The architecture of on-chain trading can be understood through three distinct competitive systems:

First, we have player-versus-player dynamics—traditional market competition where traders battle each other for alpha and execution advantage. This is the most familiar model, the core of current exchange ecosystems.

Then comes player-versus-environment mechanics, where participants compete against market conditions, volatility, and algorithmic challenges embedded in the protocol itself. Think of it as trading against the system's inherent rules and structures.

But here's the thing: the third pillar—player-versus-developer interaction—remains largely unexplored. This would represent a genuine paradigm shift, where traders have meaningful leverage and agency against the builders, creating true trading democracy rather than unilateral control.

We're still in early innings for this third model. Most ecosystems haven't cracked the code on balanced power dynamics. Until then, Web3 trading stays trapped between traditional finance hierarchies and token-holder governance theater.