Original Title: "ArkStream Capital: Social Old Brand Native Ecology Breakthrough Against FT and Telegram Ecology - Lens Builds Ambitious Layer 1 Social Chain"

Original Author: Larissa

Original Source: ArkStream Capital

After the Ethereum Community Conference (ETHCC), Lens Protocol made headlines with the announcement of its latest upgrade, Lens V2. This highly anticipated release includes two revolutionary upgrades. The first upgrade is "Open Actions," which introduces a groundbreaking feature that allows users and developers to seamlessly integrate external smart contract actions into Lens publications. The second enhancement is a major integration with ERC6551, which allows users to bind all account activity within the Lens ecosystem by using NFTs as their unique identity, completely changing the way identity management works. Now, multiple wallet addresses can be linked together through a single NFT, simplifying the user experience.

-Lens and its competitors

Lens Protocol has established itself as a leading SocialFi platform on Ethereum. Compared to its competitors, Lens has shown impressive growth and user engagement. A social contract with a similar social graph concept, Fracaster, currently has 17,286 active accounts, while Lens Protocol has an astonishing 119,241 active accounts, clearly surpassing its competitors. Although another competitor, Cyberconnect, has over 296,342 accounts, Lens Protocol has implemented access control measures, so direct comparison is not very meaningful. Despite having a larger user base, Lens Protocol has performed well in terms of total transaction volume, with a total of 21,931,943 transactions, while Cyberconnect's total transaction volume is 16,249,274. Lens Protocol's ecosystem has not only attracted a larger user base, but also has a more active level of user activity compared to other social contract platforms, reflecting the effectiveness of Lens Protocol in creating a vibrant and thriving community within its decentralized ecosystem. However, Lens Protocol is not satisfied with the current state and is constantly upgrading to the next stage.

-Lens Ambitious Trends

1)Momoka: Len's L3

In April, Lens launched MOMOKA, an innovative Optimistic L3 scaling solution designed to process Polygon transactions off-chain, achieving unparalleled scalability while reducing transaction costs. Unlike the traditional Rollup process where L2 sends transactions to L1, Momoka takes a different approach. It creates transactions and obtains signatures from wallets, but instead of broadcasting these transactions directly on the blockchain, it uses transaction signatures and typed data to generate Data Availability (DA) metadata, which is treated as the transaction itself. This metadata transaction is then sent to a dedicated DA layer.

Additionally, Momoka provides indexing support, allowing node operators to seamlessly stream and index Lens data without relying on third-party infrastructure. The launch of Momoka enables users to selectively store data on Polygon and publications that do not require a powerful, untrusted execution layer can choose not to use the EVM state. Therefore, Momoka provides users with the flexibility to customize their transaction methods based on their specific needs within the Lens ecosystem. The launch of Momoka provides users with the possibility of reducing their dependence on Polygon services to some extent, which may lead to Lens turning to Layer 1 chains and becoming part of a modular blockchain approach.

2) Integration with ERC6551

ERC6551 allows for the creation of Token Bound Accounts (TBA) for NFTs, which means that NFTs can serve as wallet addresses or on-chain accounts, truly realizing the function of NFTs as wallets. In addition, ERC-6551 will support the creation of smart contract wallet accounts for current ERC-721 NFTs, using NFTs as on-chain identity wallets. Under this NFT account, multiple wallet addresses, held NFTs, and ERC-20 tokens can be included, making NFTs a true representative of on-chain identity accounts.

From the perspective of Lens, integrating with ERC-6551 to establish rules for using Lens NFTs is a strategic move. Currently, Lens requires users to own Lens NFTs in order to access its services, and trading Lens NFTs will result in the loss of all associated account activity and transactions. By implementing ERC-6551, Lens simplifies the use of its NFTs and adds an element of identity, creating a sense of belonging for users.

Lens believes that the integration with ERC-6551 not only simplifies the use of NFTs, but also introduces the concept of identity, enhancing the overall user experience. This innovative approach of integrating identity into NFTs creates a deeper connection between users and platforms.

In the closed beta version of Lens, users have created and accumulated over 3.4 million NFTs, which are not just simple personal profile pictures or digital assets. Now, these NFTs have the potential to generate new uses in the identity field, providing a fresh and exciting perspective that may generate interest in the market.

-Lens Protocol's Star Projects

Currently, there are over 134 verified and showcased applications thriving in the Lens ecosystem. This diverse range of successful applications has sparked great interest and support from various communities and developers, and has high expectations for the future of the Lens Protocol.

1)Orb

Orb is a decentralized social media platform that supports both mobile and desktop devices. Among all applications, we believe in Orb. Orb is a decentralized social application that not only performs well in UI/UX on Lens, but also stands out in emphasizing community attention. We believe that an engaging and unique community will be the most unique feature of Web3 social applications and will help attract Web2 users from platforms such as Twitter. Orb not only focuses on attracting diverse communities from Web3, but also makes efforts in creating a unique user experience.

2)Lenster

Lenster, as an innovative and pioneering decentralized social media application, firmly adheres to the principle of permissionless interaction. With the strong support of the Lens Protocol, Lenster has redefined the digital social field by introducing a new user participation paradigm. On this innovative platform, users have an unprecedented ability to create and reward posts that deeply resonate with the wider community.

3)Phaver

Phaver is a pioneer in the field of decentralized social media platforms, utilizing cutting-edge capabilities of Lens technology. As an early adopter of this revolutionary paradigm, Phaver has not only redefined the way users interact with digital communities, but also introduced innovative incentive dimensions through its unique reward token system.

-Limitations of the Lens Protocol

The submitter is responsible for verifying transaction data and constructing data to be submitted to Arweave, similar to an L2 sequencer. However, it is not decentralized, and the decision-making power of the submitter belongs to the Lens official team.

Lens chooses not to follow the traditional L2 solution, but instead rolls up and sends data to the DA layer. This decision is because as a large application, Lens data will continue to grow and become complex, unlike financial data that only needs the final result. Sending data to the DA layer processed by Arweave is a temporary solution, not a long-term scaling solution.

Although Lens is considered one of the most mature protocols with a thriving ecosystem and a dedicated team committed to building and improving user experience, it currently mainly attracts blockchain users. Lens struggles to attract new users. However, some non-blockchain social contracts have successfully attracted a large number of new users through low entry barriers and smooth user experience.

In short, the Lens protocol stands out in competition with its inherent technical advantages, rooted in its firm commitment to decentralization. While well-known social protocols like Nostr and Mastodon have accumulated a large number of users without relying on blockchain technology, the uniqueness of the Lens protocol lies in its true support for decentralization. The case of Nostr emphasizes the importance of decentralized architecture, eliminating the need for users to deal with complex blockchain concepts. Nostr's elegant system, including clients and relays, provides users with an environment for easy access to private and public keys, creating conditions for expanding and creating diverse applications.

However, the recent wave of innovation created by visionaries such as Vitalik and Elon on Twitter may re-adjust the preferences of local Web3 users, prompting them to explore alternative promising social protocols. In this ever-changing landscape, the Lens protocol faces the challenge of maintaining its relevance and appeal in a fiercely competitive environment.

We look forward to witnessing Lens stand out in the fiercely competitive social arena!

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