Getting crypto out of the 'AOL era' — Sandeep Nailwal

The existent authorities of crypto is akin to the internet's "America Online" (AOL) epoch during the precocious 1990s, erstwhile the idiosyncratic acquisition was clunky, technical, featured constricted usage cases, and moved astatine dial-up speeds, according to Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal.

In an interrogation with Cointelegraph, Nailwal identified respective cardinal areas of improvement to amended idiosyncratic experience, including seamless fiat on- and off-ramps, custody solutions that diagnostic cardinal recovery, and hardware wallets built into mobile devices.

"We are successful the dial-up epoch of the net wherever adjacent connecting to the Internet was a tedious task, similar you had to beryllium a mini-engineer to beryllium capable to link to the Internet — we are inactive determination successful crypto." —Sandeep Nailwal

“We are astir apt inactive successful 1998, and it is going to instrumentality astatine slightest 10 to 15 years to spot crypto successful its afloat glory,” the Polygon laminitis added.

While considered revolutionary astatine the time, the AOL days of the net featured constricted functionality and a precocious obstruction to entry. Source: PC Magazine

The net took betwixt 30-40 years to execute wide adoption and began with a constricted fig of usage cases. In the precocious 1990s, the AOL epoch of the net was chiefly focused connected email and basal web browsing, but today, the net encompasses the full economy.

Nailwal said that the existent authorities of crypto is similar, with fiscal usage cases, particularly marketplace speculation, being the halfway absorption of crypto astatine this time.

However, erstwhile the fiscal usage cases person been afloat developed and achieved capable adoption, crypto adoption volition dispersed to alternative usage cases specified arsenic decentralized societal media, gaming, and different niche sectors, helium said.

Related: Security concerns dilatory crypto outgo adoption worldwide — Survey

Being successful crypto contiguous is being aboriginal to the party

Nailwal pointed retired that adjacent the basal usage lawsuit for cryptocurrencies, which is financial, has not been afloat developed.

According to a February 2025 report from Bitcoin (BTC) fiscal services institution River, lone 4% of individuals worldwide ain BTC — which is the archetypal cryptocurrency with the largest marketplace headdress and has the astir mainstream appeal.

Bitcoin’s adoption path. Source: River

The study recovered that BTC has lone achieved astir 3% of its full adoption way erstwhile institutions, the full addressable market, and due portfolio allocations are considered.

This tiny fig of BTC holders indicates that crypto wide adoption is inactive years distant and signals that the full manufacture is inactive successful the early adopter phase of development.

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