Why is "composability" becoming extremely important in the Web 3.0 era?

Author: MiX

Composability ≈ Innovativeness

Web3.0 Achieves Composability

The decentralized protocols and applications of Web3.0 have the characteristic of being able to interoperate and combine with each other, which is the composability of Web3.0. This allows Web3.0 applications to directly access assets or data generated by other protocols and then combine them with another protocol for use. This continuous combination and recombination make every innovative outcome a starting point for a new round of innovation at a faster pace.

Why was composability relatively unnoticed in the Web2.0 era but has become extremely important in the Web3.0 era?

The business world of Web2.0 has been continuously reinforcing its moat based on user data, building proprietary ecosystems and economies, which makes "combination" a non-issue due to the closed nature of such ecosystems. In contrast, Web3.0 builds a next-generation internet that is more open, fair, and secure.

Here, data belongs to users, applications, platforms, and infrastructure are decentralized, and protocols are standardized, such as the ERC20 protocol for tokens and the ERC721 protocol for NFTs. The entire blockchain internet is composed and integrated based on Web3.0 protocols.

The success of Web3.0 applications hinges on whether they can become the best solution for a particular scenario, thus being integrated into the entire blockchain internet. Based on this, on one hand, it is essential to cleverly combine existing excellent protocols, allowing the community to share and iterate on the dividends; on the other hand, it is crucial to focus on the core functionality of the product, enhancing the value of being "composable" with other protocols. Open collaboration is necessary to seize potential value opportunities that may arise at any time, providing a chance for broader value capture in the blockchain internet.

Combining Excellent Protocols

Actively Integrating into the Blockchain Internet

In the Web2.0 era, the principle of "taking what you need" was not considered commendable. However, in the Web3.0 era, the composability of protocols that can interoperate and combine with each other is truly a win-win situation for multiple parties.

The popular Web3.0 product Mirror, the domain module combines ENS, providing authors with domain ownership; content storage combines Arweave, with a unique on-chain storage address noted at the bottom of the article; NFT minting and trading combine multiple NFT platforms such as Zora, Foundation, Rarible, SuperRare, and Custom.

This allows Mirror authors to convert their posts into NFTs and embed auction links for the NFTs within the posts. This helped Mirror quickly establish a business framework in its early stages and enjoy the iterative dividends of multiple excellent protocols, gaining attention from various communities.

Mirror's articles are stored on Arweave

The architecture of Octopus Network also reflects the importance of composability.
Octopus Network is the third multi-chain network protocol widely focused on after Cosmos and Polkadot, designed to securely and efficiently launch and operate a large number of independent blockchain-based Web3.0 applications—application chains.

As a multi-chain network protocol, Octopus Network did not redevelop an independent layer1 public chain to serve as a cross-chain hub, nor did it redefine standards in cross-chain technology; instead, it directly combines existing excellent protocols and standards to enhance product value:

• Combining Near Protocol as the cross-chain hub of the multi-chain network, directly benefiting from NEAR Protocol's nearly limitless scalability based on sharding, and directly using the rainbow bridge for cross-chain interoperability between NEAR and ETH; NEAR Protocol will also reap the multi-chain network ecosystem built around NEAR by Octopus Network, with communities merging and both sides achieving significant mutual benefits.
• Combining the IBC protocol proposed by Cosmos, which naturally enables cross-chain interoperability between the Octopus ecosystem and the Cosmos ecosystem.

It is evident that combining excellent protocols greatly accelerates project progress and allows for enjoying the dividends of innovation and development from other protocols, while also meaning an active integration into the blockchain internet, enabling all cooperating parties to capture more value.

Focusing on Core Value

"Being Composable" into the Blockchain Internet

Combining excellent protocols is our process of "actively" integrating into the blockchain internet. On the other hand, when we are in a sufficiently good position and become the best solution for a particular scenario for other protocols, we can inadvertently be "composed" into more innovative protocols. Embracing opportunities that may arise in the blockchain internet with irreplaceable value is the true path to broadly integrating into the blockchain internet.

Only by focusing and exercising restraint to become the best decentralized protocol for scenario solutions can we qualify as an excellent protocol that is "composable." The team needs to concentrate more on core value, becoming the best choice for other projects to combine with; at the same time, it should exercise more restraint on non-core functions, reducing meaningless competition, which increases the chances of being composed, achieving functional effects through combination and cooperation.

The focus of the Mirror team is reflected in the critical scenario of content monetization: by providing token issuance tools to help creators with content crowdfunding and quickly launching a DAO. In fact, Mirror's crowdfunding tool can be considered the simplest way to establish a DAO. This has made Mirror the origin for many projects.

In non-core functions, such as content information distribution, Mirror has not focused on comments or likes, demonstrating extreme restraint. Many teams are helping Mirror with distribution: for example, decentralized distribution protocols like RSS3, as well as MirrorFeed, AskMirror, etc., developed based on the Mirror ecosystem.

In fact, the Mirror team is increasingly recognizing this; the functions originally in Blocks, such as Crowdfunds, Editions, and Splits, have all been migrated to the new "Plugins module." Jon-Kyle stated, "Composability is a core principle of Web3.0, allowing community-building tools of the Web3.0 era to coexist and interoperate within the Mirror ecosystem, and we are very excited about it."

The core value of Octopus Network lies in the creative design of the LPoS consensus protocol, which constructs a free and flexible secure leasing market. This mechanism allows application chains joining the Octopus Network to achieve low-cost startup and operation, forming the foundation for large-scale application chain deployment.
Substrate IBC is an extension of the IBC protocol, which can be considered Octopus Network's greatest contribution to the entire blockchain internet in the long run. The application chains of Octopus Network can interoperate with Cosmos partition chains and Polkadot parallel chains; further combining with NEAR's rainbow bridge, cross-chain interoperability is achieved among Octopus application chains, NEAR Protocol, Ethereum, Cosmos, and Polkadot, realizing comprehensive connectivity across the entire blockchain internet.

Focusing on developing and optimizing the LPoS protocol, achieving cross-chain interoperability based on the IBC protocol, and combining the high-performance NEAR public chain as a cross-chain hub has enabled Octopus Network to launch its mainnet and have multiple application chains join and go live within less than a year of its establishment, along with dozens of candidate application chains joining, gaining significant attention from global Web3.0 innovators.

Extremes and Sensitivity

In the Web3.0 era, composability alleviates concerns about the inability to monetize a single function, because as long as we find true value and achieve excellence, we can integrate into the blockchain internet, allowing teams and communities to receive returns that match that value.

Composability also provides products with the potential for rapid advancement and spiral growth. For example, Axie Infinity was quite simple in 2018, but by 2021, it borrowed from the DeFi model and exploded with the immense energy of GameFi through the Play to Earn model.

This fills us with anticipation; as long as we maintain sensitivity to technology, products, and the market, composability allows products to potentially upgrade at any time.