notable feature of this project is its EVM compatibility, which allows developers to build applications in the TON ecosystem using the familiar Solidity language, significantly lowering the development threshold. At the same time, through the tokenization of points on social platforms, the points of Web2 users are converted into on-chain assets, further simplifying the process for users to enter Web3. This technological integration not only brings new liquidity to the TON ecosystem but also provides a seamless on-chain experience for a large number of social platform users.

User Growth and Ecosystem Expansion

Since the launch of the testnet, the project has attracted over 5.3 million users' attention, with the number of paid users in the testnet activities exceeding 1 million and the on-chain transaction volume surpassing 29 million transactions. After the mainnet launch, the number of active wallets quickly exceeded 1 million, and the on-chain transaction volume exceeded 5 million transactions, demonstrating a strong user growth momentum. In addition, the project has also partnered with several well-known platforms, further expanding its ecological landscape.

Token Economics and Incentive Mechanisms

The total token supply of the project is 10 billion, of which 77% is allocated to community and ecological development, including 50% for airdrops, and 20% to support ecological development, among others. This incentive mechanism aims to attract user participation through airdrops and staking activities, while also providing financial support for ecological projects.

2. The Hidden Concerns of the Consumption Chain Behind User Losses

The rules of the activity are complex, and the cost for users to participate is high.

Although the project attracted a large number of users through airdrops and staking activities, some users reported that the rules of the activities were complex and the participation costs were high. For example, users need to stake a certain amount of assets to receive airdrop rewards, and in cases of significant market volatility, the value of the staked assets may decrease drastically, resulting in actual returns being lower than expected. This design has been questioned by some users as "a disguised way of harvesting leeks."

Limitations of Social Credit Tokenization

The tokenization of social points in the project, while lowering the barrier for users to enter Web3, has limited practical application scenarios. Currently, these tokens are mainly used for paying Gas fees and participating in on-chain activities, and have not yet formed widespread consumption scenarios. This limitation may lead users to doubt the long-term value of the project.

Insufficient ecological liquidity

Although the project is committed to integrating liquidity from multiple ecosystems, the DeFi protocols and applications within its ecosystem are still in the early stages, and liquidity is relatively insufficient. This fragmentation of liquidity may limit the actual experience of users, thereby affecting the long-term development of the project.

3. The Essence of the Consumption Chain: Industry Transformation or Shell Change to Harvest Retail Investors?

The potential for industry transformation

The core goal of the Consumption Chain is to lower user barriers through technological innovation and promote the migration of Web2 users to Web3. The project’s EVM compatibility and social points tokenization features embody this concept. This compatibility not only allows for a smooth transition of existing Web2 applications into the Web3 ecosystem but also provides developers with stronger tool support, enhancing user experience and application adoption rates. If it can effectively address issues of insufficient liquidity and limited application scenarios, the Consumption Chain is expected to become a catalyst for large-scale applications in the blockchain industry, promoting the comprehensive development of the decentralized economy.

The risk of being cut like chives

However, the incentive mechanisms and business models behind the consumption chain are also prone to abuse. Some projects may attract user funds through complex participation rules and high participation costs, ultimately leading to losses for investors. This phenomenon of "cutting leeks" with high returns as bait and at the expense of user funds is not new in the Blockchain field, especially in the absence of effective regulation, which may exacerbate irrational speculative behavior in the market and harm the interests of ordinary users.

4. The Dilemma and Solution of the Consumption Chain

The double-edged sword of tokenomics design

The token economic model of the project is at the center of its controversy. Although most of the tokens are allocated to the community in an attempt to attract user participation through high incentives, historical data shows that the majority of tokens significantly depreciate shortly after airdrops due to selling pressure. This model can quickly accumulate users in the short term, but if there is a lack of actual application scenarios to support it, the value of the tokens is difficult to maintain, ultimately leading to a decrease in user assets.

The distinction between virtual and real in technology integration

The technical innovations of the project------such as EVM compatibility, tokenization of social points, and cross-chain liquidity integration------are packaged as "industry revolution," but the actual implementation effects still need to be verified. For example, its claimed "integration of multiple ecological liquidity" relies on cross-chain bridges and incentive mechanisms, but the underlying support is weak. In addition, although the development threshold has been lowered through certain technical architectures, the applications within the ecosystem still mainly consist of simple types, lacking complex applications.

Community-driven sustainability challenges

The "fun community culture" of the project is a highlight of its user growth, attracting millions of users through gamified interactions. However, this model heavily relies on short-term incentives, raising concerns about user retention rates. Data shows that after the mainnet launch, the growth rate of on-chain transaction volume has slowed, indicating that user activity may decline as the airdrop ends. In contrast, mature consumption chains need to build long-term value capture mechanisms, such as converting user behavior into on-chain productivity through DeFi protocols, rather than relying solely on the "traffic-airdrop" cycle.

V. The Future of the Consumption Chain: From "Traffic Games" to "Value Networks"

Return to the essence of user needs

The core proposition of the consumption chain should be to lower the threshold for using Web3 and create real demand. Tokenizing social points to allow users to "seamlessly go on-chain" is an important attempt, but if it only stays at the level of paying gas fees, it is no different from the Web2 points system. In the future, application scenarios need to be expanded, for example, using tokens for social tipping, content subscriptions, and other high-frequency consumption behaviors, forming a "points-consumption-revenue" closed loop.

Technical Deepening of Liquidity Integration

Current cross-chain liquidity integration largely relies on bridging protocols, but security and efficiency issues are prominent. To truly break the ecological isolation, it is necessary to explore more underlying solutions, such as using ZK technology to achieve lightweight cross-chain verification, or aggregating multi-chain assets through a unified liquidity pool. At the same time, introducing real yield protocols (such as lending and derivatives) can enhance capital utilization and avoid liquidity "false prosperity".

Building a regulatory and compliance framework

The "mass adoption" vision of the consumption chain needs to confront regulatory challenges. For example, social points as an entry into fiat may involve KYC/AML issues, while the financial attributes of tokenized points may also fall under securities regulation. Projects need to collaborate with compliance agencies to explore the integration of on-chain identity and compliant payment channels, rather than relying solely on "regulatory arbitrage."

VI. Conclusion

The case of the consumption chain project reflects the typical contradictions in this track: on one hand, there is the innovative potential of technological integration and user growth, while on the other hand, there are the risks of token economic bubbles and short-term profit-seeking. Its future success will depend on whether the expansion of application scenarios can evolve from simple memes and games to high-frequency demands such as social interactions and finance, whether the so-called liquidity and cross-chain integration can truly enhance capital efficiency rather than just remain at the surface level of accounting data, and whether its community governance can shift from being driven by short-term interests of the "撸毛党" to becoming active ecological co-builders participating in long-term value distribution.

If a consumption chain project only uses "lowering the threshold" as a guise for "traffic harvesting", it will inevitably become a tool for "shell swapping and harvesting leeks"; only by deeply binding technological innovation with user value can it secure a place in the industry transformation.