Coinbase Makes Another Splash, Consumer Crypto Apps May Lead the Next Decade
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Coinbase Makes Another Splash, Consumer Crypto Apps May Lead the Next Decade
Over the next decade, crypto applications will permeate every aspect of culture.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Nick Tomaino
Compiled by: TechFlow
Introduction
Yesterday, Coinbase announced a new app designed to simplify how users manage their on-chain wallets and activities. For Coinbase, this new app represents another step toward its goal of becoming a "super app" similar to China's WeChat.
Crypto applications have long struggled to break out beyond niche markets into the mainstream. So how can consumer-facing crypto apps successfully achieve mass adoption? This article explores that question and shares key insights and lessons.
Main Content
I firmly believe that over the next decade, crypto applications will permeate all aspects of culture.
The past decade was primarily focused on deep technology and finance. But in the coming ten years, we’ll see consumer crypto apps merging with news, politics, sports, health/fitness, music, live video, podcasts, and more. These apps will become some of the most useful and valuable ever built.
This view contradicts many capital allocators who continue pouring money into unoriginal zero-sum products.
While the market speculates on the 69th scalable L1 or yield-bearing stablecoin, developers are quietly building products that drive new consumer behaviors—products that will help us reach over a billion users and benefit the world.
Through early involvement with several successful consumer apps bridging crypto and culture (such as @coinbase, @opensea, @Polymarket, and @dYdX), I’ve learned valuable lessons.
If you’re thinking about building the next generation of cutting-edge consumer crypto apps, these four insights might be helpful:
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Success doesn’t happen overnight—focus on something you truly believe in, not just making money, and stick with it for years.
Polymarket was repeatedly seen as doomed to fail, but founder @shayne_coplan and his team remained convinced that prediction markets could surface more truth. They faced numerous obstacles that would have deterred most people, but a deeper belief beyond financial gain helped them persevere.
In 2024, Polymarket surpassed $423 million in trading volume and played a significant role in the U.S. presidential election. Belief and persistence eventually pay off.
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The intersection between purists and tourists is crucial.
Coinbase has skillfully navigated the balance between purists and casual users for over a decade. If a product is too pure, it remains niche and struggles to break through. While a small group may appreciate its historical depth and nuances, building solely for purists limits market size.
If a product is too tourist-oriented, people may briefly enjoy it before quickly moving on—easy come, easy go. In 2012, @brian_armstrong made the early design decision to offer custodial wallets because he believed non-custodial wallets hindered mass-market growth. That decision helped Coinbase become a publicly traded company with a market cap exceeding $50 billion.
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Deeply understand your users and market culture.
When OpenSea launched in 2018, despite other NFT marketplaces raising more funds and attracting bigger-name investors, OpenSea still stood out.
This was because @dfinzer and @xanderatallah didn’t care about artificial prestige or crafting fictional company narratives—they focused purely on building a useful product. They spoke with every NFT creator, attended every NFT event, and understood the culture more deeply than competitors. Don’t be fooled by surface-level stories; dig deeper, and you’ll outlast those playing superficial games.
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Block out existing tribal noise and build your own tribe.
Truly useful applications don’t need to cater to any existing group—they can create their own. dYdX exemplifies this. @AntonioMJuliano and his team started within the Ethereum ecosystem, then launched an L2 powered by StarkEx, and later introduced the dYdX chain built on Cosmos SDK—a path that may become increasingly common.
Once you’ve proven your application’s utility, you can launch your own chain with full autonomy, rather than surrendering significant control and value to existing chains.
Consumer crypto apps from the past decade have already been fascinating—but I believe the next ten years will be 100x more exciting.
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