“Web3 is to Web2 what PunkRock is to DiscoMusic.”
― Simone Puorto
According to the latest report of Emergen Research, web3 market is expected to reach $81.5 billion by 2030.
Now it’s hard to deny the fact that this is the fastest-developing and the most influential phenomenon that changes all the spheres of our everyday life.
Web3 covers so many topics connected with the decentralized internet that it becomes difficult to single out the main trends.
However, we decided to try and define the directions that will shape our future lives and influence us the most.
Decentralized social networks
Don’t answer. The Tesla CEO knows it already. He already mentioned that his main goal is to create a decentralized social network where all users will pay a small amount of cryptocurrency to post something. Thus, they will have zero censorship. While Meta controls everything you say, the future social platforms will be 100% decentralized and free from middlemen’s opinions about what is good and what is not.
Decentralized social networks will be governed by their own communities. They will look more like the combination of Crew3 and the Tinder app where all visitors will be turned into active contributors and get a way to make friends and communicate with each other.
Remember how revolutionary the idea to integrate the Gram wallet into the Telegram application was in 2019? Nowadays decentralized platforms with crypto as an internal currency are the reality.
The emergence of Layer 2 solutions
It’s hard to make something mass-adopted if it’s not comfortable and understandable. Traditional blockchains suffer from low-speed and high-fee transactions.
Layer 2 scaling solutions were developed to increase the scalability of blockchain networks like Ethereum by processing transactions off-chain.
For instance, Polygon has become the most popular Layer 2 decision in 2022. National Geographic creates its first collection on this blockchain, and such giants as Synergy Land migrate from Solana to Polygon.
The latter with its recording 30–40 TPS compared to Ethereum’s 10–12 is a great solution for all web3 startups.
Zero-Knowledge (ZK) Proof technology
ZK Rollups became popular in 2022 as the main tool for Ethereum scaling. Vitalik Buterin made a huge promo for this technology on his Twitter account.
In 2023, experts state that ZK rollups will 100% enter the market.
New possibilities will open for ZK when software development kits are adopted. This will allow ZK smart contracts to be programmed into applications executed out of blockchain.
Check out ZK-proof real-world use cases:
Or let’s say you won’t have to reveal your actual income to prove your ability to buy something expensive. Sounds good, right?
Low Code application software
Low Code Application Software is a great way for Web 3.0 to minimize the need for complex coding software programs. Just imagine that even inexperienced people and junior coders will be able to build their own programs using drag-and-drop commands.
Such technology will also help numerous startups by giving them free access to technology and, thus, expanding their operations and customer reach.
Useful NFTs
It’s time to make people realize NFTs are more than just funny BAYC or memes sold for thousands/millions of dollars.
Practical NFT usage may be much wider, including tokenizing items, data, and even ideas both online and offline!
In 2023 digital art may be replaced by viable business use cases.
Some brand giants have already made the first step toward this trend. Starbucks launched their Odyssey Rewards program where members get collectible “Journey Stamps” (NFTs) to earn points that give them benefits and coffee experiences they won’t get elsewhere.
NFTs can also change the music industry. For instance, concert tickets may be minted as NFTs.
Thus, the sky is the limit for NFT utility, and it’s just the start.
Blockchain/Brands As a Service (BaaS)
Speaking of brands… Soon they will also shape their marketing strategies.
The BaaS protocol allows increased customer interaction, opening new opportunities to work with blockchain and create digital products.
BaaS can be used in all spheres of our lives, including supply chain management, digital identity and payments, and more. That’s why it’s a powerful tool both for engaging new audiences and improving a company’s value.
Play2Earn is still in the game
Is the Play2Earn model dead in 2023? Some may think so, but we don’t.
The $755 million market size of P2E NFT games won’t just vanish. Moreover, web3 experts predict that by 2028 it will reach $3618.4 million.
So why do many people think that P2E is dying?
Well, it’s all about the data. Let’s look at the statistics of the most popular P2E games. Decentraland has 379 daily active users, Sandbox indicator is 616.
Why are these numbers so low?
Let’s answer with this pic.
The visual component of P2E leaves much to be desired.
Thus, the word ‘Earn’ in the Play2Earn concept became dominant. People are not involved in the gaming process as it is quite poor.
However, we’re convinced that this is just the first stage of development. Remember how poor the 8-bit games of the past looked? This is what happens with P2E nowadays.
That’s all the stages of tech development. There were lots of failures in creating an AI chatbot before ChatGPT stepped on stage. So P2E will definitely experience a new rise soon.
Government regulation
After the FTX scandal in 2022 government regulation seems inevitable.
However, it may not be a bad thing to come. To date, states like Wyoming, California, and Texas use their powers to position themselves as “Web3-friendly” zones.
Dubai is one of the most crypto-friendly zones in the world where mobile crypto payments turn out to be the usual thing.
India’s forthcoming e-rupee and China’s Digital Yuan are also signs of regulation and mass adoption of cryptocurrency.
The merge of all technologies
And the last but definitely not the least. NFT marketplaces combined with social media platforms and AI/VR technologies are what we expect at the next turn of the road in web3 development.
/TOP TRENDS/
In a word
In this article, we didn’t focus much on the development of AI, VR and metaverses because it is obvious these are the long-lasting trends of web3. However, we’ll tell more about the perspectives of these web3 spheres in our future articles.
So keep up with the news!
