Lens Protocol Update Raises Follow, How to Respond to Competitive Challenges?

After the Ethereum Community Conference (ETHCC), the latest upgrade Lens V2 released by Lens Protocol has attracted widespread attention. This significant update includes two innovative features. The first is "Open Actions," which allows users and developers to seamlessly integrate external smart contract actions into Lens publications. The second is the integration with ERC6551, which fundamentally changes the way identity management is done by allowing users to use NFTs as unique identities, simplifying the user experience.

Lens and Its Market Position

Lens Protocol has established a leading position in the SocialFi platform on Ethereum. Compared to its competitors, Lens excels in growth and user engagement. Currently, Lens Protocol has 119,241 active accounts, far surpassing the 17,286 active accounts of the social contract Fracaster, which has a similar social graph concept.

Although a certain competitor has over 296,342 accounts, direct comparison is not very meaningful due to the access control measures set by the Lens Protocol. Despite having a larger user base, the Lens Protocol performs excellently in terms of total transaction volume, reaching 21,931,943 transactions, while the competitor has 16,249,274 transactions.

The Lens Protocol not only attracts more users but also leads other social contract platforms in user activity, demonstrating its effectiveness in creating a vibrant decentralized community. However, the Lens Protocol does not stop there and is continuously upgrading to move towards a new stage.

Lens's innovative initiatives

1. Momoka: Lens's L3 solution

Lens launched MOMOKA in April, an innovative Optimistic L3 scaling solution designed for off-chain processing of Polygon transactions, achieving high scalability and reducing transaction costs. Unlike traditional L2 Rollups, MOMOKA employs a unique approach. It creates transactions and obtains wallet signatures, then uses the transaction signatures and typed data to generate data availability (DA) metadata, treating it as part of the transaction itself, and sends it to a dedicated DA layer.

Momoka also provides indexing support, enabling node operators to seamlessly stream and index Lens data without relying on third-party infrastructure. This offers users the flexibility to customize their trading methods according to their needs and reduces dependence on Polygon services to some extent, potentially prompting Lens to transition to Layer 1 chains and become part of modular blockchain solutions.

2. Integration with ERC6551

ERC6551 allows NFTs to create Token Bound Accounts (TBA), enabling NFTs to function as wallet addresses or on-chain accounts. This integration transforms NFTs into true on-chain identity wallets, capable of containing multiple wallet addresses, held NFTs, and ERC-20 tokens.

For Lens, this integration is a strategic move. Currently, Lens requires users to hold its NFTs to access the service, and trading these NFTs results in the loss of related account activities and transactions. By implementing ERC-6551, Lens simplifies the use of NFTs, enhances the identity element, and creates a sense of belonging for users.

In the closed beta version of Lens, users have created over 3.4 million NFTs. These NFTs now have the potential to explore new uses in the identity sector, bringing new perspectives and opportunities to the market.

Star Projects of the Lens Ecosystem

The Lens ecosystem currently has over 134 verified applications, attracting great interest and support from various communities and developers.

1. Orb

Orb is a decentralized social media platform that supports both mobile and desktop. It excels in UI/UX and places a strong emphasis on community interaction. Orb is not only dedicated to attracting a diverse community in Web3 but also makes efforts to create a unique user experience.

2. Lenster

Lenster is an innovative decentralized social media application based on permissionless interaction principles. It redefines the digital social space, allowing users to create and reward content that resonates with the community.

3. Phaver

Phaver is a pioneer in decentralized social media platforms, leveraging the cutting-edge capabilities of Lens technology. As an early adopter, Phaver not only changes the way users interact with digital communities but also introduces an innovative incentive mechanism through its unique reward token system.

Challenges Faced by the Lens Protocol

Although Lens is considered one of the most mature protocols, with a thriving ecosystem and a dedicated development team, it currently mainly attracts blockchain users and struggles to attract new users. In contrast, some non-blockchain social contracts have successfully attracted a large number of new users through low entry barriers and a smooth user experience.

The technical advantages of the Lens protocol stem from its strong commitment to decentralization. However, protocols like Nostr and Mastodon have also amassed a large user base without relying on blockchain technology. The case of Nostr emphasizes the importance of decentralized architecture, which simplifies the user experience and avoids complex blockchain concepts.

Recently, some visionary leaders have created an innovative trend on a certain social platform that may readjust the preferences of Web3 users, prompting them to explore other promising social protocols. In this ever-changing environment, the Lens protocol faces the challenge of how to maintain its relevance and appeal.

We look forward to seeing Lens stand out in the fiercely competitive social space, continue to innovate, and attract more users.