Although Web3 hasn't been widely adopted yet, the concept has been around for a long time. This article presents five Web3 trends that I hope will help you understand Web3 better. This article comes from compilation and hopefully inspires you.

1. Our definition of Web3 will evolve

What is Web3? Although Web3 hasn't been widely adopted yet, the concept has been around for a long time. This is an artificial term coined to classify a group of software and platforms that run on blockchain technology. But new technology brings not only new terms, but also new behaviors and new spirits.

Twitter founder and Square CEO Jack Dorsey has been an outspoken critic of Web3, which he sees as basically a venture-funded scam. But it's not that simple, because he's also a big supporter of bitcoin. He is working on a project called Web5, which is essentially building software and a platform on top of the Bitcoin network.

Web5 is different from what people now call Web3 in that it does not emphasize ownership of the Internet as much as Web3, but the two are similar in that they are both interested in decentralization and permission-less.

In a new book, "The Network State," Balaji Srinivasan, Coinbase's former chief technology officer, He devotes a chapter to a process he calls "decentralization to recentralization." Decentralisation, he argues, is good for rebels and good for incumbents. Decentralization increases volatility, and decentralization provides stability. Throughout history, power-sharing movements, such as the American Revolution and others around the world, have eventually led to centralized states. As a result, the decentralization currently advocated by Web3 will eventually become centralized.

When we zoom in, Web3's innovations seem to be simplified versions of "things that are more complex and systematic in their current form." In the case of the DAO idea, the community relies on code-based algorithms to determine organizational decisions. They essentially replace laws and decisions with code. The law has plenty of gray areas, allowing for negotiation and interpretation, while the code does not. The DAO introduces distributed voting mechanisms that are necessary for complex public companies. Personally, I think this is one of the most exciting things about Web3, but it will be years before we find a better way to work than the current corporate structure.

All that said, we're still in the early stages of technology, and all the ideas that currently fall under the Web3 umbrella will evolve.

2. Reduce friction

There are two big obstacles to mass adoption of Web3: people need to create and secure their private and public keys, and they need to convert fiat currencies into cryptocurrencies.

Friction points are there from the start, and many people don't protect their keys properly. Given this challenge, more and more organizations tend to simply bypass these requirements and allow users to create a standard username and password to log into the application, allowing them to purchase NFTs.

On the back end, there is a "wallet" with standard public and private keys for the user, and this data is stored on the platform. In some cases, customers don't even know they have a public key, and they often don't have access to their private key.

Instead of requiring private and public keys, they simply create a standard user name and password. In some cases, they don't even need to see the public key to interact with NFTs or cryptocurrencies.

YellowHeart allows users to purchase admission tickets in the form of NFTs without the need to set a key. Kreatr is a Flow-based NFTs marketplace that allows artists to sell their work as NFTs or prints as if it were just an e-commerce site.

This is not unusual in the cryptocurrency world, as all cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase and Binance also only need to create a user name and password, rather than a "wallet." However, whenever you want to send cryptocurrencies to another platform, you need to at least know your public key.

In addition, more and more organizations allow users to purchase NFT or other crypto assets directly with credit or debit cards. This allows people to interact with Web3 through a familiar process, but users do not get the full Web3 experience.

While the buzz around NFTS has dropped considerably since the beginning of the year, I expect people to remain curious and buy them for many different uses.

While this experience is not a true Web3 experience, it is an entry point. From this point forward, it will be up to specific platforms to further educate users and give them the ability to transfer assets to a true encrypted wallet. This allows people to move at their own pace and reduces friction.

Draftly is another organization exploring this new path. Their platform for sports fans to buy as NFT collectibles. The average sports fan and the average crypto enthusiast are two very different groups, but the NFT is a natural fit for a community that is passionate about collectibles.

I expect we will continue to see more of this in the coming years.

3. Payment channels

Encrypted Payment Rails is probably the most practical application of blockchain technology. Many companies are racing to create payment channels, either using lightning networks on bitcoin or other low-cost blockchain networks to conduct daily transactions at a discount to the standard credit card fees charged by Visa, Mastercard and others.

But the service is not just for credit cards, bank transfers are also possible. Imagine sending money internationally for a fraction of the cost, or not having to worry about the time it takes to transfer money from one account to another. Usually, there is a time lag when the money is transferred, and in this time, the money seems to disappear. This application scenario is a long way off, as it will require new regulations, a rethink of our entire financial infrastructure, and possibly a government-issued digital currency.

4. Market saturation

Another trend that will continue is the launch of new NFT markets. Individual artists and brands will launch their own markets. It's very easy to create your own marketplace these days, and while there have been some early movers and strong communities, it's still early days and there are still many challenges to solve.

I expect the NFT market to one day become as popular as e-commerce sites. Now, anyone can set up a website and sell products with few barriers, and in the future the NFT market will offer the same convenience. But NFT is a more malleable medium than online shopping. That means we will see a wide variety of solutions.

5. Web3 hardware

Solana LABS has launched a Web3 phone. Since the announcement, HTC and Polygon have also shared their intentions for a Web3 phone. The mobile race is just getting started, and I don't think Apple or Google will be directly involved any time soon, but since Android software is open source, Web3 phones will probably be Android-based for now.

The flip side of hardware will be other forms of networking technology. Relying on peer-to-peer networks, most of which are powered by individuals running the nodes, blockchain also needs cryptocurrency miners around the globe because of their more advanced computing power. But if Web3 is going to scale to one day replace our current Internet, Web3 native hardware needs to be involved.

Helium, for example, is trying to decentralize Internet access with hardware mining machines that can also transmit Internet signals. While I'm not familiar with hardware requirements and use cases, Web3 offers a new paradigm for interaction that will certainly have an impact beyond the code.