The Web3 vision and its challenges
Web3 is a paradigm where identity, data, and assets are owned and controlled by users, and web services are decentralized. To enable this vision, a fundamental infrastructure layer is needed that can scale to billions of users, maintain a decentralized and secure environment, and be independently sustainable over time. This infrastructure is a prerequisite for transitioning to Web3, but it is not enough on its own. In particular, usability is one of the biggest barriers to adopting Web3. The technology is still relatively new - about ten years old - and the data, tools, and product layers are even newer. Millions of people use Web3 today, but that is still far from the billions on Web2.
Introducing NEAR Protocol
NEAR was created specifically to address this challenge by providing an open-source Layer-1 blockchain with a scalable and dynamically partitioned network that is truly usable, making it easier for developers to build usable products. NEAR was founded by Illia Polosukhin, a former Google developer and TensorFlow contributor, and Alex Skidanov, formerly of MemSQL and an AI researcher. They needed a way to pay contributors worldwide to help them with their AI startup and found it practically impossible with existing blockchains like Ethereum. In 2018, they focused on this vision, and in 2020 they released the NEAR mainnet.
Usability as a core differentiator
NEAR prioritizes usability as one of its main values and has always considered it an inclusive philosophy. A blockchain that is not scalable or secure is not usable. Likewise, if the technology is difficult to use and build with, applications created with this technology will require heavier finishing and sacrifices in either usability or features in the process. NEAR seeks to address this by incorporating usability and accessibility into the core of the protocol itself. This removes the complexities introduced by Web3 and abstracts them for developers, allowing them to build simpler and more user-friendly interfaces for their users.
Examples of NEAR's usability approach
One example of this approach can be seen in NEAR's account model, which is known for its flexibility and use of human-readable addresses (e.g., jane.near) instead of complex hexadecimal strings. This is a unique feature for NEAR among Layer-1 blockchains. By simplifying these aspects, NEAR makes it easier for both developers and users to interact with the blockchain, lowering the barriers to entry for Web3 adoption.
Conclusion
As the world moves towards a decentralized Web3, usability remains a significant challenge that must be addressed for widespread adoption. NEAR Protocol aims to tackle this issue head-on by prioritizing usability in its core design and providing developers with an accessible platform to build user-friendly applications. With its innovative approach, NEAR has the potential to bridge the gap between Web2 and Web3, bringing us closer to a truly decentralized internet.
