Blockchain technology in a centralized world
Blockchain technology is an underlying pillar that will inevitably support the future of both our digital and virtual worlds. The blockchain has many potential applications beyond digital currency – however, recent crypto scandals (Luna, FTX) have shone a negative light on this emerging market, but everybody knows that those scandals ultimately have a common denominator: centralisation. Which is the opposite of what blockchain technology.
Remember, at its core innovation, blockchain offers the decentralization of trust – helping disrupt intermediaries, distributing power, and reducing total dependence on authority.
Much like a database, the blockchain allows a way to create a permanent record of transparent transactions that can be quickly verified and updated. Think of it as a line of dominoes; once created, the records in any given block cannot be changed without changing all subsequent blocks throughout the chain – practically removing any possibility for fraud or tampering.
From decentralization to centralization
The internet was originally designed to be decentralized, with each node on the network connecting to every other node. This meant that if one node went down, the rest of the network would continue to function. Original protocols like IP, HTTP, FTP, SMTP, and XMPP all have open-source implementations – allowing anyone to host servers, share files, run websites and provide email services.
The building blocks of the internet are meant to be decentralized and distributed – however, as time went on, the internet became more centralized. This was because it became easier to manage and organize a network if there were fewer nodes involved – resulting in a state whereby most of the internet’s resources are now provided by centralized corporations.
This inevitably created an issue; if one part of the network goes down, it can affect all of it. One example of this is when Amazon Web Services (AWS) experienced an outage in February 2019. The single point of failure (SPOF) outage affected sites like Netflix and Slack as well as many smaller companies that rely on AWS for their cloud computing needs.
This highlights one of the major problems concerning a centralized framework; services like Facebook and Google have become indispensable to millions of users yet are often susceptible to numerous attacks – emphasizing the importance of a decentralized framework for the future of the internet.
Problems with over-centralization
There are many individuals that may wrongly associate decentralization with democracy – however, the democracy of today is more centralized than many perceive. Concepts are reduced to black and white, and good and bad – yet the reality is murky, filled with grey areas and uncertainty.
Centralization is not inherently evil, over-centralization is; continued cycles of reconcentrated power amongst the few will eventually lead to a system collapse. Fundamentally, resulting in a broken system. Equally, over-decentralization is as much a problem as over-centralization – with blockchain technology acting as a mediator between these two extremes.
From issues concerning control over personal data, a lack of access to content provided by social media, and SPOF outages, there is no denying the limitations of a centralized internet. With balance being found in leaning towards a more decentralized framework of what we currently experience, many problems can be solved.
Will crypto play a role in the re-decentralization of the internet?
Many of the online services we currently see today act as a double-edged sword; we see both a free plan and a paid plan. Naturally, the free plan is more attractive – yet individuals are paying for this ‘free’ service by providing copious amounts of information to these companies. Before realizing, through our data, we have become the product.
Either through direct payments to a company or indirectly through our data and advertisements – their services will have a cost. This is not shocking news; it is evident that companies need something in return for providing a service. However, in the capitalist system that we currently have, everything starts and ends with money.
Concerning this, without decentralized money transfer, it would be impossible for decentralized services to compete in terms of scale, efficiency, and traction. Thus, presenting one of the first roles of blockchain technology – creating an internet of value. Cryptocurrencies will most definitely play a major role in the evolution of the internet as we know it.
What is DeepSquare doing to foster this vision?
Decentralizing the Internet is a massive task. Many fabulous projects are working to make this true, for example, Filecoin and Storj. In this world, DeepSquare is creating the first sustainable, decentralized cloud ecosystem to enable high-performance computing.
Powered by a blockchain-revolutionary digital ecosystem that DeepSquare is creating is sure to take the world by storm; as a non-profit organization that has a strong focus on transparency, fair pricing, sustainability, and of course, a cloud ecosystem that can also support Web applications and Web 3.0 dApps – we can expect DeepSquare to be a major player in the mainstream adoption of this new infrastructure.
In a world where centralization has become the norm across many aspects of life, many issues reside, especially concerning the internet. Through blockchain technology, DeepSquare is solving these issues in a decentralized fashion. This will majorly impact all industries, from healthcare to real estate.
There is little doubt in the importance of decentralization when concerning high-performance cloud computing. DeepSquare has all the tools to address the issues of today’s centralized internet – helping evolve both our digital and virtual worlds to the point that it will create a much more vibrant ecosystem when compared to the centralized monolithic giants.
This article was co-authored by DeepSquare founders Florin Dzeladini and Diarmuid Daltun.
