🌟 The Internet Has No CEO
Systems that belong to no one are often more durable and secure than those controlled by a single company. The internet has proven this for over 50 years.
Recently, thousands of Americans discovered that their home solar panels were remotely shut down. Not broken, but locked down by a foreign company because the installer hadn't paid. Even though you bought and own the equipment, you don't really control it.
This doesn't just happen with solar panels. It happens with most of the software and equipment we use every day. American farmers own machinery worth hundreds of thousands of dollars but can't repair it themselves, having to wait for the manufacturer's permission. A single software bug can cripple the world, like the incident that caused millions of computers to crash in 2024.
The problem is: we are building an economy on closed systems, where a single party has the power to decide. When you use someone else's platform, you think you're a customer, but in reality, you're dependent.
📍Why is the internet different?
The internet has no CEO, no parent company, no "shutdown" button. If one part fails, the data automatically goes elsewhere. If one service goes down, another continues running. The core of the internet is open standards; anyone can use and build upon them.
Because no one owns the internet:
- No one can raise your price
- No one can lock you out of the system
- No one controls the entire game
Thanks to this, the internet has become the platform for tens of trillions of USD in economic value.
📍Conversely, closed platforms are "sucking" value
Today, platform companies stand between you and everything digitized: software, data, transactions. They can raise prices at any time, and you still have to pay because the cost of leaving is too high. Businesses are spending more and more money on software, not because the software is better, but because they have no other choice.
This system isn't faulty. It's working exactly as it was designed: creating dependencies.
📍Is there another option? Yes: open systems.
Open-source software like Linux or Git shows a different model: no one owns it, everyone can test it, fix bugs, and continue using it even if one party disappears. When a bug occurs, the entire community sees and fixes it together. No need to wait for the "manufacturer to handle it."
Open systems can fail, but they fail publicly and are fixed quickly. Closed systems fail in the shadows.
📍But what about value?
The internet handles information transmission well, but money and value still have to go through banks, card companies, and intermediaries. Every transaction can be blocked, frozen, or controlled.
This is where Ethereum becomes important.
Ethereum is not a company. It has no CEO. No one owns it. It's an open protocol that allows the transfer of value, not just information. No one can “brick” your assets or lock down the system at will.
Just like the internet, Ethereum exists because no one controls it.
📍In short, it's very simple:
There are only two types of infrastructure:
- One that no one owns
- And one that owns you
The internet has proven the first model effective with information.
Ethereum is trying to do the same with money, assets, and economic agreements.
And the final question isn't "which technology is better," but rather: do you want to build your future on infrastructure that no one controls, or on infrastructure that can be shut down at any time?
By James @Snapcrackle - Head of Ecosystem at Ethereum Foundation
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