I've been keeping an eye on this project for a while now, and to be honest, I didn't think much of it at first.
AI, Web4, and behavior mining—I've heard these buzzwords so much in the blockchain gaming scene that my ears are practically calloused. Every year, dozens of these projects pop up, with whitepapers that read like sci-fi novels, and once they launch, the flaws are all exposed. I casually swiped away when I saw one in the plaza, thinking, 'Here’s another one riding the hype train.'
So why did I start paying attention again? Because a buddy from my group, a guy who usually only trades Bitcoin and Ethereum and doesn't even touch meme coins, suddenly asked in the chat, 'Has anyone tried LongTech's Shortchall?' I was taken aback, thinking, 'Wow, if he’s interested, I better check it out.'
Alright then, I’ll give Shortchall a try.
Register, link wallet, start grinding. I grinded for ten minutes on the first day and got a few dozen points; didn’t feel much. Continued the next day. By the fifth day, I received an airdrop of around 2 USD.
I thought to myself, this is interesting.
I've been grinding for almost a month now. Spending 15 to 20 minutes daily, earning 2 to 3 USD. Not much, but steady. The key is I haven't invested a dime, just pure leeching. What do you lose? Just a bit of time. I was already scrolling through short videos anyway; I just switched apps.
Speaking of sitting on the toilet, my cat always sits at the door staring at me when I'm on my phone. I have no idea what it’s thinking. Getting sidetracked.
But just grinding without research won't cut it; I need to run the numbers.
I went through the data on Shortchall. In March, they officially claimed a user base of 1 million, with daily active users between 120,000 and 150,000. In April, it was updated to over 1.4 million, covering 228 countries. An increase of 400,000 in less than a month honestly surprised me.
However, there’s one data point the official hasn’t released: retention rates. Day-2 retention, 7-day retention, 30-day retention—all are black boxes. I’ve worked on internet products, and I know retention is a hundred times more important than registration numbers. Registration can be inflated, but retention can't be faked. If a project has less than 30% day-2 retention, it’s basically a flash in the pan. What’s Shortchall’s retention rate? I don’t know right now, it’s frustrating.
I also dug into the team background; this needs to be discussed thoroughly.
LongTech isn't one of those air projects where a few young folks throw together a white paper and launch a coin. Its main company was established in Beijing back in 2015, and the core team has a background in game development. Have you played (Last Empire: War Z)? Or (Last Shelter: Survival)? Also (Rise of Empires). These SLGs have performed well globally, peaking with daily active users over 1.5 million, with over 600 employees worldwide, covering more than 100 countries and regions.
A friend of mine used to work in their Shanghai office; he said the overtime was intense, but the projects are solid. With that kind of foundation, what do those pure Web3 projects that started from scratch have to compare?
Blockchain gaming is fundamentally still gaming. The core of gaming is gameplay, experience, retention, and long-term operation. These elements are generally lacking among native Web3 teams. They excel at creating economic models, token mechanisms, and community hype. But when it comes to developing a fun game, nine out of ten can't pull it off. LongTech has legitimate game development and operational experience, which sets it apart from those one-off projects.
What’s frustrating is that the economic model hasn’t been fully disclosed yet.
The release mechanism for LTT, lock-up periods, and team allocations are all question marks. I did some rough calculations: assuming a daily output of 500,000 LTT, a monthly yield of 15 million. If the consumption scenarios can absorb 300,000 daily, that’s a net increase of 200,000, totaling 7.3 million in a year, which isn’t bad. But if consumption doesn’t keep up and the net increase hits 400,000 or even 500,000 a day, that would mean 146 million to 180 million in a year, which is about 15% to 18% of the total supply—that’s a bit high.
Currently, there are three consumption scenarios. The paid features within Shortchall have gone live. The AI smart watch set to launch in August will require burning LTT at purchase. There’s also the potential DeFi applications from the TronBank partnership, but those two haven't materialized yet. The inflation pressure from this time gap is the most realistic risk in the short term.
Honestly, I’m quite annoyed by this ‘partial transparency’ state. Either go fully public or don’t say so much; why keep people hanging?
Another thing, team lock-up. If the team locks their coins for only three months, they can dump after the fourth month. Retail investors' costs are in the time they spent grinding, while the team's costs are almost zero. The official team hasn't revealed the lock-up plan yet. Once LTT goes live, I’ll check that data immediately. If the lock-up is under a year, I'm not touching it. Let others go all in; I’ll step back.
Hardware is also a pit; I’ve felt that firsthand.
The direction of the AI smart watch is correct, but hardware is tough to make. Molding, quality control, supply chain, logistics, after-sales—any hiccup is a pitfall. I followed a hardware project before that made grand claims, but they delayed shipments by six months, and the final product had a ton of issues, causing the community to explode. The official word is August for release; will they meet the deadline? How will user feedback be post-launch? I don’t know. I’ll wait for the product to come out and see real testing before making moves. I won't jump in just because of a concept picture.
You ask why I still want to keep an eye on it? Because I’m really fed up with those pure chain-based air projects.
The biggest issue with blockchain games isn't the technology; it's the lack of real users, real demand, and real income. Most projects are just insiders playing among themselves, with funds circulating in a bubble, and whoever slows down is in trouble. LongTech is trying to attract external users with Web2 content and then monetize their behavior data, distributing value with Web3’s token mechanisms. That logic is sound.
A veteran gaming company that has been around for ten years, leaving behind stable traditional business to wade through the muddy waters of Web3. They either have real ambition or genuine faith. I lean towards both.
I’ll keep grinding Shortchall. When LTT goes live, I won’t jump in on day one; I'll observe for a week. If the data looks healthy, I’ll buy a small position to test the waters. If not, I’ll keep leeching. I haven’t lost anything, just consider it saving a few cups of coffee.
Alright, enough said. Have you been grinding Shortchall? See you in the comments.