So, DeSoc got $10 million. Good for them. Investors, many of them once bullish on XRP and AVAX, are suddenly flooding cash into this “social-DeFi” nonsense. Let's not get carried away. Is big money the angel of death for XRP? I think not. In fact, I think the market's getting a little too excited about shiny new toys and forgetting what actually matters: real-world utility.
Hype vs. Proven Utility: Who Wins?
This is the main premise of DeSoc, and all the other social media-DeFi hybrids, on which their core pitch rests. Creators earn SOCS tokens for content. Neat. Cross-platform syndication. Okay. Community-driven growth. Sure. Is this truly game-changing? Or simply the latest version of an age-old trend to find ways to monetize what creators create, with a blockchain edge?
XRP tackles a much bigger problem: cross-border payments. This isn’t about social media likes and shares, it’s about transferring money across the world in a matter of seconds and at little cost. Ripple deepening its ODL service, with an emphasis on use cases in the real world in Asia. As folks are still buzzing about DeSoc’s stellar testnet performance. Think about the regulatory hurdles that DeSoc will face if it does intend to control actual monetary transactions. XRP has already passed through most of this terrain, and that’s a huge benefit.
Instead, the market is rewarding, and thus incentivizing, projects that build utility that people can see and feel. That's what they say. The reality of that data paints a fascinating picture. It implies the market rewards what’s most useful, when in fact it’s only following the latest hot pump. Despite the spike-and-dump XRP has seen recently, $17.08 billion in 24-hour trading volume is still significant. That’s real numerator money moving, not just social tokens.
I'm not saying DeSoc is doomed. At this current moment, compared to XRP, it’s like comparing a lemonade stand to a multinational logistics conglomerate. Talk about a huge difference in scale and complexity! Both are peddling goods, but the scale and complexity are light years different.
Social Currency or Real Currency?
DeSoc’s tokenomics model is based on generating demand for the token via content monetization, tipping, and advertising. Sounds familiar, right? It’s the same, tired, engagement farming model that Web2 social media platforms have been operating on for years, but with a blockchain layer sprinkled on top. The problem? It relies on constant engagement. If everyone just stops making new material or loses interest in SOCS tokens, the entire system collapses.
XRP is anchored to the very real and growing need for efficient international payments. Businesses and people in every industry and line of work constantly need to move money. The demand is fundamental, not just a shiny new toy, an algorithm-driven social media gimmick.
Think about it: what’s more likely to disappear in five years – the need to send money across borders, or the latest social media platform?
Now, this isn’t to suggest that social tokens have no value at all. But they can indeed build community, and they can reward engagement. But let’s not conflate social currency with actual currency. One is a cool, artistic endeavor. The other is an essential segment of global infrastructure.
The $100 Billion Social Media Illusion
DeSoc is coming for up to a $100 billion social media market, they claim. Fine, but how much of that market is really available to be captured by a blockchain-based platform. Legacy behemoths such as Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok could take a massive cut. They can add these features with little resistance if and when they feel a real competitive threat.
Here's the unexpected connection: Remember the early days of the internet? Everyone was excited about creating "virtual worlds." Second Life, anyone? Before it was about making new digital places. What actually took off? Email, search engines, e-commerce – they were the practical tools that solved very real-world problems. Social media definitely wasn’t first, that all came later, on top of that foundation.
DeSoc has a lofty goal of building a completely new virtual world. All the while, XRP is building the infrastructure that connects our new world. Which one is more likely to be successful long term?
Ultimately, DeSoc’s success will depend on adoption in the real world, clarity from regulators, continuous engagement, and developing use cases that go beyond content creation. It's a tall order. And although that $10 million in funding is an encouraging vote of confidence, it’s no assurance of success.
In short, yes DeSoc is a risk to XRP’s real-world preeminence. In my opinion, not even close. All good stuff and a very interesting experiment, yet XRP is in an entirely different ballgame. The public market may continue to be distracted by dazzling trends in the short-term. On all of these, I’m betting on the long-term strength of demonstrated usefulness and practical, real-world solutions. Don't let the hype fool you.
