a ton of startups are pitching that they will onboard billions of people to blockchain technology. there is a widespread belief that an easier user experience will be the magic solution. we, people who are onchain, would succeed. I'm structuring my thinking by mapping the journey of an offchain user into crypto.
What's a scenario of someone traveling from web2 to web3?
we can focus on small steps that bring users onchain in a comfortable way. imagine someone casually scrolling social media, coming across a game that rewards them with an NFT for completing a simple task. this experience allows them to interact with blockchain technology without overwhelming them with technicalities. as users grow more familiar, they can take further steps—like earning token tips for posting on decentralized social media or using a credit card to place a small bet on a prediction market. each step provides value and encourages curiosity, making their journey to deeper involvement in web3 more natural and less daunting.
The journey to web3 might look like this
↓ Offchain / scrolling TikTok about crypto influencers shilling memecoins
↓ Play a game and earn a unique skin that is also an NFT
↓ Signup to Farcaster and receive memecoin tips for posting on (=L2 via in-app purchase)
↓ Place a bet on Polymarket or Bracket Game with credit card (=L2 with fiat)
↓ Send stablecoin to relatives in another country (=L2 with crypto)
↓ Stake stablecoins to earn yield
_ L1 onchain (DeFi trading, read Bitcoin whitepaper)
When going through this, I got sad and turned to the writing of senpai Vitalik:
Unfortunately, since 2017 or so, these visions have faded somewhat into the background. Few talk about consumer crypto payments, the only non-financial application that is actually being used at a large scale on-chain is ENS, and there is a large ideological rift where significant parts of the non-blockchain decentralization community see the crypto world as a distraction, and not as a kindred spirit and a powerful ally.
vitalik.eth (https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2023/12/28/cypherpunk.html)
I'm not gonna express it better than Vitalik. so here are some personal takes and questions I got from reading his post:
cooperative mindset
crypto seems stuck in 'player vs. player' mode right now. I think there is an opportunity to switch into a different mode that benefits everyone and increases cooperation. this can be public goods funding (like Gitcoin) or projects working with a permissive open license while creating a sustainable business model to keep building (like the OP stack / Superchain)
global participation
why is most of crypto used by rich white people? I understand that the future isn't evenly distributed, but we can stop circle-jerking another L3 perpetual betting DAO with insane APY % (only available if you join now!) sooner than later. we need lower fees, better onboarding, and projects solving local needs.
censorship resistance
no one should be able to meddle with a users or an application, as long as it's in a legal area. AI-generated content is difficult to detect in 2024 and it will only get harder. consider a scenario where an independent journalist publishes a report critical of a powerful entity. without censorship resistance, the platform could alter or suppress this content under pressure. we need assurance that platforms cannot interfere with original user content, preserving integrity and ensuring that voices, especially those vulnerable to suppression, are protected.
