Thread by @EdanYago

Centralization is dead. The world just hasn't realized it yet.

Our century so far, in a thread👇

(01/18)

Our century started with a dramatic example of a decentralized system (terrorism) attacking the Citadel of the the greatest centralized power.

The Pentagon was capable of defending the American mainland from even the Soviet Empire. But Al Qaeda was not centralized.

(2)

Since then, centralized power has failed at protecting us repeatedly.

Global financial crisis, climate change, ransomware, cryptocurrency, mass identity hacks, fake news, Covid, Afgani sheep herders.

Each decentralized threat and centralized institutions are powerless.

(3)

The Deal: We accept the power of centralized institutions and in return they provide us protection.

In the age of conventional warfare and nuclear arsenals that deal made sense. Centralized powers could deliver.

(4)

But centralized powers are really good at only one thing - dealing with other centralized powers.

Our world is increasingly digital and, as a result, borderless.

The threats are diffuse and dynamic. Ransomware and terrorists today. DAOs and autonomous AI agents tomorrow.

(5)

Centralized powers sustain themselves by taxing the economic activity that occurs inside their borders.

But economic activity is migrating beyond those borders - beyond any borders.

(6)

The activity that occurs in DeFi, in decentralized MMOs, in NFT marketplaces, is completely untethered from any terrestrial authority.

The participants are pseudonymous. The assets are non-physical.

The metaverse isn't on this planet. It's a different planet.

(7)

This is why US regulators are increasingly asserting their authority on activity beyond US borders.

It is also why they will fail.

(8)

To assert their power over the metaverse, centralized authorities must squeeze the people and corporations within their borders. They must prohibit us from migrating to the metaverse.

But the metaverse is a rich, exciting planet. Our youth are moving there en masse.

(9)

The centralized powers, with all their terrestrial might, cannot defeat a few mountain shepards.

How much power will they wield over the wealthy, educated people of the metaverse. A people who recognize the incompetence of the Fiatlords?

(10)

That's not the end of the story. It's just the beginning.

Our century still has threats. Still requires collective action. Still desires a sense of community.

That the institutions of old can no longer deliver, does not eliminate the need.

(11)

It falls to us, the inhabitants of the metaverse to form the (decentralized) institutions that will actually make sense for our century.

We, the free people of the metaverse, must declare our sovereignty.

(12)

This is a massive challenge, not without danger.

If we fail to form these institutions, our society will be plagued by toxicity, scams, hacks and rogue AIs.

If we create the wrong institutions, we will be serfs to those who own the server farms and the staking services.

(13)

Thankfully, Satoshi showed us the way. He demonstrated that we can build ownership rights (for BTC) on the basis of a decentralized institution.

Vitalik helped popularize the idea that we could generalize that principle to manage all form of rights.

(14)

Now we build on these ideas to tackle the hard problem: How can decentralized systems enforce common norms?
How do we tackle fake news?
How do we punish hackers?
How do we avoid scams?
How do we collectively make decisions?
How do we settle disputes?

And more.

(15)

And perhaps the biggest question of them all: How do we defend ourselves against the threat of the old powers - the Fiatlords?

They can no longer hold up their side of the deal. But they will not go away quietly.

(16)

The coming decades will see the emergence of Network Nations - groups affiliated through shared ideas whose rights and obligations are cryptographically enforced.

As the Nation State is hollowed out, Network Nations will fill the void.

(17)

I believe that @SovrynBTC is becoming the first such Network Nation. The Sovryn Nation of Sovryn Individuals.

More on this to come.

#StaySovryn

(18/18)