I left crypto in 2021 during the bull market and peak NFT mania. Something just felt off. I met so many "entrepreneurs" who were raising money and offering me jobs that felt disingenuous and who were doing it all for the wrong reasons. Celebrities and influencers followed suit. Carnival barkers were everywhere. I rejoined as soon as the bear market arrived. All of those other people had left. There isn't a day since my re-arrival where I haven't put my all into making blockchains happen. I believe deeply in the technology as a needed upgrade for the Internet to enable human coordination at scale. With signs of a new bull market emerging, I wanted to revisit the core principles and potential of blockchain technology, as a reminder of the fundamental reasons we’re here, especially when financial hype risks obscuring them.

The internet was originally designed to empower users with freedom and access to information. Early protocols like email and the World Wide Web served as open networks where communities of developers and users collaboratively shaped the technology. However, as large corporations rose to dominate the Internet, this initial vision of a decentralized and democratic Internet has been compromised. Major tech firms now control vast swaths of digital infrastructure, and their incentive structures prioritize revenue generation over user empowerment. The emergence of blockchains offers a path back to the ideals of user ownership, creativity, and openness. By enabling user ownership, transparent protocols and decentralized governance, blockchains can fundamentally reshape the Internet to be more equitable and resilient.

Today’s internet is dominated by corporate networks, which are centralized, closed systems that benefit a small group of stakeholders—typically shareholders, executives, and employees. This concentration of control limits the diversity of software available to users, undermines privacy, and reduces user agency. Many of these platforms rely on advertising revenue, which often creates incentives that compromise user trust. Content recommendation algorithms and ad-based revenue models drive platform design, prioritizing engagement and data collection over user autonomy and empowerment. Users are often left with few meaningful choices regarding how they interact with these platforms, as switching to alternative services usually means sacrificing compatibility or functionality. This has stifled creativity and innovation, as developers have fewer incentives to create new products that must conform to the limitations set by centralized platforms.

As the Internet has become more profit-driven, user control has weakened, and its original promise as a platform for knowledge sharing, creativity, and community building has faded. Limited choices trap users within corporate-controlled “walled gardens” where power and profits accrue to centralized entities. This trend has led to a less dynamic and less fair Internet, where large corporations dictate the terms of engagement and users are positioned as passive consumers rather than active participants.

Blockchains offer an alternative to centralized, corporate-controlled networks. As a new class of network, blockchains enable fairer access by allowing multiple parties to share and edit data transparently, with trust established by protocol rather than by corporate intermediaries. This decentralized approach transforms the way digital networks can be structured, allowing anyone to participate as a network stakeholder with the ability to influence governance decisions and share in economic rewards. Blockchains are a new class of network that is both user-owned and community-governed, contrasting sharply with traditional corporate models.

Blockchains allow users to make secure, software enforced commitments regarding their data, identities, and digital assets. These commitments empower users to own and control their digital lives, thereby shifting power away from centralized entities. By redistributing governance and ownership rights to users, blockchains can create networks that operate with greater accountability and adaptability.

The design of a network has deep impacts on its social, economic, and political dynamics. It influences access, data control, and the flow of power and value, underscoring why decentralized design is so critical. Centralized networks concentrate power and financial gain at the center, reinforcing existing hierarchies. In contrast, decentralized networks built on blockchain protocols operate as open systems, where governance is distributed among all participants. This model fosters an environment in which innovation and creativity can flourish, as developers and users alike have more freedom to explore novel applications without the constraints imposed by centralized control.

The role of protocol design in shaping network outcomes cannot be overstated. Protocol-based networks, such as email or the web, have historically allowed for open access and interoperability, enabling diverse communities of developers to build new services and applications. Blockchains extend this model by providing a framework for digital ownership, which is essential for encouraging user-driven innovation. By giving users the ability to own and manage their data, blockchains create an environment where creativity is encouraged rather than taxed by centralized gatekeepers.

The current movement to build a decentralized Internet with blockchain technology echoes the early days of the web, where collaboration, openness, and innovation were core values. The original dream of the Internet as an open network, a platform for creativity, entrepreneurship, and community, does not have to be abandoned. Blockchains enable a return to these principles by creating digital spaces where users can control their assets, express themselves freely, and collaborate without the permission of centralized intermediaries. This vision of the Internet places users at the center, allowing them to benefit from the value they create and participate fully in the governance of the platforms they use. The true potential of blockchains lies in building a future where technology empowers individuals, fuels creativity, and fosters genuine community; goals that committed developers and users are working toward every day.