Source: View on the Chain
What do you think of $MASK, which is regarded as the "little Tencent in the currency circle"? It doesn’t seem inappropriate to call it a “plug-in”, “ITO distribution platform”, “web2 and web3 middleware”, “investment fund”, etc., but is this the true face of @realMaskNetwork? Apparently not entirely.
Although the impression of "plug-in" is too preconceived, if analyzed from a business perspective, MASK is focused on the business of Web3 application traffic entrance. Let’s do a brief analysis:
In the past few years, MASK has indeed been labeled with many labels: “social plug-in”, “ITO distribution platform”, etc., which once made it the number one target of SocialFi.
As a plug-in, MASK has made an aggregation application with social platforms such as Facebook, You can also directly access your own on-chain web3 page on the Twitter page to view assets, activities, donations, NFT and other content.
To put it simply, it is equivalent to seamlessly embedding Debank into Twitter, allowing Twitter users to access the Web3 on-chain application environment without stepping out of daily social application scenarios.
During the process, MASK has made a lot of compatibility optimizations, and has been connected to the Transak legal currency aggregation channel to solve the deposit problem; it can directly create wallets for asset management; it has also been connected to Uniswap, Sushiswap, Opensea, Rarible and other DeFi and NFT trading platform, as well as the innovative launch of ITO's first Twitter issuance asset raising platform, etc.
It should be said that the most impressive thing about MASK is its web2-level "product power", which is no different from Tencent's product power in Internet companies.
Although web3 is good at playing Tokenomics, the overall product and user experience are all flawed. Although the so-called pixel punk style designs are quite trendy, they alone cannot attract people in the mature application environment of web2. Users, the private key storage threshold of digital wallets, the complex logic of asset interaction on the chain, and the ever-present phishing traps are enough to deter most Web2 users.
MASK is completely different from other social platforms like Lens that completely reconstruct it. Social platforms such as Lens have completely decentralized their underlying servers, communication protocol logic, and front-end application presentation. The story is sexy but difficult to implement.
MASK is based on the usage habits and preferences of the Web2 user group to nest various customized Web3 application components. The difficulty lies in how to hide the various Infra infrastructure abstracted from the web3 environment, only Appears in front of the user with a familiar web2 front-end interactive window. Behind this is bound to involve complex chain abstraction, account abstraction and other technical framework support.
From a wider perspective, MASK’s ambition is not limited to a SocialFi platform, but its product’s “integrated” gameplay and communication are very good, so it is labeled as SocialFi.
In my opinion, MASK has become the first step in Tencent’s goal in the currency circle: to input web2 traffic + product power into the web3 environment, that is, using plug-ins as the entry point, to make itself a huge traffic player. SocialFI head platform.
The second step of MASK’s grand strategy to become a small Tencent in the currency circle is to use capital power to integrate and expand its investment territory and become a web3 application traffic distribution platform with a large user base.
Recently, MASK disclosed that the total size of its Bonfire Union fund has exceeded US$100 million, and 120 projects have joined the Mask Network ecosystem so far, including: Lens, Galaxy, CyberConnect, Ton, Products and protocols such as Scroll, Rss3, Altlayer, 0xScope, Orbiter, etc. even cover Ai fields such as CHirper, CharacterX, KEKKAI, etc.
Looking closely, these investment targets included in the MASK Portfolio all have more or less the shadow of web2 product power. For example, Galaxy has become a tutorial and guidance portal for hair-raising tasks, and CyberConnect is also a super Traffic integration interactive platform, Altalayer also tries to use modular To B thinking to become the hub of the layer2 track, etc. These products have played a certain role in the influx of Web2 users (C-side users + B-side developers) into Web3.
In addition, MASK’s investment territory expansion is not haphazard. It positions itself as a resource integrator and traffic driver, constantly expanding its influence through investment or mergers and acquisitions, and using traffic portals The strategic position will leverage the integration of web2 and web3 industry resources, thus becoming the only way for an incremental web2 user to enter web3 and enjoy the dividends of the explosive growth of the market. What is hidden behind this is MASK's profound capital operation capabilities and market insights. If this step is to be realized, there is no doubt that it will be a proper "Little Tencent in the currency circle".
In general, MASK uses social plug-ins to maintain huge user stickiness, and based on its resource integration and coverage in all areas of Web3, it aims to provide web2 user groups with a low technical participation threshold and high user experience. Application portal, complete a "migration" from Web2 to Web3, and ultimately promote the true arrival of Mass Adoption.
Above.
Note: There is always a mysterious force of web2 active in the Web3 field. Their products are amazing and they are very lively. Tokenomics is also playing a lot, but they are just betting on the direction. I am not sure when. On the prospect of coming Mass Adoption. To be honest, this web2 force is quietly promoting the maturity of the web3 industry.