Global Apps
November 22, 2024
What people said wouldn’t happen has happened: the internet is breaking apart.
For years, the idea of a fragmented internet seemed impossible. It was the internet, after all—global by design. But the signs have been there for a while. China was first, with the Great Firewall cutting off apps and platforms from the rest of the world. “That’s just China,” everyone said. But now Europe is following suit, and the cracks are turning into full-blown fissures.
AI is the start. Big models like Meta's Llama 3.2 are already unavailable in the EU, thanks to regulatory pushback. And as AI becomes the backbone of every app, we’re going to see this trend accelerate. It’s not hard to imagine a near future where entire classes of apps vanish from European app stores. Other countries will follow as they look to protect their own “national internet.”
The global internet as we know it is dying.
Wouldn't a Decentralized, Censorship Resistant Technology Help?
This is where crypto steps in. The only way to build apps that work anywhere is by going back to crypto’s roots: building decentralized, censorship-resistant systems.
The early crypto movement wasn’t about token prices or flashy marketing. It was about building tools that couldn’t be stopped. Bitcoin kicked things off by creating money that governments couldn’t freeze. Then came Ethereum, ZK-proofs, and an explosion of decentralized technologies. These tools proved that you could move data, value, and applications across borders—even if those borders were trying to stop you.
If you want to build truly global apps today, you need crypto. Without it, your app is just another piece of software waiting to get shut out by the next set of regulations.
The Original Promise of the Internet
The internet was supposed to connect the world. Borders didn’t matter; anyone could plug in and participate. A global internet isn’t just an ideal—it’s the foundation for progress. We want to be connected to everyone, everywhere. We want the world’s best minds pouring their ideas online for everyone to see. We want global economic coordination, where technology enables seamless collaboration across borders. A truly global internet unlocks innovation, fosters understanding, and creates opportunities that no single country or region could achieve alone.
But now, we’re watching that vision slip away. Governments are increasingly clamping down, and companies are compromising to stay compliant.
Global Apps
This isn’t a “someday” problem. The internet is balkanizing right now. If we want to keep the internet global, we need to act. That means doubling down on crypto’s original values: subverting unnecessary regulation, prioritizing connectivity, and building systems that can’t be stopped.
The internet doesn’t have to be a series of walled-off gardens. Crypto gives us the tools to fight back. It’s time to use them.