DePINs: A Ponzi Scheme or The New Era of Infrastructure Networks

Introduction

• The Web3 Shift

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably seen the exodus to the Web3 space and you want to get on it too. Perfect choice. However, this transition can be tough, especially when you are operating in the Web 2 space already. Between shifting from centralised to decentralised systems, adopting new marketing channels, tokenization, and getting recognised on the Web3 space, there’s a lot you have to do to have a perfect transition. But the hardest and most important part of this transition is making the shift easy and smooth for existing users.

One major element that should headline your shift is a token. Tokens are basically crypto assets like Bitcoin or Ethereum. They can be used for exchange, trade, or even as a form of identity for your brand. The possibilities of a token’s utility are endless, but in essence, it is a cryptocurrency tied to your product.

Your token launch might determine if you moon or rekt in Web3. A major issue that faces marketing teams at the token launch is how to create a token that will get adopted by users. They also need to create tokens that would be successful on the Web3 apart from the product. But the token’s utility still has to be tied to the product.

Navigating this process can be hard, but read on. This episode of my newsletter will show you how to make a seamless shift from Web2 to Web3; how to have a perfect token launch and successfully carry all your users along without a hassle.

Lessons from my experience

Reflecting on all the projects I have worked on since 2021, it’s interesting to see how the token success makes or mars a transition; regardless of the market condition at the moment. I’ve worked with marketing teams that helped crypto projects transition seamlessly from Web2 to become top 200 crypto-Web3 companies. Right now, I stand on the verge of another transition.

The first few transitions were hard. But over time, we were able to develop strategies that have worked for other projects ever since. With a few tweaks, I believe this strategy will fit your product and help you secure your place on the Blockchain.

In this newsletter, I will reveal how you can build a crypto-Web3 ecosystem that will appeal to your normie Web2 users, while maintaining sustainable tokenomics

Walk with me.

Marketing Strategies

Remember that the point of decentralisation is to put power in the hands of the users.

This is why many successful blockchain products have communities and DAOs. For successful marketing, your publicity has to come from genuine community engagement, co-creation with users, and strategic brand advocacy. Some brands even use gamification to foster engagement.

This marketing shift means your company cannot depend on traditionally collected data for promotions. Your marketing strategy has to build user trust for the brand and incentivise data sharing.

This is why a major recipe for successful blockchain launches is the token launch.

Token Marketing

Tokenization offers a strategy to build customer connections and brand loyalty within Web3.

A good token launch starts with proper market research. You need to understand the crypto space, which is very necessary.

Apart from your users, your project needs to attract investors. This is where your whitepaper comes in.

Your whitepaper should contain technical details of your token; the token’s purpose, tokenomics, and technology. If you hope to attract serious investors, your whitepaper needs to reflect a promising project.

As I mentioned earlier, the biggest driver of your token is a loyal community; genuine community engagement is King in the Web3 space. One way to build community is by setting up a DAO. DAOs are blockchain-based communities where users are intimated with the project.

Many projects turn to their DAOs when making decisions that might affect the general user base.

When users know that their voice matters in the grand scheme of things, users are encouraged to be active.

Also, social media campaigns are very helpful. Social media campaigns can be tricky but stay with me.

Firstly, you want to ensure that your product doesn’t get lost in internet noise, so you run a campaign targeted towards your audience.

Firstly, you can get creators or influencers in the Web3 space to use and talk about your product. This is a common marketing strategy in Web2 so you should easily pull it off.

The second campaign strategy, however, draws more community engagement. You should use community contests, i.e. thread contests, or NFT contests. Put up a contest that draws creators, from Web3 and even normies.

These contests can be on Zealy, QuestN, and similar dapps. Zealy and QuestN are Web3 platforms that allow users to participate in contests and win rewards for competing. The reward from the contests and campaigns can be as you choose; either in NFTs, your token, or any stable cryptocurrency coin.

Regardless, this contest will start a conversation around your token, and also get your token in the public eye.

Developing your token properly is important, but even a well-developed token cannot launch successfully without a community.

Fair launch or IDO?

When launching your token, two main launch methods might appeal to you: fair launches and IDOs (Initial DEX Offerings). These are both popular launch methods, and I cannot prescribe one for you. However, I can show you how they both operate for you to make an informed decision.

A fair launch seems to aim for optimal equity. No presales or private sales; fairlaunch tokens are open for all to buy right from the start. This launch system doesn’t reward early investors with special access or the like. The idea is equitable distribution; when the token launches, everyone has a level ground to start from.

An IDO is a token launch that happens on a launchpad. Most projects that go this route offer presales and early access systems to ensure that early investors are pleased, before opening access to the general public. The token release, however, is only available to users of the chosen launchpad. IDOs use a system that rewards early adopters and loyal community members before anyone else.

Both launch methods are ultimately focused on fairness in distribution, the difference is in the approach. While fair launches strive for equity by eliminating any form of preferential treatment, IDOs exercise fairness in rewarding the loyalty of early investors.

While they both result in successful launches, I personally advise IDOs. The reason is simple; it is more community-oriented. The preferential treatment given to early adopters and investors makes people want to join and promote the project from an early stage. It also seems to have the interests of investors at its core.

Airdrops

A bonus to your token development is an airdrop. Airdrops are incentives that attract people to the project you’re building. You can use them as reward for tasks like social media engagement, using the platform while in development, and similar tasks. Airdrops attract users to engage with your project before it goes live. Airdrops are not mandatory, but they can contribute greatly to the success of your token. Upon launch, whether it’s a fair launch or an IDO, you can reward airdrop holders with your token which can then be liquidated.

The token you launch, however, should not be meant for liquidity only, nor should it be exclusively for operations on your project. What you need to launch is a utility token.

The Utility Token

A utility token can serve as a currency in the economy for your product while being generally acceptable as an exchangeable currency on the blockchain. This token will be the main currency used to pay for the service you provide on your platform.

Web3 sees a lot of tokens come and go. The tokens that survive are those that are attached to long-term blockchain projects; some examples are BNB, ETH, LINK, etc. When you launch your coin, avoid the urge to join the hype-train of tokens without utility and focus on building your token’s utility (tokenomics).

The core of the token is to grant users access to exclusive features of your product. However, it has to be versatile enough to hold some utility in the general Web3 to maintain sustainable tokenomics.

Other things your token can be used for on the Blockchain include:

• Staking
• Governance
• Transaction fees (gas fees)
• Liquidity

A proper utility token embodies core transactional properties common in De-Fi and traditional finance.

You might even be tempted to launch your Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), but you don’t need that. NFTs can be useful for contests and in fostering collaborations with users, But the best option is to launch your primary token as a fungible one. This way, the value is more stable and more defined. Stability shows signs of long-term potential which investors are attracted to.

Launchpads

The name says it already. The launchpad is the takeoff point of your token. There isn’t just a single launchpad to rule them all on Web3, so you have to choose carefully. Don’t worry, I’m not leaving you to make that choice on your own.

Web3 launchpads act as the bridge between a good project and the communities and investments they need to lambo. The launchpad you choose will determine if investors and users will hop on your project.

Two main areas of your launchpad will determine your success;

• Community engagement — Community-driven launchpads ensure your launch is powered by genuine user engagement. Users also know that they have a say right from launch, and they can collaborate in further developments of the token.
• Security Regulations — Launchpads with strict security scrutiny will implement measures that ensure a token is not a pump and dump. These regulations have investors at their core, ensuring their investment is failsafe.

Some launchpads that tick the boxes for users and investors are:

• Apeterminal,
• Fjord Foundry,
• Kommunitas,
• Seedify, etc.

So you’ve done everything right up till your launch, so what?

If you are launching a utility token for your long-term project, your marketing doesn’t stop at launching. There are a few things to put in place to ensure that your token stays relevant and useful on the Web3:

• CoinMarketCap (CMC)

Getting your token on CoinMarketCap is a way to ensure its longevity. Because of CMCs reputation, your token is perceived as purposeful and promising, encouraging more people to engage and exchange with it. CMC also makes your tokenomics reach more people so they can understand your token and your product.

• Get listed on an exchange

Exchanges are important for the liquidity of your token. After launch, users need to be able to use your token, both for purchases on your platform and the wider crypto market. This is impossible without an exchange. Your token needs to be listed on an exchange for it to actually fulfil utility.

Exchanges are divided into 3 tiers.

• Tier 3 is made up of new exchanges with little or no track record.
• Tier 2 exchanges offer solid infrastructure. Tier 2 exchanges prioritize security, and they have a positive reputation in the crypto community. These include FTX, Crypto.com, OKX etc.
• Tier 1 exchanges are the highest traders. They manage a massive portion of the world’s crypto trading volume, and this is because they hold the highest trading integrity. Tier 1 exchanges are well-established and their reputation is widely known. These include exchanges like Binance and Coinbase

When you launch, a Tier 2 exchange is your goal. You can eventually make Tier 1 after your token gets a better track record, but a Tier 2 launch is a remarkable success.

• Staking Campaigns

Staking campaigns are incentives that encourage token holders to hodl or invest their tokens into the ecosystem, instead of dumping them. This is a cautionary measure to prevent token dumping and ensure that your token still maintains value. Your staking campaign should include ways to reward members for transactions and activities completed using the token. This way, people hold the token more and don’t just sell it all at once.

After all is said and done, the shift is not about your product alone. Web3 operates on a user-first system, and you have to adjust if your project is going to Lambo.

After your users, your token is central to your marketing. If you follow the strategies laid out in this newsletter, your token can reach beyond your marketing ideas, attracting users to its original project.

A perfect token launch is something I have seen happen so many times and at the same time, I see some marketers get it wrong. Your shift to the Web3 space leans heavily on your token launch, don’t rekt it.

Web2 to Web3; A Marketing Guide to A Perfect Token Launch was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.