Web 3.0. also known as the Decentralized Web is the next generation of internet applications and services powered by distributed ledger technology.
The third generation of the internet mainly focuses on connecting and accessing data in a decentralized way, rather than having it stored in centralized repositories, with computers able to process information as intelligently as humans through technologies like Machine Learning, AI, BigData.
Web 3.0’s decentralized architecture seeks to address the shortcoming of the current phase of Web 2.0: the accumulation of power and control within centralized entities, user trust, privacy, and transparency. In simple words, we can say that the next generation of the internet is all about a more transparent and fairer network where anyone can take part without fearing a loss of privacy and security.
Since Web 3.0 networks run through decentralized protocols, which are also the founding blocks of blockchain and cryptocurrency technology, it's certain that we will see a strong convergence between these three technologies. This next generation of the Web reintroduces real ownership and verifiability. It also opens the Web back up to secure peer-to-peer interactions.
Unlike Web2, Web3 programmers/developers do not build and deploy applications that run on a single server or that store their data in a single database, rather web3 applications either run on blockchains, decentralized networks of many peers to peer nodes (servers), or a combination of the two. These decentralized apps are often referred to as dapps.
To bring off a stable and secure decentralized network, network participants are incentivized, and they also compete to deliver the highest quality services to users. Interestingly, cryptocurrency comes along with any conversation about Web 3.0, and this is because cryptocurrency plays a big role in many of these protocols. It provides a financial incentive in the form of tokens/coins for people who wants to participate in creating, governing, or contributing to one of the projects themselves.
Many web infrastructure protocols like Livepeer, Filecoin, The Grap, and Arweave have issued utility tokens that govern how the protocol functions. These tokens also reward participants at many levels of the network.
While Web 3.0 is in its initial stage. We already see some early-stage applications on the blockchain, and these applications have been doing great. Coins based on Web 3.0 applications on the blockchain have been performing well above expectations. In 2021, Web 3.0 tokens witnessed an approx 244% increase in value on average, outperforming Bitcoin's 37% growth within the same period. Some of the Web 3.0 coins like BitTorrent (BTT), Helium (HNT), and Livepeer (LPT) have shown annual growth of even up to 800%. The Web 3.0 tokens sector now has about 50 coins with more than $25 billion market value.
