The New Logic of Web3 Entrepreneurship under the New Global Trade Order

The deterioration of the macro environment is forming a new financial order. Since Trump returned to the White House, a series of unexpected economic policies have caused turmoil in the global markets. The most notable is the escalation of tariff policies: starting from April 2025, the United States will impose a 10% "base tariff" on all imported goods and apply higher "reciprocal tariffs" on China and 60 other countries. This has led to severe fluctuations in the global financial markets, with U.S. Treasuries facing sell-offs and U.S. stocks experiencing volatility.

Against this backdrop, U.S. policymakers have begun to construct a new trade and financial order to maintain their global dominance. The Trump administration attempted to re-establish America's central position by formulating a new set of rules. This includes two aspects: one is to target major competitors, and the other is to seek new value anchors. The U.S. has started to look towards assets such as gold and Bitcoin, hoping to rebuild the trust foundation of the global financial system.

The United States is attempting to create a new credit cornerstone for the dollar with "dual asset anchoring": this includes traditional gold reserves as well as emerging Bitcoin reserves. In March 2025, the U.S. government announced the establishment of a "strategic Bitcoin reserve" and an "American digital asset reserve." Trump stated: "Establishing a Bitcoin reserve is like establishing a virtual Fort Knox." This marks the formal entry of Bitcoin into the national strategic level of the United States.

The United States intends to use Bitcoin alongside gold as anchor assets for a new financial system. Market rumors suggest that the U.S. government's goal is to accumulate control of approximately 1 million Bitcoins (, accounting for 5% of the total supply ). If the U.S. dollar can partially anchor physical gold and digital gold (, such as Bitcoin ), and establish a new international clearing system with blockchain technology, the U.S. is expected to gain an advantage in future global financial games.

In the past year, the global cryptocurrency market has experienced a drastic shift from frenzy to calm. The total market capitalization of crypto assets has fallen from a historic peak of $3.71 trillion to around $3.04 trillion. In such a "second half" environment, entrepreneurs should consider: what is suitable for the second half? Simple traffic strategies are no longer sustainable, replaced instead by entrepreneurial logic centered around hardcore value.

Currently, several directions hold new opportunities:

1. Bitcoin ( BTC ) ecosystem: Financial innovations around the Bitcoin network ( "BTC Fi" ), infrastructure upgrades, and the reconstruction of real assets and payment networks based on BTC.

2. Other public chain ecosystems: Innovations that return to the essence of efficiency and profitability on public chains like Ethereum, creating sustainable decentralized finance ( DeFi ) and other applications with a product-oriented approach.

3. Real-world assets ( RWA ) and payment finance ( PayFi ): Combining on-chain technology with real assets and payment scenarios to develop a new model supported by stable cash flows.

4. Cryptocurrency concept stocks: Pay attention to the rising trend of "blockchain concept stocks" in traditional capital markets, as well as the new path of Web3 startups moving towards stock market listing.

Around the BTC network, we see three major entrepreneurial opportunities:

• BTC Fi(Bitcoin Finance): Creating new financial assets on the Bitcoin network. Representative projects include Bedrock, Solv, etc., focusing on building decentralized financial services such as lending, trading, and derivatives on the Bitcoin network.

• BTC Infra(Bitcoin Infrastructure): Reshaping the intelligent infrastructure on Bitcoin. Representative projects such as Unisat, Merlin, B², etc. focus on building Layer 2, middleware tools, and more for Bitcoin.

• BTC-Powered RWA & PayFi: Unlocking the potential of Bitcoin in the realm of real-world assets and payments. Representative projects like LNFi focus on enhancing the practical application efficiency and user experience of Bitcoin in RWA and payment scenarios.

A new competitive landscape is taking shape in the ecosystems of other public blockchains: efficiency-driven approaches are becoming the main theme, and product-based startups are gradually becoming mainstream. Public blockchain entrepreneurship is shifting from competing on subsidies and concepts to competing on product strength and efficiency.

Whether in the Bitcoin ecosystem or on other public chains, creating a sustainable cash flow has become a watershed for whether entrepreneurial projects can go far. Some crypto projects with real business models are becoming bridges that connect Web3 and traditional capital markets. These projects typically have clear sources of income, stable cash flow expectations, and possess good compliance adaptability.

Among various segments, DePIN stands out particularly. Representative projects such as PEAQ, Jambo, OORT, and Swan collaboratively build the key support layer of the DePIN ecosystem, covering areas like machine access, Web3 mobile devices, AI data storage, and computing power sharing.

The AI+Crypto sector demonstrates strong integration potential. Projects like Footprint focus on data analytics engines, while DeAgent.ai builds decentralized AI Agent protocols to provide services for Web3 smart infrastructure.

RWA( Real World Assets ) are rapidly developing in the direction of on-chain tokenization of assets such as US Treasuries, corporate bonds, and real estate. Representative projects include The PAC, which provides asset mapping services under a compliant framework.

PayFi( payment finance) has become the most active sector in on-chain transactions. Projects like Aisa are combining stablecoins with AI wallets to build payment infrastructure that supports automation and real-time settlement.

The wave of "crypto concept stocks" that has emerged in traditional capital markets is an important symbol of the integration of the crypto industry with mainstream finance. Based on differences in business models and operational focuses, crypto concept stocks can be roughly divided into the following categories:

1. Asset-driven (BTC reserves as the core ): Typical representatives include MicroStrategy, Semler Scientific, Boyaa Interactive, etc.

2. Mining concept stocks ( in the direction of computing power infrastructure ): representative companies include Marathon Digital, CleanSpark, Riot Blockchain, Core Scientific, TeraWulf, Hut 8, etc.

3. Infrastructure and solution providers: Typical representatives include Canaan, Bitdeer, BitFuFu, etc.

4. Exchange-traded concept stocks: such as Coinbase(COIN), Bakkt(BKKT), etc.

5. Payment concept stocks: representative companies such as Block(, Square), and PayPal.

The rise of cryptocurrency concept stocks has prompted more and more entrepreneurs to rethink their financing paths. Beyond token financing, the equity path is becoming an important supplement for the new generation of Web3 projects. Some companies are validating this path through practical cases, such as Boyaa Interactive (00434.hk), Hu Tao Capital (00905.hk), Hong Kong Asia Holdings (01723.hk), and Nano Labs (NA.Nasdaq), among others.

In light of the above trends, Web3 entrepreneurs have also had new reflections on financing and development paths. Overall, there are three optional paths for Web3 entrepreneurship:

1. "Coin" path ( crypto token financing ): Financing and incentivizing the community through token issuance.

2. "Equity" Path ( Equity Financing and IPO ): Following the traditional path of entrepreneurial companies, introducing equity investment, and focusing on business implementation and revenue growth.

3. "Dual-track" path ( token + equity in parallel ): balancing both crypto and traditional financing methods, leveraging their respective advantages in phases.

Regardless of the chosen path, the key is to align with the project's own positioning and the external environment. Entrepreneurs should comprehensively consider the type of project, profit model, regulatory environment, and the areas of expertise of the team to select the most suitable financing and development route.

The period of macro turmoil is both a challenge and an opportunity. The "second half" of the market tests the determination and wisdom of entrepreneurs: only teams that are rooted in real value and focused on long-termism can weather the winter. Driven by multiple waves such as the BTC ecosystem, the efficiency revolution of new public chains, the on-chain of real assets, cash flow-driven models, and the integration of capital markets, a new generation of blockchain entrepreneurs is facing unprecedented opportunities. Choosing the right track, successfully running a business model, and making good use of suitable financing paths are essential to turn crises into opportunities, allowing them to stand out in the next cycle and truly achieve the leap from 0 to 1 in blockchain entrepreneurship.