The full implications of a decentralized system are revealed when we explore fully emergent ecosystems.
In particular, a fully emergent ecosystem needs two congrous and complementary elements.
- A distributed informational system
- A distributed reputational system.
Although to a certain extent the "internet" is (1) and Bitcoin is an initial version of a value transfer that is an evolution out of a "currency model", with ipfs and ethereum we have much more highly evolved versions of both. But we have not gone all the way.
As discussed in the "green ether" proposal reputational systems can now evolve a dynamic and distributed network topology by the same means that may supervene and obviate money itself.
The consequence of this is that information now can have embedded value creation and transfer independent of money and not reliant on any centralized proxy. You can have complete dynamism in the creation of valuechains that you have in biology. The microbe can grow and express value internally and continually change its "neural network" as the organism evolves with more complex needs.
While biology had these properties, we have only witnessed rapid evolution in the petri dish and not in "field conditions." However, with this effective ability to build neural systems with emergent properties, we can witness the dramatic increase in evolutionary capability and speed -- something hitherto described as a singularity.
The conclusions of this are phenomenal, in the sense that we have what approximates a distributed neural network.
That is to say, we have a dbrain.