7 Reasons Why Secret Network Isn't Popular (Yet)

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post expressing my opinion about @SecretNetwork . Honestly, I didn’t expect such a response, and I’m grateful for the support!

I want to share 7 reasons why it is still not popular

Introduction

My first experience with Secret Network was in the fall of 2021. Back then, I worked with Secret Bridge,@sienna_network, btn group, and @AdamantFi. It was quite a difficult experience since I didn’t fully understand how the network worked, and the transaction signing process was painful—it took at least 20 clicks to sign a transaction through Ledger. Because of this, I stopped using @Ledger with Secret at that time. (Now, the situation with @Shade_Protocol is better now)

1. Complexity of Use

About six months ago, a friend approached me, asking if I could help transfer funds in a way that minimized their digital footprint. (He’s an honest citizen, pays taxes, and the income from this money was also taxed.) Together, we figured out how to move funds from fiat through Ethereum and then via Secret Network. In the end, he said, “This is intense, man.” It didn’t hit me immediately. I’d spent years immersed in blockchain and a lot of time understanding how everything works to the point it became second nature. Imagine if a new user wanted to go through all of this?

2. Liquidity

Let’s say I want to swap token A for token B. For small amounts, slippage can reach an enormous 5-10%, which makes me wonder whether security is worth such losses. I think it isn’t, and many users would agree. Sure, we can wrap tokens as secret tokens and swap them, for example, in the $EVM network, constantly bridging tokens (or on @osmosiszone , for example). This is a workaround, but does it create convenience? Definitely not!

3. Lack of Awareness

Let’s step away from pragmatism and add a bit of philosophy. Every person is unique by nature, but fully realizing one’s value in this world requires courage, determination, and an unbreakable will. In my experience, I often encounter responses like, “I’m not that important,” “This is too hard, who am I hiding from?” or “I’m not doing anything illegal.” I’m not advocating for anarchy. I’m not equating anonymity with anarchy. I strive to show people just how important their anonymity is.

In our society, there is a belief that if you’re hiding something, you’re doing something illegal, so “privacy” is often seen as a pretty political slogan, like the American Dream. That’s long gone, and corporations have proven this repeatedly. Blockchain is also moving toward de-anonymization. I mentioned the @ArkhamIntel project before. Let’s add AI here, which learns from everything it can. How long can we stay safe? The answer: not long.

4. Financial Illiteracy

Who uses #DeFi? These are people who understand the credit-financial system or work with finance. In both cases, they are people who know how to manage money, and they came to DeFi for a reason (although, who am I kidding—the current narratives dictate that meme coins are the fuel for Web3 development, and it’s hard to argue with that). We’re naturally inclined to seek quick rewards. In an era where short videos and texts get more attention than thought-out and structured articles or essays, people are pushed to look for quicker wins. APR at 4%? Are you serious? Many look at that sceptically.

5. Distrust

I’ve already mentioned that hiding something is often considered illegal. This also applies to Secret Network: why should I trust those creating something secret, even with good intentions?

@Snowden and @JulianAssange_ also believed in the rightness of their actions, but they broke commonly accepted laws. I don’t want to be the judge; everyone chooses their side in this struggle. I want to emphasize that trust should be mutual, even if we’re talking about anonymity.

6. Rewards

Deep down, we all want a “carrot” for completing tasks, whether it’s work tasks or purchases. Every action we take is about meeting our needs, and DeFi is all about finance.

Of course, technology is important, but ask 10 people, and 9 will say that money plays the primary role (assuming, of course, your target audience isn’t developers who don’t care about Bitcoin’s price).

Take the Shade protocol, for example. For providing liquidity, we receive SHD tokens along with a base APR. Given how much the token price fluctuates, how profitable is it for ordinary users to provide liquidity? I think the answer is clear.

7. Popularity

Ask a friend which cryptocurrency they know, and they’ll say “Bitcoin.” I haven’t met anyone who would say otherwise. Secret Network may not aim for the same level of popularity as Bitcoin, but they still want to promote their technology.

Two weeks ago, my account was blocked due to a P2P transaction they didn’t like, and they labelled me a fraud. At that moment, I reminded myself who controls the usual things.

I want to clarify that by popularity, I mean the ability to solve problems. Security is the number one priority for all humanity, which includes freedom rights and anonymity (if that’s what the individual wants).

I like to use the @injective protocol as an example. If you’re not a developer, but rather, like me, a user, this protocol might seem complex—but they managed to make it easier. They combined security convenience in the @cosmos network and entered the EVM market. A good move? Yes! I think that for greater engagement, @SecretNetwork needs to expand into popular networks, while also building its ecosystem. Give people simple scenarios, and then you can onboard them to more complex ones.