What It Will Take to Reach Mass Adoption of Web3 💪🏽

Did you all see that headline about web3 last week? You know… the one about the thing and the guy and the… *crickets*... Yeah we can’t lie, from our side of things it’s been a little quiet on the web3 front. Part of it is Builders’ Season, a time (read: now) when web3 enthusiasts are heads down building the next great applications (read our newsletter about it here), part of it is gearing up for the flurry of web3 conferences around the U.S. this spring and summer, and another big part of it is the fact that’s it hard to get on board with web3. So for today’s newsletter, we’re going to be talking about a huge problem in web3: user adoption. Let’s deep dive into why it’s so hard to get on board in the web3 universe, and then give some tactical steps so you can join the party while we’re waiting for the beat to drop.

“What, like it’s hard [to adopt web3]?”  

Remember a few years ago in 2021 when NFT projects were dropping left and right, blockchain technology was all the rave on Twitter, and it seemed like everybody had “Web3 enthusiast” in their bio? Well, those people were part of the early market—the tech enthusiasts, innovators, and early adopters who believed in this new version of the internet.

With any new technological revolution, there exists The Chasm–the tough gap between a product or solution being seen as questionable and it being seen as an acceptable and necessary part of life. Right now, we’re at this point in web3 where about 85% of people (and that’s probably an underestimate) are still looking at it like…

This is partially because of the skepticism caused by all the web3 drama that has taken place over the past year, but also partially because it's still such a highly technical and confusing space, even for us sometimes! In order for us to cross the chasm, we believe there are three key areas that must be addressed:

1. Accessibility: We live in a mobile-first society where seamless user experiences win consumers over. If we want to reach mass adoption with web3, we have to encourage our friends who are building on the blockchain to prioritize the user experience and interface of web3 application for the average person to use, not just their crypto bro friends! These applications have to be as intuitive, easy to use, and accessible as our current applications. 

2. Scalability: This refers to the number of transactions a blockchain can handle at any given time. To put this into perspective, we recently read a statistic that shared “Bitcoin can process 7 transactions per second, while Ethereum can process 20 transactions per second, while Visa can handle 24,400 transactions per second.” Like, BFFR. That’s kind of a big gap… LOL. We have a little ways to go before this technology is even in a position to handle mass user adoption. 

3. Safety & Security:  With all records (including sensitive information in some cases) on the blockchain, a public ledger, it’s important that web3 applications are able to securely handle large amounts of user data and assets. The strength of blockchain’s security systems will ultimately be a driving force in getting people to feel comfortable and trust that they can interact with it and be protected from hacks and security threats. 

And if the builders of today could just get this right, we’d be a lot better off more quickly! 

“That was easy” - the Staples easy button

Sadly, there isn’t an easy button for web3 - we wish there was (brainstorms idea). But there are a handful of companies out there making it easier for people, and developers, to confidently jump in the web3 pool

Wallets: if you want to hold cryptocurrency of any kind, you have to have a wallet. But setting up a wallet may not be straightforward, and not every web2 company knows how to integrate, let alone create, one. That’s what some big name companies are trying to change:

• Coinbase: introduced a product called Wallet-as-a-Service (WaaS), which allows companies to create fully customizable web3 wallets within their own apps with user onboarding as simple as in web2 applications. Now users won’t be redirected to any external app when they try to integrate it

Payments: Now that you have the wallet, the next question is where can I get crypto, and what can I do if I want to buy something with crypto but don’t have it. That currency onramp is another gradual slope that other companies are trying to help ascend. 

• MoonPay: one among many fintech companies building the payment infrastructure for crypto, facilitating fast and simple ways to buy and sell cryptocurrencies using fiat currency devices like credit / debit cards, bank accounts, etc.

Gaming Tools: a handful of web3 aficionados believe that one of the easiest entry points for web3 users will be the gaming industry (check our newsletter on Tokenomics & Gaming here). But even with a wallet and crypto, onboarding to a web3 game is almost harder than blowing out your N64 cartridge back in the game. Well, leading web3 gaming companies won’t let that last too long.  

• Immutable: the leading platform for building and scaling web3 games on Ethereum, launched Immutable Passport, a wallet and authentication tool that streamlines onboarding for gamers through passwordless sign-on and automated wallet creation

And this is just the beginning. There are many other companies and use cases that we didn’t even get to mention and many more we haven’t even heard of yet, so keep your eyes open!

Aside from following companies that are making it easy for us all to interact with web3, there are also small ways you can cross the chasm for yourself and slowly but surely get immersed in the space. It’s been a while since we included a recommended action at the end of our posts, but we thought it’d be fitting for us to wrap up this post with some ways that anyone can get started in web3:

1. Educate yourself! If you’re reading this, you’re early 🤪. Lol no, but seriously. Learning about this space by reading blog posts, articles, tweets, listening to podcasts, or even watching TikToks is the best way to give yourself a solid foundation on the basics. You don’t have to know every nuance, but it helps to understand the gist!

2. Join web3 communities in person or online. Whether you attend in person events & conferences (like NFT NYC which is this week!) or join a DAO, it’s invaluable to connect with other people who are curious about and interested in the space.

3. Make a wallet. Yeah, yeah. We’ve been preaching this for a while now, but honestly your wallet will eventually become a form of identity in the decentralized world. It’ll be a culmination of who you are and what you own. If you’re looking to get started, check out the very first W34TC post from Jan 2022! We’ve come a long way 🥲 

As always, thanks for reading! We hope this perspective was helpful :)

Until next week,

–Kendall & Chad