1/ Going to expand on "centralized apps atop decentralized protocols" more, as the idea has incited healthy debate
+ I want to emphasize that the short-to-medium term architecture (as crypto bootstraps to the mainstream), will be very different from the end-game.
+ I want to emphasize that the short-to-medium term architecture (as crypto bootstraps to the mainstream), will be very different from the end-game.
2/ To begin, I’m going to stop using the term “app” or “dapp” and instead use “interface,” as suggested by @jmonegro.
The term “dapp” has been muddied by broader use of the term “app” within tech, incurring much confusion.
The term “dapp” has been muddied by broader use of the term “app” within tech, incurring much confusion.
3/ In the protocol & interface world, there are an arbitrary number of layered *protocols,* which then have third-party *interfaces* that draw from these protocols to aggregate & candy-coat functionality for the end-user.
4/ When I say “centralized interface,” I’m referring to a service that hosts user-data, sometimes in a proprietary form, thereby conceding privacy for the sake of performance.
5/ A “decentralized interface” does not host the data directly, but is instead granted access to requisite user data from underyling protocols, always with user permission.
Self-sovereignty :-)
Self-sovereignty :-)
6/ While “self-sovereignty” is the end-game, we have to acknowledge that what we want as the early builders of crypto is bound to differ from what the majority will want — and the majority has yet to arrive.
7/ So we have to be ready for some of our strongly held ideologies to by diluted by the mainstream’s preference for convenience above all else.
The mainstream will compromise on nothing.
The mainstream will compromise on nothing.
8/ The little bit of the mainstream that has trickled into crypto has already exhibited the tendency to follow convenience above all else.
9/ For example, how many warnings have people been given about the import of custodying their own private keys?
And yet, the vast majority of people have chosen a “centralized interface” to do it, because it’s easier.
And yet, the vast majority of people have chosen a “centralized interface” to do it, because it’s easier.
10/ Given the immature state of decentralized protocols, it is hard (if not impossible) for any interface, be it centralized or decentralized, to rely *wholly* on these protocols to provide a reliable and responsive user-experience.
11/ Centralized interfaces (most often in the form of a company), get around this by only partially relying on decentralized protocols, and then filling-in the infrastructure gaps with centralized resources, to provide a cohesive UX.
12/ Decentralized interfaces have a hard time signing SLA’s with centralized infrastructure providers, not to mention their on-demand nature matches best with on-demand resource provision, making most of them rely on decentralized protocols entirely -- that's hard work right now.
13/ For decentralized interfaces, the Q becomes:
When will decentralized protocols & tooling get so good that devs can quickly create and evolve these interfaces, and end-users sacrifice zero-convenience in choosing the “decentralized interface” over the centralized?
10+ years?
When will decentralized protocols & tooling get so good that devs can quickly create and evolve these interfaces, and end-users sacrifice zero-convenience in choosing the “decentralized interface” over the centralized?
10+ years?
14/ In a recent conversation with @stevejang, I was reminded of how long it took for all the infrastructure of the web to be built, and how web applications meant to capture the end-user were serious endeavors to build in the 90s.
15/ “Decentralized interfaces” in crypto are in a similar stage as web app builders in the 90s. Some infrastructure and tools are there, but it requires a lot of filling in the gaps, often building missing infra components to get the interface off the ground if no-one else will.
16/ On the bright-side, experimentation around “decentralized interfaces” will become more and more prolific as the time costs to build them drop, and so we could see a relatively quick inflection (years from now) in "dapps that struggle" to "dapps that go viral."
17/ In closing, I’m not trying to dissuade dapp developers.
You are doing important work that respects user’s rights more reliably than centralized interfaces, a big part of why many of us got into crypto in the first place.
You are doing important work that respects user’s rights more reliably than centralized interfaces, a big part of why many of us got into crypto in the first place.
18/ Long term, respecting user’s will be something that society demands, and citizens viscerally understand the importance of, but chances are they will still want soveignty + continued convenience.
That's the end-game, but it’s not a 2-3 year thing, it’s a 2-3 decade thing.
That's the end-game, but it’s not a 2-3 year thing, it’s a 2-3 decade thing.
