As we are approaching a new frontier of internet consumerism driven by a decentralized network like cryptocurrencies and the metaverse.
Eary adopters and investors in web3 could hit jackpot and make a huge profit if invest the right way. Let’s see how the unraveling of web3 can turn people into potential millionaires if it goes viral.
What is Web3?
When looking at Web3 you’ll soon realize that the term is merely in its infancy. The entire process of building out the nextgen internet platform is at an ideation stage and does not necessarily exist yet. So far the term has been based around a collection of JS libraries and has been closely tied to Blockchain and the Metaverse.
With the current technology on our hands, Web3 works as a connector to a lightweight protocol called JSON RPC that is tied to a remote or local Ethereum node with either an HTTP or IPC connection.
To put this into simpler terms, Web3 is meant to be a decentralized autonomous system that relies on the blockchain. If someone were to create a platform or an app on Web3, it won’t be owned by a central gatekeeper, but rather by users, who will earn their ownership stake by helping to develop and maintain those services.
NPR gives a good example of web3. One has to imagine it as a kind of bookkeeping where different computers host all the data simultaneously at once. An average web3 browser will be given something called a “token” for participation, which he or she can use for voting decisions, giving value to real-time data.
How can people enter Web3?
So far, entering Web3 as it is still an unclear concept, and it’s not as easy as simply typing something into a Chrome bar. Just like with Web2.0, there are search engines like Google, Yahoo or Bing to make your use of the internet seamless and easy. But for web3, these services have limited capacities.
For the time being, with our existing technologies on the market, the best way to enter web3 is through different separate platforms that involve the ether blockchain:
Enter through the Opera Wallet
The first and most common choice to access Web3 is with the Opera Crypto Browser on PC. With a digital wallet that you can set up with your Metamask, Coinbase or Binance account to interact or send your transactions on the Web.
Installing the Web3. js package
If you are a developer, Web3.js is the official library, from the Ethereum foundation. It is currently the best way to develop a website/client application that interacts with the Ethereum blockchain’s JSON RPC via HTTP, WebSocket, or IPC connection.
The Metaverse
While some people argue that the Metaverse is not entirely a web3 concept, the payment gateway made through metaverse platforms like Decentraland and Sandbox is definitely the next step in its growth. The concept of these platforms is to browse, interact and enjoy the virtual worlds. But for those seeking to make money, purchasing digital land is the mainstream.
In order to do that you’d need a crypto wallet, mainly one that is powered by Ethereum, known as “gas” which is the service fee you pay for crypto miners.
How can you invest in Web3?
Now to the main question at hand.
Let’s assume that web3 will blow up in the future, making early entrants and investors a fortune, just like with the early days of Bitcoin. If that would be the case in the next 10 or 20 years, how can you invest in web3?
While you can use different crypto browsers to test out the platform as mentioned earlier, there are three major ways you can invest in web3!
Invest in stocks
The easiest way to stack wealth, if you believe in the growth of web3, is to invest in companies that operate with it. The two biggest developers of web3 that are on the stock exchange are Binance and Coinbase.
Invest in Crypto
Crypto will be the medium of exchange in every decentralized platform. If you want to make money and use fiat currency as a medium of exchange, crypto will be your way to go. But which ones should you invest in?
While everyone is familiar with Etherium’s gargantuan impact in web3, there are other, smaller fiat currencies you can check and monitor on the web. Be aware that smaller cryptos are highly volatile and can cost you all your savings!
While the Metaverse is a fun gaming experience, many companies have their eyes on it as a great place to host events, conferences, hackathons, and webinars. This couldpotential pump the price of cryptos being used in various virtual lands to the moon!
Invest in NFT’s
The digital landgrab is on!
And on these lands, we are seeking the means of solidifying ownership of digital products like images, gifs, videos, and snippets.
The concept, “digital artist” has found new meaning through NFT’s (non-fungible-tokens) where any relevant moment or piece of art can be owned virtually through the blockchain as a certificate.
When will web3 become mainstream?
The future is hard to tell… but there are strong assumptions that web3 might not go mainstream just yet!
Web 3.0 is still in an ideation stage with loose figures and meanings. While the idea of a decentralized network is quite possible and already in progress, web3 will not go mainstream in the near future. Why is that?
It is simple. There are three reasons for it:
- There is no need for it at the moment! Without a demand for this technology, it will not drive investors, advertiser,s and big companies to leap at the opportunity and move away from tech giants like Google, Meta or Microsoft.
- In the public’s perception, web3 is still an ambiguous and mysterious term. If you ask people about Google, they’ll most likely be able to tell that it’s a search engine that satisfies their thirst for information. But what does web 3.0 provide us. While it does not have a publicly available service like a social media platform or search engine, it is pretty much useless at the moment for non-crypto and blockchain fans.
- Web2 provides everything the public needs so far! Web3 is just a useless concept for the majority of people who feels comfortable with their data being stored by corporations.
Final conclusion to investing in web3
Now we come to the part of whether you should empty your digital wallet and start spending.
There can be two outcomes and both depend on the amount you’re willing to risk. With large sums of money thrown at stocks or cryptos that deal with web3, there can be only huge wins or huge losses.
As an investor, placing small bets on different platforms should be a safe way to go. If web3 grows beyond anticipation, there will be room to invest more. For the time being web3 is still in a sense, an idea that is going through several projects. It will take a few years if not an entire decade for it go truly viral!
Robert is a part-time blogger and internet entrepreneur. Join Robert and thousands of other monthly readers to learn how to build and scale up the next-gen of online entrepreneurship. While running this blog, Robert is the founder of his media company, Times International, and a PR Team Lead at Lensa.