If you carefully observe the changes in the Web3 world over the past few years, you will find an interesting phenomenon: whether in a bull market or a bear market, regardless of whether the narrative is NFT, DeFi, or the recent AI + Crypto, everyone keeps circling back to one question—how to enter the Web3 world?
To put it bluntly, the first step for users is 'connecting the wallet'. Only when you can smoothly connect the wallet and the application can you start using DEX, minting NFTs, participating in GameFi, or even the most basic on-chain interactions. Yet, this crucial entry point has been poorly managed over the years. Experience fragmentation, poor compatibility, and frequent security issues have deterred countless newcomers.
And WalletConnect has gradually emerged in this context, becoming the most important 'invisible infrastructure' in the entire industry. It is not a star project that makes a loud public announcement at the front end, but its existence almost affects everyone using Web3.
Today, let's talk about why WalletConnect can become the 'true on-chain entry', what problems it solves, and how it can bring about changes in the industry landscape in the future.
1. The entry point that is most easily overlooked
Most users encounter Web3 for the first time because of some trend: some because of the NFT craze, some because they heard about DeFi yields, and some because they saw friends playing blockchain games. However, when they actually click on an application, they are stopped at the first step: please connect your wallet.
At this point, the question arises:
New users have no idea what a wallet is;
Old users have a bunch of wallets, but different Dapps have different requirements;
Sometimes an application only supports a few wallets, making the experience very limited.
As a result, many people didn't even get the chance to experience the product and were deterred by 'wallet connection'.
Since the emergence of WalletConnect, the situation has changed dramatically. It acts like a 'middle layer' that connects various wallets and Dapps, allowing users to avoid compatibility issues. They just need to scan a QR code, and it's done in an instant.
This simplicity in experience has lowered the entry barrier for countless people, turning 'wallet connection' from a stumbling block into a natural process.
2. The balance between security and experience
Some may ask, is the experience of wallet connection important? Security is the top priority.
Indeed, security issues have always been a major concern for Web3. Especially in the early days, many projects had numerous vulnerabilities in their connection methods, which could easily authorize malicious contracts, leading to wallet assets being wiped out in an instant.
WalletConnect’s design fully considers the balance between security and experience. It does not expose private keys to applications, but instead establishes a temporary secure channel between the wallet and Dapp through an encrypted session protocol. In other words, applications cannot access your private key, they can only request signatures and interactions.
At the same time, every signature requires user confirmation at the wallet end, completely retaining the user's initiative. This mechanism not only enhances security but also increases user trust. Over time, WalletConnect has become the 'industry standard' for wallet connection, and many people think without consideration: as long as it's connected via WalletConnect, it's relatively more secure.
3. The manifestation of industry network effects
In the internet world, there is a classic rule: whoever controls the entry point controls the future.
Browsers are entry points, creating Chrome; search engines are entry points, creating Google; social networks are entry points, creating Facebook.
The same logic applies to Web3; WalletConnect is becoming that invisible entry point.
Its power lies not in the number of applications it creates, but in how it connects all wallets and Dapps through standardized protocols, forming a huge network effect:
Because wallets support WalletConnect, they can easily connect to countless applications;
Dapps can serve almost all wallet users because they integrate WalletConnect.
In the end, both wallets and applications cannot leave WalletConnect; it has become the 'operating system' behind the scenes. This is the power of network effects.
At that time, many people did not understand its potential, thinking it was just a small tool for 'scanning QR codes'. In fact, it is the 'connection protocol' of the Web3 world, similar in function to HTTP and TCP/IP in the internet.
4. From 'Connection' to 'Entry'
Let's think from another perspective.
Wallet connection is essentially a problem of 'authentication + communication'. It addresses the needs of 'who are you' and 'how to communicate'.
But if we look further ahead, WalletConnect will not stop here.
It has the potential to evolve into the super entry point for Web3:
User level: It can consolidate user habits so that whenever wallets are mentioned, WalletConnect is the default thought.
Application level: It can continuously enrich development tools and SDKs, allowing more new applications to integrate easily.
Ecosystem level: It even has the chance to become the core of the Web3 identity system, incorporating DID, social graphs, and cross-chain interactions.
By then, WalletConnect will not just be a 'connector', but an 'entry platform', and it may even become the 'browser' or 'super account' of the Web3 world.
5. Why it is a representative of long-term value
In the crypto space, many narratives quickly rise and fall, but infrastructure projects often transcend cycles. Regardless of how fast the bull and bear markets change, users' basic needs remain constant.
Think about it, whether it's a new user entering during a bull market or an old user holding on during a bear market, they cannot avoid 'wallet connection'. This means that the demand for WalletConnect is inherently present and does not depend on any single track.
At the same time, as the industry becomes increasingly complex, the demand for cross-chain and cross-application will only grow, making WalletConnect's role increasingly important. It is not a fleeting trend but a true representation of long-term value.
6. Conclusion
Looking back at the development of WalletConnect over the past few years, I feel it's somewhat like Alipay back in the day:
At first, everyone thought it was just a small tool for QR code payments;
Later, it became the infrastructure for the entire mobile payment system, fundamentally changing people's habits.
What WalletConnect is doing today is turning the seemingly small function of 'connection' into the entry point for the entire Web3. In the future, when we look back, we may find that its significance is even more profound than many star projects.
So if you ask me where the future entry point for Web3 will be, I would say without hesitation: within WalletConnect.
