[Editorial] Web3's obsession with the "technological omnipotence" illusion lacks a flag to lead the market

Every Web3 entrepreneur I meet seems to shout “Innovation” as if they’ve made a pact. Each one looks heroic and tragic, but when you open their business plans, the overwhelming sense of déjà vu is simply dizzying. Dozens of startups I’ve consulted with are eerily identical, as if carved from the same mold. They claim to solve the same five major problems with pinpoint accuracy.

Funding events are no different from exhibitions of malfunctioning record players. Phrases like “Revolutionize DeFi and gaming,” “Faster and safer than any existing blockchain,” “Verified technology by renowned Silicon Valley investors”—these slogans are repeated like parrots. Perhaps there’s some truth in the words. The real issue is that hundreds of other projects in the market are saying the same thing.

Looking back at the chaos of stablecoins that erupted like mushrooms after rain last year. Each brandishing “innovative algorithms” and “new collateral models,” boasting to become the second Tether. Shouting “more transparent than existing giants,” but what about the results? Before the massive barrier of market trust, most ultimately fade away as mediocre “junk coins.” Today, is there even a single project that has successfully established a meaningful independent domain?

Many Web3 founders make a fatal mistake: confusing “product differentiation” with “market positioning.” Differentiation concerns the “what to build” in terms of technology, while positioning is about “what banner to plant in customers’ minds.” Even if your technology is 10% ahead of competitors, so what? If your rivals communicate ten times more clearly, the market will unhesitatingly choose the technically inferior ones. This is the brutal market law.

Look at successful projects. They don’t obsess over vague “better,” but leave a clear “difference.” When liquidity was tight, Uniswap seized the opportunity with “permissionless trading,” and when Ethereum fees soared, Solana entered with “low Gas fees.” These cases are not just about listing parameters; they are about planting firm boundary markers in the blank space of public perception—what we call “mental real estate.”

To survive in the Web3 market, you must put aside unrealistic grand talk and choose a specific “own territory.” The declaration of “serving everyone” is essentially an admission of “not necessary for anyone.” Clichés like “faster and cheaper Layer 1” should have been thrown into the trash long ago. You need to prove in one sentence: for whom, what problem you solve, and why only you can solve it.

Teams that can conquer the market understand how to choose their high ground and decisively say “no” to other temptations. If you don’t have a clear “own territory” right now, the marketing budget you pour in today is just filling a bottomless pit. What is needed now is not a fancy technical white paper, but a distinctive identity that can be imprinted in customers’ minds.