Author: Azeem Khan, CoinDesk; Translated by: Baishui, Golden Finance

It seems like every month there’s a new blockchain launch. They come in all forms — L1, L2, L3, parallel EVM, etc. But at their core they all create new infrastructure rails for developers to build applications that will ultimately drive real adoption. Each launch is usually followed by a funding frenzy, and excitement about this latest technological advancement is key to the future.

But the truth is, no one knows which of these ecosystems will ultimately succeed. So what exactly does it take to build a successful ecosystem? If you reverse engineer an ecosystem, you’ll find that the concept is fairly simple, but it may not be that easy to implement, as evidenced by the fact that some large blockchains have only 20 active users per day despite billions of dollars in valuations and funding.

If you find yourself needing to build an ecosystem from scratch, it’s critical to understand the fundamental building blocks. The first requisite is users and liquidity on the chain itself. Without these, there’s no incentive for software developers or builders to create products on the infrastructure you provide. When a chain with too little liquidity remains online but lacks builders, it becomes what people call a “ghost chain.” Often, the tokens on these chains are used purely for speculation, or sit in a kind of purgatory with no transaction volume, and eventually fade away. If you haven’t realized this yet, you’re in trouble.

Attracting these initial users and liquidity is often the biggest challenge for new chains. Often, we see a large number of initial incentive systems designed to lock in liquidity on-chain upon entering mainnet. The problem with these approaches is that they are unsustainable and often lead to the "Ponzi economics" we see in many projects. The most effective strategy to overcome this hurdle is to partner with centralized exchanges (as Base did), or work with decentralized wallets (similar to Linea's approach) to attract initial users. While not completely foolproof, having distribution built in at launch is one of the most important factors in generating initial activity. I never said it was easy, but if you think about it, it makes sense.

Given that many of these blockchains take quite a while to get to mainnet, we assume there will be a testnet phase. This phase can be a great way to build initial hype if done right — the key word being “right”. This is also the time when the blockchain needs to build out the necessary infrastructure, such as RPCs, oracles, indexers, block explorers, multisig, account abstraction, and more. You shouldn’t lose sight of the irony that infrastructure requires infrastructure. During this phase, the developer relations team can start talking to builders about all the reasons why they should develop on their newfangled blockchain.

One of the most reliable ways to create hype for your blockchain is to build anticipation for an “airdrop,” where free tokens are sent to wallets after completing certain tasks. In the past, this was random, with users unsure which actions would yield tokens. Today, a points system is often used, where users accumulate points by performing tasks, ultimately receiving a larger share of an airdrop after the chain’s token launches. While this approach may evolve — as web3 iterates at the speed of light — it is currently the norm that every chain must adopt in some way. During token economics design, a portion of the token supply is allocated to the community for this purpose.

Most commonly, a blockchain does an excellent job of creating hype through an airdrop, essentially giving away free money. We often see real-time price predictions after an airdrop is over. Prices typically rise for a while, then a large portion of holders rush to sell, causing the token value to plummet. The blockchains that were initially excited about activity on their platform realize that they were simply attracting on-chain speculators looking for free money. This is usually when these chains start building their ecosystem more seriously — often too late. We may see many of these chains become ghost chains over the next few years.

Let’s assume that everything has gone well so far. The chain has successfully hyped up, attracted initial users, and locked up liquidity on the chain. What next to attract builders? The reality is that builders, especially the best builders, have hundreds of options today. In the past, having a grant program was enough to attract them, but even that only created speculators. This is where most chains are today. But what if there was another way? What if we actually took the time to empower builders?

By far the least used strategy in the ecosystem is to take builders more seriously. Ultimately, these builders are new startups seeking the resources that any startup founder needs. Yet blockchains tend to think of themselves as the stars and treat builders as disposable until it’s too late.

It doesn’t have to be this way, though. If blockchains start consolidating resources and letting builders focus on what they do best — while also providing support for building the platform, pitching to investors, creating token economics, listing on exchanges, and so on — we’ll likely see that chain become a true superstar.

A chain is nothing without its builders, so why aren’t more blockchains vying to make stars of builders who believe in them? Just a few success stories can attract builders from other blockchains, seeking the same support to create successful startups. If these blockchains don’t take this approach, they’ll soon realize that just because you built it doesn’t mean they will come.