NEAR Foundation & Alibaba Cloud Partnership: Boosting Web 3 Adoption or Harming Decentralization?

Posted on by Artificial Intelligence
Futuristic cityscape at twilight, gleaming lights, contrasting centralization and decentralization themes, abstract Web 3 elements woven into the city, developers collaborating in a contemporary workspace, warm tones portraying optimism, soft chiaroscuro lighting, synthesis of digital and physical worlds, cross-network compatibility symbolism, Asian and Middle Eastern architectural influences.

The NEAR Foundation, a non-profit organization responsible for the development of NEAR protocol’s ecosystem, has announced a collaboration with Alibaba Cloud, the computing and storage division of Chinese tech giant Alibaba, to facilitate the growth of Web 3 in Asia and the Middle East. This partnership is poised to benefit both the NEAR Foundation and Alibaba Cloud, as it provides access to Alibaba Cloud’s extensive developer ecosystem throughout the region, potentially attracting more developers to build on the NEAR protocol.

One of the critical features of this partnership is the ability for developers to launch new NEAR validators using Alibaba Cloud’s “plug-and-play” infrastructure as a service. This easy-to-use system eliminates many complexities typically associated with connecting to a blockchain network and provides a simple, straightforward path to launching new validators. While some may argue that relying on a centralized company like Alibaba Cloud could potentially harm decentralization, others view this collaboration as a necessary move to foster adoption and scale the protocol to a wider audience.

The partnership also includes the provision of remote procedure calls (RPC) as a service for developers and users in the NEAR ecosystem. These RPCs enable users to read data on blockchains and send transactions to different networks, resulting in increased functionality and cross-network compatibility. Additionally, multi-chain indexing will be offered to give developers a data query API, further enriching the developer experience.

Users will gain access to the NEAR Blockchain Operating System (BOS), a platform launched earlier this year, allowing them to interact with and build upon other users while utilizing Alibaba Cloud’s infrastructure. This collaboration comes after Alibaba recently welcomed its new Chairman, Joseph Tsai, who embraces Web 3 and has played an active role in investing and securing deals with crypto-related entities.

Raymond Xiao, the head of international Web3 solutions at Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, has expressed optimism on the partnership between the NEAR Foundation and Alibaba Cloud, as it continues to support Web3 developers in discovering opportunities. Furthermore, the partnership holds significant promise for developers and validators in the Asian markets, as they can leverage Alibaba Cloud’s comprehensive infrastructure in the region.

In conclusion, the collaboration between the NEAR Foundation and Alibaba Cloud demonstrates a strong commitment to advancing the adoption of blockchain technology and Web 3 in Asia and the Middle East. While some may argue that centralized partnerships may be detrimental to absolute decentralization, the potential scaling benefits and positive impact on developer communities cannot simply be overlooked.

Source: Coindesk

Sponsored ad

More Articles

A bustling Hong Kong shopping scene at dusk awash in warm, inviting lights. The lantern-lit streets teem with retailers, like a children's clothing store, electronics outlets and convenience stores that harken to traditional Chinese architecture but thrum with digital modernity. It's playful yet sophisticated, reflecting the excitement of novel digital yuan transactions. Shoppers, mainly Chinese tourists, interact freely with QR coded items, reveling in the futuristic shopping experience and enjoying the consequential discounts. The mood is electric, symbolizing the dawn of a new era in digital currency and cross-border commerce.

Exploring Digital Yuan’s Expansion: Over 200 Retail Outlets in Hong Kong Join the Revolution

“Over 200 retail outlets in Hong Kong now accept digital yuan payments, targeting primarily Mainland Chinese tourists. Big names like Duty Zero, VanGO, and Balabala have joined in, offering high discounts for e-CNY transactions. Though wallets are not yet available in Hong Kong, the cross-border shopping carnival could prompt increased digital currency adoption.”

A futuristic digital realm representing the merging of blockchain technology with user experience. It features various elements connected by intricate networks, embodying the complex layer-2 operations of the Coinbase App. Artistic style noticeable as gently textured digital brush strokes. The scene, bathed in soft, silver-blue light, evokes a sense of calm determination representing the company’s commitment to addressing UX issues. Elevated structures symbolizing non-fungible tokens and decentralized applications, with faint red glitches representing persistent bugs. The mood is hopeful, reflecting the anticipation of improvements in customer experience within the crypto environment.

Coinbase’s Layer-2 Network Challenge: Balancing Blockchain Complexity with User Experience

Coinbase’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, recently addressed user experience (UX) issues surrounding its application, specifically for non-fungible tokens, decentralized apps, and layer-2 operations. The company’s commitment to user feedback, swift problem resolution, and focus on UX improvement is also propagating hope for the entire blockchain sector’s advancement.