Interview with Metis Head of Marketing: The Origins of Metis, MEME, and Vitalik's Mother's Vision
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Interview with Metis Head of Marketing: The Origins of Metis, MEME, and Vitalik's Mother's Vision
"If MEME is used correctly, it can become a valuable asset in the crypto industry."
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Metis: Jose Fabrega, Head of Marketing
"MEME, when used correctly, can become a valuable asset in the crypto industry." --- Jose Fabrega, Head of Marketing, Metis
When you hear about Metis, you might think of Vitalik's mother, or perhaps Memes, or vaguely recall its sudden surge at the end of 2023. Behind market appearances, Metis’ biggest highlight is being the first to successfully implement a decentralized sequencer. The sequencer plays a critical role in rollups by organizing and bundling transaction computation and storage from Layer 1 to Layer 2. It handles off-chain execution and orders and compresses transaction data. The outcome directly impacts data credibility and the process through which Rollup smart contracts verify and package data.
To date, nearly all rollup solutions on the market are centralized. Metis is the first to adopt a sequencer pool approach to coordinate decentralized sequencers, ensuring network availability and resistance to censorship. TechFlow previously published an article detailing the principles behind Metis’ decentralized sequencer.
Jose Fabrega from Metis offers a unique analogy to explain the decentralized sequencer.
What Is a Decentralized Sequencer?
“Let’s imagine the sequencer as a movie projection room in a cinema. Picture yourself watching a film. You know movies typically have a large projector, with light or images coming from a room behind the screen—that’s where everything shown on the blockchain originates. But in this cinematic scenario, the person operating the projector—the one actually showing the movie—also profits from the activity. Only they are allowed to do so, giving them full control over what appears on screen and allowing them to keep all the revenue generated.
Now, the key concept Metis is developing is a system where everyone can bring their own 'movie' and showcase their work. To ensure safety and prevent inappropriate content, all submitted works go through validation by verifiers. Think of it like a shared film exhibition cabinet—not one individual deciding what everyone watches and pocketing all the profits, but many contributors able to present their films and potentially earn fees or rewards. Moreover, because validators oversee submissions, the process remains secure. In essence, this analogy captures Metis’ mission toward decentralization and inclusivity.”
With the arrival of Ethereum’s Cancun upgrade, we’ve specially invited Jose Fabrega, CMO of Metis, to share Metis’ competitive advantages and market positioning under this new wave of upgrades.
Background Introduction
TechFlow: Could you briefly introduce your background and how you joined the Metis team?
Jose:
I used to work as a chief broker in banking. After several years in the bank, I entered the cryptocurrency space and co-founded a crypto education community with colleagues. We grew it into a Latin American community of around 5,000 members. Then, I started creating content and sharing it publicly on Twitter. Things progressed naturally—I began writing a series of articles about Metis. When Metis discovered these articles and realized my portrayal could help spread awareness, we started communicating and eventually collaborating. Now, I lead marketing efforts for Metis.
Overview of Metis
TechFlow: Metis was founded by Vitalik’s mother Natalia and her close friend. Are there any lesser-known stories behind that?
Jose:
Elena and Natalia founded an organization called CryptoChicks (https://cryptochicks.ca/), which served as an incubator for numerous projects in the crypto space. Interestingly, one of the projects they incubated was ETHLend, which later evolved into AAVE. They frequently gave public talks about their work. After attending several of these events, one of the co-founders, Kevin Liu, was impressed by their wisdom and invited his friend, an elite IBM developer named Yuan Su, to attend one of the lectures. Both Kevin and Yuan were deeply inspired by Elena and Natalia’s presentations and reached out to discuss their shared interests and insights in the crypto field. As conversations deepened, they ultimately decided to launch Metis. Elena and Natalia already had a vision for Metis before entering the crypto world. While initially unclear in form, their desire to drive L2 innovation motivated them to create Metis.
TechFlow: Metis isn’t a new project. Can you tell us about its history, core vision, and mission?
Jose:
Metis launched in November 2021, initially as a fork of Optimism, using optimistic roll-up technology. By May 2022, we implemented a major change that sparked widespread discussion around data availability, particularly in relation to projects like Celestia. Metis was the first Layer 2 solution to experiment with data availability, making it the most cost-efficient and lowest-fee scaling solution on Ethereum.
Currently, we’re in the phase of decentralizing our sequencer—a pivotal development in the Layer 2 ecosystem. Unlike other Layer 2 solutions relying on centralized sequencers, Metis is transitioning to a decentralized model. This shift enables broader participation in block production, reduces censorship risks, and introduces a revenue-sharing mechanism. For the first time on Ethereum’s Layer 2, stakers will receive a share of sequencer income—an important milestone.
TechFlow: Many users describe Metis as a relatively “meme” project among Layer 2s. What’s your take—do you see that as positive or negative?
Jose:
I wouldn't classify MEME as the dominant narrative in the crypto community, but I do believe they play an important role in fostering a healthy ecosystem.
One of crypto’s core ideas is a sense of unity and fun among participants. MEMEs have become a popular mode of communication, not only in crypto but in broader culture. They uniquely convey complex concepts in accessible and engaging ways.
Memes can deliver messages through concise humor, whereas long-form text may require more time and cognitive effort to understand. When used responsibly, memes positively contribute to the industry by building communities and creating environments where participants enjoy themselves. Of course, like any aspect of the industry, caution is needed to ensure memes are used with integrity and security.
Overall, when thoughtfully applied with proper safeguards, memes can become valuable assets in the crypto industry.
Industry Challenges and Trends
TechFlow: What do you see as the biggest challenges currently facing the blockchain industry?
Jose:
First, accessibility remains a significant barrier for new users. Although some top chains have integrated with traditional platforms like Binance, there's still no clear path for users transitioning from traditional banking apps to crypto. This complexity hinders the industry’s ability to attract and retain newcomers.
Second, interoperability between different networks is a challenge. For example, bridging assets between Ethereum and other networks can be cumbersome, involving multiple steps and potential token conversions. This fragmentation degrades user experience and highlights the need for smoother cross-network compatibility.
Third, regulatory uncertainty casts a shadow over the industry. While there have been positive developments, such as the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, much of crypto regulation remains unclear. This lack of clarity impedes broad adoption and investment, as investors hesitate when uncertain about the regulatory status and security of crypto assets.
Finally, misaligned incentives within the industry often lead to hype-driven behavior. While such strategies may yield short-term gains, they can ultimately harm a project’s long-term sustainability and credibility. Aligning incentives with sustainable growth and value creation is crucial for the industry’s long-term success.
TechFlow: How does Metis address the issue of incentive misalignment?
Jose:
Metis serves as a proactive planning model. It has designed a self-sustaining economic model, allocating nearly half of its total token supply to incentivize and promote ecosystem growth. This includes everything from dApps to security measures.
By offering continuous incentives, Metis drives growth in TVL, trading volume, and active user count. Additionally, rewards generated from transactions are reinvested back into ecosystem dApps as builder incentives, distributing up to 4,000 METIS tokens monthly based on transaction activity.
This strategy not only fuels ecosystem expansion but also ensures sustainability. Furthermore, as transaction volume grows, so does revenue from the sequencer, creating a cycle of growth and reinvestment. Ultimately, this approach aligns incentives and promotes ecosystem health. While not perfect, it demonstrates a clear plan to engage users and support long-term viability.
TechFlow: What emerging trends or technologies do you believe will significantly impact Metis or the broader blockchain industry?
Jose:
For Metis, I believe one of the most promising areas for significant growth may be liquid staking.
Metis will provide the infrastructure users need to stake METIS tokens and earn rewards on Ethereum. Additionally, we’ll offer strong incentives for products focused on liquid staking derivatives (LSD). This includes lending platforms allowing users to borrow against their LSD holdings, liquidity mining platforms where users can provide liquidity using METIS-LSD pairs, and other possibilities. We expect this LSD narrative to draw considerable attention.
Moreover, the social-fi (social finance) sector is expected to grow rapidly in the near future. Given its potential, this area could generate substantial buzz.
Additionally, in my view, gaming will be a true game-changer. The gaming industry already has a massive market, with millions, even billions, of players worldwide who are already online and closely connected to the crypto space. By launching compelling games on blockchain, we can attract vast numbers of players. The appeal lies not just in financial incentives but also in enhancing casual entertainment through engaging gameplay on Metis. This direction holds enormous potential for success.
Overall, I foresee many exciting areas emerging on Metis this year, each bringing opportunities for growth and innovation.
TechFlow: Regarding the Cancun upgrade, what competitive implications do you expect for Layer 2?
Jose:
The integration of Layer 2 solutions with Ethereum is indeed an eagerly anticipated development. By offloading data processing to Layer 2, congestion on Layer 1 is effectively reduced, lowering transaction fees. This improvement not only enhances user experience but also makes Ethereum and Layer 2 solutions more accessible to a broader audience.
Essentially, it simplifies the process, making it more cost-effective and user-friendly—ultimately beneficial for mass adoption.
Marketing Strategy, Partnerships, and Ecosystem Development
TechFlow: Many new chains use airdrops to attract users. What makes Metis’ marketing strategy unique in attracting users?
Jose:
Initially, we started with liquidity mining incentives—a strategy adopted by many in the industry.
However, as we move toward decentralized sequencers, we're pioneering a breakthrough initiative: becoming the first Layer 2 solution with native token liquid staking. This marks a significant evolution in the Ethereum rollup landscape.
Users will soon be able to lock their Metis tokens as liquid staked assets on the network—a feature we’re highly excited about. In the first year, we’ll offer competitive 20% staking rewards, a very attractive figure in the crypto space. Additionally, we strongly believe in composability, ensuring our dApp ecosystem is interconnected and robust.
We aim to cultivate a healthy ecosystem where protocols interact seamlessly and complement each other, enriching the overall user experience. Furthermore, we've allocated 6% of the total METIS supply for airdrops, with only 1.1% used so far, primarily to compensate the community after the PolyNetwork hack. We’ve reserved 5% of the total supply for potential future airdrops, though there are no specific plans yet. However, we retain the flexibility to utilize this allocation as needed in the future.
User Growth and Engagement
TechFlow: User growth is a common concern for crypto projects. How does Metis attract and retain users?
Jose:
There are two key strategies for driving community engagement and retention within the Metis ecosystem.
First, cultivating a sense of community involvement is essential. Users need to feel like active participants in the development process, knowing their opinions are valued and incorporated. This can be achieved through transparent communication channels, regular updates, and providing opportunities for feedback and participation.
Second, incentives play a vital role in driving user engagement and retention. By strategically aligning incentives and delivering rewards where most effective, Metis can not only attract new users but also retain them long-term. Supporting ecosystem builders is especially crucial, as developers are the primary customers of blockchain networks. By providing developers with support and resources to build valuable, user-friendly applications on Metis, the platform ensures a vibrant and active ecosystem that continuously attracts and retains users.
In summary, active community engagement, strategic incentive alignment, and comprehensive developer support are the key drivers of participation and retention within the Metis ecosystem.
TechFlow: How does Metis select and establish partnerships?
Jose:
In business development, we prioritize projects that align with our ecosystem needs and demonstrate clear product-market fit. We look for solid business models and teams committed to long-term success. Our goal is to support projects that bring positive value to the ecosystem and meet its demands.
TechFlow: Who are some of Metis’ key partners or projects currently?
Jose:
We’ve seen the launch of several strong ecosystem dApps, including the well-received Hummus, Hermes, and Tethys. Hummus, in particular, gained significant popularity, while Hermes achieved remarkable TVL in 2022, reaching hundreds of millions of dollars. Tethys is our main perpetual futures exchange, offering users leveraged trading. Additionally, we have other major partnerships in the pipeline, although details haven’t been disclosed yet.
Market and Competitive Analysis
TechFlow: How do you view the current state of competition among Layer 2s in the crypto market?
Jose:
Competition is inevitable, but METIS is well-positioned to become a leading Ethereum scaling solution. Our focus is on delivering consistent, incremental growth and maximum value to users, thereby advancing the industry.
Where we stand out is technically—METIS is the only Ethereum Layer 2 solution that has decentralized its sequencer, enabling us to share revenue with the community, a unique feature. Additionally, we’re adopting decentralized governance processes, ensuring METIS becomes a community-owned network—a rare phenomenon in an industry where many Layer 2s remain centrally controlled.
Furthermore, METIS is pioneering a zero-knowledge proof development organization, combining the strengths of Optimism’s rollup upgrade with those of zero-knowledge rollups. We plan to launch our first hybrid rollup by late 2024 or early 2025, offering the best of both worlds. These initiatives, combined with our commitment to incentive alignment, position us as leaders in the space.
TechFlow: How does Metis maintain competitiveness in such a fierce market?
Jose:
Our KPIs primarily focus on internal goals that drive our success. One major target is achieving $1 billion in Total Value Locked (TVL), encompassing not only METIS but also bridged funds, stablecoins, and other assets. We expect to reach this milestone in the short to medium term.
Additionally, we aim to significantly increase transaction volume by attracting high-quality applications and infrastructure projects. Growing transaction volume benefits successful projects and ensures METIS’ sustainability.
On the marketing front, we intend to dramatically scale our efforts—potentially tenfold—to expand our presence in overlooked regions such as Latin America and emerging crypto markets in parts of Asia. Our goal is to substantially grow our user base and enter emerging markets.
While we don’t have specific targets for transactions or user counts, we aim to match or surpass top competitors like Optimism and Arbitrum. Given our project roadmap, strategic planning, and infrastructure, we’re confident in achieving these objectives. Ultimately, our success will be measured by progress in transactions, TVL, and user acquisition, with the $1 billion TVL milestone being a key benchmark.
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