If you’re into cryptocurrency or blockchain, there’s a good chance I don’t have to spell out the benefits of decentralization. You’re a first-generation user of a technology that will increasingly define the future of the internet, and you have front-row seats to the world premiere of Web3. The internet’s use and control were always as centralized as we see now. In the early days, under the stewardship of the United States Department of Defense, the network needed not to rely on one core computer. What if a terrorist attack or missile strike took down the principal node? Individual network parts …

The world knows the public internet as the best transport network and the backbone of their daily routines. However, if one looks closely, the internet is far from perfect, with many considering the network untrusted and its usage synonymous with poor reliability and performance issues. Although these faults were once overlooked, the impending Web3 revolution has led many to recognize just how far the current internet foundation is from supporting the increased usage and performance requirements that come with the metaverse, decentralized finance (DeFi) and other blockchain-technology use cases. Soon, every major company, industry and consumer experience will be shaped …

People interact with open-source applications like MetaMask, Web3 games, the metaverse and DeFi protocols every day but don’t often stop to think about what happens in the background for it all to work. If we think of Web3 as a burgeoning new city, node infrastructure providers are the underlying power grid that makes operations possible. All DApps need to communicate with blockchains, and full nodes serve billions of requests from DApps to read and write data to chains every day. We need a huge node infrastructure to keep up with vastly expanding DApp ecosystems and serve all of the requests. …

Opera released a beta version of its Web3 browser with a built-in crypto wallet on Friday for iOS devices, iPhone and iPad. Opera's Crypto Browser has been available for Mac and Windows desktop users, as well as Android mobile users since January. The mobile release is the latest step in its Crypto Browser Project, a Web3-focused initiative for facilitating navigation across decentralized applications (DApp), games and metaverse platforms. According to the company, the main features includes the Opera Wallet with support for the Ethereum, Polygon, and Celo ecosystems to buy, sell and transfer tokens. Users can also restore any Ethereum …

The majority of internet users today recognize domains as being the combination of letters they type into their browser. However, what many don’t know is that domains were designed to accomplish a lot more than displaying a website, with functionality to send emails and make payments, to list a few. So, why aren’t we seeing domains leveraging this additional utility? In short, the answer comes down to their control from centralized servers. As the story goes, with centralization comes greater control, in turn, adding barriers to innovation. Fortunately, the rise of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized technologies have proven that …

It is hard to resist the vision spun to us by Meta (formerly Facebook) and other virtual world platforms. A digital utopia that can transform lives in multiple ways — whether how we socialize, work or even stay healthy — is a hard one to refuse. This is especially true when considering that these platforms are being described as the biggest technological disruption to human life and a multi-trillion dollar opportunity for businesses. However, there is skepticism from some that this is all too good to be true — at least for now. The technological architecture that would allow this …

The music sector hit record revenues at $25.9 billion in 2021, which amounts to an 18.5% growth from 2020, according to IFPI’s “Global Music Report.” Of these nearly $26 billion, streaming drove the bulk of the growth, with a 24.3% increase relative to 2020. These patterns constitute great news for the emerging class of NFT musicians and highlight the demand for audio and video content. Even if the way that streaming is done changes — moving from centralized platforms, like Spotify to decentralized NFT marketplaces — streaming is here to stay. The rise in streaming is part of a broader …

Opera, one of the major crypto-friendly internet browsers, announced the integration of eight blockchains in a continued effort to introduce Web3 to more than 380 million mobile and desktop users worldwide. In Jan. 2022, Opera launched the Crypto Browser project, a Web3-focused initiative for facilitating navigation across decentralized applications (DApp), games and metaverse platforms. As part of this initiative, the browser company added support for eight major blockchain ecosystems, including Bitcoin (BTC), Solana (SOL), Polygon (MATIC), StarkEx, Ronin, Celo, Nervos DAO and IXO. Opera said in the announcement that its users now have access to the Polygon and Solana DApp …

Recent geopolitical events have polarized the world. Partisanship and the ideological divide have further balkanized the internet, whose gatekeepers have trampled upon the rights of millions to access financial services. Nations are gradually waking up to the reality of having neutral protocols and national stacks. Hailed as the next generation of the internet, Web3 will be sanction-resistant and free of data silos. Gavin Wood, co-founder of Ethereum and creator of Polkadot and Kusama, coined the term Web3 in 2004. Five years later, the Bitcoin (BTC) white paper was released in 2009, which further cemented the imperative of decentralization. Is the …

What we call Web3 will be centered on an ecosystem of technology products that are decentralized, based on blockchain networks, interoperable, and without a traditional trusted validator (such as corporations, institutions and government bodies). But exactly what does this mean? What is Web3? Web3, a term coined by Gavin Wood, Web3 Foundation president, is the next phase of the internet and, perhaps, of organizing society as a whole. Web1 was the era of open, decentralized protocols, where most online activity involved browsing individual static pages. Web2, which we are now experiencing, is the era of centralization, in which a large …

In the newest episode of Cryptopedia, Cointelegraph's Jackson DuMont dissects Web3 and gives an insightful overview of how the next generation of the internet works. DuMont discusses the basics of Web3 and how it’s different from its predecessors Web1 and Web2. Web1 was the first version of the internet that occurred from 1991 to 2003. It involved static and read-only HTML web pages with simple design, and DuMont described Web1 users as only "consumers of content." On the other hand, Web2 brought innovations like images, videos, applications, games and ads. The second iteration of the internet relied on the exchange …

The price of Internet Computer (ICP) reversed directions after falling to its record low near $14.50 on Feb. 24 and has rebounded by more than 30% ever since. And now, it appears the 35th-largest digital asset by market capitalization has more room to grow in the coming weeks. ICP breaks out of 'falling wedge' ICP's daily chart shows a falling wedge pattern — a setup consisting of two descending, converging trendlines connecting lower highs and lower lows. The intersecting nature of the two lines indicate a weakening bearish momentum. As such, traditional analysts anticipate a breakout out of a wedge …