The industry of Web3.0 and Decentrelised Internet

in Blog / Industry of Embedded Systems , Tags: Security
The industry of Web3.0 and Decentrelised Internet

How Web 3.0 and decentralized internet concepts can address IIoT’s challenges with centralized trust, data ownership, and scalability

Introduction

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has already reshaped manufacturing, energy, logistics, and infrastructure. Sensors are cheaper, connectivity is ubiquitous, and data-driven decision-making has become the backbone of modern industry. Yet, as IIoT deployments scale, the cracks in today’s centralized architectures are becoming increasingly visible.

At the same time, Web 3.0 and the idea of a decentralised internet promise a radical shift—one where trust is algorithmic, ownership is distributed, and intermediaries are no longer mandatory. But does this paradigm truly solve IIoT’s problems, or is it another wave of technological hype?

The IIoT Industry Impact & Hidden Issues

IIoT has undeniably delivered value:

  • Predictive maintenance
  • Asset tracking
  • Remote monitoring
  • Data-driven optimization

However, most IIoT systems today rely heavily on centralized cloud platforms. This introduces several hidden issues:

1. Centralized Trust

Factories, power plants, and supply chains depend on a small number of cloud providers. If the platform is compromised, misconfigured, or unavailable, the entire system is at risk.

2. Data Ownership and Lock-in

Who owns the data generated by machines? In many cases, the answer is unclear. Vendor lock-in makes migration expensive and technically risky.

3. Scalability and Latency

As device counts grow, centralized ingestion pipelines struggle with latency, bandwidth costs, and single points of failure—especially in geographically distributed industrial environments.

4. Security Assumptions

IIoT security often assumes perimeter-based defense. Once breached, attackers can move laterally across systems with alarming ease.

These issues raise a fundamental question: Is the current IIoT model sustainable at global scale?

The Solution Isn’t What It Seems: Hype vs Reality

When faced with these challenges, the industry often reaches for fashionable solutions:

  • “Put it on the blockchain”
  • “Decentralize everything”
  • “Tokenize the network”

Unfortunately, many Web 3.0 narratives oversimplify complex industrial realities. IIoT systems operate under constraints that consumer Web3 applications do not:

  • Real-time deadlines
  • Deterministic behavior
  • Limited compute and memory
  • Long device lifecycles (10–20 years)

Web 3.0 & the Decentralised Internet: What It Has to Offer

Web 3.0 introduces concepts that are genuinely relevant to IIoT when applied carefully.

1. Decentralized Identity (DID)

Machines can possess cryptographic identities independent of vendors or platforms. This simplifies:

  • Secure onboarding
  • Device-to-device authentication
  • Cross-organization interoperability

2. Trustless Automation

Smart contracts can encode rules for:

  • Access control
  • Data sharing
  • Automated settlements between parties

For example, machines in a supply chain could autonomously verify and log state transitions without relying on a single authority.

3. Resilience by Design

Decentralised networks eliminate single points of failure. For critical infrastructure, this resilience is a requirement.

4. Interoperability

Open protocols align well with industrial standards. When combined with C++-based edge software, decentralised components can integrate at the system level rather than being bolted on.

Do We Really Need It or Just Need to Impress the Investors?

In reality:

  • Not every IIoT system needs blockchain
  • Not every problem benefits from decentralisation

For closed, single-owner industrial systems, traditional architectures may be simpler and more efficient.

However, decentralisation becomes compelling when:

  • Multiple stakeholders do not fully trust each other
  • Data sharing spans organizations or jurisdictions
  • Long-term autonomy is required
  • Vendor neutrality is critical

If Web 3.0 is introduced merely to attract funding or marketing attention, it will likely fail. Industrial systems punish unnecessary complexity.

A Smooth Ride Afterwards, Right?

Integrating Web 3.0 into IIoT introduces new challenges:

  • Tooling immaturity
  • Debugging distributed consensus
  • Security of smart contracts
  • Skills gap between embedded engineers and blockchain developers

From an embedded perspective, resource-constrained devices will not run blockchains directly. The realistic model involves:

  • C++ firmware at the edge
  • Gateways or edge servers handling decentralised interactions
  • Careful partitioning of responsibilities

This hybrid architecture is powerful—but far from frictionless.

How Expensive Is the Transaction—Is It Even Worth It?

Transaction cost is one of the biggest blockers for industrial adoption.

Public blockchains can have:

  • High fees
  • Unpredictable costs
  • Variable confirmation times

For IIoT, where machines may generate thousands of events per second, this is unacceptable.

Viable approaches include:

  • Permissioned blockchains
  • Layer-2 solutions
  • Off-chain aggregation with on-chain verification
  • Event batching and cryptographic proofs

If transaction economics are not designed upfront, decentralisation quickly becomes cost-prohibitive.

Anticipating the Immediate Future of Web 3.0 & the Decentralised Internet

In the near future, we are likely to see:

  • Fewer “blockchain-first” IIoT solutions
  • More pragmatic, hybrid architectures
  • Increased focus on decentralized identity and trust frameworks
  • Stronger alignment with edge computing and AI

For embedded engineers and C++ developers, this means:

  • Greater emphasis on secure communication
  • Cryptography becoming a core skill
  • Systems thinking over platform dependency

Web 3.0 will not replace IIoT—it will reshape how trust, ownership, and coordination are implemented.

Further Reading & Watching

If you want to dig deeper into Web 3.0, decentralised identity, and IIoT, these resources are a solid starting point:

References

  1. Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) – IIoT Architecture Framework
  2. Ethereum Foundation – Decentralized Identity (DID)
  3. NIST – IoT Cybersecurity Guidelines
  4. IEEE – Blockchain for Industrial Applications
  5. IPFS & Decentralized Storage Systems

Cover Photo by Alina Grubnyak on Unsplash