[Cryptography] Interesting discussion of Web 3.0 ...

John Kemp stable.pseudonym at gmail.com
Fri Jan 14 08:41:46 EST 2022


On 1/13/22 18:06, David Wong wrote:
>>
>> by Moxie Marlinspike.  Very brief summary:  dApps and NFT's are 
>> nowhere near what they claim to be (even if you actually want what 
>> they claim to be).  Good quote:  "I have only dipped my toe in the 
>> waters of web3. Looking at it through the lens of these small 
>> projects, though, I can easily see why so many people find the web3 
>> ecosystem so neat. I don’t think it’s on a trajectory to deliver us 
>> from centralized platforms, I don’t think it will fundamentally change 
>> our relationship to technology, and I think the privacy story is 
>> already below par for the internet (which is a pretty low bar!), but I 
>> also understand why nerds like me are excited to build for it."
>>
>> I won't try a less-brief summary - the whole article is worth reading.
>>
>> https://moxie.org/2022/01/07/web3-first-impressions.html 
>> <https://moxie.org/2022/01/07/web3-first-impressions.html>
> 
> I mostly agree with Moxie, but I think the future is less bland than 
> that. It is possible to build so-called ultralight clients that can 
> verify proofs along with responses from services like Infura. I wrote a 
> light response here: 
> https://www.cryptologie.net/article/548/in-response-to-moxies-doubts-on-web3-and-about-ultra-light-clients/ 
> <https://www.cryptologie.net/article/548/in-response-to-moxies-doubts-on-web3-and-about-ultra-light-clients/>

While I think from a cryptographic perspective, there are lots of 
interesting innovations, none of that fundamentally affects the power 
dynamics between a "client" and a "server".

Client software on consumer devices is typically less powerful than that 
deployed in data centers. Mobile phones are more powerful than ever 
before, but still don't run HTTP "servers". Mobile phone software in 
particular is controlled by a cartel. Phone APIs have to be concerned 
about battery life, overheating in someone's pocket, and airplane mode.

Power is already consolidated in blockchains - among miners (those who 
have access to lots of cheap electricity) for PoW, and among validators 
(those with access to HSMs, data centers and so on) in PoS, with 
good-enough security to ensure their client chains don't get "hacked" or 
NFT "marketplaces" like Opensea where if your NFT doesn't abide by the 
rules, it is "removed" (see Moxie's example).

Web 3 is already full of custodial and semi-custodial solutions. 
Centralization is well underway.

- johnk

> 
> David
> 
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