Jack Dorsey, Twitter Co-founder Present Web 5.0 Powered By Bitcoin

Jack Dorsey has taken his dissatisfaction with Web 3 a step further. The former Twitter CEO is introducing Web 5.0, “the extra decentralized web platform.” The news came out at an event in Austin last week after TBD, an offshoot of Dorsey’s payments firm Block inc made the announcement.

TBD kicked off in July last year as Block’s Bitcoin-centric division, a reflection of founder Dorsey’s well-known appreciation of the first and (in his view) best blockchain network. The purpose behind the new division was to create a platform with DeFi and Bitcoin at its core. TBD’s first rollout showcases its focus on this goal.

At its base, the new project, Web 5.0 is an evolved layer of the internet that stresses the importance of user privacy and awards them complete autonomy over their own data. Dorsey has been vocal about how he sees the lack of this feature as a huge failing in previous versions of the internet. Web 5 utilizes the BTC blockchain in eliminating this issue.

In this article we’ll be examining just how TBD intends to bring Web 5 to life, let’s first go back to the start of this;

Keywords; Web 5.0, Web 3.0, Dorsey, Decentralization, TBD


Why does Jack Dorsey Hate Web 3?

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“RIP Web 3 VCs,” Jack Dorsey said in his announcement tweet.

This statement certainly has ties to the Block Head’s long-standing dislike of the most recent incarnation of the internet. It’s no secret that he has a bone to pick with supporters of the concept. Dorsey has taken part in heated online debates about Web 3, typically aggressively attacking it.

The reason for this is that he believes Web 3.0 commonly tagged the metaverse will end up as no more than a cash grab for venture capitalists. In Dorsey's view, Web 3 will not belong to its participants despite its claims of decentralization.

"You don't own Web 3," the Twitter founder said once, "The VCs and their LPs do." Jack's pessimistic stance iterates that Web 3 is ultimately a centralized concept and decentralization is only a cover for capitalist incentives.

Dorsey even put forward the idea that Web3 has already seen the beginnings of a takeover. According to him, VC firm Andreesen Horowitz is behind this.

Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk has in a way seconded this opinion even tagging Web 3 BS at some point. Musk has shared that he sees Web 3 as more of a marketing catchphrase than reality tweeting, "Has anyone seen Web3? I can't find it."


Dorsey meanwhile remains firmly rooted in this belief and has reiterated it multiple times, TBD’s new project can be taken as action in support of his stance.


The Evolution of the Internet

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TBD has described its news project as a combination of Web 2 and Web 3 hence the term Web 5.0 instead of Web 4. Thus, before moving on to explain this new version of the internet, we’ll be considering the previous Web phases.

Web 1.0 can be described as the base level of the internet. It was a read-only version also known as the content delivery network. Essentially, Web 1 pages held static content from a server’s file system; these pages were designed such that new data or information could not be added. Of course, this meant limited functionality, flexibility, and notably, user interaction.

Web 2.0 took out the lack of active participation, this is the version of the internet we are most familiar with. This iteration of the internet provided users with the ability to interact with a range of content in various ways. Web 2 introduced social media platforms and with this revolutionized how people connected. It also changed the role of the internet in diverse niches cementing its place in everyday life and necessitating global integration. Ultimately, however, the platforms that comprise the Web 2 scene are centralized and Web 3 came along to fix that.


Web 3.0

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Web 3 is generally touted as the future of the internet. A blockchain-based version that allows participants to interact without a middleman or a centralized entity involved. In truth, it isn’t really possible to impose an exact definition on Web 3.0, it exists as more of a blanket term for a sprawling network of decentralized platforms and applications. It leverages blockchain technology to achieve this allowing it to provide a broader selection of utility than its predecessors. This generation of the internet promotes transparency and increased functionality, it also facilitates ownership.

Social media platforms simply process user data but Web 3 supports that idea of giving participants much more rein. Individuals can take part in governance or build and manage their own protocols. They aren’t just customers or users but shareholders with the use of cryptocurrency, governance tokens are an essential component of most projects as they give participants veto power.

Jack Dorsey does not object to this concept but rather believes Web 3 has not achieved true decentralization. Dorsey argues that Web 3-based projects and platforms supposedly support user-owned identity and data but actually dole out accounts and retain customer information. However, TBD’s Web 5, newly dubbed the Web 3 killer, is here to change that.


How Web 5 will Resolve The Shortcomings of its Predecessors

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TBD released a document titled Web 5; The Decentralized Web Platform. In the publication, the unit explains its goals for the new internet model and how it aims to successfully complete this venture.

The main aim is to place users in charge and give them full ownership of their identity and data. Web 5.0 will host a myriad of decentralized apps and protocols that allow for this function. Participants will be able to store and own their information rather than have a centralized body hold their data “captive” on private servers.

TBD believes the former web models failed to factor in an identity layer. Web 3 focused primarily on blockchain technology and token integration to provide decentralization. However, Dorsey sees things differently. TBD executive Mike Brock noted that the technology for true, effective decentralization already exists in Bitcoin.

Notably, the former Twitter CEO has never hidden his admiration for the original blockchain. TBD is turning to basics to provide decentralized identity, the Web 5.0 design will incorporate a single blockchain network, Bitcoin. Simply, Web 5 will host networks with new tokens, all operations will utilize BTC.

According to the TBD presentation, Web 5.0 will incorporate other essential tools for decentralization. These include decentralized identifiers (DIDs), verifiable credentials (VCs), decentralized web nodes (DWNs) as well as a self-sovereign identity service (SSIS), and the self-sovereign identity development kit (SSI-SDK).


Additionally, the upcoming TBD project will use a scalable, censorship-evasive Bitcoin layer-2 protocol, ION. Together these components should allow developers to provide a great experience and user autonomy.

TBD’s web model will support user interaction with their digital environment and one another. Participants will also be able to make hitch-free transitions from app to app without having to provide info for a login process. Additionally, this implies the elimination of government censorship or network outages. Regardless, the biggest offering remains the promise of ownership and preservation of user privacy.

Dorsey has named this TBD’s biggest contribution to the internet, but is this the general opinion?


Responses Across the Board

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The crypto and broader tech community rolled out varying reactions to TBD’s announcement. A good portion of the responses were humorous Tweets with rapper and NFT enthusiast Snoop Dogg chiming in, “Working on Web 6” he said, to which TBD replied that they had 5 on it. Others were more critical saying it was not a novel concept, some even mocked TBD’s presentation being released in doc format despite the progressive ideas it put forward.


Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang spear-headed a more open-minded approach calling for people to avoid analogical debates. Huang encouraged commentators to instead welcome the uncertainty of the crypto space and look toward the potential of new developments.


Conclusion

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Web 5.0 is still in development and as yet TBD has not released a launch date, but given its position as a Web 3 rival the rollout is guaranteed to cause a stir. Until then, speculations are just that, speculations, however, Dorsey’s concept of an identity-focused system does hold merit. His opinion on the shortcomings of Web 3.0 does have some weight, especially considering the influx of brands and corporations to the Web 3 community.

The TBD project seems like it can only be advantageous for internet users, can there be any downsides to reclaimed data and identity? Well, we’ll just have to wait and see.






Author: Gate.io Observer: M. Olatunji
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