Microsoft, Tencent and 16 other Web2 giants have partnered with Consensys on their mission to decentralize the Infura Network – the key point of access to Ethereum for much of the decentralized finance (DeFi) space.
These partnerships aim to increase the decentralization of the Infura network, which is key to preventing disruptions to Web3 services that utilize the network, including wallet service MetaMask.
In an interview with Cointelegraph, Andrew Breslin, senior product manager at DIN, said the importance of the partnership is less about “who they are” and more about the high-profile companies working with Infura “for everyone looking to decentralize the blockchain infrastructure stack. layer”.
DIN is scheduled to be launched in the fourth quarter as a solution to Infrua’s centralization problem. The network is currently controlled by Consensys, which means there is still a single point of failure.
“The cost and complexity involved in running a service like Infura somewhat limits who we can partner with to serve this kind of traffic,” Breslin said. “There is now a large and thriving ecosystem of Web3 infrastructure providers that can provide services that are complementary to Infura.”
Breslin said that one of the first major features provided by DIN is “failover support” for the Ethereum and Polygon networks. Failover support means that in the event of an outage, traffic can be rerouted to one or more DIN partners, ensuring higher uptime in the long run.
Breslin said that once launched, DIN will allow for more reliable and censorship-resistant access to Ethereum because DApps will not need to rely on a single service provider located in one place.
️ Infura, together with our partners, is pushing the boundaries of decentralization.
We’ve made significant progress in the development of the Decentralized Infrastructure Network (DIN), read our two-part series
— Infura (@infura_io) November 14, 2023
Developed by blockchain software giant Consensys, Infura provides a development kit that provides API access to the Ethereum and IPFS networks. Currently, Infura is the access point for most DApps to access real-time on-chain data on the Ethereum blockchain.
In November 2020, due to a temporary outage of Infura, the MetaMask wallet stopped functioning and the centralization issue was exposed. Multiple centralized exchanges and DeFi projects were also affected by the outage.
Decentralizing blockchain data providers on the Infura network will be critical to resisting censorship in the long term, as currently centralized data providers can be shut down through a well-planned attack or sufficient legal action.
related: “The end of an era” – Consensys eliminated Truffle and Ganache and turned to MetaMask Snaps
When talking about the newly announced partner list, Breslin said that the current partner lineup is not closed, and Infura hopes to let other “highly reliable” network infrastructure providers know that Infura is also open to them joining the DIN.
“Over time, DIN’s success depends on our collaboration with an increasing number of operators.”
This new group of companies is working with Infura in what Breslin calls the “joint phase” of DIN, a temporary trial period in which the network remains centralized.
“Infura and these 18 partners are now participating in the joint phase of DIN, which means we are working as equal partners,” Breslin said.
Breslin said that in the future, DIN will ideally be managed as a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) or some other type of governance structure to ensure that each partner has a democratically weighted say in the direction of the network.
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