Radix Podcast

Blockchain.com: building the amazon.com of crypto.

January 6, 2023

Summary

Blockchain.com is a true crypto finance house, serving both consumers and businesses in a meaningful way. It began as a wallet, and it is one of the oldest cryptocurrency companies (11 years incorporated). It was formerly known as blockchain.info, a blockchain explorer founded in 2011.

Blockchain.com offers a popular crypto wallet, a quick exchange, and an institutional client platform. These services combine to make it the world's most popular destination for consumers and businesses to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrency.

Blockchain.com is the Amazon.com of cryptocurrency, offering a wide range of products and services built on a common infrastructure and platform. The non-custodial wallet, which functions similarly to a safe deposit box rather than a bank account, is a core offering of Blockchain.com. The wallet's non-custodial nature was especially appealing to early crypto users, resulting in the company's growing popularity.

Key takeaways

  • It is critical to meet customers where they are when providing products and services. Therefore, to account for the various use cases, it is necessary to customise by region and country.
  • There is no single bank that dominates a nation or the world because the majority of consumers open bank accounts at the same institution where their parents opened an account and never leave.
  • Regulation in crypto is critical and you are not going to like it. "Understand that we're not going to love everything that happens [with regulations], but we're going to love having permanent rules because a level playing field is good for everyone."

Chapters

01:15 Lane Kasselman as President of Blockchain.com and the company's growth under his direction

01:56 How does Lane describe Blockchain.com and who its ideal user is?

05:20 What was unique about the DNA of Blockchain.com, and what did it do differently to remain in the space when many other wallet companies have vanished?

08:05 Are exchange products and institutional products on Blockchain.com custodial? What was the internal narrative behind the company’s current offering of easier-to-use services for consumers and businesses, given the early decentralisation maximalism basis of "not your keys, not your crypto" that drove the company's early success?

10:35 Numerous markets in regions with troubled financial systems have adopted cryptocurrencies as a replacement for their failing monetary structures. What factors contribute to its relative lack of popularity in the Western world?

11:45 As a result of lagging behind in digitalising its banking system, Europe is now at the forefront of fintech, which will likely slow the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies. China's slow adoption of cryptocurrency is a result of the country's widespread use of QR-code-based payment systems. By contrast, people in parts of Africa and South America are turning to cryptocurrency because of the region's inadequate banking infrastructure.

14:59 Neobanks were instrumental in laying the groundwork for new technology finance.

17:20 Most people would rather play it safe with their money than take any chances with it. However, the crypto community tends to attract those with a high-risk tolerance.

18:28 A challenge to the Blockchain.com model: Because decentralised finance is still in its early stages, we have tended to provide a safe-feeling consumer experience, such as Blockchain.com's customer support. MetaMask and Uniswap, on the other hand, provide no such help. Will there ever come a time when users are knowledgeable and comfortable enough with decentralised platforms to abandon centralised ones?

24:22 Will Blockchain.com's super wallet strategy additionally include providing users with an intuitive interface for accessing services like Aave, SushiSwap, and Uniswap?

26:14 The entire consumer model is all about value-add and an appealing interface, both of which crypto lacks. Another hot topic is regulation. Where does regulation fit into the development of better interfaces for services built on top of public ledgers that provide yield, liquidity opportunities, borrowing and lending, and are packaged into consumer-friendly products?

29:25 Reasons why the American government and regulators cannot make cryptocurrency illegal

33:49 One of the most serious issues in the regulatory sphere right now is the delay in thinking. The majority of regulatory enforcement actions have focused on obvious scams. Demonstrating the value of the cryptocurrency industry has become more urgent and necessary.

[39:41] Where to follow Blockchain.com

Further resources