With the desirability of centralization appearing to threaten the original vision of cryptocurrencies, decentralization will still help save us from a potential dystopian future, according to a panel discussion at the DeData Salon 2022 conference in Berlin, Germany.
Cointelegraph Editor-in-Chief Kristina Cornèr moderated a panel discussion titled “Shaping The Next Economic Era With Web3 Technology.” Panelists included Paul Claudius, co-founder of DIA; Hoon Kim, CTO of AStar Network; Matt Gurbiel, Chief Growth Officer at Redstone Finance and Riccardo Lamanna, Founder of OpenQ.
Although the panel covered several topics, one of the most prominent was the decentralization of Web 3.0. Cornèr asked the panelists to share their perspectives and positions on the subject and what advantages decentralization brings.
In response to the question, Claudius pointed out that decentralization is imperfect when it comes to the technological aspect. However, the executive believes it is already working in terms of governance, citing decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) as an example. Claudius explained that:
“On the governance level, I think the decentralization that we see today is already working, at least in part because there are so many people creating and everyone can play a role in the governance process.”
Kim also gave his opinion, mentioning that he equates decentralization with the word “freedom”, but despite this, the executive believes that there must be a balance between centralization and decentralization in Web 3.0. He said:
“There’s definitely value in centralization for certain things. Having everything decentralized is like a kind of total anarchy. And there’s also the opposite situation, where total centralization is essentially dictatorship.”
When asked about the percentages by which he would choose a split between decentralization and centralization, Kim opted to give 30 to 70 percent in favor of centralization. According to Kim, most people will continue to choose centralization for the convenience it offers.
Gurbiel offered what he describes as a more philosophical perspective on the subject. According to the executive, decentralization is a way to avoid a dystopian future controlled solely by companies. He explained that:
“I think this is the great hope behind decentralization. It is so that we can identify those places in society and in the world in general that have too much power and be able to compensate for them by decentralizing the technological stack, decentralizing power, voting power” .
For his part, Lamanna returned to the main theme of the DeData conference, which is data ownership in the Web 3.0 economy. Lamanna highlighted that decentralized data ownership can prevent data breaches like the Cambridge Analytica incident, where user data has been breached.
Clarification: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information set forth herein should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.
Investments in crypto assets are not regulated. They may not be suitable for retail investors and the full amount invested may be lost. The services or products offered are not aimed at or accessible to investors in Spain.