What is Web3?

“For all the good we’ve achieved, the web has evolved into an engine of inequity and division; swayed by powerful forces who use it for their own agendas.” — Internet pioneer Tim Berners-Lee

Our first two internet generations have connected us like never before. They also have generated problems we’ve never seen before either.

Let us remember. The first internet got set up to share information. The second internet got set up to let us interact better and download content faster. Neither generation got built to allow people to securely exchange value, fundraise, or make economic transactions. The rails of these systems — proprietary computer code — have been fragile, thus needing massive cybersecurity investments to set up multiple layers around them. The computer code itself was not battle-hardened cryptographic protocol.

As a result of the fragile internet code, the web has generated two kind of problems: bullies and weaklings. On the bully side, authoritarian governments can control information. Internet giants abuse personal data. The strong get stronger and monopolize internet functions, exacerbating social inequality. On the weakling side, the internet architecture is so fragile that financial actors prefer non-internet solutions to move value around. The banking system relies on outdated and costly databases — like SWIFT — and thus require high transaction fees, excluding billions from banking. Financial transactions are thus slow and expensive. Also on the weakling side, without secure internet infrastructure to transact with…