Three Ways Blockchain Companies Can Reach the Masses

2018 is undoubtedly the year of the blockchain. After getting its start as the accounting backbone for digital currencies like bitcoin, the blockchain has surpassed its predecessor both in popularity and usability. As The New York Times Magazine predicted in January, “The Bitcoin bubble may ultimately turn out to be a distraction from the true significance of the blockchain.”

Indeed, the blockchain has shown a disruptive potential in virtually every industry. In fact, the blockchain’s decentralized network, security upgrades, and expansive applications have many people dubbing the blockchain the internet 3.0, the next iteration of world-altering connectivity that defines the digital age. From supply chain management to online banking, the blockchain is positioned to make a major impact on the tech industry.

Many pillars of innovation and technology, including IBM, Microsoft, and Mastercard, are investing considerable personnel and monetary resources toward blockchain development. Even infamous crypto skeptics, like J.P. Morgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, are enthusiastic about the blockchain. His company has an ambitious and expansive blockchain initiative underway, and other companies are following their lead. According to research by International Data Corporation, blockchain investment is expected to grow at an annual rate of more than 80% through 2021, a reflection of the enthusiasm surrounding the technology and its potential to produce significant gains for prominent tech platforms.

With such a glut of enthusiasm surrounding blockchain technology, it’s somewhat surprising that, for many people, blockchain technology primarily exists as an existential development, an abstract buzzword with little connection to their actual lives. Deloitte’s 2018 Global Blockchain Survey supports this shortcoming, noting, “blockchain is still, in many ways, looking for solid footing outside of early adopters.”

In many ways, this is the next frontier for blockchain technology. Moving beyond the hype and providing real products that users understand and connect with. Education and mass adoption must be the next priority for the blockchain industry, and there are specific steps that companies can take to help not only their own platform reach a broader customer base but also to proliferate the technology to more people.

Here are just a few things that blockchain-based platforms can do to reach the masses and some of the companies that are embracing that methodology.

#1 Develop a Working Mobile App

All too often, consumer-facing blockchain initiatives are predicated on promises that never materialize as a usable product. Therefore, deploying a usable mobile app demonstrates not only the platform’s viability, but it provides users an obvious on-ramp to blockchain technology.

When applied to a consumer-ready industry, a mobile app can quickly disseminate the blockchain to the masses.

For example, DACSEE, a decentralized ride-hailing service with a working iOS and Android mobile app, is bringing blockchain technology to the masses by embracing an industry that nearly half of adults routinely utilize. Perhaps most importantly, the company is reaching users where they already exist — on their smartphones.

What’s more, DACSEE utilizes a dynamic approach to payments, allowing customers to pay in fiat, which, for many, serves as an initiation into the ecosystem. In addition, DACSEE uses part of the rider fee to award crypto bonuses to drivers, further engaging users with blockchain technology. By providing this entire service through their mobile app, DACSEE is hastening blockchain adoption and championing its dissemination.

#2 Establish Partnerships

Because they have small brand reputation, new products and platforms are incredibly reliant on endorsements and affiliations to promote their veracity.

The blockchain-sector recognizes this reality, and several collectives and collaborations offer opportunities for brand recognition and cooperation. The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, a collection of hundreds of companies striving to disseminate blockchain technology, is one of the largest consortium’s in the sector.

Companies like IBM have a long list of strategic partnerships, and smaller blockchain startups can identify and pursue partnerships with industry-specific companies to develop and expand their client bases. Since these relationships serve as a functional introduction, these partnerships provide a personal connection that allows more people to interact with blockchain technology. Not only does this propel the companies forward, but it accelerates the blockchain ecosystem as well.

#3 Focus on a Real Problem

Aside from the blockchain loyalists, consumers are unlikely to jump to the technology if more common solutions already exist. Therefore, companies can grow their reach by pursuing problems that need a solution that the blockchain is uniquely prepared to solve.

Since the blockchain’s origins are in currency management, transactional services are uniquely prepared for blockchain disruption.

In August, VentureBeat compiled an expose on the prominence of blockchain technology among social innovation projects, a perennially underfunded and under-resourced sector. Using the blockchain, aid organizations are able to produce compelling solutions that rely on the blockchain’s innovative infrastructure to do so.

Because they few other options, aid organizations are turning to the blockchain, and they are furthering its reach in doing so. Regardless of the industry, solving difficult problems extends the blockchain to the masses in meaningful ways.

As the blockchain continues to grow in hype, capability, and notoriety, deploying it among the masses is a critical juncture. Fortunately, there are strategic steps that any company can take to further this initiative.