Founder of Hash Global: Create Web3 Business Applications

Author: KK, Founder of Hash Global Source: substack

We believe that Web3 is not just Bitcoin and crypto finance, it is Web3, the Internet of value, and the evolution and upgrading of Web2.Because it is an innovation in the underlying data storage methods and payment methods, the arrival of Web3 will not be as clearly visible as the upgrade of the PC Internet to the mobile Internet, but will “snorkeling into the night with the wind, moistening things silently.”What is this “wind”?We believe that the user’s data and data assets are beginning to be created in large quantities on the chain, because the super user experience of Web3 is about to revolve around the user’s data.

At the heart of Web3 is Own-Own.To become Web3, not just crypto finance, it must allow users to own data assets, not just financial assets.Users have their own data, which is the basis for users to get a better service experience and different users to get different services.The Internet has gone from meeting needs to thousands of people, and then to thousands of people and services.AI gives us the productivity of thousands of services, and the large-scale value collaboration of thousands of services can only be supported by Web3.

I listened to Professor Zeng Ming’s lecture on the judgment of the AI development stage in the early stage and gained a lot (the video official account of Zeng Ming Academy has it).The professor told me that the same framework could also be used to judge the development of Web3, and I was very inspired.Our observations and practices over the past few years, the confusions we encountered, and the corresponding investment strategies formulated can be confirmed and formed after a clear judgment of the development stage, so that we are no longer so anxious.

The professor also gave the definition of a native application (Killer App):

Make full use of the unique technological advantages of new technologies;
brings great innovations in user experience;
Find out new business models;
Super 2C services that bring exponential growth of massive users.

Based on this standard, Yahoo, which was launched in 1996, is the first generation of Internet native applications, while Web3 has not yet reached the native application stage.Why is it difficult for other types of applications to come out except for financial native applications?The reason may be simple, we don’t have enough non-financial Web3 users.No early native applications of the Internet were born. They have been popularized for a long time, and even ground-based promotion, and have become killer apps.Without AOL’s years of promotion of Internet users, there would not be Yahoo; Alibaba, Tencent, and Ctrip have also experienced a long process of user accumulation.

We believe that the development stage of Web3 is two-dimensional: Web3’s forward-encrypted finance runs much faster, with an active address reaching about 600 million, which is equivalent to the number of Internet users in 1999, so we have seen USDT, wallet, and Defi.financial native applications; however, the ontology of Web3 – the next generation of the Internet, is far from reaching the popularity of users.Only when a large number of users’ data assets and services surrounding these data assets appear on the chain, will users actively choose to use their wallets to interact with the Internet and use Internet products, and Web3 can arrive.

Any technology must be integrated into the mainstream economic system and should be used as a carrier.In the current stage of Web3 development, we need commercial applications in various industries. For our own business purposes, we will grasp the core technical characteristics of Web3, create and issue large amounts of data assets for users on the chain, and use this to develop our own new Internet business model..In this process, they will create huge commercial value and become the first generation native application of Web3.

All Internet business development must be centered on data, whether centralized or decentralized.Web3’s commercial application is a dAPP that focuses on data-decentralized.The data assets mentioned here refer to the user’s identity, membership level, movie premiere tickets, concert tickets, musical highlight moments, the first batch of crowdfunding cards when a singer debuted, and the world’s photo of Mr. Aoi Si’s first photo5,000 likes, “Fan Xian’s Smile” is distributed in real time when playing a certain plot in Yu Nian, as well as various types of check-in vouchers, etc.They will all use NFT as the data carrier, and the original content of the data can be stored on decentralized storage infrastructure such as Greenfield.

We have sorted out the core technical characteristics of five Web3: 1) Unified IDs on the entire network; 2) Value Internet: The Internet and banking network are combined into one network; 3) Everything can be assetized: finance and data; 4) Be able to establish cross-borderComplete “live data” in regional and cross-platform; 5) It can directly reach users at both information and value levels.

Web3 commercial applications created by seizing these technical features will have the following five characteristics:

Whole-domain data: Have cross-platform and cross-regional data.Data can be asset-friendly, tradable and authorized to AI models to enable user intelligent services.The operation of on-chain data will become very important.
The best can give the right one: the producers of content and products are directly linked to consumers, and can have differentiated experiences and pricing.
Direct value connection: embedded financial network, value can be transmitted point-to-point like information.Integrated clearing and settlement.It can be distributed automatically and in a timely manner through smart contracts.
Effective incentives: Only when the business model is healthy and sustainable, the project can issue NFT and ecological tokens to complete the cold start of the project and accelerate ecological development.
New organizations: entrepreneurial teams, shareholders, upstream and downstream of the industry, and the interests of users and fans can be unified through tokens to reshape the organizational form of various industries. The company’s organizational structure is no longer the only choice.

We believe that such Web3 commercial applications are truly valuable Web3 applications that are in line with the current development stage.The current Chinese Internet business and content going overseas actually gives the Web3 business application team the best time.If Hong Kong is the base, there is also a good location.Web3 is the best infrastructure for global business.Web3 technology outputs standards, which also embeds finance and has self-complete functions.

A growth path we envision for Web3 business applications aimed at hitting the global market can be:

Use Web3 to build a globally unified and fully functional user or fan account system.
NFT and tokens are used as business carriers to conduct business, and NFT can be used as various data tags.
Make full use of public domain traffic, use Web3 tools and various Web2/Web3 wallets to host and build a private domain system.
Quickly establish complete and constantly updated private domain data, and better develop business based on data analysis and feedback.
The data flow of data on the chain is cheap and accurate.
Users receive personalized and intelligent services for their data assets, and get product experiences far beyond Web2.
Product stickiness increases and obtains good dissemination and retention, forming a self-closed loop for data growth.

The above paths are particularly suitable for industries such as performance ticketing, film and television culture, entertainment creation and IP co-construction.Without Web3’s member fan system, the content economy and IP economy cannot be effectively developed: helping creators maximize functional value, generate a large amount of emotional value and asset value for fans, support IP incubation and co-construction, and the value on the entire chain.Distribution, these are the places where Web3 can best play its capabilities.We have begun to actively invest in these areas.We also invest in the application of the necessary Web3 commercial facilities, including data links, intelligent tokens, payments, stablecoins, human resources and global salary distribution services.We hope that excellent entrepreneurial teams will come to us. As long as you manage your business logic well, we can find technical teams to support others.At the moment of leading application of technological development, it is the most imaginative and opportunity stage of entrepreneurship in the business field.Communicating with CZ this path, CZ said another key is the team’s execution ability.Therefore, we attach great importance to the team’s past background and capabilities, and we especially hope to cooperate with Web2 resource parties and winners to jointly promote the implementation of Web3 business.

We think with the project team: the core of all Internet business is data.Whoever helps users create more data will have a moat for future business.Alibaba, Byte, why does Tencent make so much money?If Byte and Tencent open up user data and traffic, how can we conduct business?Our criteria for evaluating Web3 commercial applications are:

Have you figured out why you should help users create on-chain data assets?How to empower the business itself when going on the chain?
How many data assets can be created?
How to apply and analyze data to make users more attractive experiences (such as the desire to retention and upgrade)?
How to realize data value?How to connect to AI models?How to reduce costs and increase efficiency?

Web2 has no volumes anymore, we need better and cheaper data traffic.Since the data of Web3 is open on the chain, application teams can share data in a co-constructed way to jointly promote business growth.We encourage and strive to promote the teams of various projects to fight together.Open Data, Open Business!

Web3 commercial applications are not chain modifications a few years ago, nor are they simple industrial additions to Web3, but the first generation of Web3 native applications that truly revolve around on-chain data assets.I have not talked about the core of the chain reform that year – token incentives, because I feel that tokens have been overused by us.Token incentives seem free, but what is sent out has to be paid back. There is no free lunch in the business world.Just like the formation of Didi’s business model, the project party and VC finally had to coordinate and call for a stop.Web3 Lag in crypto financial regulatory policies, overuse of token economy, and ripening value have led to industry attention; industry talents and capital are too attracted and consumed in various real and fake finances.In terms of innovation.Web3 needs to return to the origin of value and the most basic business logic.Can you make money?Can it bring a better experience to Internet users?When a Web3 commercial application has real product users and has wallet addresses, then we will promote the token economy, so that token holders will not be all cryptocurrency speculators and wool parties.With a strong business foundation, Web3’s big killer – token economy can run.Data assets first, and then financial assets will be healthier.I told CZ that I hope that every token for commercial applications has a solid value foundation and necessity like BNBs in the exchange industry.

Web3’s infrastructure has evolved to support applications and Web2 to compete in obtaining user data.To eventually replace Web2, Web3 requires more user data than Web2.Geoffrey, founder of Datadance Chain, said, “Content assets are aggregated online, resulting in killer apps for PC and mobile Internet; while data assets are created on the chain, which can generate key users for Web3 native applications.”The Internet is developing from the direction of online aggregation of content assets to the on-chain issuance of data assets.

Mr. Liang Xinjun asked me why AI has developed faster than Web3 in recent years. I gave me an answer: Web3 because it comes with its own finance, the entrepreneurial team seems to start a business on Wall Street and Vegas, which has many temptations and is easy to be distracted; while AIIt’s like starting a business on campus, focusing enough.Mr. Liang said that Web3 and AI are actually integrated, and Web3 also needs to grasp business logic and solve business problems. I agree deeply.Now that AI is ahead, Web3 has to keep up.If the data assets generated by AI are issued on the chain instead of entering the data islands and information cocoons of Web2, they can form a self-restricted loop of growth in commercial value.The future digital economy based on Web3 and AI is exciting. Professor Zeng proposed that the smart business that exploded in the next decade is the combination of Web3, AI and XR technologies.

Web3 is to Internet business, just as Bitcoin is to finance.Ethereum has been around for nearly ten years, and Web3 business is in its inception. Now the opportunity to participate in co-building Web3 business is comparable to buying $100 in Bitcoin.If you are interested in Web3 business, whether you are a startup team or a resource person, please contact us.For Web3, the business soul to keep up with the AI body, we need your support and joining.

Article is based on HG Web3 business closed-door exchange meeting materials