RE: Bitcoin Will NEVER Gain Mass Adoption (video/podcast)
Thanks for taking the time to write this comment. I like a lot of what you've written here. However, you've made some assumptions about my position which probably require some clarification. I know it's partly my fault that you'd lump me in with Nouriel Roubini, because I chose the title "Bitcoin will never gain mass adoption".
First of all, I'm not from the United States.
I am familiar with Andreas Antonopoulos's work; I met him and interviewed him 3 years ago. I've been researching cryptocurrency since 2011, and I've been making media about it since 2014, and I've even done recent videos about how cryptocurrency can help people in countries with failing currencies.
You mentioned the case of a Venezuelan trying to use the failing bolívar to buy food. I have a question for you: how do you think that Venezuelan abuelita is going to use cryptocurrency, if she doesn't have a smartphone? Or if she does have a smartphone, how do you think she'll warm up to the idea of paying with her phone, when she's used cash to pay her entire life? How could you make the transition as easy as possible?
Cheers,
I apologize for the assumption then, no hate towards you, I guess i just get "passionate" sometimes. It's your fault though with that sensational click-bait title 😂😂
I honestly don't see how is that going to be an issue if it's a survival issue. There are already enough Venezuelan Steemians here that we can literally ask them personally about crypto-adoption by necessity.
Great that you're already in the scene earlier than most of us here. I however find it weird that you're in the opinion that UI/UX is the greatest pain of Bitcoin though.
For me, UI/UX is the last thing the core development of Bitcoin needs to worry about. all it takes is for some guy to come up with an open source Dapp to make it look pretty. Like how Metamask is not done by the Ethereum "team" themselves.
So i was kinda fired up when, of all reasons, you pick UI/UX as the blame.
I also disagree (in case i didnt make it clear) that "mass adoption" is not what we should aim for. At least not in the normal tech sense.
Something like Bitcoin has never existed before, it's not another Paypal nor is it a "Linux of E-wallets".
Bitcoin doesn't need mass adoption. it just needs to be an alternative.
Kinda. It does sum up my position pretty well, so it's not just clickbait. There's only so much you can fit into a headline.
Well, 60% of Venezuelans don't have access to smartphones, so even if it's life or death, they can't get a wallet app. That's why I mentioned Dash Text.
People in a tight spot who have access to smartphones will start using it, but think about what that means for adoption in other places... would you really want to wait until the USD or EUR collapse before people start using it?
I was talking to Venezuelans about Bitcoin years ago, and they said to me that they just didn't think people would go for it - it was too weird and to different. A lot of people could have avoided a lot of pain, but the user experience wasn't there. If Venezuelans could have sent crypto over SMS 2-3 years ago, it almost certainly would have saved lives.
It takes much, much more than that. UX is for one, an art. It takes brilliant creativity to come up with ways to make new things seem familiar and intuitive. It's not just a case of putting a layer of pastel paint on top - UX is about integral design decisions. In the video I put that clip of Steve Jobs talking about how you have to start with the customer in mind, not start with the tech and figure out how you're gonna sell it. How users interact with tech can't be an afterthought, if you want the tech to be successful.
I disagree. To me, that would be like saying it's fine if the Internet didn't gain mass adoption, and only nerds had access to the independent media that comes from it. Because of the Internet, a lot of corruption and government scheming has been exposed, and it's even possible that wars have been avoided because of the information that it's allowed us to access. That happened because power was taken away from traditional media and given to regular people with purer agendas and methods. Cryptocurrency has the potential to do the same to banks and states, reeling in their power. Do you realise how high the stakes are?
Your idea of "mass adoption" implies forcing people to use the app the same way facebook and twitter and instagram is forcing people to use and stay on the app (their execs will tell you exactly "no the users use our apps by choice).
I think we're talking ourselves into a corner too.. At this stage, looking at how the Bitcoin Network works, UI/UX is the least of their worries.. WE DONT NEED 'MASS ADOPTION' 10 YEARS INTO A 140 YEAR CURRENCY.
Bitcoin isn't even at version 1. you do realize that right?
The stakes are high of course. You and I both agree that it won't take long before governments starts to seriously ban bitcoin however they can and lock up anyone they can to scare people back into fiat. when that happens, UI/UX isnt gonna be any help.
I'd say Bitcoin is doing fine. I'm not that technically capable but i know that there are a few updates coming out that is going to make things better in the backend. Dandelion, Mimblewimble, Schnorr Sig and stuff are all good stuff that will matter.