Despite all the benefits and innovation blockchain development and cryptocurrencies bring to the table, most decentralized platforms remain intimidating to newcomers with their complex interfaces, limited support, and overall lack of services. This is in stark contrast to the increased usability that users have come to expect from traditional financial services.
At Glue, we aim to change that, with a service layer specifically designed to bridge the gap between the decentralized experience users want, with the functionality that has up until now only been associated with traditional financial services.
Barriers to Widespread Crypto Adoption
Here are the top three barriers that we think the crypto world has to overcome to achieve mainstream adoption:
1. Bad or Nonexistent Customer Service
One of the biggest obstacles to crypto going mainstream is the lack of good customer service. In traditional finance, we’re used to support teams who can help users with questions or problems. In crypto, users are often left alone to navigate complex systems, with no one to turn to should they get in trouble. This is one of the reasons users continue to opt for centralized exchanges like Coinbase or Binance.
The demand for better customer service is only expected to grow, and forms part of the regulatory focus on customer protection in 2024. With regulations such as the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MicA), services need to prove they are legally compliant and have the tools in place to support users, leaving less room for those whose assistance is slim to nonexistent.
2. Account Security and Lost Funds
Chainalysis’s crypto crime reporting in 2023 showed that funds stolen from crypto platforms had dropped over 52% from 2022; however, the total still came to $1.7 billion — an unacceptably high number.
While decentralized finance offers complete ownership, flexibility, and innovation, this comes with risk. What’s more, protocol founders often don’t have the mechanisms in place to minimize the damage from a security breach. For example, if a protocol on Ethereum is hacked, there may be no way to freeze funds or get assistance from international law enforcement in the way that traditional finance can.
3. No Incentive for Essential Services
Traditional finance offers accounting, insurance, tax preparation, legal advice, and many other supporting services. Unfortunately, at present, there is no incentive model for providers who wish to market similar services at the blockchain level. Centralized exchanges like Binance are offering limited assistance, but it’s only the very beginning. Until a robust system of services is available at a blockchain level, growth and maturity of the overall crypto ecosystem will be slow.
Introducing the Glue Service Layer
As an antidote to the problems listed above, we’re introducing the Glue Service Layer — a place where third-party providers can smoothly integrate their services into our ecosystem. This will create a one-stop shop for solutions that the crypto sector has been crying out for.
What is the Glue Service Layer?
The Glue Service Layer is built directly into our blockchain infrastructure, making it easy for users to discover, subscribe to, and pay for services. It can be best imagined as an “app store” model for crypto services, where providers offer everything from customer support and wallet recovery to portfolio management and tax optimization.
Glue is bringing change to the crypto world, not just by adding services, but by creating a whole new marketplace.
We offer a solid mechanism for businesses to make money and integrate easily, encouraging the development of services specifically for crypto users. This opens doors for innovative solutions and traditional financial providers that would like to adapt their offering for the crypto market. Essentially, it’s a win-win: businesses get to become part of a vibrant, growing market, and users enjoy a richer crypto and safer experience with more tools and services at their disposal.
How Glue Brings Services Offered by Third-Party Providers Together
Glue’s service layer is designed to be as user and service-friendly as possible. Here’s how it works:
- Easy service discovery: Users can easily browse and select the services they need directly within the Glue ecosystem.
- Simple subscription models: Subscribing to a service is as simple as clicking a button. The Glue native token is used for all payments, eliminating the need for complicated conversions or external wallets.
- User-friendly service delivery: Once subscribed, users can access services directly within the Glue ecosystem, enjoying a user-friendly and integrated experience.
- Automatic and flexible billing: The blockchain automatically handles billing, ensuring a hassle-free process for both users and service providers. In addition, different payment options can be accessed:
- Monthly: Users pay a set amount each month for ongoing service.
- Per transaction: Users are charged a small fee for each transaction.
- Multiple of gas fees: The service provider’s fee is a multiple of the transaction’s gas fee, ensuring that costs are proportional to usage.
Anyone Can Become a Service Provider on Glue
Our goal is to build a vast and diverse network of service providers with a strong focus on customer service. So, Glue’s Service Layer is open to everyone. You don’t need to be a blockchain expert to become a service provider, as the platform handles all the technical aspects, allowing anyone to leverage their expertise and offer valuable services to the Glue community.
A pillar in the wider Glue ecosystem
The Glue Service Layer is a core part of our mission to make crypto work for everyone. We’re building an ecosystem that’s about making your experience as smooth and secure as possible, while also opening up a world of new services that aren’t available on centralized exchanges. This is being achieved through:
- Powerful tech stack: Our unique infrastructure, powered by Substrate, lets us create specialized blockchains for different needs (finance, gaming, asset transfer) so apps can run smoothly and scale efficiently.
- Fast connections: Our use of cross-consensus messaging (XCM) means assets and information can be instantly moved between our different blockchains without hassle.
- A single token ecosystem: Our unified token system, using the native Glue cryptocurrency, encourages everyone to work together towards a common goal, strengthening each part of our expanding ecosystem.
- Top-notch security: Glue boasts a rock-solid security foundation guaranteed by our Layer 1 blockchain.
- Extra protection: We have built-in multi-signature technology to add an additional layer of protection for your assets.
Want to be a service provider on Glue? Let’s chat.
Become part of the future of mainstream crypto adoption. Join the Glue community on X and Telegram today!
