Recently, Xin Jiang, the former Head of Launchpad Investment at Binance Labs and current Co-Founder of the Old Fashion Research venture capital fund, argued that the cryptocurrency market has hit its bottom. He believes that the crypto space no longer needs more infrastructure projects but should focus on three potential areas for the next major uptrend: MemeFi, TwitterFi, and TelegramFi. Prominent projects in these areas include memecoins like HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu, Friend.tech, and Unibots.
Xin Jiang suggests that memecoins, Friend.tech, and Unibots represent new driving forces for the next cycle, as these projects have succeeded in leveraging social media and messaging platforms like Twitter and Telegram. Memecoins have created a unique “degen” culture, offering a fairer token mechanism compared to projects backed by venture capitalists. Memecoins have become a distinct cultural phenomenon in the crypto world, following the popularity of NFT PFPs (Profile Picture NFTs).
Regarding Friend.tech, while most people see it as a social platform, Xin Jiang views Friend.tech more as a financial product built on X’s (Twitter’s) user network. He emphasizes that Friend.tech aims to monetize the existing user network rather than creating a new social model.
However, it’s worth noting that the transaction fees of Friend.tech surged to $1.4 million on August 21, ranking third after Ethereum and Lido. Yet, user activity has decreased by over 95% from its peak. Whether these numbers can recover in the next cycle remains to be seen.
Similarly, Unibots leverages the massive user base of Telegram, popular in the crypto community, to introduce features suited for meme traders, such as limit orders and trade copying. However, the rapid growth of trading bots on Telegram, such as Unibot, Swipe, WagieBot, and Bolt, has raised concerns about their security regarding user private keys.
While Xin Jiang has significant confidence in memecoins, Friend.tech, and Unibots, he underscores that to achieve widespread adoption, a project should possess three key elements: a product, the creation of a “cultural frenzy,” and sound tokenomics. Memecoins have generated a cultural frenzy and have a good token mechanism but currently lack a readily available product. Friend.tech has a strong method for product launches and solid tokenomics but lacks a distinct culture. Unibots has successfully introduced an excellent product and a suitable token model but has yet to establish its own culture.
In conclusion, projects in the MemeFi, TwitterFi, and TelegramFi categories that can combine all three of these elements are likely to be the most successful in the next cycle.