Zk-proofs can save end customers the costs associated with managing personal information. Although @getoutdid can move faster than ID verification incumbents, it will be difficult for @getoutdid to establish a technical moat with the advent of zk-proof hardware accelerators.

@Neutron_org is notable for having:

• A developer-friendly layer of abstraction: @Neutron_org allows developers to access the entire Cosmos app-chain ecosystem with Rust
• Execution momentum: @Neutron_org is the first project to inherit security from the Cosmos Hub

Blockchain technology can unlock a spectrum of privacy controls ranging from regulatory hyper-surveillance to complete anonymity. @portalgateme has chosen a middle ground that it hopes will appease both regulators and privacy-conscious consumers.

According to research by YouGov, an estimated 600M people play chess regularly, which means @AnichessGame may be targeting a large market. Although @AnichessGame has yet to disclose details on the game, this venture secured access to 100M players by partnering with Chess(.com).

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@XPLA_Official may want to articulate the added benefits of investing in a L1 blockchain given there are well-funded, blockchain-agnostic incumbents with first mover advantages and a comparable feature set.

Multi-chain collateralization is necessary to allow users to borrow against their (gross) on-chain holdings. With that being said, @on_concordia has yet to articulate its competitive advantage over 10+ VC-backed direct competitors.

@0xIntuition has the venture-scale vision of building a community-owned & user-governed content recommendation engine for the Internet. To this end, @0xIntuition will need:

• Mainstream adoption for DIDs
• To fend off an incumbent that is exclusively focused on objective truths

Since our prior commentary on its core limitations, @gensynai has upgraded its protocol to boost quality assurances for compute jobs. While @gensynai can tap crypto miners to address near-term demand, its long-term vision of beating AWS/GCP likely requires consumer buy-in.

Although Meanwhile is a category creating startup and Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency in the world, it is worth noting that:

• Policies have low accessibility ($1.2k/mo)
• Life insurance is designed to provide stable liquidity and Meanwhile cannot in the near-term

@ArgusLabs_ is helping web3 games achieve a breakthrough with an architecture that is: (1) Performant: decouples game & smart contract execution, (2) Configurable: modular framework, (3) Developer-friendly: open source and Go-compatible, and (4) A playground for on-chain experiments

@native_fi is creating a virtuous growth cycle by:

• Attracting consumers to its DEX aggregator with order routing
• Incentivizing developers to build with its API using its consumer base
• Leveraging its growing network of DEXs to improve order routing and attract more consumers

Wallet providers struggle to become revenue-generating businesses. @MerkleFinance helps wallet providers on this front all the while:

• Operating in a market with substantial whitespace
• Assisting wallet providers enhance their UX
  

Although developers can streamline web3 onboarding by using @magic_labs and abstracting away wallets for consumers, consumers cannot enjoy the perks of interoperability in web3 unless there is additional infra or consumer awareness for inter-app wallet management.

By taking payment in projects' tokens, influencers can prove that they have conviction in the projects they promote. Regardless, @aki_protocol has to overcome major headwinds in the form of:

• A crowded market with comparable products
• Regulatory action against web3 influencers

StarkNet does not natively support EVM, which is why it has historically faced an uphill battle in growing its developer community. @KakarotZkEvm solves for this with an EVM adapter that allows the StarkNet VM to interact with the EVM.

While innovation in this sector has traditionally been motivated by financial upside, @lab_dao is hoping to catalyze a paradigm shift with a community of intrinsically motivated professionals (akin to GitHub's efforts in the field of software development).

According to a study by HBS, loot boxes generate $15B+ in annual revenue for gaming companies. Even though web3 gaming has not achieved a major breakthrough yet, @LootLabsXYZ can capitalize on the fact that 90% of spend on loot boxes is from speculators and web3 has a lot of them

With the exponential increase of non-human Internet agents, a universal standard for personhood can improve our digital lives. Although governments' efforts in this field do not have to fight for legitimacy, they cannot compete with the speed & geopolitical neutrality of startups

Bridges that rely on the ETH sync committee for security guarantees can be compromised beyond a calculable economic threshold because the size of the sync committee is fixed. @lagrangedev rectifies this by deriving its security from an ever-growing, dynamically-sized committee.

Although adoption for digital payment infrastructure is growing, it is still common for people to "top up" their mobile phones using vouchers in emerging economies. @Azteco_ is hoping to capitalize on the opportunity to onboard these populations to web3 (while it still lasts).

Debt buyers (traditionally institutions) purchase claims for a fraction of the claim's face value with the hopes of profiting via bankruptcy proceedings. @xclaiminc is democratizing access to institutional-grade opportunities and capitalizing on the failures of centralized orgs.

Although investment activity is picking up for standalone observability platforms like @blocktorch, it is worth noting that much of the functionality provided by these platforms is already supported by node infrastructure providers.

@cookbook_dev is streamlining smart contract discovery and dApp development by:

• Integrating web3-native filters
• Packaging documentation and source code for smart contracts in a no-frills interface
• Leveraging its community and generative AI to provide educational support
  

Although @May_Social is directionally aligned with the trend of transforming landing pages into landing spaces, it will face challenges in inspiring awe and excitement for landing spaces that are predominantly populated with static 2D media collections.

NFTs represent a paradigm shift in consumer investing because they allow investors to access IP:

• With verifiable means of distribution
• That can be packaged into a diversified portfolio of products at no expense to the IP developer

@webbprotocol's unique graph-based framework for connecting merkle trees on different blockchains can improve:

• Scalability through the aggregation of privacy sets
• Security through networked consensus

Unlike incumbent EIPs and startups, @vibexyz_ allows NFTs to wrap around smart contracts & EOAs (in addition to tokens). Although @vibexyz_'s business can be cannibalized by L1/2 foundations, it is worth noting that @vibexyz_ can capitalize as a first mover with omnichain support

By leveraging zero knowledge proofs, @0xtristero can:

• Provide MEV protection
• Supersede traditional dark pools by eliminating the risk of insider trading

@0xtristero is uniquely branded as an exchange for opportunities that drive material innovation.

Probability contracts are intended to power betting apps. While existing solutions in the decentralized betting space are packaged as consumer apps with questionable biz models, @fareprotocol instead developed a foundational contract that delivers value to $FARE investors.

@DFlowProtocol is democratizing access to the request-for-quote (RFQ) model for retail investors. By leveraging the payment-for-order-flow (PFOF) model, @DFlowProtocol is hoping to bootstrap supply-side network effects.

There is a strong plausibility for multiple winners in the L2 rollup space, which is why rollup-specific bridging may be in high demand. @OmniFDN is hoping to solve the bridge trilemma by leveraging:

• EigenLayer for security
• The speed advantages of Tendermint
  

Modular chains need bridges to support the movement of capital in/out of their respective ecosystems. @CatalystAMM is competing with ecosystem-native solutions (e.g. 3-layer architectures) to capitalize on this infra need and optimize the ROI for deploying modular chains

@KarateCombat is the first sports league to be structured as a DAO. By granting meaningful governance rights to fans (e.g. authority on content-level decisions), @KarateCombat is positioned to grow its niche (but passionate) community through a grassroots movement.

Although the American market is saturated with heavyweights like Robinhood and CashApp, Paris-based @bitstack_ is targeting the European market. It is worth noting that stock market-based product counterparts have struggled to IPO.

@yozlabs is building critical tooling that allows consumers to stay up to speed on relevant on-chain events (e.g. NFT mints, governance events, etc.). With that being said, it is worth noting that this tooling has been available in the market for years now.

Although it is difficult to build a data-driven moat in this space, @absolute_labs has established itself as a market leader by pairing a sleek UI with workflow automation. In terms of momentum, @absolute_labs has an impressive list of customers that includes Time and LVMH.

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Unlike incumbent market players, @NATIXNetwork is:

• Maximizing its SAM with an application-agnostic solution
• Reducing barriers to adoption with a software-only solution that is compatible with any camera

@_joinfire is operating in a competitive market with late mover disadvantages. This market space is projected to become increasingly competitive as this standalone consumer-facing product is packaged as B2B SaaS for wallet providers.

@SeiNetwork differentiates its offering from general purpose L1/2s by supporting: (1) fast finality, (2) frontrunning protection, and (3) a native order matching engine. It has had success in organically growing its ecosystem and securing buy-in from popular projects like Axelar and Sushi.

Sequencers are responsible for ordering transactions on blockchains. @AstriaOrg is notable for: (1) streamlining rollup development, (2) making rollups more censorship resistant, (3) enabling conditional transaction inclusion, and (4) respecting rollup sovereignty

@OpsideZK rewards validators for zk-proof generation and supports a diverse set of zkEVM implementations. Although there are only a handful of startups that are marketing L3 zk-rollups, modular op-rollup providers are racing to build comparable solutions in the background.

@apmcoin is in a strategic position to tackle the Korean market because it is the dedicated blockchain partner for the apM Group, a Korean fashion mall operator that houses 1300+ vendors and commands 30% of sales in the Korean wholesale fashion industry.

Bounties can dramatically expand the gig economy in a future in which consumers actively search for opportunities to grow their stake in projects that they have conviction in. @zealy_io has developed an industry-leading feature set featuring advanced templates and automations.

@ensvision has strong execution momentum given it fills a significant chunk of ENS sales. In order to win, @ensvision may have to: (1) expand support for other naming services in the future and (2) proactively assess the risk posed by traditional identifiers on an ongoing basis

As the early stage startup landscape for crypto payroll becomes increasingly competitive, it is worth noting that later stage incumbents in the HR industry (e.g. Deel) are rolling out support for crypto payroll to more and more countries (though the implementation usually varies)

@huddle01com has a promising approach to build network effects for a decentralized communication network that centers around growing adoption for: (1) a meeting platform that caters to the unique needs of web3 enterprises and crypto anons and (2) tooling that grows mindshare among devs

@LayerZero_Labs is hoping to solve the bridge trilemma with a near trustless protocol that:

• Inherits security dependencies from the underlying blockchain and Chainlink
• Is compatible with provider-agnostic relayer services

It is difficult for fledgling proof of stake networks to provide strong security guarantees (w/o compromising on decentralization) given the slashable stake may be next to worthless. @eigenlayer solves for this by imposing slashing conditions on validators' staked ETH instead.

In accordance with the ethos of democratizing accessibility to institutional-grade finance, @cega_fi provides retail investors access to products that were traditionally traded OTC. @cega_fi will have to invest in educational efforts that expand awareness of exotic options.

As this product space becomes increasingly competitive, market players are racing to:

• Expand their footprint with zk rollups-as-a-service
• Differentiate with exotic features (e.g. reversible transactions)
• Provide comprehensive support for auxiliary infra (e.g. bridges)

@turnkeyhq's core IP differentiation is centered around the use of secure enclaves, a hardware-based authentication model, a programmable policy engine, and a notarizer service for private key management.

The market is saturated with similar ideas. Although @OP3Nworld_ is making progress in abstracting away the underlying tech, the value prop of decentralized social remains unclear to consumers b/c:

• The branding is not consumer-friendly
• There is limited innovation in the UX

@imdanielallan was able to bootstrap his career courtesy of NFT sales. With this fundraise, web3 VCs are setting a great example on how they can: (1) empower artists by providing "bridge financing" until they sign with a major label and (2) serve as a source of deal flow for A&R reps

While most consumer-grade transaction monitoring software providers intervene pre-flight, @safe_root intervenes in-flight. It is worth noting that @safe_root is currently only able to sound an alarm on transactions that exceed users' pre-defined limits.

Incumbent web2 competition has struggled to scale consumer adoption for PvP modes with financial implications. Although this casts a pessimistic view of @Moxyio's SAM, it is worth noting that this game format is more likely to resonate with web3 gamers.

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Stablecoin-based payment networks allow organizations to cut down on the costs and time required to pay int'l workers. As with many blockchain apps, adoption has been gated by the complexity of navigating regulations and @usetoku has turned this challenge to an opportunity.

The digital assets and tournaments on @matchday are officially licensed by FIFA and FIFPRO. It is worth noting that: (1) other gaming studios may be able to obtain comparable IP at the league/club/player level and (2) FIFA can choose to license its IP to other gaming studios as well

@ProvenTools is notable for maintaining compatibility with TradFi infra and supporting multiple financial health metrics. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, depegging of USDC, and the downfall of a host of centralized crypto institutions provide strong market tailwinds.

In theory, the value proposition of decentralized wireless networks is straightforward. However, adoption is gated by the inability of mainstream consumers to grasp highly technical concepts and the difficulty of implementing behavioral changes at scale.

Although @gosleep01 is hoping to instill healthy sleeping habits among users, it is difficult to believe that @gosleep01's:

• Sleep tracking mechanism cannot be gamed
• Tokenomics are sustainable
• Token rewards can meaningfully influence sleep habits

Historically, attempts at building AAA-quality world of worlds required 100s of millions of dollars in funding/years of R&D or failed to live up to AAA classification. @avalon is hoping to leverage innovations in AI to overcome issues that have plagued projects in the past.

@portal_hq is democratizing access to features that serve as the core IP for a host of consumer-facing, VC-backed startups. By doing so, @portal_hq is empowering developers to optimize the web3 UX (at scale) and precluding vendor lock-in on the consumer front.

dEOAs allow developers to conveniently integrate advanced custody features, such as account recovery and decentralized key generation. @IntuOfficial's security infra-as-a-service model is positioned to be in high demand given the complexity of building the infra in-house.

While most intelligence platforms are focused on extracting insights from historical data, @chaos_labs is one of the few platforms to provide forward-looking analytics for use cases in both business and risk management.

To compete with web3 competitors, @polybase_xyz is hoping to attract developers with a Firebase-like SDK. The challenge for @polybase_xyz et al. is in building network effects to the extent that the solution is as performant as centralized counterparts.

@TipLinkOfficial can serve as an ideal web3 onramp in certain contexts, including gifting, affiliate mkting, and events management. Although @TipLinkOfficial is not a first mover in the market, it is worth noting that incumbent competition has yet to achieve meaningful traction.

@brale_xyz recognizes the regulatory risks of operating in this market. In the near term, @brale_xyz is:

• Operating in a lot of white space
• Can on-ramp institutions to DeFi
• Can partner with institutions to brainstorm use cases that cannot be addressed by CBDCs

While most startups are focused on developing a be-all and end-all solution to the bridge trilemma, @0xOrbLabs is instead developing a suite of solutions to account for variations in:

• Developer preferences and
• Needs by use case.

As the market for auxiliary wallet infra grows with the adoption of on-chain firewalls and txn analytics, web3 will become more user-friendly. @stelolabs' approach to fight wallet fraud is promising given a functionally equivalent product has already prevented 18k scam attempts.

@monad_xyz is targeting: (1) 1000x the throughput of Ethereum, (2) 5x the throughput of Solana, and (3) 20x the throughput of Polygon by making low-level code improvements without breaking EVM compatibility.

While most blockchain-as-a-service startups maintain a singular focus on network configurability, @Calderaxyz is notable for going above and beyond with advanced developer and consumer-facing tooling that includes out of the box support for Safe, NFT marketplaces, and oracles.

Unlike index funds, index tokens provide investors convenient access to liquidity in the broader DeFi space. Since it is difficult to achieve product-led differentiation in this moderately crowded market, @alongsidefi's traction with institutional investors should come in handy.

Compared to ecosystem-specific naming services, @SpaceIDProtocol is a more suitable solution for: (1) a multi-chain future, (2) use cases that benefit from branded TLDs, and (3) developers that need a name service aggregator

With @dymensionXYZ, developers are able to choose the network token, app logic, and VM in which their app-chain operates. Its core market is comprised of developers who want to make the switch to modular blockchains and are comfortable with Cosmos and optimistic validation.

@CarbonPlace is uniquely positioned to build an industry-leading network of partnerships with carbon exchanges, marketplaces, and registries across the world because it is founded by a group of banks, which includes UBS, Standard Chartered, BBVA, and BNP Paribas.

Web3 projects are likely to embrace micro-influencer marketing because they place a strong emphasis on grassroots community building. Just like traditional micro-influencer platforms, bounty programs will face challenges in offering satisfactory rewards to users.

EdgeIn is competing against a well-funded incumbent. And although decentralized knowledge graphs may be a net-positive for consumers, it is still worth noting that they will face significant:

• Difficulties in providing quality assurances
• Competitive threat from generative AI

@sovereign_labs is positioned to gain developer adoption because it allows developers to:

• Code in popular programming languages to build zk-rollups
• Enjoy the flexibility of choosing their preferred settlement layer

@SpillMob can notably capitalize on the following market tailwinds:

• An influx of funding for Black-owned media companies
• The Black community's growing digital and socioeconomic footprint
• Increasing ad spend on media focused on African Americans

Although @vita_dao has established momentum by deploying $3.5M across 15 projects, it is worth noting that many well-funded research moonshots in the field of longevity have yet to achieve breakthrough commercial success (e.g. Alphabet's Calico Life Sciences).

@BlockJoyWeb3 is notable for: (1) using bare metal servers to cut operational costs by 80%, (2) developing patented tech that allows nodes to quickly add support for more chains, (3) supporting white-labelling, and (4) a consumer-friendly UX that can strengthen network decentralization

Although the playbook for collaborative storytelling platforms will be fine-tuned over time, @StorycoHQ is already applying time-tested strategies to win in Hollywood by:

• Attracting talent with stronger incentives alignment
• Validating demand for IP earlier than the status quo

With every fundraise, @QuickNode can better capitalize on economies of scale. As the market becomes increasingly competitive, @QuickNode and its competitors are focused on attracting developers with:

• An app marketplace
• Application/vertical-specific tooling

@asset_reality is notable for:

• Building strong momentum by securing ConsenSys and several government/law enforcement agencies as customers
• Leading the charge in upgrading web3 companies' underwhelming emergency response plans and boosting consumer trust in web3

@TholosApp is targeting enterprise clients that are not satisfied with: (1) multi-sig wallets because they want enhanced key security and (2) institutional-grade custody because they want to self-custody. It remains to be seen whether this market niche can create VC-scale winners.

In order to compete against the network effects of general purpose marketplaces like OpenSea, verticalized marketplaces integrate niche features. @MetahoodXYZ provides 3D interactive maps for various digital worlds and digital real estate insights (e.g. neighbors, pricing, etc.)

@ObolNetwork has been a first mover in embracing distributed validator technology, which can: (1) lower slashing risks, (2) improve availability, (3) boost decentralization, and (4) reduce user dependence on 3rd party custodians

@BIueFi's Safe tokens are ERC20 token wrappers that can only be traded by KYC/AML verified wallets. Compared to standalone KYC/AML credential protocols, @BIueFi's solution is more composable and much easier to integrate for DeFi protocols.

Unlike most incumbent products, @Upsidecoop allows DAOs to issue tokenized equity to DAO members in accordance with regulations. As regulation continues to catch up with web3, this differentiator will play an increasingly important role in separating the winners from the losers.

@Gateway_xyz is a first mover on allowing users to program proprietary credential standards. Since developer documentation for the project is not available at the moment, it is unclear how feature-rich and user-friendly the "build-your-own-credential" tooling is.

There are many types of ZKPs in development, all of which are computationally intensive. As ZKPs continue growing in popularity, demand can surge for tailor-made compute infrastructure that can run multiple types of proof systems and is optimized to deliver cost efficiencies.

Although the market for crypto prime brokerages is crowded, @parfin_io is one of the few players to target LatAm. In any case, @parfin_io may want to consider investing in new product lines (e.g. CeDeFi) to keep up with the latest and greatest in the industry.

Although @digitalvillage0 has direct competitors, the TAM is large enough for multiple winners if landing pages on the web convert to landing spaces and browser-native 3D environments deliver increasingly immersive experiences that boost user engagement.

Although consensus producers are core to the upkeep of a blockchain network, they have very limited access to financial services that are tailored to their needs. @alkimiya_io has plenty of headroom to fill this gap in the market as long as proof of work remains relevant.

Traditional yield generation vaults implement complex, long-duration strategies that: (1) most retail investors do not understand, (2) can take a toll on fund managers, and (3) may perform weaker to single trades. @STFX_IO is unbundling traditional vaults to address these shortcomings.

With respect to its game engine, @SpikeProtocol is a late mover and has substantial technical backlog. In terms of its interoperability standard, @SpikeProtocol should consider the fact that L1 token and consortium-created standards will provide gamers more interoperability.

Although the market for crypto tax accounting tools is saturated in the United States, @cryptiony has whitespace given it is the only VC-backed startup in this market that is based in the UK.

@c14_team is operating in a crowded market comprised of prime brokerages, exchanges, etc. Since it is difficult to achieve product differentiation, @c14_team will have to build network effects through other means or tap into geographies that are relatively under-penetrated.

Since its last fundraise, @CandyDigital has managed to expand its partner base to include WWE, Netflix, NASCAR, and college football. In order to deliver venture-scale returns, @CandyDigital may want to start leveraging its brand value to grow its partner base exponentially.

The need for multi-sig wallets is more pronounced in the Aptos ecosystem because deployer addresses have the permission to upgrade smart contracts to an arbitrary logic. As a first mover, @MomentumSafe can achieve significant upside if the Move ecosystem achieves a breakthrough.