Credit cards can bridge Web2 to Web3, says music industry exec

Published at: Jan. 30, 2023

Last year proved that the Web3 space is not just a phenomenon but rather the future of digital interactions. However, as pervasive as the space has become, many are still skeptical as to how it can and will be a part of their lives.

Many developers are seeking ways to bridge the gap between these two iterations of the web. Cointelegraph spoke with Bruno Guez, the CEO of Revelator, to understand why he believes already existing Web2 financial tools like credit cards can actually be bridges to usher new users into Web3.

Revelator, which works in the music industry that provides labels and distributors the infrastructure to run their businesses, recently announced that it integrated Stripe to help fans seamlessly purchase digital collectibles with their credit cards.

Guez said that making these new digital tools accessible via Web2 tools users are already familiar with, such as credit cards, creates a bridge between these two versions of the digital reality.

“The majority of the developed world uses credit cards for everyday purchases. If we want to usher new users onto Web3, we must provide these web2 users with a familiar and “safe” payment method.”

However, he touched on how using familiar Web2 financial tools helps lessen the hurdles plaguing the industry, such as a lack of education on decentralized money management.

“If we make the onramp easier and make accessing Web3 assets easier, we can slowly educate them about the power of decentralization, and all that entails.”

He continued to say that this further education includes informing users about self-custody practices so that they can “fully embrace Web3, operate their digital wallets, and never lose access to their digital assets.”

The lack of knowledge has created barriers to self-custody, which have often made centralized exchanges popular due to ease of access and user experience. Though, as Guez pointed out, and as has recently been seen in cases like FTX, when the centralized exchanges go out of business, customer trust and confidence in the industry as a whole is damaged.

Revelator isn’t an anomaly in the Web3 space for utilizing credit cards to help onboard new users. Many other businesses are seeing how to continue pushing mass adoption by working with tools. At the beginning of 2022, Stripe announced partnerships with FTX, FTX US, Blockchain.com, Nifty Gateway and Just Mining to launch a crypto business suite.

In 2022 it also partnered with Twitter to offer USDC payments to content creators on the platform, along with integration on a Solana-based market maker to offer a fiat-to-crypto onramp.

Guez said that credit cards efficiently on-ramp users onto Web3, while smart wallets are already operating in the background. This enables a “clean way” to perform blockchain transactions without the users needing prior blockchain knowledge.

“In this way Web2 and Web3 tools work together; by abstracting the complexity away from the user experience.”

According to reports which surfaced on Jan 26., Stripe is working with JP Morgan professionals to advise toward a potential public offering after its fruitful reemergence onto the crypto scene.