What is Consumer Crypto? The Ultimate Goal of the Crypto Industry?

Tags: blockchain, crypto, end-user, web3

Summary: This article delves into the concept of Consumer Crypto, an emerging trend in the crypto industry with the goal of bringing blockchain and Web3 applications closer to everyday users. We’ll explore current challenges, potential solutions, and potential applications of Consumer Crypto in 2024 and beyond.

What is Consumer Crypto?

Consumer Crypto refers to blockchain applications specifically designed for mainstream users. It’s related to the concept of Mass Adoption. Consumer Crypto differs from current crypto applications, which often focus on complex financial concepts. Consumer Crypto aims to solve real-world problems, providing tangible benefits to users in their daily lives.

Anatoly Yakovenko, founder of Solana, once shared on the OxResearch Podcast: “We can’t point to a specific crypto dApp and say, ‘This is the app everyone uses and finds useful.'”

Indeed, we currently lack a truly mainstream Web3 application that meets the needs of the majority of users. Consumer Crypto is aiming for this goal. Blockchain projects have focused on creating useful products and services to directly address the issues faced by traditional users.

Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins, defines Consumer Crypto: “Users engage in transactions not just to make money but also to find a more valuable solution.”

Impact of Consumer Crypto

Consumer Crypto promises to revolutionize how we interact with technology and the world around us. It has the potential to reshape the crypto industry landscape, bringing blockchain and Web3 applications closer to the daily lives of ordinary users.

Consumer Crypto not only benefits users by providing access to new services, enabling more efficient asset management, and facilitating participation in dynamic online communities, but also promotes the development of other industries such as gaming, media, entertainment, e-commerce, and even healthcare.

Consumer Crypto can create new business models, foster creativity and innovation, and ultimately reshape the future of the internet and society.

Why is Consumer Crypto the ultimate goal?

Luca Netz believes that Consumer Crypto is the ultimate goal of the crypto industry. According to Click Digital, the reason Consumer Crypto hasn’t become mainstream yet is that blockchains have not focused on user needs (the discretionary spending phase) and blockchains are fragmented and difficult to scale.

To address this, Luca Netz is committed to building a “Disney of the internet,” focusing on user experience rather than building blockchains for general purposes.

It’s evident that crypto today is similar to the internet in the early 2000s. During that first decade, infrastructure companies emerged, but only those that were truly innovative survived and thrived. However, crypto is currently associated with gambling and risky finance. The losses experienced by those seeking quick riches have impacted crypto’s public perception.

Crypto must achieve widespread adoption soon or risk limiting its growth. This is the final stage in its life cycle that crypto needs to overcome to become familiar to billions of people worldwide.

The Future of Consumer Crypto

According to Click Digital’s predictions, the future of Consumer Crypto will focus on the following trends:

• Seamless integration across blockchains (cross-chain): Instead of being confined to a specific blockchain, Consumer Crypto will seamlessly integrate with various blockchains, allowing users to easily transfer assets and access services across multiple platforms. This will create a more expansive, dynamic, and application-rich blockchain ecosystem.
• Integration between crypto and traditional finance (interoperability): Consumer Crypto will increasingly integrate into traditional financial systems, enabling users to utilize cryptocurrencies to pay bills, borrow money, invest, and manage finances more easily.
• Convenience: Consumer Crypto applications will be designed with user-friendly interfaces, making it easier for users without technical expertise to access and utilize blockchain technology.
• Mobile-friendly: Consumer Crypto will optimize for mobile devices, allowing users to access and utilize blockchain services anytime, anywhere.
• Increased speed, reduced gas fees: Blockchains supporting Consumer Crypto will be optimized to accelerate transaction speeds and reduce gas fees, providing a smoother experience for users.
• Enhanced security: Consumer Crypto will be built on a highly secure foundation, utilizing advanced technologies to protect user assets and personal information.

Challenges and Solutions for Consumer Crypto

Consumer Crypto faces several challenges in attracting users:

• High transaction fees: Ethereum, despite having the largest TVL, suffers from high transaction fees, posing a barrier for users. New blockchains like TON, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Solana, Arbitrum, Optimism, etc., with significantly lower transaction fees, are attempting to attract users.
• Complex interfaces: Traditional users often struggle to navigate blockchain applications. Consumer Crypto projects are striving to simplify interfaces, providing a more user-friendly experience.
• Security concerns: Crypto scams have raised concerns about security. Identity verification projects are being developed to promote transparency and authenticity for transactions.

Notable Consumer Crypto Projects

Here are some examples of Consumer Crypto projects under development that are attracting attention:

• Social App (SocialFi)
  • Friend.tech: Allows users to buy and sell “keys” (shares) for access and chat channels of celebrities on social media.
  • Farcaster: A decentralized social communication protocol built on Base, allowing users to interact with each other and fully control their personal data.
• GameFi
  • Pixels: A farming game built on the Ronin blockchain with a pixelated graphic design.
  • Hamster Kombat: A GameFi project built on Telegram Bot’s mini-app with easy gameplay.
• RWA (Real World Assets)
  • Ondo Finance: A platform for trading digital assets, offering various financial products for crypto users.
  • Goldfinch: A lending protocol on the Ethereum network, allowing borrowers to use real-world assets like real estate and businesses as collateral to borrow crypto funds.
• DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network)
  • Render Network: Focuses on GPU computing power to address rendering issues.
  • Filecoin: A decentralized data storage solution designed to replace traditional services like Google Drive and Dropbox.

These will continue to be areas of growth as Consumer Crypto achieves Mass Adoption. However, the infrastructure technology will be more advanced, similar to the factors mentioned in the “Future of Consumer Crypto” section above, including seamless integration across blockchains, integration between crypto and traditional finance, improved convenience, mobile-friendliness, increased speed, reduced gas fees, and enhanced security.

Summary Table: Consumer Crypto

Topic	Content
What is Consumer Crypto?	A term referring to blockchain applications created specifically for mainstream users, aiming to address real-world problems and provide tangible benefits to users.
Impact of Consumer Crypto	Promises to revolutionize how we interact with technology, changing the landscape of the crypto industry, bringing blockchain and Web3 applications closer to everyday life.
The Future of Consumer Crypto	Seamless integration across blockchains (cross-chain), integration between crypto and traditional finance (interoperability), greater convenience, mobile-friendliness, increased speed, reduced gas fees, enhanced security.
Challenges and Solutions	High transaction fees, complex interfaces, security concerns. Solutions: new blockchains with lower fees, interface simplification, identity verification.
Notable Projects	Friend.tech (SocialFi), Farcaster (SocialFi), Pixels (GameFi), Hamster Kombat (GameFi), Ondo Finance (RWA), Goldfinch (RWA), Render Network (DePIN), Filecoin (DePIN).
Conclusion	Consumer Crypto has the potential to attract numerous users from Web2 to Web3, accelerating the process of Mass Adoption. Consumer Crypto is the ultimate goal of the crypto industry.

Comment

Consumer Crypto represents a significant step toward bringing blockchain technology closer to the mainstream. The development of Consumer Crypto will usher in a new era for crypto and finance, where users can conveniently use crypto for on-chain transactions.

However, to achieve Mass Adoption, Consumer Crypto must overcome challenges in security, usability, scalability, and legal regulations. Collaboration between developers, investors, and regulators is essential to make Consumer Crypto an indispensable part of everyone’s lives.

Conclusion

The trend of Consumer Crypto is gradually changing how people approach blockchain technology. By simplifying processes, Consumer Crypto has the potential to attract a large number of users from Web2 to Web3, accelerating the process of Mass Adoption.

Consumer Crypto is not just a trend; it’s the ultimate goal of the crypto industry. Everyone should look forward to exciting new applications and products in the future.