Principles of the Internet of Value
We have covered the basics of the Internet of Value in one of our previous blogs. Check it out for info on how the concept came to be and what it means. In this entry, we talk about the principles of the Internet of Value and provide takes on all of these principles.
The Principles
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international community of organizations, full-time staff and the public to develop standards for the World Wide Web. The efficiency of the internet has not reflected in the current payment systems yet and that is why W3C Web Payments Interest Group released the Internet of Value Manifesto.
The 9 principles are:
There are many value networks and there always will be
Value networks are used to record ownership of virtually anything. These require some form of trust, transfer of value needs to be recorded and some of these systems are open and decentralized, while some are closed and heavily centralized. All of them serve a purpose. The principle does not promote neither diversification nor conformity of these networks. It is a given that networks will exist.
There are many ways to connect value networks
The variety of networks will also correlate with the variety of ways to connect these networks. Networks and their connections will also inevitably have some strengths and weaknesses, depending on the scenario. Some have low risk and high fees while others have just the opposite. Anyone should be able to choose what they use and which networks to utilize.
Value moves as freely as information on the Web
Information used to be hard to transfer over space and time. The internet has reduced the time and space barrier for information but not so much so for value. Better security, trustless systems, decentralization, pseudonymity and openness should facilitate the movement of value over the Internet.
The Internet of Value is open and accessible
Nobody can be arbitrarily denied access to the Internet and no single entity controls the Internet of Value. This is not the case in legacy value networks and even in some information networks.
The Internet of Value is built on trust and security
Secure and resilient systems must ensure that law-abiding entities (customers, merchants, financial institutions and others) can confidently transfer value over the Internet. These connections should be freely available and freely selected, transparent and reliable.
The Internet of Value is simultaneously private and transparent
Transparency is key to maintaining trust in the system. Movement of value should be transparent and ethical while privacy remains a fundamental right of all participants.
No single entity controls the Internet of Value
The Internet should be seen as a public good and should not be subject to one entity. The Internet of Value should be global, neutral and distributed.
The Internet of Value is built on open standards
The foundation of value exchange on the Internet of Value should be open. Standards should not be subjected to patents in order to promote openness. Standards should therefore be free to acquire, adopt and/or extend upon.
The Internet of Value is simple and extensible
Today’s financial system is complex to the point of unintelligibility. Simple, universal frameworks should enable the transition to advanced, editable and equitable systems. Rules and regulations are not becoming less complex. The Internet of Value needs to adapt and work out the details and discrepancies between what is possible and what is allowed.
End goal
The end goal of W3C’s vision is: “A global architecture for value exchange, built openly, secure by design, and accessible to all.”