CryptoSphere News Report:
Source: OneBlock Community
June 23, 2024
“Behind the Code: Web3 Thinkers” Season 2 Episode 3 is now online. In this episode, Bill Laboon from the Web3 Foundation delves into the essence of blockchain, simplifying Polkadot’s processes, building resilient systems, decentralizing power, sustainability, and the future of technical ownership. Bill shares his journey in the blockchain world, from early involvement in Bitcoin to becoming a core advocate for Polkadot, revealing insights and experiences that uncover the profound impacts of blockchain technology for listeners.
This episode not only showcases significant advancements in Polkadot’s technical simplification and decentralization but also emphasizes the unique advantages and future prospects of decentralized governance in achieving freedom and autonomy.
Watch the full video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpCJ0k6pOXM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpCJ0k6pOXM)
Starting from Scratch – Bill’s Encounter with Polkadot
Bill has been involved with Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain technology since 2012. His profound interest in Polkadot was sparked by Gavin Wood’s speech, where Wood built a completely new blockchain from scratch, leaving Bill deeply impressed and inspired. Consequently, in 2019, Bill relocated to Switzerland and joined the Web3 Foundation, where he has been working since.
The Essence of Blockchain: Decentralized Consensus
“Truth” is a concept challenging to define philosophically, but I believe blockchain is a technology that moves towards “truth.” — Bill Laboon, Web3 Foundation
Bill explains that blockchain achieves consensus through a network without external arbitrators or centralized institutions, determining correct and authoritative information. He recalls the awe-inspiring moment when he first read the Bitcoin whitepaper, which proposed an idea: to determine the total amount of currency without centralized control, transparently recording transactions that all can confirm and agree upon once they occur. This technology enables consensus among people from different countries and identities.
At the Web3 Foundation, Bill focuses on educating people about the significance and usage of blockchain, helping them participate. He emphasizes the current goal of increasing decentralized participants further to enhance blockchain’s resilience and self-sustainability. Bill believes that as more people understand and engage with blockchain technology, there will be more breakthroughs and innovations that could fundamentally alter current social and economic structures.
Polkadot’s Development Journey and Technological Evolution
“We’re not just developing these technologies for other techies and researchers, but for everyone worldwide.” — Bill Laboon, Web3 Foundation
From Tech Enthusiast to Mass Participation
Since joining Polkadot, Bill has witnessed tremendous progress in the project. He recalls the time when Kusama had not yet launched, let alone the Polkadot mainnet. While there was initial developer interest, it pales in comparison to today. The early stages of Polkadot were highly technical, attracting many tech enthusiasts and creating an impression of complexity. However, over time, more developers joined and simplified many aspects. Today’s applications are smoother compared to early 2019 versions, with wallets more user-friendly, significantly enhancing user experience (UI/UX). Polkadot has become smoother, more user-friendly, and has seen significant improvements in scalability.
Towards “One Coin, One Vote”
Polkadot’s governance structure has evolved through several stages, from initial control by a superuser account to committees elected under Gov 1.0, and now to the “One Coin, One Vote” mechanism under OpenGov 2.0. Power within Polkadot has gradually decentralized. Bill explains that if you hold DOT, you can decide the network’s future, with all decisions and changes requiring approval from DOT holders. This mechanism represents not just technical progress but also an innovative model of on-chain finance to fund projects within the ecosystem. The Web3 Foundation aims to ensure broader participation in governance, unlike privileges restricted to a small group, making Polkadot more resilient compared to other blockchain systems controlled by a few individuals.
Evolutionary Governance Mechanisms
Polkadot’s governance mechanism is not only flexible but also forward-thinking. Bill notes that users can choose to trust someone for financial proposals, technical proposals, or administrative proposals and can change or revoke these delegations at any time. This mechanism resembles traditional representative democracy but is more flexible and personalized, better reflecting the desires of coin holders. Additionally, Polkadot’s governance mechanism continues to optimize. Bill mentions ongoing discussions within the team regarding better methods, such as an “identity verification voting system,” to address inequalities caused by varying amounts of DOT holdings.
Internal Consistent Economic System
DOT, as the core asset of the Polkadot ecosystem, exhibits inflationary characteristics. Validators earn rewards by producing blocks, with a portion of these rewards entering the treasury system. As the network operates continuously, the number of DOTs in the treasury increases. This financial support mechanism ensures the continuous operation of development teams and ongoing optimization of the network. Bill explains that this internally consistent system generates new DOT tokens during the network’s continuous operation, which enter the treasury as a natural byproduct of block production, supporting the growth and development of the entire ecosystem.
Through this design, Polkadot not only addresses common funding issues in blockchain projects but also creates a dynamic financial system that can flexibly allocate resources to support technological innovation and ecosystem development, making Polkadot a truly self-sustaining and self-optimizing blockchain ecosystem.
The Importance of Data Ownership
In today’s era of big data, the issue of data ownership becomes particularly prominent. Bill provides an example where Microsoft purchased Reddit’s data usage rights to use as training data for AI, earning approximately $60 million from data contributed by users like him without their control or consent. Such situations are not only common on social media platforms but also in banking systems, where many complain about unexplained account closures on platforms like Twitter.
Bill emphasizes that one of the Web3 Foundation’s goals is to create a decentralized internet where people own their data. He believes that combating bad code with good code is more effective than attempting to resolve these issues through regulations. Blockchain technology serves not only developers and researchers but everyone worldwide by demonstrating how it enables people to have more autonomy and control over their data.
