The internet, once hailed as a democratizing force, has lately come under fire for perpetuating centralized control over social interactions. Traditional social media platforms own your content, sell your data, and can silence your voice. But there’s a new dawn in social networking, thanks to CyberConnect V3—providing a multi-chain future to web3 social networking.
When CyberConnect initially embarked on its journey, it had a singular vision—to decentralize social networking and give the power back to users. This ambitious project marries blockchain technology with social networking, allowing you to own your identity, your posts, your follows, likes, and even your retweets, so to speak. The original protocol has undergone significant upgrades, leading to the rollout of CyberConnect V2 last year, which attracted over 1.6 million profile sign-ups and executed a staggering 14.7 million on-chain transactions. It incorporated a hybrid scaling architecture that leveraged both EVM and Arweave, opening doors for a robust ecosystem that includes social dApps like Link3, Phaver, and ReadOn.
However, the road to decentralization isn’t without its bumps. CyberConnect has faced a set of challenges tied to multi-chain operability and user identity fragmentation. Operating on multiple chains like Ethereum Mainnet, BNB Chain, and Polygon presents a risk of splintering a user’s holistic identity. A seamless experience in web3 should ideally allow users to maintain their identity across multiple blockchain networks, just like your Facebook or Twitter profile stays consistent whether you log in from a phone, tablet, or computer.
Web3’s philosophy, after all, revolves around an unfettered social experience, one that doesn’t chain you to a single network or makes you jump through countless hoops to engage in basic activities like switching networks or acquiring native tokens for transactions. CyberConnect V2, while revolutionary, tethered users to their initial authentication methods and did not permit alterations to usernames or other elements of identity.
Enter CyberConnect V3. This new upgrade aims to solve these lingering issues, taking us closer to a truly decentralized social experience. The V3 upgrade comes with three main components: CyberAccount, CyberGraph, and CyberNetwork. CyberAccount brings in an ERC-4337 compatible identity infrastructure, allowing for greater flexibility and security in authenticating user identities. CyberGraph serves as a censorship-resistant database to record users’ content and social connections. CyberNetwork aims to be a gas-efficient and scalable network, further solidifying CyberConnect’s commitment to a decentralized, multi-chain future.
One of the most captivating features of CyberConnect V3 is the introduction of soulbound tokens, known as W3ST (web3 status tokens). These tokens create a new paradigm for social interaction, letting organizations like CoinMarketCap, PoolTogether, and Maverick recognize and reward their most engaged and loyal supporters.
It’s high time that we question the existing paradigms and explore avenues that empower the user. CyberConnect V3 is not just an upgrade; it’s a statement, a radical move that brings us a step closer to web3’s promise of a decentralized social ecosystem. So, as we step into this new era, let’s not just be observers but active participants in this digital renaissance. CyberConnect V3 is more than a protocol upgrade; it’s a pathway to a future where the web is once again by the people, for the people.