Blocto: The Key for Web2.0 Users to Enter Web3.0

Author: Lu Chang

In 1989, physicist Timothy Berners-Lee, working at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), created a project that combined hypertext systems with the internet. This was a hypertext-based project designed to facilitate researchers in sharing and updating information. In December of the same year, Tim officially named his invention the World Wide Web, or WWW as we know it. This groundbreaking invention marked the dawn of a new era for the internet, and we began our journey of surfing the web as we know it today.

（The world's first webpage）

In the primordial era of the internet, web pages were composed purely of characters. Even today, HTML still dominates web pages. As we gradually entered the Web 2.0 era, the demand for user experience in interactive web services increased significantly. The rise of social networks and various online services ushered people into a true internet age. New professions such as product managers and UX designers, which did not exist in the early internet era, began to emerge, and user experience became increasingly important in the design of internet products.

Now, the internet is evolving towards the era of Web 3.0 at an unprecedented speed, with the application of blockchain technology sparking innovation in the internet. In the rapidly developing world of blockchain, technological advancements are happening daily, and in this technology-driven world, the emphasis on user experience seems to be far less than in the Web 2.0 era.

"User Experience" is the Biggest Challenge for Blockchain Adoption

In a rapidly iterating field, people tend to prioritize efficiency first, while usability may take a back seat. In the world of blockchain, where a large number of assets can flow freely, considerations such as security, TPS, and capital utilization come into play, further relegating the importance of usability.

The account system without "username/password," the need to securely store complex private keys with no regularity, the confusing blockchain explorers, and even the requirement for users to check contracts to mint NFTs themselves make the user experience quite unfriendly for newcomers transitioning from Web 2.0. This high learning cost is also one of the objective reasons limiting the public's entry into the blockchain world.

Li Xuan, co-founder of Blocto, stated: "Many people have heard of blockchain, but very few actually use it. The reason is that everyone finds it difficult to use and technically complex, while blockchain technology also lacks the 'must-use' appeal."

How can we encourage end-users to approach blockchain technology? In the design of blockchain and Web 3.0 products, better user experience should be a greater focus for the industry. Product design should "focus on the user" and "design with the user at the center." In actual product design, designers often need to make trade-offs in usability. In the balance between efficiency and usability, Blocto may provide a model for the industry.

Blocto focuses on solving user experience issues in the blockchain world, allowing project teams to integrate the Blocto SDK to help users quickly get started in a short time. From wallets and DEX to the currently popular NFTs, users can enter the crypto world with the ease of Web 2.0.

Taking the Blocto wallet as an example, Blocto has rebuilt the user system of the Web 2.0 era in terms of user experience. Ordinary users can log into the wallet simply by registering with their email address, significantly lowering the entry barrier for blockchain newcomers. However, this does not mean that users cannot control their private keys. To cater to different user needs, users can switch their wallets from a custodial mode to a non-custodial mode in the settings and manage their private keys themselves.

（Users can choose different account systems）

Blocto uses a simple and consistent interface, allowing users to easily buy, transfer, and use thousands of different cryptocurrencies without needing to understand the complex underlying mechanisms. Originally, blockchain applications were quite obscure and complex. However, Blocto's clever design enables anyone to get started and use blockchain applications within a minute, without any prior blockchain knowledge.

In August of this year, Blocto collaborated with xtingles, resulting in over 70,000 new users claiming "Blocto ASMR NFTs," which also demonstrates Blocto's strong traffic and customer acquisition capabilities.

Experience Smart Contracts and DApps Without Gas Fees

Blockchain is a new world full of opportunities, but new users can easily get lost in it. Blocto provides users with the same ease of use as traditional internet services. Not only in the user system, but Blocto also offers a Web 2.0-like "surfing the web" experience in DApp interactions.

For users, regardless of how advanced or complex the technology is, the user perception should be simple and clear. Just like the World Wide Web of the Web 2.0 era, internet users do not need to understand the underlying HTML rendering, JavaScript VM, and other fundamentals that support page operations, yet they can still freely navigate the online world. Blocto achieves this by hiding the technology behind blockchain in its design, providing users with a friendly and easy-to-use environment, where they do not need to understand complex public keys, private keys, gas fees, and other foundational knowledge.

In Blocto, users only need to log in with their email to interact with DApps. An even more interesting design is Blocto Points. In the current smart contract interactions, every transaction requires gas fees. For ordinary users, the logic of needing to pay for every operation severely violates the usage habits established since the Web 2.0 era. More critically, each public chain has different tokens to pay for gas fees, and just familiarizing oneself with and storing various gas fees across different chains can be a daunting task for new users. This may be the biggest obstacle to DApp promotion.

Have you ever thought about what if someone could help you pay for gas? Thanks to the mechanism of the Flow chain itself, this idea can be realized. Blocto Points serve as a built-in universal gas fee payment method within the Blocto wallet, and new users can receive them for free. Blocto integrates the functionality of gas fee payment on behalf of users, allowing Blocto Points to pay for any transfer or interaction's gas fees.

（Users can choose to pay with Blocto Points or Crypto）

This also means that when users perform operations on the chain, they do not need to know which blockchain the application is based on, which network to switch to, or which token to use as fuel fees, in order to interact with smart contracts. For new users, this greatly optimizes their user experience, allowing them to enter the blockchain world without incurring any costs.

With the gas fee payment system of the Blocto wallet, the Blocto SDK embodies the ultimate form of login experience. The Blocto SDK is an easy-to-integrate suite that allows developers to provide the most user-friendly account system at minimal cost. Currently, projects on the Flow chain, such as Vault by CNN, MotoGP Ignition, VIV3, and most others have already integrated it, while SDK suites for blockchains like Solana, Ethereum, and BSC have also been opened for integration.

(Login interface of MotoGP Ignition integrated with Blocto SDK)

In addition to Blocto Points, users can also use BLT tokens to pay for gas fees. BLT is issued by Blocto and serves as both a functional token and a governance token, forming the foundation of the Blocto ecosystem and serving as an important link between the wallet, Blocto products, and users.

BLT holders can enjoy additional advantages and benefits when using Blocto products, such as being able to create their own cross-chain liquidity pools in Blocto Balancer and customize transaction fees and asset allocation ratios, while non-BLT holders can only join existing asset pools without the convenience of "customization." Additionally, BLT can also participate in staking and more features exclusive to BLT holders will be rolled out in the future.

The Blocto Ecosystem is Gradually Established, Far Beyond Just a Wallet

Blocto is not just a multi-chain wallet; it is currently the first and only mobile wallet supporting the Flow blockchain. Flow is a fast, decentralized, and developer-friendly blockchain designed to lay the foundation for the next generation of games, applications, and digital assets. Notable projects currently running on the Flow blockchain include NBA Top Shot and MotoGP Ignition.

Blocto currently operates Flow nodes, with over 70% of token delegators choosing to stake, and Blocto's nodes are also the fourth largest node operator in the network, with the number of users joining the nodes increasing daily. Additionally, Blocto has received development grants from Solana and Serum.

Since Blocto integrates multiple public chains, developers can utilize Blocto's SDK tools for development and reach the largest potential user base within a vast ecosystem. Within the Blocto ecosystem, Blocto also offers various products such as DEX, NFT marketplace, automated market-making protocols, and yield pools:

• BloctoSwap is currently the only decentralized trading platform on the Flow blockchain, and it is also the only channel through which funds can enter Flow on-chain.

• Blocto NFT Marketplace is an open trading market for NFTs on the Flow chain. Currently, dApps on the Flow chain are more favored by traditional markets, such as NBA Top Shot, MotoGP Ignition, and Vault by CNN.

• Blocto Balancer is a cross-chain automated market-making protocol where users can deposit assets and earn transaction fees when other users trade. Based on existing cross-chain trading and asset management mechanisms, Blocto will continue to expand the use of Balancer, including blockchains like Ethereum, Tron, Flow, and Solana, to enhance the Blocto ecosystem.

• Blocto Vault is a decentralized yield-sharing fund pool within the Blocto ecosystem. Its earnings come from its products, including Blocto Swap, Blocto Balancer, and future products selected through Blocto's evaluations and strategic partnerships. A portion of the earnings will flow into Blocto Vault in various forms of tokens.

In May of this year, Blocto completed an $8 million private placement "sale." This financing was led by Animoca Brands, with participation from Rally founder Kevin Chou, Alameda Research, Dapper Labs CEO Roham Gharegozlou, 500 Startups, SushiSwap CTO Joseph Delong, Quantstamp CEO Richard Ma, CMS Holdings, Animal Ventures, EVG, SNZ, BTC12 Capital, Continue Capital, Divergence Ventures, Origin Capital, Altonomy, Versus, 7xVC, LD Capital, Axia8 Ventures, Krypital, Waterdrop Capital, and Dealean Capital.

From wallets, decentralized trading platforms, NFT trading markets, providing user-friendly interfaces and convenient functions; to incentivizing the ecosystem through the BLT token, fostering mutual growth between developers and users, Blocto aims to create a complete and user-friendly blockchain ecosystem, helping more mainstream users transition from the traditional internet to the world of blockchain.