It’s too early to foretell all of the implications of the latest Ethereum blockchain Merge, but it surely undoubtedly addresses essentially the most frequent (and legitimate) criticism of web3 relating to extreme vitality consumption. Critics should still discover a new cause to oppose ETH, however my hope is that this Merge will result in one thing else: An opportunity for us to additionally merge what’s greatest about Internet 2.0 with what’s most enjoyable about web3.
There’s seemingly a rising rift in Silicon Valley, with the normal Internet 2.0 trade and the burgeoning web3 ecosystem depicted as being in opposition to one another. And trapped someplace within the center are rising startups.
I’m energetic in all three teams, and I consider most of this controversy relies on wild pronouncements and hype by VCs and different evangelists who will not be builders. Incessant superstar promotions of NFT drops, for example, have contributed to the impression that web3 as a complete is a Ponzi scheme. In truth, NFTs are solely a small a part of the web3 ecosystem, and, in my opinion, not even essentially the most attention-grabbing or doubtlessly transformative.
Whereas Internet 2.0 and web3 could appear incompatible, I consider it’s higher to see applied sciences like blockchain and ETH as potential back-end options for scalability challenges that every one corporations face. In an identical approach, web3 advocates ought to acknowledge that Internet 2.0’s maturity makes it indispensable for a lot of core use instances.
Regardless of web3’s nice potential, it’s nonetheless a lot simpler to develop a Internet 2.0 app just because the ecosystem is mature and enjoys a big and thriving developer group.
Let’s contemplate a pair examples the place either side has one thing to contribute:
From web3: An rising revolution in open supply
To seize what’s taking place in web3 growth now, we have now to return to earlier than the Internet 2.0 period.
Throughout the dot-com increase, there was various buzz over open supply, Linux and scorching corporations like Pink Hat. Whereas only a few customers would go on to put in Linux as their working system, this buzz helped contribute to one thing equally essential. Within the background, with few individuals noticing, Linux shortly grew to become the go-to working system for operating the back-end servers of 96.5% of the highest million internet domains — to not point out the large Android market.
