Hey folks,
TLDR:
- How does your app benefit from being fully on-chain / Web3?
- What business or growth opportunities would be lost if you implemented the front end using AWS?
LONG VERSION
I was thinking a lot recently about Web3 vs. Web 2.5 dilemma. In theory, the full-on-chain Web3 design is a better long-term strategy because of censorship resistance and full community control over the app’s code.
However, even if we know the future, how we can get there is not always clear.
What are the practical benefits of full-stack on-chain apps?
Some potential directions:
- User base. Does it allow to serve new categories of users who wouldn’t use Web2.5?
- Capital access. Does it unlock access to new types of capital (like some VCs invest only in end-2-end Web3)?
- Security considerations. There’s a real threat that AWS will mess with the app’s code and data. Therefore, the app must be on-chain.
- Censorship resistance. AWS will likely censor the app, similar to [Parler].
- Transition to full DAO. The app is moving under the control of DAO, and moving it on-chain prevents the developer from deploying frontend updates without DAO proposal votes.
Again, I’m looking for strong practical considerations like “As a developer, I have no choice except to go fully on-chain because Web2.5 won’t work for my use case.”
I fear that without concrete benefits of full Web3, it’s more practical for most developers to build Web2.5 apps and think about transitioning to Web3 in the future when they prove product market fit. If true, this will significantly slow the adoption of full Web3 platforms like Internet Computer.
Looking forward to the discussion.