Spreading Crypto: How Protocols Reach Mainstream Adoption
And why crypto and decentralized protocols will follow the same path.
This is the first post of our Spreading Crypto series where we take a deep dive into what it’ll take to help this technology reach broader adoption. We look at some of the obstacles holding it back and what strategies we think will be successful.
Like many others working in crypto, I really want to see this tech reach a larger audience. I’ve been drinking crypto kool-aid for awhile now. I bought my first Bitcoin in 2013 and have been working full-time with decentralized protocols since 2014. I’ve been through the peaks of the bull market down to the depths of the bear market. Multiple times. I would not be all-in on this technology if I wasn’t a true believer.
I obviously hope that Genesis Block will play an important role. But this goes beyond self-interest. I think for most of us in the industry, increasing crypto adoption is not about money.
It’s not about dumping our bags on retail. But rather it’s about the positive impact we believe this technology can have on the lives and societies all around us.
So, how do we bring this to the masses? How do we rid ourselves of the reputational damage that came with Mt Gox and dark markets like Silk Road? How do we make this technology easier for the normals to use? Today we start answering those questions.
Protocols 101
Most of the products and services that we all enjoy today use protocols that are under the hood, operating in the background. For example, when you send someone an email you’re using a protocol called SMTP. When you browse the web, you’re using the HTTP protocol.
Protocols allow for applications, computers, and devices to interact with each other. They are similar to a spoken language, where they have their own set of rules and vocabulary. If two people share the same language, they can communicate with each other.
Protocols are usually hard for the common person to understand because they’re very technical and provide no user interface. There are a few rare cases where the protocols themselves have made it into the cultural lingo, like Bluetooth, WiFi, and SMS. But for the most part, protocols are invisible and hidden from end-users.
Protocol Adoption
The world did not embrace the web when the TCP/IP or HTTP protocols were first invented. Nor did they start using email when the POP, SMTP, or IMAP protocols were invented. The masses started browsing the web when AOL and Netscape were launched. They started using email when Hotmail and Gmail went live.
Protocols become adopted when an application makes them more accessible and easier to use.
Protocols become adopted when a strong team abstracts away the complexity, and delivers a compelling product experience that solves a real user pain. This is a pattern that has repeated throughout the history of technology.
Other examples include XMPP (chat), VoIP (internet audio calls), WebRTC (video conferencing), and NFC (close-contact device communication). Those protocols weren’t widely adopted until the launch of applications like AIM, WhatsApp, Skype, Google Hangouts, and Apple Pay.
Protocols become adopted when the killer application arrives.
Crypto Protocols
If history is any indication, crypto and blockchain will be no different. Bitcoin is a protocol. Ethereum is a protocol. Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is filled with low-level protocols. What many out there don’t realize — and those within our industry don’t like to acknowledge — is that Crypto today is mostly all protocols.
Decentralized protocols won’t be replacing Robinhood, SoFi, or Venmo anytime soon. They never will. They aren’t meant to!
Crypto protocols are the building blocks, the lego pieces, the primitives that developers can use to build applications on top of.
As with the numerous protocols that came before, these innovative protocols need world-class applications. They need product experiences that can propel this exciting tech to the masses. Crypto needs great product teams that abstract away all the blockchain complexity, and deliver it in a way that is simple, convenient, and powerful.
Crypto Industry
Protocols usually operate in the background. So it should be no surprise that interacting directly with crypto and decentralized protocols is raw, rough, confusing, and complicated for most “normal” people out there.
Most of the crypto industry today is still focused on protocol development. That’s totally fine — we’re still at the early stages of this entire industry.
But because of that protocol focus, it should be no surprise to any of us that we still haven’t seen mainstream adoption.
But as an industry, we cannot forget or lose sight of what it takes to reach the masses. As Mark Twain said, “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”
If we want these exciting protocols to be adopted by billions of people around the world, we’re gonna need killer applications. Just like every protocol before.
In our next post, we’ll explore the current state of application development within crypto. Are we getting closer to that killer app? What will it look like? How do we achieve it? Stay tuned, that’s all coming next.
What to Read Next:
→ In Search of the Killer Application in Crypto
Previous:
→ Introducing Genesis Block: digital banking powered by crypto
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