Here are five things people need to do for Web3.
Using cryptocurrencies is not easy. Anyone who disagrees needs to go outside and head to their local gas station and ask the cashier how to mint NFTs. Alright, now that we can all agree that encryption isn't easy for most, let's identify what we need to change if we want to drive mass web3 adoption.
Why are we driving mass adoption of Web3? Because an open Internet is good for humanity.
In my view, for crypto to become a home technology, it needs to do the following five things:
✔ Mobile friendly encrypted dApps
✔ Real day-to-day use cases of encryption
✔ Better education and less stigma
✔ Reasonable encryption regulation
✔ Enhance user experience
Mobile-Friendly Crypto dApp
This is one of the biggest hurdles the industry faces to mass adoption today. Mobile traffic surpassed desktop in 2016, and by 2023, mobile traffic will generate more than 75% of website traffic. That's up more than 5% from last year, so the number of phones is still growing.
Many in the Web3 space are quietly ignoring the fact that most internet users are on mobile devices, and dApps are not there yet. If web3 is going to have any chance of reaching mass audiences, it has to be done on mobile devices.
Solana Labs launched the Solana Mobile Stack (SolanaMobile Stack) and Saga . Mobile Stack is "an Android open source software toolkit that supports Android web3 applications on Solana with the SeedVault secure custody protocol that facilitates instant signing of transactions while separating private keys from wallets, applications, and the Android OS".
The Saga is the flagship Android phone that comes with it. In addition to the seed vault, the mobile stack will have a protocol that connects mobile wallets to web apps, Solana payments, and the dApp store that goes with it.
Saga is scheduled to launch worldwide in Q3 2023, which will be a big step in bringing dApps to the masses, providing more everyday use cases for the masses.
Real Everyday Encryption Use Cases
Over the past few years, countless applications have been built as "web3 versions of XXX". While there's nothing wrong with this in itself, decentralized versions of many Web 2.0 applications aren't actually getting better and aren't taking advantage of web3 technology.
Many companies are trying to ride the wave of the industry but are not taking advantage of any web3 tools to add functionality. dApp should use web3 technology to solve practical problems encountered by users every day.
A well-known practical use case is international payments . First, it's faster. Unlike banks, Crypto is a 24/7 operating system, and transfers are almost instantaneous, because it's not tied to any bank or government, you're free to send as much or as little mail as you want without middleman fees.
Finally, it's more transparent. You can always see where your money is instead of handing it over to middlemen and praying it gets where it needs to go. These are the basic ways for web3 to achieve user benefits, but web2 cannot.
Better education and less stigma
It's human nature to be afraid of what we don't understand. We know this, but we still can't help being skeptical and dismissive of new ideas. In 1999, people thought it was stupid to send money on this "PayPal" thing. In 2008, video games were a "waste of time," now it's a $200 billion industry.
What's annoying now is encryption. If you're reading this, you've heard the usual attacks from haters, "It's all a scam", "NFTs are just jpegs", "Cryptocurrencies are just for buying illegal stuff on the dark web. While industry insiders Knowing that these are naive views, but mass users don't.
It is true that the web3 community as a whole can better establish its own brand image to the outside world. Getting users to join web3 is a pressure point across the industry and we have to build a better brand image.
It can be challenging at this point, imagine entering your first discord community or twitter space, but you don't understand the language, it shouldn't be a friendly environment.
"What do I need to get ,what on what list? What do I do with all these cryptos? It's not just one. Why am I the only one here who doesn't know what to do with the NFT I just bought..??"
Education is the next step. If more people understood what was going on, they would be less frightened and more likely to dip their toes in the water.
Reasonable Crypto Regulation
Regulation is coming. On June 7, 2022, the Lummis-Gillibrand Act was proposed to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets. Here are some key elements of the bill:
Tax-free transactions under $200 to encourage everyday spending
Stablecoins must maintain a 100% reserve
Crypto assets should be considered commodities not securities
People have the right to self-custody of their digital assets
Although it is still early days, some form of regulation is on the horizon. While this may unsettle DeFi insiders, clarity on regulation would be a good thing for mass adoption. This has to do with lack of education, but users feel safer investing their money in regulated products.
Especially after Terra's collapse, it still looks like the Wild West to outsiders. Reasonable regulation is best for long term.
Enhance user experience
The last piece of the puzzle, and probably the most important piece: UX/UI. While it's getting better every day, the overall user experience isn't quite better yet. Interoperability issues, a clunky desktop interface, no mobile dApps, and most importantly, the onboarding process for external users remains a major hurdle.
Thanks for Reading
