Sending Labs: Don’t let Web3 make the same mistakes as Web2 interoperability

Author: Sending Labs co-founder Joeyz Yu, Blockworks; Compiler: Deng Tong, Golden Finance

Recently, I shared a photo of our family celebrating the New Year with my mother via WhatsApp. The next day I asked her if she had seen it. "I didn't get any texts from you," she replied. It took a moment to remind her that it was on WhatsApp, not her standard messaging app. After scrolling through her phone, she found this photo and like any mom, she was excited to get a glimpse into my life.

This frequent interaction with my older relatives made me think more deeply about Web2 applications The isolated nature of the program. As my mind wandered between the pros and cons of WeChat and WhatsApp, I started to worry – are we replicating the mistakes of Web2 in building blockchains?

In 2022, the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) proposed interoperability for the world's six largest tech companies, but two years later, the Web2 messaging platform remains a walled garden, preventing users from sending or receiving from other applications information.

When we look at the Web3 ecosystem, we see the same mistakes happening.

Since blockchains are isolated from each other, communication between chains does not exist or can only occur through complex bridges .

More importantly, the rise of chain tribalism has further divided the space, causing rifts and dividing the crypto community, with some die-hard fans motivated by concerns about their choice of chain. of loyalty and refuse to approach other chains.

While interoperability is a problem in both worlds, from an economic perspective, Web3's The financialization aspect is even more problematic, as many blockchains also have their own native tokens, preventing seamless value exchange between different chains.

To solve the interoperability issues we created in Web2, we Chain and wallet agnostic infrastructure is required.

The fragmented nature of Web3 communications

Web 3 default adoption center ified messaging platform, making platform migration a daily reality for many. For example, NFT marketplaces like OpenSea facilitate nearly 20,000 NFT transactions per day but lack internal messaging capabilities. This forces users to use separate platforms for communication, often resulting in funds being misdirected.

Constant hopping not only makes us vulnerable to data and privacy breaches, but it also limits the community’s ability to integrate messaging with dapps, smart contracts, and other blockchain functionality.

The lack of interoperability leaves us all with fragmented user experiences and digital identities that Identities are spread all over the place and hard to trace.

This begs the question, Why can we get data from multiple services? Providers send emails to each other and stuff like that but we still can't send messages between Web3 applications?

Although dedicated bridges exist to connect different blockchains, these bridges require constant maintenance and upkeep, and can still malfunction, leaving users stuck in an ecosystem unable to connect their assets. system.

If we were building interoperability, we wouldn't need bridges. What we need is an ecosystem where data and value can flow freely between all platforms and chains.

Looking toward a unified future

Solving interoperability requires more than just technical solutions; Move from chain loyalty to collaborative development. I envision a network that distributes data across nodes around the world, returning control to users and enabling easy application interoperability—even for beginners.

Projects like Polkadot and Cosmos have made great strides in addressing interoperability, but the next step involves ensuring that real-world applications, such as ENS’s human-readable Ethereum addresses, are universally compatible.

DeFi is already leading the way when it comes to cross-chain innovation, with projects like crypto router Squid allowing any token exchange between blockchains, and decentralized social network Farcaster enabling users to connect wallets with Social profiles combined.

What these two projects have in common is that they provide value not only to users, but also to builders. It’s time we see the same type of innovation in Web3 messaging.

Ultimately, communication platforms should not only support messaging, but also integrate seamlessly with NFTs and digital assets to cultivate A digital economy that combines communications and commerce.

Addressing Web3’s interoperability challenges will require a multifaceted approach, experimentation, and community-wide collaboration. While there are no quick solutions, collective efforts can remove these digital barriers and pave the way for a more connected and collaborative Web3 ecosystem.