What is Web3 and what is its role in NFTs? – Decrypt

Web3 (or Web 3.0) will revolutionize the way we use the Internet by integrating decentralization via blockchain technology. Some believe it will change the internet the same way bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptos have changed the financial paradigm. To understand Web3, it helps to understand Web1 and Web2:

Web1 (or Web 1.0) This is what we now call the beginnings of the Internet. Web1 let you consume internet content, but nothing else. Websites were static and non-interactive; you can just send simple one-way messages or emails. Companies were beginning to create their own websites, but largely in the form of a glorified press release; it was no way to interact with the public.

This way you could compare Web1 to a physical newspaper. Consisting of paper and ink, you are just a consumer of content. There’s no way to transparently see an article’s popularity or who’s reading it — and you can’t interact with other readers.

Web2 (or Web 2.0) is what most people simply think of as today’s Internet. Web2 is interactive and allows you to create your own content, comment and react to content, and interact with other users. This has enabled the creation of social media networks and other interactive sites like Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, etc. Using our previous comparison, you could think of Web2 as our newspaper migrating to a website that allows you to interact in ways that were previously impossible.

Web3 is a response to concerns about the use of personal data and privacy on the Internet. In Web2, user data is largely controlled by major social media platforms, web browsers and websites. Web3, on the other hand, is designed to be a more transparent and censorship-resistant version of the Internet. More democratic than its Web2 predecessor, it allows users to control both the Internet architecture and user data.

By using blockchain-based protocols in concert with AI,

Beyond that, Web3 embraces the philosophy of cryptography and is designed to be permissionless (no centralized gatekeepers), trustless (no need to trust a third party), and open to everyone (little or no censorship of individuals/ideas).

NFT and Web3

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have many blockchain characteristics that make them useful and integrable with Web3. As unique blockchain tokens, NFTs allow you to seamlessly provide proof of ownership for things like digital art, music, data, game assets, personal records, and more.

Some social media platforms now offer NFT verification systems that allow you to use a crypto wallet to prove NFT ownership – and use it as your profile picture (PFP). Beyond that, NFTs give you control over your digital identity and can also grant you membership and voting rights. For example, a voting NFT could allow you to vote on where charitable funds go, how a blockchain works, or even change features of an NFT platform itself (such as featured artists and fees charged).

.

When registering or selling a Web2 address such as “examplezyx.com”, you generally pay a third party to provide these services. Web2 uses a centralized database called Domain Name Service (DNS). Decentralized Web3 domain options such as Crypto Name Service (CNS) and Ethereum Name Service (ENS) allow you to link your domain to a crypto wallet to accept cryptocurrency. You can even trade your Web3 domain on an NFT market, just like any other NFT.

The increasingly deep intertwining between NFTs and Web3 expands what is possible on the Internet thanks to promises of decentralization. The use of NFT and cryptography on the Internet will likely become ubiquitous to take advantage of the aforementioned possibilities – and yet-to-be-developed solutions that will make the transition from Web2 to Web3 even more dramatic than the migration from Web1 to Web2.