This has been a hot topic for years, with major corporations and broadband providers arguing that the Internet should not be “free,” in the sense that these providers should have the ability to control the movement of traffic. They should be able to make certain websites more expensive to access than others. And they should be able to put Internet delivery on different payment plans.

Basically, they believe you should only get what you pay for, similar to cable TV.

But the Internet was born out of an opposite mentality.

Since the beginning of the dot-com boom, the Internet has been seen as an equal playing field for anyone and everyone accessing it. That is, after all, it’s allure. The Internet represents freedom of speech in digital form, freedom of information, freedom of expression in every possible sense. It is a new age shared economy, and for those of us who grew up with the Internet, it was an entry point into facets of the world we otherwise wouldn’t have ever accessed otherwise.

The idea that the Internet, as a whole, should be regulated like a utility company goes against the core of what makes the Internet such a powerful tool in our society.

This mindset is why new technologies like blockchain hold so much promise.

Blockchain technology, and the platform Ethereum, have been making headlines all year. And you would have to be living under a rock to not have heard about everything going on with Bitcoin vs Bitcoin Cash.

The mindset however, is everything the Internet has ever wanted to be, and more. Blockchain technology is derived from this idea that there should be no “central power,” no middle-man that decides the fate of parties on both sides. Blockchain technology is built on trust, and community, and a shared belief that more can be accomplished, faster, by means of an inherently verified community.

As we continue to move forward in our now entirely digital age, more and more companies, corporations, and facets of government will continue to try to regain a stronghold on this sort of shift. Shared economies, freedom of information, and decentralized systems go against the very foundations that enable powerful entities to maintain their control.

This is precisely what makes blockchain such a disruptive technology.

Blockchain technology represents so much more than just a new way of transacting information. It is more than a disruptive force in the financial world, and it’s more than just a fad saying you’ve bought some Bitcoin. Blockchain technology is the next step in a world where the masses believe things would be better off if there was a public system of accountability–rather than a world of power existing behind a veil.

More and more people are starting to realize that the shared economies of the past are beginning to digitize themselves. And as we continue to enable and empower those trusted relationships, and the more we are going to be able to share with one another, the faster and faster innovations will begin to move.

A bill passing that the Internet will be regulated is not the end.

Blockchain technology shows there is so much more to come.