Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter Experience Global Outages — Highlighting Bitcoin’s Decentralization

Part of the problem with many of the online services we use today is that they run on centralized servers. Technology giants are stockpiling data on our activity in massive warehouses. Without colossal servers, all of our online services and websites today wouldn’t be able to run. It’s no surprise, then, that they so often can fall victim to outages. Once a centralized server fails, the entire system fails — until it is properly repaired. In the case of Facebook, an outage also means downtime for both Instagram and WhatsApp users. It’s a serious liability that a single point of failure could potentially shut down three of the most-used social media services.

Alternatives to Centralized Servers

Luckily, we don’t need to look far for alternatives to centralized servers like Facebook. In fact, it’s right under our noses: it’s called Bitcoin. As Twitter user @RampCapitalLLC humorously tweeted, “Bitcoin never suffered a worldwide outage!”

Bitcoin never suffered a worldwide outage 🔥 🔥 🔥 https://t.co/Hkf6DCr7bb

— Ramp Capital (@RampCapitalLLC) April 14, 2019

Although it may be humorous, it’s a valid point. Bitcoin has been continuously running since it was first released — over 10 years ago. It’s gone through complete price collapse (twice), hard forks, hash wars, media cycles, and all kinds of inner disputes. Such controversy would likely kill any kind of centralized project from the get-go. Yet, Bitcoin has not stopped mining blocks and has continued to run nonstop ever since Satoshi Nakamoto mined that first block. That’s an achievement no centralized server can even hold a candle to.

Bitcoin Isn’t Facebook

Of course, blockchain-based networks like Bitcoin can’t handle the complexity Facebook currently serves. However, it’s a real example that decentralized systems are self-regulating and self-functioning. That’s because there’s simply no single point of failure. The fact that Bitcoin can stay resilient for over a decade without experiencing a single outage is a testament that decentralization works. Do you believe technological progress will someday outgrow the need for centralized servers? Let us know your thoughts below!