Project Xanadu: The Original Vision of a Decentralized Internet
Ted Nelson's 1960s vision of a 'docuverse'—a globally interconnected library of information—predated the modern internet by decades. His Project Xanadu envisioned permanent, two-way links between documents, a concept that WOULD have thrived with internet-native micropayments. Nelson's frustration with the current web stems from its failure to realize his ideal of a freer, fairer system.
The parallels to cryptocurrency are striking. Just as Nelson imagined a decentralized information architecture, blockchain pioneers now build decentralized financial systems. Both movements share a distrust of centralized control and a belief in user sovereignty. The irony? Nelson's dream of micropayments for content is now technically feasible with cryptocurrencies like BTC or ETH.