GLOSSARY · BLOCKCHAIN & WEB3
Web3
What Web3 is: the internet where users control identity and assets with a wallet, the technologies behind it and what it offers a business today.
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What is Web3?
Web3 is a decentralized internet paradigm based on blockchain technologies that allows users to interact with, own and operate digital applications and assets directly, without relying on centralized intermediaries. On a technical level, Web3 is made up of a set of protocols, libraries and standards (such as web3.js, ethers.js, WalletConnect or SIWE, among others) that enable direct communication between frontend interfaces (usually in JavaScript or frameworks such as React) and blockchain networks (Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, etc.).
These tools allow Web3 applications to read chain information, sign transactions, connect to wallets (such as MetaMask, Ledger or Rainbow), manage decentralized identities (DID), interact with smart contracts and build experiences where the user owns their data, tokens and permissions. Web3 allows use cases such as governance in DAOs, decentralized exchanges (DEX), NFT marketplaces, blockchain games, decentralized finance (DeFi), asset tokenization, and sovereign digital identity.
In addition, Web3 integrates passwordless authentication mechanisms (Sign In With Ethereum), open infrastructure such as IPFS or Arweave for decentralized storage, and reputation systems based on on-chain activity. Its development is closely linked to standards such as ERC-20, ERC-721, ERC-1155, and languages such as Solidity. It also poses challenges in terms of scalability, UX, regulation and adoption, but it represents a radical change towards an internet where control passes from the server to the user, from the intermediary to the contract, and from centralized data to data verifiable by all.
Learn more: What Is Blockchain and How Does It Work? Types, Real Examples and Limits
Explained simply
Web3 is the new way of using the Internet in which you have control. Instead of relying on companies like Google or Facebook to save your data or allow you to access services, Web3 allows you to connect directly to applications using your own wallet. You can buy, sell, vote, play or invest without intermediaries and with greater privacy.
You will also see it written as web 3.0: both names refer to the same idea — the decentralized, user-owned evolution of the internet — although “web 3.0” is sometimes also used for the older semantic-web concept.
Web3: key points
- It is the evolution of the internet based on blockchain
- Users control their data and assets through wallets
- Allows you to interact directly with smart contracts
- Uses libraries such as
web3.js,ethers.jsorWalletConnect - It is the basis for dApps, DeFi, NFTs, DAOs and tokenization
Web3: advantages
- Real decentralization: eliminates intermediaries and single points of failure
- User autonomy: full control over your assets and personal data
- Transparency and traceability: everything happens on blockchain, visible and auditable
- Permissionless innovation: anyone can create dApps or tokens without asking for authorization
- Integrated economy: users can directly monetize their participation
Web3: disadvantages
- Still complex user experience: requires learning about wallets, gas, signatures
- Transaction costs in congested networks
- Security risks if contracts are not audited
- Regulation still uncertain in many jurisdictions
- Fragmentation of the ecosystem: multiple blockchains and evolving standards
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