Web3: Capabilities and Limitations

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16 Jan 2024

Web3 is a huge advancement over its previous iterations. While Web 2 was the “socially interactive Web,” Web 3 is the better version, capable of comprehending information in a human-like manner.
Capabilities/Pros:

Data ownership: In Web2, if, for example, an in-game item is bought, that item is tied to the account, but if that account was lost or the game was deleted, that item was lost, and money was wasted. However, in Web3, these items come as NFTs, non-fungible tokens, and they stay with the owner no matter what happens to the game. A key aspect of NFTs is that they have a value, and while this value may not be what it was purchased for, the owner still retains some or maybe even more than what he paid for it.
Use of Blockchain/Crypto: The use of crypto as finance allows transactions to take place reliably, securely, and transparently. This is because all transactions are recorded on the public ledger, and the blockchain itself is rather immune to hacking, making it secure. Compared to Web2, which relies on third parties and is unreliable since it requires trust from the user, Web3 is trustless because it doesn’t require users to trust the blockchain.
Semantic Web/AI: The Semantic Web is a system where machines/computers can understand human-like prompts and respond swiftly. This system involves the use of AI, which adapts to prompts given by the user and improves its responses. Many applications today already have such a system, like ChatGPT or Bard.
Decentralized: The fact that Web3 is decentralized prevents owners of websites and social media from censoring content, but the network isn’t completely decentralized. For example, in Web2, tweets can be censored by the owners of Twitter, but in Web3, this couldn’t occur because control is decentralized. Additionally, it prevents regulations from being set because, as before, control is decentralized, so regulations can’t be set. Although some regulations may actually be good for the system,

Limitations/Negatives:

Complexity: Many parts of Web3 can be confusing, especially in regard to the use of blockchain and crypto. Due to this, many people may be discouraged from using Web3, as using it would require a decent knowledge of blockchain and crypto.
Scalability: Crypto must be able to process transactions quickly, like current banking systems such as Visa. However, cryptocurrencies are still struggling with scaling issues as they try to increase the number of transactions per second. This is critical because, as the number of people who use crypto increases, there needs to be a system that operates smoothly and swiftly to process transactions and other applications.
Cost: While there is no prerequisite for using Web3, using blockchain has some costs associated with it, specifically gas fees. These fees can vary based on the cryptocurrency, but some of the larger cryptocurrencies have rather large fees. Due to this, many may be prevented from fully using Web3, or at least the crypto part of it.

While Web3 is a huge advancement, offering new possibilities, it is still being researched, and improvements are still being made.
If you want to learn more, check out the links below:
Web2 vs Web3
Introduction to Web3
Thank You for Reading
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