Tim Copeland, Editor-in-Chief of The Block, is joined by Ethan, Head of Developer Relations at Particle, Burnt Banksy, Founder and CEO of Xion, and Vishal Chawla, Head of Crypto Ecosystem at The Block, to discuss a new topic: chain abstractions in the third episode of “The Crypto Beat.”
Lee Sun explained that the definition and scope of chain abstraction is still being debated, but it generally means “eliminating the complexity associated with most on-chain interactions today, especially those involving multichains.” He noted that the complexity of having a user relationship to a particular blockchain and needing gas tokens and balances for each chain has now been “essentially removed.” Instead, users can use the apps they want in a Web2-like manner, which Lee Sun called “a really important evolutionary step for the ecosystem.”
Burnt Banksy echoed this sentiment, saying that the core goal of those working on chain abstractions is to make cryptocurrencies accessible to the average user without having to understand the intricacies of it. “He added that the main goal of those working on abstractions is to bring more users into the space.
Banksy added that after working in crypto for eight years, the current Xion testnet is the first one his parents have meaningfully interacted with. “I think there’s a lot of promise there,” Banksy said.
Both guests compared blockchain technology to Web2 infrastructure, noting that most users are unaware of the complex technologies behind popular apps and platforms. Ethan continued that it is up to the application developer to decide which blockchain to deploy.
“I think that it is a big part of the experience today., “It’s a sign of technology immaturity,” he said.
Burnt Banksy agreed with the importance of abstracting away these technical complexities, but said choosing blockchain should be an “advanced option” for those who want more choice and control.
“The question of how much abstraction to make is frankly less of a technical issue and more of a design decision,” he added.
When asked when abstraction projects will be released and start to see adoption, Ethan said many projects are “materializing much faster than most people think,” adding that “the general consensus is that many of these protocols will be releasing full mainnet solutions in Q4, before the end of the year.”
With many chain abstraction protocols set to launch in Q4 2024, Ethan and Bunt Banksy shared their thoughts on the impact chain abstraction could have in the short term. Ethan said he would like to see a million daily users interacting by 2025, and hopes that a “lightbulb moment” in crypto could soon occur, similar to what we’ve seen in AI recently, to drive adoption.
Not to be outdone, Burnt Banksy has set even higher expectations, saying he expects 45 million users, but admits that this number is unfounded. Banksy went on to say that the cryptocurrency space is currently limited by the number of users of MetaMask and other wallets.
“If we can overcome that, and I think chain abstraction is an amazing way to overcome that, then we can actually see this kind of rapid growth,” Bansky added.
You can watch the full third episode of The Crypto Beat below.
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