The core of forked project is that latecomer always fight for the first. There were demands and market already verified before imitator take action. It can be seen as an effective strategy to share the market as a successful fork project.

Author: Calvin, a researcher at Taihe Capital

In the cryptocurrency market, once a branch track is developed, a group of followers and challengers will immediately emerge.

In the cryptocurrency market, once a branch track is developed, a group of followers and challengers will immediately emerge.

"Imitators" and "followers" have greatly avoided the uncertain risks brought about by "innovation", saved a lot of costs in market research, code development, and market education, and can also avoid many "first movers". The errors that have been verified can even be improved. It is impossible for any single track to be a dominant company. To be an "imitator" or "follower" of a proven track, or what we often call "imitation", can also take advantage of the "latecomer advantage". into a successful project.

In the cryptocurrency market, strategic "imitation" is not uncommon, but how to successfully "imitate" and share the market has become a problem that every "challenger" must face.

The number of projects that can be accommodated in a single track must be limited. In the end, one or two top projects will occupy 80% of the market share. Then, in the early stage of a certain track’s brutal growth, how can it compete with many “imitators” and Finding high-quality "challengers" among "followers" has also become a problem that investment institutions need to face.

(2) Differentiated technical level optimization and technical application differentiation

(1) Clear expression of project vision and story

(2) Differentiated technical level optimization and technical application differentiation

In the history of the blockchain, if there is a consensus conflict between two communities in a certain project ecology, causing one chain to become two chains, a certain currency will also be mapped 1:1 to generate a new currency, so the most obvious The characteristic is that the original currency held (the forked project) needs to be mapped 1:1; while directly copying the code of the original project, token airdrops will not be performed, and the data on the chain (chain height) will also start running again. We call it "fake disk".

"fork"and "copycats"

In distributed storage, a hot branch of blockchain technology, before the Filecoin mainnet goes online, people who want to "fork" Filecoin have already been surging in the market. For such a large branch track, Even if 5%-10% of the market volume is allocated, it is still a volume of 500-100 million. But at present, the projects that claim to be Filecoin forks are basically just "imitators" of the Filecoin project, not the "forked" Filecoin they claim.

In the history of the blockchain, if there is a consensus conflict between two communities in a certain project ecology, causing one chain to become two chains, a certain currency will also be mapped 1:1 to generate a new currency, so the most obvious The characteristic is that the original currency held (the forked project) needs to be mapped 1:1; while directly copying the code of the original project, token airdrops will not be performed, and the data on the chain (chain height) will also start running again. We call it "fake disk".

In addition, most miners now have pre-stakes, and the real development of Filecoin depends on the application support of the later application ecology. These are not problems that forks can solve.

Obviously, none of the projects that claim to be Filecoin forks on the market now have a 1:1 mapping of FIL tokens, so the case of Filecoin forks is basically ruled out.

From a technical point of view, the Filecoin project is not like Bitcoin. It can be forked by copying code, dividing computing power, and mapping tokens. In terms of the difficulty of forking, Filecoin involves re-backing up the stored data. Now Filecoin The data stored on the network is nearly 1 EB, and the fork is extremely difficult.

In addition, most miners now have pre-stakes, and the real development of Filecoin depends on the application support of the later application ecology. These are not problems that forks can solve.

To be precise, the project should be called Filecoin's "imitation disk", or "imitator". Whether it is FileCash, FileStar, or Eipk Protocol, the project party does not shy away from mentioning in the white paper that it is modified in the Filecoin project white paper."fork"To be precise, the project should be called Filecoin's "imitation disk", or "imitator". Whether it is FileCash, FileStar, or Eipk Protocol, the project party does not shy away from mentioning in the white paper that it is modified in the Filecoin project white paper.

How to successfully "fork" a project

How to successfully "fork" a project

The core of bifurcation is differentiation. The core of finding differentiation is to find the pain points of ecological participants and provide ecological participants with a new choice.

Taking the Filecoin project as an example, the economic model of Filecoin has brought a lot of troubles to the miners: in the traditional sense, as long as the miners buy a good machine and plug it in, everything is ok, but the miners of Filecoin must not only install the machine, install the system, deploy, Then maintain the distributed storage system, and even need to solve the bugs of the official code, and understand the economic model of Filecoin to choose a better mortgage strategy. It puts miners in a very difficult situation, which will make it difficult for later miners to enter and limit the future development of the entire ecology.

Only by finding a huge pain point and using this pain point as a fork project can we obtain a real "imitator" or even a "challenger".

01 The Power of Story

"Toss a coin to your Witcher" is a song about "the power of story" "The witcher is man's best friend", he also praised the prosperity of human society, and finally emphasized "remember to pay the witcher.". From then on, the status of the witcher among human beings is no longer a "butcher" but a "warrior". This is the power of the story.

The translation of this sentence is actually "Toss a bitcoin to your witcher." This sentence is actually adapted from "Toss a coin to your Witcher." This is a song.

"Toss a coin to your Witcher" is a song about "the power of story" "The witcher is man's best friend", he also praised the prosperity of human society, and finally emphasized "remember to pay the witcher.". From then on, the status of the witcher among human beings is no longer a "butcher" but a "warrior". This is the power of the story.

Any project in the blockchain, whether it is a "fork" project or a new project, needs a cohesive and attractive description or "story" to shape its image in the minds of investors, gain attention and even participate.

But for the Filecoin fork project (or imitation disk), it is not only necessary to tell stories to potential users, but also to provide another opportunity for those who are lingering at the door of the Filecoin project, unwilling to buy it, and hesitant.

But for the Filecoin fork project (or imitation disk), it is not only necessary to tell stories to potential users, but also to provide another opportunity for those who are lingering at the door of the Filecoin project, unwilling to buy it, and hesitant.

For imitators or innovators, they can also make a differentiated positioning from previous projects at the story level, and they can put themselves on a small enough track, and they can also make supplements in the ecological dimension."fork"Almost all projects are claiming that they have no pre-stake. This is obviously a frenzied move to show favor to "miners". This statement has become extremely "homogeneous", and the disgust for this story will also increase .

For imitators or innovators, they can also make a differentiated positioning from previous projects at the story level, and they can put themselves on a small enough track, and they can also make supplements in the ecological dimension.

The most prominent innovation and transformation at the story level is the Epik Protocol. From the description of the Epik white paper and official website, in fact, the original intention of Epik is to use a decentralized storage technology to build a knowledge graph network. There is a huge difference between feeding data to AI, or raw data for machine learning, and the lack of current application scenarios of Filecoin, and the difficulty of commercial realization.

When we look back at the history of forks, we will find the importance of technology in the project's "forks" and "imitation disk" projects. However, after we demonstrated multiple forked projects, we found that the original main chain that was forked The team usually has a deeper understanding of the technical indicators of the chain, and the "fork" project is usually a follower. After a deep understanding of the technical design, it is necessary to make technical modifications on the premise of ensuring stability.

When we look back at the history of forks, we will find the importance of technology in the project's "forks" and "imitation disk" projects. However, after we demonstrated multiple forked projects, we found that the original main chain that was forked The team usually has a deeper understanding of the technical indicators of the chain, and the "fork" project is usually a follower. After a deep understanding of the technical design, it is necessary to make technical modifications on the premise of ensuring stability.

This involves the problem that Satoshi Nakamoto demonstrated when he set the size of a single block. The expansion mainly solves the problem of throughput on the chain. If you are waiting for a train at a train station, the interval between trains entering the station is 1 hour , the compartment capacity is 10 people. Once the train is full, the 11th passenger can only take the next train. In this example, the passengers are Bitcoin transactions waiting to be confirmed. On average, blockchain platforms like Bitcoin or Ethereum can process around 10 transactions per second.

This involves the problem that Satoshi Nakamoto demonstrated when he set the size of a single block. The expansion mainly solves the problem of throughput on the chain. If you are waiting for a train at a train station, the interval between trains entering the station is 1 hour , the compartment capacity is 10 people. Once the train is full, the 11th passenger can only take the next train. In this example, the passengers are Bitcoin transactions waiting to be confirmed. On average, blockchain platforms like Bitcoin or Ethereum can process around 10 transactions per second.

2. Since the confirmation speed of Litecoin is 4 times that of Bitcoin, and the reward of each block is the same as that of Bitcoin, the total amount of currency is also 4 times that of Bitcoin, which is 84 million Litecoins, which is larger than the output of Bitcoin. high.

This is the root cause of the split in the Bitcoin community. In fact, the Bitcoin developers at the time did not completely reject the expansion, but only pointed out the need for cautious expansion.

Let’s talk about Litecoin, it is said that the success of “Litecoin” is due to the good marketing of “Bitcoin Gold, Litecoin Silver”, but in fact Litecoin has made some micro-innovations on the basis of Bitcoin’s technology, such as:

1. Bitcoin generates a block every 10 minutes, while Litecoin generates a block every 2.5 minutes. This means that Litecoin has faster transaction confirmation efficiency. Bitcoin transfers sometimes take 1 hour or even longer to arrive, but Litecoin generally only needs to be confirmed within 20 minutes.

2. Since the confirmation speed of Litecoin is 4 times that of Bitcoin, and the reward of each block is the same as that of Bitcoin, the total amount of currency is also 4 times that of Bitcoin, which is 84 million Litecoins, which is larger than the output of Bitcoin. high.

3. Litecoin uses script encryption algorithm. Compared with Bitcoin using SHA256 encryption algorithm, Litecoin LTC has a slightly lower calculation volume than Bitcoin, making mining easier and more suitable for graphics card (GPU) calculations.

Therefore, we can see that many technologies (such as: Segregated Witness) will be deployed on Litecoin for experiments first, which is a bit like the Kusama network of the current Polkadot DOT network.

Therefore, we can see that many technologies (such as: Segregated Witness) will be deployed on Litecoin for experiments first, which is a bit like the Kusama network of the current Polkadot DOT network.

The fan blade size of 32G means that on this storage network, the smallest storage unit is 32G, which is very large for general file storage. The reason for setting such a large size is because the TPS of the Filecoin network does not The higher the fan blade size, the smaller the filecoin network throughput will be. In the case of keeping the network TPS unchanged, larger fan blades can ensure that the network will not be too congested, but the price of larger fan blades is the long packaging time of miners.

Let me focus on why FileCash modified the fan blade size from 32G to 16G and did not continue to shrink. Obviously, the FileCash team has carefully thought about this issue, and it is still related to the throughput bottleneck of the blockchain.

The fan blade size of 32G means that on this storage network, the smallest storage unit is 32G, which is very large for general file storage. The reason for setting such a large size is because the TPS of the Filecoin network does not The higher the fan blade size, the smaller the filecoin network throughput will be. In the case of keeping the network TPS unchanged, larger fan blades can ensure that the network will not be too congested, but the price of larger fan blades is the long packaging time of miners.

Therefore, FileCash's careful technical choice on this detail issue is indeed worthy of praise.

For blockchain projects, it is not just that technology or tools will be recognized if they are well done. If the blockchain system is really to run, it needs a large number of node participation or consensus. The key point here is the economic model Whether the design is perfect or reasonable. 

For blockchain projects, it is not just that technology or tools will be recognized if they are well done. If the blockchain system is really to run, it needs a large number of node participation or consensus. The key point here is the economic model Whether the design is perfect or reasonable.

For blockchain projects, token financing replaces equity financing, which represents a structural change and essential difference in the distribution of rights and interests. The distribution of benefits in traditional equity financing is between shareholders, while blockchain The benefit distribution of the project is among the participants, and the token holders and all ecological participants can obtain the benefit distribution.

How the value of the project ecology endows the token with value, and how the token value motivates ecological participants, this is the original intention of the economic model design of the blockchain project.

How the value of the project ecology endows the token with value, and how the token value motivates ecological participants, this is the original intention of the economic model design of the blockchain project.

This is especially true for "fork projects". A good economic model design can attract ecological participants. After all, most ecological participants are not loyal to ecology, but loyal to interests.

The most direct example is: Sushiswap is a "fork" of Uniswap. In the early days, Uniswap did not launch its own tokens, which allowed Sushiswap to snatch Uniswap's liquidity pool through token economic model design and value capture mechanism. As a result, it has become one of the most successful "fork" projects in the DeFi field this year.

However, value capture and token empowerment are only the most basic economic model design. In the economic model design of distributed storage incentive layer tokens, the economic model is to establish the game structure of each participant in the ecology through the design of the token economic model The difficulty of design.

Let's take the Ethereum gas fee model design as an example. Network congestion will lead to an increase in gas fees, which will cause a decrease in the number of messages and then relieve congestion. This is the performance of the "negative feedback" mechanism in the economic model design, but there are many A small link, and this "negative feedback" mechanism can be seen everywhere in the Filecoin economic model.

Let's take the Ethereum gas fee model design as an example. Network congestion will lead to an increase in gas fees, which will cause a decrease in the number of messages and then relieve congestion. This is the performance of the "negative feedback" mechanism in the economic model design, but there are many A small link, and this "negative feedback" mechanism can be seen everywhere in the Filecoin economic model.

For example, the economic model design of Filecoin's baseline release:

• The amount released is related to the computing power of the entire network. In the initial stage of network operation, as time goes by, the number of participants increases, and the release also increases, so as to ensure the basic balance of participants' profits. The current operation of the Filecoin network is basically like this. Due to the setting and adjustment of baseline rewards, the income of a single T will basically remain balanced for a long time

• Another aspect of the baseline release is that it has an expectation for the network computing power. When the computing power exceeds the expectation, the baseline reward will not increase, so as to ensure that there will be no excessive reward. When the network computing power exceeds the designed baseline, the miners' rewards may mainly come from the increase of the currency price.

In addition, Filecoin's pre-mortgage will also play a role in stabilizing the price, which is why FIL is extremely stable in this round of highly volatile market conditions.

"The last to come first, the last to be the first" is the core idea of ​​the "fork" project. When creative imitators start to act, the market has been verified and the demand has been generated. It is an extremely effective strategy to create a successful "fork" project to carve up the market.

Summarize

This article compares and studies the "fork" project and the "imitation disk" project on the market, and concludes that "imitators" or "challengers" have the following three dimensions: (1) Clear expression of project vision and story; ( 2) Differentiated technical level optimization and technical application differentiation; (3) More attractive in economic model design.

This article takes the distributed storage track as an example, and analyzes and compares the three "imitators" of Filecoin from these three angles: FileCash, FileStar, and Eipk Protocol. The three projects have their own strengths, but their shortcomings are also very obvious. ;

(1) Eipk Protocol has found accurate market positioning and differences in terms of its own project positioning and vision description, but except for the "story", the technical solution optimization and economic model design of the corresponding application have not been done Too many modifications, or not clearly stated in the white paper.

(2) FileCash, indeed, has a sufficient understanding of the underlying technical protocol of distributed storage and has made customized changes to some detailed technical parameters; but there is no difference between what you want to do and Filecoin, and there is no way Good communication attracts miners, and there is no way to gather the consensus of miners, so there are really very few mining machines participating in FIC mining.

(3) FileStar simply canceled the pre-mortgage in the economic model, but did not make any changes in the key technical parameters, and even changed back the immediate release of 25% of the post-mortgage in the already installed FIP-0004 , so there are still doubts about the stability of the network.

Therefore, the successful "fork" we advocate should be more of a creative imitation. "Innovative imitation" was first proposed by Levitt of Harvard Business School. Drucker regarded it as a type of successful entrepreneurial strategy .

Imitation is not originally creative. Creative imitation means that imitation products are innovative in application or application scenarios. A creative imitator does not innovate a technology or a service, it merely perfects and repositions the technology or application. For example, highlight the characteristics of the product and adapt to a slightly different market.

"The last to come first, the last to be the first" is the core idea of ​​the "fork" project. When creative imitators start to act, the market has been verified and the demand has been generated. It is an extremely effective strategy to create a successful "fork" project to carve up the market.

About Taihe Capital

Taihe Capital is a research-driven encryption fund. Its subsidiaries include: Taihe Venture Capital Fund, which focuses on early projects such as Web3.0, cross-chain, and Polkadot ecology; Taihe FIL Mining Fund, the first batch of domestically focused on Filecoin It is one of the funds with decentralized storage ecological layout, and has invested in projects such as Filecoin mining machines, FIL6, FIL12, and cloud computing power; Taihe secondary hedge fund has rich asset management experience and a strong risk management system.