Exchanges are just distribution channels, not the whole story.

They show you what traders are interested in *right now*, but they won't tell you what's actually happening under the hood—things like developer activity, real adoption metrics, or what products teams are shipping.

Market listings? They move with the trends. Money flows where the hype is.

But building a real network takes something different. It's teams grinding, communities staying engaged, actually using the tech instead of just talking about it. That's the stuff that creates lasting value.