Get ready for decentralized access to the decentralized web. Instead of typing https:// to access a Web3 site, you’ll type web3:// to access ERC-4804-compatible sites designed designed to allow HTTP-style URLs to directly access on-chain Web3 content, including dApp front-ends and NFTs.
ETHStorage spokesperson Anthurine Xiang explained that the Ethereum ecosystem still relies on centralized web servers to provide access to decentralized apps in many cases. She also suggested that the new URL standard is only cost-effective for specific applications: “Not everything needs to go decentralized. If you are running a pretty good Web2 business and you don’t have to worry too much about centralized censorship, you can just go for that.”
With centralized big tech under pressure and governments doing everything they can to selectively control information (and crypto), the implementation of ERC-4804 paves the way for an interesting showdown between centralized authorities and the decentralized “great unwashed” yearning to be free.
We’ll be adding a section about ERC-4804 to our free online Metacademy Crypto & NFT course next week. This is the beginning of some exciting capabilities for a truly decentralized Web3.
Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it.