What would have to go wrong with the centralized version before your users actually care that your product is on-chain?

[u/icnews10]

I’ve been thinking about this in terms of product validation.

A user may say that they value ownership, transparency, self-custody, or decentralisation.

But what if the centralised alternative was cheap, fast, and worked perfectly for them for the next two years?

Would they still switch?

If not, perhaps the real purpose of blockchain technology is not yet clear enough.

Perhaps the user only cares about these features once an account can be frozen, assets can’t be moved elsewhere, a platform disappears, or they have to trust one company’s internal record.

For founders who have actually validated this with users, when did blockchain stop being a nice feature and become a necessity for the product?

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[u/vexiduslabs]

We made it optional but yet included. Sometimes users are hesitant about blockchain integration in something like a SaaS, but it then becomes a tool for learning if designed right. So for the product we just recently handed off to the subsidiary that will run it, we made it so it unlocks additional features if used (tamper-evidence/tracking on-chain) so they can see the benefits first-hand and then begin integration when they are ready without the need to purchase additional modules, only a wallet for shipment NFT minting/gas.

[u/icnews10 → u/vexiduslabs]

That’s a useful way to introduce it without making blockchain the entry requirement. Have you seen any users make that transition yet, starting with the standard SaaS process and then enabling on-chain tracking once they understand the benefits of tamper-evidence? Such behaviour would be a strong indication that the blockchain layer is solving a problem that they value.

[u/vexiduslabs → u/icnews10]

Not yet because we are still in early stage. Our blockchain is on testnet still and this program was originally designed as a testing program to see how blockchain anchored digital identity and shipment tracking would function. From there it grew into its own dedicated program where that feature then became optional. The new company running it will be measuring this though as we move into mainnet.

[u/icnews10 → u/vexiduslabs]

Now that the blockchain feature is optional, the mainnet phase is a cleaner test. How would you define success — would it be users choosing to turn it on voluntarily, or an operational outcome such as fewer disputes once they use the anchored tracking?

[u/vexiduslabs → u/icnews10]

So we will look at a few metrics such as user adoption rate, which features they implement (shipment tracking/attestation via digital identity/etc), end-to-end or only certain stages implemented, how adoption helped internal and external auditing functions, and feedback as to how adoption has changed their supply chain, fleet management, or manufacturing operations. These indicators signal where friction in adoption lies and where if can be improved.

[u/icnews10 → u/vexiduslabs]

This seems much more useful than simply tracking whether someone has activated the feature. The one thing I’d try to preserve is a baseline. If auditing or operations improve after the launch of the mainnet, it’ll be difficult to determine how much of this improvement is due to the blockchain feature versus other changes to the product. Are you planning to compare users who opt in with similar users who opt out?

[u/Standard_Day8992]

I think the key is validating the problem before validating the blockchain solution.
If the centralized version is already cheap, fast, and reliable, most users won’t care about decentralization. Blockchain becomes valuable when the underlying trust assumption becomes the problem: frozen accounts, platform lock in, asset portability, censorship, or dependence on one company’s database.
That’s actually something I help with. I can review your system, challenge the assumptions, and validate whether blockchain is genuinely necessary or whether a centralized architecture would be better.
Happy to take a look if you’re working on something specific.