What is web3?
Surely you have heard about Bitcoin, NFTs and blockchain, but also, the name web3 surely sounds familiar to you . The curious thing is that you probably haven’t heard much about web1 and web2, and most likely many people didn’t even know them by that name, these would be the standards before the well-known web3 .
In short, web3 is the update of the Internet world as we know it, and what it promises is to be a more decentralized world using blockchain technology (which we will talk about later) and will be based on the exchange of tokens. .
But so that you can better see the characteristics of web3 and its differences compared to its predecessors, let’s make a brief comparison between them.
Web1 vs web2 vs web3
Web1
Let’s start with the beginnings of the Internet, this stage could include between the 90s and 2000s, in which websites were static and did not allow any user interaction, so it could be said that the main characteristic of this era was non-interaction. , read-only websites.
Web2
This era could occur between the early 2000s, until the present day (2023), this is where users begin to interact with websites, begin to publish comments, upload images, social networks such as MySpace, Facebook, or more are born. Forward Instagram or Twitter, here users can upload photos, videos, publish news, interact with other users. So this era was mainly characterized by interaction, websites were now read and write.
Web3
And this brings us to web3 development , this has all the characteristics of its predecessors, 1 and 2, but it also brings us decentralization, and this is the main characteristic of this Internet, control would no longer be in the hands of a few. few to pass into the hands of their creators and Internet users, for example, instead of Instagram being the owner of the photos you upload, you would be the owner and thus each user of the network, for this, this website uses the blockchain technology , and is based on token exchange .
So now that you know a little about the history and differences between the types of Internet that have existed, let’s take an in-depth look at the main features of web3 .
Blockchain
Surely you have heard of this word, which in its translation into Spanish means ‘block chain’ . And it is a kind of database where we store information, but defining it as just that falls short. Let’s see why it is really important and different from a conventional database.
Human beings need to store certified information all the time, every hour, minute and second, and until now this was a job that humans themselves did. But, humans have 2 defects when it comes to working with information and more if it is important, we are slow and corruptible, that is, we can change some data to benefit some cousin we have out there.
The blockchain solves this , how? We have already said that it is a chain of blocks, in which information is stored in each block, each block consists of 3 parts:
The information itself, for example, if it were Bitcoin we would talk about the transaction, amount, date, etc.
A hash , which is a unique and unrepeatable code that represents the block, and is formed from the content, and the latter is very important, now you will see.
And it also contains the hash of the previous block , thus forming the chain we had talked about.
If it is done by a secure computer that is faster than a human, but a computer system has a vulnerability and it can be hacked , then how is the blockchain protected from this?
It does this through its own architecture, we have said that each block contained the hash of the previous block, and this hash is generated from the content, so if a user modifies the content of a block, that block will no longer fit with the rest, and here comes the good thing, being a decentralized system, thousands of users have a copy of this blockchain, therefore, they will compare it with that of the user who has modified that information and since it is not the same, it will be discarded.
Therefore blockchain is useful because first and foremost, it is extremely secure due to its architecture and the number of users it is monitoring at all times.
Wallets
Or better known in Spanish as a wallet or purse, it is the place where we can store our tokens, cryptocurrencies or even NFTs (we will talk about these later). It’s a kind of safe.
This wallet can exist in 2 forms
software (Metamask, Coinbase Wallet), this form is also known as hot wallets .
hardware (Ledger, Trezor), this form is also known as cold wallets .
The difference is that hot wallets are connected to the Internet, while cold wallets are not. In addition, the former will also help us authenticate ourselves in services that use web3 development services on the Internet.
These wallets have 2 keys, the public and the private. We can give the public to anyone to receive tokens, payments, NFTs, etc. While we must keep the private one ourselves and NEVER give it to anyone, since whoever has this key will be able to access all the assets inside the wallet.
And now comes the main course, what is a cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrencies
The most famous of all is Bitcoin, which was created in 2009, and which uses technologies such as P2P, HashCash (which is a Proof of Work technology ) and Blockchain . This allows the payment of person-to-person transactions without intermediaries, that is, without banks, which would generate an economic revolution.
Since then, more than 10,000 crypto-assets have been created, such as Ethereum, Solana or VeChain , for example, the latter is designed for the verification of items, that is, to fight against counterfeits that brands such as Rolex or Louis Vuitton may suffer, a totally different use than Bitcoin.
NFTs
Digital art? Monkeys? Collecting? Trash? There are many preconceived concepts about this technology in which its acronym comes to mean ( Non Fungible Token ). They use the same technology as Bitcoin, and what that means is that it is a unique, digital item that can be sold or bought, but not divided as happens with Bitcoin for example, and by using the blockchain its authenticity is ensured.
Example of NFTs, in this case the famous collection of monkeys.
These, like Bitcoin or other crypto-assets, can be stored in a wallet, and their value can increase or decrease just like the art paintings that collectors buy.
There is another type of NFT , which is non-transferable, that is, it cannot be sold or exchanged, and this type is very useful for issuing academic degrees or the ownership of a home, for example.
The most useful thing about this technology is its security and ability to verify authenticity, enjoying all the advantages of the blockchain but without being able to be divided into smaller parts.
DeFi
This name will surely sound familiar to fewer people, but it is the acronym that receives the English translation of Decentralized Finance .
It refers to a set of financial applications and services based on blockchain that operate in a decentralized manner and without centralized intermediaries.
For example, right here we can see decentralized banks, decentralized exchanges , loans assured with cryptocurrencies and decentralized investment products.
The idea behind DeFi is to offer a extra handy, stable and obvious opportunity to traditional monetary services.
Like any investment product, I suggest warning if one day you’re going to enter this world and seek advice from a professional.
And we have reached the part that everyone has been waiting for, how to make money playing video games, finally!
Play-to-earn games
P2E games are games that allow players to earn rewards in the form of crypto-assets or NFTs by playing.
In those video games, players carry out responsibilities or complete in-game goals to earn some of those digital properties with actual-international cost through promoting them.
This approach differs from traditional games where players purchase or earn virtual currencies within the game. But these coins have no value outside of the game.
For example, we can play a game and obtain NFTs from the characters, or tokens within the same game, in real life this token can have a value and exchange it for money.
But I’m sorry to tell you that you aren’t going to turn out to be a millionaire playing games, you would must spend many hours and additionally if the price of the game token drops you would now not earn a whole lot.
Some of the most popular games on this regard are Axie Infinity , Splinterlands or F1 Delta Time .
Conclusions
As you can see, the possibilities are endless and web3 opens a new world for everyone on the Internet and the real world. I hope this article helps you gain greater knowledge about this world.
But remember that each part is very extensive, so I encourage you to continue investigating.
