Web5 vs. Web3: Infrastructure, The Flux Trump-card

When Jack Dorsey announced the launch of Web5, a new web protocol via Twitter, many agreed the trolling antics of the former Twitter CEO were back in full swing.

Not one to back down, however, Jack went on to release a PowerPoint presentation that attempts to detail the scope of this supposedly new internet.

The highlights?

Decentralized digital identifiers and decentralized storage.

Sounds familiar?

Of course. It has Web 3.0 written all over it; decentralization has been the primary drive behind the web3 ecosystem. Well, not, according to Jack, who believes web3 is “ultimately a centralized entity with a different label.”

A day later, Coindesk, the team lead for TDB, Jack’s subsidiary for blockchain projects, provided further insight into this new protocol and proclaimed it as the ultimate competitor to web3.

Unmasking Web5

According to TDB, Web5 offers a decentralized layer of identity and data storage that allows for data portability over different applications. Each user possesses a digital wallet that stores their data and gives them the flexibility of choice in sharing this data.

At the core, a decentralized digital identity across different platforms will allow users to carry their customized experiences from one application to the other.

But that’s not all.

GoodBye smart-contracts? Bitcoin maximalists believe in the superiority of the Bitcoin network. With Jack Dorsey as a strong advocate of this ideology, TDB has announced that Web5 will be built on the Bitcoin network, without smart contracts, and off the blockchain.

The whole point of projects running on the blockchain was to promote transparency and accountability. What happens when records are off the chain, and it becomes impossible to track what’s going on?

Mike Brock also added on Twitter that there would be no tokens to invest in, probably to underline the network’s goal to steer clear of venture capitalists.

While the solid details around Web5 remain sketchy, the TDB website promised components such as Decentralized Web nodes, Decentralized Web Apps, and a self-sovereign identity SDK.

Web5 murders Web3?

Web5 has been rumored as the ultimate Web3 foe and internet messiah. However, the protocol can be summarized as Web3 running on Bitcoin.

Why Bitcoin?

In the maximalist opinion, Bitcoin is the perfection of the blockchain system; other chains are well, just not good enough.

But what exactly does Jack have against Web3?

The former Twitter CEO believes venture capitalists, not the users, control Web3, making it a decentralization theater.

To this, Daniel Keller replies;

“I would say that he’s 99.9% right, but the one point percent is Flux.”

Beyond names and terms

Whether it’s called Web3, Web5, or any other tag, the future of the web seems pretty straightforward; a decentralized internet where data and control are in the hands of the users.

Flux ticks all the boxes.

Unlike many other projects, Flux was not VC-funded and did not become valuable via ICOs. The ecosystem has grown by building and creating the infrastructure and the tools needed to build a web free of authoritarian control.

While Jack Dorsey’s Web5 promises a future with decentralized nodes, Flux already has it running, with over 12,000 nodes decentralized in control and geography.

FluxNodes have played a significant role in computing power for applications hosted on the ecosystem. The release of Flux Titan nodes has also taken this approach further, opening up new potential for shared node hosting.

FluxNodes have proven to be a faster, scalable, and more decentralized alternative to traditional hosting and centralized servers. Since these nodes are redundant and with no single point of failure, they offer a practical and cost-effective option for small business owners and developers to host their applications on a solid infrastructure.

The number of projects onboarded on the ecosystem since launch is also a testimony to the platform’s viability.

Decentralized storage is not a strange concept; there are already established services BitTorrent, Sia, and FileCoin, and decentralized identifiers are one of the uses-cases already captured with Flux.

The idea of a layered protocol on the Bitcoin network to compensate for the speed limitations and create, by extension, a faster, more scalable network does not sound too shabby (maybe the idea of Bitcoin as the ultimate blockchain is a bit old-fashioned, but of course, Jack is a maximalist). However, Flux is already finalizing its plans to deploy Lightning Network.

Lightning Network will allow for fast blockchain payments without the drawback of block confirmation time. The network uses Bitcoin as an arbiter and makes off-chain transactions possible while maintaining the enforceability of on-chain transactions. This is possible by making the transactions and scripts parsable.

Flux Now, Forever.

In effect, Flux provides the ideal computational environment to run a lot of what TDB calls “Web5”. Daniel Keller says, ‘It doesn’t matter whether it is called Web3, Web5, or web50, Flux will run it.’

The real goal is a faster, scalable, and more decentralized Web ecosystem that requires all hands on deck.

The future is not the sunset of other technologies to promote a single project; it is an interoperable network that supports the security and privacy of users on the web. Of course, Jack’s wealth of experience would be a welcome and invaluable contribution to this future.

Maybe some decentralization theater projects are masquerading to be Web3 online. Perhaps there are Web3 projects that give power to VCs rather than the people; however, Flux has demonstrated that beyond names and tags, it can get the job done, and the people indeed build it for the people.

Flux is committed to providing the tools needed to build a free web, an ecosystem where applications can run genuinely decentralized. We are making the future of the web. Join us: runonflux.io