Web3 Technology Challenges

🚨POV: Enterprise teams trying to work with Blockchain & Crypto in 2023… 🤦🏻♂️I’ve been working with decentralised technology and enterprises for 8 years now. And it STILL isn’t easy to deploy DApps and NFTs event though the tech is ‘mature’ 🏀There’s still a bunch of hoops (sorry) that companies need to jump through from internal process perspectives… 👩🏽⚖️…and we STILL don’t have stable and predictable regulation on digital assets, crypto transactions and compliance in most countries today (though many are trying) 💥We even have some nations proposing to ‘wage war’ against crypto. Waging war against code. In 2023!… 📄 Here’s a list of some of the biggest challenges I’ve seen to enterprises using decentralised applications, launching digital assets or NFTs: - Cost of internal process change - Lack of objective business case - Ego of senior leaders - Lack of technical talent - Unclear regulation across multiple jurisdictions where companies operate - Inability to drive network effect - Hype cycle moved to another technology - Key management seemed too hard - Fear of transparency 🙋🏽♂️That last one is the one that worries me a LOT. And is the reason I joined Midnight… 🤬We are using apps today where sensitive data is ingested and monetised in huge volumes. Companies are being pressured to have their operations (not just finances) audited, yet are publishing their results through press releases from Marketing teams. And sensitive data continues to leak on a daily basis… ⛓️Blockchain and DApps can improve a lot of business’s and individuals’ issues with technology today. We just need to make it easier and remove the barriers. 🧠 We need to provide Web3 transparency, compliance with regulations, AND protection of sensitive data and metadata. Together. What’s your biggest blocker to Blockchain adoption? And how do we fix it? 🚀🌔 #blockchain #technology #management #innovation #sustainability

𝙎𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙒𝙚𝙗3 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙥𝙨 – 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙊𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙢 Web3 startups have massive potential, but many struggle to scale beyond the early adopter phase. Unlike traditional startups, they face unique challenges around infrastructure, user experience, regulation, and token models. Here are some biggest hurdles – and how to overcome them: 🔹 User Adoption: Web3 is still too complex for mainstream users. Setting up wallets, managing private keys, and dealing with gas fees create friction. ✅ Solution: Improve UX with embedded wallets, gasless transactions, and intuitive onboarding. Web3 should feel as seamless as Web2. 🔹 Blockchain Scalability: Many networks struggle with high fees and slow speeds, making it hard for dApps to scale. ✅ Solution: Leverage Layer-2 solutions, explore alternative blockchains, and optimize on-chain/off-chain interactions for efficiency. 🔹 Tokenomics & Sustainability: Many projects launch with unsustainable token incentives, leading to price crashes once rewards dry up. ✅ Solution: Design token models with real utility beyond speculation and create long-term incentives for both users and investors. 🔹 Regulatory Uncertainty: Constantly changing rules make compliance a moving target, creating risks for startups. ✅ Solution: Work with legal experts early, choose jurisdictions wisely, and build a compliance-first approach to avoid future roadblocks. 🔹 Go-To-Market Strategy: Many Web3 projects rely solely on community hype, but a strong community doesn’t always mean sustainable revenue. ✅ Solution: Combine Web3-native growth (DAOs, token incentives) with proven Web2 marketing strategies (SEO, performance ads, partnerships). 🚀 The future belongs to startups that seamlessly integrate Web3 technologies into everyday life—without users having to think about wallets, gas fees, or blockchain protocols. What did I miss?

Since 2018, I have seen so many Blockchain companies fail because of the wrong go-to-market strategy. Not because the tech was bad or the team wasn’t strong. But because GTM in Blockchain behaves very differently from traditional startups. Sometimes, you don’t even know what you’re doing, and it works. Other times, you plan endlessly, and nothing moves. You can't blindly follow the most popular strategy. Most Blockchain companies fail by following generalized advice. “Events don’t work for Web3.” That’s wrong. Events work extremely well for meme coins. They create culture, hype, and social proof. But the same events do almost nothing for enterprise blockchain or trust infrastructure companies. Same mistake with channels. Twitter is powerful for narratives and momentum. But almost useless for selling enterprise trust. Rare cases exist in every industry* LinkedIn feels slow and boring. Yet it’s where serious conviction gets built. The biggest mistake? In Blockchain, GTM is not about shouting louder. It’s about choosing where to show up, and why. Defining your own unique distribution. Channels. Attention paths. Where belief is actually formed. What’s the most expensive GTM mistake you’ve seen in Web3? #Crypto #Web3 #Blockchain

One of the biggest mistakes I see Web3 Founders making 👇 Trying to copy the tactics and strategies that worked for other companies ⚠️ This is a fundamentally flawed approach and will almost always end with disappointing results & missed targets 📉 The most successful Web3 companies approach their growth initiatives by creating a unique roadmap based on: ✅Defining their target customers ✅Mapping their customer journey ✅Picking relevant channels ✅Working backwards to align their approach to these inputs Launching copy/paste campaigns that aim to replicate others’ success will NEVER produce the results you are looking for and has the potential to HURT your brand. Taking the time to tailor your Web3 growth marketing strategy to your brand is one of the most worthwhile investments you could make as a founder 🥇

Takeaway for founders and top managers: Web3 risk is rarely in one place. It is in the handoffs. Every layer introduces a different kind of failure: - UI creates expectation and timing; - Wallet defines identity and consent; - Backend enforces policy and orchestrates retries; - Smart contracts guarantee execution but not user understanding. If those handoffs are not designed explicitly, you get the same business outcome: slow delivery, unpredictable costs and reliability issues that look like “user error” but are actually architecture debt. I summarized the full stack and the practical boundaries in this guide: https://lnkd.in/e7-3unnv If you had to pick one risk to de-risk first, what would it be: onboarding, data consistency, or infrastructure reliability? #Web3 #Blockchain #ProductStrategy #SoftwareArchitecture #Founders #CTO #SystemDesign #EngineeringLeadership #Web3Development

The payments gap between Web2 and Web3 is getting very narrow, but we're not completely there yet. I’ve spent years in both worlds, and I can tell you this: Web3 users just want the same experience they get with Web2. Someone buys something on Amazon, they tap a button, the payment happens, and they're done. They don't think about the payment processor, the settlement layer, or whatever bank is involved. It's invisible. I built Coinflow after seeing how complex crypto payments were scaring away normal users. Our fantasy sports app had great features, but onboarding killed us - making people fund wallets, understand gas fees, etc. That was a huge pain point. Traditional payment networks like Visa or ACH take 2-5 days to settle funds. Meaning when an Uber driver gets paid by a customer, they're waiting days for that money. But with stablecoins we can settle payments instantly. The key is, users don't need to know this is happening. Reddit onboarded millions of users to NFTs by never using the word "NFT" - they called them "digital collectibles" and handled all the blockchain stuff behind the scenes. NBA Top Shot let people buy digital moments with credit cards, not crypto. The wallet was just... a wallet. This is what I've learned building payment infrastructure: 1. End users care about speed and simplicity 2. Instant settlement is the killer feature, the native token isn’t very important  3. The best Web3 UX is literally just Web2 UX When merchants can receive money instantly rather than waiting days, it's game-changing for their business. We've seen clients in marketplaces and games increase conversion rates by 30%+ just by making blockchain invisible. If you're building in Web3, focus on what blockchain actually solves (settlement, security, cross-border payments) but present it in Web2 clothing. Our best integrations are ones where the user can't tell they're using blockchain at all. The future is about better payment infrastructure that looks exactly like something people already understand.

Technical Web3 founders move fast, but institutional capital demands infrastructure controls. At Decasonic, we see this gap widening as projects rush to scale without core institutional requirements. Three essentials for bridging Web3's technical-institutional divide: 1️⃣ Role-based access control - Institutions require permission layers that map to organizational hierarchies. Pure decentralization without controls limits institutional participation. 2️⃣ Transaction logging - Detailed audit trails aren't optional features. They're foundational infrastructure that validates system stability and enables real-time monitoring. 3️⃣ Automated compliance reporting - Institutions need programmatic ways to verify activity, assess risk exposure, and demonstrate oversight. Manual reporting doesn't scale. Love it or hate it: Web3 infrastructure must evolve past the "move fast and break things" mindset. Projects that build institutional controls early unlock deeper pools of capital. Those that delay risk getting left behind as institutional standards mature. This transformation won't be easy, but it's essential for mainstream Web3 adoption. The platforms that nail both technical innovation and institutional requirements will lead the next wave. #web3 #blockchain #venturecapital

FIFA is migrating blockchains A perfect example of how short-term decisions can destroy UX and scalability FIFA previously launched an NFT collection on the Algorand chain. Algorand is non-EVM, which means it is cut off from 85% of the web3 metaverse, including the tooling, liquidity/spending power, data, etc. of that massive network. Unlike in web2, changing underlying technology in the blockchain world has significant and potentially catastrophic user implications. If Netflix changed its hosting from AWS to Google Cloud, users would never know the difference. Switching from a non-EVM chain to an EVM chain requires user engagement, user attrition, lack of trust, loss of funds/assets, and more. This is true not just for the base layer blockchain technology, but also the middle layer solutions that will make or break the security, scalability, and commercial success for company's onchain strategies. Companies are STILL making decisions today that do not pass the sniff test of best practices. Even in this immature market, there are Dos and Don'ts that are easily diligences and addressed: Choosing custodial wallets that market themselves as non-custodial like a (despite very public hacks and loss of funds—would you choose AWS if it was exploited on a regular daily basis?) not only carries insane security risks but also regulatory ones. Opting for fragmented, closed source, and under-featured technology means lack of long-term viability, choppy user experiences, and worse. These are the decisions that are killing the potential of web3 every single day. Wasting capital, delaying launches, screwing users. It's insane that we are still here this many years into the market. My advice to all developers, enterprises, and users: do your research. Hacks, exploits, commercial failures in web3 are KNOWABLE, public things. For brands and companies making bets on chains: understand the compatibility with the technology that is governing the vast majority of the market. Look at their tooling capabilities. Understand their level of support. If we want this industry to amount to anything, the repeated mistakes have got to stop.

Building a crypto foundation? Here's what I wish I knew 4 years ago. 🚀 After 4 years leading the Stacks Foundation, I've been reflecting on what I'd do differently if I were to start over. It's not easy to admit, but I've made my share of mistakes. Most could be resolved but spent valuable time or resources that I wish we could get back. Thoughts ranged from personal "how did I not understand this from day one" to communal "how did my lawyers/advisors miss it too?" But here's the thing: my story isn't unique. I've heard countless similar experiences behind closed doors. Sharing these stories in private helps people feel less isolated, but it doesn't stop the next foundation from stumbling into the same pitfalls. The Challenge: Optimizing Foundation Structure for Long-term Success We all know that building in Web3 isn't just about innovative tech or a strong whitepaper. It's about creating an organizational structure that can navigate the unique challenges of the crypto landscape while driving meaningful progress. Even for seasoned professionals, getting this right from the start can be tricky. For those of you leading or considering launching a web3 foundation, here are some key insights that could save you significant time and resources. Common Pitfalls from my experience and peers: • Defaulting to offshore incorporation without fully considering the implications • Underestimating the importance of structured community involvement • Lack of transparency in goal-setting and progress reporting • Inadequate preparation for the inevitable disruptions in our space • Failure to create long term and diversified treasury plans These aren't just beginner's mistakes - they're traps that even experienced teams can fall into when scaling quickly or navigating new regulatory landscapes. Key Strategies for Improvement Based on my experience, here are five strategies I'd implement from day one if I were to restart: • 🏛️ Incorporate as a 501c3 in the US (or offshore if all team is offshore) • 👥 Implement structured community working groups • 📊 Adopt public tertile reporting • 🛡️ Integrate disruption planning into OKRs • 💰 Build a strong financial position I'm curious to hear your thoughts. Have you implemented similar strategies? What other approaches have you found effective in structuring and scaling your foundations? Want to learn more? Follow me on Substack, link in the comments to learn more. Also, look out for Chainmakers podcast launching soon. We’ll take a look at world class web3 operators in the fastest growing companies.

If your dev team feels behind in Web3... They probably are. But not for the reasons you think. Here’s what’s really going on: 1/ They’re building like it’s Web2 ↳ Smart contracts aren’t APIs ↳ Decentralization isn’t a plugin ↳ You need a new playbook 2/ No clear product ownership ↳ Everyone has input ↳ No one owns direction ↳ DAO chaos kills momentum 3/ The tech stack is half-baked ↳ Feels like beta software ↳ More bugs, more custom code ↳ No safety net 4/ Security isn’t optional ↳ Web2 = patch it later ↳ Web3 = lose millions instantly ↳ Slows down every launch 5/ They’re not “on-chain fluent” ↳ Gas fees, wallets, bridges ↳ If they don’t speak Web3, ↳ They’ll keep building the wrong thing 6/ Slow feedback loops ↳ No support tickets here ↳ Users vote, post, vanish ↳ Teams can’t read the signals 7/ They’re burned out from the hype ↳ Every sprint feels like a moonshot ↳ Noise, pivots, pressure ↳ Velocity crashes The fix? It’s not “hire more engineers.” It’s: • Train for Web3 fluency • Redesign your process for clarity • Build for the world you’re in - not the one you came from If your team’s struggling to catch up, you don’t need more hands. You need a better system. 🔔 Follow David Robinson for more tech insights and dev team strategies