Accessing Web3 Onboarding and Trust via Vipps

Abstract

Web3 applications strive to enable decentralization and user sovereignty, but often remain inaccessible to mainstream users due to complex onboarding and unfamiliar interaction paradigms. This study presents a Web2-inspired onboarding solution that integrates an embedded custodial wallet with OpenID Connect (OIDC) authentication via Vipps, a Norwegian bank-backed identity provider with over 4.6 million verified users. The proposed approach abstracts wallet management and removes the need for seed-phrase setup while introducing real-world identity assurance into the Web3 environment. A blockchain-based Battleship proof-of-concept was developed to demonstrate the approach, aiming to make Web3 interactions more intuitive and trustworthy. A mixed-method evaluation, combining usability testing and semi-structured interviews, revealed that integrating familiar login flows with verified identities improves usability, conceptual understanding, and both peer and ecosystem trust. The findings suggest that leveraging centralized identity providers can act as a pragmatic bridge between Web2 and Web3, potentially lowering initial onboarding barriers.