By
Dimitar Bogdanov
June 8, 2021
4 Min Read
Ever since its invention by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989, the World Wide Web has been undergoing a fascinating evolution. From its early days as somewhat of a static depository of information to its transformation into a global platform for interactive experiences and services, the Web has had a profound impact on how people receive and share information, communicate and interact with each other. And now, the Web seems set to undergo another paradigm shift thanks to recent advances in blockchain and other emerging technologies. Web 3.0 may turn out to be the Web’s ultimate form.
The term Web 3.0 hints at an ambitious vision for the future of the Web, but it’s also an acknowledgment that this vision describes the latest chapter in a journey that’s been going on for over 30 years. So in order to understand why Web 3.0 could be such a big deal, we need to take a look at the evolution of the Web, from its humble beginnings through its rise as a platform for online services to becoming a key part of our everyday lives.
The invention of the Web in 1989 was a landmark moment in history that brought us a new way to transfer information across computer networks. However, the earliest iterations of the Web were static, meaning that they could support mostly passive consumption of information by users. Together with the limited Internet connectivity at the time, the static nature of the Web would prompt people to downplay the importance of the invention for years. However, its potential did not remain hidden for too long.
The dot-com bubble of the late 90s and the early 2000s was a reflection of the growing realization that the Web could be used for more than just ‘reading’. It was a transitional period that saw a flurry of mostly ill-fated projects, but the ones that succeeded showcased the huge potential of the Web and paved the way for the technology’s widespread adoption. In that sense, the dot-com bubble is not dissimilar to the 2017 crypto boom and the ICO bubble.
The shift to Web 2.0 was not a single event, but a gradual process underpinned by the rapidly evolving technological landscape. Following the dot-com ‘spark’, key technological advancements, increases in computing power, and improvements in Internet infrastructure fueled the development of more sophisticated web services. The Web became programmable, more interactive, and engaging. It became a platform for content creation, online businesses, and entertainment. It also facilitated the rise of social media. And, thanks to the rise of mobile devices, the Web, now dubbed Web 2.0, has become ubiquitous. However, it hasn’t reached its final form.
So what will the next iteration of the Web be? Well, the rise of blockchain technology has opened the door for a backend revolution where the Web is supported by decentralized networks and web services do not have to rely on servers owned by giant tech corporations. The growing number of decentralized apps running blockchain networks like Ethereum is a testament of the viability of that concept.
Web 3.0 is also expected to take advantage of other emerging technologies like IoT and artificial intelligence to greatly improve the Web’s capacity for transferring information and value and pave the way for new types of web services, just like the rise of Web 2.0 enabled services that had been inconceivable during the Web’s earliest iteration,
There are 3 main advantages of WEB 3.0: Decentralization, Openness/Permissionless, and Native Money.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of Web 3.0 stems from its decentralized nature. Many of today’s web services ask the user to provide personal data in order to see the full benefits of the service. This is a significant issue, as there are no guarantees that the service provider would not misuse the user data they collect. In contrast, decentralized networks guarantee that users always retain control over their data. The decentralization also means that there is no single point of failure, which makes Web 3.0 systems more secure than their centralized counterparts.
Another significant advantage of the decentralized web is that it is open and permissionless. Since no single entity controls the network, no one can restrict access to the dApps running on it. This also means that there is no censorship in Web 3.0 dApps.
Another advantage of Web 3.0 is that money, in the form of crypto tokens, is native to it. This means that it can be used to transfer value without intermediaries like banks and payment processors. As demonstrated by the rapid rise of DeFi, this characteristic of the decentralized web is set to inspire new types of services and business models.
There are 2 main disadvantages of WEB 3.0: limited scalability and high energy consuptions.
The rising popularity of blockchain networks and dApps in recent years has brought into focus the main problem of blockchain-based systems - their limited scalability. For example, the leading dApp platform Ethereum experiences regular network conditions when dApp activity is high. This problem leads to slower transaction processing speeds and higher service fees.
In order for Web 3.0 to become ubiquitous, blockchain networks need to find ways to increase scalability without compromising their decentralized nature. One way to achieve this is through the implementation of so-called Layer 2 scaling solutions, which are designed to reduce the load of the main blockchain networks. In recent years, there’s also been an emergence of blockchain and DLT networks using novel algorithms in an effort to achieve faster speeds.
Another issue that affects some decentralized systems is the fact that they require high energy consumption to ensure consensus. In particular, networks that rely on the popular proof-of-work consensus algorithm are known to be rather power-hungry. This is why some of the prominent players in the blockchain space are moving away from PoW. Ethereum, for example, is currently in the middle of a transition to a proof-of-stake algorithm, a move that is expected to make the network more environmentally friendly.
There are also other challenges that need to be solved on the way to Web 3.0. Challenges such as the lack of inherent interoperability between different blockchain networks, the complex implementation of blockchain systems and the precise coordination needed to ensure that a blockchain network operates properly. But given the considerable benefits and the fact that the Web has always managed to incorporate new technologies, chances are that decentralization will be a significant part of the next major iteration of the Web.
