If you have a look at some of the Bitcoin “maxi” accounts on Twitter, you’ll often see videos posted showing how easy it is to use the network now. The videos might show someone paying for a hamburger in McDonald’s in a crypto-friendly city like Lugano, Switzerland, or someone using the Lightning Network in the Bitcoin haven of El Salvador to pay for a cup of coffee. The videos will invariably get lots of likes and views, and the commenters (at least those that aren’t bots) will post about how amazing it is to see these transactions in action.
And yet, when you take a step back, you might ask how impressive it all is. People have been using their phones for payments for years, and none of these videos show anything that you couldn’t do with Apple Pay or your digital VISA card. Sure, we know these transactions are peer-to-peer and cut out the intermediaries of the banks or credit card companies, but our point is that to the layman, such demonstrations are likely to be greeted with a shrug.
UX must improve to onboard more web3 users
The point, as such, is that one of the most trumpeted use cases for crypto is that it is supposed to make things easier. We know that the underlying technology does indeed make it easier, in theory, but if you are talking about mass adoption, well, there is still a lot of head-scratching. Ask any one of your non-crypto friends to start using, say, Metamask, and then ask them if it is easier than, for example, Apple Pay. Unfortunately, we know the answer. Crypto still has a UX problem. It is prohibitive for mass adoption.
To be fair, this is not true in all cases. We can cite various examples of blockchain products and platforms that are easy to use. If you play at a Bitcoin casino online, for example, you’ll find that there is the right balance between Web 2 and web3. The top crypto casino gaming platforms have recognized that the novelty and benefits of using crypto should not supersede the UX. Beyond connecting a wallet, any casino player would have no problem navigating the platform.
Beyond crypto casinos there are other examples of putting UX to the fore. Take, for instance, some of the most prominent examples of crypto mass adoption we say in 2022: Reddit and Meta’s NFTs. Both the social media behemoths rolled out NFT profile pictures for users, hiring artists and creators to promote the “digital collectibles” (Reddit was notably shy about using the term “NFT”, which says a lot). But they have both strove to make the UX as welcoming as possible. Reddit NFTs, in particular, were hailed as a hugely successful means of onboarding Web 2 users to web3.
Web 2 brands have gone light on crypto
Those companies trying to foster mass adoption are always looking at UX as the means of entry for users. Another strong example is Starbucks, which has partnered with Polygon-Matic to build its next-generation loyalty program. Starbucks’ “Odyssey” is still in the beta phase, but it is clear that the coffee chain wants its customers’ interaction with crypto to be indirect.
Now, none of this is to say that UX hasn’t improved. Topping up a Coinbase account and buying Bitcoin or staking Ethereum for yield is very easy. But it’s worth remembering that it is a centralized entity, effectively a Web 2 product that provides entry points to web3. Anyone could use Coinbase if they are au fait with the internet, but they might have some issues with using a decentralized exchange like Uniswap or Bancor.
Some of this might suggest that we end up with different tiers of crypto adoption. A Web 2 entry point – CEXs, social media, PayPal – for the uninitiated, and web3 entry point – DEXs, self-custody wallets, hardware – for crypto experts. Polygon and others seem to be pushing the former as the best route to mass adoption, but there will inevitably be a sense that it does not honor the decentralized vision of web3.
And that perhaps is the rub: Listen to the web3 proponents talking about their vision for the future, and they will all say that crypto and blockchains will allow us to take control of our digital destiny, with benefits ranging from true privacy to financial freedom. But the entry point needs to become demonstrably easier to access. Web3 builders should recognize that UX should be at the heart of that.
