Here's where I push back on that narrative.

Sure, L1s are kind of locked in—you need that gas token live when the chain goes public. But here's the thing: unless you're sitting on proven traction like Hyperliquid already had, rushing token launch feels backwards.

Look at what actually worked recently. The tokens that stuck around? They didn't just drop out of nowhere. These projects grinded through real product validation first—actual users, actual problems solved. Then the token made sense.

Maybe we've gotten too comfortable with the "ship token, figure out product later" playbook. The evidence suggests flipping that order produces better outcomes.