No blocks left behind
The blockchain and crypto industry needs to build applications that are inclusive for all audiences, not just crypto natives.
A few years ago, I decided to dip my toes into the crypto world. Curious about how the underlying technology works, I started in the obvious place — white papers on Bitcoin and Ethereum by Satoshi and Vitalik…and by the time I had finished reading them, I was hooked.
Immersing myself into the vast ocean of online resources on blockchain and crypto, I discovered a promising field where code was always open source, built by volunteer enthusiasts, supported by devoted communities, and developed with altruistic intentions.
Innovators here have been creating blockchain ecosystems, digital assets (tokens) and decentralized applications (dApps) that will enable an open economy which promises to be inclusive, permissionless, censorship resistant and free of intermediaries or gatekeepers.
The crypto economy has the potential to be so much more than speculative trading, meme chasing or holding as a hedging strategy.
The real benefits of an open crypto economy will come from the increasing use of tokens to operate decentralized applications that enable trusted peer-to-peer transactions and digital contracts between people.
Over the last few years, large crypto exchanges have made it easier for people to buy, store and trade tokens. However, currently most dApps, where these tokens have utility, are designed and built for crypto natives, with a user experience that is unfamiliar and challenging for mainstream audiences.
Also, most dApps are built by distributed project teams, making it difficult to get dedicated application support. Users usually don’t have a point of contact for assistance. Help from the project’s community is informal and often limited to chat-based channels like Telegram and Discord. Sometimes community chat groups may contain misinformation or even scammers who prey on unsuspecting new users.
Given that most dApps require the purchase of tokens with money, making a mistake when using a dApp or mishandling tokens can end up in real financial losses.
Until we make dApps accessible, easy-to-use, easy-to-understand, and build in safety features that prevent financial losses due to inadvertent mistakes, many potential users will continue to stay on the sidelines of the crypto economy.
To increase adoption, dApp builders must prioritize the following:
Design for the non-technical user: Put intuitive user interfaces and human centric design at the front and center of dApp features. Don’t expect users to learn product features by experimentation. Build products with interactive guided features and lots of user help, so the average person can understand and use dApps conveniently, without the risk of mistakes.
Provide a familiar user experience: Minimalist user interfaces in dApps may be the crypto trend du jour, but they can be very frustrating for newcomers. Make the effort to give users an experience that is familiar and comfortable. Creating bridges between the user experience of dApps and the traditional economy’s digital tools will make it easy for new users to onboard and participate.
Educate your users: Token-based economics and decentralized applications are inherently complex. Make it simple and easy for users to understand the utility of tokens and the benefits of engaging with the dApp. Transparency about risks is a must, along with flexibility for users to participate depending on their risk tolerance.
Not since the internet became public more than 30 years ago, have we seen a technology that holds so much promise. Thanks to the hard work of many brilliant technical minds and the enthusiasm of early adopters, crypto has matured exponentially and become more mainstream. dApps are still in their early days and plenty of undiscovered and untapped opportunities lie ahead.
