X2Y2 Twitter Space: The Principles and Development of MetaScan

Author: X2Y2

Host (X2Y2): @alex_pengfei

Guest: Twitterscan Founder Next

Recording link: https://twitter.com/x2y2cn/status/1575109015901995010?s=20\&t=rEASTge6jMdz_Taa3a7NlQ

Alex: Welcome everyone to this AMA, and welcome to Next, the founder of MetaScan. I am your host Alex, and I am very pleased to hold a special AMA for MetaScan today. We know that MetaScan disclosed a multi-million financing round last week or the week before, so it is a great honor to invite Next to share with us about MetaScan.

Next: Hello everyone, I am the Founder of MetaScan. This is a product that helps users determine what NFTs are worth buying. Through our platform, users can see the content, the relative market heat, influence, and reliability of NFTs. For project teams, it serves as a whitelist RAFT tool, with the advantage that unlike Private Mint, there are no fees required. As long as users have over a thousand followers and have registered for more than ten days, they can directly initiate a lottery. Currently, MetaScan's Discord has over 89,000 members, and Twitter has 130,000 users. We also have a product set to launch on October 10th, which is the currently announced date. On October 10th, we will release Domain, and everyone can experience our product.

Alex: Thank you very much, Next, for the detailed introduction. Now let's move on to the first question. Next just introduced what MetaScan aims to do. I would like to ask about the overall development of the team. Can you briefly introduce how you came up with the idea for this project and how it has developed, including the various processes?

Next: Initially, we focused on one point: where the traffic is. The most important traffic entry in the crypto circle is actually on Twitter. Both project teams and users are constantly pouring in the latest information from Twitter, which is relatively fast and cutting-edge. We wondered if we could analyze some Twitter data, so our first idea was to see if Twitter could aggregate useful information and traffic. We aggregated a lot of NFT data.

During the process, we found that the demand for NFTs is very strong, much clearer and stronger compared to tokens. Moreover, the users who buy NFTs and those who trade tokens are not the same group; they are relatively separate, although there is some overlap. So we thought about how to solve the pain points in the market.

We noticed that around March-April, there were many rogue projects in the market, with registered Twitter followers numbering in the hundreds of thousands. This data can be manipulated, but is there anything that cannot be faked, something that truly represents the real situation of a project? We developed a highly favored metric called "goldfish content," which allows users to query any project as long as it is on Twitter. The goldfish content essentially indicates whether a project has influence—can you get Zhao Changhong to pay attention to your project? This is actually very difficult and cannot be faked.

If you see a project with hundreds of thousands of followers and a goldfish content score of two or three, there’s no need to doubt; it must be a case of follower manipulation. We have analyzed over 2,000 NFTs, about 2,300 in total, and we found that if the goldfish content is greater than thirty, there is a high probability that it will maintain an average of 1.9 times in value two weeks after the sale. If the goldfish content is below thirty, there is a high probability of losing money after ten days. So, the first version of our product went live in mid-April, and it was very simple at that time. After receiving a lot of user recognition and suggestions, we currently have over 90,000 users on Twitter and Discord.

Alex: Thank you very much. I think you have provided a very detailed introduction to the principles and development of MetaScan. Now, I would like to ask specifically about the Pascal sale that will take place this weekend. What considerations are behind this sale? Why at this particular moment? Given that the market is still quite bearish, what are your thoughts on this? What role will this Pascal play in the future?

Next: In fact, we announced back in May that we would be launching Pascal in the third quarter. Our initial launch was based on what we saw on Baidu, not a last-minute decision due to the popularity of DID. We announced it in May, whether on our official website, MetaScan, or DAO. We actually pushed it back; logically, we wanted to launch it a bit earlier, but due to the many features of the product, we iterated on many parts, so we really didn't want to delay it. We committed to our users that we would launch in September, so we couldn't postpone it any further.

Alex: I understand. I saw that MetaScan had already announced on Twitter, so it aligns with your roadmap. It seems that Pascal will be integrated with your DID in the future. How does MetaScan plan to approach the DID aspect? How do your domains differ from other domains, such as .bit and various other domains that raised funds in August and September?

Next: Our initial logic was to build a platform that serves both user pools and project teams, because MetaScan is something everyone can launch and use directly. It is already operational; for example, you can see the dynamics of project teams, including the upcoming listing list closest to the projects. Through this, you can see user evaluations, which stars are following, and what the reputation is like, allowing for real-name voting.

We require two conditions for voting users: first, they must log in with a wallet, and second, they must bind their Twitter account, which is relatively difficult. Through this, you can know how many users you actually have. We have a requirement for the projects we cooperate with: can you first gather a hundred users to support you? If you have more than a hundred users supporting your project, we will provide you with some recommended traffic. So we help many projects start issuing whitelists, including Baidu's Little Mushroom, which uses our product to promote to their users through Free Mint. We have already helped many project teams, and the lottery is also free; they can initiate it directly.

Alex: So, from what I gather, MetaScan is essentially TwitterScan, possibly just a rebranding. The name MetaScan is also fine since people are already familiar with it.

Next: Besides the DID function mentioned earlier, we also have a KOL data feature. Through MetaScan, we have collected data on 92,729 KOLs, which is continuously increasing. This includes organizing and recommending Twitter data information about these KOLs, such as which tokens they have mentioned in the past thirty days, the status of those tokens, and which users interact with them the most. We hope to create a light social aspect where everyone can see that we have already integrated with Link3. To receive an invitation from Link3, you may need to become a KOL on TwitterScan.

Our product has some light social elements; we do not intend to create a deep social platform. In fact, we do not need another Twitter because it is already quite useful. You can think of it as a supplement to Twitter, allowing for the display of other NFTs that cannot be showcased on Twitter. For example, if I am called Next, and I register as next.nft, the other party can gain a more comprehensive understanding of me. This is the biggest difference between our DID or Web3 domains and other platforms. We first build a product, and then based on having a product, traffic, and users, we make the so-called .nft more applicable and contextual. We have also announced support from many wallets and exchanges, and we believe there will be more possibilities in the future.

Alex: I understand. Thank you very much for Next's wonderful explanation, which clarified the intention behind the rebranding and the future vision. I hope to look forward to the future, starting from Twitter and ultimately expanding to a broader perspective.

Next: Besides Twitter, we are also working on Discord and Teleground. We do not want to explore user privacy; we are more interested in whether there are any common data points that can provide guidance to users. In fact, all of our public data is completely free for everyone who has used our product. However, if future PaaS users mainly want exclusive tips features, such as querying what a certain KOL is interested in or deeper exclusive data related to a project, they may need PaaS. If you are not a deep NFT user, you do not need PaaS and can use our product for free, which we also welcome.

Alex: With this domain, does MetaScan plan to expand into new businesses and fields? If you pivoted to DID, would there be more fresh gameplay, or would it differ from the previous focus on NFTs or Twitter? Would it lean more towards the social aspect? Do you have any new ideas or plans?

Next: We actually have many ideas for light social features and have made some optimizations for ENS. There are indeed many rogue projects; it is hard to imagine that everyone is called 0731, with one being a wide uniform, another a narrow uniform, and one in Latin. We want to solve the issues related to rogue or fraudulent registrations that confuse users through a good method. We will optimize for ENS. Our DID will soon collaborate with some ecological projects, making it clear how many people support this project. Beyond domains, we want to integrate more with ecosystems, allowing users not only to register but also to utilize them. This is something we are very focused on.

Alex: The emphasis is more on applying this to real scenarios rather than just speculation. I think MetaScan is more grounded, which is quite interesting. The vision is better because, compared to other projects, some domains may not have as many users, making it more challenging to operate. As you mentioned earlier, do you plan to issue tokens for MetaScan in the future?

Next: This question is a bit difficult to answer. We do have support from many exchanges and certainly want to incentivize users through tokens, but we currently do not have a very clear timeline, so I cannot say anything recklessly. I can only say that we have some plans in this regard, but nothing has been announced yet. It would be awkward if we announced it at this time; would it be seen as enticing users to register? We do not want to do that. If you have needs or ideas and genuinely like us, we do not want you to buy just because there is a token; that is not what we want, so we will be cautious in discussing this matter.

Alex: So you are taking a wait-and-see approach regarding issuing tokens, which is not necessarily open, and it really depends on future developments. Since Pascal itself is also an NFT, I would like to know your personal views on the current NFT market. I see that the Pascal sale by MetaScan is very popular in the current market environment, and many people are optimistic about it. What are your thoughts? Do you have a Pascal?

Next: The current market is indeed very large. We can see that market trading volume has shrunk significantly, decreasing month by month. However, I believe that in a bear market, it becomes easier for others to see whether your team is doing work and whether your offerings are genuinely meaningful. We have always been in sync with community users, updating all dynamics on Twitter. The weekly updates inform users, so I believe that friends familiar with us will know that we are gradually moving upward. I am quite confident in our PaaS because it has many more functionalities compared to other pure PFPs.

Alex: I find Next to be quite humble. Everyone is being conservative, perhaps afraid of criticism during a bear market. Good points can be shared. I have also observed some differences between domains, especially in such an environment where it takes courage to operate at a high level and plan for future development. This is indeed a deal worth looking forward to. From a purely NFT perspective, it is still very attractive to me, as opinions may vary.

What do you think about the phenomenon where domains become very popular during a bear market? The ENS became popular during a previous bear market, where tokens and NFTs were issued without much attention. Later, during a bear market, those few numbers became hot. What are your thoughts on the phenomenon of domains exploding in popularity during a bear market? Do you think it is speculation?

Next: I am deeply involved in NFTs and have purchased various NFT images and domains, so I have some experience. I think there is an interesting point: we suddenly realize that the value of ENS is gradually increasing. Small images or others, including myself, have bought BAYC, and we find that more and more people recognize those truly scarce or functional products. The registration fee for ENS is about $640, and the floor price is around 40 ETH, which is a significant appreciation, at least several hundred times. Before February of this year, not many people registered because the overall ecological awareness was insufficient.

People suddenly realized that besides having this image, there is no way to distinguish myself from Binance, as my avatar is slightly different. Therefore, digital domains have gained popularity during this time, with many Web2 domain players entering Web3 and making this happen. From a demand perspective, there are only 999 three-digit domains and 9,199 two-digit domains available, which are indeed quite scarce. I believe this part of the bubble may not be very large.

Alex: It sounds quite appealing. Personally, I think digital domains are somewhat like license plate numbers or phone numbers, serving as a symbol of identity, especially in Web3 and the metaverse. People’s investment logic is that in the metaverse, having a 3D avatar means they will be judged based on their appearance. In real life, purchasing luxury items like LV or Gucci is more about brand premium, showcasing our uniqueness and how high-end we are.

The logic of domains in the Web3 world is that often others do not know my name, how much money I have, or what properties I own. The only thing that can showcase my identity in the digital world is my avatar or domain. This leads to a form of identity recognition, which can become a form of discrimination or a way to express that I am different from you. At this point, I believe the scarcity of value is indeed better than most NFTs, and I strongly agree with this.

However, I have a follow-up question. While I acknowledge your views on digital domains, I also have many people questioning this. Domains are essentially a form of cultural stratification. When everyone recognizes ENS, the value of .bit is not as high, but .bit and ENS are essentially not that different. What are your thoughts on the competitive relationship between different domains? Today, MetaScan issued an NFT, and tomorrow someone else issued a .Crypto. What is the core competitiveness?

Next: This is a very good question. Currently, everyone feels the multi-chain aspect. For example, ENS has Ethereum domains, BNB has BNB domains, and each has different focuses. .bit is targeting multi-chain, and I am very optimistic about them. I think all of our competitors have good DIDs because I do not know how they will develop later. It seems that there are not many people doing this, as the hardest part is obtaining ecological support. Is there enough protocol support for your application? Are there enough exchanges supporting your system? This is a very challenging task.

If it is just an NFT, it is relatively simple. However, if you want to do this long-term, it is quite difficult. Therefore, I have great respect and admiration for everyone working on domains and DIDs because I am involved in it myself, and I know how challenging it is. I also have great respect for these competitors.

Alex: How humble! No worries; you don’t have to tell them, just whisper it to me. Currently, .bit is focused on multi-chain, and ENS, needless to say, has a first-mover advantage, especially in the NFT world with the Ethereum ecosystem. I personally believe that each different NFT or domain requires different user profiles. I look forward to the future development of domains becoming more diverse, such as having dedicated domains for gaming, social, or tools. These are all worth considering and discussing.

Now, I want to ask a more offbeat question. What does Next think about the rising value of domains when people are speculating on them? Is this rise essentially just a bubble? Similar to many NFTs that may see value drop after two or three weeks, there are speculators who buy a hundred as if they are heirlooms. Is that meaningful?

As a domain and project team, would you prefer your domain to be genuinely used by people rather than being speculated on and traded? These are two different approaches: one is to create a wealth effect to gain attention, and the other is for the domain to genuinely become something like a phone number, which, while ordinary, everyone has, or to hope it becomes a desirable number that a portion of people own, but not universally? Which do you prefer? Which is more suitable for the path MetaScan is taking?

Next: This industry is still very early. If we imagine a world with only one ENS or one domain, that would not be sufficient. For example, I want a four-digit domain, but early participants have already taken those opportunities. We can also see traditional Web2 domains; besides .com, there are .net, .cn, etc. These are complementary, not unique.

Some good names, especially .com, have been registered, leaving other project teams unable to use them. This is also related to user demand. A large portion of Ethereum's ecosystem applications covers other applications, but that does not mean that applications on other chains are inferior to Ethereum. For example, BNB also has some particularly excellent projects. If GameFi uses ETH at a very high price, the cost is quite high, which has been promoting the development of this market.

We must recognize that the biggest feature of Web3 or the blockchain world is its iterative nature, and the information is public and open-source. This is very interesting; if something goes wrong, it can be corrected. At least I have accepted many diverse ideas; I believe the more, the better. The market is still very early, and it is far from enough. Currently, if we look at how to bring Web2 users into the fold, the numbers are still very, very small.

Alex: I understand. You believe the industry has not yet reached a stage of stock competition. To be honest, most people do not own domains. For them, buying a domain is more of an investment attribute. In the crypto world, everyone will have a signature, but only one percent have domains. Those pursuing high-level domains are even fewer.

I agree with this point. When an industry is in its early stages, do not easily limit yourself by thinking about which part or field to focus on. It is better to act quickly; when doing so, you may discover new directions. I actually agree with this viewpoint and logic. If Pascal gains recognition in the market, what development directions does MetaScan have in the future? Besides the upcoming plans, what are the longer-term directions?

Next: We have also announced our plans. Besides data products, we want to create a more user-friendly experience, allowing users to take fewer detours. We aim to have more protocol layers and applications integrated with our .nft, which is a key goal for us this year. We are iterating in this market long-term. If there are better suggestions, we will respond actively, whether through Twitter, our official email, or collaboration lists. We will reply, and there will be dedicated colleagues responsible for this. If anyone wants to discuss future-related matters, feel free to DM me. Recently, we are focused on polishing and perfecting our existing products.

Alex: No problem. If anyone needs anything, they can directly DM Next on Twitter or DM me. The Web3 world has many new gameplay ideas worth exploring. Often, everyone’s thoughts can greatly assist project teams, or the project teams themselves can have very good synergy. X2Y2 itself started from the community, and many contents and good ideas come from the community. I am curious about the connection between your project and the community. How does the community play a role in the project’s advancement? Do you see the community as parallel to you or more as driving your needs?

Next: We initially created this product because our own needs were not being met. For example, we wanted to know what KOLs were discussing, what the market hotspots were, and what information was currently being focused on. Therefore, we discovered this from the community's or users' needs. We are very grateful for the suggestions and ideas put forward by various community KOLs and will actively communicate with them. In addition to community feedback and suggestions, we have a larger direction that is continuously iterating, which is to make our existing products more precise, whether it is our latest content or the expansion of NFTs and project teams. This is also something we value highly, as it is a mutually beneficial process.

Alex: It sounds like MetaScan is quite open and willing to grow together with the community. Some projects are more elitist and do not want the community to participate in their governance or suggestions. I find Next to be more open. I look forward to your project enabling more people to get involved in your development through domains, including future social gameplay and new explorations in NFTs. Since your suffix is .nft, I am very interested to see how everyone will empower this, especially whether project teams or social aspects can collaborate on this. I look forward to your further development.

Next: Thank you for the invitation, X2Y2. We will have many opportunities for collaboration in the future.