What exactly is Web3.0? Why is it considered the future of the internet, and what investment potential does it contain?

As the enthusiasm for Web3.0 continues to rise, many projects are starting to raise funds under the banner of “Web3.0,” which makes it difficult for ordinary investors to distinguish between genuine and fake projects, and even makes them vulnerable to scams. This article will systematically analyze the essence, value, and application prospects of Web3.0 to help investors identify projects that truly possess Web3.0 attributes.

The Evolution Logic of Web3.0: From Vision to Reality

To understand Web3.0, it is necessary to review the perspectives of two key figures. Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, proposed his vision in 2006, believing that the future of the internet should give users full control over their data. Eight years later, in 2014, Gavin Wood, co-founder of Ethereum, redefined Web3.0, emphasizing that it should be a censorship-resistant, anti-monopoly, low-threshold network infrastructure capable of protecting user privacy through cryptography.

In short, Web3.0 is the nickname for the third-generation internet, with blockchain as its core technological framework, aiming to return data ownership, control, and revenue rights entirely to end users.

Since Web3.0 is built on blockchain technology, it naturally possesses characteristics such as decentralization, immutability, traceability, transparency, permissionless access, and trustlessness. These features fundamentally change the logic of how the internet operates.

The Core Problems Solved by Web3.0

Currently, the internet has an invisible but widespread problem: a severe imbalance in the distribution of benefits between users and platforms.

Take content creators as an example. A blogger posting financial commentary on a social media platform accumulates influence through likes, comments, and shares, then monetizes through advertising and commercial collaborations. On the surface, it appears to be a win-win situation, but in reality, there are multiple hidden risks: Does the content ownership belong to the creator? How are advertising revenues distributed? Will user data held by the platform be misused? These issues were almost impossible to solve in the Web2.0 era.

The emergence of blockchain and smart contracts provides a solution. Web3.0 aims to achieve data security, property protection, privacy rights, and user autonomous control through technological means. In simple terms, its mission is to address the problems left by Web1.0 static web pages and Web2.0 platform monopolies, eliminate unnecessary intermediaries, and restore value to users.

From an economic perspective, if platforms continue to exploit user rights, it will inevitably lead to user attrition, making it impossible for the platform to sustain long-term development. Therefore, granting users ownership rights is also a form of self-rescue for the platform.

Differences Between Web3.0, Web2.0, and Web1.0

The internet has gone through three eras, each with significant differences in user participation, data control, and economic models:

The Technical Ecosystem of Web3.0, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and NFT

Currently, the industry discusses many concepts related to Web3.0, including blockchain, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, metaverse, DeFi, etc. Understanding their relationships is crucial.

From an architecture perspective, blockchain is the underlying infrastructure, Web3.0 is the upper-level vision, and cryptocurrencies, NFTs, DeFi, and the metaverse are specific applications of Web3.0 in different scenarios.

The goal of Web3.0 is to enable users to have complete ownership of their data, assets, and identities, including usage rights, transfer rights, and revenue rights. Achieving this requires:

• Technical layer: Blockchain provides immutable accounting capabilities
• Financial layer: Cryptocurrencies and NFTs serve as value carriers and exchange tools
• Application layer: Smart contracts execute automatically, and decentralized applications provide services

In simple terms: blockchain is the foundation, cryptocurrencies and NFTs are tokens, and Web3.0 is the ultimate vision.

Investment Landscape of the Web3.0 Track

According to market data, the total market capitalization of the Web3.0 sector is about $23 billion, accounting for 2.18% of the entire cryptocurrency market, ranking 59th among all sectors. Although the proportion is small, there are over 200 related projects.

Projects truly worth paying attention to should have the following characteristics:

1. Solve practical problems: Addressing urgent scenarios in Web3.0, such as infrastructure, data storage, cross-chain communication
2. Have substantial progress: Not just empty hype, but products or protocols already in operation
3. Strong moat: High technical barriers and robust ecosystem effects

Some well-known projects in the market include:

• Polkadot (DOT): Cross-chain protocol
• Chainlink (LINK): Oracle services
• ApeCoin (APE): Community governance token
• Filecoin (FIL): Decentralized storage

Compared to smaller projects, DOT, LINK, and FIL are more capable of resisting market cycles because they address core infrastructure and storage needs of Web3.0, maintaining value during bear markets and having explosive potential during bull markets.

Long-term Outlook and Investment Advice for Web3.0

Although the concept of Web3.0 has been around for a long time, its systematic development has only been a few years, and the current scale is relatively small. It is foreseeable that this track may experience bubbles in the short term—similar to the early development of artificial intelligence, which was once highly sought after by capital and then fell out of favor. However, this does not negate the ultimate value of Web3.0.

The key distinction is: Web3.0 addresses real market dilemmas, not false needs.

The current achievements in the Web3.0 field have not yet met expectations, but this is only the initial stage of development. As blockchain technology matures, regulatory frameworks improve, and application scenarios land, the potential of Web3.0 will gradually become apparent.

Therefore, for investors optimistic about this track, it is recommended to allocate small amounts within their risk tolerance, focusing on projects with tangible applications and technical accumulation rather than blindly chasing concepts.