Web3’s Ecosystem Surpasses Web2 In Every Way.  When Will It Take Over?

As with most revolutionary technologies, Web3 did not immediately replace our current systems over the past five years.  Getting rid of the old and replacing it with the new can be difficult, especially when the benefits are more fundamental and at a foundational layer.  In many ways it would be excellent for many of our daily systems to be replaced with robust decentralization, but the shock to the system would be risky.  

Let’s look at what has happened instead.  Web3 hasn’t acted as much like a lightning bolt, exploding onto the scene, but rather a flywheel that is continuing to gain momentum and power each day.  This is, over the long term, a much better outcome, because it allows the average person who isn’t involved with infrastructure or the foundations of our systems to actually understand what Web3 is over time, see its real benefits, and be part of the adoption that is coming. 

Instead of wondering what this new system is, wondering how a network can operate in a decentralized way, and trying to understand tokenomics, people en mass have been gathering a more comprehensive understanding of the Web3 benefits that directly affect them, and each year become more familiar and comfortable with the non-traditional ways that a Web3 infrastructure can work.

Our current system of centralized networks and Web2 platforms has certainly helped to do this job.  We see daily reports of customer data theft, insider corruption in centralized companies, and single points of failure throughout the larger system.  Even if a person has no idea what Web3 is, they absolutely see that our current Web2 systems are fundamentally flawed, have crippling vulnerabilities, and are aging in a way that makes them difficult to upgrade, even though we are dangerously dependent on them.

Let’s take a look at Web3’s infrastructure elements, identify some of the teams driving forward progress, and show just how powerful a Web3 ecosystem can be compared to what we live with today.

Web3 Infrastructure Pillars

There is a lot to Web3 infrastructure, but some of the key ways it is different from our current system include the core protocols of blockchain, the use of smart contracts, decentralized storage, wallets and tokens as lifeblood, sources of truth like oracles, and the ability for the entire system to be managed via DAO (perhaps the purest expression of democracy today).

With each of these elements, we see the power of Web3:  decentralization.  This is perfect for introducing opportunities for many players in the space, each of which brings its own flavor of innovation. 

Instead of having one or two market leaders, we can have many that build up their own ecosystems, then connect with each other to create an overarching ecosystem that is not dependent on one particular piece but is resilient to change, to threats, and to censorship.  There are many different types of blockchains operating today, with a combination of ingredients limited only by the imagination. 

Blockchains have different methods for consensus, for security, different languages used to build them, and can be built entirely to serve a specific purpose.  From a Proof-of-Work model designed to security mine tokens, to more scalable methods like PoS and a thousand variations, designed to work fast, stay secure, and scale infinitely.  Blockchains are as different as human individuals, yet we’ve worked hard to design standards to connect them and build a larger ecosystem without any person, organization, or entity at its head.

The ability to create actions and decisions, to store data, and onboard people without the normal bureaucracy is something completely foreign to any other system we use in our daily lives.  The simple design that builds this ecosystem is truly elegant:  as a decentralized system grows, so does its value, which can further incentivize more nodes and individuals to help secure the system. 

So long as there are more people to join the system, it can scale at speed to meet the demands of those using it.  Web3 has developed ways to remove all remnants of what we would consider the “core” of a company:  Those people in charge who make decisions, who collect and spend the money, who handle the data and records, even those that develop new products;  all of these areas are still performed, but either through automated code that can’t be morally corrupted, or through large enough groups of people to act democratically, with personal incentives (through tokenization) perfectly aligned so they act for the long term benefit of the ecosystem.  The ecosystem thrives, and so do they.  If the ecosystem fails through short-term selfishness, the system collapses along with the value they’ve invested.  

Web3 Ecosystems at Work

There are many different thriving ecosystems that are showing us how things can be done.  They are showing the non-Web3 community that there is a better way for growth, safety, security, and borderless systems.  Each has its own culture and flavor, but each is approaching these challenges in a specific way.

There are entire ecosystems at work, such as Alchemy and Infura, that bring many services like APIs and nodes so that developers can build up dApps on multiple chains in order to reach those populations. 

Within these larger ecosystems, there are players that are developing innovative solutions that can be used by everyone.  Problems such as identity verification and accelerated sign-in processes will be needed by all. 

DAR Open Network, a growing provider of a chain-agnostic Web3 gaming ecosystem, has built a DAR Citizenship Program that can whitelist a player into the premium services provided by current and future games building in the system.  This type of thinking is not normal for traditional systems, but DAR and others are looking ahead at what these new ecosystems will look like in order to solve tomorrow’s challenges instead of today’s.

Traditional tech companies like AWS, Google, and Microsoft are playing their part, even though they represent perhaps better than anyone those old and outdated systems Web3 will eventually replace.  This is a critical milestone however, because it shows that today’s giants see the changes ahead and are working hard not to lose their place in the new ecosystem.  They will have to share this new space with many others, but they are not willing to become obsolete, and good for them for adapting and evolving.

The future of Web3 is bright because its ability to grow as an ecosystem has no equal, and the world is naturally evolving toward decentralization in many ways.  People are learning about the fundamentals of blockchain, of the DAO, of tokens.  And leaders in the Web3 are showing instead of telling what these new ecosystems will look like.  Adoption is easier when you see the successful system hard at work, and that’s exactly what Web3 is showing us as it builds into a beautifully complex and resilient ecosystem with no limits.

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