Web3 and Blockchain: A (Very) Quick & Easy Guide
B.A.S.E.(X) - Blockchain - The Really Interesting Stuff
Hello!
It’s fab to be back, but hands up, it was also fab to be away.
Not least because in meeting different folk, you often get asked different questions.
And on this last trip I got asked the same question two different ways - “What has blockchain got to do with Web3?”
It’s enough to send any mortal to sleep, right?
Well, yes, unless you understand it - and that actually isn’t a very difficult thing to do!
So, let’s do that, and as I’m still all-of-a-happiez about the cuisine I indulged in when I travelled (Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Japanese), my analogies might be a little food orientated. Perhaps don’t read unless you’ve got a snack nearby!
Web3 and blockchain get thrown around together a lot.
Web3’s the big idea - a future where you don’t just read or post online, but own your digital patch.
Blockchain’s the plumbing that could make it possible.
Which is all a bit intangible, isn’t it, so let’s look at it like this (standby for food references!…)
It’s a bit like a dinner party in three acts:
Web1 (Read-Only): You can see the menu but you’re not allowed to order - or even grab a chair. Think static news sites or old-school directories.
Web2 (Read-Write): You’re allowed to share your own recipes, but the restaurant still owns the plates and decides who gets to eat. Think: social media - share what you like, but your data’s never really yours.
Web3 (Read-Write-Own): Here, you bring your own plates and your own recipes. You’re meant to own your seat at the table - no one to shut you out, no one to take it away.
Blockchain’s the ledger that keeps it all honest - no maitre d’ to decide if you’re welcome, no backroom deals over the last pint of milk.
It’s meant to be fair, transparent, and up for inspection.
In practice?
It’s still a mess.
Blockchain’s slow, and while it cuts out the middlemen, it’s far from foolproof.
Power just moves elsewhere - to the people who built the kitchen (Web3 infrastructure).
And Web3’s still a work in progress.
But when you know all of the above, for me at least, the next logical question is:
Who really owns the digital world - Web3 or otherwise - that we keep expanding?
And if it’s not us, who’s cashing in on all the plates we keep stacking?…
- Cat
If you’re interested in knowing more, or keeping an eye on some of the players, the list below might be helpful - ‘cause as the old nod and a wink reminds us:
Someone always writes the guest list.
The only question is - who’s holding the pen?
Venture Capital firms (like Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital) - they fund the infrastructure and protocols that power much of Web3.
Blockchain Founders & Protocol Creators - think Vitalik Buterin (Ethereum), Gavin Wood (Polkadot), Charles Hoskinson (Cardano).
Exchanges & Custodians - Coinbase, Binance, and even old-school financial players (like Fidelity) are getting into crypto custody.
Token Whales - early backers or large holders of tokens who can influence governance and price.
Layer-1 Blockchain Operators - Solana, Avalanche, Polygon, each with their own ecosystems and developer teams profiting from activity and fees.