Web3 technology, which includes blockchain and decentralized platforms, has been surrounded by speculation about its real-world utility for a long time. The focus has been on the return on investment rather than the utility of the technology. However, there are developers who are building products and services using web3 technology, but most of the users are interested in the speculative side of this.
The web3 community needs to shift their focus from speculation to real-world utility and problem-solving. Even though there are many potential applications for web3 technologies, the majority of the projects are driven by token-based incentive mechanisms. This can turn a project with utility into a multi-level marketing scheme, where the primary interest is in shilling a token.
Creating a real utility token is crucial, and developers should aim to build applications and projects that solve real-world problems for people. These projects should be disconnected from tokeneconomic effects, which takes away their real utility. The more the industry can move away from an obsession with tokens and the speculation premium, the better it will be.
The DeFi and crypto ecosystems are important as they provide valuable services to those living in less stable monetary regimes. However, web3 needs to move beyond the association with price everywhere. For web3 to reach its full potential, investors need to focus more on the infrastructure that is being built out by projects.
Web3 needs to create stable bases where there isn’t constantly a “better layer X” coming onboard. This will strengthen the foundations upon which web3 is being built and will lead to fewer opportunities to spin up new competitive platforms with tokens due to the ever-increasing barriers to entry.
Once the industry moves beyond the price fever, web3 will be ready to solve real-world problems and provide genuine utility. This will be when those building will rejoice, as we’ll have an ecosystem that is truly valuable in the sense of solving real world problems and providing genuine utility which is where anyone committed to web3 wants to get to.
