The Web3 Infrastructure Foundation was established in Hong Kong: Aimed at co-building Web3 infrastructure and an open and transparent ecosystem

Author: W3IF

On the morning of March 18, the establishment press conference of the Web3 Infrastructure Foundation (W3IF), jointly initiated by Flomesh, Starnet, and HardenedVault, was successfully held at Cyberport in Hong Kong. Council members shared insights on the background of establishing the foundation and topics related to ecological co-construction. Prof. James Lei from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and hardware hacker Stewart Mackenzie were also invited to share their thoughts on issues in the web3 infrastructure field.

The origins of Web3 technology and philosophy can be traced back to the cypherpunk community of the 1990s. This community consisted of a group of technologists focused on personal privacy, freedom, and openness, opposing centralized authorities' control and abuse of personal data. The concepts of decentralization, open source, privacy protection, and data as an asset employed in Web3 infrastructure stem from the ideals of the cypherpunk community.

The technology of Web3 infrastructure involves various fields such as consensus algorithms (PoW/PoS), federation, zero-knowledge proofs (SNARKs and ring signatures), Relay Based Protocol, DID (Decentralized Identity), trusted computing, confidential computing, operating system runtime security, software and hardware supply chain security, and distributed ledgers (blockchain). The development of these technologies has also been inspired by the cypherpunk community, aiming to give individual and enterprise users more data ownership and control, making the internet more open, free, and secure.

The three founding members, Flomesh, Starnet, and HardenedVault, already have some plans for the foundation's development. Flomesh, as an open-source software company focused on network infrastructure technology, will provide the necessary network infrastructure software for Web3. Starnet plans to contribute multiple high-performance decentralized networks, storage, and computing open-source projects to the foundation. HardenedVault, a company focused on open-source infrastructure security, plans to draft node security specifications through the foundation to benefit the entire community.

Hong Kong's free port status and its friendly regulatory environment for Web3 have become external conditions for the foundation's establishment. The foundation aims to reduce the complexity faced by individual and enterprise users and invite more individuals and institutions to participate in the co-construction of an open ecosystem for Web3 infrastructure. The Web3 Infrastructure Foundation will involve the following aspects:

• Ecosystem Development: The foundation will promote the construction and development of the Web3 ecosystem, supporting open-source protocols, development tools, developer communities, and technical research.
• Technology Research and Development: The foundation will support research and development of Web3 technologies, advancing the development of distributed computing, consensus mechanisms, smart contracts, privacy protection, and node security.
• Community Building: The foundation will support community building and participation, encouraging users and developers to engage in the development, testing, and use of Web3 infrastructure.
• Ecological Cooperation: The foundation will actively collaborate with other institutions and projects to jointly promote the construction and development of the Web3 ecosystem.

At the same time, the Web3 Infrastructure Foundation will also promote research and application of next-generation data center technologies. Data centers are one of the core infrastructures of modern society, but traditional data centers face many issues, such as centralization, resource waste, and environmental pollution. Next-generation data center technologies will achieve more efficient, sustainable, and secure data processing and storage by utilizing more energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and decentralized technologies.

The Web3 Infrastructure Foundation will support and promote the development of next-generation data center technologies, while also showcasing their applications and value in the Web3 ecosystem through research and application cases.

After years of development, Web3 has gained widespread public recognition and is considered the foundation of the next generation of the internet. The development of Web3 infrastructure is also influenced by technological advancements in various fields, aiming to make the internet more open, free, and secure, allowing individual users to have more data ownership and control. The establishment of the Web3 Infrastructure Foundation will further promote the development of the Web3 ecosystem, enabling more people to participate. The rise of Web3 technology and philosophy benefits from the ideals and technological explorations of the cypherpunk community. The establishment of the Web3 Infrastructure Foundation will inject more momentum and resources into the development of the Web3 ecosystem, while promoting the popularization and application of technology, building a bridge between the cypherpunk community and enterprises, and continuously exploring and innovating to realize the vision of Web3.

Looking to the future, Hong Kong's financial regulatory bodies, SFC and HKMA, have identified the Web3 industry as an important part of future development. Hong Kong is destined to become a significant hub in the Web3 world, with a bright future for Web3-related industries and technologies based in Hong Kong. With a focus on Hong Kong and a global perspective, the technical geeks of the Web3 Infrastructure Foundation hope to leverage their years of accumulated technical capabilities in decentralization, cloud computing, and other areas. As the Hong Kong Web3 industry is about to take off, they aim to build an open, transparent, and cutting-edge technological ecosystem for Hong Kong's Web3 industry and hope that individuals and groups interested in Web3-related technologies and applications will actively participate.