Sometimes, in the evolution of an industry, there are watershed moments. Tornado Cash might be that for the blockchain and cryptocurrency world.
For a few years, many discussed the idea of decentralization and how anything outside of that is vulnerable. Most of this fell on deaf ears as people allowed greed along with the thirst for power to reign supreme.
The reality is governments are not going to stop. There is a major target on cryptocurrency, something that will be a rude awakening to many. In short, the industry is far too centralized. Most of what we see is primed for attack. The lesson of Tornado Cash should be heard by all in the industry.
Basically, the message is clear: decentralize or else.
Anyone who does not listen will be subject to harassment, or worse. Governments are not going to idly sit by while losing all control. The bottom line is it will have to be taken from them.
The challenge for the governments is you have a bunch of politicians and bureaucrats taking on developers. In this era, we see an interesting fight. While the former has size as well as resources on their side, the latter is more versatile. Plus, there are developers all over the world who are involved in this battle.
Open source software is one of the best defenses against the tyrannical states that are coming down on people. For this reason, every layer of our infrastructure needs examining. The points of vulnerability are clear.
This is a message that was echoed by a user on Reddit, @AllwaysBuyCheap. This developer was focusing upon the weaknesses tied to Ethereum. Nevertheless, many do apply across the board.
For a summary of what was discussed, read here.
Conversations like this are very encouraging. As developers espouse the areas of vulnerability along with proposed solutions, someone will get working on them. Here is where the proper mindset is vital.
Much of cryptocurrency, thus far, was nothing more than a money grab. This occurred at every level. However, the future is going to be teams that develop with the idea of decentralized from the start. In other words, the power must be given up immediately.
This might seem like a problem since it would appear to go against human nature. Here is where the government might come in handy. Simply put, anyone who has control is a target. That might provide the incentive to want to cede it from the start.
Satoshi Nokamoto was a genius.
This statement is not made for the development of Bitcoin. That was innovative but far from the only project of that nature.
The genius part was to have the foresight to remain anonymous. Can you imagine what things would look like if he/she was known? The story of Bitcoin probably would be different.
Nevertheless, the lesson was imparted. The fact that nobody knows who Satoshi is means that the point of failure is removed. There is nobody for the government to go after.
In addition to anonymity, we also can receive defense from duplication. Open source software means redundancy. One of something can be attacked and taken down. Yet, if there are a few dozen of the same thing, it gets a lot harder.
Bitcoin most likely cannot be stopped due to the distribution of miners. Leaving that aside, the main defense for this is the fact that Bitcoin could be forked 1,000 times. While the new systems might not have the value of the original, the software would run. It becomes the proverbial game of whack-a-mole.
The idea of the next generation Internet is espoused regularly. To many, Web 3.0 means adding a token to an application and, presto, new Internet. That is people are misled.
A major part of the transition to Web 3.0 is going to be the development of infrastructure. That is the core of what has to take place. The present Internet, Web 2.0, is too centralized. This applies to a lot more than just the silos built by the social media sites.
Web 3.0 has to be built from the ground up. This means things such as DNS need remaking. Node systems of all kinds are required to start the storage of data away from the likes of AWS. The other day we wrote about the dangers of GitHub and the need for alternatives.
The point is that people are approaching projects with the mindset of creating new infrastructure that is outside the reach of governments. Since we are dealing with global initiatives, there is already a degree of difficulty for those in power.
Governments excel when people are located within a certain geographic region. They are able to control individuals based upon this. With the digital realm, the rules of engagement are completely different. Under this scenario, people are spread all over the world.
What is the US Government going to do against an anonymous developer from Bangladesh? Or what action can it take against a team developing open source software with members from Japan, Korea, Brazil, and Malaysia? What does the situation look like when there are contributions from people in 15 different countries?
Tornado Cash was a warning. The US Government is now willing to go after smart contracts. This is not going to be the last time this happens.
So what is the solution? Simply, the government goes after Tornado Cash and some developer with a bone to grind opens up a few dozen mixers in response.
Lose one, 20 more appear.
Open and decentralized is now going to be in focus.
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