Jason Dominique wants crypto to blend into daily life
'When you go on Shopify, you don’t think about the payment,' he says. 'Crypto should feel the same'
In Southeast Asia, where mobile payments are second nature, Jason Dominique sees a gap: crypto still isn’t easy enough to use.
“Our vision and our mission at OnChain is to bring everyday finance on chain,” Dominique, Onchain's CEO, told The Crypto Radio during Philippine Blockchain Week 2025.
He wants to bridge the divide between technical infrastructure and everyday user behavior – making crypto feel less like an innovation and more like a tool.
The company also hosted an unconventional side event, “OnChain Fight Night,” which drew around 200 guests including influencers and entrepreneurs. The gathering reflected an effort to engage with a broader audience beyond the typical conference panels.
Simplifying the first step into crypto
Dominique sees the biggest challenge in crypto as the starting point. “We're trying to solve all of those friction points,” he said. These include setting up wallets, understanding gas fees, and figuring out how to buy digital assets in the first place.
For the majority of potential users, those steps feel unfamiliar – and unnecessary. That’s where OnChain Ramp comes in. The product allows users to buy blockchain-based assets with local currencies through payment methods they already use.
Dominique emphasized that familiarity is the goal. “When you go on a Shopify platform and buy something, you're not thinking, 'Wow, what an incredible payment experience,’” he said. “You just complete the transaction.”
By applying lessons from e-commerce, OnChain hopes users won’t even notice that they’re transacting with blockchain. “If we're successful at what we're doing, the new people that are going to be coming in, they're going to see it as any other payment flow,” he added.
Adapting to local payment habits
In Southeast Asia, dominant payment methods vary country by country – GCash in the Philippines, PromptPay in Thailand, UPI in India. Dominique said the company’s role is to work within that framework, not replace it.
“Different markets have different payment methods, and the objective here is just to offer as many options as possible,” he said.
By designing around existing habits, OnChain is trying to reduce the learning curve for users unfamiliar with blockchain. The experience is built to feel local, even if the transaction occurs on-chain. Dominique put it simply: “We're not here to reinvent the wheel.”
This pragmatic approach focuses not just on early adopters, but on people outside the crypto space altogether. “We're not just building for crypto users,” Dominique said. “We're building for the people who don’t even know they’re going to be crypto users yet.”
Building infrastructure for broader access
The Crypto Radio's Urian Buenconsejo talks to Onchain CEO Jason Dominique about lowering crypto’s barriers for everyday users
By simplifying onboarding, the team hopes to lower the barrier to entry for millions of people across the region. That includes not only payment flows, but also the wallet setup process – a major stumbling block for first-timers.
OnChain Ramp handles much of this in the background, minimizing what Dominique described as “cognitive load.”
While some blockchain startups focus on building new protocols, Dominique’s team is working to integrate existing financial tools into the crypto experience. “Ultimately, it's about removing friction and enabling seamless access to the blockchain world,” he said.
Their strategy also reflects growing recognition that crypto adoption will depend less on novelty and more on usability. Southeast Asia’s strong mobile infrastructure and widespread fintech usage provide the right conditions – but only if the experience feels safe and straightforward.
From complexity to routine
The broader vision isn’t about making crypto exciting – it’s about making it unremarkable. If the model succeeds, a blockchain transaction might feel no different than paying for groceries or topping up a phone.
That approach contrasts with much of the crypto industry’s traditional messaging, which often highlights disruptive potential over everyday practicality. OnChain’s bet is that true adoption will come when people don’t even realize they’re using crypto.
Whether that model will scale remains to be seen. But in Southeast Asia’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, Dominique’s thesis is gaining ground: that simplicity, not spectacle, will drive the next wave of growth.
