Internet Revolution: Investing in Web 3.0 through crypto
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Static, noninteractive, and one-sided best describes the worldwide web between the 1990s-2000s. This non-user-centric era was known as Web 1.0. It was popular for introducing search engines like Yahoo Answers. However, an invention termed by O'Reilly as Web 2.0 revolutionized that phase.
Web 2.0 disrupted the web by prioritizing users. People could now interact with the content they liked. They could also express their displeasure. Social networking services opened up many new possibilities as well. Users also got into the content production game, leading to a rise in User-Generated Content (UGC). No longer did website owners have a monopoly over content creation.
After two decades of enjoying these benefits, another revolution is coming to the web. We are shifting to Web 3.0.
But what is Web 3.0, what does blockchain have to do with it, and how can you invest in it?
What is Web 3.0?
The term Web 3.0 was coined by Dr. Gavin Wood, the co-founder of Ethereum. The premise of Web 3.0 is that it becomes permissionless, open, and trustless:
- Permissionless means that anything can be adopted on the web as far as the community wants it. With bitcoin, you don’t need a bank anymore. With NFTs, anyone can own exclusive rights to their artworks while being well-compensated for it. There is no need for a centralized body like the government.
- Open means that an accessible, transparent community of developers will create an open source and readily accessible software. Ethereum and Cardano are examples of such software.
- Trustless means that the protocol itself permits interaction between community members without a trusted third party such as big tech. Internet 3.0 allows machines and users to interact with data and value through peer-to-peer networks without an intermediary.
In Internet 3.0, through the help of machine learning and artificial intelligence, business model computers can interpret, generate, and distribute content tailored to the user’s particular needs. Chances are that you have already experienced some of Web3’s benefits.
Remember the last time you bought a product on Amazon? Did you notice how Amazon recommended you other products purchased by customers who bought the same goods as you? That is an intelligent behavior by the Amazon algorithm where it learns from other users with similar preferences what your choices could be and then recommends them to you. That’s the core principle behind Web 3.0. Wolfram Alpha, Apple’s Siri, and Google Cloud API are also software products helping in that direction. They are capable of distilling extensive, vague data into useful information and knowledge for users.
Unlike Web 2.0, which was driven by cloud, social, and mobile, Web 3.0 is built on the following Web 3.0 technologies:
- Artificial Intelligence: The earlier example of Amazon is AI in action. Artificial Intelligence is a Web 3.0 technology with powerful algorithms that can create timely and valuable predictions. These predictions help the web move from simple text processing to intelligent processing that understands users' needs. This enables a better user experience. AI also facilitates the open nature of Internet 3.0. AI allows users to access the web without needing a smartphone or computer through smart devices like voice assistants.
- Edge Computing: In Web 2.0, storage and computer resources were taken from conventional data infrastructures, but the transition to Web 3.0 takes data resources from their point of generation. This takes stress off traditional data centers that are finding growing data cumbersome to manage. Web 3.0 via edge computing is already happening. According to Gartner, 75% of enterprise-generated data will be made outside legal data centers. As an alternative, they’ll be made by computing resources spread across sensors, mobile devices, appliances, vehicles, and computers.
- Internet of Things: IoT is a significant foundation on which Web 3.0 roots. It makes the web more open by allowing broad participation.
- Decentralized data networks: These make the sale of data possible without losing ownership to a third party. An example of these networks is blockchain technology.
What Does Blockchain Have to Do With Web 3.0?
Blockchain was first introduced in 2009 after Satoshi Nakamoto responded to the 2008 financial crisis by decentralizing the global financial sector. It started with bitcoin and has since grown into a technology pivotal for a successful transition into Internet 3.0. Ethereum is positioned to be the blockchain that would facilitate that change.
Ethereum blockchain enables decentralized apps (DApps)—applications that run on a decentralized computing system. This enablement does a lot in facilitating openness. With it, no one holds power to determine who or who cannot participate in the next Internet. In the long run, it empowers people who are actually trying to improve the web.
Web 3.0 means a democratic, user-centric, and decentralized space. Ethereum blockchain is perceived by many as an ideal platform for achieving that.
How to Invest in the Future of the Internet
Web 3.0 is the next generation internet. You can accelerate the possibility of the next internet by investing in any of these projects:
Polkadot (DOT)
Founded in 2016 by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood, Polkadot is a flagship project by Web3 Foundation - a Swiss nonprofit organization founded to promote a user-centric decentralized web. It allows the transfer of data across Web 3.0 blockchains, thereby achieving interoperability. In simple English, Polkadot promotes the interaction between different cryptocurrencies. Its uniqueness lies in its ability to process multiple transactions on multiple parallel chains and customize community governance.
According to CoinMarketCap, Polkadot is the 13th largest cryptocurrency world wide, worth around $15.7 billion. Back in 2020, it was one of the most trusted and profitable currencies. Although it fell from $6 to $2.81, it rendered multiple tokens that accelerated its market capitalization from 0 to $5billion in a day!
Due to its unique features, Polkadot got to dominate the crypto market in a short time. Currently, a single DOT coin is worth $16.05. Polkadot has been growing steadily and is expected to achieve even more growth as it gains wider adoption.
DigitalCoinPrice projects Palkadot rates growing in 2022. Per this prediction, the DOT prices could increase to $70.54 and, in 2023, reach as high as $81.78. For the year 2025, it is expected to reach the $107.4 mark. Now is the right time to invest in Polkadot and become part of connected investors 3.0.
There are several exchanges for purchasing DOT. Before choosing any of them, make sure you research their benefits, experience level, and fees.
Kusama (KSM)
Founded by Gavin Wood, Robert Habermeier, and Peter Czaban, Kusama is a canary network in Polkadot. It allows developers to experiment with new applications before releasing them. Think of Kusama as a sandbox that will enable developers to test the prototypes of Polkadot projects. However, this sandbox comes with a real tradable cryptocurrency. On it, you can customize para chains to your needs and use the main relay chain for security purposes. A significant benefit of Kasama is that it allows Polkadot creators to build Web 3.0 blockchain applications in public and gain traction even before their project launches.
Participants in the DOT sale can claim an amount of KSM equivalent to the DOT indicator token. It is also possible to get KSM through a Proof of Work faucet. Before you can use this option, you have to own a GitHub account created before 21 June 2019.
KSM is doing well. It boosted from $0.91 to $60.04 in less than a year. Currently, it is trading at $124.43 USD.
Ocean Protocol (OCEAN)
After decades of the sinister data harvesting done by big tech companies, Ocean Protocol is on a mission to make data harvesting ethical. It is a decentralized data-sharing service that allows regular people, with no regard to their business models, access personal data and leverage it for their benefit. Its data-sharing ecosystem includes data providers, data consumers, the community, data marketplaces, and developers.
As the name suggests, Ocean Protocol allows marketplaces to implement its protocol to facilitate transactions. Mercedes-maker Daimler and Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative (MOBI) are companies that have already explored Ocean Protocol’s features.
Ocean Market is the place to trade native utility tokens known as OCEAN. You can use OCEAN to stake, buy, and sell data. You can also use it to fund community governance on Ocean Protocol—a Web 3.0 blockchain.
Since its launch in May 2019, OCEAN has boosted from the initial $0.033 to $0.43, achieving a record-breaking Return-On-Investment of 1203%. You can purchase OCEAN on most crypto exchanges. Its current price is $0.49.
BitTorrent (BTT)
Although it started before the Web 3.0 and Bitcoin era, BitTorrent has developed into one of the most used decentralized applications. Its dedicated native currency token-BTT-also tops the most popular cryptocurrencies.
Before BitTorrent's integration into blockchain technology and Web 3, it was a decentralized P2P protocol that permitted the upload and transfer of files between users. For years, BitTorrent struggled to scale. Its operations, thankfully, turned around when Justin Sun, founder of the Tron Foundation, bought it for $127 million.
Barely a month after this acquisition, Tron organized an ICO for the newly minted BTT Token, which raised $7.2 million in a matter of minutes. Within the first few weeks of its release, BTT gained 334%, increasing from $0.000429 to $0.001861.
Its current price is $0.001864.
Filecoin (FIL)
Filecoin is a cryptocurrency-powered storage where miners receive Filecoin by contributing open hard drive spaces while users store and encrypt their files in a decentralized manner. The blockchain in Filecoin verifies file storage and permits the transfer of the native FIL coin. Three entities exist in the Filecoin system, namely:
- Client: They pay to store and retrieve data in the DSN
- Miner: They provide data storage and benefit from Filecoin by serving Put requests. Their reward is often in the form of FIL tokens.
- Retrieval Miners: This type of miner makes data retrieval in the network possible. They partake in Filecoin by serving users’ data requests.
Now that you know the process behind the FIL token, you’re probably wondering how you can invest in it to become part of connected investors 3.0.
Well, the FIL coin was around $30 when it launched on 14 October 2020. Since then, it has maintained relative stability until early 2021 where it dipped to $34.60. It, however, improved after Grayscale launched a filecoin investment trust. It eventually reached an all-time peak on 1 April 2021. This rise didn’t last, though. It fell back to $40.12 in July before climbing to $82.13 in August. Currently, the FIL coin sells at $18.7. A good entry point, no?
The Internet Computer (ICP)
Out of the projects listed so far, the Internet Computer (ICP) is the most advanced and closest to Web 3.0. With Internet Computers, the next internet is closer than we think. This is an exciting development, considering that it just launched in May 2021. In a short time, it has managed to cement its name among crypto giants like Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Ethereum.
Internet Computer is a digital token that lets users create web-based services and apps. The idea behind it is that it can be used to remodify the web in a more decentralized manner. To best understand ICP, think of it as a decentralized computer network capable of running several versions of apps on the web. Because of this, ICP is positioned to challenge tech giants such as Amazon Web Services, Google, and Facebook.
Unlike the rest of the projects listed above, Internet Computer is a network that leverages Web 3.0 blockchain technology to power apps. Here are the other ways Internet Computer stands out:
- It enables people to use its blockchain technology to build software on the internet.
- It runs on a decentralized network and not the cloud
- Its transactions are swift, unlike other cryptocurrencies
At the moment, ICP changes hands at $ 18.46.
Conclusion
Web 3.0 is upon us. It is inevitable. Web 3.0 technologies include Artificial Intelligence, Edge Computing, IoT, and Decentralized Data Networks. Utility tokens such as KSM, ICP, FIL, and BAT are opportunities for you to be part of connected investors 3.0. Each of these Web 3.0 projects has its pros and cons. Ergo, don’t make a hasty decision to invest in them. Instead, conduct thorough research and consider options before taking any action.
*This communication is intended as strictly informational, and nothing herein constitutes an offer or a recommendation to buy, sell, or retain any specific product, security or investment, or to utilise or refrain from utilising any particular service. The use of the products and services referred to herein may be subject to certain limitations in specific jurisdictions. This communication does not constitute and shall under no circumstances be deemed to constitute investment advice. This communication is not intended to constitute a public offering of securities within the meaning of any applicable legislation.
