An Introduction to Web3: The Innovative Next Stage of the Internet

Web3 is the next step in the transformation of the world wide web. The new internet will attempt to create a less centralized internet than the internet we are used to.

The purpose of Web3 is to lessen the power of the internet service providers and technology corporations that have traditionally held sway over the online.

Instead, the objective is to make access to the internet more democratic by making Web3 a platform that can be cooperatively governed and managed by regular internet users.

Because Web3 represents such a radical change from how previous iterations of the internet were developed, the name Web3 has come to include various technologies that are fundamental to developing the new decentralized internet.

When discussing technology, "decentralized" most often refers to the distributed nature of blockchain technology. Blockchain technology is the foundation of everything from virtual currencies like Bitcoin to non-fungible tokens to virtual metaverse worlds seen inside video games.

Decentralized platforms are helping to build out the Web3 infrastructure. For example, Mailchain, a new communication layer for Web3, recently launched a secure, multi-wallet email solution on the heels of a $4.6 million funding round led by Crane Venture Partners and Kenetic Capital. Mailchain will implement the funding to onboard users, communities, and protocols to its encrypted, multi-wallet inbox. 

Web3 represents a huge leap forward in the evolution of the internet. But where core technologies like blockchains and smart contracts are well into maturity, Web3 communication is still in its infancy. Users cannot easily send and receive messages from their blockchain identities. Instead, most communication happens through instant messaging, social media, and community servers. Keeping track of valuable, relevant information, such as NFT mints, DeFi positions, and DAO votes across these channels can become overwhelming, confusing, and pose a privacy risk. 

Mailchain enables secure and easier Web3 communication. The platform is designed to resemble and function like traditional email. Users can create an end-to-end encrypted Mailchain account using any personal blockchain address for no charge or gas fees. In addition, the ability to connect multiple wallets to one inbox creates a private, central hub for Web3 activity. 

Mailchain users, whether creators, collectors, investors, or DAO members, will never miss the messages or context that matter. Projects integrating Mailchain can communicate directly with intended audiences, wallet-to-wallet, and ensure updates are not buried or lost across disparate channels. 

Leading the seed-round funding round for Mailchain’s public application and SDK launch are contributions from Crane Venture Partners and Kenetic Capital. Rounding out the funding with additional participants include Kestrel0x1, Acequia Capital, Eterna Capital, Maex Ament (Centrifuge founder), Charles Songhurst (former head of corporate strategy at Microsoft), Sarah Drinkwater (community-first investor), and Nick Ducoff (Web3 educator). 

“Web3 is growing fast,” says Tim Boeckmann, CEO of Mailchain, “And we’re excited to solve the biggest problem around communication today. People can now email natively. Artists can reach their collectors, and DAOs can reach their members. DApp developers can reach their users. All creators, all communities, and Web3—finally connected and communicating in context.”  

“What drew us to Mailchain was the team’s commitment to align the technology design and implementation with the ethos of Web3,” says Scott Sage, partner at Crane. “It’s an open, secure communication platform built to prioritize the privacy and security of the user. Mailchain is more than a product or platform—it’s the root node of a new, critical layer of Web3 infrastructure.”

Blockchain is essential to the decentralized architecture of Web3, but it is not the only technology in use. The next-generation internet will also largely depend on artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality to provide a more natural user experience.

In other words, the future internet plans to be more helpful to users and more egalitarian than the internet now, even though Web3 technology is difficult to implement and is still in development.

Compared to earlier versions of the internet, the architecture suggested for Web3 is quite different. For example, there were barely any user-generated content in Web1, with most websites being static, read-only style webpages. Web2 (the current version of the net) brought user-generated content, with users being able to upload text, pictures, and videos, as well as being able to interact with each other.

As a result, Web2 is responsible for shaping the bulk of online experiences that many of us depend on today. This approach has allowed everything from online shopping and message boards to social networks and other user-generated content.

Within the context of this Web2 ecosystem, content platforms have emerged as the principal recipients of online users' personal experiences and interests. However, even though consumers have many choices online, they sometimes have very little influence over how others use the information they provide.

Users often have very little to no direct say in the operation of the goods and services they use, and their user accounts are vulnerable to being closed or emptied by service providers at any time.

In addition, because the operation of the current internet model is primarily dependent on centralized servers and protocols, many firms have centralized points of failure that hackers may attack.

On top of this, Web2 websites are supported by large web hosting companies, while Web3 will enable a distributed hosting service. Because of this restriction in Web2, there is a possibility there is a higher possibility for malicious actors to discover exploits and attack websites.

Both blockchain and Web3 are working toward altering the processes that take place on the internet. However, even while there is a lot of excitement and speculation about different blockchain initiatives, blockchain, at its heart, is a distributed network and transaction log that can validate or reject transactions without having a centralized authority to do so.

The foundation of the Web3 ecosystem is blockchain technology, and this new iteration of the internet could bring ownership and privacy to owners while reducing the influence of centralized entities. However, Web3 technology still needs more time to mature before it is truly ready for widespread adoption in everyday life.

Even though this is the case, there is no reason why you can't start to look into the growing Web3 ecosystem and use the protocols that are in development.