By Cathy Breed
Web3 and metaverse: two words you are likely to hear in the same sentence and let’s be honest some of us pretty much use them interchangeably. But there is a definite difference between these two giants of the decentralised revolution. So what is it?
Let’s dive into the specifics of Web3 vs the Metaverse and how they work together to decentralise the internet.
What is Web3?
Web 3.0, also known as the decentralised web, is a new iteration of the internet based on blockchain technology. It envisions an internet where people have control over their own data and creative content is open and available to everyone using decentralised, community-driven systems.
In its essence, Web3 is a solution to the Web2 era of big tech i.e. the current monopoly-based technology landscape, where three companies own most of the data and online content. Decisions in a Web3 environment are made using decentralised community protocols like a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organisation). This way, rather than conglomerates having total control, the community of users who actively participate in the project are able to vote on proposed changes.
Blockchain: the foundation of Web3
Blockchain is the foundational technology behind Web3. In a nutshell, blockchain is a decentralised data storage system. Imagine a form of database but instead of data being held in one central location, it is distributed (shared) between a potentially infinite number of people (specifically their computers). Each person’s computer can have a copy of the database and can make changes, but everyone knows for certain that the data is true.
Blockchain makes it possible for people to own their data in a secure, trustless system that is not controlled by a third party. Web3 is the blockchain-powered internet.
What is the open Metaverse?
The Metaverse, or as we prefer to call it, the open Metaverse, is the natural UX of Web3. This means the Metaverse is the technology layer that allows users to interact with and experience Web3 in an appealing and gamified way.
The Metaverse internet experience can be hard to summarise because it’s many things rather than a single entity. It is a melting pot of innovative applications each providing their own service/experience and increasingly innovative user-owned assets like NFTs. Assets and applications are all interoperable (able to connect and communicate with each other), and crucially they are all grounded in two key principles:
- An immersive internet experience: The internet as it is, operates within many interconnected but separate siloes. The Metaverse removes the boundaries between the major categories we currently engage with e.g finance, gaming, social media, and commerce. This creates a single experience that encompasses all the current features of the internet.
- Ownership: The Metaverse is defined by users having control over their assets, their data and their transactions. Using open-source code with open standards gives ownership back to users and control back to communities. It’s a tug away from the mega-corporations that currently control almost all of the digital tangible value in our lives. In the Metaverse, users own their content, identity, data, avatar and any intelligence that sits behind processes and can take them between applications at will.
Why is it open?
The metaverse offers a blend of the newest technologies alongside a much-needed return to community-driven communication, creativity and fun. In essence, it is the death knell of big tech’s exclusive ownership of value on the internet. So naturally, all of the giants are clamouring desperately to own the metaverse before the revolution totally undermines them.
Rather than pursuing an open, decentralised metaverse, big tech is looking to simply expand their own tightly controlled assets, locking everyone into their offering and charging what they like for it.
With big tech already crawling all over the concept of the metaverse, the communities actually pursuing an open-source movement have had to specifically define their niche. The open metaverse (or the true metaverse) is the genuine article, not to be confused with organisations like Meta who are simply making a walled garden extension of Facebook.
Web3 + open Metaverse = decentralised web
To quickly summarise:
- Web3 is the new decentralised blockchain-powered internet.
- The open Metaverse is built on top of Web3. It provides the UX layer which allows users to intuitively immerse themselves in Web3.
Together Web3 and the Metaverse provide a decentralised, secure, community-owned and immersive internet experience where users have control over their own data.
Payments in the decentralised web
Cryptocurrency (secure trustless payment) has long been the foundation of the decentralised web. But bridging the gap between IRL and Web3 wealth has been a growing problem which has made the transition into the decentralised world tricky for many users and companies. Fortunately, payment solutions are starting to catch up with the rapid developments of Web3 and the Metaverse.
ABOUT IMMERSVE
Immersve is a principle member of the Mastercard network. It’s issuing as a service platform supports both centralised and decentralized payment experiences. Exchanges and dApps (e.g. web3 wallets and DeFi protocols) can easily integrate with Immersve’s APIs and smart contracts to transact anywhere Mastercard is accepted. Immersve is a registered Financial Services Provider. For more information on the APIs go to docs.immersve.com
Immersve uses decentralized protocols, such as smart contracts, to bridge web3 and web2 applications with the Mastercard network. This means that users retain control over their funds, as well as the convenience of being able to use their digital cash at any merchant that accepts Mastercard. Immersve has partnered with Mastercard Digital Identity for KYC/AML and Circle for USDC settlement.Learn more here: www.immersve.com
Follow @immersve to keep up to date with their launch updates and sign up for early access:
Discord: https://discord.gg/immersve
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immersve/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/immersve
Discord: https://discord.gg/immersve
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@immersve
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/immersve/id1637414840
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/65NvqF4qgHGUMud0vBjciF?si=AA0yl383SO2ye3qrWJR8tQ
