Coinbase, the most prominent cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, has shared their idea for a decentralized social network under the name Web3 Social Stack.
The hosting layer at the bottom of the stack runs social application primitives and derives decentralized features on blockchains. Second, decentralized storage techniques for certain vital data. Next are social primitives, which represent persons, their identities (e.g., activities performed and assets owned), and their interactions with others.
Wallets serve as the basis for a user’s web3 social ‘profile’ by allowing them to carry their data to their preferred application. Social apps are on top. Blockchains, storage protocols, and social primitives are used to develop user interfaces.
Coinbase says:
“At first glance, Farcaster is a user generated content feed resembling Twitter, but with a more decentralized server architecture, built on an open protocol, that leverages Ethereum for decentralized identity.”
The creation of a decentralized registry is made possible through the use of the Ethereum blockchain by Farcaster. When a new user signs up for Farcaster, an Ethereum wallet address that is tied to their username is automatically generated.
The user’s username is an NFT that identifies them and may be mapped to any service on the network. No one can take away your identity or the relationships you build with it, just as no one can take away the NFTs you have stored in your wallet.
This strategy is referred to by the team as ‘sufficient decentralization’. By decentralizing important components like identification, Farcaster is able to ensure that users may always claim and post content under a username that cannot be revoked. This ensures that users have complete control over their experience on the platform.
