Concept of a World Wide Web based on public blockchains
This article is about the concept of a World Wide Web based on public blockchains. For the concept based around machine-readability, also called Web 3.0, see Semantic Web.
Web3 (also known as Web 3.0)[1][2][3] is an idea for a new iteration of the World Wide Web which incorporates concepts such as decentralization, blockchain technologies, and token-based economics.[4] This is distinct from Tim Berners-Lee's concept of the Semantic Web. Some technologists and journalists have contrasted it with Web 2.0, wherein they say data and content are centralized in a small group of companies sometimes referred to as "Big Tech".[5] The term "Web3" was coined in 2014 by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood, and the idea gained interest in 2021 from cryptocurrency enthusiasts, large technology companies, and venture capital firms.[5][6] The concepts of Web3 were first represented in 2013.[7][8]
Critics have expressed concerns over the centralization of wealth to a small group of investors and individuals,[9] or a loss of privacy due to more expansive data collection.[10] Billionaires like Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey have argued that Web3 only serves as a buzzword or marketing term.[11][12][13]
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^Fenwick, Mark and Jurcys, Paulius, The Contested Meaning of Web3 and Why it Matters for (IP) Lawyers (January 27, 2022). Available at SSRN: SSRN4017790 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4017790