Content delivery network provider Cloudflare Inc. today launched Ethereum Gateway, a new service that allows users to interact with the Ethereum network without the need to install additional software.

Offered as part of Cloudflare’s Distributed Web Gateway tool set, the gateway enables any device with web access to interact with the Ethereum network without downloading and verifying hundreds of gigabytes of data.

Ethereum, best known as the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is not simply a cryptocurrency but also a network that supports distributed applications and smart contracts. Cloudflare’s new service makes the smart contract functions easier to use.

“This setup makes it possible to add interactive elements to sites powered by Ethereum smart contracts, a decentralized computing platform,” Jonathan Hoyland from Cloudflare explained in a blog post. “And, in conjunction with the IPFS gateway, this allows hosting websites and resources in a decentralized manner, and has the extra bonus of the added speed, security, and reliability provided by the Cloudflare edge network.”

IPFS, or InterPlanetary File System, is a protocol and network designed to create a content-addressable, peer-to-peer method of storing and sharing hypermedia in a distributed file system. It’s not widely adopted as yet, but in theory the standard could make the distribution of media files faster, safer and more open.

Combining IPFS with the Ethereum network provides an alternative distribution network that falls somewhere between the Dark Web, a part of the internet reachable only with special software, and BitTorrent, a communications protocol for peer-to-peer sharing — the latter closer by comparison depending on how the service is used.

Cloudflare is offering access to its new Ethereum Gateway for free, leveraging the existing Cloudflare network that already provides a number of free services.

“By providing a gateway to the Ethereum network we can help users make the jump from general web-user to cryptocurrency native, eventually making using the distributed web a fundamental part of the internet,” Hoyland added.

More details on the offering including how to access it can be found on the Cloudflare Ethereum Gateway site.

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