By Larry Wright
Blockchain entities are notorious for finding ways to upgrade Web 2.0 technologies. Even though, thus far, web 3.0 is still under development, blockchain developers are coming up with ways to make new improvements.
One such innovation has been introduced by the Ethereum blockchain in the form of a new rollup that can replace the “http://” protocol. Using this new upgrade, users may be able to access decentralized applications and NFTs on the internet without worrying about censorship.
The new Ethereum standard has been named the Web3 URLs, and they are logged as ERC-4804 protocols. This standard is already added to the Ethereum blockchain, and users can thus access various Ethereum-based apps and NFTs using passive online channels. This new standard has been dubbed the EVM Call Message Translator. The idea was conceptualized last year in February.
The New Decentralized URL Standard will Minimize the Role of Centralized URL Protocols
The core developers of Ethereum that worked on the Web3 URL project are Qi Zhou, Sam Wilson, and Chao Pi. They have also provided some explanation about the new protocol for the benefit of internet users.
As per their statement, the Web3 URLs operate in the same manner as their HTTP counterparts as an access bridge. Therefore, users can access the front end of the NFTs and other decentralized application platforms on them.
Qi Zhou, who is the ETH Storage founder, has shared on Twitter that these updates took a year to develop and approval. They were finalized on the first day of the current month. Anthurine Xiang is also associated with the layer-2 project of Ethereum Storage.
He claims that despite being part of the Web3 ecosystem, most decentralized applications still rely on centralized sites and the web. He explained that entities like Uniswap claim to be decentralized, but they cannot reach their users without the need for a centralized webpage.
When you trace back their domains, they are registered with services like GoDaddy and others that are fully centralized.
Zhou has claimed that another major concern for the Ethereum blockchain is the expensive storage on the mainnet. He shared that storing 1 GB of on-chain data can cost as high as $10 million. He said that even layer-2 solutions could not mitigate these issues.
However, Xiang has maintained that the crypto entities that are successfully operating on the Web2 apparatus might not need to switch to the Web3 URL. He, however, mentioned that certain crypto entities, such as Tornado Cash, can use these channels.
He believes that this protocol will only offer a decentralization option for its users. On the other hand, he presented IPFS or InterPlanetary File System that can be rerouted using decentralized channels. It would be a decentralized alternative to the current centralized computing method.
He also revealed that, at present, this type of IPFS link only offers static content that is not dynamic or interactive in any manner. However, ERC-4804 is an improvement over IPFS URLs that make decentralized interactive resources.