Before anyone could figure out what the heck Web3 means, TBD, a division of Jack Dorsey's Block Inc. (SQ: NYSE), announced it is working on Web5, totally skipping any semblance of Web4.
The company released a powerpoint explaining just what it means by Web5, a decentralized web platform that will allow developers to build apps on it using certain tools like decentralized identifiers (DIDs), decentralized web nodes (DWNs), self-sovereign identity services (SSIS) and a self-sovereign identity software development kit (ssi-sdk).
These tools are intended to make it easier for developers to build on the platform and be able to track the identity of individual users, while allowing users to self-generate and own their own digital identities.
What is Web5?
The name is a combination of Web2, the centralized current form of the web governed by big tech companies like Google, Apple and Meta plus Web3, the idea of a decentralized web where various anarchic communities create their own platforms and apps on blockchains and attract new users by offering them ownership in the platforms through tokens.
So 2+3=5. Get it? TBD appears to be seeking to occupy a middle ground between the radical decentralization of Web3 and the tight corporate control of Web2. The platform also only uses bitcoin and its blockchain, eschewing all other forms of cryptocurrency.
The Jack Dorsey-Marc Andreessen spat
This announcement also represents the culmination of a public feud between Jack Dorsey and Marc Andreessen, the co-founder of a16z, a VC firm that has invested heavily in Web3 startups. Dorsey criticized Web3 for being beholden to VC money, causing Andreessen to block him on the platform.
Dorsey is also considered by many to be a "bitcoin maximalist," meaning he believes that bitcoin is the only digital asset that will be needed in the future. However, bitcoin is much criticized for its exorbitant energy usage, difficulty scaling to accommodate large numbers of transactions, wild swings in value and the fact that there is only a finite amount of bitcoin that can be created, making it a naturally deflationary currency.
Regardless, TBD and Dorsey are making bitcoin the central currency of their Web5 concept. However, Web5 is not built on the blockchain itself unlike some Web3 platforms. Bitcoin can be used for transactions on Web5 apps or for securing an identity, but is not required.
"Everyone, web5 works without bitcoin," tweeted Mike Brock, the lead at TBD, in a sort of acronym storm. "The only place our specs directly touch bitcoin are through ION, which uses bitcoin for securing DIDs. But even then, you can do DIDs without ION, which uses bitcoin and IPFS. We think it's a really great and secure anchor."
