What the F*CK is a Community? Pt.2 (Applying BARD to Major Alts)

Key Takeaways

• BARD Approach: This report applies Belief, Action, Resilience, and Density to gauge community health across 18 L1s in 2024–2025.

• Early-Stage vs. Mature: Newer chains often score lower on Action/Resilience, while older ecosystems exhibit deeper grassroots identity and stability.

• Network Overlap: Interlinked platforms (e.g., Cosmos, Polkadot) form meta-communities where cross-project synergy or conflict shapes Density and collective resilience.

• Beyond Metrics: BARD must include cultural and social nuances, such as meetups, meme culture, user-driven events, to avoid short-lived hype overshadowing true communal depth.

1. Introduction

Belief, Action, Resilience, Density (BARD) is a bs filtered lens I suggested in my previous article “What the F*CK is a Community? (Breaking it Down with BARD” to gauge crypto community health. In a market where hype often drowns out substance, BARD zeroes in on what really sustains a crypto ecosystem: Belief (conviction and ethos), Action (real builder/user activity), Resilience (weathering volatility and setbacks), and Density (network cohesion and social connectivity).

I asked ChatGPT to apply the BARD lens to 18 leading L1 communities of 2024~2025: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Cardano, Dogecoin, Movement, Tron, TON, Aptos, Avalanche, Cosmos, BNB, Berachain, Stacks, Polkadot, EOS, and Hyperliquid. Each project gets a 1–10 score per pillar (with a key phrase) and a frank assessment of its community.

Enough intros. Here’s the leaderboard.

2. BARD Scores at a Glance

Below is a summary table of each blockchain’s BARD scores. These scores are based on current (2024–2025) ecosystem behavior: staking and retention rates, developer and governance participation, cultural memes, social engagement, and how the community responded to recent market volatility.

(Scores are subjective estimates by ChatGPT, informed by current metrics and trends. Just look at it for fun, anon)

3. Detailed Analysis of Major L1 Communities

3.1 Ethereum (36/40) - “Infinite Roadmap, Infinite Delays”

Ethereum’s community uniquely blends idealism with relentless pragmatism. It unites builders, degens, and idealists under an ambitious, pluralistic ethos, championing decentralization, innovation, and public goods. While recent governance tensions within the EF slightly blurred mission clarity, Ethereum remains crypto’s unmatched development hub, boasting the highest builder activity globally and a deeply engaged social fabric. In short, Ethereum’s community delivers the rare combo of ideological conviction, continuous action, and proven resilience, making it crypto’s most dynamic network powerhouse.

3.2 Bitcoin (35/40) - “Toxic Digital Gold Worshippers with Zero Chill”

Bitcoin’s community is crypto’s immovable object, powered by an almost religious belief in decentralization and sound money. While builders move slowly, the strength lies in conviction and relentless resilience: maxis HODL through anything, whether regulatory storms or bear markets. They might not ship features fast, but in terms of conviction and staying power, Bitcoin is the gold standard (literally) in community strength.

3.3 Solana (34/40) - “FTX PTSD Survivors Club”

Solana’s community embodies resilience and relentless action. After surviving FTX’s collapse, network outages, and brutal market shakeouts, the Solana faithful rebounded harder than ever, powered by pragmatic belief in its tech’s raw speed and scalability. Now a dev hotspot again, Solana leads 2024 in new builder adoption and surging transaction volumes.

Its core community is energetic, tightly connected, and proudly self-aware, bonded through shared struggles and memes. While slightly less ideologically cohesive than Bitcoin or Ethereum, Solana’s gritty, comeback-driven culture makes it a community defined by action, resilience, and renewed ambition.

3.4 Ripple (33/40) “Bankers’ Coin with a Victim Complex”

The XRP Army is one of crypto’s most battle-hardened, fiercely loyal tribe united by unwavering belief that Ripple will revolutionize global finance. Though grassroots developer action is limited, their strength lies in legendary resilience, having endured years of regulatory battles, negative press, and bear markets without losing faith. They may not ship much code, but their intense conviction and unmatched ability to weather adversity ensure XRP’s community remains an enduring, formidable force in crypto.

3.5 Cardano (31/40) - “The Peer-Reviewed Ghost Chain”

Cardano’s community strength is unmatched in crypto when it comes to patience, solidarity, and sheer ideological conviction. Rooted in a deep belief in peer-reviewed tech and methodical progress, $ADA holders are remarkably loyal, staking over 60% of total supply and weathering years of delays.

While the developer ecosystem still lags behind more dynamic rivals, Cardano’s social fabric (the self-described “Cardano family”) is dense, positive, and cohesive. Their unwavering belief and resilience have kept the network thriving against skepticism, making community culture Cardano’s strongest long-term advantage.

3.6 Polkadot (31/40) - “Gavin’s Overengineered Dream”

Polkadot’s community quietly sets a high bar for thoughtful decentralization, governance participation, and long-term builder action. United by founder Gavin Wood’s Web3 vision, DotSama faithful deeply believe in a multi-chain future built on interoperability and transparency.

While hype has ebbed somewhat in recent cycles, the community has demonstrated impressive resilience, patiently weathering delays and adapting seamlessly to major governance shifts. Polkadot’s meta-community culture, connecting diverse parachain tribes, remains cohesive and vibrant.

3.7 Berachain (29/40) “The Honey-Fueled Defi Degen Zoo”

Berachain’s community defies crypto logic: fanatically loyal even before mainnet launched, bonded by memes, jokes, and the promise of innovative DeFi mechanics (Proof-of-Liquidity). Their conviction survived multiple delays, keeping $3.1B locked in pre-launch liquidity and flooding X and discord with relentless hype.

Post-launch (Feb 2025), activity surged, though it’s still speculative and early-stage. While true resilience hasn’t been stress-tested yet, the community’s tight-knit, meme-driven culture has created unusually dense social and economic cohesion. It’s small but fiercely unified; proof that, sometimes, belief alone can bootstrap a powerful community from nothing.

3.8 Dogecoin (29/40) “Crypto’s Favorite Dead Joke”

Dogecoin’s community proves memes are more powerful than code. Built on pure, playful belief and humor, the Doge Army transformed a joke into a lasting crypto phenomenon. Despite minimal developer activity and sparse technical innovation, Doge holders show remarkable cultural resilience, reviving enthusiasm repeatedly through viral waves and celebrity hype (hello, Elon).

Though not deeply connected by tech or governance, Dogecoiners form tight social bonds through shared jokes, generosity, and outsider identity. Its strength lies not in what it builds, but in its relentless positivity, absurdity, and staying power.

3.9 Avalanche (29/40) “Red Triangle Looking for a Narrative”

Avalanche’s community is pragmatic and builder-focused, bonded by shared confidence in its tech (fast consensus, customizable subnets). While not intensely ideological, they exhibit consistent developer action and healthy ecosystem participation, launching numerous subnets and maintaining solid transaction activity.

Though lacking a dramatic resilience test, Avalanche quietly navigated market downturns without losing core contributors, signaling steady perseverance. Socially interconnected but somewhat top-down, Avalanche maintains cohesion among developers and validators, though could strengthen grassroots engagement. Overall, Avalanche’s community might not grab headlines, but it reliably delivers competence, consistency, and steady growth.

3.10 BNB Chain (28/40) “CZ’s Clone Factory”

BNB Chain’s community blends pragmatic Binance (or CZ) loyalty with massive retail participation, creating a vast but loosely connected ecosystem. Belief centers around trust in Binance’s proven products rather than ideological conviction. Action is high-volume but heavily reliant on cloned dapps and yield-chasing opportunism. Impressively resilient through hacks and regulatory heat (with centralized interventions), the community prioritizes practicality over purity.

However, broad user adoption comes with shallow social bonds; most cohesion stems from Binance’s corporate umbrella rather than organic culture. BNB Chain succeeds through scale and convenience, even if its community lacks deeper ideological unity or grassroots density.

3.11 Cosmos (28/40) “IBC: Inter-Blockchain Conflict”

Cosmos is crypto’s "Internet of Blockchains," driven by a powerful ethos around sovereignty and interoperability. The community (“Cosmonauts”) remains a powerhouse of prolific appchain developers and dedicated builders. Despite demonstrating notable resilience by navigating significant challenges, including Terra’s collapse, heated tokenomics debates, and Jae Kwon’s controversial AtomOne fork, Cosmos faces growing internal fragmentation. Teams and validators have divided into competing factions, straining the social fabric and weakening cohesion, especially around the Cosmos Hub. Ultimately, Cosmos’ core strength remains its decentralized builder culture, but current divisions reveal serious tests ahead for community alignment and unity.

3.12 Ton (27/40) “Telegram’s Zombie Chain Comeback”

TON’s community emerged resiliently from the ashes of Telegram’s abandoned blockchain, kept alive by devoted early supporters. With Telegram re-embracing TON and integrating it deeply, community belief has surged around the mission of mass crypto adoption via Telegram's 950 million users. Although recent hackathons and Foundation-driven initiatives boosted developer activity, grassroots action is still growing slowly.

TON's proven resilience through legal adversity is notable, yet overall community density remains moderate; deeply connected among core Telegram-affiliated groups but lacking broader, decentralized engagement.

3.13 Tron (26/40) “Justin Sun’s Stablecoin Casino”

Tron’s community, massive yet utilitarian, centers around tangible network benefits; fast, cheap transactions, and practical use cases like stablecoin transfers and gambling dapps rather than deep philosophical conviction. Despite Justin Sun’s controversial reputation, the community has remained resilient, demonstrating steady growth and impressive daily usage.

Developer creativity remains limited, with most action driven by the Tron Foundation and simple defi clones. Socially, Tron’s vast user base is fragmented, lacking strong member-to-member bonds, making it more a silent giant of blockchain utility rather than a tight-knit cultural force.

3.14 Stacks (25/40) “Bitcoin’s Ignored Younger Sibling”

Stacks’ community uniquely bridges Bitcoin’s maximalism with smart-contract innovation, persistently believing that Bitcoin can evolve beyond digital gold. Despite being smaller and somewhat isolated from the broader Bitcoin community, their dedication to mission-driven development, highlighted by consistent Clarity smart-contract work, strong community staking (Stacking), and strategic adaptability during the recent Ordinals NFT boom, has forged quiet resilience. Still, limited explosive growth or broader crypto mindshare keeps Stacks’ community tight-knit but niche.

3.15 Hyperliquid (24/40) “Jeff's On-Chain Casino Cult”

Hyperliquid is the newest entrant on our list. Hyperliquid’s community revolves around a compelling ethos, “On-chain Binance,” uniting traders in a niche but passionate mission for high-performance decentralized trading. Driven by community-centric tokenomics (70% token allocation to users, revenue redistribution), early adopters exhibit strong, almost cult-like conviction. However, activity remains narrowly focused on trading rather than broad development or governance.

Resilience is promising but largely untested; Hyperliquid has yet to face significant adversity or regulatory scrutiny. Community bonds are tight within the trader core yet limited outside that clique. Overall, Hyperliquid’s dedicated base positions it well as a niche powerhouse; still growing, but firmly committed.

3.16 Aptos (23/40) “One Pop Anthem Doesn’t Create a Thriving Chain”

Aptos launched with massive hype and VC backing, but the shine has worn off. Early belief was speculative and incentive-driven, with many joining for airdrops rather than conviction. By 2025, the community is more grounded, with real builders, active regional groups, and growing ecosystems across Defi, NFts, and RWAs. Still, the recent exits of co-founder Mo Shaikh and Head of Ecosystem Neil exposed cracks in the foundation, dimming some confidence. Developer growth is strong, but much activity remains top-down. Resilience has been tested through market downturns and internal shifts, but without major implosions. Aptos has infrastructure, traction, and global reach, yet still lacks a cultural “glue.” It’s not a meme-powered tribe or a grassroots movement. At least not yet.

3.17 Movement (16/40) “The Move Chain No One Moved To”

Movement is an ambitious yet nascent Layer-1 ecosystem aiming to build a modular, Move-language rollup network anchored to Ethereum. Its early-stage community is driven mostly by curiosity and speculative interest, having yet to solidify deep ideological belief or widespread conviction.

Action has so far been minimal, primarily developer experimentation and staking activity, with true ecosystem traction still pending. A swift and transparent response to an early liquidity crisis hints at potential resilience, though larger tests remain ahead. Community density is thin, lacking distinct culture or strong interpersonal bonds, leaving Movement’s community as a concept still awaiting proof through adoption and sustained development.

3.18 EOS (8/40) “The $4B Ghost Chain That Rugged Itself”

EOS raised $4.1B in 2018 and promised to change the world. It didn’t. Overhyped and underdelivered, it bled developers, lost users, and fell off the map. The original community disintegrated, and faith in EOS as a platform evaporated. Today, a tiny crew of die-hards runs the EOS Network Foundation (ENF), trying to salvage the project through upgrades and rebranding. Their grit is admirable, but they’re rebuilding on ashes. Developer activity is minimal, users are few, and Tether even stopped minting USDT on EOS, a symbolic nail in the coffin.

EOS isn’t quite dead, but it’s undeniably in critical condition. The story of EOS is a cautionary tale: without sustained belief, action, and cultural resilience, even billions can’t buy a lasting community.

4. Conclusion & Findings

One clear takeaway from this experiment is that early-stage communities tend to score lower on BARD, especially on Action and Resilience. It’s natural: new projects typically rely on top-down building, have fewer bottom-up contributors, and haven’t faced serious adversity yet. As a result, it may be premature to dismiss their potential simply because they haven’t had the runway (or the battles) to prove themselves.

At the same time, Belief and Density often deepen once a community has weathered real stress tests or multiple market cycles. Grassroots movements, meme cultures, and robust social networks rarely emerge overnight. With that in mind, BARD could evolve by adopting a “stage awareness” approach, weighting certain pillars (like Resilience) differently for newly launched chains, and distinguishing between top-down building and genuinely bottom-up participation for Action scores.

Another dimension is cross-project synergy. In ecosystems like Cosmos or Polkadot, communities span multiple interconnected networks; that can significantly impact Density (and sometimes Resilience), creating a kind of meta-community that might be overlooked if we treat each chain in isolation. Finally, BARD might incorporate more qualitative measures, such as developer tooling, offline meetups, or the overall depth of user-driven initiatives, to ensure hype-driven noise doesn’t inflate scores.

All told, BARD’s value lies in asking tougher questions about what actually drives communal longevity. Even in a market rife with short attention spans, hype cycles, and cutthroat competition, some ecosystems still demonstrate lasting conviction, real grassroots building, and strong social fabric. Recognizing and measuring these rarities may be the best way to preserve the spirit of community that launched crypto in the first place.

Note on Scoring Methodology:

Each BARD category (Belief, Action, Resilience, Density) was scored from 0 (worst) to 10 (best). A score of 0 would represent an entirely speculative, disengaged group lacking coherent beliefs, zero meaningful contributions or participation, immediate abandonment at any market challenge, and no interpersonal connections. Conversely, a score of 10 implies an ideal community, deeply ideological, proactively engaged, battle-tested, and densely interconnected. This explicit baseline helps contextualize scores and opens interesting avenues for further quantitative analysis (e.g., correlating BARD scores with market capitalization to explore relative community valuations).