Web3 is rapidly growing in adoption, alluring users with the promise of a decentralized internet that is centered around ownership. It’s an alternative digital world that’s no longer controlled by a handful of corporate giants, where users don’t have to suffer the indignity of their data being harvested and exploited for profits, and where no one can be censored for having an opinion that differs from the propagated narrative.
The biggest believers of Web3 hope that it is gaining enough momentum that the decentralized internet will one day replace the proprietary information highway known as Web2. They imagine a world in which decentralized, community-owned applications come to the fore, with services hosted on blockchain that aren’t owned by all-powerful corporations.
It is a viable dream, underscored by the reality that a growing number of brands and developers are embracing the ideals of decentralization. But if the nascent Web3 industry is to replace the traditional internet entirely, it has a lot of work to do in terms of accessibility. It must find a way to welcome every kind of user, regardless of their technical know-how.
Web3’s Biggest Challenge: Getting Users Onboard
Web3 accessibility is one of the industry’s biggest challenges. While it’s quite easy for most users to navigate to a decentralized application (dApp) or even a blockchain game through a regular web browser, the difficulty stems from the need to obtain the digital assets that power the Web3 economy.
Since most of Web3 is built on distributed ledger technology (DLT), cryptocurrencies (the value exchange medium) rule the roost. Users must have tokens to pay for the decentralized services they use, and few people know how to get them.
For someone who has never done it before, obtaining crypto is a mind-boggler that inevitably begins with a Google search, followed by them making an account on a cryptocurrency exchange, passing an ocean of identity checks and downloading a digital wallet.
There’s a need to perform multiple transactions — buy the crypto, transfer to your wallet, send it to the dApp you want to use — and we haven’t even addressed the security aspects of crypto yet. It’s little wonder that many decide to give up and return to the relatively simple Web2 services they were trying to give up.
An article by Transak highlights that nearly 1-in-4 users find the steep learning curve of blockchain technology to be the biggest deterrent.
On-Ramps Make It Easy
The good news is that crypto onboarding isn’t nearly as bad as it once was.
As more dApps and DeFi protocols are hopping onto the on-ramp bandwagon, integrating dedicated portals within their platforms that make the process of buying crypto with fiat a simple, few-clicks endeavor.
We’re talking about dedicated crypto on-ramps, which developers can integrate into any dApp using a simple API. They make it easy to purchase crypto such as Bitcoin, Ethereum or USDC using convenient, fiat payment methods such as a bank transfer, credit card or Google/Apple Pay.
The term “crypto on-ramp” used to mean something very different. It used to be synonymous with “crypto exchange” platforms such as Binance and Coinbase, or even something like a Bitcoin ATM. But these days, crypto on-ramps have evolved to become dedicated services that do nothing else but facilitate fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat transactions.
Some of the best-known crypto on-ramps are Transak, Moonpay and Ramp Network. These services all offer their own mobile applications that make it simple to buy (and sell) crypto.
Crypto on-ramps, like Transak, also provide APIs for developers so their services can be integrated right within their dApps, eliminating the need for their customers to go elsewhere.
Benefits For Users
On-ramps are excellent news for dApp users because they provide many benefits, including simplifying the crypto buying process and more security.
Probably the best thing is the convenience — new users are only required to sign up and prove their identity one time, after which they can use the same on-ramp to obtain crypto within any dApp that integrates the on-ramp.
On-ramps offer a simple account creation process, streamlined KYC verification and the ability to use multiple payment methods. For instance, Transak enables its users to link their bank accounts directly, and once that’s done they can then make as many fiat-to-crypto purchases as they desire with a few clicks of the button, never needing to prove their identity again.
In addition, they also strike a perfect balance between user experience and security, utilizing measures including behavioral analytics and device fingerprinting to reduce onboarding friction. They also tend to offer more competitive exchange rates than traditional exchanges, as they can source their liquidity from multiple exchange platforms to find the best prices for each transaction.
Benefits For Developers
Developers can also benefit immensely from crypto on-ramps. They can access on-ramp and off-ramp services from Transak, Moonpay, Ramp via APIs, which means all they have to do is paste a few lines of code into their dApp.
Doing this means they can offer their dApp users the option to seamlessly buy and sell hundreds of crypto tokens right there, inside their applications, with the entire process usually done in less than a minute.
Simply choose the digital asset you want to buy, enter the amount, choose a payment method and click confirm, and the entire transaction is done. Never again will their users have to hunt down a crypto exchange that sells the digital asset they’re looking for.
Going beyond the off-the-rack solution, on-ramps like Transak allow projects to list their own token after undergoing a simply-yet-robust compliance and verificaiton process.
Rampant Growth Of Crypto On-Ramps
These days it has become commonplace for dApps to offer an integrated crypto on-ramp, and this impressive traction is a sure sign of the growing legitimacy of Web3.
Some of the world’s best-known brands are stepping willingly into the decentralized space.
Every year, Interbrand compiles a comprehensive list of the world’s top brands across multiple major industries, and more than 40% of them have experimented with Web3, crypto, NFT and metaverse-related initiatives. These include companies like Microsoft, Apple, Adidas, Nike, Starbucks, Porsche, Pepsi, Gucci, NFL, NBA, Tag Heuer, Instagram, and Visa, to name just a few.
Many of those brands have gone beyond the experimental stage to actively embrace Web3. For example, the Japanese electronics giant Sony even created a subsidiary, named Sony Block Solutions Labs, that is dedicated to building Web3 games. Its major initiative is its very own blockchain platform for gaming, called Soneium.
Through Soneium, Sony has become one of the biggest brands to embrace crypto on-ramps yet, partnering with Transak to enable fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat transactions on its blockchain.
On-ramps are not only getting the attention of brands, but they’re also raising significant amounts of money. In May 2023, Transak closed a $20 million Series A funding round led by CE Innovation Capital, coming several months after Ramp Network secured $70 million via its Series B funding round.
Those first movers in the crypto on-ramp space have since been joined by newer startups such as FomoPay and Alchemy Pay, which are both focused on regional markets, and there is also growing competition from more established, fiat payment providers, including PayPal and Stripe.
Web3 For The Masses
With traditional payment providers now looking to establish themselves as crypto on-ramps, it has become clear that this nascent sector is playing a critical role in easing Web3’s onboarding challenges, making the decentralized world more accessible to the masses.
They’re powering essential use cases that are critical to the existence of Web3, enabling crypto purchases, NFT checkouts, and global payouts. The integration of fast, reliable, compliant and battle-tested payment stacks has proven itself to be one of the best ways of making Web3 more accessible, providing the most convenient way to onboard the next billion users.