This week, we dive into decentralization with Kenny Ezeji-Okoye and Stella Dyer from Millicent, Ilya Orlov from FileMarket, alongside Rita Martins, author and Techstars Web3 mentor. The discussion covers the journey from centralized to decentralized models, the impact of decentralization on users and developers, and insights into decentralization in financial services. The episode also includes a sneak peek into Rita Martins' new book, Web3 in Financial Services.

Decentralization generally refers to the transfer of control of an enterprise from a small group of stakeholders to a distributed network. At the earliest stages of a startup’s life, the co-founders usually put a plan in motion to keep the control of the business within the hands of the co-founders as a centralized business. 

With many web3 projects, however, the project leads or co-founders decide to create a distributed network, where the enterprise value accrues to a token rather than to the equity of a centralized operating company.

Decentralization is not a point-in-time decision, however. For example, it took 5 years for the Maker Protocol to fully decentralize.  Most web3 projects that do become decentralized originally start as a centralized operating company and then decentralize over time, like Maker Protocol became Maker DAO.  

Does this matter to users whether or not a project is decentralized or plans to decentralize?  Do they actually care?  What about developers, i.e., those building apps/dapps on top of web3 protocols?  What’s in it for them?

Kene and Stella from Millicent, Ilya from FileMarket, and author Rita Martins tell us what they think about decentralization and when it matters and when it doesn’t.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:57 Understanding Decentralization

02:12 Perspectives from Millicent and FileMarket

03:31 In-Depth Discussion on Decentralization

10:36 User and Developer Perspectives

18:33 Advice for Web3 Founders

23:18 Rita Martins on Decentralization in Financial Services

32:35 Conclusion and Closing Remarks

LINKS:

Connect with this week’s guests on LinkedIn:

-Kene Ezeji-Okoye: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pronouncedkenny/

-Stella Dyer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stelladyer/

-Ilya Orlov: https://www.linkedin.com/in/orlov-ilya/

-Rita Martins: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamartins2/

Follow this week’s guests on X/Twitter:

-Kene Ezeji-Okoye: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pronouncedkenny/

-Stella Dyer: https://x.com/MillicentLabs/

-Ilya Orlov: https://x.com/UnderKong

-Rita Martins: https://x.com/RitaMartinsUK

Learn more about each founder’s business:

-Millicent Labs: https://www.millicent.io/  |  https://x.com/MillicentLabs

-FileMarket: https://filemarket.xyz/  |  https://x.com/FileMarket_xyz

-Rita Martins’ book: Web3 in Financial Services https://www.amazon.co.uk/Web3-Financial-Services-Blockchain-Traditional/dp/1398615714

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