In 2025, the blockchain industry is witnessing a new wave: enterprises are building their own Layer 1 (L1) blockchains. Payments giant Stripe, in collaboration with crypto venture firm Paradigm, recently launched Tempo, while Circle announced similar plans in its earnings report. Increasingly, Fortune 500 companies are exploring proprietary L1 chains.

This trend is no accident. After more than a decade of evolution, L1s have become the mainstream reference point in blockchain—whether Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Solana, these names are now familiar to traditional finance executives. Compared to still-nascent L2 or complex cross-chain solutions, L1 chains offer maturity and controllability that enterprises are more willing to bet on.

Just as companies adopt multi-cloud strategies to reduce dependency on AWS or Microsoft Azure, building an in-house L1 allows enterprises to secure greater control over mission-critical infrastructure for payments, clearing, and settlements.

Even more importantly, capital markets consistently award infrastructure platforms a higher valuation premium. Just as AWS, App Store, or Azure are valued far beyond single-product companies, L1s carry natural “ecosystem premiums.” They are not just chains, but operating systems that coordinate developers, users, and asset flows.

At the same time, Appchains have become a frequent buzzword. Many DeFi projects are now launching their own blockchains. In theory, appchains allow projects to control both product logic and the settlement layer, enhancing fee capture.

In reality, the results are sharply divided:

• A few successes, such as Hyperliquid, leverage a full technology stack and extreme performance to differentiate on user experience and fee generation.

• The majority struggle—they lack the ecosystem effects of a high-performance L1 and the clear market fit of a mature dApp. More often, they rely on narratives rather than actual value, and fail to sustain long-term momentum.

The lesson is clear: blindly launching a proprietary chain is no shortcut to success. What ultimately matters is clear product positioning, real user demand, and sustainable economic models.

Against this backdrop—of L1 infrastructure premiums and the pitfalls of appchains—Nivex has chosen a more pragmatic path: launching its own Web3 Wallet, not as an isolated product but as the gateway to an open ecosystem, integrated deeply with promising blockchain partners.

Key highlights of the upcoming Nivex Web3 Wallet include:

• Non-custodial security: users retain full control of private keys for safer asset management.

• Multi-chain support: manage multiple mainstream chains and assets seamlessly.

• DApp connectivity & cross-chain interoperability: direct access to DeFi, NFT, and RWA applications.

• Identity binding: offering compliance readiness and future account system support.

Within Nivex’s strategic framework, the wallet is not just a tool, but a bridge—connecting users with liquidity (Nivex Exchange), settlement infrastructure (partner chains), and applications. Through this single entry point, users can experience a complete cycle of asset management, payments, trading, and yield.

PopChain is a next-generation blockchain designed for the ConnectFi economy, aiming to reshape the foundations of social networks: making identity the entry point, content an asset, behavior a consensus, and connections a form of value.

PopChain provides the high-performance settlement layer, while Nivex supplies the wallet and liquidity infrastructure. Together, they aim to:

• Build a closed-loop ecosystem: from wallet (entry), to PopChain (settlement), to Nivex (liquidity and strategies).

• Empower developers and enterprises: lower costs, higher efficiency, and a friendly compliance framework to attract DApps, RWA projects, and payment applications.

• Drive hybrid innovation: merging proven Web2 business logic with Web3’s openness and programmability to deliver usable, trusted, and revenue-generating financial applications.

The enterprise-driven L1 trend shows that platformization is where long-term value lies. The polarization of appchains is a reminder that sustainable growth comes from real products and ecosystems.

In this context, Nivex’s launch of the Web3 Wallet and partnership with PopChain is not just a product update, but a strategic evolution. It signals Nivex’s transition from a standalone exchange into a Hybrid Asset Operating System, built on the architecture of wallet + blockchain + exchange to form a next-generation closed-loop ecosystem.

Looking ahead, Nivex is not only serving users but also positioning itself as the bridge for developers, institutions, and enterprises to enter the Web3 world—where openness, compliance, and innovation converge.