Times are changing, and it has come to the point that http:// could soon be replaced by a decentralized URL – Web3://. This comes after Qui Zhou, the founder of the new URL, announced that the Web3 URL has been approved by EIP editors and finalized for the launch. It will soon go live, giving users access to data on EVM in the form of pages, images, and songs.
Also, a large number of applications designed specifically for the Web3 sphere will get a boost through the new URL launch. For instance, dynamic NFT, hostless wallet, and on-chain music NFT, among others, will have a better reach among the masses. More information about the development will be shared by Qui Zhou in Denver while attending EthDenver AW this Saturday at 10:30 am.
Web3:// has been designed to give access to humans to the data present on EVM. A similar technical aspect of machines has been termed interesting by Zhou. Web3:// mitigates central censorship, but it continues to rely on central servers to operate. The standard has been titled Web3 URL to EVM Call Message Translation. It was first put on the table in February last year.
Described as an HTTP-style URL, users will get direct access to on-chain Web3 content like NFTs and decentralized applications. The mainnet was finalized on March 01, 2023.
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It has to be noted that the development comes at a high cost in terms of storage. Zhou was heard saying during a presentation that the storage cost is a critical issue on Ethereum since it is very expensive. Zhou quoted an example to explain that 1 Gigabyte of data on-chain costs approximately $10 million, and so on for other storage spaces.
Therefore, Xiang, a co-author of the new URL, has said that it should only be used by select applications. Xiang has added that if a business is running seamlessly on Web2 and has nothing to worry about in terms of censorship, then it can stick to its current model of operation.
dApps like Tornado that risk censorship may find Web3:// rather more useful.
There is natural speculation that the new URL will be misused by malicious players in the market. Xiang justified this by saying that BTC was never created with bad intentions; however, it was used for other purposes using Silk Route and other methods. Meaning shady things will happen no matter what. The best a platform can do is evolve to resolve the issue for a secure environment.
Users will have the feature of leaving a comment and interacting with other users by leaving a like on their posts. Call it the initial phase of http:// in a decentralized version. It will be able to interact with other blockchains easily, leaving http:// behind in some of the core areas.
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Web3 does require the internet to move on in every possible manner. dApps and NFTs, to mention a few, will evolve in an environment that commits to bringing out the best of them.
