In all probability, the transfer by the Sei Basis – the group behind layer1 blockchain Sei – to purchase bankrupt genetic information firm 23andMe is a long-shot at greatest, and probably only a publicity stunt. However, it stays an extremely thrilling concept that has obtained lots of people considering.
Have been such a deal to undergo, we might see a Web3 firm rescue a Web2 firm, which might have monumental ramifications in and of itself. Web2 tech giants are already being challenged within the space of AI by a lot smaller, nimble, and extra versatile corporations. Nonetheless, the acquisition of what was as soon as considered one of Silicon Valley’s shiniest stars by a blockchain upstart could be a complete paradigm shift.
Past that, a deal could be a win for public understanding for information safety and privateness. Whereas now we have all been vaguely conscious of how Meta, Google, Apple, and so forth., take and use our information, now we have chosen to disregard that for the comfort it affords us.
Then there has maybe by no means been such a case as 23andMe, which holds DNA and different information for 15 million individuals. It reveals the general public how weak their most private and intimate information is within the fingers of centralized corporations and organizations.
It’s one factor when Fb and Instagram are monitoring our purchasing and client habits and making our delicate messages and emails weak to leaks. With 23andMe, we’re speaking DNA information; the very cloth of our human our bodies has simply been green-flagged on the market to the best bidder.
If Sei just isn’t profitable, which is most probably, this information can and might be offered to well being or life insurance coverage corporations. They might then have the ability to use this information to probably exclude individuals from important healthcare or insurance coverage insurance policies, due to the questionable manner wherein the U.S. healthcare system is run and its discrimination insurance policies enforced.
Maybe, lastly, this can be a turning level at which the general public might critically come to grasp the significance of proudly owning their very own information. Perhaps extra individuals will understand that to maintain their information actually protected, they’ve full management of it themselves via using decentralized blockchain know-how.
After all, not each blockchain is created equal. Nonetheless, Sei actually claims to be extremely safe, and initiatives like Arweave – which is a everlasting storage chain constructed on a “pay one retailer perpetually” mannequin – have functions that may can help you add and retailer your information privately, securely and completely.
These are two amongst a rising record of choices in our business, however the level is that this: there’s merely no centralized resolution past a chunk of paper saved in a Swiss safety deposit field with keys buried deep within the floor that may evaluate. And even then, somebody can dig these keys up.
This can be a watershed second for individuals to grasp the significance of information self-sovereignty. And it comes at a time when belief in centralized organizations, corporations, and even governments is breaking down. As such, the 23andMe sale might mark a real turning level in historical past, and one that might reshape how Web3 is seen, understood and utilized.
