What is Web 5.0

Web5 or Web 5.0 is a new concept in the crypto world. It is a term that seeks to unite the best of two worlds: the decentralization of Web 3.0, along with the speed, low cost of operation, and versatility of Web 2.0 development.

Ehis new concept was born in a somewhat peculiar way in the mind of Jack Dorsey, who simply posted a tweet with his idea and began working to make it a reality.

Since then, Jack Dorsey's cryptocurrency company Block, together with a subsidiary called TBD, has started working on this idea in order to develop everything necessary to make this vision a reality: this is the beginning of the Web5.

The goal behind Web5

The main objective of Web5 is to build decentralized web applications where user data remains under your control at all times. This means that these applications, their connections, interactions and data must not depend at any time on third-party infrastructure.

In addition, the application must be capable of generating a unique and verifiable digital identity that allows users of Web5 applications to not only ensure their identity, but also create an experience. passwordless (no need to use passwords), while protecting all your data and maintaining granular control over the entire experience.

An advance over Web3

However, doesn't this currently exist on Web3? The reality is that most of the Web3 applications that exist today are not completely decentralized. A very clear example of this can be seen in Uniswap, where it has recently been seen how this decentralized Web3 application has begun to apply a blacklist of addresses related to Tornado Cash.

Situations like this are repeated in many other applications, giving a clear message: the decentralization of Web3 is not total, there are many intermediate elements that avoid reaching it, and that is precisely what Web5 seeks to leave behind.

How does Web5 work?

Now, Web5 works thanks to a series of elements that allow developers to create decentralized applications that are, in practice, self-contained.

With these tools, developers can build web, mobile, or desktop applications that offer true and complete decentralization, along with unique user experiences.

These elements are called "Components" and are:

1. Decentralized Identifiers (DID)
2. Decentralized Web Nodes (DWN)
3. Decentralized Identity Services.
4. Decentralized Identity SDKs.

The first of these components is intended to allow the creation of a decentralized identifier or DID. DIDs are responsible for creating a decentralized sovereign identity structure, which can be fully cryptographically registered and verified. What's interesting about all of this is that DIDs and the TBD-driven implementation is a W3C standard, which means it's a technology atomically tied to our current Web technologies (Web 2.0, to be exact).

Thanks to this, Web5 will be able to be developed and integrated using much of the technology that already exists today, helping to accelerate the development and adoption of this technology.

The second component is the Decentralized Web Nodes or DWN. The purpose of this component is to serve as a data warehouse that can join a decentralized network in order to communicate and synchronize its operation. In this way, DWNs can enable users to secure, manage, and transact their data with others without relying on a third party's specific infrastructure, interfaces, or routing mechanisms. Basically, we can see DWNs as the equivalent to what we know as blockchain network nodes.

Finally, we have the Decentralized Identity Services (SSIS or Self-Sovereign Identity Service) and their respective development SDKs. In this case we are talking about an identity management service that allows individuals and companies to govern their own digital identities. The goal is for each individual to be able to manage all aspects of their digital identity and therefore every aspect of its interaction with the decentralized applications with which they have contact, all managed by smart contracts.

To build and make use of these services, there is the SDK SSIS (SKD Self-Sovereign Identity Service), which is nothing more than a set of tools to create applications that facilitate the process of using the principles of self-sufficient identity.

Actors on the Web5

The actors that make all this architecture possible are three:

1. Accessory bags
2. Decentralized Web Nodes (DWN)
3. Decentralized Web Applications (DWA)

The former are in charge of protecting and allowing us to create and use our sovereign digital identities (DIDs). As in cryptocurrency wallets, the operation of these wallets relies on the use of asymmetric cryptography, such as the ECDSA or EdDSA digital signature algorithms.

The latter are in charge of deploying the necessary services to run the decentralized network that supports the decentralized applications (DWAs) that run on it.

Ultimately, DWAs are just the realization of Web5 technology, these being the applications themselves that can be built using common technology like JavaScript, TypeScript, NodeJS, Django (Python) and more, taking advantage of the DWN's ability to expose HTTP or RPC-type interaction interfaces that greatly facilitate the creation of DWAs and allow you to have a much broader development potential than what we can see in the Web3 world.

Technology use cases

Now, much of the technology that makes the vision of Web5 possible is available today, but most of its parts are still under development (such as DWNs and SSIS services). In any case, Web5 is already very clear about the different use cases in which this technology can play a fundamental role in transforming our experience and digital life.

The first case of use of this type of technology can be seen in the management of our real identity, digitizing it and allowing us to use it to interact with all kinds of applications without intermediaries. As we have commented before, DIDs are a Web standard established by the W3C, therefore, generating one within Web5 is not only useful for interacting with applications in this decentralized network, but it can also be especially useful in today's Web2. . Thus, as DIDs become a much more common utility to manage our identity, Web2 and Web5 can create interoperability spaces that benefit both.

Another use case that we can see in Web5 is the generation of applications where we generate personal data. In the current system (Web2) the data that we generate in the applications is generally stored on third-party servers that can be hacked or directly these third parties use our data to sell and monetize them. Be that as it may, the privacy problem that this generates is enormous, and we have already experienced quite sad episodes regarding this reality (eg, the case of Cambridge Analytica from Facebook).

But with Web5 this can change radically, because the generation of this data is not only encrypted in the DWN network, but we have control of it, being able to edit, delete and completely eliminate the information that is in the DWN and on our computers. So, Web5 gives us full control over our data, allowing us to decide what to do with them at all times.

While this is a promising vision, much work remains to be done to make it a reality, and we are confident that we will see many more advances in this technology in the years to come.