What is web3? (Published 2022)

The third phase of the internet combines blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, and digital ownership with new governing structures with terms prearranged and automated by smart contracts to allow decentralized projects to prosper. Web3 both stands on the shoulders of the open-source ethos that supports the earlier internet phases and threatens to ... See more

“Web3” is a good all-encompassing term that captures cryptocurrencies (digital gold & stablecoins), smart contract computing (Layer 1-2 platforms), decentralized hardware infrastructure (video, storage, sensors, etc), Non-Fungible Tokens (digital ID & property rights), DeFi (financial services to swap and collateralize web3 assets), the Metaverse (... See more

Core to the tenets of web3 are the notion of self-sovereignty through cryptography, the ability to organize into global communities that resonate with our tailored values and interests, and the redistribution of network value back to users through incentivized participation.

What is web3? It’s a hazy/vague term describing a crypto-powered internet, and a font of yogababble. Its promoters would say something akin to: Web3 is a decentralized version of the internet where platforms and apps are built and owned by users. Unlike web2 (the current web), which is dominated by centralized platforms such as Google, Apple, and F... See more

Defining web 3, @andy_matuschak says: "This is a sort of counter-intuitive definition given the emphasis on decentralization, but it helps me understand one facet: imagine that all web sites and databases and accounts and services are running on one shared server, and anyone can program it."