The recent AMA featuring UnicornVerse, ZKWASM, and other industry leaders revealed significant insights into the evolution of Web3 incentive mechanisms and zero-knowledge technology applications. This comprehensive discussion highlighted how UnicornX's S2 Diamond Hands program and ZKWASM's technical innovations are addressing fundamental challenges in the blockchain ecosystem, from user retention to privacy-enhanced decentralized finance. As the industry matures, these developments signal a shift from speculative models to sustainable value creation through technical excellence and thoughtful mechanism design.
UnicornVerse founder Ann introduced the S2 Diamond Hands program as a response to previous challenges in the ecosystem. The program implements an X Points reward system with phased distribution over a three-month guarantee period, carefully balancing user protection with sustainable project development cycles. This approach directly addresses issues like front-running and bot attacks that plagued earlier initiatives such as the UniCall round.
The program stands on four fundamental principles:
Community representatives including Arya, Cipher, and Yuan expressed strong support for the phased distribution approach and X Points system. The three-month commitment period was recognized as a necessary timeframe for meaningful project development while maintaining accountability through clear milestone achievements.
Sinka, founder of ZKWASM and Delphinus Lab, presented ZKWASM as the world's only ZK virtual machine supporting Web Assembly. With over three years of development (launched concurrently with RISC Zero), ZKWASM ranks in the second performance tier among ZK projects. Its standout feature is browser compatibility, enabling seamless integration with existing web infrastructure.
ZKWASM's ecosystem development follows three strategic pillars:
Unlike purely infrastructure-focused projects, ZKWASM aims to build a self-contained mini-ecosystem demonstrating ZK's practical value through tangible applications.
Industry experts Sinka and Rui noted that Binance's recent listings of ZK-focused projects like ZKC signal zero-knowledge technology's return to mainstream blockchain narratives. The sector is moving beyond the "disenchantment" phase back to recognizing core technical value. As Sinka emphasized, "ZK is a science born specifically for blockchain," highlighting its fundamental importance to the ecosystem.
The discussion revealed how ZK technology extends beyond theoretical applications:
Projects like RISC Zero and Succinct demonstrate viable revenue models, generating $20-30 million annually through their ZK implementations.
Jason Chen highlighted the explosive growth in decentralized exchanges, which now capture over 30% market share—double their position from earlier this year. Projects like Hyperliquid have demonstrated that on-chain derivatives trading is not only viable but increasingly preferred by sophisticated traders, particularly for long-tail assets requiring innovative solutions.
The panel identified several critical challenges facing decentralized perpetuals:
The integration of zero-knowledge technology with perpetual trading platforms offers promising solutions:
Ann and Sinka predicted future trends toward machine consensus and automated settlement systems that maintain security while enhancing user experience.
Robbie, founder of Cycle Network, presented his vision for solving blockchain fragmentation through a settlement network connecting "Super Apps." The system enables seamless data transfer across applications while maintaining a robust multi-chain settlement layer.
Leveraging team expertise in high-performance networking and parallel virtual machines, Cycle Network has spent three years developing solutions for self-custody asset flows. The architecture specifically supports lightweight Application Chain Super Apps, positioning the network for future ecosystem expansion.
The UnicornX team committed to mechanism optimization focused on solving real problems rather than promoting empty slogans. The next UniCall iteration will incorporate stronger protections for genuine holders while integrating decentralized perpetuals to complete the ecosystem loop.
Community members encouraged ZKWASM to balance its strong technical foundation with increased market visibility. The perpetual DEX direction was identified as particularly promising, especially when combined with UnicornVerse's capital expertise. ZK miners and related applications were highlighted as areas worth monitoring.
The discussion concluded with five key industry takeaways:
Q1: What makes the S2 Diamond Hands program different from traditional staking rewards? A: Unlike traditional staking that simply rewards token lockups, the S2 Diamond Hands program implements a phased X Points distribution system over a three-month period. This approach protects genuine long-term holders while giving projects sustainable development time, addressing issues like front-running and bot manipulation that plagued earlier reward systems.
Q2: How does ZKWASM differ from other zero-knowledge projects in the market? A: ZKWASM stands out as the world's only ZK virtual machine supporting Web Assembly, making it uniquely compatible with browser-based applications. With over three years of development, it ranks in the second performance tier among ZK projects and focuses on building a complete mini-ecosystem rather than just infrastructure.
Q3: Why is the integration of ZK technology with perpetual trading platforms significant? A: This integration addresses critical vulnerabilities in decentralized finance by providing privacy protection with verifiable fairness. It solves problems like liquidity manipulation, price tampering, and targeted exploitation while maintaining the benefits of decentralization—essentially creating a more secure and user-friendly trading environment.
Q4: What is Cycle Network's approach to blockchain interoperability? A: Cycle Network is building a settlement network that connects "Super Apps" across multiple blockchains, enabling users to freely transfer data while maintaining self-custody of assets. Their three-year development focuses on high-performance networking and parallel virtual machines to support lightweight Application Chain integration.
Q5: How are projects like UnicornX transitioning from PVP to PVE models? A: This transition involves redesigning incentive mechanisms to reward collaborative behavior rather than zero-sum competition. UnicornX is implementing this through the X Points system, phased rewards distribution, and integration with complementary technologies like ZKWASM to create sustainable ecosystem value rather than short-term speculative gains.
