"The time has come for Web3" Vitalik Buterin emphasizes the evolution of decentralized applications

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, recently shared important insights on the evolution of decentralized technology via social media. He pointed out that all the technical prerequisites envisioned in Web3 back in 2014 are now in place, and it is time to seriously build a fully decentralized ecosystem.

Potential Brought by Maturation of the Technology Stack

Unlike the era when the Web3 vision seemed like a distant dream, today’s decentralized infrastructure has made remarkable progress. The decentralized messaging protocol Waku already supports multiple applications such as Railway and Status, moving into the practical stage. Additionally, the decentralized file system IPFS has achieved excellent performance, though continuous improvements are needed for storage optimization. Vitalik Buterin emphasizes that the advancements in these individual technologies significantly enhance the overall implementability of decentralized applications.

Progress in Practical Use of Decentralized Applications Seen in Fileverse

Fileverse, which Buterin cites as a specific example, is gaining attention as a decentralized alternative to Google Docs/Sheets. This application implements document processing by combining account management on the Ethereum chain and the cost-efficient Gnosis chain, along with decentralized messaging and storage, passing an open-source “off-site test.” A key feature of Fileverse is that it has greatly overcome the usability issues faced by decentralized applications in 2014. Its usability has been improved to the point where it can be frequently used for daily document creation and collaboration, indicating that decentralized technology is finally beginning to have practical utility. Meanwhile, Buterin points out the vulnerabilities and issues of bloated centralized enterprise software through specific case studies.

Expectations and Outlook for the Developer Community

Vitalik Buterin encourages developers to jointly promote this wave of revival in decentralized applications. As the technical foundation is established, usability improves, and real-world use cases increase, the shift toward a decentralized world is becoming more than just an ideal—it’s becoming a practical option. With ongoing improvements, the transition to the next stage suggested by Vitalik Buterin is expected to have a significant impact on the development of the Web3 ecosystem.