The Cryptonomist interviewed Jess Houlgrave, WalletConnect’s CEO and a crypto OG with over a decade of industry experience. With her we discussed how creating seamless experiences for both crypto veterans and newcomers is crucial to onboarding the next 100 million users.

With your extensive experience in the crypto industry, what do you see as the primary barriers preventing the next 100 million users from adopting cryptocurrency?

The primary barriers are usability and accessibility issues. As current solutions can be intimidating for newcomers and often lack intuitive user experiences, addressing these barriers should involve simplifying user interfaces, improving educational resources, and enhancing trust through transparent practices.

How is WalletConnect working to create seamless experiences for both seasoned crypto veterans and newcomers? Could you share specific features or initiatives aimed at bridging this gap?

WalletConnect empowers users to confidently engage with the decentralized web, regardless of their level of experience, by fostering a unified ecosystem that promotes ease of use and accessibility. Our focus on interoperability ensures compatibility across different blockchains, making interactions with decentralized applications as smooth as possible. We achieve this by continually expanding our support for various wallets and dApps, including ensuring they seamlessly integrate with our network. With a vast portfolio of web3 apps and wallets integrating WalletConnect, our platform is strongly positioned to be the leading UX platform for the new Internet.

User experience is often cited as a major hurdle in crypto adoption. What specific aspects of the current crypto user experience do you think need the most improvement, and how is WalletConnect addressing these issues?

Improving the crypto user experience is our top priority. A critical area is the complexity surrounding wallet setups and transaction processes. Many users find these processes daunting and confusing, which hinders broader adoption. At WalletConnect, we’re dedicated to simplifying these aspects by refining our user interface to be more intuitive and user-friendly. By reducing complexity and enhancing transparency in how users manage their crypto assets, we aim to make interacting with decentralized finance and applications accessible to everyone. One of our solutions to this is the launch of WalletGuide, an industry-first, community-focused initiative designed to highlight digital wallets that adhere to the highest UX and security standards, offering users and developers a comprehensive directory of wallets that excel in security, features, and quality.

Security is a major concern for both new and experienced crypto users. How does WalletConnect ensure the security of transactions and user data while maintaining ease of use?

We take an exhaustive approach to ensure that every transaction and interaction through WalletConnect is secure and trustworthy. This includes implementing robust end-to-end encryption protocols, conducting thorough and frequent audits of our protocols, and maintaining close collaboration with top-tier security experts. Our commitment to security is complemented by a seamlessly-integrated user experience that provides peace of mind for both new and experienced users navigating the decentralized ecosystem. Specifically, features like Swaps enable users to swap tokens seamlessly and securely in just a few clicks.

Education plays a crucial role in onboarding new users to the crypto space. What educational resources or programs does WalletConnect provide to help new users understand and navigate the complexities of cryptocurrency?

WalletConnect has worked hard to develop research reports, such as the WalletConnect Pulse, which breaks down the trends of what crypto consumers desire from blockchain technology overall. One key finding was that while more than 50% of crypto users express a high level of confidence using web3 products, only 27% regularly use added security measures. This points to the importance of further education on existing security measures.

Looking ahead, what trends or innovations in the crypto industry do you believe will be most significant in attracting the next wave of users, and how is WalletConnect positioning itself to capitalize on these trends?

In other findings from the WalletConnect Pulse, the top 3 crypto experiences consumers are looking for currently include the desire for more NFTs, more web3 social and messaging avenues, and more community and governance models. While this report only boasts one sample size, it is a useful metric to gauge what future developments may arise in the future of blockchain technology.

WalletConnect is continuously seeking new ways to simplify the adoption of blockchain technology by increasing the use of more familiar language. As the Web3 space remains fairly young in comparison to Web2, there exists too much technical jargon which can overwhelm the crypto curious. At WalletConnect, we strongly believe that the adoption of the new internet requires a solid focus on user experience (UX). As we improve said UX, we believe that the education for both developers and users will be easier to digest.

Can you discuss any recent updates or upcoming features for WalletConnect that users should be excited about? How do these enhancements contribute to the overall mission of simplifying crypto interactions?

WalletConnect just launched a program for its upcoming WalletGuide and WalletConnect Certified feature, to go live in September. This is an industry-first, community-focused initiative that is designed to showcase digital wallets that meet the highest UX and security standards, providing users and developers with a comprehensive directory of wallets known for their security, features, and quality. Some of our initial collaborators include top names like MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Kraken, Ledger, Magic Eden, 1inch, OKX, Crypto.com, and Bitget among others. More wallets are expected to join before the platform’s launch in September.
Since the start of the year, we have been consistently progressing toward our goal to evolve the WalletConnect Network into a fully permissionless network operated by a community of infrastructure providers. 

This decentralized infrastructure will allow anyone and anywhere to self-host, while the architecture of the network — from rewards to staking — will be structured in a way that ensures that those running a node and contributing toward the function of the network will have equal incentives and intent to maintain its speed, security, and overall performance at all times.

In addition, the WalletConnect Network has surpassed its original goal over the past five years in establishing paths of interoperability where none existed. Millions of users across 6,000+ applications and 600+ wallets today are now able to connect and experience web3 reliably and securely. More updates to our decentralization roadmap will be available in September.