This article analyzes the potential risks and issues of domestic Web3 projects such as Cococat, Pi Network, and Holiverse, aiming to remind investors to participate cautiously. The article points out that these projects are primarily aimed at domestic users and face regulatory risks; founders may bear legal responsibilities at any time; target users are often novices or the elderly, investing in high-risk and irresponsible ventures; and they lack financing from well-known institutions, relying on retail investors, among other issues.
This article may offend some people, but I believe it can help more individuals.
Since I started making videos, I have received inquiries about various projects, with the most inquiries about Cococat, Pi Network, Holiverse, and others like Fifth City Metaverse. Today, I will provide some of my own analyses and thoughts on these projects for your reference. Originally, I wanted to include a photo of myself with Dr. Jiang from Cococat, as we met briefly at an offline seminar, but...
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Regulatory Risks of Domestic Web3 Projects
These projects are likely issued in our country, regardless of where they are registered, where their official website servers are located, or where the founders and teams are based. Some say that Web3 projects do not need registration, servers, or domain names, but in terms of basic facts, their core users are all domestic. You can check their communities to see if this is true. Several regulations regarding cryptocurrency are explicitly prohibited in our country; domestic Web3 projects are not allowed to issue tokens, mine with mining machines, conduct ICOs, or engage in any organized promotion of cryptocurrencies. Therefore, the first issue these projects face is regulatory risk. In other words, the founders and teams of these projects are always at risk of legal sanctions. -
High-Risk Investments by Novices and Elderly Users
Most of the users consulting me are either novices or older individuals. Encouraging these people to invest is, in my opinion, extremely irresponsible. Web3 is currently in a primitive stage—immature, chaotic, lacking comprehensive regulations, filled with experimentation and high risks. To let novices and the elderly invest in such a situation is simply outrageous. You can check online to see if the offline events they organize are predominantly attended by older individuals. -
Lack of Institutional Financing
In this primitive era, who will invest? It must be institutions and VCs, as they are called venture capitalists. They are better at seizing opportunities and avoiding risks; even if they fail, it does not affect their personal lives. Once the industry matures slightly, novices or capable individuals can consider gradually entering the market. Looking at the financing situation of the above projects, you can check on Rootdata, where all Web3 project financing information is displayed. You will see if any of them have received capital; if someone says they have technology and do not need financing, then why are they asking retail investors for money? -
Self-Built DEX Trading and Long Unlocking Periods
These projects have issued project tokens but have not listed them on well-known exchanges, not even on second-tier exchanges. So where do they trade? They trade on their own decentralized exchanges, using a DEX facade with only a few trading pairs. While the product may be simple, the schemes are definitely complex. For example, if you spend 10,000 yuan to buy their tokens, they will do everything possible to get you to participate in liquidity mining or staking, which means continuing to deposit your tokens into the protocol. This is normal; many DEXs operate this way, but they also set a two-year unlocking period. Isn’t that frightening? No matter how high the price rises or how sharply it falls, you will find yourself helpless. -
Misleading Offline Events and Ideological Piling
They love to hold events, inviting retail investors to a large hotel, hiring a lecturer to talk about blockchain and Web3 concepts. Of course, it sounds inspiring—decentralization, privacy, fairness, and transparency are all true. But what does this have to do with the project? Can the retail investors below understand the code? Or smart contracts? Or token models? A pile of correct viewpoints builds a huge lie, combined with a beautiful slogan, shining in the place where we have Cococat. -
Incentive Mechanisms for Recruitment and Community Brainwashing
Recruitment involves a complex referral incentive mechanism, establishing a seemingly united community that follows orders, capturing various territories. When a video becomes popular, there is a flood of promotional content for various projects below. When asked about products, technology, financing, or teams, they stammer and instead tell you how great the project is, how much money it can make, and how to seize the opportunities of the times.
I will stop here for now. I have also visited several project communities, and in some older projects, some people already know they have been scammed and have publicly exposed many issues in the community. In short, you cannot earn money beyond your understanding. In such an emerging industry, learning and practicing more is not wrong, but do not invest blindly. Do not think that if you miss an opportunity, it is gone; there are plenty of opportunities. This is just the beginning. Don’t wait until the real opportunity comes, and you have lost confidence or run out of chips.
I also advise these project parties; perhaps some truly have ambition and a genuine heart for Web3, but do not use the meager savings of retail investors as chips to attract institutional funds. If your project is truly good, thank those builders who are genuinely working for the long-term development of Web3.
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