Crypto On-Ramps, Wallets, & Regulation

Recently, we’ve been helping onboard crypto newcomers (first crypto purchases, KYC, setting up Web3 wallets, explaining the difference between custodial/non-custodial wallets, etc.). It requires a decent time/effort commitment to even get started. It’s been years since our team members' on-boarding experiences, so it’s easy to forget.

Once past the on-ramp, the Web3 user experience has come a long way in the last few years. Signing into a dApp with a Web3 wallet like Metamask, Portis, or Fortmatic and seamlessly transacting is magical. It’s a glimpse of the future. 

We’re grateful for all the work and innovation that’s gone into this UX (the Geo Web will benefit from it!). We know that others have been working on making similar leaps forward for crypto on-ramps. There’s undoubtedly been progress, but financial regulations make it an inherently tougher task. 

Recent rumors have brought regulation of crypto wallets to the forefront of discussions. There are sensible regulations; there are mistaken ones. Here’s a shocker… we’re optimistic about the positive impact that crypto can/will have on the world, so we’re biased toward regulations that are more accommodating toward innovation. The good can far outweigh the negative if innovation is given a chance. This recent blog by Fred Wilson offers a good perspective on the subject. 

Let’s hope we end up in the sensible range of regulations. Regardless, our march toward a more accessible, more secure, and more capable Web3/crypto user experience must go on.

On to the updates...

Technical

• We launched our Cadastre UI (Kovan Testnet). It’s a work in-progress. Feedback is always welcome!
• Bug fixes and enhancements on the Cadastre UI (transaction user flow, field validations, & more)

Community

• The Geo Web Gitcoin GR8 Matching Grant is live! Every DAI (or fraction of ETH) from unique contributors goes a long way. If you’re new to crypto, hit us up and we’d be glad to walk you through your first onboarding experience (see the intro!). It might be valuable learning for you, and of course we’d appreciate your support!
• We’re also going to be participating in the Gitcoin GR8 Hackathon. We’re early in our development, so we don’t want to stray too far from our product plan. We’ll see how it goes over the next two weeks but NIFTEX (fractionalized land parcel ownership) and XDai (L2 infrastructure/transaction costs) have bounties that caught our eye.
• We launched a newsletter companion to this blog. If you the latest blogs and updates on the Geo Web delivered straight to your inbox, you can sign up here or on our homepage.

On Deck

• More testnet Cadastre UI features, transaction types, and bug fixes
• Helping onboard crypto newbies (first token purchase, Web3 wallets, etc.). Sign up here!