Wallets are turning into social apps and social apps are turning into wallets. But under the hood this crossing of paths could change not just how we use crypto, but how we use the Internet.
Setting The Scene
When most people think of crypto, they usually think of stores of value like Bitcoin or Ethereum or more speculative assets like memecoins. What tends be overshadow are the superpowers that make crypto truly magical: a global economy that's open to all, an interoperable identity that you truly own, and a permissionless ecosystem of apps and markets that benefit their creators and fans.
Right now if you open most crypto wallets, you'd most likely just see your asset balance -- it wouldn't necessarily give you the impression that all of this other stuff is out there. And that's precisely one of the largest problems that the industry is trying to solve right now: how can people find out what's going on in crypto/the ways they can benefit from crypto, and how can builders in crypto find meaningful distribution for what they're building?
Why Now?
This isn't the first time folks have tried bringing consumer crypto to the masses, let alone trying to build a WeChat-like super app. So why are things different this time around?
Wallets and social are crossing paths because of distribution. Everyone wants more distribution and wallets becoming social/social apps adding wallets help marry all the pieces needed to make it even easier for content to be distributed to users. That distribution gives way for the onchain flywheels to spin!
In particular, there have been a few trends and tools that have both made this possible and shown they're crucial to distribution:
- Open social & apps: With Farcaster users fully own their identity and content, and with the addition of mini apps developers have access to a permissionless app store that just works and brings them a step closer to users.
- Better wallet infra: From smart wallets to embedded/server wallets to paymasters, the UX and DevEx for creating and using wallets is much easier. This expands both what app developers can offer users behind the scenes and new customer-facing wallet offerings can be built/integrated into products. Embedded wallets powering transactions for mini apps in Farcaster's client is a great example of this.
- Creator economy appetite: Creators deserve to get paid for their content and there are now well-built experiments that are trying to help ensure that this is done right. The narrative here is also building up well and being able to get fairly paid for what you bring to the table as a contributor has seemed to be a potentially big selling point in a world where big/traditional tech does not really seem to value(let alone pay) the average user.
Base App
I'm really excited and proud to be on a team that's been building an app for this onchain flywheel: Base App. Base App is where you can create, earn, trade, discover apps, and chat with friends—all in one place.
When you open Base App you can instantly see social and apps feeds of creators building and sharing content that you can interact with. And as you interact with that content, all the tools you need are in one app to get more context on the action you want to take, go a step further, or even let your friends join in on the fun! One minute you can find an exciting mini app on the social feed and the next you can be playing it with your friends in a group chat(and even earning from it). In the past that exact flow would've taken multiple apps and a messy UX, but because Base App is built on open protocols this kind of seamless UX can happen all in one app.
To me one of the most key parts of Base App is how creativity is rewarded. Every post can become a content coin, so creators can earn directly from engagement and fans can not only support their favorite creators but even "go long" on a creator. Multiple mini apps(such as Noice) are focused on ways for creators to earn, whether it's through crowdfunding or tipping or retroactive rewards. The social feed isn’t just about updates, but a real-time look at what people are trading, what apps are trending, and what’s happening in the onchain world.
When I first joined Base and saw the vision for Base App, I immediately thought "these are all the building blocks I'd put together if I could". The fact that we and the industry now have this chance to change the Internet and bring crypto to the masses certainly isn't lost on me. All these pieces have come together because of the power of open protocols, and it's that same power of open protocols that can now put the value accrued online back in the hands of the builders.