Mark Zuckerberg says he intends to consider incorporating the technology behind bitcoin to decentralize Facebook. According to the Facebook founder, the internet has failed to achieve the peoples’ vision of being a decentralizing force that empowers its users.

Facebook has been in existence since 2004 and after its humble beginnings in a dorm room, it has gone on to become one of the highest ranking social network sites. By Q4 2017, the site had more than 2 billion users globally. It comes in at an impressive third position behind Google and YouTube.

Centralization – the Biggest Challenge

The New Year resolution Zuckerberg posted on his Facebook account is part of his annual challenge for the year 2018. He says that from 2009, he has always held the tradition of taking stock of previous year’s performance and planning for the one ahead. He goes ahead to state that one of the greatest challenges facing the tech sector as a whole is centralization.

The tech guru explains that the internet is currently controlled by a few powerful entities including Facebook. This, he says, is a far cry from its original intention and a contravention of his social media platform’s mission to give power to the people. He lauds the crypto framework for its peer-to-peer network structure and terms it the most interesting aspect of current technology.

One of the Facebook Vice Presidents, David Marcus, has also expressed interest in the concept. He is one of the directors on the board of Coinbase, one of the biggest crypto exchange sites. He explains that his fascination with the innovation began way back in 2012 and that he has been impressed with the democratization within its structure.

Zuckerberg says that the web currently serves the interests of governments around the world and major tech players. But the encryption system behind the blockchain and cryptocurrency trends makes it possible to empower the people.

He admits though that this comes at a cost since it is ultimately harder to control the systems that run on this technology. However, he is keen on studying the benefits and loopholes in the framework in order to determine how best to apply it on the Facebook system.

The blockchain technology is the underlying structure on which bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies operate. It uses a shared database that stores information on vast computer networks instead of using centralized servers common to incumbent financial institutions.

Riding the Blockchain Wave

Other companies though are reportedly adding blockchain and bitcoin to their name simply because of the hype surrounding it at present. This strategy seems to be working as some have reportedly experienced major upward surges in their share prices. This could be the case due to the fact that the public appears desperate to participate in the bitcoin frenzy one way or another.

Enthusiasts have however long highlighted the numerous uses of the blockchain technology that supersede the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Facebook could be one of many such platforms and would certainly lend credence to these claims leading to more widespread use of the innovative technology.