Blockchain companies continue to attract a lot of venture capital, even in 2018. Even though not every blockchain-oriented project will succeed, there are some high expectations when it comes to the Dfinity Foundation. With over $61 million invested in this firm so far this year, the company will have to deliver on its initial promise. Connecting computers around the world through a blockchain to create an “internet computer” sounds very ambitious and almost impossible. There are quite a few projects in the world of blockchain technology which focus on distributed computing. Whether it is SONM with its fog computing, Golem, or iExec, many companies see merit in combining global computing resources with a blockchain. The Dfinity Foundation is no different in this regard, as it envisions a future in which the world’s computers will be connected through a blockchain to create so-called “internet computers”. It is a very daring and bold venture, but it seems investors believe this company will succeed. There are millions, if not billions, of computers around the world today, and if one considers tablets and smartphones to be computers, that number will only grow over time. Using all of these resources in a connected manner has not been done before. Instead, people see computers of all kinds as personal entertainment or work devices first and foremost. As a result, there is a lot of excess computing power which could easily be harnessed for various tasks. Decentralizing the internet is one of those ventures people have talked about for some time now. The Dfinity Foundation claims it can make that happen. By applying a new form of cryptography to public blockchain technology, the team is confident their solution will not only be convenient, but also scalable. A private test of this network took place in late 2017. The end result was rather shocking, as the new blockchain is over 600 times faster than the Ethereum blockchain. Considering that Ethereum is designed for building applications and scaling, this result came as quite a surprise to all parties involved. Even so, it is only a glimpse of what the Dfinity Foundation hopes to achieve. Now that the company has secured $61 million in VC funding, they can continue to build their platform and transform the world of global computing as we know it today. With this open-source protocol, anyone in the world can become part of the public network and help developers build applications to make use of all this computing power. While some people may question the benefit of an internet computer, it certainly has a lot of potential. A public cloud service competing with the likes of Amazon and Alphabet can only be welcomed with open arms. Moreover, this business model can thrive due to its low fees and near zero-cost infrastructure requirements. After all, the hardware is sourced from all over the world, even though “farms” need to be rewarded for their participation in one way or another. For the time being, the $61 million in funding will be used to support developers who build applications for the Dfinity Foundation ecosystem. The team is also excited about the prospect of building an infrastructure capable of supporting millions of businesses without any central point of failure. Only time will tell if things ever get to that point, as there is still a lot of work to be done by the Dfinity Foundation. Image(s): Shutterstock.com
Open-source blockchain project The Dfinity Foundation has secured $61 million in venture capital funding, enabling it to continue developing its "internet computers" project – a decentralised internet, boasting low fees and near-zero running costs. In last year's private test, the Swiss company revealed a blockchain system that was 600 times faster than Ethereum.