RE: Web3 and Blockchain Technology

We are excited and optimistic for the future of Web3. We see it as a protopian destination where self-expression and identity are tailored lovingly by empowered individuals fully in control of their own data. We see it as a shared space for ongoing, platform-defiant storytelling.

We love the idea that a user’s web3 Wallet may contain not one, but several curated virtual identities they could slip into depending on their mood.

To experience communities without lugging around the expectations of your peers, to be a flouncy femme one evening and a stone-jawed stoic the next just sounds really liberating, and we want to participate.

Feelin' cute! ...until I'm feelin' violent.

We love the idea that storytelling materials will live on and on in cyberspace, open invitations to creators worldwide to build upon a shared universe, as inspiring as the constellations in a night sky.

When Voltaku thinks of the technology powering web3, we think of infinite, shared, public databases. This unified backend lends itself to collaboration across projects and universes in various levels of fidelity as the entire community iterates on the exchange of assets across discreet, unique systems. This ever-expanding matrix of embodied, interoperable experiences throughout cyberspace is more commonly referred to as “the Metaverse”, and we want to be part of it.

The vast and powerful databases⁰ which underpin the Metaverse are called Blockchains, and they represent something revolutionary in the creative sector: Until now, the databases powering our favorite games and stories have been walled gardens, heavily balkanized across the borders of intellectual property. Now, thanks to the open source and immutable nature of Blockchains, we can finally share and build.

With open infrastructure and rapidly emerging standards, creators will be able to share and build upon each others work.

If this goal sounds far-fetched, it’s because statistically it is: It’s rare. It’s rare that hundreds of thousands of engineers are pointing in the same direction, at the same time. The last time we did this, we created the internet. Now, we’re doing it again, to create a new generation of decentralized, collaborative, connected spaces.

You may have heard Blockchain technology is destroying the planet. We wish to clarify: There are many Blockchains out there, and they are not equal. Unfortunately, they are often lumped in together, despite being about as different as a fossil fuel plant and a windfarm.

We feel the Blockchain most likely to unite the Metaverse is Ethereum, so that is where we are building. Since its inception in 2015, Ethereum’s carbon emissions have risen from zero to about three times that of Facebook¹, or half that of American Airlines². During that time, Ethereum’s maintainers have been laboring to design and implement a dramatic optimization which would reduce the carbon impact by a factor of 99.95%³, yielding an entire 187-million-user⁴ economy with emissions comparable to that of a small college campus⁵.

To rephrase this, we are seeing a $320B company⁶ publicly take responsibility for its energy usage, initiate reform, and implement a solution in well under a decade. In so doing, it becomes a leader in its field, setting the expectation for Blockchains to come. We find this to be pretty inspiring.

Your move, Facebook, American Airlines, and the 20 companies who have contributed to 35% of all energy-related carbon dioxide and methane worldwide⁷ (as compared to the 0.1% released by Ethereum’s blockchain⁸).

You may be thinking, “Such reduction sounds implausible”. We don’t think we are wrong about Ethereum’s pending optimization. But if we are, we’re holding ourselves accountable as signatories of the Crypto Climate Accord, promising to use 100% renewably-powered blockchains by 2025, and achieve net-zero emissions for all energy usage by 2030. Should Ethereum fail in its reformation, we will be pulling the plug and building on a younger, riskier Blockchain with a neutral or negative carbon impact.

Thank you for the read. We know web3 can be a polarizing topic due to the abundance of scams and dubious carbon impact, so we thank you for taking the time to inspect our perspective. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team. We believe in what we’re building, and we want you to believe in us.

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[0] Blockchains are not databases, but at a high level, for the purpose of this discussion, we find them to be comparable.

[1] Facebook emissions are roughly one third that of Ethereum's

[2] Ethereum’s emissions are roughly half that of Bitcoin’s, and Bitcoin’s are roughly equivalent to American Airlines

[3] Ethereum’s optimization will yield a 99.95% decrease in energy usage

[4] 187 million unique addresses have been registered on the Ethereum blockchain

[5] Post optimization, Ethereum’s emissions are comparable to that of 1,200 homes. Given that a small college is defined as a population under 5k, we assert that the emissions are comparable to that of a small college.

[6] Referring to Ethereum as a $320B company is derived from the total count of ETH in circulation * the price of ETH. At the time of this article, that is 119.43M * $2668.

[7] 35% of carbon emissions are coming from from 20 companies.

[8] Ethereum’s current carbon footprint represents 0.1% of global emissions