Web3

Web3 is a broad label for an internet built around blockchains, where users hold their own digital assets and identities in wallets instead of relying on platforms to store them. The term was coined in 2014 by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood.

The usual story divides the web into three eras: Web1, the read-only web of static pages; Web2, the interactive web of social networks and apps dominated by large platforms that own user data; and Web3, where ownership is meant to sit with users through tokens and smart contracts. Typical Web3 products include DeFi apps, NFT marketplaces, DAOs, crypto games and decentralised social networks.

Web3 is as much a marketing term as a technical one. Critics point out that many "Web3" apps still depend on centralised companies for their websites, infrastructure and token issuance. When you hear the word, look at what is actually decentralised and what you actually own.