In 2023, the excitement of the grand metaverse dream—a virtual, augmented-reality online existence championed by tech giants including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg—vanished. While the concept had gained early traction among tech enthusiasts, most consumers didn’t get the appeal. As investors started pulling back on metaverse investments and flocking to generative AI, many business leaders were left questioning the broader value of Web3.
In short, Web3 is the vision of a decentralized, user-owned Internet built on three foundational technologies: blockchain (a distributed ledger); smart contracts (the ability to execute agreements without third party oversight); and tokens or tokenization (digital representations of assets, such as nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, stablecoins, cryptocurrencies or tokenized real-world assets). Despite the disillusionment of the past year, there are green shoots of value in this space, with a shift away from the casino mindset that pervaded in Web3’s earliest days and toward chasing real-world value.
