Larry Sanger, a key figure in the creation of Wikipedia, has long advocated for decentralization as a guiding principle of the web. He argues that the Interplanetary File System (IPFS) offers a viable path to distributed information sharing and, importantly, consumes less energy than many blockchain solutions. Sanger, who helped launch Wikipedia with Jimmy Wales in 2001, envisioned a platform where every opinion could be found and openly discussed. Over time, he expressed concerns about perceived shifts in Wikipedia’s governance and reliability, suggesting that certain viewpoints were suppressed or removed. He is currently pursuing the Encyclosphere, a concept aimed at assembling a comprehensive ecosystem of online encyclopedias so that diverse perspectives on the same topic can coexist in one place. This approach emphasizes breadth of viewpoints and resilience against single-point control.
Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, has shaped how people connect and how businesses present themselves online. His central worry about today’s internet is data security. The growing flow of personal data through centralized platforms raises questions about who controls information and how it is used. Berners-Lee has been critical of relying solely on blockchain as a universal solution, pointing out that high transparency can pose its own challenges. He has championed Web2 as the current foundation and has advanced the Solid project, which focuses on giving individuals greater control over their own data and how it is shared across services.
There are others who view decentralization as achievable through open source and distributed ledger technologies, where consensus governs how the network evolves. They argue that the internet can be reshaped to minimize central bottlenecks while preserving trust, security, and interoperability. The broader conversation acknowledges that centralization is not inherently beneficial, and there can be drawbacks such as censorship or interruptions to financial flows. For example, in the Spanish market, a company like Bitnovo operates as an intermediary between fiat money and cryptocurrency, enabling the purchase of digital assets through physical retail channels. A typical user buys a Bitnovo coupon at a store, downloads an application, and enters a code to exchange the coupon value for cryptocurrency. Issues can arise when the coupon terms or the app’s execution do not match expectations, leading to disagreements about which wallet should receive funds. Reports on social platforms have highlighted instances where funds were blocked, underscoring that even in decentralized or semi-decentralized ecosystems, bad actors and missteps can create friction. Yet the broader principle remains intact: decentralization seeks to empower users by distributing control, reducing single points of failure, and fostering innovation across platforms.