Introduction
Blockchain technology still has not reached mass adoption and it will take some time to get to that height. The truth remains that major progress has been made in the number of participants in the crypto space. The discussion around making blockchain go mainstream remains an ongoing one. Until that goal of mass adoption is achieved, we cannot get tired of it.
One of the positives that has happened in recent times is that various businesses or organizations are giving blockchain technology a try. That is what we mean by enterprise adoption of blockchains. Some of them like Blackrock are purchasing and holding a lot of crypto. Other companies are trying to implement blockchain solutions such as those of defi, smart contracts, blockchain identity management systems, etc.
As more organizations get involved in crypto and blockchain, it helps in many ways to step closer to mass adoption. This article will look at the positive impact of enterprise adoption as a way to achieve mainstream use of blockchains. But then, we want to first understand some of the general challenges facing the prospect of blockchain mass adoption.
Why mass adoption has not been easy
A lot of factors has made it difficult to achieve blockchain mass adoption. There are many of them, but consider just one of them
Business as usual is a popular concept
Blockchain technology is relatively unknown. In some parts of the world, very few people know what it is. Compared to the number of internet users worldwide, the number of crypto users are a very tiny margin. Many stats put it that less than 5% of the world population use crypto. This figure puts into perspective how far the journey of mass adoption is ahead. The main challenge is that change is such a difficult thing for many.
Change is often one of the hardest things for humans. It even gets harder when it is a technology change. Many enterprise and individuals prefer the methods and technologies they have trusted over the year. They want to stick to something that has always worked for them. So when it comes to implementing block chain solutions of or trying out crypto instead of fiat, they kick against it.
The adoption of other major technologies over the course of history provides a clue into what lies ahead for blockchain mass adoption. During the early days of internet, many were skeptical about it. So the initial growth was not swift. But gradually as more users see the value of connecting to a global network, they eventually embraced the invention and today, the internet is used almost everywhere. This illustrates that change is often not accepted in mass.
So as a new technology, many users are still skeptical about trying out something new and using it to replace something they have always trusted. But like Internet, Radio and other technology inventions before now, mass adoption will eventually become a reality. That much dreaded mass change would eventually come especially as more and more enterprises come to terms with and adoption blockchain technology.
Enterprise adoption is a huge step forward
While we approach the issue of blockchain mass adoption from different angles, the role that enterprises would play cannot be over-emphasized. A lot of positives - and indeed - more new users could be achieved when each enterprise whether large or small adopts blockchain solutions. Consider the following possibilities:
Vote of confidence
One major reason why the masses choose to stay away from blockchain technology is that it is untested. No one wants to take risks that could lead to loosing an asset or something valuable. There is this element of fear that pushes potential users away from blockchains because they presume it is unstable, unknown or even risky. Blockchain technology needs large established organizations to reassure the public that this technology is not a death sentence.
Large, established enterprises could help the public build confidence in blockchain technology by adopting it and implementing solutions based off it. The masses need an authority to vouch for blockchains and show that it is capable of stability and trust.
The masses would want to believe that before a large enterprise adopts web3 or blockchain solutions, they must have placed them under rigorous tests to ascertain its performance. A lot of issues have been raised about blockchain security for example. So the masses want to be sure that this new technology would not be a medium through which valuable assets are endangered or even lost. So when a huge enterprise adopts blockchain technology, they have boosted its credibility and trustworthiness.
One important thing to note in this discussion is that the masses choice of consumption is often influenced by a huge brand they trust. Little wonder that other businesses small and big want to partner established brands so as to have that corporate approval from their customers or the public. The same result would be achieved when just 1 huge enterprise with millions of fans adopts blockchain technology. Their huge userbase would have some trust in blockchain systems and want to give it a try.
Imagine the number of users that would get to hear about blockchain technology if a huge, multi-national brand like Coca-Cola adoptions blockchain technology. Automatically, their millions of customers globally would develop some level of confidence in this technology. That is how much would be achieved through enterprise adoption
Leveraging network effect.
Network effect is a term that is often associated with new technologies or innovations. Basically, each new user that adopts a new technology could make others give it a try. The more new users try out a new technology, the more this increased userbase drives the value of the technology up. The network effect is used to explain the growth in value, usefulness or popularity achieved as the number of users or adopters grow. In the context of mass adoption of blockchains, enterprises could create a huge network effect when they adopt it.
The network effect created when a huge brand adopts a blockchain technology could happen in many different phases. The first expected phase would be its users and staff. As discussed above, a brand with a huge userbase adopting blockchain solutions will automatically create a huge network effect among its users or customers. Many of them would like to try out blockchain solutions simply because a brand they love so much has confidence in this technology.
The network effect could also spread across that industry or sector. Remember that in each sector, there are many other businesses or enterprises watching each others shoulder. If an established name in the sector tries out a new technology like blockchain, the other competitors would like to also investigate a potential use-case for them. Depending on how influential this particular brand is in the industry, the network effect could be large or small. In essence, other businesses would like to try out blockchain solution because a leading brand in the sector is doing so.
The network effect could also cut across industries. If a leading brand in a particular sector adopts blockchain payroll, businesses in other sectors watching this brand might decide to know more about blockchains. Eventually, there is a possibility that some would give it a try and that is a network effect. There is more to this cross-industry network effect.
Partners of a particular enterprise might also be moved to check out blockchain solutions because their big partner have adopted it. They might even try to gather intelligence from the big brand already implementing blockchain solutions. Depending on how huge a brand is and how many local or international partners they have, the network effect might be even larger across industries.
As more businesses get to learn about blockchains from their partners or by watching other competitors, the network effect created could be large and that would be a huge asset towards achieving blockchain mass adoption.
Conclusion
It is obvious that blockchain mass adoption could be achieved through a combination of different strategies. Enterprise adoption should be a core player here. The masses often have one or two brands they trust. Everyone has. If each brand adopts and propagates positive word about blockchain technology, it would be much easier to reach much adoption.
Think about this: How many new users would be brought into the blockchain space if every tertiary institution in the world adopts and implements blockchain solutions? The positive impact of enterprise adoption could be more powerful than we know.