A Comparative Study On Mass Adoption Strategies In Web3

The race to the one billion user market in web3 is heating up, with projects vying for mass adoption through innovative solutions and user-friendly experiences. Recently, Telegram has seen a surge of innovative web3 projects establishing a presence on its platform due to its massive user base and ease of integration.

This study was conducted by Yinghao Lin and it compares NOTCOIN and UXLINX, two promising projects that are leveraging Telegram to reach a wider audience, exploring their unique features, target markets, and potential for success within the web3 landscape. I hereby disclose that I have been granted the full permission to publish it on HackerNoon as an addition to the ongoing research into the dynamics of web3 user acquisition and growth. You can read my previous article here.

NOTCOIN

NOTCOIN is recognized as the first breakout project within the Telegram ecosystem. Since the beginning of this year, NOTCOIN has rapidly gained traction due to its inherent meme appeal and easy Tap-to-Earn gameplay, attracting 5 million users within a week of launch, with peak daily active users exceeding 6 million.

After its token issuance, NOTCOIN received an overwhelmingly positive market response. The token $NOT was listed on several top-tier exchanges on May 16th and reached a new high of $0.021 on June 2nd. With a total supply of 10.27 billion $NOT tokens fully circulating, its current fully diluted valuation is approximately $1.99 billion, positioning it among the top one hundred cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

UXLINK

Similarly built on the Telegram platform, UXLINX is a social platform and infrastructure focusing on connecting acquaintances. Since its launch in April 2023, UXLINK has emerged as the leader in traffic among the new generation of social products, owing to its unique Link-to-Earn gameplay. According to the project's official website, UXLINK boasts over 7 million registered users from 190 countries and regions, with over 100,000 groups reaching over 8 million users.

Methodology of Mass Adoption

Mass Adoption is a pivotal issue in the Web3 world and a fundamental concern for all application-layer entrepreneurial teams. It is also the primary reason why sectors such as gaming, social networking, and RWA attract significant attention. The obstacles surrounding Mass Adoption can typically be categorized as follows:

• Lack of compliant channels for institutional capital inflow and outflow
• High entry barriers for ordinary users, coupled with a lack of trust
• Incomplete developer ecosystem
• Inability of infrastructure to support large-scale applications
• Lack of investment targets that align with popular tastes

In light of recent developments, the approval of Bitcoin ETFs and imminent listing and trading of Ethereum ETFs has intensified the call for truly "killer" Web3 applications in the macro environment. From a more intuitive perspective, the two core elements for achieving Mass Adoption are:

• Lower entry barriers, ease of use, and smoother products
• Positive externalities of user virality and ecosystem expansion capability

The following will delve into a comparative discussion of the methodologies of Mass Adoption employed by NOTCOIN and UXLINK. First, let's summarize the differences in the methodology of Mass Adoption between NOTCOIN and UXLINK.

Narrative Approach:

• NOTCOIN: Game + Meme
  • Integrates gaming elements with meme culture.
  • Rewards users through gamified mechanisms.
  • Embraces meme-centric branding and approach, reflected in its name and whitepaper.
  • Utilizes the attention economy to drive traffic and engagement.

• UXLINK: Social Platform + Infrastructure
  • Utilizes its existing user base and relationships within the Telegram ecosystem.Builds trust-based social connections on-chain.
  • Integrates incentive layers within Telegram, preventing duplication of external Dapps.
  • Improves user retention and engagement through social networking.
  • Establishes a solid groundwork for ecosystem collaboration and growth.
  • The social aspect's retention and engagement surpass those of gaming or "play-to-earn" platforms. UXLINK leverages social networking as its primary gateway, enhancing its stickiness for further ecosystem collaborations and more efficient distribution of capabilities.

User Onboarding:

• NOTCOIN: Tap-to-Earn
  • Integrated as a Telegram mini app, enabling free and lightweight mining.
  • Core gameplay involves tapping the screen to earn coins.
  • Offers additional gameplay options such as team collaborations, league scoring, energy management, and referral rewards.

• UXLINK: Link-to-Earn
  • Encourages users to share invitation links to join the "UXLink TG community," allowing invitees to earn UXUY points.
  • Facilitates swift establishment of real-world social graphs on the blockchain through Link-to-Earn trust links.
  • Enables easy propagation of social connections from one-on-one interactions, laying the groundwork for group dynamics and network effects.

Developer Engagement:

• NOTCOIN: No External Developers
  • Game code is open source, allowing developers to audit its operational mechanisms.
  • No external developers have been onboarded.

• UXLINK: Actively Engaging External Developers
  • Provides Dapp-layer social relationship data to developers via protocol-layer APIs.
  • AWC protocol manages on-chain identity and asset relationships, assisting AI models in behavior analysis and recommendations.
  • Actively collaborates with external developers to enhance platform functionality and expand ecosystem capabilities.

Infrastructure:

• NOTCOIN: Telegram Mini App

• UXLINK: Self-built Infrastructure
  • Utilizes self-built infrastructure to address platform needs.
  • The RWS protocol focuses on social graph issues, improving recommendations and growth opportunities.
  • The AWC protocol manages on-chain identity and asset relations, supporting developers in user understanding and AI model analysis and recommendations.

Ecosystem Collaboration:

• NOTCOIN: Focused on the Telegram Ecosystem
  • Receives public support from TON Labs and TON Foundation, integrated into the Telegram wallet.
  • Forms partnerships with Catizen (casual gaming) and TonGifts (red packet application), among others, within the Telegram ecosystem.

• UXLINK: Collaborating Widely with DeFi, AI, GameFi, etc.
  • Collaborates with Web3 wallets like Binance and OKX for UXUY point and NFT distribution.

Introduces the "UXLINK Social Ecosystem Alliance," expanding developer community and third-party project collaborations, resulting in rapid revenue and profit growth.

Incentive Mechanisms:

• NOTCOIN: Fair Distribution + Full Circulation
  • Relinquishes ownership, imposes a 0% transaction tax, enhancing decentralization and fairness.
  • Fully circulating upon launch.

• UXLINK: Tiered Operations + Long-term Incentives
  • Implements tiered operations through the issuance of four levels of community NFTs.
  • Reserves a significant portion (65%) of incentives for the community.
  • Active users can receive long-term incentives in UXLINK and ecosystem projects.

Token Use Cases:

• NOTCOIN: Meme Coin with No Current Utility

• UXLINK: Clear Token Empowerment + Expected Deflation
  • Developers utilize $UXLINK to pay for protocol, data, and Dapp usage fees, with 85-90% allocated to community users.
  • Users pay $UXLINK as transaction commissions (1%-3%), gaining airdrops and investment opportunities.
  • Partners pay $UXLINK for customer acquisition assistance.
  • Characterized by a finite supply and specific use cases, fostering a sustainable deflationary model.

On-Chain Data Insights

Given uncertainties surrounding off-chain data sources and methodologies, this section predominantly compares the on-chain data of NOTCOIN and UXLINK. NOTCOIN's on-chain data is housed on the TON network, while UXLINK primarily utilizes Arbitrum/EVM.

Holders

Holders represent a pivotal metric for assessing levels of mass adoption and potential, with a substantial holder count forming the bedrock of consensus. Cryptocurrencies boasting noteworthy holder counts typically exhibit the Lindy effect, accruing significant prestige within the community.

Pepe, currently ranked fourth in holder count among meme coins, trails only DOGE, SHIB, and MEME. Since surpassing 100k holders for the first time in May of this year, Pepe's price has embarked on a favorable upward trajectory. Based on on-chain data from the TON network, NOTCOIN had approximately 220,000 $NOT holders before its Token Generation Event (TGE). Since its listing, the holder count has consistently increased, currently exceeding 1.6 million holders.

Given that UXLINK has not yet undergone its token generation event, we are projecting the future number of $UXLINK token holders by leveraging on-chain scores and NFT holdings data. As per insights from Dune Analytics, UXLINK presently showcases an impressive count of over 4.4 million on-chain scores and NFT holders, with more than 1.5 million individuals holding NFTs. Notably, only community members meeting specific score criteria have the privilege to mint NFTs and subsequently become NFT holders, qualifying them for airdrop benefits.

From this data, it can be reasonably inferred that UXLINK likely already boasted around 1.5 million token holders prior to its official listing, a figure in close proximity to the post-listing scale of $NOT. Looking ahead, we anticipate further growth in the pre-TGE holder count, potentially setting the stage for one of the most comprehensive airdrops in history in terms of coverage.

Active Users

We use the active holders of $NOT during its Token Generation Event (TGE) and the following five days to approximate the daily active users (DAU) of NOTCOIN. The data illustrates a gradual decline from an initial 500,000 to 200,000 over time.

According to DappRadar, UXLINK boasts over 500,000 daily active users, with respective figures of 574,000, 1 million, and 3.8 million for 24 hours, 7 days, and 30 days, closely matching official disclosures.

With UXLINK's strong establishment of a Web3 social network among users and its ongoing airdrops to active users post-listing, there are solid indications that UXLINK will effectively sustain user engagement.\

Token Distribution

According to official data from NOTCOIN's X account, the total token supply of $NOT is 102,719,221,714 tokens. Of this, 80,219,221,714 tokens (78% of the total) are earmarked for miners (Tap-to-Earn) and Voucher (NFT) holders, while the remaining 22,500,000,000 tokens (22% of the total) will be allocated to future ecosystem funds and development. UXLINK, on the other hand, follows a dual-token model comprising a utility token ($UXUY points) and a governance token ($UXLINK).

$UXUY points are generated through a Proof-of-Linkage (POL) mechanism with no pre-minting. Users earn tokens by inviting others and contributing to the ecosystem, with rewards gradually decreasing based on time, network connections, and the total network size. The total token supply of $UXLINK is 1,000,000,000 tokens, with 65% allocated to community contributors and developers (POW, Link-to-Earn & Build-to-Earn), and the remaining 35% distributed among investors, the team, and project development.

Conclusion

In the previous cycle, STEPN exemplified mass adoption, while in the current cycle, NOTCOIN and UXLINK have emerged as prominent players. Their rapid success can be attributed to their focus on creating products designed for mass adoption, rather than targeting specific niches. Unlike traditional gaming projects, STEPN and NOTCOIN, as well as UXLINK, which extends beyond typical Web3 messaging platforms, share common traits such as low entry barriers, engaging experiences, and compelling incentives ingrained in their core principles. These factors contribute to their ability to attract a broad user base.

We anticipate that exceptional products like NOTCOIN and UXLINK will play a significant role in accelerating the adoption of Web3 technologies. By offering accessible, engaging, and rewarding experiences, they are bridging the gap between current user behaviors and the potential of Web3, paving the way for widespread adoption in the near future.