Web3.0 expands new space for digital economic growth

 Blockchain News    |      2022-09-24

Author: Zhang Yihui (Institute of Cloud Computing and Big Data, China Academy of Information and Communications Technology)

At present, Web3.0 is not only the hot spot that the industry is chasing, but also the focus of controversy. It is undeniable that Web3.0 is still in the stage of outlining the vision, and has not yet moved from PPT to reality. However, as an important innovation in the Internet technology ecology, Web3.0 has a clear positive value for the development of the digital economy.

Of course, the new online world requires new rules. In my country, the final form of Web 3.0 will be affected by infrastructure, technological development, and business models. Before it is truly implemented, it still faces many challenges such as governance, technology, and security. It also requires government departments, industries, etc. , enterprises and other parties work together to strengthen the supervision and guidance of related technologies and industries.

Web 1.0 is considered to be the "Internet of Information", which appeared in the PC Internet era.

The main application of the Internet is mainly media, and a large number of portal websites that provide information have been born.

Users can obtain content one-way from the Internet, but most of these content are in a "read-only" mode, and the typical profit model is "free + advertising".

Web2.0 is an interactive Internet that appeared in the era of mobile Internet.

Represented by interactive applications such as instant messaging, social media, and e-commerce, the Internet platform has become the center.

Users can create their own content on these platforms, but all content data is owned by the platform, and creators have no data ownership, nor can they enjoy relevant rights and interests. The typical profit model is "platform economy".

In 2014, the co-founder of Ethereum, Gavin Wood, first publicly proposed the concept of Web 3.0.

It is regarded as a new generation of credible value Internet, the biggest feature is "decentralization", and the main supporting technologies are blockchain, digital identity authentication, etc.

The biggest breakthrough is to solve the problem of who the data belongs to. The ownership and control of the digital content created by the user belong to the user.

It will build a new Internet economic system in which users create, build, share and govern together, thus giving birth to more new formats.

Viewpoint 1

At present, the whole society is rapidly moving towards the era of digital economy, and digital technology is the most important driving force of the digital economy. It is expected that in the next 20 years, the digital economy will become an important pillar of my country's economy. From the perspective of structure, the digital economy is gradually moving from the monopoly platform and monopoly economy in the Web2.0 era to the Web3.0 era, that is, a blockchain-driven sharing economy.

——Wang Yang, Vice President of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

View 2

The most special feature of Web3.0 is that the ownership and control of the digital content created by the user belongs to the user, and the value created by the user can be distributed by the user independently choosing to sign an agreement with others. In this case, digital content is not only simple data, but also the digital assets of its users, and should be guaranteed at the asset level. This is Web 3.0, an automated and intelligent new Internet world.

——Li Keqiu, professor of the Department of Computation, Tianjin University

Viewpoint 3

The promotion effect of the metaverse on the economy is mainly reflected in the precise pricing of intangible assets. Intangible assets will have the opportunity to become the second growth curve of human civilization in the future. Blockchain is the core technology of Web3.0, because blockchain can provide time order for the digital world, and the metaverse actually needs blockchain technology to provide time order. A metaverse without a blockchain makes it difficult to deliver value and foster innovation and collaboration.

——Cai Hengjin, professor at the School of Computer Science, Wuhan University

Observed

Web3.0 will become the value engine to promote the development of the digital economy

——Lv Tingjie, executive vice chairman of China Information Economics Association

"There will be a huge revolution in the Internet in 5 to 8 years. This is Web3.0." Lv Tingjie, executive vice chairman of the China Information Economics Association, made this judgment in an interview with a reporter from the People's Posts and Telecommunications News. In his opinion, Web3. 0 is expected to become the value engine driving the development of the digital economy.

From Web1.0 to Web2.0, the iteration of the Internet can always lead to changes in user behavior and business models. In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee proposed the idea of the World Wide Web, and the prototype of Web 1.0 appeared. "This is a transition from 'department store' to 'supermarket'." Lu Tingjie said, "Web 1.0 is a 'readable' Internet, hypertext links, with URLs and search engines, Internet service providers can When content is placed on the Internet, users can choose content from passive acceptance to what they need. Everyone has more freedom in choosing what content they are interested in and which websites to visit. At that time, Yahoo, Sina, Sohu, and Netease Such portals emerge as the times require and become the value engine of the Web1.0 era.”

Driven by technology and demand, the Internet will soon enter the 2.0 era. "Web 2.0 appeared around 2004, it is not only 'readable' but also 'writable'." Lu Tingjie said, "Every user is both a content producer and a content consumer, instant messaging, social media, e-commerce, etc. Interactive applications are emerging one after another, creating value through a variety of business models.”

However, whether it is the typical business model of Web1.0 "traffic is king" or the "platform economy" of Web2.0, the massive data generated on the Internet belongs to the website or platform, and the creator has no ownership of the data, even if the data generates value, Users are also unable to enjoy related rights and interests.

The emergence of the blockchain-enabled Web3.0 has solved the above problems. "Web3.0 not only allows users to be 'readable and writable', but also 'ownable'." Lu Tingjie said, "In the era of Web3.0, each user only needs one network account to log in to all websites. This account is closely related to Internet companies. It has nothing to do with the rise and fall of the platform. User data is stored in a distributed manner, the property rights of the data belong to the user, and the economic benefits realized through the data also belong to the user.” Web3.0 is regarded as a new generation of credible Internet of value. Build a new Internet economic system in which users create, build, share and govern together, thus giving birth to more new formats.

With the help of non-homogeneous digital asset certificates (NFT), a new digital copyright system will be established on Web3.0. For example, Lu Tingjie, a painting can sell its digital content to the public through NFT, and users can jointly own the digital collection with other buyers by purchasing a share of "ownership". "If the price of the painting increases, the 'share' held by the user will also increase in price; if the user does not want the painting, he can sell his 'share'." Since the transaction is built on the block On the basis of the chain, its immutability also ensures that users will not buy "fake paintings", because the real paintings that can be faked have been destroyed. The digitized assets stored on the blockchain cannot be tampered with or denied, thus ensuring the authenticity of Internet transactions.

Web3.0 makes the "metaverse" move from concept to reality. The integration of Web 3.0 and the new generation of information technology can help vertical industries improve efficiency and reduce risks. Web3.0 combines the physical layer, digital information layer, and spatial interaction layer, and superimposes new-generation information technologies such as AR/VR, 5G, edge computing, cloud computing, AI, and image rendering, and can create a "holographic Internet" for industrial Applications such as simulation provide more realistic test scenarios.

"We have developed an engine, and we must follow the aerodynamic environment to consider whether the engine's dynamic performance is reliable, so we need to do industrial simulation. With digital technology, we don't even need to do many complex physical simulations, just use digital The algorithm coupled with advanced immersive image restoration equipment can generate such a scene." Lu Tingjie said, "The core value of this application is to reduce the cost of complex, dangerous and high-cost industries, and the cost of trial and error. almost zero."

"After the invention of movies, human life has been at least three times longer than before, and in the digital time and space built by Web3.0 and the 'metaverse', this number may reach ten times." Lu Tingjie explained vividly, "In Web3. In the .0 era, we are like playing games. There will be many trajectories in life. Maybe we will talk about singing skills with Teresa Teng, or we will talk about the adaptation of a piece of music with Jay Chou. At this time, we need big data from Teresa Teng and Jay Chou at the technical level. , need to have enough computing power, artificial intelligence-based script deduction ability, immersive experience of terminal equipment, etc., otherwise it will not be able to provide their way of thinking and voice to communicate with users. Among them, the blockchain will be used in Teng Lijun or Jay Chou. The copyright protection of related content data plays a key role." In the era of Web 3.0, various innovative formats will continue to emerge.

Although Web3.0 has brought a lot of commercial value, it is undeniable that as a new generation of Internet, issues such as governance, security, privacy, and development rhythm have also become obstacles to its development. In this regard, Lu Tingjie said: "In the past two generations Judging from the development history of the Internet, my country has adopted the method of simultaneous development and governance, and has achieved very good results, and the same method can be used in the supervision of Web 3.0."

In the era of Web 1.0, my country is an uncompromising follower. In the era of Web 2.0, some applications that profoundly changed the global social network pattern were born in our country. Now, my country's Internet has been deeply integrated into the real economy, and there is a fertile ground for cultivating new forms of business. At the same time, a number of world-leading Internet companies have been born. At present, relevant industries in my country have begun to explore Web3.0-related technologies suitable for my country's development. In the continuous deepening and improvement, Web3.0 may become a value engine to promote the development of the digital economy.

What opportunities and challenges does Web3.0 face in the digital economy era?

At present, a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is accelerating. The world's major economies are competing to deploy digital technology and digital economy, and the competition in key core technology fields is becoming increasingly fierce. my country attaches great importance to the development of the digital economy and has elevated it to a national strategy. The "14th Five-Year Plan for Digital Economy Development" clarifies the guiding ideology, basic principles, development goals, key tasks and safeguard measures for promoting the healthy development of the digital economy during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period. According to data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, new breakthroughs will be made in the development of my country's digital economy in 2021, with the scale of the digital economy reaching 45.5 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.2%.

With the in-depth development of the digital economy, problems in the Internet industry such as platform monopoly, data leakage, and lack of trust continue to emerge, and the voices of all sectors of society for promoting the next-generation Internet revolution are getting louder. The concept of Web3.0 came into being. The core of Web3.0 is to solve the problem of data ownership and value expression in the digital world. It is expected to transform the Internet from the three aspects of technology, industry and economy, and then promote the innovation of production methods, organizational order and economic form. However, there are still immature applications. , financial derivative risks and other issues that need attention.

Web3.0 has a clear positive value for the development of the digital economy

In response to the development status of Web 2.0, the industry is actively exploring Web 3.0 to solve problems such as data rights protection, data security and governance brought about by the centralized architecture. Web3.0 can be understood as the next-generation Internet form following Web1.0 and Web2.0. It is a decentralized, user-created network with data asset value, which can meet the needs of industry and society for platform decentralization, Eliminate data and application silos and build data governance frameworks.

Web3.0 has a clear positive value for the development of the digital economy. The first is to realize a new paradigm of network organization and value circulation. Web3.0 realizes the assetization of digital content based on blockchain technology. Users can control the use and circulation of digital assets through their own private keys, making it easier for users to benefit from their digital labor and creation. The related application is value circulation Provide forward-looking solutions.

Second, the distributed storage mode reduces data security risks. Web3.0 establishes an open technology ecosystem based on blockchain, and reduces centralized security risks through distributed data storage, peer-to-peer communication protocols, and contractualization of data circulation rules.

The third is to realize user data ownership control and protect privacy security. Web3.0 returns the data rights to the data subject through the assetization of digital content. Users can create and consume content through the token (Token), obtain the ownership of their own content creation, and ensure personal privacy and security.

The fourth is to create new business models and huge markets. The digital asset system of Web3.0 can strengthen, optimize and expand the digital economy, reduce the cost of trust between multiple parties, promote the emergence of new business models of value flow, and create a huge "digital native economic system" in the digital world. market and expand new space for digital economic growth.

Competing at home and abroad to deploy Web3.0 industrial ecology

In terms of policy, countries and regions such as the United States and Europe are actively promoting the development of Web 3.0, hoping to continue to lead Internet innovation. In December 2021, at a congressional hearing held in the U.S. House of Representatives, Republican congressmen initiated a discussion on "how to ensure the Web 3.0 revolution happens in the United States." Promote Web 3.0 and ensure that the United States is in a leadership position in the Web 3.0 era.

In May 2022, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida issued a statement to the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives (lower house), saying that the advent of the Web 3.0 era may lead to (Japan) economic growth, and it is necessary to resolutely promote this environment from a political point of view. The goal is to Nurturing start-ups in the field and attracting technology companies from overseas capital.

In March 2022, the European Parliament voted to pass the "Crypto Asset Regulatory Market Proposal", which aims to provide a regulatory framework for the issuance and trading of encrypted assets, and the advantages of cryptocurrencies are obvious.

Singapore has become a node for global Web3.0 entrepreneurship. In 2021, European and American leading blockchain companies such as Coinbase, FTX, and A16z have successively set up R&D centers or headquarters in Singapore, attracting global Internet practitioners to settle in Singapore.

my country's existing policies mainly focus on promoting the development of Web3.0 supporting technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and edge computing, and maintain a strict supervision attitude towards cryptocurrencies.

In terms of industry, the current foreign Web3.0 ecosystem is expanding rapidly, and the scale of commercial applications of encrypted assets continues to grow, attracting the influx of global capital, talents and users.

First, the amount of investment increased rapidly. As of June 2022, the total amount of global related investment and financing is about 160 billion US dollars, and investment institutions are mainly distributed in North America and Europe. North America is the world leader with about 73.3 billion US dollars of investment. Second, the scale of the foreign Web3.0 industry continues to expand. In the first half of 2022, the global Web 3.0 business revenue will be about 20 billion US dollars. The third is the growing number of foreign participants. As of June 2022, the number of active developers of Web3.0-related open source projects on Github reached 20,000, and the digital content trading platform Opensea (accounting for 78% of the market share) had 600,000 monthly active users.

Relying on their own development advantages, domestic leading enterprises mainly focus on non-local projects in the layout of Web3.0, focusing on relatively open supervision of blockchain, digital collections, etc. For example, Ali established Artifact Labs, an NFT company, and Tencent participated in investing in Australian NFT games. The company Immutable and ByteDance spent nearly 10 billion yuan to acquire Pico.

Web3.0 development uncertainty and related risks remain

At present, the application level of Web 3.0 technology is still in its infancy. Various projects are presented in scattered spots, and a systematic application ecology that supports each other has not yet been formed, so there are great uncertainties and potential risks.

Industry perceptions are inconsistent. At present, the industry's understanding of Web 3.0 is far from unified, and there are great disputes over its development prospects. For example, in December 2021, Musk tweeted that "Web 3.0 does not really exist at this stage, it is more like is a marketing term". Some market participants may hype Web 3.0 and its related concepts, intending to "cut the leeks" by taking advantage of the lack of public awareness.

The technology application is not yet mature. Key applications such as digital identity, digital assets, and autonomous organizations in Web3.0 are currently in the early stages of development, and the exploration of related business models is also in the early experimental stage. The future technology evolution path is not clear, and the existing technology system is difficult to match the long-term Web3.0. There is great uncertainty in the development needs.

New requirements for the regulatory governance system. The current regulatory policies represented by the "Regulations on the Administration of Internet Information Service Algorithms Recommendation" and "Regulations on the Management of Internet User Account Information" are mainly aimed at regulating the existing centralized platform economic model, and the Web3.0 distributed concept puts forward new requirements for regulation.

Explore the development path of Web3.0 with Chinese characteristics

In the short term, the next 5-7 years will still be the exploration period of Web 3.0, and there are still a lot of technical, application and ecological development problems to be solved. From a long-term perspective, the Web3.0 technology ecosystem is expected to become an important innovative force to promote the next-generation Internet revolution. As a turn of Web2.0 rather than a replacement, the technology application ecosystems of the two will coexist, complement and integrate for a long time. develop.

Web3.0 technology development and commercial applications have broad imagination space, but a series of practical problems such as technology, application, and supervision still need to be solved in the process of its development and maturity. At present, the key to my country's development of Web3.0 is to rationally understand the development laws of new technology industries, neither blindly copying foreign countries nor giving up independent exploration. On the basis of combining domestic actual conditions, adopt a tolerant and prudent attitude, actively and steadily explore with Chinese characteristics The development path of Web3.0.

Source: https://www.jinse.com/blockchain/2343616.html