From: thepipeline_xyz
Community building is a critical, yet often overlooked, aspect of success in the blockchain space, particularly for protocols and Layer 1 (L1) chains [06:00:00]. Unlike traditional businesses, where customer engagement might be less direct for infrastructure providers, crypto projects rely heavily on engaged and knowledgeable communities for long-term sustainability and governance [06:00:00], [16:40:50], [16:51:53].
Wormhole’s Approach to Community Engagement
Wormhole, a blockchain interoperability platform, recently raised $225 million [02:24:00], highlighting the growing focus on connecting disparate blockchain ecosystems [03:43:00]. Historically, Wormhole concentrated on product development and engineering, aiming to build “cutting-edge state-of-the-art technology” [05:47:00], [05:51:00]. However, there has been a recent shift towards prioritizing community engagement [06:00:00].
The company recognized the need to build a “Wormhole-centric community that can engage and better understand a lot of the things we’ve been doing to date” [06:10:13]. This shift involved moving from “working on the community” to “working in the community” [22:02:00]. The objective is to foster genuine connections, allowing community members to become “friends” and eventually take on “core functions of the business” [22:09:00], [22:30:00].
Wormhole Foundation vs. Wormhole Labs
The Wormhole Foundation acts as a “steward of the protocol,” aiming to guide its direction while ultimately empowering builders and the community [51:15:20]. A key goal is to ensure security through industry-leading security teams [51:47:00]. Wormhole Labs, on the other hand, is one of the initial ecosystem grants responsible for the product and engineering development of the Wormhole protocol [52:31:00]. There is also an entity called xLabs that manages core infrastructure and contributes to the protocol’s build [52:49:00].
Wormhole aims to become a decentralized, open-source “public utility,” where its growth is driven by many contributors, similar to Ethereum [53:01:00].
Monad’s Community-First Philosophy
Monad, a new L1, exemplifies a strong community-first approach. Kevin, leading ecosystem growth at Monad, emphasizes that a Layer 1 blockchain is essentially “a shared computer for a community” [18:38:00]. This perspective highlights the inherent need for a robust and engaged user base.
Monad deliberately fosters its community by actively “working in the community” rather than just “working on it” [19:39:00]. This means team members spend dedicated time interacting in Discord and “making friends” with community members [24:42:00]. This active participation leads to a “very vocal and creative” community, as seen by community members initiating projects like podcasts and creating art [19:57:00].
Benefits of a Strong Social Layer
The “social layer” in crypto is far more prominent than in traditional industries [17:48:00]. For L1s and NFTs, the social layer is “one of the most important things” [18:30:00]. A strong community base yields several positive externalities:
- High-quality partnerships: Projects are attracted to a strong community, as it signals user excitement and a built-in user base [20:20:00], [24:28:00].
- Organic growth: When communities share the same energy and vibe, they tend to get along and foster collaboration [20:41:00].
- User confidence: Seeing authentic engagement and a collaborative spirit among projects instills confidence in users, even if they are not the core target audience [25:00:00].
During “Wormhole Wednesday,” Monad’s community actively participated in Wormhole’s Discord, creating art and sending messages, showcasing the power of collaborative community engagement [20:48:00].
Collaboration over Competition: “Growing the Pie”
A prevalent theme for both Wormhole and Monad is the idea of “growing the pie” rather than focusing on competitive fragmentation [39:59:00], [41:44:00].
“The success metric for crypto is not pulling devs from one area of crypto to another… the success is each marginal or additional user and developer that comes into the crypto space” [41:44:00].
Blockchain ecosystems are seen as “cities” that benefit from trade and specialization [27:52:00]. Just as real-world economies thrive on mutual benefit, blockchain networks can grow stronger by collaborating. Monad, for instance, aims to expand and supplement the EVM ecosystem, rather than compete with Ethereum or other L2s [37:57:00]. They believe their unique capabilities will unlock new use cases for the EVM, benefiting the entire ecosystem [37:47:00].
Wormhole acts as a “glue” connecting these specialized chains, ensuring secure and seamless communication [25:52:00], [37:37:00]. This infrastructure enables applications to be built across different chains, abstracting away the underlying complexities for the user [04:40:00].
The Future of Mass Adoption
For broader crypto adoption, the focus needs to be on objectively better products and prioritizing security [35:57:00], [48:09:00].
- DeFi: Innovations like stablecoins accruing T-bill interest provide an objective advantage over traditional finance [45:08:00]. Secure and efficient financial rails, like sending a billion dollars in stablecoins in three seconds, showcase crypto’s inherent advantages [46:51:00].
- Gaming: Integrating NFTs for in-game asset trading addresses existing market demands seen in black markets of traditional games [45:42:00].
- Security: Prioritizing “defense in depth” security practices, similar to Web2 companies, is crucial for building trust and enabling wider adoption in DeFi [48:10:00].
“You want to be customer obsessed, not competitor obsessed” [40:19:00].
This perspective emphasizes building what users truly need and valuing “intellectual honesty” within the industry, moving away from past frauds and promoting transparent, sustainable protocols [50:03:00]. The shift towards building a community-driven ecosystem and delivering tangible user value will be key to crypto’s widespread success [43:00:00].