Radix (xrd) 
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DeFi has a lot of infrastructure but seems to lack enough applications. This year, venture capitalists and private equity investors have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into crypto projects prioritizing infrastructure.
In the first quarter alone, VC firm a16z committed $100 million to Eigen Layer, a restaking protocol and infrastructure layer for the Ethereum network. Private equity firms Bridgewater Capital and Deus X Capital funded a $250 million infrastructure platform. RW3 Ventures raised $60 million for a fund focused exclusively on blockchain infrastructure and DeFi. These are just a few examples, indicating a significant trend in the crypto world.
Focus on Infrastructure
During the Ethereum Community Conferences (EthCC’24) in mid-July, the focus on infrastructure sparked considerable conversation. The consensus was clear: we need more apps and less emphasis on infrastructure.
Think of it this way: focusing too much on infrastructure is like building a theme park with great paths, gift shops, and food stalls but no rides. Without engaging applications, user adoption will remain limited. More apps would provide users with diverse options, encouraging them to explore and engage with DeFi.
The Real Problem: UX
The central issue in the apps vs. infrastructure debate is user experience (UX). The DeFi ecosystem, especially the emerging BTCFi sector, is not intuitive for layperson users. Simple tasks like moving assets between dApps in different ecosystems can be frustrating and time-consuming for beginners. Bridging and swapping, fundamental to cross-chain transactions, are virtually impossible for newcomers without professional guidance.
Despite progress in interoperability, user experience remains complex. Traditional bridges and platforms still face significant limitations, including scalability issues, slippage, MEV problems, TVL honeypots, and slow, expensive transactions.
The debate over prioritizing apps or infrastructure misses the point. The quality and impact of infrastructure projects matter more than their quantity. While many developers aim to create high-impact projects, not all succeed. DeFi is moving towards its mainstream era, and amateur users won’t tolerate poor UX or care about underlying infrastructure. They just want to use their dApps easily and efficiently.
Users First
Our goal should be to have robust infrastructure while abstracting it away from users. Navigating the DeFi ecosystem should be seamless and intuitive. We must simplify interoperability by enabling fast, zero-slippage, MEV-resistant, secure swaps with excellent UX. Infrastructure abstraction is crucial; users should never need to see the complexities behind the scenes.
Intent-based architecture offers a model for user-centric development in DeFi. Unlike conventional blockchain architecture, which requires users to follow complex steps, intent-based architecture lets users state their objective and relies on the blockchain protocol to complete the technical steps autonomously. This approach could significantly improve user experiences and simplify architecture.
However, intent-based architecture is not a silver bullet. Projects and protocols must collaborate closely to ensure seamless interoperability and abstract away operational complexities. Innovators need to build with amateur users in mind rather than crypto natives with technical knowledge.
It’s time to set aside the infrastructure vs. apps debate and focus on what matters most: the users. Most users don’t care about the investment divide between app and infrastructure projects as long as they follow high-security standards and get the job done. They want blockchain-based finance to be accessible and easy to understand. Consumers need to be able to use apps, process transactions, and find new ways to use and make money with DeFi.
As innovators and advocates for DeFi’s potential, it falls to us to recreate the ecosystem into a welcoming world that even amateur users can explore without feeling confused, overwhelmed, or demoralized.
Let’s stop counting infrastructure projects and start making them count instead. For more insights and updates, stay tuned to Global Crypto News.
Jeroen Develter is the chief operating officer at Persistence Labs and a seasoned professional in both finance and tech start-up environments. With a decade of international experience in consulting, management, entrepreneurship, and leadership, Jeroen excels at analyzing complex business cases, establishing streamlined operations, and creating scalable processes. With Persistence, Jeroen oversees all product and engineering efforts and is deeply passionate about enhancing Bitcoin DeFi, or BTCFi, adoption and using intents to develop scalable, fast, secure, and user-friendly solutions. His work at Persistence Labs addresses the significant interoperability challenges between Bitcoin L2s. In addition, Jeroen is also a co-host of the Stacked Podcast, a platform for gaining knowledge about Bitcoin and crypto from prominent Bitcoin builders.
