Distribution is everything.
Whoever controls the users controls the power of discourse.
Looking across the entire Crypto industry, there are only two types of entities that can truly be considered “entry-level” in the literal sense from beginning to end.
▌ Centralized exchanges — represented by Binance and Coinbase, they hold true distribution supremacy.
▌ Stablecoin issuers — represented by Tether and Circle; although they don’t directly face end users, they are the foundational pipeline for the flow of funds.
Other so-called “entry points” are mostly fleeting illusions of traffic.
1/ Telegram: the closest thing to an “entry point,” yet not one
With 1 billion users, Telegram is viewed as the theoretically strongest distribution channel. But the outcome isn’t as impressive as expected.
From “tap a little game” to becoming real on-chain users, the funnel is far too steep—user conversion never quite materializes.
2/ The CEX hegemony is being eroded by on-chain entry points
Perp DEXs represented by Hyperliquid are directly taking away the most core slice of the CEX cake. Contracts are the profit engine of CEXs, and the rise of Perp DEXs is the most fatal blow to that business model.
On-chain trading platforms are eating into spot trading. New-generation on-chain social products, represented by FOMO, are taking over meme coins and those long-tail assets that CEXs simply can’t support at all. Fortunately, the scale of what’s being taken so far isn’t very large.
3/ CEX won’t die, but it is being downgraded
CEXs certainly won’t disappear. But they are slowly degrading from being the largest entry point in the Crypto world.
The real trading entry point, discovery entry point, and speculation entry point are being gradually divided, eaten away, and carved up by on-chain products, one piece at a time.
Whoever controls the users controls the power of discourse.
Looking across the entire Crypto industry, there are only two types of entities that can truly be considered “entry-level” in the literal sense from beginning to end.
▌ Centralized exchanges — represented by Binance and Coinbase, they hold true distribution supremacy.
▌ Stablecoin issuers — represented by Tether and Circle; although they don’t directly face end users, they are the foundational pipeline for the flow of funds.
Other so-called “entry points” are mostly fleeting illusions of traffic.
1/ Telegram: the closest thing to an “entry point,” yet not one
With 1 billion users, Telegram is viewed as the theoretically strongest distribution channel. But the outcome isn’t as impressive as expected.
From “tap a little game” to becoming real on-chain users, the funnel is far too steep—user conversion never quite materializes.
2/ The CEX hegemony is being eroded by on-chain entry points
Perp DEXs represented by Hyperliquid are directly taking away the most core slice of the CEX cake. Contracts are the profit engine of CEXs, and the rise of Perp DEXs is the most fatal blow to that business model.
On-chain trading platforms are eating into spot trading. New-generation on-chain social products, represented by FOMO, are taking over meme coins and those long-tail assets that CEXs simply can’t support at all. Fortunately, the scale of what’s being taken so far isn’t very large.
3/ CEX won’t die, but it is being downgraded
CEXs certainly won’t disappear. But they are slowly degrading from being the largest entry point in the Crypto world.
The real trading entry point, discovery entry point, and speculation entry point are being gradually divided, eaten away, and carved up by on-chain products, one piece at a time.
