The launch of Stacks 2.0, the new version of the protocol from Blockstack, planned for this summer, promises to be one of the key events of 2020 in the industry. A New York startup has been developing a decentralized Internet for several years, but the original concept has undergone significant changes to this day. In the process, the developers came to the conclusion that the future of Web 3.0 is inevitably connected with Bitcoin.

Blockstack gained fame as the first company in the history of the industry, which is held approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) tokenseyl, raking in $ 23 million.

Co-founder and CEO of Blockstack, Munib Ali, spoke about the importance of regulation for the industry and what lessons can be learned from the Telegram debacle, as well as some details about the design of his project and his vision of the digital society of the future.

The confrontation between SEC and TON has attracted the attention of many industry participants. The launch did not take place, token sale was recognized as the sale of unregistered securities, the company returns billions of dollars to investors. Can all this be considered a blow to the cryptocurrency industry as a whole and what actions would Blockstack take if the company were in a similar situation?

Munib Ali: I sympathize with Telegram, they really had a hard time, but they went a completely different way than Blockstack. We consciously chose a conservative approach and from the very beginning decided to conduct a fully approved token sale to avoid the same fate.

It is difficult to say whether this can be considered a blow to the industry, since many expected similar actions on the part of the regulator. Some new projects are already taking into account the lessons learned by their predecessors. For example, now the inadmissibility of US citizens token sales is becoming a widespread practice. And I consider it extremely important to continue working with the SEC on decentralized frameworks and identifying measures to avoid dangers.

How can you characterize the current relationship between Blockstack and SEC?

Munib Ali: In July 2019, Blockstack became the first company in history whose application for holding a regulated token sale was approved by the SEC. This was preceded by months of proactive collaboration with the regulator.

Today, the Stacks token (STX) is the first and only crypto asset to be reported to the Commission, and this is an unprecedented level of transparency for the industry.

In a broader sense, it has long become clear that regulation and compliance with legal standards are extremely important for the industry. In exactly the same way that the industry addresses technological innovation issues, it is able to solve regulatory challenges and create new business models. For this reason, creating a regulated business model remains our priority, as reflected in our recent SEC report.

The document says that Blockstack's revenue over the past year was fully secured by the funds that the company raised through token sale. This money also went to employees' salaries and payments to partners. Is the company still in a comfortable position to continue such a business model and how much has the ongoing crisis affected you?

Munib Ali: Blockstack is a very ambitious project, and short-term situations, including in the financial markets, did not have a serious impact on our work. Payments to employees and third parties in STX tokens were provided from the very beginning - this gives us the opportunity to continue working on creating the Internet belonging to users, creates a set of goals and allows everyone to take part in the value that the network creates.

Holders of STX literally become the owners of the ecosystem, so we strive to ensure that as many people as possible have tokens. We hope that as we strengthen our regulatory position and further decentralize the network, more people will join it.

From the point of view of the community, recent events have had little effect on us. We always worked remotely - through Discord, a forum, virtual meetings and small workgroups. Nevertheless, in such difficult times, when people are physically disconnected, maintaining a sense of unity becomes even more important. I am very proud of how our community has responded to new challenges arising from various aspects of the crisis. For example, some of our participants launched the first of their kind initiatives aimed at protecting privacy.

Some time ago, you mentioned the possibility of Blockstack getting an IPO to ensure public mining of STX tokens. Is such an option still on the agenda?

Munib Ali: Indeed, at a certain stage, we considered the possibility of a regulated entry into the US market. However, at the moment, we are more focused on expanding the decentralization of the ecosystem, which is especially important before the launch of Stacks 2.0.

How was the very idea of ​​creating a project born?

Munib Ali: I received my Ph.D. in distributed systems at Princeton University, and it was there that Blockstack came into being. We had a rather unique way, since initially we attracted venture financing for research and development in the field of creating a better Internet. We did not have a goal to take a place in the crypto industry, however, in an attempt to solve infrastructure problems, we discovered the blockchain. That was back in 2013.

What is Blockstack today? In truth, the claimed browser does not really look like a browser in the usual sense of the word, for example, Google Chrome or Brave. At first glance, all this looks more like a directory of various projects.

Munib Ali: I agree, the phrase Blockstack Browser can be misleading, but still it's a little more than the project directory. I would call it a standalone identity management solution that allows you to quickly access any application on the Blockstack network through a single login. It also includes the basic functionality of a wallet and stores keys to various applications and encrypted storage.

When we first started working on the project, we thought that the concept of “browser” would better reflect the concept of surfing in the “new Internet” and interacting with decentralized applications. But as we continued to study which user interface patterns and interactions would work in the most optimal way, its semantic content, of course, changed.

For example, not so long ago we presented a library for developers called “Blockstack Connect”. It makes the authorization process even easier and no longer uses the word “browser”.

In general, we want users to understand that they can use Blockstack applications in exactly the same way as traditional web applications, right in their main browser, be it Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer or any other. However, unlike traditional web applications, these DApps allow users to control and store their data, as well as control which applications and third parties have access to them.

The applications themselves - who creates them, are they all working?

Munib Ali: Blockstack does not manage any of the presented applications, they are all created by independent developers. We limit ourselves to a few demo applications created for educational and testing purposes.

If you do not take into account possible unforeseen situations, all of them should be working, although, as in any ecosystem, projects can appear and close. I would highlight projects such as Dmail, which recently received funding, Mumble, and several others. Our team and the community as a whole regularly use Sigle, Runkod, Note Riot, and Blocksurvey.

Can we expect a separate full-fledged Blockstack browser to appear?

Munib Ali: We do not have such plans at the moment.

Let's get back to the STX token. What is its value and why did Blockstack generally need its own token?

Munib Ali: Stacks tokens play a key role in the Blockstack ecosystem. They are used to register Internet access and are used as fuel for smart contracts. They will also be an important aspect of Stacks 2.0 - with its launch, STX miners will be able to use Bitcoin to mine the token, and holders will be able to earn BTC by participating in consensus. This will be the fundamental mechanism for the interaction of Web 3.0 and Bitcoin.

At one time, the story surrounding the STX listing on Binance made a lot of noise. It was alleged that the exchange demanded from you $ 250,000 for placement. Blockstack did not deny the fact of the payment, but called it a “long-term payment,” not the listing amount. What in this context does the phrase “long-term payment” mean?

Munib Ali: That's right, it was not a listing fee. This amount was part of a marketing agreement with the Binance team. A long-term payment will support the marketing campaigns that we plan to launch later.

What is the importance of Web 3.0, or as it is often called, the Internet of the future? How to make people believe in its value?

Munib Ali: Throughout the history of human civilization, the standard of living of people has steadily increased with the advent of property rights. When property rights arise, people begin to organize themselves. Now property rights are on the Internet, and Web 3.0 provides people with control over their data and digital assets.

I believe that Web 3.0 will be based on blockchain, the very technology that underlies cryptocurrencies. The idea of ​​private keys in cryptocurrencies, ensuring ownership of them, can be applied to the ownership of Internet assets.

And the best foundation for Web 3.0 will be Bitcoin, the most reliable of blockchains. And it is through the creation of a digital society, which will be based on bitcoin, that people will begin to believe in Web 3.0.