Hi Mirror fam, Daria Strategy is here!

During the last 5-6 months, I have constantly heard from different representatives of blockchain-powered products about the need to make their chains, DeFi apps or games more accessible and user-oriented. However, many evaluate the accessibility and comprehensibility of products based on their own understanding of the blockchain ecosystem and user experience.

Blockchain products have many UX problems and do not communicate as well as they could due to the techno snobbery of those who create and develop these products.

At Devconnect, this question was discussed hundreds of times, especially at the events dedicated to the crypto wallet topics, implementation of the Account Abstraction concept, interface design and interactions, and making the onboarding process more accessible. In most cases, people talked about better UX for end-users (traditional companies and their customers), but all the speeches were from techies to techies.

The paradox of the mass adoption of blockchain:

Web3 products must be as popular as online banking or delivery services because their growth as businesses is impossible without mass adoption. However, over half of the blockchain companies develop products and design interfaces that a person without technical knowledge and enthusiasm can't use.

Let’s be honest: despite the idea of decentralization and transparency, the Web3 community resembles a closed club, where only those motivated and tech-savvy enough to be Web3 natives can enter. It makes some people feel exclusivity and elitism.

However, no one was born with the knowledge of how to write smart contracts, swap tokens, or promote blockchain products that never existed on the market.

Outside of our Web3 bubble, most people do not know that such a bubble exists and what is happening in it. Most people do not understand how blockchain works and what problems it solves. I'm sure most of your friends and relatives associate blockchain with cryptocurrencies, only knowing about Bitcoin and that it constantly changes its price for some reason.

Some blockchain enthusiasts and developers treat such people (which means most of the Earth's population) with techno snobbery, forgetting that these people can bring fiat and digital money.

Technical snobbery does not yet allow some projects to communicate with a broad audience in the way that mass adoption requires. Some blockchain and crypto projects condemn their competitors for "too Web2-oriented advertising campaigns".

Companies and VC funds that want to become leaders in mass adoption must invest in communicating the utility of blockchain to traditional businesses and individual users.

It's important to note that the community is large and diverse, with different projects and platforms. Many projects try to simplify the user experience, enhance education, and create more accessible tools and applications. Some projects are improving scalability, reducing transaction costs, and addressing environmental concerns associated with certain blockchain technologies.

I can highlight Alchemy, Gauntlet, L2Beat, Optimism, Base, zkSync, Celo, 1inch, Clave, and the Institute of Free Technology (Logos Network, Status App). They are all different projects with different audiences, but they strive to improve developers' and users' experiences.

Achieving mass adoption involves balancing the principles of decentralization and making the technology user-friendly and accessible to a broader audience. Overcoming techno-snobbery and exclusivity within the community must be crucial in promoting wider adoption.

What do you think? Do you have any thoughts about the paradox of the mass adoption of blockchain?

Read my previous entries about Marketing and Branding of Ethereum L2 Networks and about Account Abstraction as a perfect blockchain tool for exciting brand experiences.

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