The Evolution of Economic Models in Web3 Applications: From Ponzi to Sustainability

In the field of Web3, the design of economic models has always been a topic of great concern. Currently, most Web3 applications adopt a Ponzi-like economic model during their initial stages, and this phenomenon deserves our in-depth exploration.

The development of internet business models can be roughly divided into three stages:

The first stage is direct trading between the product provider and the user. The product provider offers the product, and the user pays for the basic functions of the product. This is a simple one-way relationship.

In the second stage, platform providers emerged. With the popularity of the internet and mobile internet, platform providers leveraged technological advantages to gather users, becoming intermediaries that connect product providers and users. Platform providers profit by charging fees to product providers and selling traffic to advertisers. To quickly acquire customers, platform providers often attract early users through subsidies and other means.

The third phase is the Web3 era, where decentralized systems replace centralized platforms. This system consists of various protocols that embody the characteristics of Web3, such as decentralization, privacy protection, and consensus-based rights confirmation. Users can better control their assets and data and participate in the governance of the system.

However, Web3 applications are still in the early stages and face some issues:

1. Lack of genuine product providers. Most projects are still stuck in the "decentralized system vs users" model, lacking product providers that can support the entire ecosystem.

2. Limited application scenarios. Current Web3 applications lack appeal to ordinary users and struggle to solve real-world problems and pain points.

3. Inadequate infrastructure. Technical and security issues still exist, affecting user experience and trust.

4. Regulatory uncertainty. Regulatory issues worldwide are still not fully resolved.

Nevertheless, the Web3 domain is continuously evolving. From simple public chains and tokens to the emergence of DeFi, NFTs, and blockchain games, the functional modules are constantly being enriched. In the future, with the improvement of infrastructure, the popularization of decentralized concepts, and the emergence of applications that can solve problems that Web2 cannot address, Web3 is expected to attract more genuine product providers to join, thereby achieving a sustainable economic model.

In this process, Ponzi-like models may exist for a long time. However, it is important to recognize that there is no inherent right or wrong in Ponzi models; the key lies in how they are designed and implemented. In the future, as the Web3 ecosystem matures, we can expect to see more innovative and sustainable economic models emerge.