Decentralized finance (DeFi) has shined a spotlight on a fairer internet since early 2020, and we’re on the brink of something world-changing. DeFi technology would not be possible without the web infrastructure that is widely used today, demonstrating the tremendous strides we have made with next-level innovation. The third era of the internet has already dawned, with a new economy, new careers and new enterprise opportunities. Many experts believe DeFi’s rise has helped nonfungible tokens (NFTs) become more liquid, allowing users to view them as a more realistic investment opportunity. The rise of NFTs is further proof as to how …

Every day, we hear of more involvement by big industry players (for example, Epic Games and Roblox) as we creep closer to the Metaverse, a shared persistent virtual environment of interconnected digital experiences. The problem is that none of this matters until netizens are able to truly own digital assets. And it all starts with gaming. Video games make us feel like we can do anything. These virtual worlds of limitless potential allow us to transcend the realities of everyday life as we become heroes. They give us the sense that we are in control of our own destiny. Games …

Major crypto wallet provider Blockchain.com is integrating with Unstoppable Domains to simplify sending crypto funds for its customers. Unstoppable Domains announced Thursday that it had integrated native support for Blockchain.com, enabling that latter's 32 million verified users to send funds with a username instead of a full-length crypto wallet address. The initiative aims to remove the risk of human error when sending funds, simplifying transactions between Blockchain.com users and more than 50 other wallets and exchanges supported by Unstoppable Domains, including Coinbase wallet, MyEtherWallet and others. The integration allows users to send cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) using …

Hong Kong cyber-activists are not giving up on the freedom of speech and are backing up articles from the pro-democracy tabloid newspaper Apple Daily using blockchain technology. Following a national security probe, Apple Daily printed its last edition on Thursday. But Hong Kong activists took it from there and uploaded the publication’s articles on a distributed network, Reuters reported. Ho, a 21-year-old anonymous activist working in tech, started uploading Apple Daily articles on decentralized file storage platform ARWeave this week. Backed by investors like Andreessen Horowitz, the platform deploys a blockchain-like structure called blockweave to enable the permanent storage of …

Thibault Verbiest, chairman of the IOUR Foundation, expert at the World Bank and the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum: “As long as our societies live in a state system, with rule of law, regulators will always look for legally responsible entities in case of illegal or reprehensible acts, even if it means prosecuting the wrong person. We have seen this attitude since the beginning of the internet when access and hosting providers were prosecuted while they were not the actual perpetrators. The United States, and then Europe, had to legislate some 20 years ago to protect these intermediaries. Today, this …

British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee, who developed the original source code for the World Wide Web, is making the data part of a nonfungible token (NFT) through luxury auction house Sotheby’s. According to a Tuesday announcement from Sotheby’s, the auction house will be putting up the World Wide Web NFT for bids starting on June 23. Bidding for the NFT, named “This Changed Everything” and containing time-stamped documentation of the code, will start at $1,000. First created in 1989 before there were web browsers, Amazon, or even shareable memes, the roughly 10,000 lines of code — written using Python — …

The time has come to fight against the dominance of the internet giants. In Europe, various regulations have been announced that aim to force these giants to respect more healthy rules of the game and to be more protective of users' rights and of competition. Some even brandish the threat of dismantling some of the tech giants, a weapon of mass destruction rarely used in history. Is an alternative path of a truly decentralized internet possible? Hyperpower A handful of companies hold a virtual monopoly within the internet in critical areas of services (search engines, email, etc.), infrastructures (global transit, …

Last week’s tumultuous 30% crypto market dip and subsequent quick recovery left many wondering what comes next. Crypto circles aside, the conversation around the importance of building solid, broadly usable applications is louder than ever. Crypto will cease to be perceived as a casino on the edges of the internet when participation outweighs speculation. An interesting dynamic we are seeing is that the conversations around the future of Web 3.0 are still happening on centralized Web 2.0 platforms. The need for crypto-native principles and flows within the social application landscape is clear. Adding privacy and security to the communication and …

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the first web page on the World Wide Web, which means a person has to be nearly half a century old to clearly remember the patchwork progress, the false starts and stops, and the trial and error that eventually gave us what is now the defining foundation of 21st-century life. We take the internet for granted in 2021, but it took us decades to get to this point. Throughout the years, the barriers toward adoption tumbled away, and there were clear signs that this new technology would fundamentally change the way the world …

Crypto asset prices fell drastically this past week. The CEO and co-founder of Unstoppable Domains, Matthew Gould, said interest in the industry, however, still remains positive. "Over the past week, crypto markets have experienced significant volatility sparking concern among the blockchain community and investors at large,” Gould said in a comment sent to Cointelegraph. On Wednesday, Bitcoin plunged down near the $30,000 price point — a dramatic move considering the asset traded near $60,000 earlier in May, based on TradingView data. “However, blockchain domain names are being registered at unprecedented speeds with no signs of slowing down,” Gould said, adding: …

Switzerland-based cryptocurrency bank Sygnum is launching custody and banking services for Internet Computer (ICP) utility tokens. Sygnum announced on Tuesday that ICP holders will be able to deposit their tokens with the bank’s institutional-grade segregated wallets. The firm said that it is the first bank to offer storage for ICP utility tokens, which debuted trading on May 11. In a second phase of rolling out ICP support, Sygnum plans to launch a suite of banking services for the token, including spot trading as well as options trading at a later date. The bank also expects to offer Sygnum Lombard loans …

Major privacy-focused browser Brave is the latest browser to integrate support for decentralized domains by blockchain domain name provider Unstoppable Domains. Brave announced Thursday that its browser now provides native support for the crypto domain name company, allowing users to seamlessly access ".crypto" domains via desktop and Android applications. The new feature unlocks access to 30,000 decentralized websites and more than 700,000 blockchain domain names registered with Unstoppable Domains. Through the integration, the Brave browser is supporting a decentralized network not relying on the traditional Domain Name System, which is often associated with privacy issues and other risks like hijacking, …