Over the last 2 years, the whole crypto community has been buzzing about web3 and its, allegedly, endless opportunities for businesses. What is web3 and how does it affect the crypto industry? We are giving you a complete answer to these two questions.
What is web 3.0 and how is it different from web 2.0?
The term web 2.0 was coined over 23 years ago by Darcy DiNucci, a prominent web developer and designer. The idea of this concept is that the internet should be used as a platform dominated by user-generated content. It was the main paradigm followed by successful web platforms throughout the last two decades.
Examples of web 2.0 platforms are YouTube (video sharing), Facebook (social media), Twitch (streaming), and many more. While many consider the period when these platforms were developing the “golden age” of the internet, it is also the pivotal moment when centralization started ruling over everything from monetization to content moderation.
Web 3.0 is a term first uttered by Gavin Wood, the co-founder of the Ethereum network. His vision proliferated throughout many circles including venture capitalists and crypto enthusiasts. The concept is more complicated than just user-generated content. It is about decentralized governance of web platforms, implementation of blockchain technologies, and interoperability.
Advantages of web3 as imagined by enthusiasts
Switching the mainstream philosophy of web development to the concept of web 3.0 could change the landscape of contemporary web building. In theory, using blockchain and decentralized apps and services can bring significant advantages to contemporary internet services:
- Layer 2 networks operating in the Ethereum ecosystem already can handle thousands of transactions per second thanks to rollups. Future apps may be deployed with the inherent potential of infinite scalability.
- Privacy and anonymity. One of the reasons why so many early adopters were interested in using Bitcoin is that blockchain provides anonymity and guarantees privacy as long as you do not use your tokens for something malicious. The same can be applied to any aspect of web development.
- Unlike platforms controlled solely by huge multinational corporations, web3 applications and services can be governed by users and provide much-needed democracy and freedom to the landscape of the contemporary internet.
Disadvantages of web3 as pointed out by skeptics
While it seems that web3 is an inevitable route of the internet judging by the rate of adoption of various blockchain technologies, the reality is that we still have a lot of uncertainty surrounding the tech and even the concept.
- Anonymity brings to the forefront the danger of the proliferation of unwanted content that can be harmful and spread uncontrollably without any proper centralized supervision.
- Centralization is still possible without any mechanism that prevents asset hoarding and aggregation of capital controlling these platforms.
- The last problem is that scalability in blockchain projects is often achieved by compromising security which is not something that contemporary users are ready to tolerate.
The adoption of web3 by corporations
Companies like Nike, Starbucks, Disney, FIFA, and many others are already implementing elements of web3 in their web infrastructures with many focusing their attention on applications of non-fungible tokens and using blockchain to develop effortlessly maintained supply chain management systems.
Some companies like Walmart, Gucci, Amazon, and others are accepting cryptocurrencies. Even some US states are implementing solutions to accept cryptocurrency payments in taxation. These platforms will have to integrate elements of web3 to appear attractive to crypto users.
While the efficiency and utility of the web3 concept is still a hotly debated topic, it is important to know that corporations are toying with the idea of using it as the next evolution phase of their web platforms.
The main takeaway
Web3 is a contemporary approach to web building and creating user-first platforms. It can be the next main trend in the development of the internet as a whole. If you consider investing in crypto assets, learning more about web3 is a necessity!
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