Four scenarios where blockchain is expected to be accepted by the mainstream
The DeFi revolution is in full swing and promises to challenge traditional finance, but what are some promising scenarios beyond DeFi that will help blockchain be accepted by the mainstream? This article describes four scenarios that have the potential to be understood and used by mainstream consumers for blockchain.
Scenario 1: Earn while you make
Who wouldn’t want to be rewarded or compensated for their time, knowledge, data, or hard work, whether online or not? Today, we have all become free laborers for various online activities. In the Web 2.0 era, value capture has shifted to those who provide actionable information to users. While these core participants bring some satisfaction and revenue to users, they receive far more than they put back.
Blockchain is the monetary system that transcends the real world, and cryptocurrencies are the perfect Internet currency. But cryptocurrencies can also reach the real world, disrupting membership programs and providing users with a more flexible and universal currency.
Just as consensus protocols reward computers for mining and verifying transactions, blockchains can incentivize people to act spontaneously.
Since 2016, users of Steemit (now known as Hive) have been rewarded with $60 million. The Kin ecosystem offers a variety of benefits to users and developers, and has distributed $15 million in rewards over the past two years.
Earn as you make will become a basic right. Just like user-generated content for Web 2.0, it is a universal feature.
Scenario 2: Value (Asset) Custody
We are accustomed to storing valuable items, such as money, jewelry or artwork, in our homes. However, when the value of these items exceeds what we can secure or what we feel comfortable storing at home, we usually turn to a bank or professional custodian to more easily protect liquid assets.
Cryptocurrencies offer alternative storage options through personal wallets that can be easily accessed to exchanges or given to crypto custodians who have their own keys.
Today, many self-hosted wallets already exist, enabling users to self-store their assets. These wallets can also store another novel and unique digital object — NFT (non-fungible tokens: e.g. crypto-cats)
In the long run, banks and old-fashioned physical storage services may no longer be the most popular or secure method of storage. As a custodian of private keys, it will have a degree of freedom and efficiency as long as self-service continues to grow in convenience and trust, and this, in turn, is an attractive value proposition. Many users will gradually unbank their assets and move them to self-custody, thereby using the new services available in the blockchain world.
Scenario 3: Remote Privileges
A driver’s license grants us permission to drive on public roads; a bank card allows us to withdraw funds or make transactions; a house key gives us access to a house. You can’t fake it, use a friend’s driver’s license instead of yours, and you can’t use your bank card to access someone else’s account.
What if all these “access” options were equivalent online? What if blockchain technology (combined with smartphones and biometrics) could grant us broad access in both the real and online worlds?
In this way, a physical keychain holder is equivalent to a smart wallet, which contains various “special keys” (also known as tokens) to various active websites or physical locations. The software simply checks to see if you have the proper “access rights”, in the same way that the electronic devices in your car automatically calculate and grant tolls when you pass through a toll booth.
In addition, many similar self-hosted wallets also allow us to vote on various issues as easily as opening a mobile app to post a picture or tweet.
Scenario 4: Empowering Communities
We live in an era of instant online interconnection, but most interactions are optimized for individuals rather than groups, and we register individually for sites that recognize us as unique identities.
what if communities with similar interests could govern and self-govern through clear, enforceable processes (e.g., voting, decision-making, and enforcement)?
Today, we can accomplish some of these tasks through online community forums (e.g. Discord, Facebook Groups) or various online chat platforms (e.g. Telegram, WhatsApp, Signal). However, once these organizations are formed, it is not so easy to implement governance and form management systems that reflect the values of their participants.
Blockchain is perfect for enhancing the governance of online communities. Early versions already exist in DAOs, but a lot of work still needs to be done before they are adopted by the mainstream, as these early DAO-based versions are somewhat flawed and will be updated for online community processes if a group of highly skilled participants emerges in the future.
In summary: Web 3.0 is a new world to explore rather than pure technical code
The above four use cases are lighthouse signals from which we can seek guidance. They are not perfect, but they are good entry points to lead us into the new web 3.0 era, where people are exploring more mainstream usage rather than piling up technical code.
In addition to DeFi, the blockchain world continues to be full of big ideas that can inspire a wider range of people to participate.
What if we could earn real value online while still being able to store our income securely? What if we became more efficient at self-organization while having the ability to take collective action in the future as well?
The above scenarios already exist in a handful of countries. Now, the rest of the world is being inspired to try to integrate blockchain into the mainstream.
Article from Chainbs
Translated by Yang(Mengyan Finance)