“The VC mogul has previously said crypto apps must hide blockchain complexity or risk missing mass-market adoption.”, — write: www.coindesk.com
“Blockchains disappear behind better consumer interfaces that allow users to use, spend, trade, and send tokens without concerning themselves with which blockchain they are on,” Wilson, who called bitcoin BTC$94,178.35 an “interesting investment opportunity” back in 2011, wrote in a blog post published last week.
The prediction, tucked into a longer set of Wilson’s tech forecasts for 2026, reflects a view he has held for years: blockchain’s promise depends on ease of use, not technical horsepower.
Wilson is a founding partner of Union Square Ventures (USV), the New York-based VC firm behind early bets on Twitter, Etsy, and Tumblr. In crypto, he was early to Coinbase (COIN), Ethereum ETH$3,157.07and Filecoin Phil$1.4919and remains a consistent voice in long-term conversations about how blockchain could reshape the internet.
Wilson, who has often described blockchains as the “next big thing” after social and mobile, has also been openly critical of the crypto industry’s worst habits. He’s pushed back against the culture of hype and token speculation, warning that short-term greed threatens the long-term credibility of the space.
That real work, in Wilson’s view, includes things like decentralized identity, peer-to-peer finance, and open protocols that anyone can build on.
In past posts, he compared the current state of crypto to the early internet, when even sending an email required a level of technical know-how.
The path forward, he seems to believe, lies in better design. Apps should handle the infrastructure details — like what chain a transaction is on — in the background, so that users can focus on what they want to do, not how they’re doing it.
For Wilson, this isn’t just a UX issue — it’s the difference between crypto staying a niche technology and achieving broad adoption.
KuCoin captured a record share of centralized exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the broader crypto market.
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per monthmarking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralized exchange volumeas KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumeswhich slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly spliteach exceeding $500 billion for the year, signaling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activityreinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activityindicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
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The storage token outperformed the broader crypto market during a volatile session.
- FIL jumped 6% on Monday to $1.59, outpacing the broader crypto market.
- The CoinDesk 20 index was 2.2% higher.
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