For over a year and a half, we've been building a groundbreaking off-chain data compute technology that has never existed before. It is a unique blockchain-agnostic framework that connects devices and data. It will revolutionize how we use our data and interact with our smart devices in the physical world in exchange for rewards, other unique benefits, and opportunities in Web3.

W3bstream is here, and although it is the most outstanding IoTeX achievement to date, it marks the beginning of even greater things to follow. But in a nutshell, W3bstream is a decentralized infrastructure connecting smart devices to smart contracts. It will disrupt the machine economy sector and provide cutting-edge tools and middleware that drastically speed up go-to-market times for developers. It creates an entirely new design space for real-world Web3 applications, unlocking the multi-trillion dollar machine economy for users, builders, entrepreneurs, Web2 businesses, and machine makers worldwide.

Focus on the game changer For now, let's focus on why W3bstream is a game changer. It enables all of us to own our data, to earn from it, and our smart devices, sensors, trackers, and machines. Remember, data is the most valuable commodity these days, even more so than oil and gold. Experts predict its global economic value will increase to more than $12.6 trillion and is so great that it could determine the next world order.

So, it is essential for us all to have the opportunity to claim our stake in that multi-trillion-dollar data and machine economy. W3bstream also allows developers, entrepreneurs, smart devices and machine makers to build MachineFi dApps that unlock the multi-trillion dollar machine economy for millions worldwide.

While everybody else speaks of play-to-earn and X-to-earn, IoTeX's W3bstream makes even greater use cases possible. One of those is X and earn. The difference seems subtle, but it is mind-blowing. Firstly you will clearly understand why when our CEO and Co-Founder Raullen Chai says it will be the backbone of the entire machine economy, he means it. With x and earn, you will live your life as you normally do but receive rewards for granting access to the data generated by your day-to-day activities.

Millions of people, billions of devices Millions of people globally could benefit from W3bstream if you consider that today there are already billions of smart devices around us, from health wearables and intelligent scales to TVs and refrigerators. Autos are connected to the internet and loaded with sensors that gather large amounts of data.

Well, W3bstream unlocks the data and the machine-sharing economy for everybody to carry out everyday activities such as walking, driving, riding a bike, watching TV, or contributing data to research pools, such as marketing and medical data pools.

Let's dive further into the walk and earn example. So, a dApp could reward users for taking 10,000 steps during which their walking behavior is also collected, such as places they visit or how quickly they take those steps, and if equipped with sensors, it could also share their health data. All this data could be used for marketing or medical research.

The same goes for the drive and earn. So, let's say a person drives safely, and an insurance company rewards them for that as it means that the driver represents less risk. But their driving habits, combined with other data, such as their age and places they visit, have the potential for monetization in other data pools, as mentioned previously.

More exciting use cases Apart from the X and earn, W3bstream also creates opportunities with Proof of Anything, such as in location, activity, and humanity, which has drawn massive interest because of its potential to reduce bot fraud, and for distribution of tokens, NFTs and more importantly,,,, Universal Basic Income. There is also huge interest in W3bstream for community-owned machine networks, such as in smart cities, public utilities, and physical infrastructure.

Decentralized data pools are another use case that represents an important opportunity for users, businesses, and others to participate in crowdsourced data, fractional ownership, and AI/ML analytics. Web2 to Web3 Transformation is a major use case as well. It allows traditional companies to integrate blockchain quickly and efficiently into their asset tracking, product tokenization, and verifiable transparency processes. This could greatly impact ESG, DeWi, the mobility sector, and more.

By 2030, experts estimate we'll each have over ten smart devices. MachineFi Lab investors firmly believe [IoTeX](iotex.io will spearhead the next big wave of people into Web3 and, therefore, crypto.

Our partners, including Samsung Next, Draper Dragon, Xoogler Ventures, IOSG, and Escape Velocity, are highly bullish on W3bstream and the potential for its Web3 machine economy (MachineFi).

Smart Devices to Smart Contracts "W3bstream is the world's first data compute infrastructure," said IoTeX CEO and Co-Founder Raullen Chai. "It will be the backbone of the entire machine economy. This technology has never existed before. It enables people to regain control over their data, smart devices and machines, and the value they generate."

This transformative framework binds users with their smart devices. It will rely on a decentralized protocol network to reach a consensus regarding what has happened in the physical world and produce proofs that trigger token reward distribution to users in Web3, according to rules defined in smart contracts.

"W3bstream connects the real world to web3, serving as an open, decentralized protocol that sits between the blockchain and smart devices," said Chai, a former Google, Uber, and Oracle engineer. "W3bstream allows builders to connect web3 token incentives with real-world data and smart devices, expanding the web3 design space into the real world."

"W3bstream helps prove activity in the real world, enabling two-way communications between IoT devices in the real world and decentralized applications (dApps) in the metaverse," Chai said. "And IoTeX's technology serves as a platform for developers and businesses to build MachineFi dApps."

Chai said W3bstream provides an "incentive layer for smart device and machine owners, enabling an entirely new generation of dApps powered by real-world data. That means device owners receive rewards for sharing their real-world activity with dApps."

The W3bstream roadmap Okay, let's talk about the roll-out plan. We've planned it in four stages, starting with the release of Devnet Seed. At this stage, development tools are made available. These include SDKs via the iOS and Android app shops. Developers and businesses can configure and deploy W3bstream nodes to build MachineFi dApps using the Web Assembly (WASM) language.

"Devnet Seed is the first release of the Layer 2 data protocol," Chai said. "This is where we introduce the concept of a W3bstream common runtime that can execute MachineFi Layer-2 custom logic, and when the runtime is updateable without affecting the user logic as it is modular-based architecture, the foundation for all future releases of W3bstream.

And then comes the launch of Mainnet Sprout. This is when we address scalability. During this phase, support is put in place for high volumes of incoming data, making it possible to operate thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dApps and W3bstream nodes. Complete decentralization of the network kicks in with the release of Mainnet Blossom, which should happen in Q4 2023.

In Q2 2024, Mainnet Flourish will be released. Community onboarding and privacy enhancement are enabled at this point, and any community member can become a node operator. Thanks to the decentralization layer, community members, people in general, and users can then start receiving mining rewards.

With Mainnet Flourish, final infrastructure optimizations are implemented, including high availability, high throughput, and low latency. At the same time, Trust Execution Environment Runtimes receive support, allowing W3bstream nodes to be trusted without a consensus mechanism. This also speeds up the network.

W3bstream is, to date, IoTeX's greatest milestone, but not the last. On the contrary, it is really the start of a new era that promises countless surprises, many of which are scheduled to happen as soon as early next year, so stay tuned for more very soon.