Users may initially join a platform chasing yield incentives, but the goal is to retain them for broader activities like trading or spending those same assets.
Proving Real-World Adoption
Investor Kevin O’Leary, chairman of O’Leary Ventures, identifies a parallel challenge at the blockchain infrastructure level. Speaking at the Avalanche Summit in New York, he emphasized that networks courting institutional capital must demonstrate genuine commercial usage.
“The challenge you have is ‘show me, show me adoption,’” O’Leary stated. He acknowledged that the technical merits of certain chains are well understood by technologists and major corporations focused on building capacity without transaction throughput concerns. However, he stressed that the industry must move beyond test environments. “What I want to see… is you got to get some deals, and you got to get adoption, not just tests.”
Securing a single major client can catalyze further growth. “The most powerful marketing tool of technology is word of mouth between competitors,” O’Leary noted. This dynamic applies to the consumer sector as well. Because financial services rely heavily on trust—users are entrusting paychecks and savings—social proof regarding a platform’s reliability becomes a decisive factor for new adopters.