A memo stirs up a thousand waves, summary of TOKEN2049 short essays

整理：BlockBeats

On September 28, the Token2049 event in Singapore successfully concluded. This was the first major Web3 gathering in months, bustling with attendees, and Web3 is still quite lively. However, the domestic practitioners present were not happy; after "returning to their hotels costing 10,000 yuan a night," they felt unprecedented helplessness regarding the future of Chinese Web3 projects and founders. At this Web3 conference, it seemed that people felt a tremendous sense of oppression from "Western Web3," and we seemed to have become the "Jews of the Crypto world."

As the essay "Token 2049 Takeaways" spread throughout the community, everyone began to express their long-suppressed feelings about Web3. Discussions about the future of domestic Web3 exploded:

A Stone Stirs…

Zhao Chen's "Token 2049 Takeaways"

… A Thousand Layers of Waves

Wang Feng

I read Zhao's short article that went viral in Singapore. My mood is incredibly heavy.

We are enduring the greatest humiliation in human history in this new world. I have never experienced such humiliation from childhood to adulthood. As a child, I encountered stronger fists than my own. I endured. After leaving my hometown to work in Beijing, I tolerated being told how "outsiders" are. When I couldn't afford a house, I could only live in a simple house in the suburbs, experiencing the terror of police knocking on my door at midnight demanding temporary residence permits, and I endured. I just laughed it off. Only hard work could change my fate.

But deep down, I have never suffered such humiliation and burden. This feeling is not just skin-deep pain; even burning it with fire cannot compare. This is the bloodshed of a new technological group.

Chinese Web3 teams can only do the most work for the least amount of money, while others with the same capabilities have ten times the funding, enjoying all the glory on and off the stage. Are we just the railway sleepers of human Web3 civilization?

I recall Marx's words.

Saying that Chinese people are the Jews of Web3, please don't laugh. They say that before the establishment of Israel in 1948, Jews were scattered across the world, floating around only for the money of their God, without their own personality.

Moreover, to this day, we still do not have our own Moses. Over the past year, the most common thing I've heard is that Chinese look down on other Chinese. Isn't this just like Shanghai's Bund a century ago?

"Chinese and dogs (chives) are not allowed to enter (mess up) Web3." This sign has already been written in the hearts of many. What kind of face is this? Who caused this? Clearly, we agreed on a great age of exploration; at the beginning of the wind, who did we offend?

Wang Tianfan

The perspective and vision of that article are still too small.

Not to mention that the investment performance of those megafunds has already shown its terrible consequences, even the sample of attendees at Token2049 lacks guiding significance.

From the very beginning, our Web3 investments have been positioned to support 30 good Chinese builders. If this list is unclear, then it is not that the strength of China's Web3 has weakened, but rather that we are scattering beans globally to gather 100-200 logos, and in the end, this market is likely to be close to beta and probably lose to ETH.

The biggest problem in this industry is definitely not about which country has more people or which type of people is more prevalent, but rather the lack of basic governance tech, the tokenomics value capture being too fake, unresolved basic security issues, and too much self-deception in public account media articles.

Compared to these issues, having fewer Chinese on stage is truly a trivial matter. Moreover, if Chinese are seriously building towards mass users and not coming to parties and investors for fun, does that mean it must fail? Hehe.

Mindao

It's not easy for a Web3 conference to stir up national hatred. In fact, the sense of identity in Chinese culture is particularly strong, and there is a tendency for self-deprecating reflection; of course, for a long time, being represented by the party state has led to individual stigmatization, and this collective stigmatization has seeped into the subconscious of mainstream society overseas. This influence is not limited to any specific industry but rather affects the broader Chinese community.

As for the cultural inferiority complex within the Chinese, it is not a product of Web3. More than a decade ago, when making reservations at high-end restaurants in Central Hong Kong, the service was much better when speaking English. This cannot be denied. During the Web2 era, there was still a huge domestic market as a fallback, and buyers were willing to pay high prices. Most domestic projects could only find agents to secure deals with Western LPs. The political confrontation between China and the U.S. during this cycle has indeed been evident.

For example, a16z has created a fund called American Dynamism, and this alignment ultimately determines the composition of LPs and the background of GPs in the Web3 community. On the left, the motherland is unappreciated; on the right, capital is aligned; and in the middle, the main market is missing. Compared to other industries, this contrast is indeed more pronounced. In this transitional period, individuals can change very little; reducing some tragedy and excessive identity perception is necessary. There is no shortage of money, there are plenty of talents, and the market is vast.

Justin Sun

There is no need to be particularly pessimistic about Token2049. On the contrary, in Singapore, I saw many creative Chinese teams, and the layout of public chain trading platforms is very comprehensive. TRON will continue to unconditionally support Web3 Chinese teams and users, continuously investing heavily and shouldering the value of Chinese in Web3 development!

Frank

Everyone is going crazy over Chen Ge's article. Most of what is said reflects the reality, but is the reason domestic projects are looked down upon really just due to nationality and language? I don't think so.

The Chinese entrepreneurs who have truly persisted through the last bear market are doing quite well in various aspects. As for the current domestic projects, I see more that are trying to raise money and make hard changes without understanding crypto, and it's normal for them to be looked down upon.

Are investors sick and want to lick the West? Isn't it the case that there are fewer good domestic projects and more hard changes with less innovation? What can be done? I have always believed that only when Chinese entrepreneurs rise can Chinese crypto funds truly thrive. Therefore, I sincerely hope that more and more Chinese entrepreneurs who genuinely love and believe in crypto and can work diligently will emerge; this is the ultimate solution to the current predicament. Having problems and shouting slogans every day is of no use.

Forgiven

Here are a few major premises for Web3 entrepreneurs:

1. Domestic route: Using public chains as the underlying layer is compliant and legal; it must use RMB for settlement and cannot touch financial and token-related innovations. Economic models can use NFTs (1155) and their secondary markets for driving.

2. Due to content censorship/payment restrictions, there will inevitably be mirrored opportunities for Web3 creators/content/brand marketing/social/DID in the domestic market, referencing the development history of Web2.

3. International route: In terms of financing, there are a large number of active VC funds eager to connect with the domestic market. In terms of structure, avoid increasing physical entities in the domestic market unless necessary. Frontline (visible) personnel should not have Chinese faces, or they should exit before token circulation. In terms of products: no Chinese interface, no Chinese promotion, and no Chinese users can ensure safety.

4. Long-term entrepreneurs: Focus first on user growth, expanding the circle for Web3, and do not look at anyone's face.

Wiger: "Wiger's View on Token 2049"

After reading Zhao Chen's words, I completely agree and have some feelings.

1. Singapore has many opportunities and is very friendly to young people. I met quality project parties, learned from OGs, and met VC partners and LPs.

2. There were very few young people (post-00s) from China attending 2049; after chatting around, I found that it was just me, York, and Zixi, while there were many young people from overseas, especially from project parties in Germany, the U.S., etc. Suddenly, I felt a lot of pressure, as if two armies were fighting, with the other side having a continuous influx of densely packed people joining the battle, while we seemed to be in a desert behind us.

3. There seems to be a slight disconnect between the Chinese and overseas circles, with some not-so-small gaps in cognition, research, and capital flow. However, I believe this is a huge opportunity for us. Writing more code and developing more applications might lead to something that becomes the next WeChat or Douyin.

4. We should try to integrate into some overseas circles. Even if we can't fully integrate, we should understand what the other side is doing so that we won't be blindly working hard.

5. Although I feel that everyone is very nice and enthusiastic towards me, I constantly remind myself not to fall into a state of self-narcissism. Whether I can chat, how good the products I make are, whether institutions will invest, every step is very difficult. I remind myself to stay clear-headed and work hard.

6. I have a deeper understanding of myself. Beyond technology, communication skills, learning speed, and effort, how to gain trust and clearly explain what I am doing to people from different cultural backgrounds and cognitive levels is quite challenging.

7. At the banquet around the 25th, it was all Chinese people, lively in the group chat and at the venue. However, when I tried to share that we want to focus on technology, that we want to create a modular public chain, and that we want to work on QoS, everyone's interest wasn't very high. Instead, they were only interested in my title from the youth class and the initial support from NGC, and the most asked question was how much help NGC gave you, what the valuation is. It was a bit disappointing, but it doesn't matter; we will definitely make it happen.

8. The Longhash NGC banquet on the 28th and the LTP banquet on the 29th were my favorites, receiving super high praise.

9. At the 1inch banquet on the night of the 28th, 96% of the attendees were from overseas. I only saw one friend go in, and there was even no discussion in the group. Perhaps it was an information gap in my circle; I stood at the door for 20 minutes and left. I can only say that I am still not strong enough, haha.

10. I sincerely thank the seniors introduced by Hao Ge, the big data group friends, and General Xia. Having someone to guide me feels really good. Standing on the shoulders of giants, I will work even harder. Two hot pots, one breakfast, and one phone call may all be years of valuable experience. With 10 seniors from A9 guiding me, I feel unworthy.

11. I saw a passerby waiting for a car next to me get into a white Rolls Royce and leave, while I was calculating whether the money left on my hand was enough to stay in Singapore for 5 days. My fighting spirit suddenly surged. In front of me, there was 22 ETH pushing me to work hard, and behind me, there was a Rolls Royce urging me forward.

12. Climbing up, with information gaps, capital amounts, and project development. There are too many opportunities here. Don't underestimate the youth; keep working hard, come out, and conquer the world.

KVC.eth: "Words from a Buidler in the Token 2049 @SG Circle"

1. Outside of Mainland/HK, the surrounding CN circle is making a lot of money.

2. The English on the podium isn't worth listening to; truly valuable English isn't heard at SG 2049, but in North America.

3. Vitalik was able to abandon Chinese miners only after receiving support in China, and now he has entered the circle of Wall Street. Chinese projects have the best CEX globally and Element/X2Y2, which is about to catch up with OpenSea. The biggest bottleneck for Chinese capital and projects is inferiority and the desire for recognition rather than a lack of strength.

4. Isn't it wise to not invest in Chinese projects and instead take over the 2 billion/3 billion infrastructure in the Bay Area?

5. Crypto Native projects do not completely need capital support, especially from capital with Web2 habits. In the previous wave, they couldn't understand Crypto at all, and after missing out on the dividends in this wave, they are trying to use traditional VC narratives to view and suppress Crypto projects, pulling builders into their narratives for PUA.

6. Trading platforms/public chains have the responsibility to support industry development. Just like FB/Tencent, they have the obligation and necessity to support the ecosystem. Otherwise, without an ecosystem, is a public chain just playing single-player?

7. Web2 entrepreneurs should hurry over; now linfr is almost ready to develop Dapps. This is the best time for stealthy development; all traffic/personnel are discounted by half compared to the bull market. Impulsive investors have scattered like bubbles, leaving only the most faithful Crypto investors.

8. Products can always conquer the market through products and users. Forget about those impulsive VCs/Funds; it's not that your product is bad; they just ran out of money.

9. Chinese people/Chinese projects will definitely be the most popular direction in the next round of Crypto narratives. There's no need to bury your head in the sand; funds that don't invest in Chinese projects are just short-sighted. Give them a chance to invest in Binance, and see if they take it.

10. Don't be PUA'd by funds; firmly believe in the strength of Chinese engineers. When doing things, don't forget your roots. Crypto is not supported by Chinese chives; the great Ethereum Foundation doesn't know where it is drifting.

11. The saviors of this bear market are not Web2 VCs, but Crypto Native funds and communities! What we need are stories like Doge/Robin Hood. Builders should seek out those Crypto OGs; they have grown up in the industry and are the most faithful to it.

12. Crypto is essentially a capital revolution, subverting tradition and everything in the past. Don't let the suited capital educate you anymore; whether they want to invest or not, we need to create something for them to take over, not let them educate you.

13. Please insist on being Crypto Native without compromise! The stars are our destination!

Victor Ji

1. In 2022, the core of the Asian community is still trading platforms. How can there be a truly decentralized ecosystem?

2. I rarely hear institutions and project parties discussing roadmaps, products, users, and growth. Without these, tokens that are issued are just cutting chives. Many Chinese projects in the past were like this, and so are many now, and likely will be in the future.

3. Many VCs only care about the previous round of investment institutions and which trading platforms projects have been listed on. Project parties only hope to introduce Western VCs. Directions like Modular, ZK, and danksharing may still be too early for Singapore.

4. Where are the Chinese institutions that can build narratives instead of investing in cheap deals and hype deals? Is the high valuation of Aptos and Sui a result of FOMO or cognitive bias?

5. The problem is not with the Chinese but with the environment and the focus. Chinese people in the U.S. can also work hard to do good projects. Next, we should settle down and spend seven years to do one direction well. As long as we focus on the right things (how to realize vision rather than buy a Rolls Royce) and ensure the team is diverse enough (not just finding people to stand on stage, but a Web3 project must have a sufficiently diverse engineering and marketing team), Chinese people can definitely create a product/platform with social value.

6. The revolution in China can originate from the Forbidden City or from Honolulu; Web3 is the same. Singapore is great, but I don't need to come back for the next two years.

Flynngao: "Crypto Jews Takeaways' Takeaways"

1. Singapore is indeed making a lot of money.

2. I could write a Twitter thread, but using the iPhone notes feels more authentic to the essence of being Jewish.

3. If a Chinese person says they want to do a project with decentralized ideals to ultimately influence the political landscape, other Chinese will immediately think he must be a poor fool.

4. Most people coming from Web2 are not really looking to do anything grand; they just want to quickly make up for their failures in Web2.

5. The reason Asian capital does not invest in Chinese people is that they just want to quickly invest and cut out. Chinese projects cannot be cut down as brutally as before, leading to low investment returns. The main reason Chinese projects often fail to secure investment is that the earlier projects cut too quickly, leading to a backlash for the later ones.

6. The excellence of a Web3 founder lies in how much they can sell their face for.

7. In 2018, the idea of global unity was purely about playing CX; whoever played well would play with whom. In 2022, everyone made some money and wanted to buy back some face, leading to a lot of concealment.

8. I still don't know what Web3 really is, so stop asking.

Slow Mist Yuxian

Chinese people in Web3 need not be pessimistic or optimistic; we should look down on those false prosperities. True strength has never cared about these. For example, the so-called Web3 hackers, all their actions are the most primitive and essential. Code that is not secure is insecure; strength is strength; good luck is good luck, regardless of what country or region you are from. The dark forest is the most authentic form of this industry, not the glitz and glamour; that is false prosperity…

Welcome to stay awake.