What is Web3? How Blockchain and Web3 are related?

Web3 is the talk of the town in the technological landscape for a while now. What is web3? How blockchain and web3 are related to each other. Can it revolutionize the way we interact with the current web? Let’s start our journey to understand these questions.  

A future technology named Web3 is projected to address issues that plague the existing Web, like the centralization of data in the hands of few centralized social networking sites and the misuse of consumers’ private information. Virtual currencies will be an integral part of Web3. Blockchains’ permissionless and decentralized structure plays a key role in dispersing information rather than giving it to centralized authority. 

While bringing native digital currencies to Web3, virtual currencies can also serve as coins that are designed to perform a variety of functions in digital economic models. Web3 could become more community-focused thanks to blockchain and cryptocurrencies thanks to decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).

We will explore the question “What is web3?” We will also look at how blockchain and web3 can disrupt the current (web2) model with a new and effective one. Let’s get going!

What is Web3 Technology?

Web 3.0 was actually referred to as the Semantic Web by Tim Berners-Lee, a programmer who developed the World Wide Web (WWW). Berners-Lee imagined an insightful, independent, and uncensored Web that used AI to act as a “multilateral mind” and perceive material abstractly and informatively.

This idealized form didn’t exactly pan out due to technical limitations, such as how costly and time-consuming it is to transform natural speech into machine-readable code.

Web 3.0 is predicted to be the following:

  • Open Source– Media channels will be created using open-source technologies.
  • Trustless: The system will be protected by using blockchain and everybody will utilize zero trust.
  • Distributed – Without the consent of a central power, communication between devices, customers, and applications will be enabled.

In the upcoming phase of the web, people will be able to interact with each other freely thanks to blockchain technology. Customers will interact by joining a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), an association that is controlled and controlled by its members.

Individual privacy will be safeguarded through a system of publicly accessible smart contracts. These agreements will be kept on a decentralized system called a ledger, which users will manage. Blockchain and web3 will revolutionize this entire ecosystem.  

Evolution of Web3

The three fundamentally distinct stages known as Web1, Web2, and Web3 are frequently used to illustrate the major Internet evolutionary developments. Customers were unable to alter internet information or add their own material to the web pages they were visiting during the Web1 period. Back then, the internet was made up of static HTML pages that allowed for straightforward, one-way interactions, like browsing discussion forums.

Web2 enabled easy interactivity and information sharing. Then, Web2, a more dynamic web where individuals were more engaged in creating their own material, slowly arose. Web2 witnessed the emergence of new varieties of centralized technology companies since these sorts of internet systems were primarily made possible by social networking sites.

Even more of its flaws are coming to light, and the existing Web2 ecology is evolving once more. For instance, concerns over restriction and data control, monitoring, and possession have increased among web users.

The goal of Web3 is to advance the technology by one step. Keeping web systems decentralized, trustworthy, and uncensorable is one of its headers. As a series of standards for Internet items and services, it might also result in online possession, payment systems, and copyright resilience.

Due to its intrinsic decentralization, which enables anybody to store records online, transform commodities, and make virtual personas, blockchain and cryptocurrencies are well-positioned to become key Web service innovations.

What are the Core Features of Web3?

Following are some of the core features of the Web3:

1. Liberating Data and Protocols

Avivah Litan, Vice President and Distinguished Analyst at Gartner, highlights the centralization of services, servers, and software in Web 2.0. This dependence on large corporations, such as Meta, places content creators in a position of trust, leaving their data and intellectual property vulnerable to exploitation for the benefit of tech giants. 

Recognizing this power imbalance, Web 3.0 emerges as a decentralized and peer-to-peer ecosystem, devoid of a central authority or a single point of failure. This empowering shift enables content creators to monetize their own data, leveraging their private key for control.

2. Decentralized Governance

At the core of Web 3.0 lies the pivotal concept of decentralization. Instead of power being concentrated in the hands of corporate authorities, decentralization empowers stakeholders through decentralized autonomous organizations. 

As Avivah Litan explains, governance tokens grant individuals the right to vote on propositions and participate in decisions about protocols. By distributing power among stakeholders, Web 3.0 redefines governance, fostering a more inclusive and democratic approach.

3. Data Ownership Redefined:

In the realm of Web 2.0, customer data is owned by large digital enterprises and service providers, who leverage it for financial gain. Consumers willingly trade their personal data for the privilege of accessing platforms like Facebook.  

However, Web 3.0 disrupts this paradigm by decoupling content from Web 2.0 services. Users now reclaim ownership of their data, seizing the opportunity to monetize it directly. Blockchain transaction validators facilitate this process, ensuring payments are made directly to the data owner.

4. Trustless and Permissionless:

Web 3.0 champions a “trustless” environment, underpinned by a decentralized data network protocol fortified with inherent safeguards. Notably, blockchain technology embodies the principles of trust and permission-free control, where ownership is not overseen by a single third party. 

However, it’s important to clarify that “trustless” doesn’t imply complete automation. People still play a pivotal role in validating transactions, which are stored transparently in a public ledger for all to inspect.

5. Empowering Digital Interactions

The emergence of Web 3.0 is closely intertwined with the advent of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, as highlighted by Tom Taulli, a Web 3.0 expert and author. These groundbreaking developments enable the programming of fungible tokens, also known as cryptocurrency, through smart contracts deployed on blockchain platforms. 

These smart contracts execute automatically when predetermined conditions are met, such as the release of funds. By removing centralized control, such as that of financial institutions, Web 3.0 eliminates the need for intermediaries and their associated costs.   

6. Better User Authentication

In Web 2.0, user authentication primarily relies on user IDs, passwords, and biometric methods like Face ID. However, Web 3.0 introduces a paradigm shift. As elucidated by Avivah Litan, users now possess private keys that unlock access to their records on the blockchain. These private keys can be stored in a ledger, a self-hosted wallet, or a third-party wallet like ZenGo. This transformative authentication method ensures greater security and control for users in the Web 3.0 landscape.  

 How Blockchain and Web3 are Related?  

Blockchain and web3 have strong bonding and will revolutionize the web together.

As was already said, one of the main issues with Web2 is the centralization of information and authority in the hands of a small number of major forces. Blockchain and cryptocurrencies enable a more equitable allocation of data and authority, which can decentralize Web3. Open data records using blockchain could be used by Web3 to encourage better decentralization and accountability.

Blockchain-based initiatives substitute freely released software for conventional businesses’ enterprise applications. The network apps’ uncensorable design makes it possible for anybody on the globe to browse and use them without limitations.

Virtual currencies can act as Web3’s native digital finance system. Due to their true borderlessness and lack of mediators, virtual currencies can improve the costly and cumbersome Web2 transaction architecture.

Self-custodial cryptocurrency wallets, which let customers keep their money without the assistance of middlemen, are just one of the instruments available in cryptocurrency. To utilize their resources among different methods or to display their virtual products, customers can also link their wallets to decentralized applications. Using a shared ledger that is accessible, everyone can confirm who owns these monies and objects.

 Is Blockchain Necessary For Web3?

Web3 may depend on the internet unrelated to cryptocurrencies or blockchain. For instance, emerging internet technologies like AR, VR, IoT, and the virtual world may also be crucial to the coming age of the internet. Although the blockchain might function more on the Web service side of the network, these innovations and applications could assist in making the computer quite interactive and interconnected with the outside world.

IoT would link gadgets together over the web, whereas AR and VR could create software landscapes inhabited by objects that were portrayed as digital products. Finally, by expanding and integrating these systems, Web3 might realize a single metaverse.

Cryptocurrency can offer more than just transaction systems for the digital age. Security tokens can open up a world of Web3-related applications. NFTs may also be used to validate possession and identification in the virtual realm while maintaining user sovereignty over their private information.

The future of Web3 and Blockchain 

Although users may not be aware of it, blockchain has the potential to emerge as one of the pillars of Web3. People won’t think twice about the network infrastructure if the blockchain-based apps are simple to use and understand, much as we hardly ever think about the computer systems and networking devices that underpin the social media networks we use every day.

Developers will be able to send media collectibles to other customers via NFTs, which also support the creation and upkeep their digital records. They might also support several crucial procedures in online gaming, among other practical uses.

Web3 individuals will use DAO groups to organize and execute joint action using smart contracts and cryptocurrencies. DAOs enable members to band together without a  single organization to pursue a common interest. 

Instead, the optimal way to proceed is decided by a referendum among unit holders. Additionally, a blockchain makes the votes and activities transparent. DAOs can thereby encourage Web3 to become more decentralized, open, and community-focused.

Bottom Line

The major issues with internet technology could be resolved by Web3 while limiting the influence of the technology behemoths. In contrast to concrete reality, it is still mostly an idealistic concept. Nevertheless, the technologies that will presumably support the following version of the Internet are currently in creation.

Since they are built to enable decentralized, uncensorable, and cryptographic transactions, blockchain and cryptocurrency are frequently regarded as two of the innovations most likely to kick in the Web3 transformation. The future of web3 technology will hopefully create a creator’s economy.