Published on November 14, 2024
By: Karin Interfector
During the last twenty years, we’ve observed the advancement from Web 2.0 to the recent emergence of indications signaling a shift towards a third generation. In today’s interconnected world, while some may argue that there is no surpassing the advances we have made in terms of web browsing, social media, and financial management, the truth is that there is always room for improvement. Blockchain has emerged as the driving force behind the new generation of the Internet, playing a crucial role in redistributing power and enabling decision-making for the people rather than governments and large corporations. Web 3.0 offers promising advancements in areas such as DeFi, NFT markets, and digital identity, providing a more secure and democratic infrastructure compared to the traditional centralized model.
We love to take advantage of any opportunity to immerse ourselves in such an exciting area as the one that brings us together today. Our task extends beyond simply disseminating a message. We’ve taken on the responsibility of addressing two fronts. Firstly, covering the information deficit on topics related to cryptocurrencies and Blockchain, and secondly, offering users projects that embody the principles upheld here at Purse.io. Today, rather than discussing our perspectives on the future of Web 3.0, we’ve chosen to gather testimonials from prominent figures within the sector. While we’re confident in our knowledge of the topics we discuss, it’s always beneficial to explore other viewpoints, especially when seeking to deepen our understanding and reinforce the values we consistently convey to our audience.
We start by discussing Andreas M. Antonopoulos, a highly respected educator in the crypto field and author of important books such as “Mastering Bitcoin: Unlocking Digital Cryptocurrencies” (2014), “The Internet of Money” (2016), and “Mastering Bitcoin: Programming the Open Blockchain” (2017), among others. Since 2012, Andreas has gained notoriety by delivering lectures and writing articles on Blockchain and decentralization, demonstrating a strong commitment to encouraging people to protect their privacy in an increasingly digitized and surveilled world. Antonopoulos is renowned for his skill in explaining complex topics clearly and effectively to his audience. On several occasions, particularly in his book “Mastering Ethereum: Building Smart Contracts and DApps” (2018), the Greek-British speaker has discussed the paradigm shift represented by the arrival of Web 3.0. One of his most notable thoughts on the matter is:
“Web 3.0 envisions a world of autonomous, distributed, and decentralized systems, granting individuals greater control over their digital lives… The new generation of the Internet is not just about code, but about people coming together to create a better future”.
This vision aligns with the philosophy and values that Antonopoulos has sought to convey for many years. During a 2019 talk in Buenos Aires, the former independent consultant expressed that those who advocate centralization often assume that “people are bad”, emphasizing the importance of recognizing that “most people are good”. He stressed the significance of building decentralized systems as a means to demonstrate that a better future and better experiences are possible.
Now let’s discuss Pete Townsend, a businessman with decades of experience in startups. Townsend serves as Managing Director of Techstars, a network of small business accelerators, and is known for his investments in more than 250 projects related to the Web 3.0 space. In an interview with Cointelegraph, when asked about the criteria for selecting new companies in their acceleration programs – Protico, JR Studio, and OLTA are among the 12 companies chosen from nearly 750 applications for the Techstars accelerator program in Dublin -, Townsend provided insights:
“We want to understand how these companies are contributing to building a decentralized Internet, whether they are building a tokenized economy or a centralized business, and how they will drive the onboarding of the first billion Web3 users”.
Later, when asked about his recent investments in gaming and fan platforms, Townsend added:
“Gaming and fan platforms reflect the potential of Web 3.0 to transform everyday activities with more immersive and rewarding experiences. By leveraging these sectors, we are diversifying the Blockchain ecosystem and fostering use cases that could lead to widespread adoption”.
In line with this, it’s worth highlighting that Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, unveiled a Web3 loyalty program last December. In a collaboration between Polygon and Flipkart – one of India’s leading e-commerce companies –, it was revealed that the latter will utilize the Polygon SDK – a scaling and development platform for Ethereum – to establish its presence in Web 3.0. The goal is to leverage Polygon’s ecosystem to create a layer 2 network powered by ZK, enabling Flipkart to conduct efficient and highly private transactions. Nailwal shared his insights on this development:
“This marks a turning point for the Web 3.0 ecosystem in India. The path is laid not only to encourage the country’s leading Fintech entrepreneurs to develop Web3 solutions but also for many other major consumer brands to create their blockchains designed to support dApps”.
We conclude with Vitalik Buterin, an iconic figure in the crypto space who requires no introduction, recently remarked that several Web3 projects have strayed from the true essence of decentralization. For years, Buterin has advocated for digital identity solutions that operate independently of centralized agents.
In 2022, Vitalik proposed “NFT soulbounds”, which are non-fungible tokens linked to a single digital address once they are transferred to it. This means they cannot be exchanged between different users, unlike tokens commonly used in online games to reward gamers with virtual items – for example, in the “World of Warcraft (WoW)” franchise. According to Buterin, the idea emerged as a much more robust Web3 social security system, aiming to address the transferable nature of NFTs, which he views as a vulnerability exploitable by malicious actors. Each soulbound token (SBT) represents a non-transferable NFT that reflects various use cases, such as work experience, credit history, and completed studies. The solution is viable for different educational institutions to issue certificates such as SBT to people who complete their courses, as well as to facilitate simple property transfers, such as the sale of real estate.
In the introduction of his paper, the co-founder of Ethereum emphasized:
“Because Web 3.0 lacks primitive elements to represent social identity, it has become fundamentally dependent on highly centralized Web 2.0 structures that it aims to transcend”.
The authors of this project are Vitalik Buterin, Puja Ohlhaver, and E. Glen Weyl.
In a constantly evolving environment, it’s often essential to analyze the perspectives that have shaped various projects. Each year, the blockchain sector spawns thousands of ideas aiming to revolutionize aspects of our lives, fostering a burgeoning community of developers, entrepreneurs, and investors. While we can’t cover information related to all areas, who says we can’t try? If we manage to inspire at least one person to delve into this exciting world, then we’ve accomplished our goal. Are you in?
If you’re interested in learning about the projects we’re currently working on, don’t forget that you can access the trial phase of Hamza, the first decentralized e-commerce platform powered by the LOAD protocol. Follow our roadmap by clicking here.