The Trust Paradox

[johnblockbuster]

Web3 isn’t failing because of technology — it’s failing because of trust.

Oxford researchers describe this as the “trust paradox”:

Blockchain is designed to eliminate the need for trust.

Yet the public still doesn’t trust it.

Outside the industry, Web3 feels complex, intimidating, even risky. So when people are forced to choose between a familiar Web2 app and an unfamiliar Web3 tool, they’ll almost always “play it safe.”

That’s why adoption has slowed. The technology itself isn’t the problem — the perception is.

The lesson: For Web3 to scale, developers need to stop selling “decentralization” as the headline and start focusing on familiar user experiences, simple onboarding, and clear value-adds. Users should feel like they’re using any other app, with Web3’s benefits seamlessly running in the background.

Trust isn’t won through ideology. It’s won by showing people real, reliable value.

[jacson4]

Exactly—tech is solid, but perception kills adoption. Web3 needs trust bridges, not just better code.

[Nahid10]

This is so true. People don’t reject Web3 because it’s broken—they reject it because it feels risky.