IPDB Announced as Public, Planetary-Scale Blockchain Database
BERLIN, June 1, 2016 — BigchainDB announced today the launch of IPDB, an internet-scale blockchain database for the world.
IPDB — the Interplanetary Database — is the database for the emerging decentralized world computer. IPDB is a blockchain database that offers decentralized control, immutability and the creation and trading of digital assets. It will be overseen by the not-for-profit IPDB Foundation.
As a database for the world, IPDB offers decentralized control, strong governance and universal accessibility. IPDB relies on “caretaker” organizations around the world, who share responsibility for managing the network and governing the IPDB Foundation. Anyone in the world will be able to use IPDB.
To date, 13 organizations have been confirmed as founding caretakers, including the Internet Archive, IPFS (Protocol Labs), Blockstack, ConsenSys, OpenMedia, Eris Industries, Tendermint and UnMonastery. More caretakers will be announced in the coming weeks. At least half of the caretakers will be not-for-profit organizations, and to prevent re-centralization fewer than half will be based in any one country. All of the caretakers share a commitment to building an open, decentralized internet.
We are building IPDB to make sure that world computer is accessible to everyone.
“We are planning for a serverless world,” said Trent McConaghy, CTO of BigchainDB, whose technology powers IPDB. “IPDB’s focus on governance and transparency combined with BigchainDB’s technology offers a pragmatic approach for decentralization today, with a plan for even greater decentralization in the future.”
“Blockchain technology is enabling a decentralized world computer. We are building IPDB to make sure that world computer is accessible to everyone,” said Greg McMullen, Director of the IPDB Foundation. “Eventually, IPDB will operate as a completely decentralized organization. The organization will run as software.”
The announcement was made at BlueYard Capital’s Decentralized & Encrypted event in Berlin. There is a growing movement to decentralize the web, as seen in events like this and the Internet Archive’s Decentralized Web Summit in San Francisco on June 8, of which McMullen is a co-organizer. The event will feature workshops and high-profile speakers who are collaborating to build a decentralized web.
For the technical characteristics of IPDB, please refer to the BigchainDB whitepaper which can be found at https://bigchaindb.com/whitepaper.
For more information, visit https://ipdb.foundation.
Media Contacts
Carly Sheridan
+49 30 6482 6092
carly@bigchaindb.com
Greg McMullen
greg@ipdb.foundation
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