While the blockchain and decentralized finance are often touted as the future of finance, according to Binance’s head of product Mayur Kamat, more people will become comfortable using these when there are crypto “wallets that work like modern technology.” For Kamat, an early bitcoin buyer and holder, simplifying the user experience and reducing friction for existing users are some of the steps that can bring more people to decentralized finance (defi) and Web3.
Blockchain and Decentralized Finance Are Not Easy for Everyday Users
Also, in his written answers to questions sent, the executive told Bitcoin.com News that the blockchain industry which is constantly innovating will attract more users if it creates crypto wallets that come embedded with “more options and choices for our users.”
Besides making wallets more “noob friendly,” Kamat — former product manager at the tech giant Google — suggested that when industry participants are more receptive to the user’s views or feedback their businesses will also grow. When this happens the whole industry will also grow, Kamat argued.
Below are Kamat’s answers to all questions sent to him via Telegram.
Bitcoin.com News (BCN): What, in your opinion, are the biggest roadblocks to the adoption of decentralized finance (defi) and Web3?
Mayur Kamat (MK): We need to simplify the user journey and reduce friction for new users. Creating a wallet, connecting to dapps, understanding the multi-chain world, and transferring funds to addresses – all of it is complicated and stressful. Even the OGs mess up. How can we make wallets work like a basic Web2 app where you log in and things just work? That’s what we are working towards.
BCN: Binance recently launched a new defi wallet that’s built right into the Binance app. Your firm says it is designed for users who are new to defi. Can you explain how this helps newcomers navigate the defi space?
MK: Blockchain technology and defi are not easy for everyday users. There’s friction, blockers and complications. We won’t be able to bring a billion users to crypto without wallets that work like modern technology – they need to be simple and safe.
We wanted to create something that people will want to use and that they trust and so there are some obvious advantages when you use the Binance defi wallet and are an existing Binance user. You don’t need to log in again, you don’t need back-up keys or to remember addresses – it is all very seamless. We will add a lot more features soon for users who use both cex [centralized exchange] + dex [decentralized exchange] and we believe everyone will soon will.
We also believe that an innovation like the defi wallet which adds more options and choices for our users is what the industry needs. We need to give people more choices to choose the right wallet solution for them so that when people come to crypto and are ready to set up their wallets, they can choose the best fit for what they want to do.
BCN: Binance already has a popular self-custodial wallet called Trust Wallet and the “original” defi wallet. How is this new wallet different and what gap in the market is it going to fill?
MK: As I mentioned before, innovation like the defi wallet adds more options and choices for our users – and this is what the industry needs. The industry and innovation in this space moves fast, creating this new wallet is a reflection of making things simpler and it’s the Binance way to keep iterating and keep building so that we’re able to provide people with the latest options and choices so that they can pick the best solution that works for them.
BCN: What else are you building that users expect from your company in the near future?
MK: Well, we are always building at Binance but how we think about product innovation isn’t to “forward plan” products as such. We make sure that we’re building for the community and putting our efforts into the products that they want and that will make a difference to their lives and the industry.
The reality of how we do that is that we have to listen to what the community wants, we get so much feedback, thousands and thousands of suggestions of what people want to see – so we even built something to cater for that with the Binance Feedback Tool that we launched earlier this year – we did this to make it easier to have a direct conversation with the community about how and what we build for them.
If we do right by the users, Binance will grow because the industry will continue to grow. Trends come and go – we try to focus on the core of our tenets – user-focused, community-driven, transparent and agile. Broadly – I think about how we build at Binance in 3 categories – how can we build on our commitments to improve the industry? These are important, deliberate choices we make that drive the industry forward or that could help legal and regulatory approval – like proof-of-reserves.
Then, how do we iterate and innovate on the core functions of Binance – like the exchange, trading and the Binance app and finally, what are the big bets we can take to drive the industry forward? These might be a bit more out there but they set an example and move things along in the industry – like launching a tax tool to help people with crypto taxes or introducing a new defi wallet.
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