Sunset of TBD: What the Future of DWNs Looks Like?
Hey folks, today I want to talk about something that has made waves in the decentralized technology community recently — the sunset of TBD. Just a couple of weeks ago, we heard the news that TBD, the initiative by Block to drive forward Web5 and decentralized web nodes (DWNs), is shutting down. The focus of Block is shifting elsewhere, and while we all understand that priorities can change, it’s still quite sad. It’s like watching a bright light in our community slowly fade away.
When I first heard about Web5, I was honestly confused. I thought, “What are they doing? We’ve been working on SSI for years now, so why this leap to Web5 that actually rebranded SSI ?” There was a lot of hype — Jack Dorsey famously talked about disrupting the market with this new push — and I wasn’t sure if it was anything more than just marketing noise. But then, as I dug deeper into the architecture of DWNs and the purpose behind Web5, I began to see that it was more than just buzz. There was real innovation happening. The framework was ambitious, the SDK was solid, and I came across brilliant minds from the Web3 community contributing to DWNs.
That’s why the news hit me harder — knowing the dedication and skill behind the team, seeing the work they put into pushing the boundaries. Now, the Web5 SDK, the DID utilities, and the DWNs have been handed over to the Decentralized Identity Foundation (DIF). What’s next for these technologies is uncertain. We can hope that perhaps the core team might continue in some way, but it brings up a broader question: Why are we seeing foundational projects like this, especially in the self-sovereign identity (SSI) space, struggle and even shut down?
TBD isn’t alone in this. We’ve seen it happen before — take Fusion, which was promising for decentralized compute and permission management, or Sovereign, which also struggled. These were all foundational blocks of the decentralized vision, yet they disappeared. The fundamental question is: Why is it so hard for companies working on foundational infrastructure for SSI to survive?
To me, the answer is simple, albeit tough: foundational tools alone aren’t enough. You cannot sell just an SSI protocol or a better technology. You need a project or product that can showcase the power of those technologies. You need something that provides value to users directly. Affinity, for example, was successful because it wasn’t just building an SDK — it also developed surrounding projects and built real products on top. That’s how they sustained their foundational work.
This brings up an uncomfortable truth: building innovative foundational technology requires a huge investment — of time, money, and effort. And when you’re in a startup, often you simply can’t afford to do that because you’re under immense pressure to keep the lights on. Instead of innovating, startups end up spending most of their time just trying to survive, focusing on solving immediate user pains instead of pushing boundaries. That’s why, despite TBD’s impressive support and funding, they ultimately fell short. The focus shifted away from core, production-grade solutions.
If we want to see sustainable foundational tools in the space, we need a different model — a project or product that grows alongside the core tech, helping validate, iterate, and ultimately provide the cash flow to keep innovating. If users see the value, if they pay for the services built on top of these tools, then that’s what keeps the ecosystem alive.
It’s unfortunate that TBD is no longer with us, and it’s equally sad that the future of DWNs is unclear. I hope the community can come together to keep this project alive — because, if not, there will be a gap in our self-sovereign ecosystem that someone else will need to step up and fill. Whoever that is, I hope they bring a better strategy — one that can build foundational tech and stay sustainable.
That’s all for today, folks. Let’s hope for better times ahead for the projects and teams that drive our decentralized dreams. See you next time!
