Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about what’s required to catalyze Web3 hyper-growth.

• Where will Web3 products provide 10x value?

• How do we scale to millions of users and hundreds of thousands of developers?

• What will be the protocols, systems and networks to ignite massive adoption of decentralized and distributed technologies?

We have several interesting verticals: DeFi, DAO, and NFT.

But, all lacking the "it" factor for catalyzing hyper-growth. They’re interesting, but standalone they don't speak to a mainstream audience.

When I take a step back and ask myself what is the key to unlock massive growth…

I always come back to Identity.

Identity is expansive. Prime for disruption. And unlocks Web3’s full potential.

It touches almost every aspect of our lives. Whether it's logging into an application, getting invited to a party or accessing the traditional finance system. Identity is the key we use to unlock the world around us.

Identity, authentication and access controls are the bedrock of digital systems.

You don't build complex systems without these primitives being rock solid.

Web3 Identity currently lacks elegance.

Unlocking Web3’s Full Potential

DeFi, DAOs and NFTs are still experimental.

Highly speculative, difficult to use and with minimal utility, these experiments don’t offer us a path forward to millions of users in Web3. It isn’t the right infrastructure for hundreds of thousands of developers.

If we want to cross the Web3 chasm we have to do so methodically.

We have to work from first principles. And ask ourselves…

How do we unlock Web3’s full potential?

A Web3 of Trust

Building a social graph on a blockchain is a bad idea. It lacks elegance.

What we need is off-chain social networks. Identity, authentication and access controls primitives that can give life to more complex Web3 applications. Applications that integrate DeFi, NFT and DAOs into a more organic experience.

Without the ability to craft more complex decentralized and distributed applications we will continue to build products, marketplaces and ecosystems that can’t meet the demands and needs of a global Open Finance system.

We need to combine on-chain and off-chain cryptographic primitives/substrates.

We need to build products that offer a 10X user experience.

We need a Web3 of Trust.

Scaling DeFi to millions of users means simple and secure. The amount of protocols and products that can full this niche is limited. It’s a winner take all game, so that means this vertical won’t scale to hundreds of thousands of developers.

Scaling NFTs to millions of users means building products that enhance a community experience. What you collect is important. But what’s more important is connecting with others who share your values.

Scaling DAOs to millions of users means building products that provide insights into complex decisions and problems. Blockchains are where decisions are finalized, but not where information is discovered.

No matter how many times I go back to the drawing board I always arrive at the same conclusion.

Identity is the massive unlock for onboarding millions of users into Web3.

Identity helps users pass through essential Web3 commitment thresholds: creating a wallet, managing private keys, distributed access controls, etc… all without requiring a blockchain transaction.

Identity is an expansive digital frontier - one large enough for hundreds of thousands of developers to build new and interesting products in.

Identity is the catalyst for hyper-growth of Web3.

Web3 is more than blockchains and cryptocurrency.

Web3 is a re-imagining of what’s possible. A re-thinking of our relationship with cryptography. A chance to build systems, networks and products that weren’t possible before.