Web3 innovators are already hard at work building the infrastructure needed to make those visions of Tim Berners-Lee and Satoshi Nakamoto a reality. With Pocket Network’s Shannon upgrade, we’ve built the first truly permissionless Open API Network. The upgrade aims to democratize web access and fix a serious flaw in the existing Web3 infrastructure. Tools such as MetaMask offer decentralized wallets, but they all rely on these centralized endpoints such as Infura to access Ethereum. This reliance creates a single point of failure. Pocket Network is on a mission to democratize access to data. This new initiative directly supports Satoshi Nakamoto’s dream of a decentralized, peer-to-peer exchange system.
The Centralization Problem in Web3
Tim Berners-Lee might have imagined an open and accessible digital information system, Satoshi Nakamoto dreamed up a completely decentralized, peer-to-peer system of exchange. These concepts are the backbone of the Web3 movement. The reality of Web3 today may seem a bit underwhelming. Finally, some key infrastructure components are still highly centralized, which undercuts the original decentralization-oriented spirit.
Today, centralized providers have a lot of power to control who gets access to their data. This unnecessarily creates a bottleneck and potential point of censorship. Now, the 2022 episode in which Infura cut off access in response to U.S. sanctions provides a powerful illustration of this danger. MetaMask users in affected areas suddenly found themselves unable to access their wallets due to Infura’s policy changes.
This event highlighted a fundamental contradiction. Despite Web3’s decentralization claims, most applications need to use centralized services such as Infura to connect to blockchain networks. Such a reliance erodes the very ideals of what Web3 is meant to be. It imperils users through censorship, exposing them to single points of failure.
Pocket Network's Decentralized Solution
A decentralized RPC future Pocket Network is building to address this centralization challenge. The firm’s initiative is to reclaim control from the big, centralized providers and return it to the smaller, decentralized operators. Pocket Network’s Shannon upgrade is a major step toward that goal. It creates a permissionless Open API Network that lets developers freely connect to blockchain data, which boosts innovation while reducing dependence on centralized intermediaries.
Chris “Jinx” Jenkins, Head of Operations at Pocket Network, is on the cutting edge of this push. This is what Pocket Network is working to constantly, reliably, and affordably build the infrastructure needed to make Tim Berners-Lee and Satoshi Nakamoto’s groundbreaking vision a reality. The Shannon upgrade represents an important step toward a more robust, resilient, and censorship-resistant Web3 ecosystem.
Pocket Network’s mission is to realize Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision of a decentralized, peer-to-peer electronic cash system. By giving developers a decentralized infrastructure alternative to proprietary, centralized API providers, Pocket Network allows developers to build powerful and truly decentralized applications. This fosters increased user freedom of expression and lessens the harms of potential censorship.
The Future of Decentralized Data
The world’s open data market is projected to reach $350 billion. Strong, informed, and decentralized operators are vital to keeping control of data diverse in this new marketplace. Pocket Network’s Shannon upgrade takes us one step closer to a world where data access is more open, transparent, and resilient.
We understand that the move towards a new, more decentralized data infrastructure is not an immediate process. It’s going to take a unified push with developers, infrastructure providers and the greater Web3 community. Still, Pocket Network’s most recent Shannon upgrade is a reminder that the decentralized, interoperable future of Web3 is possible.
As Web3 grows and changes, it becomes even more important to focus on the problem of centralization. Double down on decentralized solutions, such as Pocket Network! Together, the Web3 community can move further towards realizing the original vision of an open, accessible, censorship-resistant internet.
