5 necessary milestones to bring Web3 to the masses

In light of the recent ETH merge, crypto needs to make a few more changes if it hopes to go mainstream as a product and service rather than just as a name.

Zelus

Crypto isn’t easy enough to use. Anyone who disagrees needs to talk a walk outside and head to their local gas station. Ask the cashier how to mint an NFT. OK, so now that we both agree that crypto isn’t easy for the majority of people, let’s determine what needs to change if we want to drive mass web3 adoption.

Why do we want to drive mass web3 adoption? The Open Internet, y’all. It’s good for humanity. Facebook showed us why the top-down, centralized Internet is not good for humanity.

In our (humble) opinion, here are five things that need to happen for crypto to become a household technology. Not just a household name.

1. Mobile-friendly dApps
2. Real everyday use cases
3. Better education and reduced stigmas
4. Reasonable regulation
5. Enhanced User Experience

Let’s jump into it.

1. Mobile-friendly crypto dApps

This is one of the largest barriers to mass adoption facing the industry today. Mobile traffic passed desktop in 2016, and in 2022 mobile will generate over 60% of website traffic. This is up over 5% from last year, so mobile numbers are still growing.

A lot of people in the web3 space quietly ignore the fact that a majority of internet users are on mobile, and dApps aren’t there yet. If web3 wants to have a chance to reach the mass user, it’s going to have to get it done on mobile.

Earlier this summer, Solana Labs debuted Solana Mobile Stack and Saga. The mobile stack is “an open source software toolkit for Android enabling Android web3 apps on Solana with the Seed Vault secure custody protocol that facilitates instant signing of transactions while keeping private keys partitioned from wallets, apps, and the Android operating system”.

Saga is the accompanying flagship android phone. In addition to the seed vault, the mobile stack will have a protocol for connecting mobile wallets to web apps, Solana Pay, and an accompanying dApp store.

Check out more details here.

Scheduled to launch in early 2023, this would be a huge step forward in bringing dApps to the masses with more everyday use cases.

2. Real everyday crypto use cases

In the last couple of years, countless applications have been built as “the web3 version of ____”. While this is not inherently wrong, many decentralized versions of their web 2.0 counterparts haven’t actually been better nor utilized the advantages of web3 technology.

Many do not add functionality utilizing any web3 tools but rather try to ride the wave of industry. Once more dApps are developed that utilize web3 technology to solve real problems everyday users are experiencing,

A well-known example of a real use case is international payments. First, it’s faster. Crypto, unlike banks, is a 24/7 operation, and transfers happen almost instantaneously. Second, because it’s not tied to any bank or government, you have the freedom to send as much or as little as you want without middleman fees.

Lastly, it’s more transparent. You can always see where your money is instead of handing it to a middleman and hoping it gets to where it needs to go. These are fundamental ways where web3 is achieving user benefits that web 2.0 cannot.

Better is better. No product will benefit the mass user just because it’s decentralized or crypto, it has to be better for the end user because it provides them with something that currently isn’t possible with web 2.0. Why does the simple end user even have to know that it’s crypto? Can we build products that utilize web3 tech without making that their only selling proposition?

3. Actual Crypto Education. Let’s reduce stigmas.

It’s human nature to fear what we do not understand. We know this, and we still can’t help but doubt and belittle new ideas. In 1999, people thought sending money on this “PayPal” thing was stupid. In 2008, video games were “a waste of time,” and now it’s a $200B industry.

Now the thing to hate on is crypto. If you’re reading this, then you’ve heard the haters’ common jabs, “it’s all a scam,” “NFTs are just jpegs,” “cryptocurrency is just for buying illegal stuff on the dark web.” While those involved in the industry know these are naive opinions, the mass user does not.

Admittedly, the web3 community as a whole could do a better job branding itself to the outside world. Onboarding users into web3 is a stress point for the whole industry, and we must treat it that way.

It could be challenging at this point, but imagine knowing nothing and wandering into your first discord server or twitter space. Not exactly the most welcoming environment if you don’t know the language.

“I need to get what to get on what list? What do I do with all these passwords? It’s not just one. Why am I the only one in here that can’t figure out how to see this NFT I just bought..??”

One thing that could help ease this bridge is using the lingo less prominently. Instead of being a “decentralized multi-chain solution bridging DeFi and NFTs,” what if you were just a product that helped its users safely store their assets? Wouldn’t this be easier to understand for those new to web3?

Education is the next step. If more people understand what is happening, they will be less afraid and more likely to dip their toes in the water.

4. Reasonable Crypto Regulation

Regulation is coming. On June 7, 2022, the Lummis-Gillibrand bill was introduced to create a regulatory framework for digital assets. Here are a few of the main takeaways from the bill:

• No taxes for transactions under $200 to encourage everyday spending
• Stablecoins must maintain a 100% reserve
• Crypto assets should be viewed as commodities rather than securities
• People have the right to self-custody of their digital assets

While it is still early, some form of regulation is coming soon. Despite how this may upset those deep in the DeFi world, clarity on regulation would be a good thing for mass adoption. This ties in with a lack of education on the topic, but users will feel more safe investing their money in something that is regulated.

Especially after the Terra meltdown, to the outside looking in it is still the wild wild west. Reasonable regulation would go a long way in building trust with those average users who think the crypto world is one big scam.

5. Enhanced user experience

The final and possibly most important piece of the puzzle: UX/UI. Although it is getting better every day, the overall user experience just isn’t all the way there yet. There are interoperability issues, clumsy desktop interfaces, no mobile dApps, and most of all, the onboarding process for an outside user is still a major roadblock.

Many guides and youtube videos are now walking people through the process. But we are talking about mass adoption here, and until it becomes intuitive, we don’t see your favorite aunt sending you any NFTs for Christmas.

This starts with the gateway to enter the web3 ecosystem, the wallet. Everyone needs at least one to get started, and the user experience is just too complicated for the average user. Until now.

Ok, not that dramatic. But at Zelus, we’re focused on making a web3 wallet that works for everyone. Like literally everyone. That includes your local gas station attendant. I’m sure he’s a great guy. Didn’t mean to insult him.

So like, download Zelus if you want an easy wallet to use and store your crypto and NFTs. It’s so easy you can use it with your mom. Not that your mom wouldn’t know how to use a crypto wallet… Ok. We’re done now.