Institute in Shanghai Unveils Self-Developed Web3 Operating System

On September 21, the Shanghai Tree-Graph Blockchain Research Institute released Conflux OS, a new self-developed operating system that provides underlying code support for the cultivation of a Web3 application ecology and the development of China’s metaverse industry.

Yang Guang, the research director of the institute, said that in contrast to the common practice of dividing generations by technical indicators, the distinguishing features of Web1, Web2 and Web3 lie in the forms of data generation and processing.

Web1 is characterized by a reading-based information internet. Professional websites are responsible for the production of content, and users are the consumers of content. Web2 is characterized by a social network that can be read and written. With the development of mobile internet and platforms, users, as the main content producers, spread their own content online and communicate with others. In both Web1 and Web2, internet platforms can obtain the right to make rules and distribute benefits by virtue of the control over data and algorithms, while users lack autonomy.

Web3 is characterized by values such as an internet that is readable, writable and ownable. It emphasizes user-centered autonomy, endowing them with the capacity to manage their digital identity, control personal data and supervise the application of algorithms, so as to rebuild trust and collaboration between internet participants.

In this context, the Shanghai Tree-Graph Blockchain Research Institute has developed a Web3 network operating system – ConfluxOS – to meet the development needs of Web3 and focus on technical challenges in the dynamic management of multi-source and distributed computing resources in the network.

The operating system realizes unified calls to various blockchain consensus systems through a graphical user operation interface, provides an open source development framework and middleware, and supports the low-code development of Web3 applications. It will solve problems such as difficult intercommunication of cross-chain information, high costs of application development and adaptation in the current Web3 environment.

Web3 in markets outside China is mainly focused on the investment and transaction of cryptocurrency, and related industries such as digital currency wallets, decentralized autonomous organization and NFT trading platforms are expanding rapidly. However, Chinese authorities have banned cryptocurrency issuance and financing and continues to crack down on virtual currency speculation and mining. Thus, China’s Web3 is based more on the research and popularization of underlying blockchain technology. Leading Chinese entities in the expanding sector are implementing the principle of a separation between cryptocurrency and chains, ensuring that the hype regarding virtual currencies does not affect the development of blockchain.

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Authorities in Shanghai have provided significant policy support for blockchain. A document published in July proposed supporting enterprises that plan to build NFT trading platforms and promote the digitalization of NFTs and other assets, so as to build an innovative and autonomous blockchain development ecosystem.