Five Big Ideas for Consumer Crypto

LESSONS FROM THE PAST AND VISIONS FOR THE FUTURE

The internet has become so normalize

d in our lives that it's hard to imagine a time when we didn't have it.

Nowadays, we use internet for almost everything and it's been an essential part of the way we live our lives.

But it wasn't always this way.

INTERNET B.C. (BEFORE CATALYST)

In the early days of the internet, it was a niche technology that was only accessible to a select few. Users would access the network through a command-line interface and use text-based protocols such as Telnet and FTP to access remote computers and transfer files. 😵‍💫

THE CATALYST

So you might be asking, what was the catalyst for the mass adoption of the internet?

Well, the short answer is, the catalyst for the mass adoption of the internet was the development of the World Wide Web (WWW) in the early 1990s.

Before WWW, the internet really only provided screens full of text. So the design is not really usable for people who are not very technical.

The lack of a graphical user interface and the need for technical knowledge made the internet inaccessible to most people.

So it was primarily used by those with specialized technical skills, such as computer scientists and researchers.

With the development of WWW, users now have an intuitive interface for accessing and sharing information on the internet, so it’s now possible for anyone to easily create and share information online, which led to an explosion of new websites and online services.

CRYPTO B.C. (BEFORE CATALYST)

In many ways, crypto today is like the internet before the development of the WWW.

We are still in its early stages.

Like the internet before the 1990s, crypto today is still considered niche and esoteric by many people.

It’s not yet widely adopted or understood.

But if crypto today is like the internet before the development of WWW, what could be today’s crypto’s own version of WWW—the catalyst that would onboard the next billion users?

FIVE BIG IDEAS 

Drawing on the lessons learned from the mass adoption of the internet, here are my five big ideas for consumer crypto that will onboard the next billion users with Solana. Let’s get started.

Idea #1: Customizable and distinguishable solana handle to represent long and abstract wallet addresses

For lack of a term - I’ll call it solana handle for now, but the idea is to represent each wallet address with something

• similar to Solana Name Service, but free and easily set up on all wallet creations.

• like Backpack username, but usable across all solana dApps and distinguishable as a solana handle.

• comparable to e-mail addresses, but specific for solana crypto wallet.

Solana handle example: just use sol/foundingtitan instead of Dea4sfY……QaUB2vHeXzn

Why should someone build this?

• Remember that the catalyst for mass adoption of the internet was the development of the World Wide Web, as it made it possible for anyone to easily create and share information from the internet. Crypto mass adoption also needs a catalyst that will make things easier for users to easily create and share the first thing that a user needs to interact with blockchain—a wallet address.

• A crypto wallet address is one of the first things a user needs to interact with blockchain, but also one of the biggest pain points in crypto. Long and abstract wallet addresses are difficult to share, not personalized, and difficult to remember/recognize/double check for correctness.

• Sure, the above-mentioned points are the very reason for Solana Name Service’s existence, but in many ways, blockchain naming services are more like a web domain—available at a cost and daunting to obtain for most people. You see, web domains have been around for quite some time, but most people still don’t have a personal domain. That’s why for crypto mass adoption, all wallet addresses just need to be represented by something really simple like an email address—free, simply obtainable at sign-up, customizable, and easy to share/use.

• In many ways, backpack app is already doing this, but it would be 69x better if it’s usable across all solana apps and distinguishable to solana. You know how you can type [email protected]m and we know it’s an email address we can send an email to. You type +63 (123) 456 7890 and it can be identified as a mobile number you can send an SMS to. Imagine how easier it would be when you type sol/foundingtitan and we’ll know it’s a solana wallet address we can send an SPL token to.

Idea #2: Wallet Recovery

Users should have the option to allow wallet recovery by setting triggers in case the seed phrase is unrecoverable.

Example trigger requirements to be set: Signature from at least two other pre-designated wallets (can be yours or someone else’s you trust), plus a personal passkey you set upon wallet creation.

So to trigger wallet recovery, all must be satisfied

1. Signature from wallet A,

2. Signature from wallet B, and

3. Enter personal pre-set passkey correctly

Why should someone build this?

• In 2021, “of the existing 18.5 million Bitcoin, around 20 percent—currently worth around $140 billion—appear to be in lost or otherwise stranded wallets”, according to the cryptocurrency data firm Chainalysis, plus many cases likely go unreported. But from these stats, we can know that losing seed phrases is not uncommon.

• This will solve the difficulty of handling seed phrases upon wallet creation, most especially for new users. Because imagine having to hear all of this as a new user:

“Welcome to crypto, here’s the key to your assets on this wallet.

Carefully take note of these random 12 words. If you enter at least one letter by mistake, your assets will be unrecoverable. If you lose this, your assets are lost forever.

So safely take note of these, but don’t save them on any of your devices, because if someone else gets access to this, they have access to your assets too.

Maybe write it on a piece of paper, but be careful because papers are easy to lose.

Maybe try engraving it on a piece of metal, separate these 12 words into multiple metal pieces, and spread it across the world, like what Voldemort used horcruxes for.” 💀

Imagine all of this for someone who just wants to dip a toe in the water with $50 in their crypto wallet.

I’m sure most people just can’t be arsed.

• If you’re already into crypto, I know what you're thinking, this poses security risks. But for mass adoption, these trade-offs are necessary. Besides, safeguards can always be added to mitigate such risks. To onboard the next billion users,/ fear and friction for onboarding should be eliminated. We can’t ask them to dip their toes in the water and have them go through extreme measures like millions are at stake already.

Idea #3: Single signature for multiple dApp transactions

Users should have the option to single sign/approve all wallet transactions on certain dApps for the next x times or for the next x hours or days

Why should someone build this?

• Solana transactions are fast, but it would be so much better if doing these transactions are also faster for users.

• This trade-off, although poses security risks, is one that is necessary for mass adoption. Besides, safeguards (like setting spending limits, blacklisting/whitelisting dApps) can be added.

• Solarplex has previously implemented something similar like single signing wallet approval for the next 100 interactions on their website. Now imagine this setting integrated natively on a solana wallet and applicable to all dApps.

Idea #4: Pay gas fees in other SPL tokens

Eliminate the need for new users to buy SOL solely for the purpose of paying gas fees by giving users the option to pay gas fees in other SPL tokens.

Why should someone build this?

• Imagine this scenario for a new crypto user:

Receives a 50 USDC payment for a gig, but can’t use it because he doesn’t have SOL to pay gas for transfer.

He tries to swap some of his USDC to SOL but finds out he also needs SOL.. to swap for SOL.

So he buys SOL for gas fee (no biggie, because SOL gas fees are low) but ends up also paying an extra fee for on-ramp/bridging/OTC.

• This will remove a major barrier to entry for new crypto users, making it easier and more affordable for them to transact on solana, even without SOL.

• Elusiv is already doing something similar, but imagine this setting integrated natively on a solana wallet and applicable to all dApps.

Idea #5: Having on-ramp solutions on wallets

Intro: Integrate on-ramp solutions natively on a solana wallet, without requiring the user to navigate to external platforms or services.

Why should someone build this?

• Currently, new users often struggle to convert fiat currency into cryptocurrency, as the process can be complicated and time-consuming. With on-ramp solutions integrated into wallets, users will be able to easily buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrency directly from their wallet, without having to go through p2p trade or use a centralized exchange.

CRYPTO MASS ADOPTION IS INEVITABLE

I believe that in the next few years, we'll see a similar transformation in the world of crypto as we did with the internet.

It’s not a question of if, but rather a matter of when.

As more people begin to understand the power and potential of this technology, we'll see new innovations and improvements that make it more accessible, user-friendly, and secure.

And just as the internet has become a necessary part of our lives, so too will crypto become an indispensable part of our lives in the future.