NYT: “Companies inspired by the cryptocurrency are creating social networks, storing online content and hosting websites without any central authority…Blockchains are not the only solution for those in search of alternatives to Big Tech’s power.”
Doc Searls: “What makes them fulcrums is their size. All are big, and all are centralized: run by one company. As members, users and customers of these centralized services, we are also at their mercy: no less vulnerable to termination than Trump.” Centralisation vs Decentralisation.
Banking-as-a-service: “Andreessen Horowitz once predicted that “every company will be a fintech company”…Instead of building consumer-facing apps, these start-ups largely trade in so-called application programming interfaces — APIs — which plug into a company’s code and give it the ability to accept payments or perform any number of financial transactions.”
