Follow the hearts of entrepreneurs and developers and you’ll end up with decentralization in global commerce.

• The history of the internet leads us to believe that the future of the internet’s value layer will be decentralized and trust minimized.

• Rocket Pool is helping make this happen with a lower barrier to decentralized self-staking of Ethereum, the most important web3 asset.

We believe the internet’s future will be based on open-source software (crypto networks) that are permissionless and enable access to global markets 24/7/365. Entrepreneurs and developers building open-source software will prefer to use crypto networks with high security and trust standards.

Ethereum’s ecosystem is the most important crypto network today partially because it has the most value locked up ($23B as of this writing) and is the most decentralized blockchain (7,578 nodes as of this writing). Ethereum’s future depends on maintaining decentralization and Rocket Pool is focused on helping make this happen.

Here is why decentralization matters in the evolution of the internet and why Rocket Pool is leading the decentralization of Ethereum.

A Quick History on the Internet

a16z is one of the best venture investment firms in the world and their crypto lead Chris Dixon shared his thoughts ‘Why Decentralization Matters’ in this acclaimed article.

Here’s an excerpt on the history of the internet’s evolution from an open ecosystem to today’s gated internet led by a few mega companies, and what could be ahead if history is to rhyme ahead.

"The first two eras of the internet

During the first era of the internet — from the 1980s through the early 2000s — internet services were built on open protocols that were controlled by the internet community…

During the second era of the internet, from the mid 2000s to the present, for-profit tech companies — most notably Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon (GAFA) — built software and services that rapidly outpaced the capabilities of open protocols…

The good news is that billions of people got access to amazing technologies, many of which were free to use. The bad news is that it became much harder for startups, creators, and other groups to grow their internet presence…This in turn stifled innovation, making the internet less interesting and dynamic.

Centralization has also created broader societal tensions, which we see in the debates over subjects like fake news, state sponsored bots, “no platforming” of users, EU privacy laws, and algorithmic biases. These debates will only intensify in the coming years.

“Web 3”: the third era of the internet

The internet is the ultimate software-based network, consisting of a relatively simple core layer connecting billions of fully programmable computers at the edge. Software is simply the encoding of human thought, and as such has an almost unbounded design space…

*The internet is still early in its evolution: the core internet services will likely be almost entirely rearchitected in the coming decades. This will be enabled by crypto-economic networks, a generalization of the ideas first introduced in Bitcoin and further developed in Ethereum. *

Crypto networks combine the best features of the first two internet eras: community-governed, decentralized networks with capabilities that will eventually exceed those of the most advanced centralized services.

How decentralization wins

Software and web services are built by developers. There are millions of highly skilled developers in the world. Only a small fraction work at large technology companies, and only a small fraction of those work on new product development. Many of the most important software projects in history were created by startups or by communities of independent developers.

“No matter who you are, most of the smartest people work for someone else.” — Bill Joy

Decentralized networks can win the third era of the internet for the same reason they won the first era: by winning the hearts and minds of entrepreneurs and developers.”

We agree with a16z and Chris that the hearts and minds of fellow entrepreneurs and developers will continue to migrate toward web3.

Web3, crypto networks, unlock property rights on the internet for users and provides more value creation, innovation, and opportunity than ever possible in Web2.

The Web3 future enables anyone to be able to engage on the internet and own their data so that they can monetize the value they create in their communities and in global markets.

Web3 is a collective of individuals working together anywhere in the world on a shared missed. Rocket Pool’s team decided to tackle the problem of centralized Ethereum staking, and we think this is one of the most important projects we can support to ensure we maintain a decentralized Ethereum ahead.

We could go a lot further down the decentralization deep dive, but will hold back and suggest reading any of these great articles to go further:

• The Meaning of Decentralization @Vitalik Buterin

• Coordination, Good and Bad @ Vitalik Buterin

• Measuring Blockchain Decentralization @ Consensys Research

What’s Rocket Pool again?

Rocket Pool is the friendly decentralized Ethereum staking protocol, aka a crypto network that makes Ethereum staking easy for many types of investors.

Here’s a summary by AllNodes CEO on Rocket Pool’s value offering:

“To fully grasp the power of the Rocket Pool protocol, it is imperative to understand staking. Staking is a form of passive income available to self-sovereign individuals or crypto investors on centralized and decentralized crypto exchanges and staking platforms…

to become a validator on the Ethereum network, one needs a substantial amount of collateral…this is not very inclusive.

Luckily, another concept democratizes the process of staking Ether for investors – the Rocket Pool (RPL).

Rocket Pool is a community-owned, fully decentralized staking protocol that supports investors, big or small. It is designed for easier self-sovereignty…(and) may not require extensive technical knowledge to run a node or a big wallet.

The Rocket Pool protocol is for two types of investors, those who wish to remain liquid and stake small amounts of Ether without being bound by uncertain lock-up periods and investors with at least 16 ETH looking to maximize their ROI and stake to become a validator. @Kontstantin Boyko-Romanovsky

Rocket Pool enables smaller investors to run their own ETH2 node and this reduces the barriers to entry. Here is a map of Rocket Pool’s ETH2 nodes today:

By reducing the entry barrier for long-term investors who want to be independent node operators and or stakers, Rocket Pool provides two products that support Ethereum’s validator set to grow more diverse and decentralized, making the network more secure, robust, and censorship-resistant.

Rocket Pool’s Impact on Decentralized Ethereum Today

Rocket Pool today has 2% of the Ethereum validators on the network while providing 16% of the decentralization of the network according to SuperPhiz.

This fact that Rocket Pool is providing more decentralization than it’s share of the network is an incredible feat considering that most users are assumed to choose the easiest option and that’s often from a centralized service. This a pretty big deal to us and to those who understand the importance of a censorship-resistant Ethereum.

Like other true crypto believers, our hearts are aligned with the developers and entrepreneurs who started the Web3 movement that matters and it’s essential for the future that we want to be a part of.

“I will always support decentralization since it is the ethos this industry is built on…Rocket Pool is a net plus for the benefit of Ethereum and hopefully, the growth continues” @Data Driven Investor

It’s important for us to support the decentralized Ethereum staking protocol over the centralized options like Lido due to the inherent issues centralization creates. For example, OFAC Compliance and Lido’s role in the Ethereum ecosystem.

In Summary

The decentralization of the internet is the most likely path forward if history were to not repeat but rhyme in our view. Web3 provides more value for creators in the form of property rights and ownership of the network. We expect more entrepreneurs and developers to choose Web3 over Web2 due to the value unlocked by crypto networks.

Over time we’ve seen the Internet start out as open, permissionless, and free and move to gated communities run by multinational corporations. The founder of Bitcoin, Lord Satoshi Nakmoto, created Bitcoin in part to protect peer-to-peer commerce as they knew the sins and evil that can occur when a few hold the power.

In our short history of the internet’s existence, we’ve come to quickly learn that the decentralization of power and ownership is the best way forward for a censorship-resistant and open global economy on the internet.

Rocket Pool is the leading Ethereum staking protocol that supports decentralized and at-home staking easily and securely. By supporting Rocket Pool and owning $rETH or running a mini node, individuals can put their beliefs where their wallets are by leaning into supporting a decentralized Ethereum owned by the people around the world.

Thanks for your time.

Follow the hearts of entrepreneurs and developers and you’ll end up with decentralization in global commerce.

• The history of the internet leads us to believe that the future of the internet’s value layer will be decentralized and trust minimized.

• Rocket Pool is helping make this happen with a lower barrier to decentralized self-staking of Ethereum, the most important web3 asset.

We believe the internet’s future will be based on open-source software (crypto networks) that are permissionless and enable access to global markets 24/7/365. Entrepreneurs and developers building open-source software will prefer to use crypto networks with high security and trust standards.

Ethereum’s ecosystem is the most important crypto network today partially because it has the most value locked up ($23B as of this writing) and is the most decentralized blockchain (7,578 nodes as of this writing). Ethereum’s future depends on maintaining decentralization and Rocket Pool is focused on helping make this happen.

Here is why decentralization matters in the evolution of the internet and why Rocket Pool is leading the decentralization of Ethereum.

A Quick History on the Internet

a16z is one of the best venture investment firms in the world and their crypto lead Chris Dixon shared his thoughts ‘Why Decentralization Matters’ in this acclaimed article.

Here’s an excerpt on the history of the internet’s evolution from an open ecosystem to today’s gated internet led by a few mega companies, and what could be ahead if history is to rhyme ahead.

"The first two eras of the internet

During the first era of the internet — from the 1980s through the early 2000s — internet services were built on open protocols that were controlled by the internet community…

During the second era of the internet, from the mid 2000s to the present, for-profit tech companies — most notably Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon (GAFA) — built software and services that rapidly outpaced the capabilities of open protocols…

The good news is that billions of people got access to amazing technologies, many of which were free to use. The bad news is that it became much harder for startups, creators, and other groups to grow their internet presence…This in turn stifled innovation, making the internet less interesting and dynamic.

Centralization has also created broader societal tensions, which we see in the debates over subjects like fake news, state sponsored bots, “no platforming” of users, EU privacy laws, and algorithmic biases. These debates will only intensify in the coming years.

“Web 3”: the third era of the internet

The internet is the ultimate software-based network, consisting of a relatively simple core layer connecting billions of fully programmable computers at the edge. Software is simply the encoding of human thought, and as such has an almost unbounded design space…

*The internet is still early in its evolution: the core internet services will likely be almost entirely rearchitected in the coming decades. This will be enabled by crypto-economic networks, a generalization of the ideas first introduced in Bitcoin and further developed in Ethereum. *

Crypto networks combine the best features of the first two internet eras: community-governed, decentralized networks with capabilities that will eventually exceed those of the most advanced centralized services.

How decentralization wins

Software and web services are built by developers. There are millions of highly skilled developers in the world. Only a small fraction work at large technology companies, and only a small fraction of those work on new product development. Many of the most important software projects in history were created by startups or by communities of independent developers.

“No matter who you are, most of the smartest people work for someone else.” — Bill Joy

Decentralized networks can win the third era of the internet for the same reason they won the first era: by winning the hearts and minds of entrepreneurs and developers.”

We agree with a16z and Chris that the hearts and minds of fellow entrepreneurs and developers will continue to migrate toward web3.

Web3, crypto networks, unlock property rights on the internet for users and provides more value creation, innovation, and opportunity than ever possible in Web2.

The Web3 future enables anyone to be able to engage on the internet and own their data so that they can monetize the value they create in their communities and in global markets.

Web3 is a collective of individuals working together anywhere in the world on a shared missed. Rocket Pool’s team decided to tackle the problem of centralized Ethereum staking, and we think this is one of the most important projects we can support to ensure we maintain a decentralized Ethereum ahead.

We could go a lot further down the decentralization deep dive, but will hold back and suggest reading any of these great articles to go further:

• The Meaning of Decentralization @Vitalik Buterin

• Coordination, Good and Bad @ Vitalik Buterin

• Measuring Blockchain Decentralization @ Consensys Research

What’s Rocket Pool again?

Rocket Pool is the friendly decentralized Ethereum staking protocol, aka a crypto network that makes Ethereum staking easy for many types of investors.

Here’s a summary by AllNodes CEO on Rocket Pool’s value offering:

“To fully grasp the power of the Rocket Pool protocol, it is imperative to understand staking. Staking is a form of passive income available to self-sovereign individuals or crypto investors on centralized and decentralized crypto exchanges and staking platforms…

to become a validator on the Ethereum network, one needs a substantial amount of collateral…this is not very inclusive.

Luckily, another concept democratizes the process of staking Ether for investors – the Rocket Pool (RPL).

Rocket Pool is a community-owned, fully decentralized staking protocol that supports investors, big or small. It is designed for easier self-sovereignty…(and) may not require extensive technical knowledge to run a node or a big wallet.

The Rocket Pool protocol is for two types of investors, those who wish to remain liquid and stake small amounts of Ether without being bound by uncertain lock-up periods and investors with at least 16 ETH looking to maximize their ROI and stake to become a validator. @Kontstantin Boyko-Romanovsky

Rocket Pool enables smaller investors to run their own ETH2 node and this reduces the barriers to entry. Here is a map of Rocket Pool’s ETH2 nodes today:

By reducing the entry barrier for long-term investors who want to be independent node operators and or stakers, Rocket Pool provides two products that support Ethereum’s validator set to grow more diverse and decentralized, making the network more secure, robust, and censorship-resistant.

Rocket Pool’s Impact on Decentralized Ethereum Today

Rocket Pool today has 2% of the Ethereum validators on the network while providing 16% of the decentralization of the network according to SuperPhiz.

This fact that Rocket Pool is providing more decentralization than it’s share of the network is an incredible feat considering that most users are assumed to choose the easiest option and that’s often from a centralized service. This a pretty big deal to us and to those who understand the importance of a censorship-resistant Ethereum.

Like other true crypto believers, our hearts are aligned with the developers and entrepreneurs who started the Web3 movement that matters and it’s essential for the future that we want to be a part of.

“I will always support decentralization since it is the ethos this industry is built on…Rocket Pool is a net plus for the benefit of Ethereum and hopefully, the growth continues” @Data Driven Investor

It’s important for us to support the decentralized Ethereum staking protocol over the centralized options like Lido due to the inherent issues centralization creates. For example, OFAC Compliance and Lido’s role in the Ethereum ecosystem.

In Summary

The decentralization of the internet is the most likely path forward if history were to not repeat but rhyme in our view. Web3 provides more value for creators in the form of property rights and ownership of the network. We expect more entrepreneurs and developers to choose Web3 over Web2 due to the value unlocked by crypto networks.

Over time we’ve seen the Internet start out as open, permissionless, and free and move to gated communities run by multinational corporations. The founder of Bitcoin, Lord Satoshi Nakmoto, created Bitcoin in part to protect peer-to-peer commerce as they knew the sins and evil that can occur when a few hold the power.

In our short history of the internet’s existence, we’ve come to quickly learn that the decentralization of power and ownership is the best way forward for a censorship-resistant and open global economy on the internet.

Rocket Pool is the leading Ethereum staking protocol that supports decentralized and at-home staking easily and securely. By supporting Rocket Pool and owning $rETH or running a mini node, individuals can put their beliefs where their wallets are by leaning into supporting a decentralized Ethereum owned by the people around the world.

Thanks for your time.