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(Link to full roadmap here: roadmap.pointnetwork.io)
With “web 3.0” suddenly upgrading from an obscure area of research to a hot topic of mainstream conversation and a significant part of the 2020-s zeitgeist, more and more questions arise about the nature of the beast. Is “Web3” going to stay a vague and undefinable term, or does it have a precise definition?
Besides meanings that became obsolete years ago, like ‘Semantic Web,’ what’s adding to the confusion are all the projects describing themselves as “decentralized” applications (dApps) or “web3”, giving the impression that web3 is already here and alive.
Yet, as we know, such projects still rely heavily on web2 components: using centralized domains that can be taken away at any moment or compromised, centralized storage that is censorable and transparent to mass surveillance, and browser extensions like Metamask or Phantom that Google can disable at any time, which would immediately leave 99% of the users of “decentralized” applications helplessly confused about how to access them. BadgerDAO, a DeFi project hacked for $120M because of centralized UI, shows why this “Web 2.5” approach is in the wrong direction.
World’s First Full Web3 Architecture
To correct this, Point Labs began working on recreating all components of the old internet with their decentralized implementations. Instead of clinging to existing web2 scaffolding, the resulting network, nicknamed Point Network, is a virtual space completely disconnected from the old internet, just like blockchains are, which can now be called Web 3.0.
Point Network architecture consists of decentralized domains (.point) which live on the blockchain, decentralized storage on Arweave, decentralized identities, and other tools that help bridge the gap between Web 2.5 and full Web 3.
When you open Point Browser, there is no connection to facebook.com, google.com, or any IP addresses from the old internet (if you try to open a web2 link, you will be redirected to your normal browser). Instead, Point Network forces the developers to use only decentralized components to deploy their dApps, ensuring censorship-resistance, data integrity, data availability, privacy, and enhanced security.
“The Roadmap to Web3”
This combination, founders insist, is the most straightforward definition of Web 3.0: a long-standing dream of technology enthusiasts to have a completely decentralized internet, free of censorship, mass surveillance, and empowering direct ownership of data and audiences, without Big Tech intermediaries taking their cut and asserting dictatorship-like control. But how far are we from achieving this?
Point Labs produced their first prototype a year ago, bootstrapping its development with their own funds. Then, in October 2021, they presented the first alpha version on Solana Ignition Hackathon, which placed them on the Honorary Mentions list and led to raising their Seed and A rounds by venture capital firms, including notable names such as Arweave, Petrock Capital and Solar Eco Fund, and led by Sino Global+FTX fund, which funded a second alpha version, which is now more functional and easier to use.
This week, Point Labs presented their roadmap. And it’s not just a typical ribbon-shaped block on a landing page. Instead, they made it into a whole Trello-like website, which is hosted on roadmap.pointnetwork.io, called “The Roadmap to Web3 ” and is frequently updated. It features two zones: the main zone, presenting the infrastructure required for decentralized internet and is almost done, and the dApp zone, listing use cases and potential decentralized applications for when the main zone is ready and operational.
The Megaround
Because it is hard for one company to develop all dozens of dApps required for the full Web 3.0 experience, the current plans are to have one last private VC round dubbed ‘The Megaround’ before the public launch at the end of May, to provide grants to interested teams and founders to incentivize building web3 apps on Point Network. After that, the plans are to launch the mainnet beta by June 1.
As the interest in web3 grows, there will definitely emerge a few projects running for the honor of becoming the golden standard. Is Point Network on the way to be one of them? It seems we’re just a few months away from finding out.
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