Zora's Creator Economy Model Highlights Discrepancy in Digital Engagement Value

New York, NY – Bobby Thakkar, a prominent figure in the Web3 space and former Coinbase associate, recently sparked discussion on X (formerly Twitter) by contrasting the economic value of engagement on traditional social media platforms versus decentralized Web3 alternatives like Zora. In a post on October 27, 2025, Thakkar highlighted a significant disparity, stating, "> 5M impressions on X in 3 months: $0.15 1k followers on my personal Zora: $540 what are you waiting for anon?" This statement underscores a growing narrative around the potential for creators to derive greater direct financial benefit from on-chain social platforms.

Thakkar's comparison points to the differing monetization models of Web2 and Web3 platforms. While X primarily offers advertising-based revenue, often leading to low payouts for organic impressions, Zora, a decentralized protocol and Layer 2 network on Ethereum, focuses on empowering creators through direct ownership and tokenized engagement. Zora allows users to mint, sell, and display NFTs directly on the blockchain, and has evolved into a social network where individual posts can be tokenized as "creator coins."

Industry data supports the notion of low costs for impressions on traditional platforms, with average CPM (cost per mille/thousand impressions) for social media advertising ranging from $2.00 to $8.00, making Thakkar's reported $0.15 for 5 million impressions exceptionally low, possibly indicating organic reach or a highly optimized campaign. In contrast, Zora's model facilitates direct financial interaction. Creators can launch their own "creator coins," and every post is paired with it, allowing users to buy and trade these coins. This mechanism enables creators to earn a share of trading fees, with Zora recently reducing its trading fee to 1%, of which 50% is paid directly to creators.

Zora's ecosystem, built on the Base blockchain, aims to provide a more equitable system for creators and collectors. It emphasizes low transaction fees, on-chain royalties, and community governance. The platform's shift from a pure NFT marketplace to a creator-centric social network with tokenized content has led to substantial growth, with over $460 million in trading volume in July 2025 and more than 1.6 million creator tokens issued. This model suggests that "followers" on Zora represent a more direct and monetizable form of support, where engagement can translate into tangible financial value through token ownership and trading.

Thakkar, who has a background in product management at Coinbase and is involved with Propaganda.now, is an advocate for the on-chain economy. His tweet serves as a call to action for creators to explore Web3 platforms, suggesting that the direct monetization opportunities offered by Zora could far outweigh the traditional engagement metrics of Web2 platforms like X. The ZORA token itself has seen significant volatility and growth, reflecting increased interest in its creator-focused infrastructure.