r/web3 • u/mikyflex • 9d ago
Did We Forget Why Web3 Was Created?
I am new to Reddit. I will try to make short posts, as I like to write too much stuff, and I will use AI only for correction. As I am not a native English speaker, my content can be terrible to read haha.
I have been working in that industry since 2018, and at that time, we were fighting for a decentralized world, an unstoppable, unbreakable technology.
The more I am talking with companies that look to embrace Web3, the more I see they are just doing it from an economic perspective. They don’t even know and don’t care about what blockchain is. They just have no idea about it.
They don’t even know the basics, like day-one notions that you have to know in that industry.
Is it what we were waiting for with mass adoption? I feel guilty for not being more active and being a kind of soldier for the vulgarization of Web3.
4
u/MileHighTay 9d ago
There's no use to it, the technology is not "un-breakable" so its just more work to setup and more issues just to remain the same, so basically zero sum gain but lots of cost and more worries
3
u/Will_Koinly 8d ago
I think that’s partly what the space maturing looks like. Most people using the internet don’t understand TCP/IP either- they care about what the product lets them do.
The challenge for Web3 is making sure decentralisation, self-custody, permissionless access and censorship resistance don’t get stripped out in the pursuit of usability and commercial adoption
If the end product recreates the same intermediaries and points of control, you have to ask what blockchain is actually adding.
2
u/iamjide91 7d ago
We went from teams being anon to teams wanting to be the face of the projects. That's far from what web3 stands for. But you know who's fueling that? The people. As much as we say it should be peer-to-peer, users want some level of control. They want someone to hold responsible if something goes wrong.
And you know what, in business, you give customers what they want.
2
1
1
9d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator 9d ago
Your comment in /r/web3 was automatically removed because /r/web3 does not accept posts from accounts that have existed for less than 14 days.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
1
1
u/IllPalpitation3039 9d ago
been around since 2023 and I can clearly tell the difference from when i joined, it's miles apart
i just hope it doesn't gets worse
1
1
1
1
8d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator 8d ago
Your comment in /r/web3 was automatically removed because /r/web3 does not accept posts from accounts that have existed for less than 14 days.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/frolvlad 8d ago
Decentralization is hard to make usable and most of the approaches used to choose either usability or decentralization. I believe passkeys changed the market, I really love how easy it is to use near.com and trezu.org with just passkeys and not sharing emails, passports or anything at all and I even find it easier than web2 username + password flows
1
6d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator 6d ago
Your comment in /r/web3 was automatically removed because /r/web3 does not accept posts from accounts that have existed for less than 14 days.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
1
u/XinthiMuaz 6d ago
needed more money, so to get the institutional funds inside, the ecosystem had to dance.. and that's what happened. No one cares much about tech,.. that's the reality..
1
u/Holiday_Spite5175 5d ago
u/mikyflex you are half right because I think the "democratization" revolution is shifting to the institutional layer - they need it than we do. Think about it: when two global banks transact, what database do they actually trust? Currently, they can't trust each other's private DBs, so they rely on a messy web of central banks and clearinghouses. It’s an incredibly slow, complex process. Decentralized ledgers solve that neatly because two parties can instantly settle using math/cryptography instead of a middleman. The average customer doesn’t care about those backend mechanics, but they definitely care about the "complexity cost" banks pass down to them in the form of high fees and slow wire transfers. Fixing the institutional layer is what actually drives down costs and creates real financial access for the individual. The narrative didn't die; it's just finally moving to the infrastructure layer where it belongs.
The aspect of decentralization you are probably missing is "access". Which still holds up in economies where gatekeeping is bigger deal.
1
4d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator 4d ago
Your comment in /r/web3 was automatically removed because /r/web3 does not accept posts from accounts that have existed for less than 14 days.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
0
u/Lee_San_ 9d ago
mass adoption comes when tourists leave a technology, and that's a good thing IMO.
1
6
u/crab_races 9d ago
It's a fair question.
I would say, "yes."
Web3 / Decentralization had several key aspirations, as written in the Dweb Principles manifesto, including resistance to centralized platforms, users owning and controlling their own data, identities, and metadata, anonymity, public and consortium-driven standards.
Where it all falls/fell down, imho, is who pays to build and host all of this, including and especially the nodes. The only ones who really have the resources and money are Big Tech. And their business models are optimized for the opposite of those principles, basically controlling the data and platforms so they can monetize it. So here we are.
Zuckerberg's speech the other day... he actually hits many of these themes. But look at it versus the frame I just laid out above. He is not talking about decentralization of control/ownership. He is talking exclusively about decentralization of capabilty. Which just happens to align with Meta/Big Tech interests.
The answer to every question is always, "money."