Corporates and Degens — Better together
Hi folks, Mark and Arturo here, co-founders of NotCentralised (as well as the Australian DeFi Association and TradeFlows). In our web3 journey so far, we’ve been lucky to build an amazing community and also get to know what people in web3 are building (we’re building ourselves too). Along the way we’ve also been dealing with the world of web2 (corporates) and whilst we’re seeing progress there in communicating and educating on new technology, we’re also still seeing gaps in the market. This article is all about that.
Whenever any new technology shift occurs, there’s a particular process that new players and incumbents tend to go through which we’re in the middle of right now. We’ve got some observations below of what we see going on in this space and how both sides can come together.
So that you don’t need to read through the whole thing to get some quick value, here’s a bit of a TL;DR
TL;DR
- The web3 conversation continues to mature and web2 (corporates) are having conversations
- Web2 play an important role for web3 adoption — more than they realise
- Web2 has to work with web3 to make this successful
- Getting started may be low cost but it does require resources
- A united representative front is what is needed for to steer the conversation and guide government regulation
- What comes next (for this you’ll have to scroll down)
The web3 conversation is evolving
Conversations about blockchain, DeFi and even NFTs have evolved such that corporates are talking more and more with web3 companies. But, whether it’s meetings we are having or it’s from what others are going throug, the experience appears to be similar. Web2 firms have matured and are willing to listen. It’s just that those next steps forward are somewhat missing.
Evolution requires both sides to take steps forward and whether it’s corporates, industry bodies, VCs (venture capital) or others, we need web2 to also take some actions to keep the engagement going. If not, the momentum we’ve been having will slow down and missed opportunities will arise.
The role of Web2
Web2 plays an important role in this space and it’s far more important than many people think. Even if there isn’t a web3 strategy in place, companies need to have a think about how web3 affects them.
- How can we use blockchain tech, NFTs, DeFi?
- What does my web3 competitor look like?
- Which parts of my business make sense to streamline and share value with consumers/users?
The fact that there are some companies taking meetings with web3 is a massive step in the right direction and we encourage that to continue. However, we need to see far more of this sort of discourse going on.
Web2 firms can give guidance about what they need to see and how things best work for their customers. If there’s a lack of communication, solutions get built in the blind and that’s just a waste of resources. Web3 wastes time building things that won’t get used and web2 misses out on opportunities to innovate.
Web2 and Web3 need to be partners
If this is going to move forward, its going to be based on both groups working together and having conversations on the home grounds of both (web3 meetup spots, web2 in the boardrooms) — aka they have to learn how to dance with each other.
As mentioned, web3 won’t go mainstream without web2 but equally, web2 might miss the ability see outsized innovation in whatever industry they’re in without web3.
Making this happen requires both sides of the aisle to take steps forward whether it’s in private meetings, conferences, podcasts or other community events they get to attend.
Web3 is a brand new space that does well when there is a spirit of collabration and community. Think “we” not “me” and “us” not “I”.
Great, but what’s it going to cost to get started?
Getting started and involved in the web3 space, isn’t something that requires huge sums of money. It does depend on what you want to do but simply by showing support for community events, web2 companies can make a name for themselves. The web3 space lives on Discord and Twitter. Discord is a Slack-type chat/communications app that can get overwhelming at times (depending on how many servers you have) but one of it’s greatest strength is its ability to continue the conversations outside of the fortnightly or monthly meetups.
Right now, the greatest gift that web2 can bring to the equation is TIME. The time that a company can give towards sharing ideas and insights for web3 companies and steering them towards the type of innovation that is needed in this space will be invaluable.
Startups in the web3 space are hungry to innovate and web2 firms have a chance to feed this hunger and help themselves through having these sorts of conversations.
Some ways that web2 can give their time includes:
- Running innovation forums and inviting web3 firms in to present
- Providing space for web3 related meetups to run their events from
- Sponsoring drinks or food packages at these events
- Hosting web3 based hackathons that solve web2 company problems
For example, there’s the Aus DeFi Association which we’re co-founders of. It has partnered with FEX Global/Mercari to host monthly meetups in Sydney tp bring the community together and share projects and other insights. Aus DeFi partners with other organisations in other states too. There’s other associations and groups looking to do the same so reach out to them or let them get in touch with you (and ask us at NotCentralised if you don’t know where to find them).
Regulatory
This space goes nowhere forward as fast as it could if we do not help get regulation in this space going. Without regulation, many firms and investors are holding back from doing anything as they need the safety barriers in place. Various government departments like Commonwealth Treasury have already begun the process of getting legislation in place with their recent consultation paper out for public response (and they’re currently reviewing that feedback). ATO, APRA, AUSTRAC and others are or will be doing their own things too.
More can be done. But, how much bette it will be when there is a united front that is presented back to these departments.
As much as Australia watches what happens overseas, we also need to steer things ourselves. It’s always too later after the fact and whilst regulation isn’t in place yet, we get a chance to bring the community together (industry, corporates, builders) to present what we need this space to look like from a legal point of view.
At a recent Aus DeFi event in Melbourne, Steve Vallas (BA CEO) said it well, that the web3 community needs to help steer the conversation with government and help join the dots — it wont happen by itself.
What comes next?
So, now that we’re here, what comes next? First up, if you’re in web2, you will need to find out what events are going on. We’ve created a calendar of web3 evenets we know going on around Australia so that each week, whatever city you’re in, you can be aware of what is going on (access here: https://tinyurl.com/web3calendarAU).
Next up, get to know the organisations that are behind these events. It’s groups like
- Australian DeFi Association (where most of NotCentralised is from)
- Blockchain Australia
- Blockchain Sydney
- All Things Blockchain
- Blockchain Professionals
- NFT MELB
- NFTSYD
- Aussie Crypto Roadshow
- Australian Crypto Conference and many, many more.
Additionally, the web3 space lives on Twitter and Discord. Twitter is something that a lot of web3 projects, communities and personalities jump into and share their thoughts on the space as well as analytics, insights and more. They can share updates of what they’re building
Or events they’ve been to
Or even Tweet threads about various topics like how economics works in a web3 world
Discord, a communication app similar to Slack but built for gamers, is where many web3 projects flocked to and whilst it has its pros, there are some flaws to it too. One glaring one has been how members of those Discords have been subject to phishing attacks by clicking on messages posed to them by seemingly real members and other community based limitations (see this article(https://pizzaparty.substack.com/p/the-nightmare-of-discord-why-you ). Of course in a web2 setting, corporate, securitised, token-gated type communities would be created but for more social type environments where its more about communication rather than selling something, Discord still works.
Another great way to get started is to invite web3 communities and companies into your space, your home turf / territory. If you have space, offer it up and perhaps even sponsor drinks or events so that you can get a taste for what is on offer. These can be steered, of course, to your industry and type of work so that there’s relevancy. It might start off with drinks and presentations and then evolve to even doing hackathons.
Whatever you do, remember not to go at this alone, work with others! There is no better way to be seen as a community member than to become one. If you contribute and add value, it will come back to you in droves.
