[Analysis] The Invisible Protocol Thesis: Tomorrow's Crypto Unicorns - Jamie Burke

Jamie Burke argues mass adoption of Web 3.0 protocols can only be achieved once their complexities and respective token economies become invisible to the average user. This demand is initially driven by developers, but today:

99% of developers do not use Web 3 protocols either because they don’t know how to, they don’t care to due to constraints and shortcomings or there is no commercial imperative. The hard facts are sub 1% of all developer activity on Github is even remotely related to DLT.

Burke states developer engagement would benefit from an ecosystem of configurable solutions "with the freedom to integrate at any layer and on any chain" to facilitate application deployment and management. This goes beyond the general-purpose platforms offered by protocols like Hyperledger or Ethereum, which were both designed with specific tradeoffs (and limitations) in mind. According to Burke, companies that provide solutions to make tech stacks and financial layers rooted in decentralization easier to use will be the next crypto unicorns.

The unicorns for our next phase will be those that onboard real demand for the intended or unintended utility of networks much in the same way wallets and exchanges did for speculation. Think ‘Red Hats for crypto’[.]