In all chance, 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 received lots of people considering.
Had been such a deal to undergo, we’d see a Web3 firm rescue a Web2 firm, which might have huge 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 firms. Nevertheless, the acquisition of what was as soon as certainly one of Silicon Valley’s shiniest stars by a blockchain upstart can be a complete paradigm shift.
Past that, a deal can be a win for public understanding for information safety and privateness. Whereas we’ve all been vaguely conscious of how Meta, Google, Apple, and so on., take and use our information, we’ve 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 folks. It reveals the general public how susceptible their most private and intimate information is within the fingers of centralized firms and organizations.
It’s one factor when Fb and Instagram are monitoring our buying and shopper habits and making our delicate messages and emails susceptible to leaks. With 23andMe, we’re speaking DNA information; the very material of our human our bodies has simply been green-flagged on the market to the best bidder.
If Sei isn’t profitable, which is most definitely, this information can and might be bought to well being or life insurance coverage firms. They might then have the ability to use this information to probably exclude folks from important healthcare or insurance coverage insurance policies, due to the questionable means during which the U.S. healthcare system is run and its discrimination insurance policies enforced.
Maybe, lastly, it is a turning level at which the general public might severely come to know the significance of proudly owning their very own information. Perhaps extra folks will notice that to maintain their information actually secure, they’ve full management of it themselves by way of using decentralized blockchain know-how.
In fact, not each blockchain is created equal. Nevertheless, Sei definitely claims to be extremely safe, and initiatives like Arweave – which is a everlasting storage chain constructed on a “pay one retailer eternally” mannequin – have purposes that may assist you to add and retailer your information privately, securely and completely.
These are two amongst a rising checklist of choices in our trade, however the level is that this: there’s merely no centralized answer 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.
It is a watershed second for folks to know the significance of knowledge self-sovereignty. And it comes at a time when belief in centralized organizations, firms, and even governments is breaking down. As such, the 23andMe sale may mark a real turning level in historical past, and one that would reshape how Web3 is seen, understood and utilized.
