Ethereum DApps: UX Is A Problem
Combatting the biggest problem with Ethereum DApps
We have a problem. The promises of Ethereum, Smart Contracts and Decentralised Applications are boundless, but until the user experience is painless, it’s not going anywhere.
The Internet Loves Cats
In 2012, Google announced that a neural network had learned to recognise a cat’s face with nothing but images from the internet. For some reason, cats are all over the internet.
It came as no real surprise then that the first real “Killer DApp” was a cat collecting game called CryptoKitties.
It’s a game where players can collect and breed kitties for their distinct characteristics, like appearance and traits. In their own words:
“Players can breed their kitties to create new furry friends and unlock rare cattributes.”
The game became so popular that at one point in time it significantly slowed down the Ethereum network due to the number of transactions it executed on its Blockchain.
Despite this popularity, barely any of the traffic that Cryptokitties got on their website resulted in people playing the game. They announced an astonishing 99% bounce rate at the height of their popularity.
That means 99 of every 100 visitors to their home page ended up leaving, and not playing. In UX lingo, that’s what known as a “pile of ****”.
Men In Suits And Offices
Since Cryptokitties, the next big “Killer DApp” to take off has been the DeFi movement and the big players within it. DeFi is the implementation of traditional financial products and application on Blockchain technology.
Some of the most used and notable names are the like of Compound Finance, and Uniswap. They are liquidity providers to enable users to take out collateralized loans. Usually, these are products hidden away from the general public, constrained to be used only by big banks and corporations.
The amount of ETH (in dollars) tied up in DeFi Smart Contracts has recently tipped over the $1 billion mark, signifying a major milestone in its validity.
However, compared with the derivatives market for example, which is often cited as being valued at $1 quadrillion (that’s $1,000,000,000,000,000), it’s a tiny drop in the bucket.
The Promise Of DApps
There is no doubt that we’re heading down a very promising path. These examples are just the first generation of potential protocols and they are quite successful.
The problem is that bounce rate, mentioned by Cryptokitties. 99% leave the site before playing. Why? Because they don’t know how to.
The most common way to interact with Ethereum DApps through a browser is to use Metamask browser extension. It bridges the gap between web2 (the internet as we know it), and web3 (the Blockchain).
Using Metamask is not as easy as it sounds, not unless you have prior knowledge of how Ethereum wallets work, and you have access to an onramp which allows you to purchase ETH. These are things that a crypto hobbyist has no problem with, but for the vast majority of the internet-using population, is beyond their wheelhouse.
The Future Is Bright
Metamask is built by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts. What we need is something built for the masses. Something that requires little thought or enhanced understanding to use it. We won’t get there in one fell swoop either, it will be an incremental process, and we are taking the first few steps along the path of progress.
Competitors to Metamask have started popping up. Authereum aims to provide seamless access to your crypto by a swift onboarding process without the need for keeping seed phrases and browser extensions.
Web3Connect allows developers to integrate these new solutions into their DApps to give users more choice.
TrustWallet is a mobile wallet with a built-in DApp browser, meaning you can interact with decentralised apps right from your wallet. No need for third party extensions.
We’re getting there. These are the steps towards the ultimate goal. We will reach it eventually, but solutions like Web3Connect prove that no technique has yet captured the general public into believing the hype about Blockchain.
All these projects represent the industry reaching out into unknown territory. They’re trying to forge a path through a thick jungle, not knowing which direction shows the path to adoption, and which directions hit dead ends.
This is what innovation looks like.
One day we will find the solution which reaches the population like none before it, and that will herald a new era of DApps.
Further Reading
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