# EthCC Recap - Will there be a Renaissance of Consumer Apps?

Source: https://x.com/xingpt/status/1813965225600704977
Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/EthCC-Recap-Will-there-be-a-Renaissance-of-Consumer-Apps?index=0x6699da711d3e7b6187d23504d05d4e634fef252ebd7a9ae92dfba8b41ec8d9e14ffffb20
Submitted by qiaoliang.eth on 2024-07-19 UTC, 2 upvotes, 0 comments

## Summary

The author argues that after an infrastructure-heavy cycle, crypto's next wave of growth may come from consumer apps in three areas: wearable devices, tradable assets combined with DeFi, and AI plus Web3 apps. The text says many existing DeFi categories such as DEXs, lending, perps, liquid staking, and a Pendle fork are now default stack products that are not innovative, and that meme launchers like pumpdotfun have become standard on new chains. It suggests wearables could become a new access point for non-crypto users after browser plugins like Metamask and Telegram, and that AI plus Web3 could follow the pattern of GameFi in the last cycle.

## Article

EthCC Recap - Will there be a Renaissance of Consumer Apps?

Last year, EthCC gathered VCs and project founders who are enthusiastic about the narrative of infrastructure construction, including Modular, ZK, MEV, and more.

One year later, the entire industry realised we were creating a utopia of ghost cities without residents. People started to reflect what they were crazed about just bubbles created with high FDV.

A classic symptom of the "Dark Age of Overly Built Infra" is that founders love to describe their products as "Infra" using all the jargon and buzzwords.

Previously, “I’m building a Dex”. Now, “I’m building an Intent trading infra with AI agent above an FHE privacy layer”.

It will be interesting if we extent this way of speak to daily life.

“This is a cup”.  “No, This is an infra of liquidity aggregation with omni-methods of distribution”.

After all, this is a great sign that the problem of oversupply of block space has been highlighted by industry leaders.

Where can we find the innovative consumer apps?

Innovations are particularly challenging, especially in apps with PMF.

Once a product achieves PMF, it becomes part of the default stack of a public chain.

In this default stack of apps, DeFi is largely populated with products like Dex, Lending, Perp, and now Liquid staking and a Pendle-fork.

Large chains and their significant holders can easily bootstrap the TVL, essentially replicating it across different chains.

On the non-DeFi side, meme launchers like pumpdotfun have become a standard option in new chains.

Therefore, I will not categorize those DeFi stacks as innovative apps.

However, I do see a few areas that looks highly potential to gain traction in the next wave:

Wearable Devices (not DePin)

Wearable devices (glasses, rings, watches) are hardware that can directly interact with end users in real life. If we consider browser plugins (such as Metamask) as the previous Web3 entry point and Telegram as the current one, wearable devices could become the new access point for non-crypto users.

The team behind wearable devices should possess strong marketing skills to position these devices as luxury brands. I believe some NFT issuers have the opportunity to thrive if they choose to pursue this direction.

I don't think users will prioritize advanced features. Instead, users in Web3 are likely to purchase it for its appeal and speculative potential, similar to how they buy NFTs.

Tradable assets + DeFi

A significant amount of money in crypto remains idle in the current DeFi stacks, not fully utilised. We have observed how the high APY during the DeFi summer drove substantial adoption of DeFi in the crypto space.

The launch of new assets has always been a way to gain user traction. In this cycle, we have meme tokens. However, meme tokens don't provide an opportunity for users to farm with the utilization of assets in DeFi .

I anticipate the integration of the launch of new assets with the existing DeFi stack. The apps can be a designed as a socialfi platform, prediction market or meme launcher. The hard part is how to integrate the DeFi liquidity in a smoothy method.

AI+ Web3 apps

We can treat AI+web3 this cycle as Gamefi in last cycle, both PMF got proven in the Web2 space, and the adoption can be accelerated or redistributed by the incentive of tokens.

Are there scenarios where users are already paying for the AI app but would prefer to pay more using cryptocurrency in anticipation of higher returns?

The xx to earn model may no longer be viable, as airdrop farming has been taken over by professional workshops, effectively pushing out genuine users.

These apps have the potential to enhance demand for current Web3+AI infrastructure, rebalancing the situation caused by an oversupply of mining GPUs and a shortage of real users willing to pay for these services.