Web 3.0 is a controversial topic in the technology industry. It describes the new transition from an industry dominated by a small number of data-hungry companies like Google and Microsoft to one where people control their information. In most cases, web 3.0 applications do not even ask for a person’s username, email, and password.
Proponents of Web 3.0 believe that the transition has multiple benefits like scalability, data protection, and independence. In terms of independence, it is not possible for web 3.0 platforms to cancel people who a company disagrees with. In the past few years, we have seen companies like Twitter, PayPal, Amazon, and Facebook cancel thousands of people.
In this article, we will look at some examples of popular web 3.0 projects. Next, we will assess some of the most important development platforms that many developers are turning to when building these applications.
Examples of web 3.0 platforms
There are many web 3.0 projects that are solving some of the biggest challenges today. Some good examples of them are:
- Brave – It is a privacy-centric browser that has a unique model than other popular platforms like Chrome and Edge. It rewards its users using a token known as the Basic Attention Token (BAT).
- Audius – Audius is a web 3.0 project in the music streaming industry. It is disrupting popular platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
- Grape Protocol – Grape is a decentralized social media platform that enables people to interact with like-minded community members.
- Squads – Squads is a venture-funded blockchain project that enables teams to collaborate with one another.
Here are some of the most important web 3.0 development platforms loved by developers today.
Chainlink
Chainlink is a unique blockchain project that is widely used by all types of developers regardless of their preferred network.
It is a smart oracle network that solves a major challenge in the blockchain industry. This problem is on how to incorporate off-chain data into the on-chain ecosystem.
This is a notable issue because most web 3.0 will often need to use data that is not available in an on-chain format. For example, a web 3.0 stock investing app needs price feeds on publicly traded companies and other assets.
Another good example is the weather. If a developer is building applications that need data on weather, they need to take it from external sources to the blockchain.
As the biggest smart oracle network in the world, Chainlink is widely used by all types of developers when building their platforms.
It also offers other products geared towards developers. For example, it has a product known as Keepers, which is an automated smart contract platform. It also provides verifiable random number generators and cross-chain bridging.
LINK, its native token, is valued at over $3.7 billion.
Ethereum
Ethereum is a second-generation blockchain project that helps developers build all types of decentralized applications. It has been used to build projects like stablecoins, DeFi platforms like Aave, gaming solutions like Axie Infinity, and metaverse products like Decentraland.
As a 2nd gen network, Ethereum has a number of challenges that may discourage people from using it. For example, it is a proof-of-work network whose coins are generated through mining. Its transaction costs are also significantly high, while its speeds are substantially slower.
As a result, there are many alternatives that have come up that are addressing these challenges. They include Terra, Avalanche, and Cosmos. These platforms can handle thousands of transactions in a second and are much cheaper.
Still, Ethereum is still one of the best platforms to build web 3.0 applications, which explains why it has a strong market share. For one, it is in a transition process that will see it become a PoS network. Further, it will introduce the concept of sharding that will make its network much faster.
Some of the most popular web 3.0 applications built using Ethereum are PolyMarket, dYdX, Opera, Brave, and Ethereum Name Service.
Ethereum has a token known as Ether. At the time of writing, it had a total market cap of over $375 billion, making it the second biggest coin after Bitcoin.
Cosmos
Cosmos is another blockchain project that is playing an important role in the web 3.0 environment. It is solving the challenge of interoperability.
In most cases, applications built using blockchain technology usually find it difficult to communicate with each other. For one, platforms like Ethereum and BNB Chains are significantly different from each other.
Several strategies have been created to solve this challenge. For example, there is the idea of bridges that connect multiple chains.
Cosmos is handling the challenge using the concept of Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol. It is a simple protocol that lets hundreds of cryptocurrencies be able to communicate with each other. Some of the top cryptocurrencies in the ecosystem are BNB, OKB, CRO, and LUNA.
It is also solving the challenge using the Cosmos SDK, which is a smart contract chain that lets developers build applications. The SDK comes with a bunch of templates and fresh modular features. It also boosts scalability by enabling apps to run parallel chains to match the requirements. Most importantly, web 3.0 apps built using Cosmos SDK have in-built interoperability features.
Some of the top web 3.0 applications built using the Cosmos SDK are Anchor Protocol, FirmaChain, Affordra, and Wisdom of Crowd.
Cosmos has a token known as ATOM that has a market cap of $8.2 billion.
Summary
It is too early to determine whether web 3.0 will be a successful industry considering that a large part of the population seems to be loving centralized products offered by firms like Google and Microsoft. But regardless of how it turns out, the three projects mentioned here will have a strong role to play. Other notable mentions are Solana, Polygon, and The Graph.
