The value in decentralization

The blockchain’s raison d’être goes beyond transforming enterprise systems and replacing intermediaries. It is oriented to conform a new social system widely decentralized. This decentralization does not mean anarchy or performing illegal acts. It rather represents granting power to the individual and fewer restrictions. It also implies a more harmonious performance among many participants, beneficiaries and leaders. It is not a new communism but of the correction of capitalism, allowing new forms of production and value creation.

In all certainty, the establishment of multiple blockchains interacting with one another and exchanging value will generate a multiplier effect much more significant than that of current networks. It will be the equivalent of a huge ecosystem of decentralized services, open and accessible to everyone.

The original vision of a decentralized and open Internet has materialized, unfortunately, in thousands of nodes generating spam, in robots accessing web pages to cash money with ads, where each click is recorded and monetized, and where we are forced to repeatedly consume unwanted content. In contrast, the blockchain symbolizes a shift of power from the center to the edges of those networks.

Some see the world as being pinned down by trust-controlling central authorities. Others have a more democratized vision, flatter and resting on new governance models that strike a better balance between center and edge control. The blockchain favors that better balance, and enables growth.

We have become accustomed to depend for everything on central authorities and regulators who, with luck, will grant their approvals. Decentralization allows operations and decisions to be moved to the edges of networks, where activities are actually carried out and value is generated.

It is possible to build a system where value originates from actors members of a decentralized organization, and where the benefit of the individual spills over and reaches all members of the network collectively.

In a decentralized environment, you do not begin with the installation of a central entity but with the development of the platform that enables the network to grow and where the nodes of activity of peripheral users can be interconnected. It is on that network where the business model is built. You no longer pay for a centralized version of the service, but you access a free decentralized version that provides the opportunity to create new, more organic methods of generating income.

The operation of a business in a decentralized environment, based on consensus, not controlled by a central entity but jointly owned and operated by several parties who collectively benefit from this arrangement, has a certain magic. We will find banking without banks, , title transfers without central authorities stamping them, e-commerce without eBay, transportation services without Uber, or cloud computing without the Amazon or Google servers.

Take any services you want, imagine it without a center-based authority and replace it with a peer-to-peer trust-based network, and start to imagine the possibilities. The characteristics of these decentralization-based services will include:

• Speed in settlements
• No intermediary delays
• Upfront identification and reputation
• Flat structure with no overhead
• Permission-less user Access
• Resiliency against attacks
• No censorship
• No central point of failure
• Governance decisions by consensus
• Peer-to-peer communications

Now, you just have to start designing them…