Cryptocurrency and blockchain: what is Web3, honored at Vivatech?

Aurélien Fleurot, edited by Mélanie Faure 07:21, June 15, 2022

It is in the spotlight of the 7th edition of the Vivatech show in Paris: what is Web3, the third generation of the Internet?

A new era is dawning for digital.

Web3, the new generation of the web, notably uses blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, unlike Web2 based on social networks.

But first let's go back to the beginnings of the web.

In the beginning, the Internet was essentially the era of consultation, messaging, search engine, online videos... Then came Web2.

There, Internet users are less passive: they express themselves on social networks and publish their own content.

Then comes the Web3, the control of our data through blockchain technology, the chains of blocks which make it possible to protect ourselves from the digital giants.

A decentralized Internet

Choose rather than suffer as Julien Furlanetto explains.

"It's an Internet that redistributes the value that can be generated by each other", deciphers at the microphone of Europe 1 the manager of the consulting firm Wavestone.

"For example, today, with a platform like YouTube typically anchored in Web2, we have content creators who are paid by a centralized actor that is YouTube. Web3 is people who watch videos and can directly pay whatever amount they deem fair to content creators."

>> Find Europe Matin in replay and podcast here

This decentralized Internet will offer new ways to pay without going through traditional banks and also immersive experiences.

There, it is the subject of the famous Metaverse, a virtual world, which for many critics, is rather smoky for the moment. 

By 2026, US consulting firm Gartner estimates that 25% of people will spend at least one hour a day in the Metaverse for work, shopping, education, social media and/or entertainment.

Finally, blockchain is expected to increase global GDP by $422 billion by 2025 and $1.76 trillion by 2030, or 1.4% of the global economy (PwC).