On The State of Crypto

As a fellow entrepreneur and tech enthusiast when I found Steemit I knew immediately what made it and why it was futuristic. I had been investing in ICOs for a month or two and have even ventured into creating my own cryptocurrency. Yet, to some who may stumble upon this post, 'blockchain' means as much to them as 'spherestring'. In fact, a large majority of the population have no idea what blockchain is or what is so groundbreaking about the technology. I would argue, however, that this lack of knowledge is not a problem. Many people involved in the technical development of d'apps and d'products have forgotten about one of the most important jobs of a developer: to abstract complexities and provide ease of functionality.

It isn't uncommon to hear mainstream media talk about Bitcoin or blockchain. Though, it is very uncommon for mainstream media and others to actually know what is happening underneath the hood. Many in decentralized community make a mockery of this lack of understanding, others even feel they are on the verge of something great because most people can't understand what they are doing (go ahead and send one of your parents this website: https://district0x.io/ , ask them what the company is attempting to accomplish), something I would equate to a superiority complex. Now, I am in now way claiming that some of these companies, including my example, aren't producing any value. In fact the flood of ICOs and d'apps has proven to be one of the largest floods of ideas being not only conceived, but produced, that the information age has ever seen. It truly is incredible. Yet, a large majority of developers forget that the those who don't know how to even buy Ether, are completely removed from their product.

Let's look at TenX for an example. TenX is a company that has created a debit card that enables those who own crypto currencies to buy everyday products, everyday (More Info: https://www.tenx.tech/). This is extremely cool. If you're someone who's owned bitcoin for years, and watched the infamous man who buys pizza with bitcoin , and now has the ability to buy every product with it, you're excited. This company raised millions of dollars through their ICO and most of the owners of their alt-coin believe the marketcap could reach billions. How do they come to that conclusion? They look at AMEX's marketcap, or Visa's.

Here is where the disconnect occurs. To those who look at that idea, of TenX being worth billions, and laugh, you're apart of the majority of the world. To those who look at that statement and see even the slightest bit of chance, excuse the pun, you're apart of the, probably, 1%. What is the cause of this disconnect? Is it that the 99% don't understand the blockchain? Is it that they aren't forward thinking enough to envision the future of money? Well many would have you think, in the blockchain community, yes, that must be why, or maybe they just aren't versed enough on blockchain?

This is where I part from the community I claim to be a part of, and see a problem. I think we all need to take a step back, look at the problems we are approaching or the businesses we are creating, and ask ourselves, is this the simplest and most intuitive I can make this? That's not to say, for example, the TenX app isn't beautifully designed and extremely intuitive to the users. We have to examine wallets, addresses, keystores, the foundational dimensions of blockchain that are suppose to be easy and simple, and innovate them to actually be easy and simple. Rather than tailoring d'apps to the times, tailor them to the consumer. Sometimes making something intuitive is as easy as changing the name, (ex. private key to password). Sometimes, it may be extremely complex. I hate to quote a man I don't really like but when someone says something true, I'd rather not sit in denial:

“It takes a lot of hard work,” Jobs said, “to make something simple, to truly understand the underlying challenges and come up with elegant solutions.” .... “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

• Steve Jobs

The future of crypto is indeed extremely bright. Some may not see it, but for those who do, let's together make it a future of beauty and simplicity. This requires us to question what can we make simpler, what can we make cleaner, what can we make better. Software, d'apps, they are made for the users. Let's remember to keep them in mind.