Apps inspire infrastructure, and infrastructure accelerates innovation
Upon closely examining significant shifts in platforms, we often observe that a pioneering application typically leads the way. This innovative app usually sparks a period of infrastructure development, which in turn simplifies the process of creating similar apps and paves the way for their widespread acceptance.
Here’s how it goes: Apps → Infrastructure → Apps → Infrastructure
This cycle of inspiration and creation first begins with an app, which leads to the development of supportive infrastructure, encouraging the creation of new apps. Historic waves of this phenomenon are evident in Web1 (with AOL in 1991) and Web2 (with Facebook in 2004). These app waves essentially create web portals that motivate us to develop supporting infrastructure. The pathbreaking applications for Web3 were Bitcoin and later Ethereum.
The evolution of blockchain technology seems to be following a similar path, currently slowed down due to a lack of robust infrastructure and a disjointed, inefficient user experience. However, just in the previous year, we have made enormous strides in preparing for the upcoming app phase in this cycle, with developments such as Layer 2s, fresh wallet solutions, and account abstraction.
These innovative solutions are accelerating the widespread acceptance of Web3, prompting developers and businesses across various sectors — from financial services and payments to social media and beyond — to opt for providers like Portal. Our platform enables them to seamlessly implement an end-to-end Web3 solution to empower their applications. We are confident that these apps will spur the construction of the next generation of tools in the ensuing app-infrastructure cycle.
If you want to delve deeper into this app-infrastructure cycle, I strongly suggest reading these two insightful articles from USV and thirdweb:
