For several years we have been hearing about Web 3.0 or Web 3. Understood as a new stage in the evolution of the Internet, with changes and updates never seen before, it is a technological promise that seems to be somehow fulfilled.
After the minimal interaction between people that Web 1.0 entailed (at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century), in the following years the explosion of the Internet gave rise to the so-called Web 2.0.
This second stage, made up of a series of advances that give greater prominence to social participation, has been characterized by the proliferation of blogs, social networks and applications that speed up interaction between people.
That is why Web 3 comes to change the Internet that we know today, to make it more interactive, decentralized and autonomous.
But What is Web 3?
“In Web3 data will be interconnected in a decentralized way, which would be a big step forward in our current generation of Internet (Web 2.0), where data is mostly stored in centralized repositories,” reads the majority of the media dealing with the issue.
The goal is to use programs with the ability to understand information both conceptually and contextually. Thus, the use of the semantic web is proposed, a concept that Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the World Wide Web (WWW), presented years ago as one of the main pillars of Web 3.0.
Berners-Lee proposed the semantic web as a way to overcome the limitations of the current web. With it, explicit descriptions of the meaning of the data handled with technological innovations are introduced into the internal and global structure of the content and services available on the Internet.
To function in this way, Web3 relies on artificial intelligence (AI), Big Data, the Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchains, among other technologies. Siri and Alexa are clear examples of the conjunction of these technologies.
Web 3 and Its Main Tools
In the midst of the above debate, there are many projects with blockchains that have been developing their infrastructure, in order to move towards the long-awaited decentralization that Web 3 promises.
They operate like this, on the main layer of a blockchain, services and products with a variety of functions focused on dApps and DeFi. To these innovations are now added the NFTs and metaverses, among other advances.
We have an example in the Bitcoin sidechain, RSK, which through its RIF On Chain (ROC) platform, launched in early 2021, extended its technology to create a DeFi ecosystem backed by platform tokens.
The goal? Take new steps towards decentralization and prepare for Web 3, as highlighted on Twitter by the IOV Labs team, in charge of the projects running on RSK. Hence the development of a variety of services that enrich Web 3, also known as the “Internet of value.”
In particular, the new ROC protocol is based on decentralized storage, transparency and privacy in transactions, together with tokens and wallets as new means of payment.
They are the essential digital resources for the operation of a blockchain platform. They serve as precursors of the new Internet. Let’s get to know these 4 tools below:
Decentralized storage
The basic idea behind decentralized storage is to share files and data through a peer-to-peer connection.
The basic principle is to create a network of distributed computers capable of working together to host and retrieve fragmented and encrypted information, so that network users have it available when they need it, wherever they are.
It is the system used by Swarm and IPFS (Inter Planetary File System or interplanetary file system), which are P2P protocols that dispense with the controls and limitations of the central services that predominate in Web2.
In particular, IPFS promises to become an alternative to the HTTP Protocol. The reason is that the IPFS model reverses the centralized operation that stores Web data on a single server, and replaces it with a system that processes cryptographic hashes linked to an address.
With a similar purpose, they operate RIF Storage, developed by IOV Labs, which also incorporates an incentive system called RIF Pinning. Decentralized storage is also offered by other networks, such as Filecoin, Storj, and Sia.
These services are intended to pave the way for the Internet to be less controlled by individual actors or governments.
Smart contracts
The concept of smart contracts was first defined by computer engineer Nick Szabo in 1994, as “a computer protocol capable of executing clauses of a contract”.
He was referring to agreements that are automatically enforceable once the parties agree to the terms. A technology that came to life with the birth of Bitcoin and gained notoriety with Ethereum.
Smart contracts aim to make daily life easier, more efficient and less expensive, by automating common processes and eliminating intermediaries.
Blockchain-based digital identity
Digital identity (ID) is considered a crucial tool for the architecture of Web 3 based on blockchains, where new mechanisms are needed to make themselves known and move around the network.
This ID differs from the multiple digital identifiers that we currently use on Internet platforms, as it does not depend on third parties to handle personal account information and tries to guarantee security and privacy.
Among the solutions that have emerged for this purpose, we can mention the decentralized autonomous identity system (SSID), conceived by the RSK team and launched last March. It is a scheme to manage digital identities in which the user has control and ownership over their identity and allows web application developers to integrate blockchain technologies.
The digital economy on the Web 3
In the blockchain world, the main resources to create value are tokens, through which the digital economy of each platform is developed. These digital assets, created in the likeness of currencies, are a fundamental part of the design of a blockchain.
The tokens enable payments within the platforms and facilitate user participation. The purpose of the tokens is to enable a specific network and catalyze its growth, but they also serve as a mechanism to invest in other assets.
Consequently, the new unit of value goes further. It is related to the fact that the token can digitally represent a real tradable asset, such as gold, oil, stocks, real estate and anything else that has an exchange value. This process brings a new dynamic to the economy within Web3, and although it is still in its infancy, it is totally different from what is experienced in Web2 today.
The circuit is closed when the users of this emerging Internet complement this possibility of independently managing the value represented by the tokens, moving them through their digital portfolios (wallets).
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