Web3 Series: The Decentralization Lens
How blockchain advances a long-standing trend of decentralization through technological innovation
One early August afternoon, Phil Brandenberger went shopping. After spotting a music album that suited his taste, he took out his credit card, paid a modest $12.48, and became the proud owner of Sting’s Ten Summoner’s Tales.
If this sounds like the beginning of the most mundane story imaginable, it’s only because the logistics behind this seminal purchase have now permeated every corner of the developed world. This all took place in 1994, over the internet, in what is today considered the first online transaction. Thus, ecommerce was born. In the decades since, a near trillion-dollar phenomenon has taken shape, with online sales reaching $870 billion in 2021.
To most, this is a simple story of a world gone digital, with all the practical conveniences that affords. But lurking in the shadows of Brandenberger’s purchase was a subtle force that further asserts itself with each successive technological revolution: decentralization. And nearly 30 years after it helped the first shopper with an online purchase, it is once again reshaping the internet.
