Decentralization Wins In The End
The Blurb
“For The People”
“Decentralization is the process by which the activities of an organization…are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group.”
I try to relate to the argument against Decentralized protocols, but then quickly sober up. Too many people are brainwashed to support an opinion by the person/s they support. Many times without researching the topic beforehand. I shouldn’t have to repeat myself for you to realize that’s a PROBLEM. How crazy is it that someone who thinks for themself even 75% of the time is a RARE commodity?
Decentralized Networks and Protocols such as Bitcoin, Chainlink, Strike etc. are all imperative to a user-friendly future. People are against this idea due to their lack of knowledge and the misinformation spewing from centralized organizations(Media, Banks, Government). Decentralization comes at the cost of these organizations losing power; so it’s no surprise that what they’re telling you is false/bias.
The internet began in 1969, when the Department of Defense connected 3 different computers. One in Santa Monica, one at the University of California Berkley, and one at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. IBM helped grow the Network by connecting computers at University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and other Public schools in Michigan. By 1972, multiple Universities in states such as Utah, California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Michigan were all interconnected. Followed by a breakthrough when The British Post Office, Western Union International, and Tymnet (later sold to AT&T) formed a public network. By 1990, this network allowed computers to send data internationally to the U.S, Europe, Canada, Hong Kong, and Australia.
As you can see universities acted as data centers for the Network; and still do. Data was able to pass through these networks, but was ultimately controlled by the centralized telecommunication companies/committees. We’ve become accustomed to using the internet without questioning who OWNS these networks. Today, a large percentage of these companies/organizations are still in control of these Networks. In 1998, Bluetooth Network allowed wireless devices to connect using Personal Area Networks (PANs). People started holding data on their wireless smartphones instead of computers. Today, you can send videos/messages to other devices through bluetooth via airdrop. Unfortunately, this was just another network managed by a group of centralized tech companies including Ericsson, Intel, Nokia, Toshiba, Microsoft, Lenovo, and Apple. Some thought we LEAPFROGGED past this problem when VPNs were implemented, but we later find out a certain country owns a majority of those as well. It gets worse when you realize that you sign off your personal rights every time you download a new app. This includes your location, camera options, microphone etc.
50 years later we still use Networks CONTROLLED by the same conglomerates owned by the same investors. How is it that we use Western Union to process payments in 1 business day when we have a perfectly good alternative in Strike? Strike is a DECENTRALIZED money protocol that sends money instantly using the DECENTRALIZED Bitcoin Network. This stops any single person/organization stopping your money transfer or turning off the protocol.
These companies are trying to maneuver themselves into the blockchain/Defi space. You’ll see many projects claim to be “decentralized”, but later find out a majority of their tokens are held by COMMON wallets/entities. Why is it that they’re always looking for a piece of the pie? Why are they so against decentralized protocols where you exchange value person to person with no centralized 3rd party? It’s because they realize the value of your data and you DON’T.
We NEED to operate on a network where nobody owns, but instead we help it THRIVE. In a perfect digital world we operate in a decentralized manner where you own everything on/in your phone, profile, etc. Where networks/users can’t be shut off by a single company, CEO or Government. Once recorded on the Blockchain, it’s recorded, timestamped and can’t be changed or deleted. The ledger holds all transactions on the blockchain. This creates transparency and trust within the community. Since everything is open and transparent there’s no manipulation and everything can be tracked. For example, someone steals $200 million from a persons wallet. They can divvy it up and send it to as many different wallets as they please. Every transaction from one wallet to another will be recorded on the ledger. So instead of being scared of the hackers, we should be focussing on building out the security sector. Creating jobs and devices that could scan through the ledger for theft.
The blockchain brings value to things you’d never think of. You can exchange pictures, posts or messages as Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs). This really changes the way we think of “sales” when we create NFTs out of physical possessions. You can inscribe code that the purchase of an NFT replica of your home allows you to buy/own the physical house. This allows a seamless money transfer between two buyers without a third party. It would also be written in a smart contract and proven on the ledger.
We need to be voting on and writing the code for these Networks/Protocols. For example, Ethereum users held a COMMUNITY vote to switch their mining from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake. Citizens should be the ones benefitting and profiting from the Networks that CONTROL our society. It shouldn’t be a handful of companies who extract value and percentages that trickle down to the user.
When you take the data and networks away from countries, the only thing they end up with is weapons and military(Still Needed). How much of war is stopped when information is transparent and controlled by the PEOPLE and not centralized organizations?
The U.S.A needs to act quickly and adopt these protocols. The individuals using these protocols are some of the most wealthy individuals in the world. Country’s have already adopted this way of living. El Salvador announced Bitcoin as their legal tender earlier this year. Individuals will simply move to a country where it’s legal and build societies in those nation states. How’d it turn out for North Korea after not adopting the internet? Web 3.0 is no different and like I said, decentralization WINS in the end.
Hopefully I made you think for yourself while reading this. Possibly even have you realize just how centralized our world is when everything we use runs on these networks. Have a good week, Peace.