The only metric you should care about is Volume.

Today, I got this message in one of my group chats with a team we’ve spoken to in the past, with the following question:

‘hmm, my thoughts’. Well:

You’re a protocol. Protocol’s only care about 1 thing, that’s volume. Protocols generate more volume, when they get ‘hits’. ‘Hits’ are viral products that build on top of the protocol, that lead to massive increases in volume.

For example, in the case of Ethereum, Uniswap builds on ETH, Compound builds on Uniswap, Curve uses Compound, and so on. Each addition increases total value capture potential of volume, by literally creating new markets. In measurable terms, these new projects can create networks effects in the 10+ figure range. These are the moonshots that ecosystems thrive on, the very small amount of ‘winners’. Ultimately, this drives demand for the underlying commodity, Blockspace.

Now, this specific protocol is hybrid, meaning they’re user facing too. They have a UI. So they do also want to encourage more users, however their CMO tells me they have 75,00 DAUs, which, well, which sounds impossible tbh. Nonetheless, taken at face value, considering that 75,000 feels bigger than the entire potential TAM for their product, further B2C makes no sense. Also, that’s around the same if not slightly more than Uniswap, so like, you’re probably good on user marketing for now

Moreover, artificially inflating X metrics is not marketing. It in no way contributes to the actual thing that matters, volume. Projects, and this one also, do it because they need to ‘look good for CEXs’, which is an incredibly dangerous road to go down.

It doesn’t matter what you’re slinging, whether it be protocol bandwidth or cocaine, wallet users or a casino, you should only care about volume.

The more volume there is, the more money that is made, the more of a MOAT you can create around your competition (and the more token go up).

Now, you may hear people mention ‘vibes’, ‘x followers’, or even ‘community engagement’, however those people apparently do not enjoy money. People who enjoy money, need to optimise for as much volume as possible, in order to extract as much value as possible from their utility.

This is what I want to drive home, you will make more money if you sell more of something. If you don’t win on Volume, you are going to lose in the short, medium and long term.

Actually, Solana is a great example of why you need to think about Volume.

Although damning for the L1 and clearly a mid term narrative, they still showed extreme demand and value in blockspace, and mempool layers such as jito, alongside consumer a la pump fun, which all have cleverly extracted value.

Therefore, the demand *is real*, in the truest sense, even if it is considered poor play, in the grand scheme of things. The SOL graphs are insane… and although ‘manipulated’, still have fees that are distributed throughout the economy.

The trickle down effect, of protocols, if you will.

How many other chains chased memecoins after Sol? Blast, Base, BNB, Ordinals…

The strategy was clearly trying to be copied, which is hilarious, because for sure no one in Solano actually dreamt this up, this just came to them organically.

Anyway, as a founder, a marketer, make sure to point your North Star in the right place, trusting in volume, turning on revenue when the time is right, and never focussing on anything else. Be viciously tackling and thinking about volume, look for shortcuts to get it, optimise the product schedule around it. Always remember that you are in the business of making millionaires and billionaires, and that your ecosystem’s goal is to facilitate those with potential, to shine.