SEDA Twitter Space - Ep #4 Driving Web3 Mainstream Adoption Ft. Flow

In SEDA’s Twitter Spaces which took place on March 7, 2024, Matthew Peters hosted Jasper and Anuke from SEDA Protocol to discuss the dynamic journey of Web3, investment strategies, technological innovations, pathways to mainstream adoption, and more! Read our notes below to learn more.

Background

Matthew Peters (Host) – Marketing Lead at SEDA Protocol

Jasper.eth (Guest) – CTO & Co-Founder of SEDA Protocol

Anuke (Guest) – Contributor at Flow

Flow – a fast, decentralized, and developer-friendly blockchain designed to be the foundation for a new generation of games, apps, and digital assets that power them

Driving Web3 Adoption: From Games to Finance and Beyond

Anuke shares his background in investing and advising in games, media, sports, and entertainment, highlighting his work with Epic Games and the value of platforms like Unreal Engine.
He contrasts this experience with his interest in Web3, inspired by Dapper Labs‘ Top Shot and the underlying Flow Blockchain, highlighting the potential for Flow to enable a broad ecosystem for Web3 development.
Jasper briefly recounts his journey from running a startup in data analytics to becoming invested in Web3 and smart contracts, driven by the potential of open, composable APIs. He mentions his focus on building data infrastructure for smart contracts.
Matthew discusses the complementary roles of SEDA, a modular data layer, and Flow, platform-building partnerships to bridge Web2 and Web3, in fostering Web3 mainstream adoption. He asks Anuke for his perspective on which segment within Web3 will be pivotal for driving mainstream adoption.
Anuke says that defi in Web3 has achieved mass adoption, with billions of dollars exchanged daily, highlighting stable coins’ significant role in cross-border payments and remittances.
He says consumer applications, such as games, social apps, and loyalty programs, will drive the next wave of adoption by making Web3 benefits more accessible and integrating financialization into user experiences.
Jasper asks Anuke how he pitches his vision to large partners and how much they understand about the future of Web3.
Anuke explains that success with large partners involves stages, starting with closed applications before gradually introducing Web3 elements. He uses the example of Top Shot, which evolved from a closed application to allowing developers to build on its metadata permissionlessly, demonstrating value to the community and encouraging other big IPs to adopt Web3.
Matthew asks about the types of consumer experiences big brands seek from Web3 apps.
Anuke says that big brands and IPs aim to enhance collectibility, ownership, loyalty, and user understanding through Web3. He highlights Ticketmaster and Doodles as examples of partners leveraging Web3 for innovative user engagement, highlighting the importance of a seamless consumer and developer experience across various scales of partnerships.
Matthew expresses excitement about Web3’s potential for mainstream adoption, especially in the context of fantasy sports games integrating live data.
Jasper highlights the challenge of creating consumer apps without external data triggers, underscoring the importance of bridging data to smart contracts for on-chain actions. He highlights SEDA’s role in enabling diverse applications through customizable data feeds, including sports data, to attract a broad user base to Web3.

Challenges and Prospects of Mainstream Web3 Adoption

Matthew asks what the biggest hesitation is from big brands entering the blockchain space, noting the industry’s infrastructure is sufficiently developed to support consumer apps with a good user experience.
Anuke explains that the previous industry blow-up caused many brands to lose trust in blockchain, with some continuing their Web3 initiatives despite others halting theirs. Anuke highlights the importance of rebuilding trust and having guardrails to prevent repeated setbacks.
Matthew comments on the value of setbacks in forcing the industry to slow down and implement necessary fail-safes and security upgrades. He hints at the potential for consumer apps to drive mainstream Web3 adoption and shares a mint link for immediate action, signaling a shift to discussing the future of Web3 adoption.
Anuke describes the creation of Flow to address user onboarding and developer experience issues encountered with Ethereum, highlighting Flow’s design to not compromise on composability or decentralization.
He highlights Flow’s role in enabling composable apps that form ecosystems, citing examples like Top Shot, Disney Pinnacle, and collaborations with Ticketmaster and Doodles.
Anuke mentions the introduction of EVM compatibility to Flow to facilitate the integration of existing infrastructure, attract new builders, and enhance liquidity, underlining the vision for interoperable and composable ecosystems across platforms.
Jasper asks what type of application is the first to reach the first billion users, highlighting the context of consumer apps like Top Shot and fantasy sports applications built on top of Top Shot, excluding centralized exchanges.
Anuke says that the application achieving this milestone will likely include a mix of social elements, IP, and gamification, envisioning a super app that offers immersive experiences alongside AI advancements and a trust layer for content verification.
Jasper notes Twitter’s initiative to obtain a money transmission license, hinting at competition in developing a crypto super app, reflecting on Elon Musk’s original vision for x.com before the PayPal merger.
Anuke agrees, indicating a positive outlook for competition and innovation in the Web3 space, and expressing a desire to see companies make a strong comeback in the field.

Strategies for Integrating Web3 into Consumer Apps: Focus on User Engagement and Accessibility

Matthew asks about the challenge of integrating Web3 elements into consumer apps, noting the negative impact on growth observed in the eSports industry when labeled with Web3, and asks about strategies to attract users without highlighting the financial aspects of Web3.
Anuke says that the challenge of making Web3 appealing is by focusing on acquiring popular IPs for Flow, like NBA, NFL, and Marvel, aiming to attract users through recognizable and less controversial content, highlighting a mobile-first approach, and meeting users where they are.
Matthew highlights the importance of establishing social proof as a strategy to engage users with Web3 technologies, transitioning the discussion towards the technical advancements Flow is implementing to support these consumer-oriented ecosystems, such as joining the EVM to ensure interoperability and scalability within the blockchain space.
Anuke says that the EVM piece is significant, marking a convergence with the interests of current Web3 builders, users, and adopters. The use of the Cadence programming language is touted as superior to Solidity, with EVM potentially introducing Cadence to developers indirectly.
Anuke highlights the built-in account abstraction on Flow as a unique feature, facilitating more complex composability without sacrificing decentralization. Low transaction fees on Flow are emphasized as essential for enabling microtransactions, such as putting every tweet on-chain.
Matthew expresses excitement about witnessing the advancements in Flow and the impact of the Cake framework on account and chain abstraction. He stresses the importance of smooth, intuitive user experiences for Web3 mass adoption, especially for newcomers introduced by big brands and platforms like Flow.
Jasper highlights the need for a departure from the current cumbersome user experience in crypto, highlighting the significance of chain and account abstraction in achieving a more seamless interaction.
He explains that chain abstraction eliminates the need for chain switching. In contrast, account abstraction allows for more customized on-chain interactions, enhancing the user experience without compromising the industry’s core benefits.
Jasper shares his approach to introducing non-Web3 friends to the technology, preferring not to push too hard unless they are technically inclined.
He suggests starting with accessible applications like Social Fi apps or sending them a small amount of crypto to experiment with, acknowledging that current applications may not yet appeal to mainstream users. He notes the potential of platforms like Flow and successes like Top Shot in attracting non-crypto natives.
Anuke agrees with Jasper’s points and recommends the book Read Write Own by Chris Dixon to help explain the big picture of Web3 to newcomers, citing Top Shot’s success with mainstream users as a model for introducing new users to the ecosystem through familiar elements.

Web3’s Role: Composability, Financial Layers, and Sector Predictions

Matthew questions the necessity of Web3 for certain projects, asking how one can justify the use of blockchain for brands looking to enter the space, and whether some applications might be better suited to traditional web technologies.
Anuke says that true ownership and composability are crucial for users, as they ensure the asset’s longevity beyond the application and enable the creation of interconnected products and networks. This approach involves gradual steps to introduce big brands to the benefits of composability, despite the current limitations in achieving full composability with these brands.
Anuke mentions the progress made in enhancing the composability of products, not only on Flow but also more broadly. He highlights the importance of on-chain composability for maintaining provenance, sharing revenue, and supporting sustainable product development through incentivized open source.
Matthew asks about examples of composability in action, specifically within Dapper Labs’ partnerships like Top Shot, NFL, or UFC.
Anuke provides an example of composability by describing how a Top Shot collectible can be used as collateral for a loan on Floaty, a third-party platform. This illustrates the financial applications enabled by Web3 for digital assets.
Matthew acknowledges the potential of Web3 to introduce financial layers to digital gaming assets through platforms like Flow, expressing excitement for future developments and the integration of DeFi applications.
Anuke encourages joining the Flow community and outlines Flow’s focus on EVM integration and DeFi to attract developers and enhance liquidity. He foresees a thriving ecosystem of applications on Flow, hoping that users attracted by financial incentives will stay for the broader vision.
Matthew discusses the potential of Flow and SEDA to drive mainstream adoption of Web3 through composability and infrastructure partnerships, enabling the creation of custom feeds and cross-chain applications.
Jasper shares his passion for the space’s composability, viewing it as a key factor that attracted him and retained his interest. He mentions the challenge of maintaining composability in a modular future and how SEDA aims to address this through middleware solutions, reinforcing the network effect that has propelled the blockchain space forward.
Jasper explains that hyper-specialization involves application-specific chains and infrastructure-specific chains doing one thing very well and cheaply. This allows for permissionless interoperability, making Web3 more modular and efficient, and competitive with larger, monolithic chains.
Jasper says that people can look forward to the launch of their alpha net soon, which will enable the token upgrade to the cosmos chain native token. They are also working on a feature-complete testnet for the first partners to start integrating.
Matthew asks Anuke for a prediction on which sector will see the most traction over the next 12 months. Anuke says that it will probably be similar to before, with a DeFi season followed by a consumer app season, extending beyond just NFTs, leading to an influx of users and capital into various applications.

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Show Information

Medium: Twitter (Audio)
Show: SEDA Twitter Space
Show Title: Ep #4 Driving Web3 Mainstream Adoption Ft. Flow
Show Date: March 7, 2024