Key Points Summary

The Web3 industry is shifting from philosophical ideals to corporate operations, with a focus on actual profitability and structured management. This transformation is accelerated by deepening market participant awareness, clarified regulations, and the influx of traditional financial capital. Web3 projects are now evaluated based on business outcomes rather than ideology. Corporatization is achieved through vertical integration and mergers and acquisitions, as well as institutional IPOs. Web3 is breaking through the experimental exploration phase and moving towards mainstream institutional standards.

I. The Web3 Industry: From Ideology to Commercial Pragmatism

The Web3 industry has reached a critical turning point. Its value assessment system has broken through the realm of philosophy and idealism and is transitioning towards a commercially oriented industry. In the past, "decentralization" as a core ideological value was far more important than commercial considerations. Projects lacking immediate profit models could still gain recognition based on potential, a tendency reinforced by the speculative fervor in the cryptocurrency market.

Recent developments show a fundamental shift: projects are beginning to build substantial profit models and are being evaluated based on commercial performance. Some projects have already generated considerable revenue and gained market recognition. The Web3 industry is moving from a philosophy-based value system to one based on actual outcomes.

This report dissects this structural transformation and explores the new direction of the Web3 industry.

II. The Changing Game Rules

The rules of the Web3 industry are being restructured. The industry's focus is shifting from narrative-driven to results-oriented, signaling its maturation. Three core factors are driving this transformation: deepened awareness among market participants, accelerated institutional integration of Web3 through regulatory frameworks in various countries, and the rapid influx of traditional financial capital. These developments have established stricter industry standards.

From Ideals to Reality: Web3 Enters the Era of Corporatization

Despite the market's maturation, Web3 still responds to strong narratives. Essentially, the industry remains an attention economy dominated by participants, where narratives form consensus through collective emotional resonance and are ultimately reflected in market capitalization. Specific keywords or narratives can still attract attention and drive price surges.

However, market participants are highly familiar with this pattern, weakening the effectiveness of narrative-driven responses. Price increases driven solely by expectations are hard to sustain and have significantly narrowed compared to previous cycles, highlighting the limitations of the narrative-driven model.

Institutional integration and the influx of traditional financial capital have accelerated this shift. Regulatory frameworks reduce project uncertainty while demanding higher transparency and accountability standards. Projects must demonstrate real business structures and operational performance; vision alone is no longer sufficient. Traditional financial capital also evaluates using quantifiable metrics such as profitability, growth rate, and financial strength, rather than short-term market reactions. The shift of Web3 evaluation criteria from philosophical ideals to commercial fundamentals fundamentally changes the game rules.

III. The Web3 Industry: From the Age of Exploration to Corporatization

The Web3 industry is undergoing fundamental structural and strategic changes. Projects are not only focusing on product-market fit but also emphasizing traditional business metrics such as sustainable profit models and stable cash flows. To achieve these goals, projects are evolving towards organized corporate structures through traditional corporate means such as IPOs and strategic mergers and acquisitions.

3.1 Background and Necessity of Corporatization

From Ideals to Reality: Web3 Enters the Era of Corporatization

Stablecoin Market Value Trend. Data source: rwa.xyz

Early Web3 was similar to experimental ecosystems centered around small teams, maintaining the agility of startups. However, as the industry develops, the importance of structured operations is increasingly highlighted. This is akin to the rise of commercial companies in the Age of Exploration: individual explorers initially relied on royal sponsorship for voyages, but as trade routes were opened and scales expanded, systematic management of risks and capital gave rise to commercial organizations. The logic of Web3's corporatization transformation is the same.

3.2 Accelerating Growth through Corporate Expansion Strategies

Web3 corporatization is not only about organizational expansion but also a deepening of business expansion and connection with institutional capital, mainly in two directions: achieving ecosystem synergy through vertical integration and integrating into the institutional system through IPOs.

From Ideals to Reality: Web3 Enters the Era of Corporatization

Aggressive mergers and acquisitions to achieve vertical integration are an inevitable choice in a mature and highly competitive industry. Companies need to unify user experiences and create service synergies to capture market share. For example, Jupiter's acquisition of Meme coin trading application Moonshot, NFT marketplace DRiP Haus, and crypto portfolio service SonarWatch integrated Solana's trading functions; crypto payment company Moonpay's acquisition of Solana payment application Helio; and stablecoin issuer Circle's acquisition of Hashnote. These vertical integrations mark an important paradigm shift in the Web3 industry.

While these integrations appear similar to traditional corporate growth strategies on the surface, they actually reflect a fundamental shift in Web3's core principles. The early core values of Web3—decentralization and community governance—are being adjusted for efficiency and economies of scale, showing that projects prioritize market competitiveness and sustainability over ideological values.

On the other hand, companies are actively seeking institutional integration through IPOs. Circle disclosed details of USDC reserve management during its IPO process to enhance transparency; Coinbase became the first Web3 company to adopt accounting standards and disclosure systems through its Nasdaq listing. These institutional initiatives indicate that Web3 projects are evolving from technological experiments to stable corporate structures. By adopting traditional capital market norms, they establish a basis for resolving regulatory uncertainties, gain the trust of institutional investors, and reach broader markets.

IV. Conclusion

The Web3 industry has officially entered the era of corporatization, with projects reorganizing around structured operations and quantifiable business outcomes, moving beyond the stage of defining value by potential and philosophical ideals.

Institutional integration drives the transformation process, with stakeholders demanding structural sustainability rather than just technological experiments. Projects must explore practical utilities based on decentralization and convert them into real business opportunities.

This shift is not a temporary phenomenon but a necessary step to bridge the gap between idealism and long-term sustainability. Corporatization is not a departure from the original vision but an enhancement of elements often overlooked in early narratives: investor protection, operational accountability, and a market system based on trust.

The Age of Exploration revealed new frontiers, and now corporatized Web3 projects are laying the foundation for broader market expansion based on these discoveries. The development of this stage will determine the future direction of the industry and is worth close attention.

Key Points Summary

The Web3 industry is shifting from philosophical ideals to corporate operations, with a focus on actual profitability and structured management. This transformation is accelerated by deepening market participant awareness, clarified regulations, and the influx of traditional financial capital. Web3 projects are now evaluated based on business outcomes rather than ideology. Corporatization is achieved through vertical integration and mergers and acquisitions, as well as institutional IPOs. Web3 is breaking through the experimental exploration phase and moving towards mainstream institutional standards.

I. The Web3 Industry: From Ideology to Commercial Pragmatism

The Web3 industry has reached a critical turning point. Its value assessment system has broken through the realm of philosophy and idealism and is transitioning towards a commercially oriented industry. In the past, "decentralization" as a core ideological value was far more important than commercial considerations. Projects lacking immediate profit models could still gain recognition based on potential, a tendency reinforced by the speculative fervor in the cryptocurrency market.

Recent developments show a fundamental shift: projects are beginning to build substantial profit models and are being evaluated based on commercial performance. Some projects have already generated considerable revenue and gained market recognition. The Web3 industry is moving from a philosophy-based value system to one based on actual outcomes.

This report dissects this structural transformation and explores the new direction of the Web3 industry.

II. The Changing Game Rules

The rules of the Web3 industry are being restructured. The industry's focus is shifting from narrative-driven to results-oriented, signaling its maturation. Three core factors are driving this transformation: deepened awareness among market participants, accelerated institutional integration of Web3 through regulatory frameworks in various countries, and the rapid influx of traditional financial capital. These developments have established stricter industry standards.

From Ideals to Reality: Web3 Enters the Era of Corporatization

Despite the market's maturation, Web3 still responds to strong narratives. Essentially, the industry remains an attention economy dominated by participants, where narratives form consensus through collective emotional resonance and are ultimately reflected in market capitalization. Specific keywords or narratives can still attract attention and drive price surges.

However, market participants are highly familiar with this pattern, weakening the effectiveness of narrative-driven responses. Price increases driven solely by expectations are hard to sustain and have significantly narrowed compared to previous cycles, highlighting the limitations of the narrative-driven model.

Institutional integration and the influx of traditional financial capital have accelerated this shift. Regulatory frameworks reduce project uncertainty while demanding higher transparency and accountability standards. Projects must demonstrate real business structures and operational performance; vision alone is no longer sufficient. Traditional financial capital also evaluates using quantifiable metrics such as profitability, growth rate, and financial strength, rather than short-term market reactions. The shift of Web3 evaluation criteria from philosophical ideals to commercial fundamentals fundamentally changes the game rules.

III. The Web3 Industry: From the Age of Exploration to Corporatization

The Web3 industry is undergoing fundamental structural and strategic changes. Projects are not only focusing on product-market fit but also emphasizing traditional business metrics such as sustainable profit models and stable cash flows. To achieve these goals, projects are evolving towards organized corporate structures through traditional corporate means such as IPOs and strategic mergers and acquisitions.

3.1 Background and Necessity of Corporatization

From Ideals to Reality: Web3 Enters the Era of Corporatization

Stablecoin Market Value Trend. Data source: rwa.xyz

Early Web3 was similar to experimental ecosystems centered around small teams, maintaining the agility of startups. However, as the industry develops, the importance of structured operations is increasingly highlighted. This is akin to the rise of commercial companies in the Age of Exploration: individual explorers initially relied on royal sponsorship for voyages, but as trade routes were opened and scales expanded, systematic management of risks and capital gave rise to commercial organizations. The logic of Web3's corporatization transformation is the same.

3.2 Accelerating Growth through Corporate Expansion Strategies

Web3 corporatization is not only about organizational expansion but also a deepening of business expansion and connection with institutional capital, mainly in two directions: achieving ecosystem synergy through vertical integration and integrating into the institutional system through IPOs.

From Ideals to Reality: Web3 Enters the Era of Corporatization

Aggressive mergers and acquisitions to achieve vertical integration are an inevitable choice in a mature and highly competitive industry. Companies need to unify user experiences and create service synergies to capture market share. For example, Jupiter's acquisition of Meme coin trading application Moonshot, NFT marketplace DRiP Haus, and crypto portfolio service SonarWatch integrated Solana's trading functions; crypto payment company Moonpay's acquisition of Solana payment application Helio; and stablecoin issuer Circle's acquisition of Hashnote. These vertical integrations mark an important paradigm shift in the Web3 industry.

While these integrations appear similar to traditional corporate growth strategies on the surface, they actually reflect a fundamental shift in Web3's core principles. The early core values of Web3—decentralization and community governance—are being adjusted for efficiency and economies of scale, showing that projects prioritize market competitiveness and sustainability over ideological values.

On the other hand, companies are actively seeking institutional integration through IPOs. Circle disclosed details of USDC reserve management during its IPO process to enhance transparency; Coinbase became the first Web3 company to adopt accounting standards and disclosure systems through its Nasdaq listing. These institutional initiatives indicate that Web3 projects are evolving from technological experiments to stable corporate structures. By adopting traditional capital market norms, they establish a basis for resolving regulatory uncertainties, gain the trust of institutional investors, and reach broader markets.

IV. Conclusion

The Web3 industry has officially entered the era of corporatization, with projects reorganizing around structured operations and quantifiable business outcomes, moving beyond the stage of defining value by potential and philosophical ideals.

Institutional integration drives the transformation process, with stakeholders demanding structural sustainability rather than just technological experiments. Projects must explore practical utilities based on decentralization and convert them into real business opportunities.

This shift is not a temporary phenomenon but a necessary step to bridge the gap between idealism and long-term sustainability. Corporatization is not a departure from the original vision but an enhancement of elements often overlooked in early narratives: investor protection, operational accountability, and a market system based on trust.

The Age of Exploration revealed new frontiers, and now corporatized Web3 projects are laying the foundation for broader market expansion based on these discoveries. The development of this stage will determine the future direction of the industry and is worth close attention.