Web3 adoption’s main issue: Seed phrases won’t work for 95% of mainstream users

Crypto wallets with easier sign-in options and recoverable passwords could become the industry standard in the future.

The complexity of the current Web3 wallets is one of the main issues stopping mainstream cryptocurrency adoption.

According to Bumblefudge, the janitor-in-chief at Chain Agnostic Standards Alliance (CASA), an autonomous blockchain developer organization, to facilitate large-scale adoption, the crypto industry will need to move past the current complicated seed phrases.

He said during a keynote speech at Web3 Summit 2024 in Berlin, Germany:

“Seed phrases are not going to work for the other 95% of the world. But, um, the solution to that is unfortunately boring, ugly standards, governance.”

Today’s complex crypto onboarding process remains intimidating for mainstream users, as it requires setting up a wallet with native gas tokens and unrecoverable seed phrases, before being able to transact on a network.

Related: Proof-of-Ink by Gavin Wood: The tattoo that secures your Web3 privacy

Web3 wallets and DApps need more user-centric features

Web3 wallets need more user-centric features to appeal to mainstream users, and the first priority is to move away from complex seed phrases.

However, this would require an industry-wide collaboration standard from wallet providers and developers, explained Bumblefudge:

“No one wants to write down how they’re using it because they’re all competing with each other. They all want the better parts, the implementation. So nothing’s going to be interoperable. Nothing’s going to be secure.”

Without a standard of collaboration, wallet providers won’t be able to create interoperable and more user-friendly solutions like passkeys. He added:

“We need to be going down to the user instead of up from what the chain wants and what the DeFi protocol wants. We need standards for user expectations.”

Related: Coinbase cbBTC token may revolutionize Bitcoin DeFi adoption

Crypto wallets and protocols need to remove friction for the first billion users

Other notable crypto firms are also advocating for the removal of friction points.

Notably, Chintan Turakhia, senior director of engineering at Coinbase, said that bringing the first billion users on the blockchain will require more beginner-friendly applications.

Speaking exclusively to Cointelegraph at EthCC, Turakhia said:

“If our goal is to bring in the next billion users — and let’s start with just 100 million — we have to take all those friction points out.”

To bolster mass adoption, Coinbase launched its smart wallet at the beginning of June, with more beginner-friendly features, that replace complex seed phrases with account names and passcodes.

Turakhia expects these easier sign-in options to become the standard for crypto wallet providers in the future.

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