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From Fat Protocols to Fat Apps: Is Crypto Shifting Its Value Layer?

Every cycle, crypto finds a new narrative that drives adoption — from ICOs to DeFi to NFTs. But in 2025, another contender is gaining traction: Fat Apps. These are not protocols, not just dApps, but heavyweight applications designed to dominate user attention and capture value at scale.

What Are Fat Apps?
In traditional Web3 discussions, value capture is often framed as “fat protocols” vs. “thin applications.” Fat Apps flip that thinking. They are:

• Applications with massive user networks.
• Built on top of existing blockchains.
• Designed to monetize data, liquidity, and user engagement directly.

Instead of blockchain layers being the sole value driver, Fat Apps themselves could become the new giants.

Why Fat Apps Could Be the Next Narrative

• User-first adoption: Retail users don’t care about L1 vs L2 — they care about apps that solve problems.
• Value capture: Fat Apps control front-end distribution, making them powerful gatekeepers.
• Ecosystem growth: As protocols compete for relevance, Fat Apps may dictate where liquidity flows.

In many ways, the rise of Fat Apps echoes the Web2 model — think Facebook, Amazon, or Google — except now it’s on decentralized rails.

Signals Already Emerging
Some early signs suggest we’re entering a Fat Apps cycle:

• DeFi super-apps consolidating lending, swaps, and staking.
• SocialFi platforms where attention = tokenized value.
• Gaming ecosystems capturing users with built-in marketplaces.

If this narrative takes off, the “winners” won’t just be protocols — they’ll be the apps that dominate user behavior.

Fat Apps may sound like just another buzzword, but if history is a guide, new narratives drive cycles — and Fat Apps could be crypto’s next big story.

We explored this in detail in our full editorial here: Fat Apps may sound like just another buzzword, but if history is a guide, new narratives drive cycles — and Fat Apps could be crypto’s next big story.

We explored this in detail in our full editorial here: What Are Fat Apps in Crypto?

From Fat Protocols to Fat Apps: Is Crypto Shifting Its Value Layer? was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.