Why Is It So Hard to Popularize Blockchain? Pi Network Founder Talks Behind the Scenes of Getting Early Users and Lessons Learned

Blockchain technology is expected to bring innovation to our society in a wide range of areas, including finance, medicine, and entertainment. Although terms like “Web3"And"decentralized internet", there are still many challenges to overcome before this technology can be fully integrated into the lives of ordinary people.

Why is it so difficult to popularize a technology with such great potential?

This article will provide guidance on this question through the story of the early challenges and struggles told by the founder of the Pi Network project. More than seven years after its inception, the founder embarked on an ambitious dream of mass adoption and began listening to the “real voices” of ordinary people. Their experiences will provide key insights into the future of blockchain technology.

This is the vision Nicholas shared at the Pi Network × Sign Protocol Seoul Meetup 2025. For details on the Meetup 2025, see the article below.
Pi Network × Sign Seoul Meetup: Strategic Partnership Opens New Possibilities

Article content

• Audio and video overview [Czech]
• Audio and video overview [English]
• First Steps into the Future: The Pi Network's Grand Vision and the Founder's Initial Impulses
  • Blockchain
• “Real Voices” from Shopping Malls: A Unique Attempt to Attract New Users
• The Gap Between Dreams and Reality: Barriers to Acceptance, as Seen by 54 Users
• From face-to-face to text-based communication: A new approach outlined in a white paper
• Pi Network's early experiences offer lessons for blockchain adoption
• Summary: Building the future of technology through continuous effort and customer support
• Related articles …
• PiNetwork

Estimated reading time: 7 minut

Audio and video overview [Czech]

Audio and video overview [English]

First Steps into the Future: The Pi Network's Grand Vision and the Founder's Initial Impulses

This story begins more than seven years ago. At that time, the founder of the project had a grand vision to build a new digital currency ecosystem called “Pi.” The vision was to make the potential of blockchain technology (a type of digital transaction ledger that is publicly monitored and absolutely immutable), such as decentralization and transparency, available to everyone in the world, not just a select few technicians.

Blockchain

Technology blockchain However, its conceptual complexity and extensive technical terminology make it seem remote to the general public. The founders believed that for this technology to truly take hold in society, it was necessary not only to achieve technical perfection, but also to deeply understand the human aspects of how people would adopt and use it.

“Real Voices” from Shopping Malls: A Unique Attempt to Attract New Users

The Pi Network project took a very unique approach in its early stages. The founders set a goal of getting the first 100 users and started by going to shopping malls and interviewing complete strangers. This bold attempt demonstrated the founders’ strong desire to explore the potential and challenges of blockchain in the real world, without being confined to an office or lab.

We met complete strangers at the mall to understand their potential vision and how relevant cryptocurrency is to their lives. We discovered what blockchain can do for the average person and what obstacles the cryptocurrency industry must overcome to achieve true mass adoption.

They sought to gather honest opinions and questions about how blockchain could impact people’s lives, what problems it could solve, and why people aren’t interested in it. This was a thorough market research effort aimed at understanding the value of the technology from a user’s perspective, rather than just promoting a product.

The Gap Between Dreams and Reality: Barriers to Acceptance, as Seen by 54 Users

However, this shopping mall venture proved to be more difficult than the founders had imagined. Although they reached out to many people, they were met with many rejections. They failed to reach their original goal of 100 people, and in the end, only 54 people signed up.

This experience made the founder aware of how difficult it will be to achieve mass adoption of blockchain technology. Why do so many people feel resistance to blockchain and virtual currencies?

• Obstacles to understanding: There is a lot of technical terminology and abstract concepts, making it difficult to intuitively understand the benefits.
• Reliability issues: Since this is a new technology, there are concerns about security and stability.
• Unclear need: Many people feel that the current system is sufficient in their daily lives.
• Operational complexity: User interfaces and procedures are complex and require digital literacy.

My lived experience in the shopping mall taught me that these “barriers to adoption” are not just technical issues, but are deeply connected to psychological and social aspects.

From face-to-face to text-based communication: A new approach outlined in a white paper

Through interviews with 54 early adopters, the founders came to one important conclusion: “It would be inefficient to continue explaining the complexity of our vision and technology to each of them.".

This realization marked a turning point that significantly changed the direction of the project.

Looking for a way to more effectively and accurately communicate the vision and technology of Pi Network to a wider audience, they decided to write “white paper". A white paper is an official document that systematically describes the goals of a project, the problems it seeks to solve, its technical structure, roadmap, economic model, and so on.

Writing this white paper was a strategic step to overcome the limitations of personal individual explanations and allow people around the world to learn more about the project anytime, anywhere. And as the founders say: “The rest is history.", this white paper played a key role in the development of Pi Network into what it is today.

Pi Network's early experiences offer lessons for blockchain adoption

This early story, as told by the founders of Pi Network, is more than just the history of one project; it offers universal lessons for the mass adoption of blockchain technology in general.

The key lessons from this experience can be summarized as follows:

• The importance of a user-centered approach: It is essential to deeply understand the needs and concerns of the people who will actually use the technology, not just those who are developing it.
• Striving for easy understanding: Efforts must be made to “translate” technical content into familiar terms and analogies that everyone can understand. It is important to use simple terms while capturing the essence, for example explaining blockchain as “a digital ledger of transactions that is monitored by everyone and cannot be tampered with.”
• Communication strategy: You need a strategy for delivering accurate and engaging information through a variety of channels, including in-person contact, digital content, and communities.
• Continuous dialogue and improvement: Early feedback and a willingness to adjust the direction and approach of the project are key to success.

For cutting-edge technologies to take hold in society, not only technological superiority is necessary, but also a multifaceted perspective and persistent efforts to win people's sympathy, build trust, and integrate them into everyday life.

Summary: Building the future of technology through continuous effort and customer support

The initial challenges described by the founder of Pi Network teach us how difficult it is to achieve the ambitious goal of mass adoption of blockchain technology. The raw voices of 54 people interviewed in a shopping mall and the resulting white paper suggest that for a company to truly embrace the technology, it is necessary to take the user’s perspective and constantly strive to gain their understanding and sympathy.

Building the future of blockchain and Web3 requires not only advanced technological development, but also the role of storytellers who can stimulate people’s intellectual curiosity, alleviate their anxieties, and clearly communicate their value. We hope that this first story of the Pi network will provide readers with a new perspective on the potential of blockchain technology and the human aspects of its widespread adoption in society. If you are interested in this area, we encourage you to continue your education by consulting trusted sources such as the official Pi network whitepaper.

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