A Fairytale Search for the Sweet spot of Centralised/Decentralised
Once upon a time, there was an enterprise named Goldilocks. She visited a house in the woods in search of the perfect blockchain porridge- one that was both fast, affordable and scaleable, and decentralised enough to ensure an uncorruptible, trustless, immutable record.
And while she already loved Bitcoin porridge, she dreamed of a blockchain that was rich enough for all the applications she could dream of…
First, she tasted the Ethereal blockchain porridge:
“Mmmmmm… this blockchain is so delicious with decentralisation” she said. “If only it was faster. And who exactly are the development team? I want some customized support and special Goldilocks features.”
Next, she tasted the Hyperledgereal blockchain porridge:
“Oh goody”, said Goldilocks. “These people cooked my blockchain especially for me! They make updates whenever I want and it’s so fast. But hang on, who’s blockchain is it anyway? This doesn’t seem very decentralised at all- so why exactly am I using a blockchain again?”
So, poor Goldilocks was left hungry. Although there were plenty of options on the menu, no single blockchain porridge could satisfy her.
“I feel caught between a block & a hard place”, she said. “Is it so much to ask- to have my Proof-Of-Stake & Sweeten it too?”
Poor puns aside, where is the ‘Goldilocks’ of centralised/decentralised?
Well, here are three projects that strive to take the best aspects of both extremes:
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SoMeeShort-form social media hub on the blockchain. “Social Media Redefined”.This project combines the rapid development of a centralised company with the uncensorable nature of posting to a blockchain. The project is partnered with Steemit, which offers a complementary platform for long-form content. SoMee offers users ownership over their data, rewards them for engagement, and acts as a hub for multiple social media platforms.
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UnificationA blockchain of blockchains. “Ethereum for Enterprise”.This project offers enterprises/governments the reliable speed and cost of running a permissioned network (a ‘WRKChain’), while demonstrating these have not been tampered with by committing the header of each block to a public ‘MainChain’. Use cases being built out range from Insurance Providers to Electronic Healthcare Records, Smart City Management to Governmental Stablecoins.
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Ceek VRVirtual Reality music, sports, learning and arts, powered by the blockchain. “Your Ultimate Front Row Experience”.While the central company films and provides experiences in dedicated VR studios, the distributed network of connected powerful computers (MasterNodes) relay near-instant streams to all audiences to ensure high quality content delivery. This architecture ensures reliable delivery of resource intensive content that is secure, protected, censorship resistant and throttle-proof.
I’d love to introduce Goldilocks to each of these projects to help her with her dilemma. While I know these three well as I have some involvement with each of them, there are certainly more out there that attempt to bridge the best of both worlds- the centralised and the decentralised. May the two be married, and live happily ever after…
Which other projects do you know that are walking this tightrope?