Minimizing friction is the most basic requirement in all of this, I think, and the chips idea is a good one for exactly that reason. I’d add one thing: it’s not only about making Monero easier to use, it’s about making Monero a need.

Current users already use it out of need, since nobody uses something they don’t need. Take you, for example: you’re an anarchist, so you don’t want a state having a say over your money, and that’s why you need Monero (don’t get me wrong, I’m not speaking for you, just take it as a reasonable assumption). But the people who see it as a “need” are a small group, and they generally come from the same circles. Monero’s built-in benefits happen to matter to you, so you need it.

What I think we need is to make using Monero a “have to” situation, beyond those built-in benefits. In other words: first build something people need, then make Monero the only way to access it. It doesn’t have to be for everyone. Even a specific but visible, high-volume group is enough. Here’s an example: artists. They post their work online constantly, draw fan art, get thousands of likes, yet very few can actually live off their work. Say we gave them a platform where they could really get paid for their labor (it’s not as simple as it sounds, take it as a thought experiment), and the platform works only with Monero.

At first there would obviously be a big barrier. But once that platform is the strongest door to that income, learning Monero stops being an ideology thing and becomes the price of entry. They wouldn’t learn it because they love Monero, but because they have to. Naturally, their followers would end up running into Monero through them as well, including people who would never have gone looking for it on their own.