Below are guest posts and opinions from Hart Lambur. Risk Lab Co-Founders (UMA and ARIED).
Solana's recent growth was not the cost of Ethereum. Expanded Crypto user base totals. Instead of separating users from Ethereum, Solana acted as a gateway for newcomers to Web3. Fast trading, low prices, and a vibrant app layer have made it the ideal onboarding ramp for MemeCoin traders' latest waves.
Like it or not, like it Harrypotterobamasonicinu and fartcoin It wasn't just noise. They introduced millions of people to code, but many were the first time. Solana wasn't just where they first made their deal. It was the first real interaction with the Web3 ecosystem. And while many people lost their money, some of those users were stuck.
The question now is how to ensure they stay and experience more of what Web3 offers beyond speculation? As Vitalik said last year As for Memecoins, there's “the opportunity here to try and create something more positive and longer lasting.”
From audience to residents
This new influx of users offers an unusual opportunity for cryptography. At its peak, Solana's Memecoin Boom helped it gain a market capitalization of $47.9 billion. Yes, Memecoin is down 76% from its all-time high in December 2024, but Solana wasn't just speculation. It has been equipped with real users and real capital. The Memecoin epidemic may be short-lived, but the participants that attracted it need not be.
Crypto has long been a mass adoption promise, and now we have the opportunity to fulfill that promise. However, this growth has its own unique challenges. If new users can't navigate the broader ecosystem easily – limiting the experience to one blockchain or a single use case risks losing the momentum, capital and growth that comes with it.
Moving from onboarding to retention
Attracting users is no longer the main challenge. Solana's Memecoins have opened doors for a new generation, like ICO, Defi Summer and NFTS. The real test is to ensure that the broader Web3 ecosystem is as seamless and intuitive as the most user-friendly blockchains and use cases. Solana feels separate from the wider Ethereum ecosystem, as the various Ethereum L2s felt. After excitement about trends like MemeCoins Fades, if users don't allow users to easily explore the different ecosystems, they lose as quickly as they arrived.
In the past, moving from one chain to another (moving to Ethereum, Base, or another L2) was complicated and expensive. It's like a keen to explore, arriving in an exciting new city, and just to realize that it's difficult to reach its best destination due to an outdated transport system. This is how Crypto feels for many users today. It is potentially latent, yet shaking with friction at every step. This friction is inevitable, so there is a tool to remove it.
Cross-Chain Infrastructure Provides Solutions
Cross-chain infrastructure can provide solutions. Industry-wide standards ERC-7683 As a single user request, it allows Web3 apps to handle complex multi-step cross-chain transactions. This standard, created by Anduns and Uniswap, allows developers to take advantage of the power of combinations, while hiding the complexity of interactions with multiple chains. Users benefit from the best of both worlds. The simplicity of one chain with scalability for many people.
The future is unified
Solana's recent user growth demonstrates how UX optimization can drive onboarding at scale. However, onboarding is only one side of the equation. Retention is a real test. For Web3 to truly grow, it needs to feel like one seamless ecosystem, rather than a collection of fragmented networks. Just as ERC-7683 and Intents have a unified Ethereum L2, they need to provide users with the same seamless interaction as Solana.
Ethereum, Solana, and all other chains are not Zero Sum fights. The future is not about which chains win. It's about making Web3 work as a unified, intuitive experience. This means building infrastructure that quickly connects users across the chain, simplifying complexity and making the entire ecosystem feel more cohesive. Web3 scales only when users stop thinking about chains completely, just as no one is thinking about TCP/IP when browsing the internet. That is the future we are heading for.
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