Web3 Startup Diary

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Web3 Startup Diary RU channel

This morning, I attended the presentations of tokenomics proposals for Aqua Protocol by MIPT students. It was an incredible experience filled with ideas, discussions, and creativity—I ended up with a full A4 page of notes and insights. But there’s one key takeaway I want to share.

You can’t propose something truly new and valuable without analyzing existing solutions first. This rule applies universally—whether it’s work, business, or life. Any suggestion, whether for your manager, investors, or partners, should be grounded in an understanding of what’s already out there.

This became especially clear today. The best ideas came from a student who had studied Curve’s tokenomics. Just one project analyzed—and his proposals were noticeably sharper and more substantial than those who started brainstorming without any research. Now imagine how much of an expert you could become by analyzing three or four similar protocols.

My takeaway: analysis is the foundation of innovation. Want to create something groundbreaking? Start by studying what’s already been built.

By the way, a very cool consequence of our long development of a stablecoin, which we started at a hackathon in June 2023, and three testnets with a bug bounty: after going live, we had no bugs. There was one, but it was fixed in 1 hour.

Each day, before I start working, I mentally ask myself: What do I need to accomplish today to ensure the day is worthwhile? What will bring our project a step (or even half a step) closer to its goal?

This is my top priority for the day.

⚡️ Latest Updates and Debunking Myths About Aqua Protocol and Its Creators ⚡️

Recently, I got a vitamin checkup: when you're working full throttle, you need an energy boost and attention to every detail. The checkup helped me identify what I need to replenish for optimal well-being, as every resource counts in pushing Aqua Protocol forward.

Also, a new chapter in working on my voice. I bought a public speaking course and now practice diaphragmatic breathing every day. Yes, I'm learning to speak deeper and with more confidence! 😊 My diction has improved thanks to previous courses, but achieving that voice depth is still a work in progress. And since there’s a chance I’ll be having many conversations about liquidity and integrations ahead, it's essential to sound convincing with every word.

And here’s an interesting point: I often hear that Aqua Protocol is supposedly "Denis’s project." It makes me smile, because while Denis is an expert in the TON ecosystem, in Aqua, he’s more of an occasional advisor — a mentor. The entire Aqua journey is the result of my work and ambitions, along with my technical partner, Sergey.

We’re growing, building both ourselves and the project.

It's great when everything grows: both Bitcoin and AquaXP. Beautiful!

💭 Why Aren't TON Whales Investing in the Future of the Ecosystem? 💭

today, I have posted about how a single large deposit catapulted *Hipo's* TVL to over $5 million. But here's what struck me the most: so many whales on TON just sit back, watching from the sidelines, not investing in DeFi or contributing to internal liquidity.

Every time I talk about this with colleagues, I hear the same thing: “The whales do nothing; at most, they put TON into staking.” And it’s true. The original miners and biggest holders—those who should be the most invested in TON’s growth—aren't participating in its development. Why? Are they expecting outsiders to come in and deposit their money? But if they themselves don’t believe in it, why should anyone else?

Imagine if these whales invested just 30% of their TON through Liquid Staking and allocated it across DeFi protocols. Yes, risks are there, but look at Ethereum: early miners actively supported DeFi growth, increasing TVL and paving the way for new products, fresh capital and new users. Together, they grew the ecosystem. On TON, though, whales just hold their assets in wallets, waiting.

📈 Time to think! Even if they lose a fraction, it’s nothing compared to the loss they face if TON doesn’t grow. The real risk is a stagnant ecosystem with no new liquidity coming in. Only whale action can be the catalyst to attract new investors and raise TON’s value.

Whales, the choice is yours: wait for crypto winter, or build an ecosystem where everyone wins.

🎉 We took second place in *The Open League* for TON projects, with first place going to Hipo, a liquid staking protocol. I did some analysis today—Hipo's founder admitted they didn’t really do much aside from launching, engaging the Hipo Gang community, and offering daily rewards for holding hTON.

What I found was interesting: on October 4, a single address deposited $4 million worth of TON into their liquid staking, while all other deposits were relatively small.

So, it turns out they won first place largely thanks to this one big investor. Now I’m not so sure that their win was driven by the success of their mini-app—maybe this whale was just diversifying funds across liquid staking protocols. Makes you wonder what’s really behind such results. 😏

🚀 Today, I shared Aqua Protocol's case study with the blockchain students at MIPT in their tokenomics course. We discussed our token supply ideas and identified a growth area—demand models for the AQUA token, which we currently lack. Together with Alexey Karanyuk (@thinklikekaranyuk) and Vladimir Gogoladze, we invited students to join in, propose demand models, and assess the current metrics to find ways to improve Aqua's overall tokenomics.

For the students, it's a real-world challenge; for us, it's a chance to get fresh perspectives and potentially implement new ideas. I'm excited to see what innovative approaches and solutions these students come up with!

For those interested in joining the Aqua team, please fill out the Google form.

While on TON people are counting users and transactions, over on Solana, they’re counting the money and volumes on DEXs.

Let’s hope TON can boast those metrics too, because transaction numbers can be pumped up by bots on any blockchain.