Article author: Charlie.hl Article compilation: Block unicorn

The battle in 2025 will be the next generation of districts The debate over the choice of blockchain, will they choose to prioritize the ecosystem or the product. Which priorities will create the most successful blockchains (as measured by market cap, fees generated, and number of unique users)? This issue is playing out in real time, as future top-tier one-tier chains (L1) and second-tier chains (L2) are betting their fate on opposing strategies. On the one hand there are ecosystem-first chains represented by Monad, MegaETH and Berachain, and on the other hand there are product-first chains represented by Hyperliquid. In this article, I’ll dive into this distinction and these opposing chain philosophies that will shape the blockchain development landscape in 2025.

Competitors: Ecosystem First

Monad, MegaETH and Berachain are Ecosystem First A major proponent of the philosophy that aims to build a thriving network of interdependent applications and stakeholders before focusing on building a single product. These chains attempt to entice developers to move away from existing chains and between each other by offering developer space, funding, and more chain-specific developer benefits such as growth or partner support.

Over the past year or so, Monad’s business development/growth team, including @intern and @internbrah, have brought significant attention to Monad and attracted With hundreds of thousands of Discord members and Twitter followers, many Monad-based projects have raised funds at lofty valuations as they claim to be the first and dominant commitment [insert DeFi primitive] on Monad. The phrase “build on Monad” echoes across crypto Twitter timelines as Monad’s business expansion strives to win top project builders from its competitive chain. Monad even has a @monad_eco page to drive the point home even more clearly: ecology is a priority.

MegaETH's approach to ecosystem building is slightly different, but its priorities are equally obvious. The chain’s laboratory team plays a unique intervention role in its ecosystem. They are not trying to convince existing projects to release on their chain, but mainly focus onZhongzai nurtures grassroots projects from its accelerator MegaMafia. These applications are tailor-made for MegaETH and unique to its ecosystem, but do not necessarily have the reputation and popularity of existing DeFi projects. MegaETH did not wait for natural development, but took the initiative to "shape" several core projects: perpetual contract DEX, spot DEX, lending protocols, etc. This carefully curated approach is designed to ensure ecosystem coherence and interconnectedness, and MegaETH is betting that these early investments will lead to growth as more teams come on board. For MegaETH, the MegaMafia ecosystem and its success are crucial.

Then there is Berachain, which attempts to combine ecosystem innovation with technological innovation. Its unique Proof of Liquidity (PoL) consensus mechanism incentivizes liquidity provision for Berachain native applications such as BEX (Bera native decentralized exchange) and BEND (Bera native lending protocol). By embedding liquidity incentives into the chain’s core architecture, Berachain hopes to create a virtuous cycle of ecosystem growth tied to its infrastructure. Here, the product itself is the growth of the ecosystem, which can also be seen in early initiatives such as Boyco. For the Berachain team, winning the competition in the ecosystem is a top priority.

Each of these chains has embraced ecosystem development as the basis for growth, and while their products are far from empty talk, it's clear that in their early stages, their focus It's the network itself.

Opposite: Product First

In stark contrast is Hyperliquid, which completely subverts The concept of ecosystem first. Instead of gathering developers to work on its L1, Hyperliquid is focused on delivering a killer product: the most successful perpetual contracts decentralized exchange (perps DEX) in cryptocurrency history. Only after solidifying its position in the perpetual contracts space, Hyperliquid began launching L1, aiming to enhance its flagship product and provide a network tailored to traders.

Hyperliquid's strategy represents a fundamental shift in L1 launch strategy. Rather than catering to app developers, it focuses on the end-user – in this case, traders. The idea is simple: if you buildWith a product that users love, developers and applications will naturally follow the flow and activity. This strategy avoids the pitfall of over-hyping an ecosystem without a proven product.

This attention has many people questioning where the Hyperliquid ecosystem is, as the Labs team has apparently not issued a public call for developers or applications at this time. Instead, Hyperliquid's lab entities remain focused on product direction, seemingly taking the approach of letting applications follow liquidity and users rather than the other way around. Hyperliquid is essentially quickly copying Uniswap’s roadmap, which is to create the most successful DEX first and then build a chain (Unichain) and ecosystem to support it a few years later.

Philosophical differences

Essentially, the ecosystem vs. product debate reflects Philosophical differences in blockchain development. An ecosystem-first approach relies on developer network effects: by nurturing a thriving community of developers and projects, it aims to create a self-sustaining cycle of growth. The product-first approach subverts this logic, betting that a great product will attract users and liquidity first, and the ecosystem will naturally develop accordingly.

The market will ultimately decide which strategy prevails. If ecosystem-first projects like Monad, MegaETH, and Berachain can turn their community momentum into lasting adoption, they can define the direction of L1/L2 ecosystem development. Instead, if Hyperliquid continues to win over users by focusing on delivering the best trading experience, it could force the industry to rethink how a successful launch strategy is defined. By putting product first, Hyperliquid is essentially putting community first, as a great product leads to widespread usage, which leads to more valuable community ownership, which may create the eventual adoption flywheel effect of 2025. This article is primarily an objective analysis, but I would bet that when we look back on this article in December 2025, Hyperliquid will be dominating in all three of the above metrics, and the lead will be significant.

As 2025 approaches, one thing is certain: the battle between ecosystems and products will shape the coming year of L1/L2 development pattern.