Author: Alec Goh, Head of HTX Ventures
The narrative of Web3 has long revolved around 'freedom'—breaking intermediary monopolies, optimizing inefficient systems, and overturning outdated rules. By 2025, this social experiment is entering a new phase: mainstream institutions and regulators are beginning to acknowledge its potential and pave the way for upgrades in digital identity and asset management.
From various governments beginning to signal that they view Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset, to traditional institutions accelerating their entry into the market, the current Web3 possesses ample liquidity, mature infrastructure, and global consensus. However, as trading platforms and venture capital institutions deeply engaged in the industry, we must further question: How can this transformation truly create long-term value?
The crypto world has always been known for its 'speed': rapid development iterations, fast capital flows, and even faster narrative shifts. Under multiple pressures, founders can easily fall into the inertia of pursuing short-term speed. However, to create truly sustainable Web3 projects, teams must learn to 'detach'—temporarily stepping away from code and market noise to return to the fundamental question: Who are we serving, and what real needs are we addressing?
The history of traditional finance has long proven: all systems that transcend cycles are fundamentally based on risk management, transparency, and user trust. Web3 cannot escape this triple test either. To build a trustworthy ecosystem, project teams must focus on sustainable value creation rather than indulging in speed races or speculative games. Safety and trust must become inherent traits, not afterthoughts.
In HTX Ventures' observation, the industry has emerged with promising explorations:
● Breakthrough in Bitcoin usability: like Babylon activating Bitcoin's on-chain security through staking agreements;
● The wave of real asset tokenization: breaking the entry barriers of traditional finance and releasing the liquidity of long-tail assets;
● Stablecoin payment networks: significantly reducing cross-border trade friction and reshaping global business infrastructure;
● DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure): restructuring traditional monopoly sectors through shared models, allowing Web3 services to truly reach physical scenarios.
The commonality among these cases is: deconstructing real pain points with blockchain thinking and delivering user value through products. However, to convert this trend into industry norms, systematic efforts are still needed:
Step one: Anchor real demand, avoid self-indulgent innovation.
Project teams must repeatedly ask: Are users willing to pay continuously for solutions? Have we filled the fatal flaws of traditional systems? Whether it's reducing cross-border remittance costs by 60% or enabling 1 billion people to access high-yield financial instruments for the first time, the killer applications of Web3 will inevitably be born at the 'real-world interface.'
Step two: Design anti-degradation economic and governance models.
Token release curves, capital management mechanisms, DAO governance frameworks—these designs must serve the long-term health of the ecosystem, rather than the interests of early stakeholders. For example:
● Avoiding token unlocking rules that lead to 'peak immediately after opening';
● Adopting dynamically adjusted contributor incentives (such as Babylon's Bitcoin staking model);
● Reserving progressive delegation space for DAOs (rather than code-locked control);
● Introducing anti-black-swan mechanisms (such as Shell Finance achieving fair settlement through DLC technology).
Only when the flow of capital and value creation form a closed loop can projects truly accumulate network effects.
Step three: Write risk management into the protocol's DNA.
Smart contract audits are just the baseline; truly robust systems require:
● Permissionless fault escape routes;
● Redundant checks on multiple oracle data;
● Crisis response protocols that prioritize stress testing.
With institutional funds entering the market, the ability to withstand pressure will become the core metric that differentiates 'speculative toys' from 'infrastructure.'
Conclusion: Speed creates bubbles, while value builds trust.
When sovereign funds include Bitcoin on their balance sheets and workers receive cross-border salaries through stablecoins, the legitimacy of Web3 no longer relies on slogans. Every token distribution plan, every governance vote, every line of smart contract code contributes to the foundation of industry trust.
Web3 in 2025 will ultimately belong to those 'slow companies'—they demonstrate that beyond the tech frenzy, there are more important stories worth telling through verifiable transparency, accumulable user value, and resilience against extreme market conditions.
