Inside Web 3.0: The New Internet Iteration 

When the number of investments and the associated buzz is considered, Web3 and Web 3.0 is the internet’s future. 

According to EmerGen Research, the global Web 3.0 market was worth $3.2 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 43.7% to $81.5 billion by 2030. In the words of a 2020 Twitter post, the three iterations of the Web are: 

Web 1.0 was ‘read-only,’ with almost no user interaction on a static website. Web 2.0 is a ‘read-write’ environment, as evidenced by the rise of social media and user-generated content. Web 3.0 will be read-write-own,’ which will aid in data security. 

Raj A Kapoor, founder, and CEO of India Blockchain Alliance explains how data on Web 3.0 is secured: “When we use a platform like Facebook, they collect, own, and monetize our data. Our data is stored on a crypto wallet in Web 3.0. Through our wallet, we interact with Web 3.0 apps and communities. When we log out, we can also take our data with us.” 

Blockchain technology will enable data security on Web 3.0. Blockchain will aid in the organization of information on Web 3.0 in the form of blocks. These blocks are immutable and are validated by consensus using asymmetric cryptography such as keys or digital signatures. As a result, users have greater security when accessing resources, applications, agreements, and content. 

Mr. Kapoor goes on to say that Web 3.0 will enable data privacy because a crypto wallet cannot be easily linked to someone’s true identity. “While someone may be able to see the activity of someone’s wallet, they will not be able to tell that it is your wallet.”  

According to a Chaina lysis report, Web3 can help people buy assets like virtual real estate through partial ownership, eliminate intermediaries in media and entertainment transactions, and decentralized businesses by enabling company’s community ownership like Decentralized Autonomous Organizations. 

If Web 2.0 is currently concerned with the virtual world, Web 3.0 is concerned with bridging the virtual and physical worlds. The ‘bridges’ between the two worlds are various 21st-century technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality (all three are the foundation for metaverse), and so on, which Web 3.0 can host. 

The two most prominent Web 3.0 use cases that cross domains are gamification and marketing “Sharat Chandra, Earth ID’s Vice President of Research and Strategy, adds. 

According to a recent Chaina lysis report, blockchain-powered metaverse, VR, and NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) will rule Web 3.0. According to the report, gaming is expected to grow exponentially in the Web 3.0 ecosystem. 

Web 3.0 gaming, which is powered by blockchain, is also known as play-to-earn or play-to-own gaming. NFT assets are owned by the players in Web3 gaming. According to Chaina lysis, citing a DappRadar report, blockchain-based gaming activity has increased 2,000%. 

Another significant development that will change how people play games and operate on Web 3.0 is the formation of the Open Metaverse Alliance of Web3, or OMA3. This alliance’s goal is to create a “metaverse without boundaries, where individual platforms are interconnected and fully interoperable.” 

The launch of OMA3, a DAO with “inclusive, transparent, and decentralized governance,” also signals Web 3.0’s role in bringing together various elements of metaverse and blockchain technology. While Web 3.0 is positioned as the internet’s future, there are a few red flags. The primary one is ‘decentralization,’ which is also the main premise of Web3. 

“True decentralization remains elusive,” Mr. Chandra says, explaining that “all leading blockchain protocols are controlled by a few select wallets.” 

Decentralized Finance (DeFi), another byproduct of blockchain technology, is also a source of concern. According to the Chania lysis report, DeFi protocols became the go-to target for hackers looking to steal cryptocurrency in Q2021.