Web 3.0: What Is It? What Use Cases Does Web 3.0 Have? What are its applications?

What is Web 3.0?

One of the hottest topics right now is Web 3.0, a decentralized concept. It is an open-source platform with the goals of enhancing user experience, offering customization, and facilitating simple accessibility.

Web3, in other words, is the most recent iteration of the internet that uses ML/AI, blockchain, and the semantic web to enable real-time communication between people. The following are some exciting aspects of web 3.0:

• Web3 is open-source because it contains freely available open-source software.
• Web3 networks lack access restrictions.
• It provides a trustless environment, allowing users the freedom to communicate both publicly and privately without the use of any middlemen.
• Only one profile would need to be created for all platforms.
• Because it is an open platform, users can transfer their assets to any place in the world.
• Because Web3 is visible, it guarantees that the internet is accessible from any place at any time using any device.

Need For Web 3.0

Due to Web 2.0's static nature and lack of interactive features, "web3.0" is an increasingly necessary next-generation technology.

The drawback of Web 2.0 is that some notable giants, including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, etc., offered users only a limited amount of data management, which provoked a host of issues, including hacking, data leakage, privacy issues, etc.

Customers frequently hold these big and small businesses responsible for risking their privacy. Numerous complaints have been made about such large companies, including Google's data privacy issues and Amazon's aggressive business practices, which have prompted the need for strict safety measures.

Blockchain, the main technology behind Web3, has now been introduced and serves as a dynamic, safe, and interactive web version.
There are no centralised databases or web servers in Web 3.0. Data is distributed across multiple devices and securely stored, resulting in fewer data leaks and giving users complete ownership of the data. Furthermore, it reduces reliance on intermediaries.

Now that you've learned what Web 3.0 is and why it's so important in this day and age, it's time to learn about its applications.

The Metaverse, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), blockchain, the creator economy, and other concepts are examples of popular Web 3 use cases. These buzzwords are so appealing that no one can help but tend to be drawn toward web3.0.

Continue reading to learn about web3's practical aspects and some of its applications!

Decentralised Autonomous Organizations (DAOs)

DAO is an acronym which stands for Decentralised Autonomous Organisation, which is defined as a group of people coming together with ownership. It is one of the most significant Web 3.0 use cases. DAO uses smart contracts to ensure autonomy in counting votes and making decisions without the use of intermediaries. Through these smart contracts, the concept of corporate governance has also been introduced in the virtual world, and there is no requirement for CEOs or company presidents.

DAO members (from all over the world) purchase a governance token to become eligible to vote on decisions. All of these decisions or sets of rules are encoded as code in smart contracts, which serve as the DAO's backbone (decentralized autonomous organization).

The intriguing thing about smart contracts is that they are irrevocable once they go live on technology like Ethereum. These, however, can only be altered by group members' votes. If in any instance, someone violates the rules or code stated in the smart contract, it will be useless. However, the funds can only be spent with the agreement of the DAO group. As a result, any action must first be approved by DAO members.

DAO is entirely in the hands of its members, who make decisions collectively rather than through any central authority.

Below Are Some Of The Use Cases For Dao:

• Charity- Donations are welcomed worldwide and the group members have complete freedom to decide where and how they want to use these donations.
• Freelancer network - A number of contractors pool their funds for software subscriptions and office spaces.
• Ventures and grants - A venture fund is created for investment capital and repaid money is distributed amongst DAO members.

Decentralised Finance

The other major application of web3 is decentralised finance, often known as DeFi. First and foremost, consider the operation of traditional financial banks. Assume a person lends money to a bank at a certain interest rate, and the bank then lends that money to another bank user who needs money, and the borrower is required to deposit the specified interest rate with the bank. In this method, neither the lender nor the borrower knows how much interest the bank offers or takes. That is, traditional banking is based on the centralised authority and is not transparent.

On the other hand, DeFi has a transparent operation of lending and borrowing in the form of crypto assets via decentralised financial applications. DeFi is based on three fundamental pillars:

1. Cryptography
2. Blockchain
3. Smart contracts

Decentralised financial applications, often known as DeFi apps or dApps, are software applications that are linked to a set of smart contracts. In this case, smart contracts operate as a mediator, holding crypto assets such as USD coins, Ether coins, Tether coins, Bitcoin, and so on. The fact that dApps are created on open blockchain networks allows for involvement from people all over the world.

Crypto owners can lend or borrow coins using DeFi without the need for an intermediary. In this approach, the entire amount of interest owed on the loan is paid straight to the lender.
DeFi is based on blockchain technology and a worldwide network, and it may be used by anyone from all over the world. It enables peer-to-peer digital transactions as well as instant and borderless transactions. DeFi enables payment blockchains that enhance conventional payment systems.

You may effortlessly utilise, access, audit, improve, and build financial services with DeFi. There is no disputing that DeFi is quickly becoming one of the most beneficial web3 applications, focusing only on making transactions transparent and creating the lucrative potential for financial systems.

Some of DeFi's notable features include:

• Open-source (accessible to everybody, including those without bank accounts)
• Reduced transaction fees
• Transparent (every person can track their money as to where and when it is being used)
• There is no centralised authority (i.e., you are the one who is managing your own money).
• Permission-less (institutes do not decide to whom these services will be given and to whom not)
• There is no need for KYC.
• Encryption-based privacy and security

Blockchain Games

Blockchain-based games are another significant application of web3.0. Because blockchain is the technology underlying these games, it provides access to the virtual world and individualised economies, as well as genuine ownership of in-game items. It also allows you to move in-game objects to other games.

What an Interesting Thing!

Consider playing any blockchain-based game and purchasing any in-game assets such as avatars, weapons, tools, and so on; this grants you full ownership of such items. Because it is owned with NFTs, you can freely swap them for fiat currency or move them to other games. The decentralised technology underlying this allows players complete control over the entire gaming experience.

Scroll Down to Discover the Potential of Blockchain Games!

• Real ownership: As previously stated, blockchain-based games provide players with real ownership of in-game assets (represented as unique NFTs).
• Interoperability and metaverses: Players can sell their NFTs in other blockchain-based games.
• Fair play: Blockchain games provide open, distributed, and transparent ecosystems in which players control game dynamics.

Some of the most popular blockchain-based games in 2022 include:

• Axie Infinity
• Blankos Block Party
• Upland
• Mobox
• Lightnite
• Gods Unchained
• CryptoKitties
• Sandbox and many more

Metaverse 

Another significant application of web3.0 is the upcoming technology known as Metaverse. Many corporations, including Facebook, have already presented the Metaverse concept, although it has yet to be fully explored.

The metaverse is a virtual version of any society in which individuals use digital avatars to represent themselves and connect with other avatars in the virtual world. The interesting aspect here is that this is doable with a few pieces of equipment, such as virtual reality headsets and controllers.

VR, AR, AI, social media, and digital currency create a solid basis for the metaverse to navigate a virtual world that replicates the physical world. You can use your digital currency to purchase anything, including clothing, weapons, and so on. It could be more entertaining to view it on the internet rather than on the PC. This would give you a realistic and interesting experience.

Facebook, Microsoft, Epic Games, and many other companies have made use of the metaverse concept. Without a doubt, the metaverse is one of the top web3 applications that incorporate decentralisation and the creative economy.

Some of the exciting aspects of the metaverse are:

• It encourages everyone to have equal access.
• The Metaverse provides complete control over the experience.
• It promises a decentralised virtual world.

Creator Economy

Do you know?

The creator economy is thriving, and it will get more than $1.3 billion in funding in 2022. In the following years, the creative economy is predicted to grow from 50 million to 100 million. This is a massive sum!

What exactly is the creator economy?

On the other hand, the community of content creators monetizes their expertise. Bloggers, writers, YouTubers, influencers, artists, and developers are examples of content creators and curators. Many large-scale ventures are investing in this economy because of the long-term profit. To entice creators, platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok have already launched creator funds, tools, and resources.

How Is Web3 Changing the Creator Economy?

Currently, on web2, content creators or curators monetize their work through advertising, affiliate advertising, and sponsorship deals. However, no trust has been established between the inventors and the company. Web3 will alter the entire scenario because it is decentralised and does not require intermediaries.

Web3 is a new and exciting platform for the creative economy, allowing creators to construct and own communities. NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are important highlights of the creator economy. These NFTs will provide creators and their work with a distinct identity, ultimately granting them full ownership. 

The creator economy, one of the top web3 use cases, provides monetization opportunities and the ability for creators to trade their work through royalty payments. Smart contracts can be used by NFT owners to track sales and royalty commissions.

Conclusion

The third generation of the internet, known as Web3, will have a significant impact on how we use the internet today. The blockchain technology introduced in Web3 will decentralise everything, allowing consumers to become owners of their assets. All of the web3 use cases stated above provide a clear vision of how we will experience the internet in the future with technologies such as VR, AI/ML, AR, and MR.