Calm before the storm

The birth of blockchain spawned a movement which is set to disrupt the entire tech industry. Blockchain and crypto enthusiasts are calling it the Web 3.0 and it’s looking to make all traditional business models defunct. This is because, in short, the technology will facilitate the decentralization of the World Wide Web, thereby equalizing control and ownership back from the grasp of profit hungry corporations.

The Web 3.0 ecosystem already consists of over 3000 variegated crypto coins and over 900 decentralized apps or DApps (a single DApp can mean a team of up to 50 members, each dedicated to disrupting a specific industry). And even though the industry is still in its infancy, the market cap has already exceeded 800 billion.

Liberté, égalité, fraternité

These numbers supply damning evidence this movement is indeed a revolution in the works. And not unlike France in the 18th century, this revolution was born out of the frustration of inequality between millions of people and the few in power. And justly so, the Web 2.0 provided a fertile ground for corporations to monopolize control and profits.

The net giants are doing nothing other than consolidating control. Take internet.org for example, Mark Zuckerberg’s initiative to provide free access to the internet to deprived countries. The programmes intentions are rightly questioned as an obvious route whereby Facebook can control and discriminate access to the internet by any way they deem fit.

Facebook’s CEO is spending big bucks to defend his interests, and he’s not the only one. Jeff Bezos’s acquisition of the Washington Post is the cheapest and most subtle political insurance Amazon can buy. The price tag of $250 million beats a potential $700 billion ‘Antitrust’ case brought against the company.

It all goes to prove that a more liberated, egalitarian and fraternal internet would be a cause for concern for some monarchical corporations and their leaders.