Here’s when blockchain products will reach the mainstream
Meditations on the current state of the blockchain space and productisation
By now we’re well aware of blockchain’s possibilities and potential impact on society. So much so that we’re hoping to reach “mainstream adoption” as soon as possible, an utopical term that sounds cool and promises a better future. The blockchain space is moving at an unprecedented velocity, however very few people realise how early we are into all of this, despite massive progress so far.
We’re still building technology that solves technological problems
Blockchain currently faces two major challenges — scalability and UX. Some of the brightest minds are working on both, including Layer 2 scalability solutions, user-friendly smart contract-based wallets and interoperability solutions. All of those are solving technological issues. Don’t get me wrong, those solutions are absolutely needed and we can start dreaming about “mainstream adoption” only once we’ve solved them.
However there’s an apparent lack of productisation thinking in the industry. A lot of the tech being built is just people playing around and experimenting. We’re building technology for the sake of technology.
We’ll get mainstream attention once we start building technology that solves human problems
Bitcoin and to a much lesser extent, other cryptocurrencies like Dai are starting to scratch the surface of the mainstream by solving human problems, e.g. distrust in current financial system, protection against hyperinflation etc. Cryptocurrencies however are only a drop in the bucket of blockchain use cases.
To push other use cases forward, we need to deploy a product mindset. Something that’s been engraved in the global startup ecosystem long ago. Coming from a VC background, I’ve grown to seek startups achieving problem-solution fit and subsequently, product-market fit. Technological products solving human problems. The same mindset be needs deployed in the blockchain space, possibly with an influx of product/business guys complementing all the brilliant engineers we have out there.
All of this will take time. Overall, we’re still too damn early into the blockchain space. The scalability/UX issues need be taken care of and we’re doing a good job as a community. The velocity with which new solutions are being built is unprecedented, at least in my modest opinion. Soon enough, we’ll be deploying the same velocity to building products solving human-problems. That’s when “mainstream adoption” comes.
About us: LimeChain is a blockchain development & consulting company helping both enterprises and blockchain-native companies harness the power of distributed ledger technologies. With over 20 products shipped and a dozen of developer meetups hosted, LimeChain is on the cutting edge of the blockchain industry.
