Imagine an internet where the only purpose was to please its users, and not by giant data collectors such as Google or Facebook. It was not used to collect our personal information, but was instead built by and managed by its users. Stop imagining. This is Web 3.0.
Web 2.0 had a magical effect. It transformed the first-generation internet to a 2-dimensional space where you can play, work, and communicate. Web 3.0 intends to go the next step and turn the internet into a three-dimensional place, where we can “visit” people wherever they are in the world, where we can interact, conduct transactions safely and privately, and where no organization will ever collect our private data or track our activities.
Web 3.0: What does it mean?
Web 3.0 has a unique feature: it is built on blockchain. The network is made up of many chains interoperable and allows for smart contracts to be deployed. Blockchains are made from code, which is compiled across many decentralized nodes worldwide. They can be authenticated and verified by anyone, and no intermediary. Every transaction or interaction is automatically authenticated onto the blockchain. This makes them non-manipulatable and tamperproof.
The real challenge that Web3 faces are adoption by those individuals who do not really comprehend what it is, how it works, and the benefits and are perhaps used to hearing the terms NFT, DeFi and Metaverse but really don’t know what this all means. There will be a need to educate many people on this and the values of the blockchain but as more and more protocols come online and can be used from inside people’s current browsers this will be a step-by-step process. Many innovative and forward-looking projects, apps, and ecosystems, are being created in the interim. Web3 will see mass adoption and the industry will have the maturity and ready to serve its B2B customers.
To be able take advantage of all the opportunities on the blockchain, users must have access to a wallet as well as a way to buy cryptocurrency tokens. Gamers are beginning to see the value of playing on-chain games. They can participate in the new pay-to-earn system, which rewards them for their participation. This is a change from the old Pay-to-Play or Play-to Win models. Some apps offer rewards for just engaging, such as. India’s answer to TikTok, Chingari is rewarding users for both watching short videos and creating them too.
Web 3.0-specific projects
SelfKey is another team that works exclusively for Web 3.0. It’s an Ethereum-based project and builds digital identities for users to enable them to transact on the blockchain. This makes users more ready for Web3 activities. The wallet allows users to have full control of their digital identities. It’s non-custodial which means the user can retain full control of their data, digital assets and any documents. This allows you to secure store and manage your identity documents and digital assets. You can also access various markets to compare or sign up.
Other products include access to financial products, services and bank accounts. They also offer residencies and management of crypto-based asset portfolios. At an average annual rate of 84.5 percent, the project will grow to $90.4 million USD in 2018, and $2 billion USD by 2023.
Partisia Blockchain is a Web 3.0 network that was built to trust, transparency and privacy. Partisia Blockchain Foundation, a foundation for non-profit development, supports the creation of a public blockchain called Partisia Blockchain with the aim of interoperability, and opening up the web3.0 future. According to Partisia, “To us, Partisia means “Distributed Trust”. Our mission is to establish a WEB 3.0 infrastructure with no single point of trust for generic coordination of public and private information to be used by all applications across all platforms.”
One fund of venture capital that is laser-focused in investing in Web 3 projects has said. “Web3 has become the latest buzzword for what crypto and blockchain are all about. It’s the next revolution that will enable us to interact with and dramatically change a lot of the applications which we’ve been seeing emerge in the past 10-15 years”.