Blockchain: The Largest Experiment in Human Collaboration
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Blockchain: The Largest Experiment in Human Collaboration
As an industry, blockchain champions complete transparency.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthors: ELLA, KEONE
Translation: TechFlow
Blockchain is one of the largest and most significant experiments in the history of human collaboration. It is a decentralized movement that has driven a generation of researchers, engineers, builders, and users to create some of the most fascinating technologies within our lifetime.
The transparent nature of blockchain provides users with assurances of control. Examples include protection of anonymity, transparency in transaction settlement status, and clarity in how services operate. Users can also choose to participate in blockchain networks and receive corresponding rewards. From a builder’s perspective, developers can reuse existing code, accelerating the pace of innovation.
As more technologies migrate onto blockchains, the network effects of seamless composability will grow, further enhancing the value proposition of decentralized applications.
Putting Users, Developers, Builders—and the Community—First
As an industry, blockchain champions radical transparency. The industry standard of open-source project code and the immutability of on-chain contracts mean that even if the primary organization behind a network dissolves, its services can still be used.
There are countless examples of centralized entities shutting down services, leaving developers and users stranded. For instance, earlier this year, Google announced it would shut down its popular cloud gaming service, Stadia. Decentralization and immutability help protect users and developers from such risks.
Under the Web2 paradigm, users indirectly “pay” for services because their personal information and online behavior are captured and sold to third parties. In Web3, a person’s address serves as their sole identity; users remain anonymous, and applications require minimal information to conduct transactions. Blockchain users also never encounter reversals—settlements are instantaneous.
However, because of this, Web3 services typically charge users directly through protocol-level transaction fees, which are paid directly to independent network operators to cover operational costs. To offset transaction fee inflation, more efficient Layer 1 blockchains have prioritized architectures supporting cheaper transactions, while users can also choose to participate in network operations to earn rewards that offset costs. For example, on the Ethereum network, users can build an expanding ecosystem of services, run a node, or secure the network via shared staking. Rewarding user-network operators aligns incentives across the user base and represents a form of user empowerment.
Another clear advantage of using decentralized networks is gaining insight into how these services function. The industry standard of open-source code ensures that services do not come with surprises such as retaining user privacy data or hidden charges.
From a builder’s standpoint, open-source code and libraries promote equality. Building in public not only leads to better outcomes but also enables faster innovation. Builders can stand metaphorically on the shoulders of giants.
The Future Is Open Innovation and Blockchain Interoperability
Decentralized applications running on blockchains inherit the same properties as their underlying layers. In recent years, the number of on-chain use cases has surged. These span from gaming and music to data storage and document creation. Web3 builders are making both existing and new use cases more prevalent in our daily lives through continuous improvements in UX and UI.
Keeping hundreds of thousands of nodes—distributed across different locations and operating under various setups—in sync is no easy task, yet this is exactly what Ethereum has managed to achieve. The network’s transparency and resilience lay the foundation for trust that could serve millions of people daily. In the future, further scalability enhancements and improvements to blockchain virtual machine capabilities will enable decentralized applications to reach billions.
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