Web3 keeps building. But the people aren’t coming. Not because the products are bad, but because no one can find or use them.
The space is drowning in technical talent and product innovation: rollups, zkEVMs, modular stacks, account abstraction. Yet adoption remains stuck in the low millions. The harsh truth? Web3 doesn’t have a technology problem. It has a distribution problem.
Until that’s solved, the most groundbreaking protocols will remain tools for insiders only, never reaching the scale their builders imagined.
Why Web3 User Journeys Are Broken
Imagine trying to use Uber, but first needing to:
- Learn how GPS works
- Pick a mobile network
- Install a SIM card
- Understand how towers connect you to your driver
- Pay in a different currency in each city you visit
That’s what Web3 looks like today. It’s not usable. It’s an escape room. And most people will give up long before they get to the ride. In Web2, builders focus on features. In Web3, they’re forced to build an entire ecosystem before a user even touches their product.
Web2 Distribution vs. Web3 Disillusionment
Take a developer with an idea: a mood-based journaling app that suggests music.
In Web2, the flow is simple:
- Build an MVP with frameworks and APIs
- Publish on the App Store or Google Play
- Rely on built-in discovery — search, store promos, ASO
- Focus on product, not onboarding users to “the internet”
In Web3, that same builder is immediately crushed by complexity:
- What chain to build on? Ethereum, Celo, Base, Optimism, Avalanche, Bitcoin L2s?
- Browser-based or mobile-native?
- Abstract gas fees or make users pay?
- What wallet? Do users even know what a wallet is?
And if by some miracle a user shows interest, the drop-offs begin:
- Educating them on wallets
- Getting them to “connect”
- Teaching approvals, gas fees, token allowances
Each step is a drop-off point that most will never make it past.
Fragmentation: A Feature for Chains, a Bug for Users
Diversity of chains is one of Web3’s greatest strengths — and also its biggest weakness. Every chain claims superiority, every wallet ecosystem a world unto itself. Docs, standards, tokens, rituals.
For developers, this is noise. For users, it’s paralysis. Instead of building for humans, we’ve built for each other. Most people don’t care about chains. They care about outcomes; Can they earn money, buy food, send money, play games, invest, or save? Everything else is overhead. That’s why distribution, not tech, will decide the next wave of adoption.
Decentralization Is Not Distribution
Web3 has confused decentralization with accessibility. Decentralization is a feature. Distribution is a system. They are not the same.
We’ve glorified composability, permissionlessness, and dev tooling while ignoring usability. We’ve built brilliant primitives and then locked them behind gated gardens of complexity.
In Web2, hyperscalers (Apple, Google, Meta, Amazon) own the rails. Developers plug in and focus on solving real problems. In Web3, developers are the rails. Every dApp is a mini infrastructure project. The result? Builders burn out. Users never arrive. Innovation plateaus.
History: Tech Doesn’t Win Alone. Distribution Does.
The most successful technologies weren’t the first or even the “best.” They were the ones who solved the distribution.
- The iPhone wasn’t the first smartphone, but it combined usability with the App Store — a distribution machine.
- Spotify didn’t invent streaming, but it mastered discovery, sharing, and effortless access.
- Facebook wasn’t the first social network, but real-name policies and smart distribution tactics fueled exponential growth.
- Netflix didn’t invent video streaming — it removed friction, putting movies directly into homes.
Every case proves the same point: innovation isn’t enough. Removing friction is what scales.
Web3 keeps building a better mousetrap while forgetting to ask: Where are the users? How will they find it? Will they even know how to use it?
What Web3 Needs: A Distribution Layer
Just as app stores unlocked mobile, Web3 needs a distribution-first layer:
- Aggregating usable apps in one place
- Offering smooth, mobile-first UX
- Abstracting chain complexity and wallet logistics
- Letting developers build once and reach millions
This is how the next billion users will arrive. Not by choosing between zkEVMs and modular rollups, but by using apps that just work.
The Hyperscalers Are Emerging
We’re already seeing the first platforms step into this role:
- MiniPay: A stablecoin wallet already used by millions. Launched first as an in-browser embed, putting crypto into the hands of millions of users overnight. A literal cash app with butter smooth UX, integrated fiat <> crypto ramps, abstracted gas, and a growing Mini App ecosystem, it turns stablecoins into usable money. Users don’t need to know what stablecoins, wallets, or even transaction signing is; they just save, pay bills, buy data, and send money. No friction, no crash course in DeFi.
- World App handles custody behind the scenes and offers an interface closer to Venmo than MetaMask. Its Mini App directory gives users plug-and-play access to dApps without the hurdles. The crypto layer fades into the background.
- Telegram Wallet, by embedding directly into Telegram, TON transforms the messenger into a super app. Distribution is automatic: hundreds of millions of users gain crypto access without ever leaving the platform.
These aren’t “wallets.” They’re distribution rails.
The Misaligned Incentives Problem
Builder incentives today are skewed toward grants, hackathons, and “ecosystem funds.” These reward innovation, not distribution. Too many apps shine on demo day but die in obscurity, never reaching beyond developer circles.
What builders really need isn’t prize money. It’s access to users. Platforms like MiniPay prove this by embedding Mini Apps directly into a wallet used by millions. That’s not infrastructure for its own sake; it’s a path to traction.
Conclusion
The promise of Web3 was always about access. But we’ve built a new internet where the entry fee is technical fluency. That’s not access, it’s exclusion. It’s time to shift focus: from infrastructure to interface, from primitives to products, from decentralization alone to distribution plus usability.
Because at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how decentralized your app is if no one ever uses it. And no one will use it until they can find it, understand it, and trust it.
Web3 doesn’t just need better chains. It needs better distributors.