The Cryptonomist conducted an interview with Burnt Banksy, founder of NFT art project Burnt and core contributor to the XION L1 blockchain. 

Burnt Banksy is leading a mission to democratize web3 for the masses and make digital ownership accessible to all by removing unnecessary barriers and complications through crypto abstraction. 

After launching the XION Blockchain, Burnt Banksy and his team secured a $25M funding round – with the goal of “making crypto disappear.” 

Burnt Banksy provided us valuable insights into topics related to Web3 adoption, crypto abstraction, ecosystem interoperability, and why he and XION’s investors believe that XION is the future of web3 abstraction.

XION aims to democratize web3 for the masses by removing unnecessary barriers and complications through crypto abstraction. Can you explain what crypto abstraction entails and how it translates into making digital ownership more accessible?

Crypto abstraction simply makes blockchain technology easy to use by hiding all the complicated stuff behind simple, user-friendly interfaces that they are already familiar with. It lets people interact with digital assets without needing to be tech experts. Features like meta-transactions, where someone else can pay the transaction fees for you, and familiar login methods make it super accessible.

Congratulations on securing a $25M funding round! Can you share more about how you plan to utilize this funding to further XION’s mission and what specific milestones you aim to achieve in the near future?

Thank you! We are at a pivotal point in the life of any startup, seeing great reception on our product. It is very clear that now is our time to scale what works. We have already been able to make key hires necessary for growth and plan to continue. We have seen our ecosystem grow exponentially and want to provide all resources for projects to thrive.

One of your goals is to “make crypto disappear.” What does this mean in practical terms for end-users, and how does this approach contribute to broader web3 adoption and accessibility?

 For so long crypto has grown in an echo chamber with immense barriers to entry where only the highly technical have access. In order to get the benefits of crypto, we need to tear down those walls that kept everyone out. People shouldn’t need to know anything to get the benefits of web3. Similar to how a user can scroll the internet without knowing the intricacies, making crypto disappear will allow this.

Ecosystem interoperability is crucial for the success of blockchain projects. How does XION ensure seamless interoperability with other blockchain ecosystems, and what role do you see this playing in the future of web3?

Interoperability is extremely important to us as we know that adoption is not something one team can tackle by themselves. Our approach is being collaborative with many other L1’s by providing chain abstraction to many different protocols. We have already seen success with Abstracted Interoperability demo applications on Neutron and Injective. Additionally, we have brought chain abstraction to Solana, AVAX, BNB, and more. 

There are many projects focused on making web3 more user-friendly. What sets XION apart from other initiatives in this space, and why do you and your investors believe that XION is the future of web3 abstraction?

I think we take a different, first principles approach through our chain abstraction by saying we are the first and only wallet less L1 chain. We have seen firsthand the pain points that wallets create and have proven out the immense benefits of replacing wallets with Smart Contract Accounts. Additionally, this allows us to be much more collaborative and interoperable as we boast a cryptographically signature agnostic interop plan. 

It’s definitely the combination of lots of things. Obviously, all the abstractions that enable a Web2 UI/UX (login with email, use apps directly on your phone, no gas fees for end users, no seed phrases, plugin complexities, etc.), are built into the protocol as well which reduces development complexities. We also take a very white-glove approach to the ecosystem, helping across marketing, product development, community building, fundraising and really working closely to support growth. We have a big marketing engine which has enabled ecosystem projects to jumpstart their communities, gain massive traction, visibility, and has translated also to access to top-tier investors for projects at the right stage. And the traction is there to support our approach, with over 2.5M users onboarded, over 40M transactions, an ecosystem of over 170+ projects, and brands such as Uber and the North Face completing extremely successful campaigns.