Once envisioned as a peer-to-peer payment system, cryptocurrency has evolved to sit at the heart of an emerging ecosystem of decentralized applications that sit at the heart of the Web3 movement.
To participate in the Web3 economy, you can only do so with crypto, which is why it has become vitally important for the industry to solve the riddle of converting fiat money into digital assets. Businesses that can facilitate simple, seamless, and secure fiat-to-crypto conversions can gain a considerable competitive edge over those that don’t.
One way developers can do this is to integrate with a fast-growing breed of services known as “crypto on-ramps”, which are offered by companies like Ramp Network, Moonpay, and Transak. These on-ramps are a gateway to the Web3 industry, as they make it simple for new users, using a decentralized application or dApp for the first time, to convert their fiat funds into digital tokens. On-ramps offer a mechanism for converting fiat to crypto, and back again, directly within any dApp, eliminating many of the steps involved in the onboarding process.
Web3’s Biggest Onboarding Obstacle
Web3 enthusiasts are convinced that the decentralized internet will one day surpass what is now known as “Web2”, which is the name for the heavily centralized legacy web. They foresee a world in which community-owned and democratically-governed applications become the norm, with services hosted on distributed networks that aren’t owned by any large corporation.
There’s still much work to be done to make this vision a reality, but Web3 has strong momentum behind it, with an increasing number of traditional brands and even legacy financial institutions showing a keen interest in the concept of decentralization. Progress has been rapid, especially in terms of making crypto more accessible.
The crypto industry has long had a reputation for being overly complex and difficult to understand. The need to create and secure wallets, which can be custodial and non-custodial, and hardware-based and software-based, can be a source of confusion for many. And then there’s the challenge of getting some crypto in the first place.
For years, the easiest way to buy crypto was to go to a cryptocurrency exchange, sign up and purchase it there. But for someone who’s suddenly found themselves browsing a decentralized app for the first time, that’s an awful lot of hassle. If they find the dApp interesting, and want to play around with it, they’ll have to use Google to find a suitable exchange platform, sign up and create an account with that exchange, provide whatever ID that’s required, and then if they’re concerned about custody, they’ll also have to go and get themselves a non-custodial wallet. Once they’ve done all that, there’s a good chance they won’t even remember what dApp they were looking at.
On-Ramps Make It Easy
Thankfully, the emergence of crypto on-ramps has dramatically changed the onboarding process. By using the services of firms like Ramp Network, new dApp users can buy the digital assets they need conveniently, directly within the dApp, with just a few simple clicks, sidestepping the hoops they previously had to jump through.
The beauty of Ramp Network is that its on-ramp services can be integrated into any kind of application using a simple API. Conveniently, they support multiple payment methods, such as bank transfers, credit and debit cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and more. Users can also download Ramp Network’s dedicated app, which makes it simple to buy or sell crypto at any moment.
By integrating a fiat-to-crypto on-ramp within their dApp, users no longer have to navigate to a crypto exchange, and that makes it much more likely that they’ll go ahead and buy some crypto, and engage with the dApp in question.
Why Are On-Ramps Better?
Of all the reasons why on-ramps are superior, it surely has to be the increased simplicity. When a dApp integrates with Ramp Network’s on-ramp, they give their users the option to buy the necessary crypto right there and then, making it much easier to obtain. What’s more, they eliminate the headaches of finding an exchange that supports the digital token the user needs to buy.
These days there are hundreds of crypto exchanges, but they all omit hundreds of different digital assets. For instance, Coinbase, the biggest exchange in the U.S., currently doesn’t support XRP, despite that token being one of the top-ten ranked cryptocurrencies in terms of its market capitalization. But if a dApp integrates with an on-ramp, it’s a sure thing you’ll be able to buy the desired crypto.
Another compelling advantage of on-ramps is the increased security they provide. With Ramp Network, the entire process of buying and selling crypto is decentralized, so there’s no need to deposit your funds with a centralized party like you’ll need to do with an exchange. That’s a big win for consumers who care about self-custody. People are right to be wary of crypto exchanges, after all, as users of FTX found out to their dismay not so long ago.
In the case of Ramp Network, it also provides around-the-clock support in case users have any questions or problems with their transactions, ensuring they can get immediate answers rather than worrying about it. Users can purchase 108 supported cryptocurrencies at the time of writing, and the extensive support for different payment methods means that few should have problems in finding a way to pay. Its exchange rates are very competitive with traditional crypto exchanges, too, enabling users to very often save money on their crypto purchases.
Ramp Network also strikes a good balance between security and the user experience, using techniques such as behavioral analytics and device fingerprinting to keep onboarding friction to a minimum. Basically, once the user signs up the first time, they’ll be able to use Ramp Network’s services forever more with minimal hassles.
For developers, the benefits include easy interaction. Embedding Ramp Network’s on-ramps into any dApp is an effortless task, thanks to its simple API, which can be added by pasting just a couple of lines of code. White label integrations are also supported.
Ramping Up Web3’s Momentum
The Web3 industry is growing incredibly fast, and on-ramps are playing a big part in that thanks to the way they make the crypto onboarding process simpler than ever, increasing accessibility to every kind of dApp.
Indeed, the growth of Web3 is such that almost every dApp developer faces numerous competitors, whether it’s in DeFi, blockchain games, or some other industry segment. By making it simple for their users to buy crypto through an on-ramp, dApp developers can make certain that users stick with them rather than trying out a competitor’s dApp to see if it’s easier.
Crypto on-ramps today power a number of use cases that are critical for Web3, with support for crypto purchases, global payouts, and NFT checkouts. By integrating a secure, reliable, compliant, and convenient payment service like Ramp Network, developers are making their dApps more accessible, accelerating the momentum of the decentralized web.
Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.
