1 What are Web1 and Web2?

The “Web3” it is also a term used to differentiate the current state of cyberspace services compared to the new developments that are being introduced. In this sense, two more words coexist with this concept “Web1” and “Web2”.

The first refers to the Internet era between 1989 and 2004, when there were only static web pages and consumers who did not produce content.

“Web2”, on the other hand, it describes a time closer to our time line, since represents the explosion of products such as social networks, forums, wikis and blogs. In this way, users become content creators, although the platforms continue to be developed by companies and small investor groups.

With the Web3enthusiasts of this niche propose that the capacity for development, creation and investment in the Internet is more distributed. Due to this, they consider that the introduction of digital currencies and tokens will allow power shares to be more equitable, as well as all users of the big web to generate income for the products they create. However, some detractors consider that the term “Web3” is just a form of marketing to sell the idea of ​​the cryptocurrencies more interconnected with the web pages.

2 How is Web3 related to the cryptocurrency market?

As you can see in the definition of what Web3 is, this concept and cryptocurrencies are the same unit. The idea is that the new era of the Internet will be interconnected and strongly influenced by the technology behind cryptocurrencies, even creating a digital economy thanks to them. In this sense, we must see these two industries as a whole.

With the introduction of Bitcoin to society, a new opportunity for interaction on the Internet opened up. Being a truly decentralized and digital payment method, a currency like bitcoin stands as a convenient alternative for paying for products and services on the web. Although cryptocurrency adoption is not yet global, it plants the seeds for a new type of economy.

Currently, the ecosystem of Web3 has largely been built around cryptocurrency networks with smart contracts. In other words, blockchains like Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, EOS and Tron, have been the epicenter of this movement. However, some developers have been interested in incorporating NFTs and tokens into networks like Bitcoin.

Likewise, these networks are supported by technology such as artificial intelligence, big data and the Internet of Things (IoT), increasing the functions offered to users.

Concepts from the world of cryptocurrencies, such as decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) and decentralized finance (DeFi) also are basic to understand the Web3. Taking these elements into account, it is easier to understand that Web3 is an industry that recognizes tokens, cryptocurrency networks, and sovereign economies as part of the Internet of the future.

3 How can Web3 transform the internet?

Supporters of Web3 believe that there are three ways in which an internet created from cryptocurrency networks could improve user experience, as well as improve cyberspace services. Let’s see what these differentiating characteristics are:

• Monetization: With an internet built around cryptocurrencies and distributed chains, creators and users will have ways to generate income from the content they create without the need to go to third-party services. That is to say, they will not have to use banks or centralized financial platforms to charge for the products they generateas there will be a way to contribute content creators built naturally into the platforms.

• Democracy: Another of the positive points raised by Web3 projects is that, as they are applications created from distributed and decentralized networks, they can be created by and for Internet users alike. In this sense, they would stop using social networks and web pages created by large corporations (such as Meta, Twitter or Google), to interact on platforms that are not governed by one or small groups of entities. As with Bitcoin, where anyone can contribute and the governance of it belongs to everyone, Web3 users will be able to make decisions democratically through the exercise of the vote.

• Privacy: With a self-sustaining economy, Web3 enthusiasts propose that this new era of the Internet will not depend on advertising, as is currently the case with cyberspace. Because of this, they believe that this will provide more privacy. Today the giants of Internet use the data of their customers, and even sell them, with the aim of positioning targeted ads and selling products to users. If a true financial interest between users and the services/contents offered on the Internet materializes, the need to sell advertising could be eliminated and, therefore, to use users’ personal information to market products.

4 Advantages and risks of Web3

Web3 is an experimental project, which is in full swing and development. Therefore, as well as advantages, there are many risks around those platforms that are specializing in this niche. Mainly, what we must take into account is that Web3 is a concept that may or may not go down in history, having the possibility of even mutating to new ideas and services that are not yet explored.

In this sense, let’s review some of the advantages and risks that these projects can bring to the Internet that we all know.

Advantages

• New forms of income with platforms that monetize content, time invested or services provided. For example, the games play-to-earn They pay for the activities the player does.
• True User Participation in the creation of Internet services that truly meet the needs of the community. In a website where Internet users can vote in the decision-making of a platform, the projects that the community wishes will be approved and those that are considered harmful will be rejected.
• Reduced censorship It is one of the advantages that an internet with blockchain networks could provide. Because decision-making will be decentralized and democratic, users will decide what information they want to share.
• Greater privacy in an Internet that has reported cases of wrong use of the personal information of its users for the sale of advertising and products.

risks

• It is an experimental industryso we still don’t know what the future will hold for Web3 projects and they could end up being something totally different from what we know today.
• great volatility between tokens and cryptocurrencies of Web3 projects. As it is a hot topic and still has a lot to develop, there is a lot of speculation around the assets that are related to this niche. It is important to invest carefully and knowing the dangers of losing capital.
• Vulnerability to scams and hacks. This, above all, we can see because it is a digital industry in full swing. Just as the current Internet is exposed to hacking and pyramid schemes, Web3 still has these weaknesses, even increasing because many people do not have enough knowledge about this industry.
• Inability to achieve true decentralization. There are people who question the ability of Web3 to really build a decentralized Internet, especially with large corporations (like Meta) leading the development of Web3 projects. In the event that these companies manage to capitalize on a large part of the Internet that is being built, the democracy of this system and the distribution of their quotas of power could be called into question.

5 How can I start interacting with Web3?

Currently, there are already several cryptocurrency projects that are betting on building Web3. To get a first taste of what the internet of the future will be like, we can open an account on these platforms and start using them. Everything will depend on what you want to do: play with fantastic animals? Open an account on a social network? Or share bandwidth and earn money for it?

The options are very varied, here some of the best known Web3 projects in the cryptocurrency market.

• Axis Infinity: famous play-to-earn game that allows users to earn money for the battles their characters win, the missions they complete and the sale of NFTs.
• helium: collective collaboration wireless network, which allows users to share the bandwidth of their WiFi networks in exchange for money.
• filecoin: network that allows the storage, distribution and management of files and digital information. The protocol uses a distributed network to record the data that users wish to safeguard, who pay a commission for the service with tokens (FIL).
• decentraland: Between virtual reality and metaverse platforms, Decentraland is one of the best known in the cryptocurrency niche. This project allows users to create an immersive digital space for their web pages, blogs or social networks.