If you’ve been in web3 for a while, you’ve likely seen or heard people talk about mainstream adoption.
Heck, we also tend to talk a lot about adoption every time some major corporation dips its toes into web3. And it’s happening more and more now as big brands are really starting to see the value of web3 tech.
But why haven’t we actually achieved mainstream adoption yet?
Some say it’s the UX while others blame it on scams—it’s ironic that immutable, transparent cryptographic technology is held back by security flaws, but it’s true.
At Web3 Academy, we believe that a combination of UX, security and the complexity of the space is what’s holding it back. So how can we improve these and eventually onboard the rest of the world into web3?
We think it’s going to come from web3-friendly mobile wallet hardware.
In this Deep Dive, we break down:
- The current problems with hardware
- How mobile hardware can support web3 adoption
- Current developments in the mobile hardware space
Let’s dive in.
The Problem With Hardware in the Age of Accelerating Innovation
We’re living in the age of exponential innovation, but innovations mostly come through software due to it being extremely scalable and relatively lower cost when compared to the hardware it runs on.
Said another way, hardware is both costly and difficult to develop, and its production relies on a long supply chain of chips and other physical parts.
This is also the main reason why we’ve seen AI tech only just become widely available—we haven’t had the necessary computing power to make it available for mainstream use.
Now, we’ve seen the proliferation of AI because it’s suitable for web2 hardware. Web3 and blockchain, however, aren’t. So we need to develop web3 hardware from the ground up because it’s fundamentally different from what we currently have.
And while we do have web3-friendly technology, such as Ledger, the current UX isn’t suitable for onboarding mainstream users and it still relies heavily on web2 technology. Plus, it is nowhere near as secure as it should be.
However, we’re starting to see web3 DOers recognize the need for secure, user-friendly web3 hardware.
How Mobile Hardware Supports Web3 Adoption
When we say mobile hardware, it doesn’t necessarily mean a typical mobile phone, we’re referring to any device that can easily fit into your back pocket.
But why’s that important?
We believe that over the next few decades, everything will become digitized. We’re talking about money (it basically already is), identification documents, event tickets, ownership documents, and more.
It’s as natural as the progression from the desktop in the early stages of the internet to the mobile phone that put the internet in everyone’s pocket.
And we believe that most (if not all) of these will be stored on a blockchain in some form or another.
So how can web3-friendly mobile hardware speed up this transition?
By:
- Improving the user experience of web3.
- Giving owners a chance to flex their identity.
- Allowing web3 technology to be more scalable.
- Improving security during web3 interactions.
Let’s break these down further.
Improved UX
Right now, web3 is fragmented AF, to say the least. You’ve got hundreds of crypto wallets and…
