Getting grandmas to complete cross-chain transactions: The challenges of mass adoption

A blockchain project has unveiled a raft of new features in its quest to make this technology accessible — live in a Cointelegraph ask-me-anything session.

During the YouTube broadcast, ARK’s co-founder Travis Walker and senior brand manager Justin Renken said there are big challenges in ensuring blockchain is easy to use for the greatest number of people — and revealed upcoming products in their roadmap that could prove crucial in unlocking greater levels of mainstream adoption. 

One of the most intriguing platforms that will soon be released in public beta is MarketSquare — a social platform that’s designed to connect users and developers with the blockchain-powered projects and businesses that can help them build communities. 

Renken said that MarketSquare is going to be a “pretty big deal” within the ARK ecosystem, and will serve as a springboard for forming strategic relationships and bringing the entire industry together. Already, ARK has been reaching out to a broad range of organizations as the platform — dubbed “the new homepage for the decentralized web” — nears launch.

He told Cointelegraph’s Rachel Wolfson: “It’s a cooler version of LinkedIn for the crypto and blockchain industries. Users and developers who want to discover real services that they can use with blockchain can do that and connect with their favorite projects and businesses.”

And when asked how MarketSquare will be different from other crypto-focused sites, such as CoinMarketCap, Renken explained: “With Market Square, we’re focusing on utility first. What you can specifically do with different crypto assets, with blockchain assets, which DApps are running on which networks, and organizing that information so that someone with a specific interest set can access all of the real services that would interest them quickly and easily.”

The senior brand manager expressed hope that it will spark a journey of discovery for crypto enthusiasts — enriching lives and opening up the blockchain world in a new way.

Powerful features, easy design

Another feature that ARK is championing right now is Deployer — a free and easy-to-use blockchain creation tool that features dozens of customizable parameters. Full deployment can be achieved in under an hour, and configurations can be managed through a web-based interface.

“ARK is the simplest way to blockchain. We’re building a platform of cohesive products that allow users and developers to harness blockchain technology in the easiest and simplest way possible — and the fastest,” Renken added. 

According to Walker, ARK serves as a great alternative to Ethereum from a transaction standpoint — with extremely low fees, custom transaction creation and no need for smart contracts.

Demystifying blockchain

During the hour-long interview, both Walker and Renken acknowledged that the entire blockchain sector faces challenges when it comes to adoption.

Walker said: “Interoperability itself is a huge issue. The user side of it, not just the backend — making things easy to use and getting your grandma to complete a cross-chain transaction by clicking a button instead of researching what that even means. That’s a huge hurdle in the industry that I see right now.”

Renken agreed and revealed that ARK has now compiled a glossary of over 300 blockchain terms to welcome newcomers who are learning about the industry — with short, concise videos that explain things simply.

He added: “Every time you read one sentence about blockchain, it has two or three terms where you’re like ‘What does that mean?’ — and then you read the next sentence and that spawns nine more terms, and you’re like ‘What do those mean?!’”

Following the AMA, Walker added: “ARK’s vision is to make blockchain and cryptocurrency easy to understand and easy to use. That goes from just learning about cryptocurrency, to sending cryptocurrency and utilizing blockchain technology. We want everyone to be able to use it, and utilize it, from small businesses to large enterprises, so everyone can benefit from this technology.”

More than 40 projects have already joined MarketSquare ahead of its launch, and a huge refactor of the ARK code is being released imminently. ARK Core v3 will trigger the release of more ARK products such as the ARK Deployer, that will allow anyone to launch their own completely customized blockchain and cryptocurrency.

There is also a complete revamp of the ARK wallets coming soon. ARK wallets are going to be multi-asset. Many cryptocurrencies are already supported, and the list is set to grow as time goes on.