We believe that blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are the foundation for the next paradigm of the internet.

• Web1 = read only → browsers allowed users to surf the web and access information more easily.

• Web2 = read and write → interactive applications allowed users to connect, create content and communicate, while mobile enabled this to happen from anywhere.

• Web3 = read, write, own → blockchain technology means that users will own their own data, aligning value creation and capture, and creating a new social contract.

Web3 has powerful intrinsic network effects – composable/interoperable infrastructure and tokenisation that aligns incentives and supports community building. This will drive the creation of new applications that promote ownership, participation and community. We believe that the ownership economy will transform the internet, and with it our digital and physical lives.

But this web3 future still needs to be built and shaped. So we started Project Vellir.

Project Vellir’s mission is to improve understanding of web3/crypto technology; build web3 solutions, including to problems related to governance, coordination, ownership, participation and community; and support companies and governments with the rapid transition to web3.

We do this by combining public insight, an advisory practice and in house studio, a thoughtful community and web3 native investment platform.

Our thesis is based on three overlapping themes.

1. Democratic processes and institutions: The Vellir Project takes inspiration from Þingvellir (the "Assembly Fields") in Iceland, site of the longest running Parliament in the world. In the early 10th century, it was a meeting place for clans to hold discussions and legal sessions, and subsequently became the site of the Icelandic Parliament, now in Reykjavik. The site was chosen because it was accessible for all clans for their annual parliament. And while we still have the same fundamental participation, community decision-making and governance needs to address, there are no longer the same constraints on geography, physical representation and time between consulting citizens. We believe that web3 tools have the potential to be the Þingvellirs of the future – creating new accessible gathering places, and transforming how participatory systems, governance and policy processes, models and institutions work.

2. Financial inclusion: Financial inclusion means more than just having access to a bank account. It means having a meaningful stake in society and the capital economy. This requires ownership of data and assets, and means that close creating value with the insights from their data also gain some of the upside. The rise of the sovereign individual has the potential to radically change financial inclusion through DeFi, community ownership and social tokens. We believe that this broader democratisation has the potential to create universal basic equity, which could be an important feature of a more equal and fair social and economic structure.

3. Protecting and rewarding data, privacy and security: A core part of a positive internet future is one where data is owned and encrypted; privacy is the default and built in; and infrastructure is secure. The web3 stack is evolving quickly, but we believe it must have these features embedded from the outset in order to be sustainable and meet the needs of consumers.

Subscribe to get our latest insights at www.vellir.xyz - and come and start your web3 journey with us!

We believe that blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are the foundation for the next paradigm of the internet.

• Web1 = read only → browsers allowed users to surf the web and access information more easily.

• Web2 = read and write → interactive applications allowed users to connect, create content and communicate, while mobile enabled this to happen from anywhere.

• Web3 = read, write, own → blockchain technology means that users will own their own data, aligning value creation and capture, and creating a new social contract.

Web3 has powerful intrinsic network effects – composable/interoperable infrastructure and tokenisation that aligns incentives and supports community building. This will drive the creation of new applications that promote ownership, participation and community. We believe that the ownership economy will transform the internet, and with it our digital and physical lives.

But this web3 future still needs to be built and shaped. So we started Project Vellir.

Project Vellir’s mission is to improve understanding of web3/crypto technology; build web3 solutions, including to problems related to governance, coordination, ownership, participation and community; and support companies and governments with the rapid transition to web3.

We do this by combining public insight, an advisory practice and in house studio, a thoughtful community and web3 native investment platform.

Our thesis is based on three overlapping themes.

1. Democratic processes and institutions: The Vellir Project takes inspiration from Þingvellir (the "Assembly Fields") in Iceland, site of the longest running Parliament in the world. In the early 10th century, it was a meeting place for clans to hold discussions and legal sessions, and subsequently became the site of the Icelandic Parliament, now in Reykjavik. The site was chosen because it was accessible for all clans for their annual parliament. And while we still have the same fundamental participation, community decision-making and governance needs to address, there are no longer the same constraints on geography, physical representation and time between consulting citizens. We believe that web3 tools have the potential to be the Þingvellirs of the future – creating new accessible gathering places, and transforming how participatory systems, governance and policy processes, models and institutions work.

2. Financial inclusion: Financial inclusion means more than just having access to a bank account. It means having a meaningful stake in society and the capital economy. This requires ownership of data and assets, and means that close creating value with the insights from their data also gain some of the upside. The rise of the sovereign individual has the potential to radically change financial inclusion through DeFi, community ownership and social tokens. We believe that this broader democratisation has the potential to create universal basic equity, which could be an important feature of a more equal and fair social and economic structure.

3. Protecting and rewarding data, privacy and security: A core part of a positive internet future is one where data is owned and encrypted; privacy is the default and built in; and infrastructure is secure. The web3 stack is evolving quickly, but we believe it must have these features embedded from the outset in order to be sustainable and meet the needs of consumers.

Subscribe to get our latest insights at www.vellir.xyz - and come and start your web3 journey with us!