Web3

Web3 is an idea for a new iteration of the Internet that is based on public blockchains. The term was coined in 2014 by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood, and the idea gained interest in 2020 and 2021 from cryptocurrency enthusiasts, large technology companies and venture capitalist firms.

Background

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Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 refer to eras in the history of the Internet as it evolved through various technologies and formats. Web 1.0 refers roughly to the period from 1991 to 2004, where most websites were static webpages, and the vast majority of users were consumers, not producers, of content. Web 2.0 is based around the idea of "the web as platform", and centres on user-created content uploaded to social-networking services, blogs, and wikis, among other services. Web 2.0 is generally considered to have begun around 2004, and continues to the current day.

Terminology

The term "Web3", specifically "Web 3.0", was coined by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood in 2014. In 2020 and 2021, the idea of Web3 gained popularity Vorlage:Citation needed. Particular interest spiked towards the end of 2021, largely due to interest from cryptocurrency enthusiasts and investments from high-profile technologists and companies. Executives from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz travelled to Washington, D.C. in October 2021 to lobby for the idea as a potential solution to questions about Internet regulation with which policymakers have been grappling.

Web3 is distinct from Tim Berners-Lee's 1999 concept for a semantic web, which has also been called "Web 3.0". Some writers referring to the decentralized concept usually known as "Web3" have used the terminology "Web 3.0", leading to some confusion between the two concepts. Furthermore, some visions of Web3 also incorporate ideas relating to the semantic web.

Concept

Web3 revolves around the idea of decentralization, which proponents often contrast with Web 2.0, wherein large amounts of the web's data and content are centralized in the fairly small group of companies often referred to as Big Tech.

Specific visions for Web3 differ, but all are heavily based in blockchain technologies, such as various cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Bloomberg described Web3 as an idea that "would build financial assets, in the form of tokens, into the inner workings of almost anything you do online". Some visions are based around the concepts of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). Decentralized finance (DeFi) is another key concept; in it, users exchange currency without bank or government involvement. Self-sovereign identity allows users to identify themselves without relying on an authentication system such as OAuth, in which a trusted party has to be reached in order to assess identity.

Reception

Technologists and journalists have described Web3 as a possible solution to concerns about the over-centralization of the web in a few "Big Tech" companies. Some have expressed the notion that Web3 could improve data security, scalability, and privacy beyond what is currently possible with Web 2.0 platforms. Bloomberg states that sceptics say the idea "is a long way from proving its use beyond niche applications, many of them tools aimed at crypto traders". The New York Times reported that several innvestors are betting $27 billion that Web3 "is the future of the internet".

Some companies, including Reddit and Discord, have explored incorporating Web3 technologies into their platforms in late 2021. After heavy user backlash, Discord later announced they had no plans to integrate such technologies. The company's CEO, Jason Citron, tweeted a screenshot suggesting it might be exploring integrating Web3 into their platform. This led some to cancel their paid subscriptions over their distaste for NFTs, and others expressed concerns that such a change might increase the amount of scams and spam they had already experienced on crypto-related Discord servers. Two days later, Citron tweeted that the company had no plans to integrate Web3 technologies into their platform, and said that it was an internal-only concept that had been developed in a company-wide hackathon.

Some legal scholars have expressed concerns over the difficulty of regulating a decentralized web, which they reported might make it more difficult to prevent cybercrime, online harassment, hate speech, and the dissemination of child abuse images. Some other critics of Web3 see the concept as a part of a cryptocurrency bubble, or as an extension of blockchain-based trends that they see as overhyped or harmful, particularly NFTs. Some critics have raised concerns about the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies and NFTs. Others have expressed beliefs that Web3 and the associated technologies are a pyramid scheme.

Kevin Werbach, author of "The Blockchain and the New Architecture of Trust", said that "many so-called ‘web3’ solutions are not as decentralized as they seem, while others have yet to show they are scalable, secure and accessible enough for the mass market", adding that this "may change, but it’s not a given that all these limitations will be overcome".

David Gerard, author of Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain, told The Register that "web3 is a marketing buzzword with no technical meaning. It's a melange of cryptocurrencies, smart contracts with nigh-magical abilities, and NFTs just because they think they can sell some monkeys to morons."

See also

• Distributed social network