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What is Web3?
Web3 is the name for the concept of a decentralized internet built on blockchain technology. If Web 1.0 was the creation of the internet, and Web 2.0 witnessed our shift towards a social platform-centric internet, then Web3 signifies a shift towards a decentralized public internet centered around the concept of ownership.
Essentially, Web3 puts control and ownership back into the hands of the users. Ideally, it creates a fairer playing field for users and reduces external control by third parties. The term Web3 has become a shorthand for all the elements that make up this ecosystem, including cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology, decentralized finance (known as "DeFi"), NFTs, the Metaverse, and decentralized applications ("dApps").
The term was coined in a 2014 blog post by Gavin Wood, co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain and the Web3 Foundation. He wrote:
“Web 3.0, or the so-called ‘post-Snowden’ web, is a reimagining of the things we already do on the web, but with very different interaction patterns between parties. We consider messages to be public, and we publish them. We consider agreed-upon information to be recorded on a consensus ledger. We consider private information to be confidential and never revealed.”
His post highlighted what he saw as the four main components of the third wave of the web: “static content publication, dynamic messaging, trustless transactions, and integrated user interfaces.” Much of Web3 today is built on these principles.
What are Web 1.0 and Web 2.0?
When the internet became widely adopted in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was mainly used as a way to access information through text. This internet, Web 1.0, was filled with personal blogs, corporate websites, and message boards, relying on open protocols. Most of the time, it was static — a fancy way of saying the websites in Web 1.0 were not very interactive. Many call this the “read-only” web.
Web 2.0 is the next stage of the internet, mainly defined by the shift to an active internet led by social media platforms and large financial institutions. Most of the web still uses Web 2.0 platforms and institutions. If you wonder whether you’re using Web 2.0, ask yourself which apps you use today to communicate with friends and family, and how you recently checked your checking account balance.
The rise of Web 2.0 allowed people to co-create content with the sites and apps they used (think: filling out and customizing your social media profile). But even if you customized your profile to make it feel like your own, the images, data, and information you shared on these platforms still belong to the companies that own them, not you. Many call Web 2.0 the “read-write” web.
This brings us to Web3. In the ideal vision of Web3, ownership is no longer held by big companies. Instead, it’s closely tied to the people who use it. The decentralized nature of blockchain enables this by allowing users to publicly, permanently, and immutably record the creation and ownership of their assets. This is now called the “Read Write Yourself” web.
What are the core principles of Web3?
First and foremost, it is decentralized. Web3 allows users to own their information and assets and distribute them as they see fit, rather than being controlled by companies and other large entities that can access and use users’ information however they want.
Remember Gavin Wood’s emphasis on “trustless transactions” as one of the most important aspects of the future web? That’s no accident. Looking at Web 1.0 and Web 2.0, he saw that users had to trust third parties for online interactions and envisioned a world where that trust was no longer necessary.
This is where blockchain technology comes into play. The most popular blockchains are distributed across many nodes (i.e., people’s computers), which is why you hear them described as “decentralized.” Thus, blockchains are not hosted on servers owned by a central company but spread across peer-to-peer networks. This ensures blockchains remain immutable. Since blockchains record and preserve history and act as impartial parties, transactions on them can be “trustless,” meaning you don’t have to trust anyone to transact. Similarly, because transactions occur through computer networks, they are “permissionless” — no third-party approval is needed.
Web3’s use of cryptocurrencies offers users an alternative to traditional banking systems. In fact, many people still use a combination of government-issued currencies and bank-backed cryptocurrencies, but Web3 still allows users to operate outside traditional centralized systems.
How is Web3 currently used?
Undoubtedly, we will continue to see Web3 expand and evolve over the coming years, but for now, its main uses are focused on financial transactions and ownership.
NFTs
NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are unique digital items stored on the blockchain. NFTs can represent almost anything and act as digital records of ownership. They come in the form of artwork, profile pictures, collectibles, domains, tickets and memberships, games and gaming tools, virtual worlds, and the list keeps growing. Emerging use cases include authentication, intellectual property, and storage solutions.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
Decentralized finance, or “DeFi,” is a term describing all financial services running on blockchain technology. DeFi enables trustless, permissionless, and fast transactions.
Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies backed by blockchain technology. This allows transactions to be validated by computer networks rather than centralized entities or institutions.
DAO
A DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) is an organization without a single leader. Instead, they are governed by the group of users who comprise the organization. Typically, users within a DAO create proposals and vote to implement changes. DAOs have their own tokens, allowing users to prove membership and vote. DAOs can have wide-ranging uses — from charitable giving to business networks to education.
dApps
dApps stands for “decentralized applications.” Unlike Web 2.0 apps owned by single entities, dApps use blockchain technology, although they themselves are not necessarily fully decentralized. dApps can operate through peer-to-peer networks on the blockchain or use traditional layered structures, but they are considered dApps because they leverage decentralized protocols.
Metaverse
The metaverse refers to virtual universes where users can interact with digital spaces via virtual and augmented reality. The metaverse is less a place and more a pattern — it describes how users interact with the web rather than where the interactions occur. In the metaverse, users can play games, customize their appearance, connect and communicate with other players. It represents a new way for people to socialize using VR and AR. While not all metaverses are or will be built on Web3 technologies, those that are allow users to own their goods within the metaverse.
The Future of Web3
Web3 is still a relatively new concept and will certainly continue to evolve in our lifetime. As the elements above become more widely adopted and further integrated into our existing technologies, the term “Web3” itself may soon become outdated.
The future of Web3 may bring innovations such as improved digital storage (moving from centralized cloud providers to decentralized solutions), faster and more secure web browsers, massive changes in how we interact with financial systems, enhanced online gaming and social experiences, new social networks that allow users full ownership of their data, and even new desktop and mobile operating systems.
