The Internet today still relies on legacy structures that allocate and register critical identifiers—names and numbers—through centralised institutions that predate modern decentralised technology. These institutions, known as Regional Internet Registries, were created when the network was small and technical collaboration was informal. As the Internet matured into a global utility, the centralised control of identifiers became a structural vulnerability: a choke point susceptible to power capture, opaque governance and political pressure.

True decentralisation is not a buzzword but a necessary evolution. It means shifting control of core identifiers from private or semi-private institutions to models where networks and users have real, enforceable ownership and governance rights. This transition aligns with how other layers of the Internet are already decentralising: infrastructure, applications, identity and value exchange systems all move toward distributed models. A modern internet cannot remain dependent on institutions that hold discretionary control over essential resources while operating outside sovereign legal authority.

Decentralisation is not about abandoning coordination or stability. On the contrary, it requires clear separation of administrative functions from enforcement powers, robust legal frameworks where necessary, and governance that scales with global diversity rather than defaulting to the influence of a narrow group of insiders. The goal is a resilient, open and unified Internet where no single entity can unilaterally compromise connectivity or access.