TBD, a subsidiary of Block Inc, announced that it plans to launch Web 5.0. According to a Twitter post on Friday, June 10, the company wrote: web 2.0-web 3.0 -web 5.0, skipping web 4.0 which no project has even talked about. There’s even a possibility that those thinking about the future imagine that the next decentralized would be Web 4.0.
In a Twitter post referencing the project, Jack Dorsey said that it would probably be the company’s most important contribution to the internet. Here are what you may want to know about Web 5.0.
The Decentralized Web 5.0
According to the TBD update, the web 5 is a decentralized internet that enables the deployment of protocols and decentralized applications. It explains that the current web is centralized because people are not in control of their data. The web is managed by companies that end up holding the user data such as usernames and passwords.
It added that the internet of the future such as Web 5 will restore control of personal data to the user, because its focus will personal empowerment of the user instead of companies rendering the web service.
Developers on this new decentralized web 5 will make use of decentralized identifiers (DIDs) and decentralized web nodes in writing applications that are also decentralized, decentralized web applications (DWAs).
Pillars of Web 5
The TBD update stated that the pillars of web 5 are:
Self -owned identifiers that supports decentralized authentication and routing (did://)
The use of cryptography to present data and also verify claims and nodes that are the basis for the decentralized protocols and applications. These also serve as data storage and messaging relay points.
The Decentralized Identifiers
The Decentralized Identifiers are self generated by the web user. They are also self-owned and used for the verification and resolution of already indexed DIDs on the network.
On this web, there are no central or trusted authorities running things. There’s also no central utility token used for payments or subjective consensus. It is also resistant to prohibition, ban or veto. The IDs are also discoverable from any part of the web 5.
The web 5 also features verifiable credentials. These work by incorporating public keys in the issuer’s DID, which is placed in channel that runs through the decentralized web (ION), Verification of such credentials is independently and automatically accomplished by any user of the web.
The nodes of Web 5.0, according to the update are universally addressable, being that they can be crawled by DID-related bots, they are secure and can be replicated across the web cloud. Data on the decentralized web can be found by knowing its semantic type. It also supports DID-encrypted messages across its universal network. It is also supportive of any type of identity.
Progressive Web Apps (PWA)
These are applications that are increasingly popular on the centralized web. The document from TBD describes them as websites that have special powers because they took their vitamins. These are progressive, responsive applications that can work off-line.
These websites are app-like, safe and discoverable. Furthermore, users can link to them, re-engage and install PWAs. The project says that the decentralized web is moving from the PWA to DWA. Instead of centralized servers, the DWAs run on decentralized web nodes. On Web 5.0, users can easily authenticate what is genuine and what is fake.
New Leadership Roles
I’m hiring 3 new leadership roles at @blocks @TBD54566975; join us to:
— build an identity layer for the internet 🆔
— return ownership+control of finances, data & identity to individuals 💪🏽
— bridge #Fiat & #Crypto to transform financial systems 💸
— empower billions globally 🌎— Emily (@emilycchiu) June 10, 2022
TBD also released an update on twitter that it wants to hire “three new leadership roles”. Emily Chiu, the Co-Founder & Head of Business, Operations & Strategy at Blocks said that the new roles would help the company to:
“build an identity layer for the internet, return ownership+control of finances, data & identity to individuals, bridge #Fiat & #Crypto to transform financial systems [and] empower billions globally”
Chiu explained that the role titles are Head of Technical Partnerships, Head of Product Partnerships and Head Product Management. The release shows that the positions are in San Francisco in California.
In his reaction to the post, a user @smoketest5 wondered why a project that wants to empower billions globally is hiring locally at San Franscisco. To this Chiu replied,
“Stay tuned for what we’re doing globally… agree with you that we need a representative team to tackle global challenges”
In another comment, Chiu said that Bitcoin and stablecoins will play important roles in the project.
“Both Bitcoin and stablecoin will play key roles in TBD’s work. And where decentralization is best achieved without a blockchain, we will develop our strategy based on first principles” she wrote.
