🧞The dApps growth playbook: insights for scaling success

What you need to know about scaling dApps

Epic Web3

May 12, 2025

Gm and happy Monday frens🖖

We have the infrastructure. Now we need users.

The best way to get them?

dApps!

Today we talk about scaling dApps, onboarding users, and:

❤️ What to do at EthCC?
🤭 How to achieve mass adoption with dApps
🧵 Pectra, RWAs & marketing
📰 News

🧞A pop-up city & bootcamp on Agents

🧝‍♂️🧝‍♀️ The Oz city – is one week bootcamp where builders, founders, and researchers co-develop AI & Web3 projects.

Right before EthCC, we are bringing together 80 high-agency builders working at the frontier of Agents, AI + Web3.

The bootcamp will be filled with educational workshops, Hacking activities, demo days, office hours, community building events, and a conference.

Secure your spot

🤖 Full day of talks about AI Agents

Agents Day is a one-day EthCC side event. It’s an in-person conference with talks, workshops and panel discussions on AI & Web3, AI Agents, Data, Privacy & Security, deApps and so much more, led by industry leaders, investors and experts.

What to expect:

Autonomous systems;
Multiagentic future;
Governance, data & security;
dePIN & agentic infra;
Agentic and AI-enhanced dApps.

Book a seat

🔮 L2con is back, baby!

L2con is the largest EthCC[8] conference focused on the future of the scaling ecosystem, General-Purpose Chains and App-Chains, development of dApps, and what unites us all — achieving mass adoption.

Get ready for:

50+ speakers from top web3 companies & rising stars
1200+ web3 builders & non-technical enthusiasts
High-quality networking
2 stages: Chains Stage & dApps Stage
Food & drinks throughout the day

Grab a free ticket

🛠️ Deep-dive: What you need to know about scaling dApps

Some insights from panel Discussion: "Beyond the Bubble: Scaling dApps in 2025" moderated by Irena Timofeeva, Head of Ecosystem at @ Chainflip with:

Dima Twit, Chief of Growth @ Nomisma
Georgios Vlachos, Co-Founder @ Axelar
Steven Enamakel, Creator @ Zerolend
Mike Massari, VP of Research and Partnerships @ AEON
Sergej Kunz, Co-Founder @ 1inch

Watch the full version here!

Business Model and competition

Competition in the blockchain infrastructure space is fierce, especially for things like cross-chain swaps. So many providers now offer similar services that fees have dramatically dropped, often near zero. Infrastructure projects like Axelar, Wormhole, and LayerZero are directly feeling this pressure. As a result, infrastructure alone isn't always profitable.

Instead, companies are now shifting to making money through user-facing platforms or branded interfaces, much like how Uniswap's popular front-end attracts users despite charging fees. Basically, it's become clear that infrastructure providers need to rely on high volume, exclusive arrangements, or niche markets to sustain their revenue.

Decentralization vs. Centralization

We're seeing more hybrid models now - apps with decentralized functionality but centralized user experiences gaining popularity. Projects like Friend.tech are examples: decentralized smart contracts running behind the scenes with easy-to-use centralized interfaces.

Yet, truly decentralized applications still face big hurdles. They're often complicated, difficult for newcomers, and prone to security issues like hacks or scams. For pure decentralized apps to really thrive, we need to simplify their interfaces dramatically and make them as secure and user-friendly as mainstream apps.

Mass adoption and usability

Mass adoption of blockchain depends heavily on simplifying the user experience. Right now, new users face too many barriers - multiple wallets, confusing transactions, complex terminology - that discourage most people from joining or staying. The blockchain needs to become as effortless as using online banking or social media platforms.

Today's blockchain is similiar to the early internet days - initially complicated, but eventually becoming intuitive and indispensable. To reach mass adoption, blockchain needs a similar transformation: becoming easy enough for everyone, including non-tech-savvy people, to use comfortably.

Community engagement matters

There's growing recognition in crypto that strong community relationships are critical for success. DeFi projects today aren't just about technology or tokens; they actively engage with their communities to understand what users truly want and need.

Companies like Nomisma spend significant time listening to and engaging with their communities, gathering feedback, and incorporating insights into their products. This kind of direct interaction creates a loyal, satisfied user base, improves user retention, and ultimately helps these projects succeed. In other words, projects that listen closely and respond to their communities tend to grow stronger and more successful.