Ask An Expert: The Dawn of Web3

Emmet McGonagle

Jun 17, 2022

First came Web1, marking the first iteration of the world wide web.


Next came Web2, sparking the dawn of user-generated content which allowed virtual communities to be established via social platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tinder and (most recently) TikTok.


However, it appears we have reached the next step in the internet’s evolution - Web3.


According to Wired, Web3 can be defined as “a decentralized online ecosystem based on the blockchain. 


“Platforms and apps built on Web3 won’t be owned by a central gatekeeper,” Wired continues, “but rather by users, who will earn their ownership stake by helping to develop and maintain those services.”


Originally coined as “Web 3.0” by Polkadot founder and Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood (now founder and president of Web3 Foundation, known as the “father of Web3”) in 2014, Web3 is an attempt to finesse the regulatory pitfalls of its predecessor, Web2.


On the topic of Web3’s “less trust, more truth” approach, Wood explained: “Cryptography, at its basic level, allows me to talk to my friend but for the communication channel to be public or go through a third party with me still having a good level of expectation, credible expectation, that it will be a private conversation. 


“It will be as private as if we were in a field and chatting to each other and could see there was nobody around.”


Framing Web3 as a “larger sociopolitical movement” which steps away from “arbitrary authorities” such as standard regulatory bodies, the software would remove censorship from social platforms such as Twitter as (according to Etherium) “control is decentralized”.


While Etherium also notes that there are currently limitations to Web3 - including cost, accessibility and scalability; leading Web3 to be deemed a “work in progress” by Forbes -  the concept of using blockchain to store data online also means that transactions can take place between two people without the need for a third party such as a service provider or government.


It is set to tie in with the “metaverse” - a concept which will be discussed alongside Web3 at Valhalla Private Capital’s Ask An Expert event on 1 March.


Moderated by Mark Mitchell, CEO at Valhalla Private Capital, the virtual event will feature Blockchain Founders Fund managing director Aly Madhavji, Frontier co-founder Dhawl Shah and Jeffrey Manner, general partner at Weave VC.


Do you have a question about angel investing? Get in touch with Valhalla Private Capital via our contact page.

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