For years, web3 was supposed to be it. The next stage of the internet.

The revolution that would upend finance, online identity and the web as we know it. An unstoppable force.

But let's be real for a sec - It's 2025 and things aren’t exactly panning out the way we imagined.

The hype has cooled, and the cracks are showing. Sure, innovation is still happening, but web3 taking over the world? It’s looking a lot less certain.

So, what the f*'s going on?

Scandals keep taking us back to square one

It’s hard to build trust when every cycle comes with a new disaster. FTX was one of the most catastrophic, wiping out billions and leaving retail investors with empty wallets and even emptier promises. And that was just one of many.

Countless projects have rug pulled, leaving users burned and wary of the next big thing. Then there’s the political grift.

Trump’s coin. Milei’s coin. If presidents can’t bring legitimacy to crypto, who can? These incidents show how crypto’s Wild West nature is being exploited at the highest levels.

Every major scam, every rug, every meltdown sets the industry back years. At some point, people stop giving second chances. How deep into the trenches can we go before we start losing ground?

Decentralization is still impractical

Let’s be real: most people don’t care about decentralization. They want easy, safe, and familiar.

The average person isn’t losing sleep over self-custody. They just want their money to work. If a new system is harder, riskier, and filled with more friction than the one they already use, they’re not switching.

Web3 needs to offer something undeniably better. So far, it hasn’t. Decentralization feels like a luxury for purists rather than a necessity for everyday users.

We have a credibility problem

Web3’s anonymity is both a feature and a flaw. Yes, pseudonymity is a fundamental part of crypto culture, but it also makes trust near damn impossible. Can you really take financial advice from someone with an ape PFP and a username like 0xCryptoWizard69?

And let’s not forget, this anonymity makes scamming easier than ever. In web2 there’s at least some level of accountability. A name, a face, maybe even a verified badge. I'm not saying it's perfect. Far from it. But better than crypto for sure.

When things go south, there’s almost no one to blame in crypto - just another Discord server that mysteriously disappears.

Now let's be clear - the problem isn’t in the tech. It’s us. We’ve taken the best of what web3 has to offer and allowed it to be twisted into tools for corruption, money laundering, scams, rugs, and more. It's frustrating, but it’s also a reminder that while the technology has massive potential, we need to do better as an ecosystem.

If no one understands it, no one uses it

If there's one thing that annoys me as a Marketer it's the language barrier.

Every day, a new acronym, a new niche technical term, a new layer of complexity emerges. Staking. Restaking. Modular blockchains. L2 rollups. Permitionless. Zero-knowledge. This are the easy ones.

It feels like the industry is obsessed with coining new terms, but if no one outside the bubble understands them, they won’t care.

If people don’t understand it, they won’t adopt it. Let's all read that again.

Right now, it feels like an insiders-only club where the price of entry is knowing what FDV means. Do we really want adoption or does it feel good to be part of the club and keep normies at bay?

Building for web3, not the world

Hey maybe it's me, but does anyone else feels like more and more projects seem to be building for existing web3 users, rather than trying to onboard the general public? This creates an echo chamber where adoption struggles to break past the crypto degen crowd.

When did we stop innovating for everyone? if we want mass adoption, we need to remove the friction and not expect users to push through it.

Devs and UX

Despite massive funding rounds and incentives, development remains niche. The learning curve is steep, and many developers find traditional tech stacks more stable and lucrative. Can't blame them.

And I can't pin point exactly what it is - maybe the lack of devs is an issue across industries and not just web3 (lack of devs is an entire debate on its own). Or maybe we are not offering the right set of benefits. Without more people building products and merging their vision with the tech, we won't grow at the pace we need to.

On the other hand, products are still clunky. The UX is still rigid, and many times, it doesn't work as it should. We need to be as seamless and widespread as logging into a website with Google, or making a payment through PayPal, in order for mainstream adoption to happen.

But maybe that's okay

Okay, hear me out...

Maybe web3 is not meant to replace the internet as we know entirely. Maybe it’s… another layer. An important one, but not a breakthrough iteration. And that’s fine.

Maybe DeFi won’t replace traditional banking, but it will continue to exist as an alternative system. For those who understand the risks and benefits, it offers opportunities that banks simply don’t.

Gaming, for instance, is a promising space. It's still clunky, sure. The few games I've tried made me feel like I'm back to 2013, riding the metro to uni and watching the lady sat next to me play candy crush saga. But gaming on Telegram is opening the adoption gates, and I'm all for it. Gamifying memecoins is also something coming up recently, with games like Infected.fun becoming viral overnight.

Will we see blockchain in GTA 6? Unlikely. But in smaller, more experimental games? It’s already happening.

And finally, what about crypto itself? El Salvador remains the biggest national-level crypto experiment, and despite its flaws, it proves that crypto can have a place in government policy. Trump, arguably the most influential political figure right now, has engaged with crypto in a way no other U.S. president has by establishing the first US Bitcoin Reserve (and a lot more, but let's keep it simple lol).

Shine thy light upon crypto, for whether the tale be one of triumph or folly, only time shall tell. But the spotlight must be cast, for it is through scrutiny that we find our path forward.

-ChatGPT

Maybe web3 doesn’t need to be everything for everyone.

Maybe the challenges are too steep, too many, for us to make it out.

Maybe human greed will always be a roadblock to progress.

Maybe we’re just looking at this all wrong.

Maybe Were Not Gonna Make It...

Maybe we will.

Maybe the challenges are just part of the grind.

Maybe realizing we’re still in the process of building something big outweighs the unrealized potential.

Maybe setbacks are simply part of the journey.

Maybe I’m looking at this all wrong.

Maybe.

Disclaimer: The views and analysis expressed in this article are solely my personal opinions and do not represent the positions or views of my employer or any affiliated organizations. This post is not intended to express any political stance or endorsement.

For years, web3 was supposed to be it. The next stage of the internet.

The revolution that would upend finance, online identity and the web as we know it. An unstoppable force.

But let's be real for a sec - It's 2025 and things aren’t exactly panning out the way we imagined.

The hype has cooled, and the cracks are showing. Sure, innovation is still happening, but web3 taking over the world? It’s looking a lot less certain.

So, what the f*'s going on?

Scandals keep taking us back to square one

It’s hard to build trust when every cycle comes with a new disaster. FTX was one of the most catastrophic, wiping out billions and leaving retail investors with empty wallets and even emptier promises. And that was just one of many.

Countless projects have rug pulled, leaving users burned and wary of the next big thing. Then there’s the political grift.

Trump’s coin. Milei’s coin. If presidents can’t bring legitimacy to crypto, who can? These incidents show how crypto’s Wild West nature is being exploited at the highest levels.

Every major scam, every rug, every meltdown sets the industry back years. At some point, people stop giving second chances. How deep into the trenches can we go before we start losing ground?

Decentralization is still impractical

Let’s be real: most people don’t care about decentralization. They want easy, safe, and familiar.

The average person isn’t losing sleep over self-custody. They just want their money to work. If a new system is harder, riskier, and filled with more friction than the one they already use, they’re not switching.

Web3 needs to offer something undeniably better. So far, it hasn’t. Decentralization feels like a luxury for purists rather than a necessity for everyday users.

We have a credibility problem

Web3’s anonymity is both a feature and a flaw. Yes, pseudonymity is a fundamental part of crypto culture, but it also makes trust near damn impossible. Can you really take financial advice from someone with an ape PFP and a username like 0xCryptoWizard69?

And let’s not forget, this anonymity makes scamming easier than ever. In web2 there’s at least some level of accountability. A name, a face, maybe even a verified badge. I'm not saying it's perfect. Far from it. But better than crypto for sure.

When things go south, there’s almost no one to blame in crypto - just another Discord server that mysteriously disappears.

Now let's be clear - the problem isn’t in the tech. It’s us. We’ve taken the best of what web3 has to offer and allowed it to be twisted into tools for corruption, money laundering, scams, rugs, and more. It's frustrating, but it’s also a reminder that while the technology has massive potential, we need to do better as an ecosystem.

If no one understands it, no one uses it

If there's one thing that annoys me as a Marketer it's the language barrier.

Every day, a new acronym, a new niche technical term, a new layer of complexity emerges. Staking. Restaking. Modular blockchains. L2 rollups. Permitionless. Zero-knowledge. This are the easy ones.

It feels like the industry is obsessed with coining new terms, but if no one outside the bubble understands them, they won’t care.

If people don’t understand it, they won’t adopt it. Let's all read that again.

Right now, it feels like an insiders-only club where the price of entry is knowing what FDV means. Do we really want adoption or does it feel good to be part of the club and keep normies at bay?

Building for web3, not the world

Hey maybe it's me, but does anyone else feels like more and more projects seem to be building for existing web3 users, rather than trying to onboard the general public? This creates an echo chamber where adoption struggles to break past the crypto degen crowd.

When did we stop innovating for everyone? if we want mass adoption, we need to remove the friction and not expect users to push through it.

Devs and UX

Despite massive funding rounds and incentives, development remains niche. The learning curve is steep, and many developers find traditional tech stacks more stable and lucrative. Can't blame them.

And I can't pin point exactly what it is - maybe the lack of devs is an issue across industries and not just web3 (lack of devs is an entire debate on its own). Or maybe we are not offering the right set of benefits. Without more people building products and merging their vision with the tech, we won't grow at the pace we need to.

On the other hand, products are still clunky. The UX is still rigid, and many times, it doesn't work as it should. We need to be as seamless and widespread as logging into a website with Google, or making a payment through PayPal, in order for mainstream adoption to happen.

But maybe that's okay

Okay, hear me out...

Maybe web3 is not meant to replace the internet as we know entirely. Maybe it’s… another layer. An important one, but not a breakthrough iteration. And that’s fine.

Maybe DeFi won’t replace traditional banking, but it will continue to exist as an alternative system. For those who understand the risks and benefits, it offers opportunities that banks simply don’t.

Gaming, for instance, is a promising space. It's still clunky, sure. The few games I've tried made me feel like I'm back to 2013, riding the metro to uni and watching the lady sat next to me play candy crush saga. But gaming on Telegram is opening the adoption gates, and I'm all for it. Gamifying memecoins is also something coming up recently, with games like Infected.fun becoming viral overnight.

Will we see blockchain in GTA 6? Unlikely. But in smaller, more experimental games? It’s already happening.

And finally, what about crypto itself? El Salvador remains the biggest national-level crypto experiment, and despite its flaws, it proves that crypto can have a place in government policy. Trump, arguably the most influential political figure right now, has engaged with crypto in a way no other U.S. president has by establishing the first US Bitcoin Reserve (and a lot more, but let's keep it simple lol).

Shine thy light upon crypto, for whether the tale be one of triumph or folly, only time shall tell. But the spotlight must be cast, for it is through scrutiny that we find our path forward.

-ChatGPT

Maybe web3 doesn’t need to be everything for everyone.

Maybe the challenges are too steep, too many, for us to make it out.

Maybe human greed will always be a roadblock to progress.

Maybe we’re just looking at this all wrong.

Maybe Were Not Gonna Make It...

Maybe we will.

Maybe the challenges are just part of the grind.

Maybe realizing we’re still in the process of building something big outweighs the unrealized potential.

Maybe setbacks are simply part of the journey.

Maybe I’m looking at this all wrong.

Maybe.

Disclaimer: The views and analysis expressed in this article are solely my personal opinions and do not represent the positions or views of my employer or any affiliated organizations. This post is not intended to express any political stance or endorsement.