I think the idea was more for it to serve as a testing ground for Holepunch (while also being a useful tool for bitfinex) more than it being a goal by itself.

There is already a fractured user base (with the exception of a couple large ones) in the messaging app world so that ship has sailed. I think now more competition could be a good thing as we need a substantial improvement over the current dominant players if we want to overcome their network effects.