Three Key Truths About Crypto Assets Applications

Recently, the founder of World Company showcased its latest strategic plan, attracting widespread attention in the industry. While the move to enter the US market by leveraging policy advantages has garnered much focus, what is truly astonishing is their rapid penetration into mainstream consumer scenarios. This marks the official departure of Crypto Assets from its niche label, truly entering the fierce competition of everyday business.

World's strategy is quite bold: inviting the American public to obtain "real person certification" through iris scanning presents considerable challenges, and even promises to protect privacy may be difficult to persuade the public (and the timing may not yet be mature). However, they have quietly prepared well for this ambitious plan over the past three years.

1. Product value first, token incentives later.

World initially adopted traditional methods of incentivizing new users with tokens. This path, regarded as the "Bitcoin success model" and emulated by numerous projects, actually confuses cause and effect. World encountered issues during its early tests—excessive incentives did attract users, but also drew criticism from privacy advocates and some developers: "This is not real growth, but rather using profits to cover up problems."

The reason Bitcoin has developed to this day is that it has provided a revolutionary asset logic from the very beginning: decentralization, a fixed total supply, and immunity from central bank control. Indeed, miner rewards and price surges attracted early speculators, and later also drew in institutions and nations. However, what the true builders who remain value is its potential transformative nature as a brand new asset and payment system.

Most of those projects that simply imitated this model have now become "historical relics" in the crypto world.

The encryption field also needs to follow basic economic laws. Like any startup project, first develop a practical and feasible product, and then use tokens to solve initial promotion or ecological incentive issues. Otherwise, even the most refined economic model is just theoretical.

Blania raised three real issues this time: the dilemma of distinguishing between humans and machines in the fields of social interaction, gaming, and credit. He then demonstrated World’s "real person verification" system, explaining why it is worthwhile for users to obtain "real person identity" credentials through iris scanning.

In an era where AI is rapidly penetrating various fields, we will inevitably face the need for identity verification, and World is just one step ahead.

2. Responding to the "Infrastructure Reversal" Challenge

During the early crypto craze, we all participated enthusiastically. When I was designing the Bitcoin experiment at MIT, I optimistically believed that it would completely transform the payment and financial systems within two or three years. A decade has passed, and we have just begun.

To bring Crypto Assets to a broader market, it is necessary to meet the experience requirements that traditional users and merchants are accustomed to. This means building a bridge between old systems and new technologies. However, this bridge often requires making some compromises that are not ideal in the eyes of "encryption purists."

But this stage is unavoidable. We must go through an awkward period of "coexistence of the old and the new"—which Andreas Antonopoulos refers to as infrastructure inversion. Imagine this: dial-up internet occupying phone lines, the first car struggling on gravel roads; these scenarios do not sound harmonious.

This "technological transition period" makes it difficult for new systems to be widely promoted in the early stages, only able to serve as a supplement in specific areas, and unable to completely overthrow the existing system. The AI field is also facing a similar dilemma.

World initially tried to skip this stage by promoting tokens as the core directly. But the new version has completely changed the strategy: embracing "infrastructure reversal", returning to product usability, and moving more steadily and deeply.

Do not fantasize about creating a universally applicable wallet without connecting to existing systems. The deposit and withdrawal of funds must be as smooth as PayPal revolutionized online payments back in the day; otherwise, how can mainstream adoption be achieved?

This explains why the new version of the World App integrated mainstream payment systems as soon as it was launched. Trust, familiarity, and practicality, all in one step. It is precisely because it is willing to "be backward compatible" that it provides traditional financial institutions with the opportunity to observe and experiment, rather than being directly eliminated.

This approach is quietly driving the application of encryption technology in the field of cross-border payments. In the future, these technologies may become mainstream, but before that, they need to first "borrow the way forward" within the existing framework, gradually improve the process, and minimize friction to the greatest extent.

It is worth noting that many encryption mechanisms (including economic models) can only unleash their true power after scaling up. However, to achieve scaling, it is essential to attract user participation. If the basic user experience cannot be ensured, even the most perfect model will find it difficult to work.

3. The key to the success of encryption technology lies in practical applications.

As with all new technologies, the success of encryption technology is not guaranteed. Do not blindly trust overly optimistic predictions. More specifically, the core concept of "decentralization" in encryption technology and its most disruptive contribution has never been a done deal.

Stablecoin is a good example.

In order to connect with the traditional financial system, the crypto world has created such a tool that does solve some problems. However, new challenges have arisen: the issues of centralized management and closed networks have resurfaced.

I tend to believe that open architecture will ultimately prevail, but do not underestimate that those "vested interests" will not easily relinquish the market.

Blania and his team made a bold bet: they believe that users will value decentralized control over data, and they also believe that businesses will build better user experiences on this system. Once decentralized identity challenges the existing landscape, it will face tremendous resistance—centralized systems inherently have advantages in user experience and functionality.

Therefore, if World wants to achieve a shortcut, the primary task is to persuade users to be willing to provide their biometric data. The response from the U.S. market will quickly show whether they can find a balance between "privacy protection" and "convenience."

Of course, taking a gentler approach may be wiser: for example, first introducing a familiar "certification mark" that can unlock additional features in commonly used applications. There is no need to require users to directly face an iris scanning device right from the start. However, this practice may reduce the reliability of identity verification and could be easily abused or circumvented.

Blania's judgment may be correct. In this ongoing struggle with AI, only highly reliable biometric technology can truly provide unforgeable proof of real people. However, this does not mean that he cannot take a more gentle approach to avoid putting too much pressure on users from the very beginning.

In the short term, users vying for airdrop rewards may actively participate, but this incentive effect usually only lasts for a few days. Once the subsidy stops, the enthusiasm will quickly decline. Truly sustainable growth comes from the actual value in daily use, which is where their real opportunity lies.

If World App can attract users through an excellent payment experience, coupled with convenient channels for funds to enter and exit globally, then it may truly achieve a breakthrough.

Summary

At present, they have put all their chips on the table. Next, there is only one question we need to pay attention to:

Can encryption technology truly enter the mainstream market?

Regardless of whether World’s attempt is ultimately successful or not, I hope to see more Crypto Assets projects shift their focus from "token economics" and "price fluctuations" to developing products that have real practical value.

Because this transformation, although it may not be as eye-catching or as lively, is a crucial step that the entire industry must take to enter the mainstream market.