The pursuit of scalability in blockchain networks has spurred the emergence of Layer 2 solutions, aimed at overcoming the limitations of Layer 1 blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum. These Layer 2 networks offer enhanced transaction speeds, lower fees, and improved scalability by processing transactions off-chain and settling them on the main blockchain, thereby extending Layer 1’s capabilities while retaining their security features. This is a crucial technological step forward to bring blockchain technologies to mass adoption.

The first wave of Web3 applications has been promising, but adoption has been slow. While there are a number of factors contributing to this, one of the biggest barriers is usability. The decentralized nature of Web3 makes it inherently more complex than Web2, and many users find the experience confusing and difficult to navigate. The decentralization that comes with Web3 has forced individuals to become responsible for taking their online security into their own hands. Removing that responsibility from third parties and proxies has resulted in many security solutions catering only to advanced customers, leaving those less tech-savvy behind. To achieve mass adoption, we need to make Web3 as easy to use as Web2, and that means leveraging the power of hardware.

In this post, I'll analyze the success of incumbent social media to explore the viability of decentralized social networks, and propose a growth framework for Decentralized social media (DeSocial) startups to capture the market in this space.

A business proposal that I did together with a group of 2 other MBA students and 2 UChicago Law students.