ethereum.org Open in urlscan Pro
2a05:d014:275:cb00::c8  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

Skip to main content


HELP UPDATE THIS PAGE

There’s a new version of this page but it’s only in English right now. Help us
translate the latest version.

Translate page
See English


NO BUGS HERE!

This page is not being translated. We've intentionally left this page in English
for now.

Don't show again
 * Use Ethereum
 * Learn
 * Developers
 * Enterprise
 * Community

SearchKLanguages EN


 1. HOME/
 2. WHAT IS WEB3?

Page last updated: May 19, 2023


INTRODUCTION TO WEB3

Centralization has helped onboard billions of people to the World Wide Web and
created the stable, robust infrastructure on which it lives. At the same time, a
handful of centralized entities have a stronghold on large swathes of the World
Wide Web, unilaterally deciding what should and should not be allowed.

Web3 is the answer to this dilemma. Instead of a Web monopolized by large
technology companies, Web3 embraces decentralization and is being built,
operated, and owned by its users. Web3 puts power in the hands of individuals
rather than corporations. Before we talk about Web3, let's explore how we got
here.




THE EARLY WEB

Most people think of the Web as a continuous pillar of modern life—it was
invented and has just existed since. However, the Web most of us know today is
quite different from originally imagined. To understand this better, it's
helpful to break the Web's short history into loose periods—Web 1.0 and Web 2.0.


WEB 1.0: READ-ONLY (1990-2004)

In 1989, at CERN, Geneva, Tim Berners-Lee was busy developing the protocols that
would become the World Wide Web. His idea? To create open, decentralized
protocols that allowed information-sharing from anywhere on Earth.

The first inception of Berners-Lee's creation, now known as 'Web 1.0', occurred
roughly between 1990 to 2004. Web 1.0 was mainly static websites owned by
companies, and there was close to zero interaction between users - individuals
seldom produced content - leading to it being known as the read-only web.

(opens in a new tab)↗


WEB 2.0: READ-WRITE (2004-NOW)

The Web 2.0 period began in 2004 with the emergence of social media platforms.
Instead of a read-only, the web evolved to be read-write. Instead of companies
providing content to users, they also began to provide platforms to share
user-generated content and engage in user-to-user interactions. As more people
came online, a handful of top companies began to control a disproportionate
amount of the traffic and value generated on the web. Web 2.0 also birthed the
advertising-driven revenue model. While users could create content, they didn't
own it or benefit from its monetization.

(opens in a new tab)↗




WEB 3.0: READ-WRITE-OWN

The premise of 'Web 3.0' was coined by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood shortly
after Ethereum launched in 2014. Gavin put into words a solution for a problem
that many early crypto adopters felt: the Web required too much trust. That is,
most of the Web that people know and use today relies on trusting a handful of
private companies to act in the public's best interests.

(opens in a new tab)↗


WHAT IS WEB3?

Web3 has become a catch-all term for the vision of a new, better internet. At
its core, Web3 uses blockchains, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs to give power back
to the users in the form of ownership. A 2020 post on Twitter(opens in a new
tab)↗ said it best: Web1 was read-only, Web2 is read-write, Web3 will be
read-write-own.

CORE IDEAS OF WEB3

Although it's challenging to provide a rigid definition of what Web3 is, a few
core principles guide its creation.

 * Web3 is decentralized: instead of large swathes of the internet controlled
   and owned by centralized entities, ownership gets distributed amongst its
   builders and users.
 * Web3 is permissionless: everyone has equal access to participate in Web3, and
   no one gets excluded.
 * Web3 has native payments: it uses cryptocurrency for spending and sending
   money online instead of relying on the outdated infrastructure of banks and
   payment processors.
 * Web3 is trustless: it operates using incentives and economic mechanisms
   instead of relying on trusted third-parties.


WHY IS WEB3 IMPORTANT?

Although Web3's killer features aren't isolated and don't fit into neat
categories, for simplicity we've tried to separate them to make them easier to
understand.

OWNERSHIP

Web3 gives you ownership of your digital assets in an unprecedented way. For
example, say you're playing a web2 game. If you purchase an in-game item, it is
tied directly to your account. If the game creators delete your account, you
will lose these items. Or, if you stop playing the game, you lose the value you
invested into your in-game items.

Web3 allows for direct ownership through non-fungible tokens (NFTs). No one, not
even the game's creators, has the power to take away your ownership. And, if you
stop playing, you can sell or trade your in-game items on open markets and
recoup their value.

Learn more about NFTs
More on NFTs

CENSORSHIP RESISTANCE

The power dynamic between platforms and content creators is massively
imbalanced.

OnlyFans is a user-generated adult content site with over 1-million content
creators, many of which use the platform as their primary source of income. In
August 2021, OnlyFans announced plans to ban sexually explicit content. The
announcement sparked outrage amongst creators on the platform, who felt they
were getting robbed of an income on a platform they helped create. After the
backlash, the decision got quickly reversed. Despite the creators winning this
battle, it highlights a problem for Web 2.0 creators: you lose the reputation
and following you accrued if you leave a platform.

On Web3, your data lives on the blockchain. When you decide to leave a platform,
you can take your reputation with you, plugging it into another interface that
more clearly aligns with your values.

Web 2.0 requires content creators to trust platforms not to change the rules,
but censorship resistance is a native feature of a Web3 platform.

DECENTRALIZED AUTONOMOUS ORGANIZATIONS (DAOS)

As well as owning your data in Web3, you can own the platform as a collective,
using tokens that act like shares in a company. DAOs let you coordinate
decentralized ownership of a platform and make decisions about its future.

DAOs are defined technically as agreed-upon smart contracts that automate
decentralized decision-making over a pool of resources (tokens). Users with
tokens vote on how resources get spent, and the code automatically performs the
voting outcome.

However, people define many Web3 communities as DAOs. These communities all have
different levels of decentralization and automation by code. Currently, we are
exploring what DAOs are and how they might evolve in the future.

Learn more about DAOs
More on DAOs


IDENTITY

Traditionally, you would create an account for every platform you use. For
example, you might have a Twitter account, a YouTube account, and a Reddit
account. Want to change your display name or profile picture? You have to do it
across every account. You can use social sign-ins in some cases, but this
presents a familiar problem—censorship. In a single click, these platforms can
lock you out of your entire online life. Even worse, many platforms require you
to trust them with personally identifiable information to create an account.

Web3 solves these problems by allowing you to control your digital identity with
an Ethereum address and ENS profile. Using an Ethereum address provides a single
login across platforms that is secure, censorship-resistant, and anonymous.

Sign-in with Ethereum(opens in a new tab)↗


NATIVE PAYMENTS

Web2's payment infrastructure relies on banks and payment processors, excluding
people without bank accounts or those who happen to live within the borders of
the wrong country. Web3 uses tokens like ETH to send money directly in the
browser and requires no trusted third party.

More on ETH


WEB3 LIMITATIONS

Despite the numerous benefits of Web3 in its current form, there are still many
limitations that the ecosystem must address for it to flourish.


ACCESSIBILITY

Important Web3 features, like Sign-in with Ethereum, are already available for
anyone to use at zero cost. But, the relative cost of transactions is still
prohibitive to many. Web3 is less likely to be utilized in less-wealthy,
developing nations due to high transaction fees. On Ethereum, these challenges
are being solved through the roadmap and layer 2 scaling solutions. The
technology is ready, but we need higher levels of adoption on layer 2 to make
Web3 accessible to everyone.


USER EXPERIENCE

The technical barrier to entry to using Web3 is currently too high. Users must
comprehend security concerns, understand complex technical documentation, and
navigate unintuitive user interfaces. Wallet providers, in particular, are
working to solve this, but more progress is needed before Web3 gets adopted en
masse.


EDUCATION

Web3 introduces new paradigms that require learning different mental models than
the ones used in Web2.0. A similar education drive happened as Web1.0 was
gaining popularity in the late 1990s; proponents of the world wide web used a
slew of educational techniques to educate the public from simple metaphors (the
information highway, browsers, surfing the web) to television broadcasts(opens
in a new tab)↗. Web3 isn't difficult, but it is different. Educational
initiatives informing Web2 users of these Web3 paradigms are vital for its
success.

Ethereum.org contributes to Web3 education through our Translation Program,
aiming to translate important Ethereum content to as many languages as possible.


CENTRALIZED INFRASTRUCTURE

The Web3 ecosystem is young and quickly evolving. As a result, it currently
depends mainly on centralized infrastructure (GitHub, Twitter, Discord, etc.).
Many Web3 companies are rushing to fill these gaps, but building high-quality,
reliable infrastructure takes time.


A DECENTRALIZED FUTURE

Web3 is a young and evolving ecosystem. Gavin Wood coined the term in 2014, but
many of these ideas have only recently become a reality. In the last year alone,
there has been a considerable surge in the interest in cryptocurrency,
improvements to layer 2 scaling solutions, massive experiments with new forms of
governance, and revolutions in digital identity.

We are only at the beginning of creating a better Web with Web3, but as we
continue to improve the infrastructure that will support it, the future of the
Web looks bright.


HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED

 * Get a wallet
 * Find a community
 * Explore Web3 applications
 * Join a DAO
 * Build on Web3


FURTHER READING

Web3 isn’t rigidly defined. Various community participants have different
perspectives on it. Here are a few of them:

 * What is Web3? The Decentralized Internet of the Future Explained(opens in a
   new tab)↗ – Nader Dabit
 * Making Sense of Web 3(opens in a new tab)↗ – Josh Stark
 * Why Web3 Matters(opens in a new tab)↗ — Chris Dixon
 * Why Decentralization Matters(opens in a new tab)↗ - Chris Dixon
 * The Web3 Landscape(opens in a new tab)↗ – a16z
 * The Web3 Debate(opens in a new tab)↗ – Packy McCormick


TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Web3



Web1 was read-only, Web2 is read-write, Web3 has been described as:

A

read-write-sell

B

read-write-store

C

read-write-own

D

read-write-buy
Submit answer


WAS THIS ARTICLE HELPFUL?

YesNo
 * Edit page
   (opens in a new tab)
 * On this page
   * The early Web
     * Web 1.0: Read-Only (1990-2004)
     * Web 2.0: Read-Write (2004-now)
   * Web 3.0: Read-Write-Own
     * What is Web3?
     * Why is Web3 important?
     * Identity
     * Native payments
   * Web3 limitations
     * Accessibility
     * User experience
     * Education
     * Centralized infrastructure
   * A decentralized future
   * How can I get involved
   * Further reading

Website last updated: May 19, 2023
(opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab)


USE ETHEREUM

 * Find wallet
 * Get ETH
 * Decentralized applications (dapps)
 * Layer 2
 * Run a node
 * Stablecoins
 * Stake ETH


LEARN

 * Learn Hub
 * What is Ethereum?
 * What is ether (ETH)?
 * Ethereum wallets
 * Ethereum security and scam prevention
 * What is Web3?
 * Smart contracts
 * Ethereum energy consumption
 * Ethereum roadmap
 * Ethereum Improvement Proposals
 * History of Ethereum
 * Ethereum Whitepaper
 * Ethereum glossary
 * Ethereum governance
 * Blockchain bridges
 * Zero-knowledge proofs


DEVELOPERS

 * Get started
 * Documentation
 * Tutorials
 * Learn by coding
 * Set up local environment


ECOSYSTEM

 * Community hub
 * Ethereum Foundation
 * Ethereum Foundation Blog(opens in a new tab)↗
 * Ecosystem Support Program(opens in a new tab)↗
 * Ethereum bug bounty program
 * Ecosystem Grant Programs
 * Ethereum brand assets
 * Devcon(opens in a new tab)↗


ENTERPRISE

 * Mainnet Ethereum
 * Private Ethereum
 * Enterprise


ABOUT ETHEREUM.ORG

 * About us
 * Jobs
 * Contributing
 * Language support
 * Privacy policy
 * Terms of use
 * Cookie policy
 * Contact(opens in a new tab)↗