If you’ve been trying to understand what Web3 is, you’re not alone. The term has emerged as the next phase of the internet, full of promises, technical concepts, and a new culture that can seem confusing, even to professionals in the field.

In this text, I’ll explain simply and directly what Web3 is, why it matters, its main pillars, challenges, and what you can expect moving forward.

Web3, or “Web 3.0,” is a concept representing the next generation of the internet, a more decentralized, open internet controlled by its users rather than by large corporations.

To understand Web3, it helps to look back at the earlier stages of the internet:

• Web1 (Static Web): This was the internet of fixed pages, where users only consumed content without interacting. Think of old news sites or catalogs, simple and one-way.

• Web2 (Social Web): Here the internet became a place of interaction, where users create, share, comment, and collaborate. However, the infrastructure and data are still concentrated in the hands of a few companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Twitter, who control most of the information flow.

• Web3 (Decentralized Web): The next step, where control returns to users, leveraging technologies like blockchain, smart contracts, and cryptocurrencies. In Web3, you can own your data, digital assets, and even parts of the platforms you participate in.

Decentralization is the foundation of Web3. Instead of centralized servers controlled by a few companies, information is distributed across a network of computers (blockchain), ensuring transparency and resistance to censorship.

This structure creates a less vulnerable internet to abuse, failures, and authoritarian control, promoting greater autonomy for users.

With Web3, the concept of digital ownership gains strength through unique, verifiable assets like NFTs (non-fungible tokens). These allow you to digitally own art, music, virtual land, tickets, and more, with the guarantee of blockchain technology.

Web3 introduces a new economy based on tokens and cryptocurrencies, allowing creators, collaborators, and users to be rewarded directly and transparently.

For example, artists can sell their work directly to fans without intermediaries, and communities can fund projects collectively via DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations).

In Web3, projects and platforms can be governed by their own users, who vote on important decisions through transparent mechanisms.

This fosters greater engagement, belonging, and alignment of interests within communities.

The Web3 market is growing rapidly and generating real economic impact:

• According to DappRadar, the total volume moved by decentralized applications surpassed $30 billion in 2023, a significant increase from previous years.

• According to Statista, more than 90 million digital wallets are active globally in 2024, a number growing exponentially each year.

• Investments in Web3 startups have hit records, with crypto and blockchain-focused funds raising billions in recent years.

Web3 is not just about technology, it’s a cultural and social transformation.

It creates opportunities for people worldwide to participate in the digital economy without relying on traditional intermediaries, democratizing access to financial resources, education, and innovation.

Today, we already see Web3 being used in various areas such as:

• Digital art and collectibles (NFTs)

• Games that reward players with real tokens (GameFi)

• Decentralized finance (DeFi), offering banking services without banks

• Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) managing projects and communities worldwide

• Self-sovereign digital identity, where users control their personal data

Despite its potential, Web3 still faces important obstacles:

• Scalability: Blockchain networks need to improve to support millions of users without congestion or high fees.

• User Experience: Many tools remain complex for non-technical users. Interfaces need to become more user-friendly.

• Regulation: Lack of clear laws can create insecurity and open doors to fraud.

• Sustainability: Some blockchains consume significant energy, though “green blockchain” projects are in development.

These challenges show that Web3 is still evolving but holds significant disruptive potential.

The future of Web3 promises an internet where people regain control over their digital lives, with transparency and real participation.

As the technology matures, businesses, governments, and communities will find new ways to collaborate, create, and govern.

If you feel lost, the best approach is to start small:

• Research basic terms: blockchain, NFT, DAO, DeFi.

• Try creating a digital wallet and learn how transactions work.

• Follow real projects using Web3 to solve concrete problems.

• Join communities, forums, and events to exchange knowledge.

Web3 isn’t just a trend, it’s a movement that will impact how we live, work, and relate digitally.

Being open to learning and experimenting is the best way to seize the opportunities this new internet offers.