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Unless you’re a denizen of the internet with at least a little bit of interest in cryptocurrency, you likely haven’t heard of Web3 yet.
If you’re not a cryptocurrency person, I can feel your eye rolls from here. “Crypto again, here we go!” Yes, I know. Bitcoin has been around forever.
That’s not what I’m talking about though.
Web3 is an idea for the future of the internet where the entire web is built on blockchains, decentralizing it and putting control back into the hands of the people rather than Big Tech companies. The term Web3 — or Web 3.0 — began floating around in 2013 and refers to the next phase of the World Wide Web after Web 2.0, the age of interactive websites that started around 2004, and the original Web, which consisted of lots of read-only websites.
So what would a blockchain internet look like? What is a blockchain anyway?
A blockchain is a chain or “ledger” of digital data that is decentralized, meaning it is spread across many different computers, often even across different countries.
The big attraction of the blockchain is that it does not need a centralized administrator like a server in a specific location. Google’s servers are located in Oregon, Arizona, Texas, and several other places. When Google decides to do something, users can’t stop the company because it controls the servers.
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Big Tech’s outsized control over internet traffic has long been a bipartisan concern. Republicans and Democrats in Congress have teamed up on bills to reign in giants like Google, Apple, and Facebook.
Online censorship, misinformation, and election interference concerns marred the last few presidential elections. Data breaches have exposed people’s personal and financial information. Meanwhile, Big Tech companies gobble up revenue and buy out their competitors, making it nearly impossible to challenge them in the free market.
Blockchain technology could potentially solve some of the problems Big Tech poses, but so far, it hasn’t quite figured out how to achieve that higher purpose.
Unlike the Big Tech corporations, blockchains are run by the community. Each time someone adds something to the blockchain, the ledger data is updated on each “node,” each computer using the blockchain. A majority of users agree to verify the changes, and the blockchain keeps going. Each “block” on the blockchain contains the new data, a timestamp, and information about the previous block, so every addition to the blockchain is permanent and cannot be reversed without changing every single block after it.
There’s no third party needed (think traditional banks), and there’s no CEO in a corner office somewhere calling the shots. This is new and exciting because it means the builders and users of blockchains can record things on the blockchain (like financial transactions) without the fear that their additions could be easily erased or changed.
All of this also means that hacking a blockchain is extremely difficult because you would have to control at least 51% of the computers using the blockchain.
Today, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, and Solana are the most popular uses of blockchain technology. NFTs — non-fungible tokens, essentially digital collector’s art — are also traded furiously on blockchains. There are also more gimmicky trends like video games built on blockchains that reward people with cryptocurrency.
However, Web3 enthusiasts have a grander idea for the future of blockchains where they are about more than just making money or goofing off — they could someday be used for just about everything we already do on the internet and more.
Social media platforms can be built on top of blockchains. People have already done this. Banking on blockchains can be more efficient, secure, and transparent without the expensive fees. Stablecoins (cryptocurrencies like USD Coin, which is always redeemable for the same amount in dollars) are working on doing this now.
There are likely things blockchains can do that we haven’t even thought of yet because our current internet isn’t able to do them.
Web3 is still a pretty hazy idea. Yes, blockchains exist and cryptocurrency is everywhere now, but for now, we’ll just have to wait and see if the grander vision for this technology pans out.
“Blockchains are at the computing frontier, as PCs were in the 1980s, the internet was in the 1990s, and mobile phones were in the 2010s,” writes venture capital tech investor Chris Dixon in his book on Web3 published this year, “Read Write Own: Building The Next Era Of The Internet.”
“People look back today on classic moments in computing and wonder what it was like to be there,” Dixon writes. “You are here now. These are the good old days.”
If you’re not hearing about Web3 now, you will be soon. Now you’re in the know.
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