If the tech movement known as Web3 represents the internet’s next big gold mine, then why aren’t we hearing more about the truly useful applications that will be built on this new platform? And why aren’t more developers flocking to it to make their fortune?
Those questions hang uncomfortably over Web3 as the boom in crypto assets — which supposedly greases the wheels of the new applications this movement will create — rages on. Something like $1tn has leaked out of the crypto bubble since November, but there is still $2tn left. What are the ultimate uses of these digital assets that justify such a large number?
The case for Web3 rests on the belief that a blockchain-based technology platform will become the foundation for a new class of applications, with digital tokens mediating interactions of all kinds in a so-called “trustless” online world. There will be no digital gatekeepers to set the rules or take the lion’s share of the profits. Users will be in…
