During Taipei Blockchain Week in December 2024, Lingling Jiang, Partner of DWF Labs, spoke in a panel discussion alongside Vincent Liu (Chief Investment Officer at Kronos Research), Ching Tseng (Principal at AppWorks), and Dan Park (Investor at Hashed). The panel covered topics such as crypto user adoption and retention, investment strategies, crypto ventures, industry partnerships, and regulatory frameworks. Read our recap of the talk and watch its record below.
Two-Phase Approach to User Adoption
User adoption is a key challenge for Web3 projects, and Lingling Jiang shared a two-phase approach: “There are two phases in user adoption. One is user acquisition and the second phase will be user retention,” she explained.
She highlighted the effectiveness of marketing, brand awareness, and strategic partnerships for initial user acquisition, citing Hyperliquid’s successful airdrop strategy that distributed 31% of total supply to approximately 200,000 users. “These users became free marketers, driving organic growth,” she added. Incentive programs to motivate users to use the product are crucial for acquisition.
Regarding user retention, DWF Labs’s Partner stressed the importance of user experience beyond financial incentives, sharing that on top of financial incentives, the user experience, value-add, and problem-solving aspects of the project are important to retain users.
The Importance of Founders in the Crypto Startup Space
When discussing investment criteria, Jiang discussed the fundamental importance of founding teams. “Teams, especially the founders, are the backbone and foundation of crypto projects,” she noted. She shared that while projects and technology can be pivoted according to market trends, founders cannot be changed.
While deciding on whether to invest in crypto projects, Jiang shared that she looks at founders’ past experiences, investigating their track records and past projects. Their response to failure is also an important aspect to consider, to see if the founder could successfully learn from previous challenges.
Bridging Traditional Finance and Regulatory Frameworks for Crypto Adoption
On integration between traditional finance and Web3, Lingling drew from her traditional finance background to highlight the importance of bridging these sectors. She referenced BlackRock’s expanding their tokenised money market fund to multiple chains in November 2024 as an example of how traditional finance partnerships can enhance credibility and user trust for crypto projects.
The panel discussion also touched on regulatory developments, with Lingling Jiang pointing to Hong Kong’s approach of leveraging existing financial licenses for digital assets as an efficient model for Web3 development. This perspective aligns with her broader view of building bridges between traditional and decentralised finance.
Looking ahead to 2025, DWF Labs’s representative identified blockchain interoperability as a critical area for improvement. She emphasised that improving cross-chain communication will lead to better user experiences, which ultimately could offer significant upside potential for crypto.
Conclusion
Overall, the panel discussion covered strategic guidance on user adoption, regulatory compliance, and investment strategies. Lingling provided valuable advice for projects to prioritise user experience, and shared her inputs on the importance of founder quality. As part of her overall focus in the crypto space, she shared about the significance of meaningful traditional finance partnerships for projects seeking to scale in the evolving crypto landscape.
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