This article will discuss and analyze recent events that have occurred in the crypto space such as the launch of ApeChain, ongoing trends in consumer crypto, and more. As we approach the end of the calendar year, it’s important to analyze the events that will not only impact the rest of this year but into 2025 as well. The recent launch of ApeChain caused ApeCoin to surge over 100%, and the chain predictably is already seeing memecoins being launched there. I personally admire the direction Yuga Labs has taken since Garga (@CryptoGarga on X) took the lead again as CEO and believe ApeChain will see more activity than many people predicted and will be a surprise to some in the space. 

As far as consumer crypto is concerned, it’s no secret that the vast majority of user activity now takes place in the memecoin space as opposed to the NFT space - consumers are simply trying to find a way to make income via crypto, and there aren’t many opportunities to do that in the NFT space as of right now. As stated here in this post from @a16zcrypto on X, there is a larger focus on very low-cost social collecting (minting) experiences:

There’s no surprise that there’s massive activity on low-cost minting platforms such as ZORA, and I think that trend will continue for the long term with NFTs. I’ve both minted and collected artworks myself on ZORA, and think it’s an incredible platform with an incredible team behind it that’s constantly innovating (the ZORA mobile app is a recent accomplishment for their team). It’s interesting to see the huge contrast in the NFT market from the 2020/2021 bull run to now for NFTs, and I wonder if some of that enthusiasm will return with a new L1 blockchain launching soon in Monad. Monad is arguably the most talked about and anticipated L1 blockchain out of any that are launching soon, and I’m excited to see the type of activity that occurs there once mainnet goes live. There are already some NFT collections with big followings on X that plan to launch on the chain, and I believe there will be some opportunities for consumers with regards to NFTs on Monad. 

A main focus for a lot of builders in the space is how to onboard the next generation of crypto users, and there’s been a lot of debate about the best ways to do so. As market conditions stand today, I’m a big believer that memecoins will onboard more people to this space over time. However, I believe this will happen through L1s like Solana and Monad (upcoming mainnet launch), and not through L2s that claim to be building for consumer crypto. There’s simply too many L2s, too much friction in the UI/UX, and a constant need to swap tokens for use as gas assets. No new user is going to want to go through the trouble of completing those actions just to be able to use an application - I’m a big fan of L2s and love the Ethereum ecosystem, but I just don’t see L2s being the best bet for consumer crypto outside of use cases for native crypto users already familiar with the space. I’ve always stated that L2s are better for blockchain infrastructure use cases as opposed to for consumer crypto applications.

I’m excited about the recent events in the crypto space from the recent launch of ApeChain to the recent announcement of UniChain. Furthermore, I’m most excited about the innovation that is happening on Solana as I feel the Solana ecosystem is due for a huge influx of consumer crypto applications and blockchain infrastructure. An increasing number of talented builders are choosing to build on Solana, and I find myself in that group as well. I’m looking forward to what’s to come in the last couple months of the calendar year, and more importantly excited about what’s to come in 2025 and beyond. As always, thank you for reading this article and be sure to subscribe to stay up to date with the latest news and analyses in crypto.