Behind XEN's sudden surge, was it a "premeditated" operation or a mere coincidence?
TechFlow Selected TechFlow Selected
Behind XEN's sudden surge, was it a "premeditated" operation or a mere coincidence?
No matter how XEN evolves, one thing remains unchanged: ETH has been truly burned, and we will still chase the next "XEN."
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insights
Author: Jade - Web3 MKT
In the past few days, $XEN has been the most discussed topic in the crypto community.
Since its launch on October 8, $XEN topped Ethereum’s gas consumption ranking within just one day—and it remains at the top.
During this period, despite $XEN’s price continuously dropping—down over 95% from its peak according to MEXC—community and discussion热度 remain strong.
So far, multiple articles online have analyzed XEN, focusing on the project itself, the founder’s background, or gas consumption. This article, however, aims to explore from a marketing perspective: What did XEN do before going viral? Was this frenzy premeditated or purely accidental?
I. Before Dawn: Mastering Storytelling
1. Crafting a Vision to Attract Early Supporters
On August 13, founder Jack Levin first shared his vision for the FairCrypto Foundation on Twitter and released the XEN whitepaper.
According to the whitepaper, XEN aims to become a universal cryptocurrency that fulfills blockchain’s original mission: decentralization, transparency, censorship resistance, peer-to-peer value exchange, and ownership.
Jack Levin also boldly proclaimed on Twitter: “Everyone can be Satoshi.”
We all know the importance of a compelling vision—it helps you quickly reach early adopters and show them the future potential.
The vision of XEN suggests it aims to attract an extremely broad user base.
Yet in its early stages, it didn’t move too fast. Prior to the official launch, the founder focused more on small-scale community engagement. During the September beta phase, there were around 1,500 active minters.
An interesting point is that although Chinese users now dominate, initially the project targeted and attracted the "seed users" who triggered the initial ripple effect.
2. Clever Project Design: Aligns with Narrative and Lowers Entry Barriers
After establishing a grand vision, the next crucial step was setting an extremely low barrier to participation.
XEN’s release model is simple: no presale, no whitelist, no management team, zero initial supply, and no form of distribution or fundraising. Everyone has equal opportunity to mint XEN.
Most importantly: free minting, with rewards calculated via PoP (Proof of Participation). The ultra-low entry barrier allows anyone interested to join easily.
Whether you’re an early believer, a latecomer, a trend-follower, or a hesitant observer—there’s something to appeal to everyone.
As the founder said in a YouTube interview: “It starts from zero, with no supply and no assigned value—so how could you lose money? You can’t lose what you didn’t pay for. The only barrier is some gas fee.”
3. When Developers Speak Human Language, Everything Flows Smoothly
Beyond the straightforward design, Jack Levin took additional steps before launch to help people understand how XEN works:
-
Simplified whitepaper: Only 15 pages long, using Q&A format throughout except for unavoidable reward calculation formulas;
-
Participated in YouTube and Twitter Space events for project warming-up;
-
Launched Xenpedia, further lowering the reading barrier and consolidating all pre-launch materials.
Therefore, XEN’s launch wasn’t sudden. The founder had been gradually building momentum over a month in advance, laying the groundwork for the final launch.
In the five days leading up to launch, he repeatedly teased the event, enabling early supporters to time their entry precisely.
II. The Ripple Effect After Launch
All prior preparations were like crafting a pebble. The events following the official launch represent the ripples created when that pebble hits the water.
After capturing enough attention, it made a splash into the vast lake of web3.
Ripple theory reference by Shiqi Interactive
Ripple 1: Gas Consumption Sparks Mainstream Attention
Within a day of launch, XEN surged to the top of Ethereum’s gas consumption rankings, prompting widespread curiosity: What’s happening?
This step directly helped XEN leap from an early community into the broader public eye.
When people began doing due diligence (DD), the previously prepared materials proved highly effective.
Ripple 2: Founder’s Background Adds Halo Effect
"Ex-Googler #21" appears as the first line in the founder’s Twitter bio. In the chaotic crypto world where DYOR (Do Your Own Research) is emphasized, retail investors often start their DD by checking the website, team, and backers. An impressive background instantly draws attention and builds initial trust. Being Google’s 21st employee is undoubtedly a standout credential.
Additionally, Jack Levin describes himself as a biohacker and founder of Imageshack.
Although the claim of being Google’s 21st employee later faced skepticism, it had already captured the momentum from the first ripple and successfully generated the second.
Ripple 3: Second Wave of Users Arrive – Community, Discussion, and Media Amplify
By this stage, XEN had become self-sustaining in generating buzz. Media outlets quickly followed, covering the story from multiple angles.
People from all walks of life started paying attention, helping amplify XEN’s narrative—whether believers in its intrinsic value, traders rushing in for quick profits, or skeptics observing critically—all paused their usual activities.
Twitter hashtag discussions surpassed thousands, reaching second place on trending charts.
In the first two days after launch, new user influx remained above 10,000 per hour.
Meanwhile, Chinese-speaking communities heated up too.
Before the surge, Chinese communities didn’t even rank in the top ten; afterward, we immediately jumped to second place.
While we may not have been the first to jump in, we’ve proven our ability to catch trends and our passion for crypto to the world.
Through this wave of amplification, XEN became much more vivid in people’s minds, creating a powerful and expansive third ripple.
Ripple 4: Price Surge
In XEN’s rules, time = value. Time is cost.
Early participants get the meat, latecomers get the soup. Initial costs are negligible, but the return ceiling holds vast imaginative potential.
People fear loss more than they desire gain.
There’s a famous saying in crypto: "Pumping is the ultimate truth." And price surges are the easiest way to trigger FOMO.
When short-term stakers started sharing their returns, the real party began.
III. Timing, Opportunity, and Execution
Amid XEN’s狂欢, another critical factor—the “timing”—cannot be ignored: a narrative vacuum during a bear market.
Many wonder: What narrative will drive the next bull run?
But if we zoom in, we realize that lately, no narrative has managed to capture the community’s collective attention.
As we discussed in a previous article, while user enthusiasm is high during bull markets, marketing competition is fiercer. In bear markets, though user engagement is lower, a standout narrative has greater chance to stand out.
See more: How to Turn the Tide: Web3 Marketing Strategies in a Bear Market
Recently, a friend told me about plans to launch a “brutally simple product” tied to the World Cup, based on the insight that after such a long bear market, “everyone is pent up.”
XEN arrived perfectly timed to relieve that tension.
Crypto has memory—we’ve seen countless coins surge and crash. Yet crypto also has no memory—history repeats because human nature remains unchanged.
No one can predict how XEN will evolve after the long staking period ends. Perhaps it will find real utility and fulfill the founder’s grand vision. Or perhaps it will just become another “investor rights protection project” on our journey as retail investors.
Regardless of XEN’s future, one thing remains certain: Ethereum was genuinely burned, and we will always chase the next “XEN.”
About Web3 MKT
Web3 MKT is a Web3 growth strategy study group initiated by TechFlow, aiming to dissect case studies, learn Web3 marketing strategies, and transform insights into practical outcomes to help projects achieve better global growth.
We welcome more friends interested in exploring Web3 marketing and growth to join us. For communication and sharing, add WeChat zolohands. Web3 MKT Link
Join TechFlow official community to stay tuned
Telegram:https://t.me/TechFlowDaily
X (Twitter):https://x.com/TechFlowPost
X (Twitter) EN:https://x.com/BlockFlow_News
