Decentralization: An Unstoppable Movement or Wishful Thinking?

Everywhere you look on the web, aggregators and intermediaries have carved out lucrative niches, charging for access, eyeballs and approvals. Whether it is the wholesale serving of ads, or the monopolies developing around online flight booking systems, Web2 is all about the intermediaries. It’s what economists call rent-seeking.

The recent turmoil in both traditional markets and crypto suggests that this intermediated, centralized world has had its day. The share price of Meta (Facebook) has halved this year alone; meanwhile, the big beasts of crypto centralization are laying off staff as their share prices fall by similar amounts.

The next generation of Web3 platforms are being built with decentralization at their core. Going from a centralized to a decentralized model is a challenging transformation – systems, business models and client relationships must be completely reconfigured. However, those firms with decentralization at the core will lead the new wave.

One such entity is Tron, which is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications. Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the Tron network has grown rapidly since its mainnet launch in May 2018.

In July 2018, the Tron ecosystem integrated with BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized Web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The Tron network has gained further traction in recent years, with over 100 million users on its blockchain and more than 3.4 billion transactions. In addition, Tron hosts the largest circulating supply of tether (USDT) stablecoins across the globe, overtaking USDT on Ethereum in April 2021.

Tron is at the forefront of Web3 by using both technology and governance to further its decentralization. On the technology front, Tron is an operating system that allows developers to deploy their decentralized applications. It uses a three-layer architecture comprised of a storage layer, a core layer and an application layer. It also uses a proof-of-stake (PoS) model rather than a proof-of-work (PoW) model, which many blockchains are built on. This allows Tron to act as a primary blockchain platform for everyday activity without the high energy cost and slow transaction speed of the PoW model. Tron is confident that its delegated-proof-of-stake (DPoS) consensus will meet all future demands.

On the governance side, The Tron network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a purely community-governed decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Further authority is delegated to 27 “super representatives,” who are the bookkeepers of the Tron network. They are responsible for verifying and packing all transaction data broadcast on the network.

Elections are held to select the 27 super representatives responsible for the regular maintenance of the Tron network. By participating in this governance layer, users not only contribute to the development of the network and the community but also receive rewards themselves.

Decentralization is not inevitable, as it runs against the interests of many of the world’s biggest companies. It needs dedication and nurturing as well as leadership by firms such as Tron. By setting an example and integrating decentralization into its technology and governance, Tron is showing us the future of the web.