Forget Web3, Web5 is a thing now?
GM, we take the latest Web3 news and translate it into plain old English - so you can stay up to date, without your eyes glazing over.
In today’s edition:
Forget Web3, apparently Web5 is a thing now?
Web3's 'ease-of-use problem', just got a little closer to being solved...
RESOURCE: The three types of crypto wallets - what are they? (Learn in 5:30)
Web3’s covfefe
Terms used (click for translation):
Web3, Blockchain, Crypto Wallet, Layer-2, NFTs
Forget Web3, apparently Web5 is a thing now?
Twitter founder, Jack Dorsey, is a 'Bitcoin maxi'. Meaning he loves Bitcoin and thinks all other coins are a joke.
So much so, that his company 'Block' (formerly Square), are moving past Web3 and working on creating 'Web5'.
(Wait - what happened to Web4? ...we'll get to that).
Ol' Dorsey's idea of 'Web5' is essentially this:
It's everything that Web3 is trying to do in creating a decentralized internet where the end user owns their own data, instead of big tech companies...
But it only uses the Bitcoin network.
No Ethereum, no Solana, no Cardano - no tokens or coins other than Bitcoin.
The key function would be this:
Instead of having multiple blockchain projects, all coded in different languages, that all need to somehow talk to each other...let's just build it on Bitcoin.
You'll have one crypto wallet, with one password, that gives you access to ALL of your data.
(Instead of multiple wallets, with a range of passwords, scattered everywhere).
It'd kind of be like how 1Password stores all of your login data for Facebook, Gmail, Twitter etc. and gives you a single password that unlocks them all.
One online identity, that would hold and manage all of your data.
(Data that you would own and let big tech companies access, not the other way around).
Ok, cool! If it works, it works. We love simple solutions!
But Bitcoin opts for security over speed, so how are they going to create something that can send MASSIVE amounts of data between computers, every second?
They'll be using a layer-2 protocol called 'ION', which is built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain.
What the frig is that - and what does it even mean?
Fair question.
Similar to how iMessage is coded to interact and work with the wide network of iPhones out there, ION is coded to work with the Bitcoin network.
iMessage isn't the iPhone, but it works with it - just like ION isn't Bitcoin, but it works with it.
...so wait a minute.
'Web5' skips over Web3 & 4, and aims to create what everyone in Web3 is currently building - but exclusively on Bitcoin?
Why skip over Web4? And why not just stick with the name 'Web3'?
No one knows - our guess is they chose to skip Web4 because it makes for a great marketing hook.
Dorsey isn't a fan of Web3 as a whole, so this is probably his way of saying:
'I love your mission, but I hate your method...hold my beer, while I show you how I think it should be done'.
We keep saying that Web3 needs to become easier to use - maybe this could be the solution?
Or maybe the crypto community won't be ready to abandon all other coins in favor of Bitcoin and, it'll fall flat on its face?
Who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Web3's 'ease-of-use problem', just got a little closer to being solved...
We said it at the end of our last article, we've said it in previous editions...
We'll say it to just about anyone who will listen:
Web3 has an onboarding problem.
In its current state, it's just too hard to initially use, which is hindering wide spread adoption.
The first step in solving this issue would be to make Web3 transactions as easy and intuitive as swiping a credit card...
Over the weekend, Mastercard revealed plans to let its 2.9B users buy NFTs with their debit/credit cards - no crypto needed.
(Oh damn! We walked you right into that one).
Here's why this is cool:
If something is easy and cheap to use, the more people will use it.
NFT technology has a lot of potential to grow beyond the use case of 'verification / proof of ownership of digital art'.
The example we love to point towards, is the ticketing industry.
'NFT tickets' (NF-Tickets, if you will) to a show / movie / performance, could double as collectibles and incentivize wider attendance.
E.g. Day one viewings of a new Marvel film could have a unique and exclusive NFT Ticket design, the idea being:
More people will pre-book in order to get the collectible NFT ticket (that can appreciate in value over time). As a result, the film's opening weekend numbers go up.
But whatever potential this technology has, none of it will be realized at scale, if it's too hard and expensive to use.
This Mastercard integration brings us one step closer to a seamless NFT purchasing experience...pair that with a low fee blockchain network (like Solana):
You have easy.
You have cheap.
Very cool to see.
Resource of the day
The three types of crypto wallets - what are they?
(Learn in 5:30)
Web3’s covfefe
Back when Trump had Twitter, he used to tweet a lot.
On May 31, 2017, he tweeted: “Despite the constant negative press covfefe”.
And the internet blew up!
There were endless memes and JP Morgan Chase even went as far as creating the ‘Volfefe Index’ which recorded the volatility in market sentiment caused by Trump’s tweets.
Jack Dorsey has just done the something similar, writing ‘Solana’ as ‘Solano’.
And the Solana team have absolutely run with it!
They've responded by changing their Twitter name to 'Solano' and taking swings at Jack's 'Web5' concept in their bio:
The community loved it, and we think it’s kinda genius.
Here’s why:
It’s great marketing. Their change in Twitter name has gone viral and people (like us) are all suddenly talking about SOL again in a not-so-negative way (regardless of their ~40% fall in price over the past month).
It gives the Solana team a bit of a personality. Being a ‘layer-1 protocol’ doesn’t exactly scream 'fun'. Laughing along with the shade being thrown at you by an industry heavyweight, does.
It shows how strong the Crypto Twitter community is. Almost everyone in the space has been crushed recently. All the coins are down YTD, and NFT projects are flailing. But regardless, at least we can still have a bit of fun.
We give this two thumbs up, three Molto Bene's, and a chef's kiss
Your Daily Dose of Web3
Ethereum core devs delay crucial ‘difficulty bomb’ for two months
‘Really dumb’: Coinbase CEO slams employee petition to remove execs
Survey shows more than 64% of people buy NFTs just to profit
Alright, that’s it for today!
Love to the family,