Unchained

Ethena's L1 Shows Fat Apps Are on the Rise. Can They Beat Fat Protocols? - Ep. 804

5 snips
Mar 21, 2025
Guest
Ryan Watkins
Ryan Watkins, Co-founder at Syncracy Capital and expert in the crypto economy, shares groundbreaking insights on the new trend of "Fat Apps" out-earning traditional blockchains. He discusses why applications like Ethena are thriving in revenue generation, and what this means for major platforms like Ethereum and Solana. Watkins explains Ethena's bold move to launch its own blockchain, the changing dynamics of value capture, and how future blockchain architectures will evolve to stay competitive in this fast-paced market.
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INSIGHT

Fat Apps Rising

  • Applications are generating more revenue than their underlying infrastructure, like Ethereum and Solana.
  • This shift suggests a potential rise of "fat apps" that vertically integrate and capture a greater share of the value.
INSIGHT

Fat Protocols vs. Fat Apps

  • The traditional "fat protocols" thesis posited that blockchains would capture most of the value, like Bitcoin outperforming companies built on it.
  • The emerging "fat app" thesis suggests applications may now be out-earning the blockchains they run on.
ANECDOTE

Apps Launching L1s

  • Several crypto projects, including Axie Infinity, Uniswap, and Ethena, have launched their own blockchains.
  • This strategy reflects a "find market fit, then launch an L1" approach, prioritizing application success before infrastructure development.
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