The problems with blockchain and how cats might solve them

We believe wholeheartedly in blockchain’s potential to change the world. But like any emerging technology, its got some kinks to work out. Recently, CryptoKitties founding team member and Head of Communications Bryce Bladon headed to The Next Web Conference in Amsterdam to talk about some of those problems and how CryptoKitties is trying to solve them.

The problem of understanding

When we ask people why blockchain matters, they often default to explaining how it works. Knowing the intimate mechanics of blockchain is great, but it’s not necessary to understand its value. Until there’s a clear explanation as to why blockchain matters to the life of an everyday user, it’ll never see widespread adoption.

So if we want blockchain to actually be used, we need to start showcasing its uses beyond Bitcoin. And there’s only one thing better than showing why something matters: actually letting someone experience it for themselves.

That’s why we made CryptoKitties: to introduce everyday audiences to blockchain in a way that didn’t feel intimidating or technical and didn’t center on cryptocurrency. Just get yourself a cartoon cat and voila! You’re on the blockchain. Rather than a tome-like user manual, CryptoKitties educates people about blockchain by turning it into a game.

The problem of computational power

Most crypto tokens represent a future product that will be powered by significant smart contract functionality. At the time of Bryce’s talk, smart contracts accounted for 70% of Ethereum’s congestion. Eventually — pretty soon, in fact — the priority of financial transfers and computational power will need to flip.

Decentralization empowers the most meaningful applications of blockchain technology, but it doesn’t make for the best user experience. Every decentralized feature is a potential scaling risk. Practical applications must balance decentralized value with centralized convenience. Activities should only be decentralized if they’re crucial to a product’s function, valuable to the end-user, and aligned with the principles behind your product.

With CryptoKitties, we combined the most decentralized features — extensible, interactive cryptocollectible tokens that live on the blockchain — with traditional UI and UX elements to create a frictionless experience for average users. That’s the current solution: balancing decentralized value with centralized convenience.

The problem of cooperation

The same qualities that make blockchain an exciting tool also make it a pain to develop for. ICOs are unsustainable, often shady, methods to fund projects. They’ve cast a lot of shade over the entire blockchain venture. Still, we need a long-term way to reward developers when they improve the network.

But, as difficult as it is to start from scratch on blockchain, once a core concept is established, community creators can easily build it upwards and outwards, tapping into an engaged audience while growing the ecosystem. CryptoKitties has seen dozens of community projects built on top of it in just a few months, and the KittyVerse continues to grow thanks to the Nifty Kitty Program, which we launched to fund and support the most promising third-party projects.

The problem of mass adoption

Blockchain holds immense potential. It might be the biggest technological revolution since the internet. But if it isn’t used, it isn’t useful; and if it isn’t useful, it’s nothing more than a buzzword.

As a community we need to tackle each of these issues — and a host more — if we’re to see this technology accomplish all that we know it can. But have no doubt, the rewards will be more than worth it.

Check it out after the fact

You can watch Bryce’s TNW talk here. And if you’re not on the blockchain yet but are interested, why not sign up for CryptoKitties?