Incredible as it may seem, Web3 is a game-changing opportunity to build a better internet and seize control of it from the tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Facebook who currently rule it.
The two key ingredients revolutionizing the web3 space include crypto and blockchain. Let’s explore them in depth in this article.
Crypto and blockchain were introduced to the world after the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09.
A mysterious individual or group of people called Satoshi Nakamoto published the 'Bitcoin White paper' to help global citizens familiarize themselves with the world's first cryptocurrency. More than a decade after Bitcoin's birth, we can see that everyone is so obsessed with a new tech trend called Web3.
In a blog post from Ethereum Co-Founder Gavin Wood in 2014, it was presumably first coined.
In my opinion, unadulterated speculation and optimism toward remaking the internet offer the unimaginable opportunity for global creators to use crypto and blockchain technology to bring out the best projects on the Web3 table. Let's deep dive into the relationship between web3, crypto, and blockchain technology.
“While sharing the same backbone as cryptocurrencies, the next generation of the internet could syphon power away from Big Tech.”
The term web3 or web 3.0 refers to the mobile applications or internet services developed using decentralized technology called the blockchain. Moreover, it frequently encompasses a wide range of developing technology such as cryptocurrencies, digital assets such as nonfungible tokens (NFTs), stablecoins, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). Also, because certain virtual worlds rely on blockchain-based digital assets, Web3 can be associated with the metaverse, gaming, and augmented and virtual reality. It's becoming evident that Web3 is more than simply a single concept. It's a collection of concepts.
Ether, Ethereum and Web3 apps
Personally, I am a huge fan of the Ethereum blockchain and, of course, Vitalik Buterin (the brainchild of the Ethereum decentralized world computer). Therefore, to explain the link between two key ingredients and Web3, I cannot find a better example than Ethereum.
Decentralized apps (dApps) like Uniswap and Axie Infinity that operate on the blockchain are referred to as Web3 apps in the context of Ethereum. These apps allow anyone to join the Ethereum network without selling their personal information because they are a sort of open source software that runs on a peer-to-peer (P2P) blockchain network rather than on a single computer.
Ethereum, which is an open-source and decentralized blockchain with smart contracts functionality, allows anyone on the network to use the service without any permission required.
The native token, ether (ETH), is used to make payments such as gas fees to use the Ethereum network. The gas fee is the cost of successfully completing a transaction on the Ethereum network.
Native payments help solve the issue of exclusion from Web2's payment infrastructure (which is based on banks and payment processors) for unbanked people.
Therefore, crypto + blockchain = Web3
i.e., Ether (native currency)+ Ethereum blockchain= dApps (Web3 apps).
So, due the power of crypto and blockchain technology, Web3 is:
Decentralized: The inherent properties of blockchain technology like immutability, distributed ledger, programmability, and enhanced security, Web3 distributes ownership among its creators and users rather than centralized entities.
Offers native payments: Native cryptocurrencies like Ether (for Ethereum network) are used to spend and send money online rather than relying upon traditional payment processors and banking systems.
Permissionless: Anybody can participate in the blockchain network, and no one gets excluded.
Trustless: Instead of relying on trusted third parties, Web3 runs via economic systems and incentives like airdrops, staking income, etc.
Therefore, in the next era of the blockchain-based internet, you won't need a social account for each platform because it is decentralized. Instead, you'll have a single social account, able to move with it from Twitter and YouTube, to Google, Amazon, and more.
Way to go
Web3 is a still-developing environment; however, many concepts like dApps, NFTs, and DAOs are only now becoming a reality. Also, there has been a significant increase in interest in blockchain-based assets like cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, major trials with new kinds of governance, advancements to layer two scaling solutions, and censorship-resistant digital identification.
With Web3, we have just started developing an infrastructure that will help build a better internet of the future.
(Guneet Kaur, a seasoned financial technology executive, is a technology editor at Cointelegraph)
