Web3 Project Financing and Development: Large Financing Does Not Equal Success

Recently, several highly anticipated Web3 projects have launched their tokens, but the market reaction has been generally lukewarm. Taking LayerZero as an example, despite raising as much as $260 million and reaching a valuation of $3 billion at one point, its token price has performed modestly after listing. Even though there has been a recent rebound, it is still far below the private sale price, and 90% of the tokens have yet to be released.

Zksync has also faced similar neglect. Once a star in the industry, Zksync raised $200 million in a single round in 2022. However, two years later, zk technology is no longer scarce, and after its listing, Zksync's token price has continued to decline, with a current market value just above $3 billion. Another zk giant, Aleo, has raised $200 million but has yet to issue a token.

In fact, historical data shows that large-scale financing often leads to poor outcomes. Among the 9 crypto projects that raised over $500 million in the past, only 3 issued tokens, and all of them fell below their initial valuation. EOS raised $4 billion, but its current market value is only $1 billion; Terra and FTX have completely collapsed. Among the projects that have not issued tokens, Forte and Sorare have also gradually faded from the public eye.

In comparison, some To B projects like NYDIG and Fireblocks also face challenges, but they are relatively stable due to having actual application scenarios. The most successful may be the payment service provider Moonpay, which remains profitable and plans to go public.

In contrast, successful projects like Ethereum and Solana had relatively small initial financing scales. This indicates that in the crypto industry, true success relies more on technological innovation and practical application rather than the scale of financing. For investors, the winning strategy remains to buy low and sell high; blindly following overvalued projects can pose significant risks.