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This post is on the relationship between blockchain user adoption and the need for interoperability to get us there.
User experience and mass adoption (read economies of scale) are essential lubricants for effective experimentation in blockchain models.
To achieve a high level for both of these requirements, we need to do a better job of interconnecting blockchains.
Therefore, we shouldn’t necessarily assume that all blockchains will always compete with each other.
We should think of the market as a whole.
Every Layer matters.
All layers and blockchains that want to matter in the future will need to be eventually interconnected.
The Internet has millions of interconnected subnets. However, it also has interconnectivity standards at the lower levels of operations, which insulates users at the higher levels of web/mobile touch points.
We need to start connecting the top chains as a standard/native requirement, so that users have a semblance of pleasant experiences, including when moving assets around.
For discrete apps, users should be able to easily connect to various add-on services within that app without jumping through hoops or becoming lost when more features are needed.
The current patchwork of spaghetti chains is not helpful if we want to make the whole bigger than the sum of its parts.
Bitcoin has a ~55% dominance when it comes to market caps. But App user dominance across the blockchain is in no way near 55% for Bitcoin. Usage is rather spread across the panoply of blockchain apps across Ethereum, Solana and other top chains. In-App usage is scattered and squandered at best.
The future of blockchain is about the applications that empower users rather than the battle between different layers. I've already written about it in Beyond the Blockchain Infrastructure Layer Wars: Embracing the Interoperable Future of Apps and Services.
There are some industry efforts to start "tying" things together, such as the proposed ERC-7683, but if standards aren't adopted, no progress can be made.
Today, I am not seeing enough genuine cross-industry cooperation to make this vision a reality. Yet, I believe this will be essential to grow the blockchain market and let it earn a respectful place in our future.
If not now, when?
16 comments
I guess I started an accidental AMA on which parts of the crypto space are good and which I'm so far not excited about, along with other big picture vision questions: https://x.com/VitalikButerin/status/1827583576751181961 You should feel free to ask questions here too! Let's see if Farcaster can come up with higher-quality questions than the other app :)
Not sure if you've mentioned it elsewhere but for "real world" transactions and while traveling which DEX and debit/credit card do you normally use??
What role do you see decentralized social networks play in the crypto space? Is it merely a space that facilitates onchain transactions or its a true extension of crypto that can have protocol (or contract) level integration?
do you take any supplements on regular basis?
how do you feel about the current state of applications and protocols for onchain commerce? how can they further evolve to make crypto the preferred form of payment?
What are you focusing on for the next 2 weeks or so?
coke or pepsi?
What are your thoughts with superchain? (Base, OP, etc.)
Hows does Ethereum's use of smart contracts enable the creation of decentralized applications? Can you provide some examples?
We’ve seen defi and NFTs have their moments. Stablecoins get a lot of press. What do you think will be the next big crypto/blockchain use case to go mainstream and what do you think it will take to make that happen?
the west has a fairly developed financial system and don't need stablecoins and DeFi atm too much (not a game changer) what do you think can be an exciting adoption catalyst there?
..ya think? I get charged fees for having a bank account, and can't earn any interest on savings (save for <0.2% with a lockup period) USDC/DAI LP allows me to earn interest and keep access to my money at all times.
great stuff but not 10x improvement for most people, incremental at best
We need to do a better job of interconnecting blockchains. We shouldn’t necessarily assume that all blockchains will always compete with each other. We should think of the market as a whole. Every Layer matters. All layers and blockchains that want to matter in the future will need to be eventually interconnected. Today, I am not seeing enough genuine cross-industry cooperation to make this vision a reality. Yet, I believe this will be essential to grow the blockchain market and let it earn a respectful place in our future. If not now, when? Post 👉 https://wamougayar.xyz/the-blockchain-interoperability-imperative
Superchain is based.
https://wamougayar.xyz/the-blockchain-interoperability-imperative