There is no consensus on the definition of Web3.
Gavin Wood, known as the "Father of Web3", defined Web3 in one sentence in 2014: Less trust, more truth.
From 2014 to 2025, after more than ten years of development, at an offline event in Hangzhou in March 2025, Gavin Wood started a tour with his Polkadot upgrade project JAM (Join-Accumulate Machine), saying, "What we are building is not just a new blockchain architecture, but a transformation of the entire Web3 computing paradigm." He tried to upgrade the existing blockchain computing model through JAM.
Although Web3 does not have a strict definition, the following characteristics are at the core of Web3.
Web3 is decentralized: most of the Internet is not controlled and owned by a centralized entity, but rather ownership is distributed among builders and users, forming a DAO governance collaboration model.
Web3 is permissionless: everyone has equal access to participate in Web3 and no one is excluded.
Web3 is natively payment-enabled: it uses cryptocurrencies for online consumption and remittances, rather than relying on the outdated infrastructure of traditional banks or third-party payment institutions.
Web3 is trustless: it operates through smart contracts, cryptography, incentives, and economic mechanisms, rather than relying on trusted third parties (such as banks, real estate agents, etc.).
Web3 is ownable: Ownability is seen as the special feature of Web3 that distinguishes it from Web1 and Web2. Ownability reflects the user's data ownership and subsequently forms the large-scale application of NFT.
What Web3 brings
Web3 allows existing products and solutions to be reformulated in more efficient or valuable ways, and enables entirely new ideas that were not possible before.
Digital Ownership
Blockchain technology brings digital ownership, which is a huge step in the evolution of technology that will have wider implications as it changes the way we all communicate. Of course, this evolution is still a prospect, and we are in the early stages of disrupting the existing model.
Digital Commoditization
The popularity of NFT in recent years is seen as an invention and innovation like BTC. With the development of the times, the world is becoming more and more digitalized, and digital ownership can be seen as the embodiment of "ownable Internet".
These new tools will merge the digital and real worlds into a “phygital,” or digital-real fusion application called the metaverse, by providing ownership utility that drives FOMO with scarcity (much like perfect fashion and lifestyles in the real world).
Higher user engagement
Web3 provides consumers with choice through token ownership. It is also community-centric, with many projects having a strong presence in digital forums. These ownership and community elements transform the traditional “consumer model” into a contributor or co-creator model.
Brands attract consumers and create value for loyalists who choose to join, participate and co-create, which means that the brand/project party and the audience users are more deeply integrated.
The bigger picture
The convergence of Web3, VR/AR, and AI, with Generation Z and Generation Alpha growing up under such an environment and influence, means that we may witness more technological changes in the next 10 years than in the past 100 years.
It is reasonable for some industry experts to believe that we are in the transition stage between Web2.0 and 2.5. It may not be realistic to expect Web3 to be achieved immediately. However, technological evolution is a gradual process, and each iteration of the Internet usually takes 10-15 years to mature.
With the improvement of infrastructure and application layers and the drive of AI, we may see more user-friendly Web3 products in the future, creating conditions for large-scale application and seamless connection of Web3.
