A Global Solana Network Needs a Global Focus
The rapid mobile internet adoption in regions like MENA, outpacing the West, shows that mass adoption of new tech like blockchain lies in catering to other perspectives, rather than focusing solely on Western users of networks like Solana or Ethereum. This article will show how the populations who will benefit the most from Solana’s technology are not in the West, but rather developing regions with different values more aligned with Web 3 ethos, whose hunger to improve their quality of life far outweighs the desire for something new that is seen as an unnecessary option of Westerners. The best path to mass adoption is by attracting the most mobile focused users with less bias and more flexibility, and the industry’s focus on convincing the West hinders it.
As VC funding globally has been drying up since 2021, the long awaited BTC ETFs have given the public a new narrative to focus on crypto having a value as a hedge against inflation. The initial interest in crypto settled down after the black swan events of 2022 and the US Federal Reserve increasing interest rates. Now that rates have stabilized and the Fed is under pressure to lower them again, the large funds like BlackRock are seeing the long term value of BTC and tokenization.
By contrast, countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE continue to attract more funding and heavily invest in industries like fintech and e-commerce to a total of $1.38 billion in 2023, with more emphasis being put on Web 3 investment globally, MENA will continue to ride the wave upwards as well.
The Western world has had time to adjust to slowly evolving technology, but the MENA region never had that. Algeria’s rate of mobile internet adoption shows how quickly they made the transition with expected growth shown here in the chart below. Algeria is more isolationist than most in the region, but still has a high rate of mobile internet usage and crypto adoption, with some professionals investing and even getting paid in USDT and is often left out of discussion on global business opportunities.
The data showing mobile internet adoption globally is good news for Solana and its mobile centric focus with devices like the SAGA Web 3 native phone. Mobile internet usage is by far more widely used in regions like Africa and Asia, yet the Western companies still dominate the mindshare of the blockchain media and focus. Those who can cater to different regions and cultural perspectives will find a much larger market for their products and services. This seems to be a missed opportunity as many Web3 founders have the Silicon Valley mindset and are spending a lot of resources to market to Western audiences who have a much harder time convincing those with options to invest in the sector.
The majority opinion in the US think that the less developed countries are behind them in technologic adoption, but these charts tell a different story. The businesses and entrepreneurial minded are using social media to promote their business, create brands and build audiences. AI and cryptocurrencies like Solana will only increase their ability to do so, leveling the playing field for those companies who haven’t had as much time to entrench themselves as in the West. NFTs on Solana can help create an infrastructure to protect their brands and monetize their audience who are easier to convince to use the technology to try something new, without the hesitancy of the Western media.
NFT collections like Private Foxes in Istanbul are already doing this. Built during a stream by popular Moroccan Youtuber Youness Kasmi, he created and minted his collection Private Foxes on Solana, built a community and raised the funds for the construction of an NFT cafe. The VIP section specifically for NFT holders is physically gated by a custom door lock only accessible by having the NFT in your wallet. This cafe is currently open for private events, centered around building a community in a physical place around a specific brand using Solana technology. This is a real world case study in how physical businesses can be created by using NFTs to build the customer base and brand loyalty, where every holder can benefit directly from the organization’s success.
Traditional communities already built around art will find a new way to expand their audience to include more perspectives than the dominant Western cultural focus in art and media narratives. South Korea is a current example of this in the last few years, with the rise of popularity of K-Dramas and K-pop globally. The K-pop events market was valued at $8,132.00 million in 2021 and is estimated to reach $20,023.60 million by 2031, exhibiting a CAGR of 7.3% from 2022 to 2031. This cultural barrier crossing phenomenon will likely continue into the future with other media and as blockchain products gain mindshare, people will only care about the use case of a product not where it originated. The opportunity to grow in a different direction than in the past is more possible than ever for the Web 3 market as a whole.
The inherent biases in the mostly Western audience of Web 3 keeps the industry from reaching its true potential as a transformative force. The current market of mostly traders and speculators leaves many on the sidelines, waiting for legitimacy to be proven by trusted centralized organizations.
This approach is not sustainable, as new market participants are not encouraged in the proper way and the emphasis of appealing to a small minority that already has accumulated wealth in the sector is self-destructive. By bringing more users and appealing to the mobile first, quickly adapting markets, the funding from large institutions will diversify into Solana and risk on assets like NFTs. 2024 already has seen its share of institutional legitimacy as the BTC ETFs in the US were approved in early January, sending the price to $62,000 at the time of writing as more funds see the appeal of tokenization and fractionalization on chain.
Solana’s focus on mobile first can be adopted by the predominantly mobile internet user heavy regions like MENA and used to attract a far greater number of users with less bias than any Westerner. The cultural center on Solana must include a diversity of approaches or it risks being colonized by the large funds currently entering the sector. If accessibility is truly the end goal, the answer is clear- A global network should have a global appeal, and that the best path to Solana’s mass adoption lies in building sustainably and inclusively with this in mind.
