Right now everything in bitcoin is friction. The base layer is high friction because of fees. Lightning is high friction because it's still beta, and the front ends are not great. Liquid has friction because it is not used much yet. Bisq is a great idea, but high friction. just about NONE of this stuff is ready for prime time.
Thats an interesting observation. Why didnt crypto quite complete into something easy.
Even bitcoin still a mystery to most.
I see this as an analog to the early days of MP3 music. There was this new cool way to handle music, but people could only play them on a computer, and they were not yet portable. Then the first MP3 players started showing up. I still have a "Diamond Rio" here somewhere, lol.
Those things were a nightmare. The UI was difficult, and the whole process required a lot of computer skill to get from "I have a CD" to "I have an MP3 player with my favorite songs on it".
Then Apple came in with the iPhones and iPods and defined the industry. Now grandmas could listen to music on their phones or easy to use devices.
Bitcoin is currently in the Diamond Rio phase.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_PMP300