# WEB 3

By [Untitled](https://paragraph.com/@0x27e859bbf9e416abfc39bab7ca828b8625d009da) · 2024-01-11

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Specific visions for Web3 differ, and the term has been described by Olga Kharif as "hazy", but they revolve around the idea of decentralization and often incorporate [blockchain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockchain) technologies, such as various [cryptocurrencies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency) and [non-fungible tokens](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-fungible_token) (NFTs).[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web3#cite_note-:0-5) Kharif has described Web3 as an idea that "would build financial assets, in the form of tokens, into the inner workings of almost anything you do online".[\[23\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web3#cite_note-Bloomberg_2021-23) A policy brief published by the [Bennett Institute for Public Policy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bennett_Institute_for_Public_Policy) at the [University of Cambridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge) defined Web3 as "the putative next generation of the web's technical, legal, and payments infrastructure—including blockchain, smart contracts and cryptocurrencies."[\[24\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web3#cite_note-:16-24) According to Liu, Zhuotao, et al (2021), three fundamental architectural enablers of Web3 were identified as a combination of decentralized or federated platforms, secured [interoperability](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interoperability), and verifiable computing through distributed ledger technologies.[\[25\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web3#cite_note-:13-25)

Some visions are based around the concept of [decentralized autonomous organizations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralized_autonomous_organization) (DAOs).[\[26\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web3#cite_note-26) [Decentralized finance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralized_finance) (DeFi) is another key concept; in it, users exchange currency without bank or government involvement.[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web3#cite_note-:0-5) [Self-sovereign identity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-sovereign_identity) allows users to identify themselves without relying on an authentication system such as [OAuth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OAuth), in which a trusted party has to be reached in order to assess identity.[\[27\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web3#cite_note-27) Technology scholars have argued that Web3 would likely run in tandem with [Web 2.0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0) sites, with Web 2.0 sites likely adopting Web3 technologies in order to keep their services relevan

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*Originally published on [Untitled](https://paragraph.com/@0x27e859bbf9e416abfc39bab7ca828b8625d009da/web-3)*