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Web3 crash course: The essentials
And why UX Designers should care.
If you have been wondering what Web3 is and how you might harness its power as a UX or Product Designer, then you have come to the right place. Let’s start with some background information.
Web2 vs Web3
Web2 (early 2000s — present) is the era of tech giants and social platforms. Users create and consume content in increasing quantities, and mega-powerful tech companies supply the platforms. These companies act as the middleman between the consumer and the content.
Web3 (2020+) is the era of ownership. Users have the ability not only to create and consume content but to own their content as well. This ownership comes in the form of tokens. Web3 is built on peer-to-peer networks of computers that communicate with each other, which avoids the need for a middleman.
What is blockchain?
In simple terms — “Blockchains store a history of transactions between parties on a forum that can be accessible by anybody.” (web3.university)
Every block consists of a list of transactions, a hash (long string of random characters) for that particular block, and the previous block’s hash. Blocks are linked to the previous block, which forms a chain (aka blockchain). The only way a block can be added to the blockchain is if the other nodes agree.
In order for the nodes to process transactions, they must reach consensus. Consensus algorithms are a core component of the architecture that makes it possible to process transactions without a middleman. The consensus is a decision-making process for the group of nodes active on the network.
There are a couple of popular mechanisms for how nodes reach consensus:
- Proof of Work (Bitcoin uses this)
- Proof of Stake (requires less energy, Ethereum is transitioning to this)
This post won’t dive into the details of these, but I recommend checking out this article if you want to learn more.
What makes blockchain valuable?
Bitcoin was the first widespread use of blockchain technology. The blockchain concept introduced in the design…
