The "Land Grab" of Web3: A Global Digital Transformation

The wave of the digital age is sweeping across the globe at an unprecedented speed. From the Stone Age to the Agricultural Age, and then to the Industrial Age, the progress of human society has been accelerating. Today, we are in the early stages of a technological explosion, characterized by the widespread application of programmable tools worldwide.

Humanity took 3 million years to progress from using stone tools to hoes, and then to programmable tools. However, since the advent of integrated circuit computers in 1964, the pace at which humanity has entered the digital age has been remarkably rapid. In this new era, the programmability of tools has become the most significant feature, greatly enhancing humanity's ability to transform the physical world and profoundly changing the industrial structure across various fields.

The platform structure in the digital age can be divided into the front end and the back end. The back end includes devices and networks, while the front end includes devices and user interaction interfaces. From the era of standalone computers and local area networks in Web0, to Web1, Web2, and now Web3, network technology continues to evolve. The main difference between Web3 and Web2 is that users have greater data sovereignty. This characteristic is largely made possible by blockchain technology, which ensures that data is verifiable at the time of its creation.

However, the development of new things is always full of challenges. As the core product of the second financial revolution, programmable financial products have been downgraded to "virtual currencies" under pressure from governments and traditional sectors around the world. The development path of blockchain, as the core backend technology of Web3, is also not smooth. Faced with these unprecedented things, people's reactions are often surprise, confusion, and then learning and understanding.

Nonetheless, some pioneers have insight into the potential of this technological and financial transformation. Elites from top universities around the world have immersed themselves in the Web3 space, founding numerous projects. In the infrastructure sector, the United States dominates; in the centralized finance (CeFi) sector, the Chinese occupy a significant portion of the market; in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, nearly half is operated by the Chinese community; and the NFT and gaming sectors present a global competitive landscape.

In the projects that have received funding, the United States, China, and Singapore rank in the top three. It is worth noting that the difficulty of obtaining investment for Chinese projects is higher than that for American projects, and the voice of Chinese Web3 capital is relatively low. However, with changes in the policy environment, this pattern may change.

In any case, the global user base of Web3 has reached 250 million, and its impact is expanding beyond the financial sector, gradually penetrating multiple fields such as gaming, social interaction, content creation, communication, transportation, healthcare, education, and shopping. At the current rate of development, the number of Web3 users could reach 1 billion within 5 years, covering 60% of the global population within 10 years.

Humanity is experiencing the steepest value growth phase since the Stone Age. In this rapidly changing world, a generation can witness earth-shattering changes. In the face of this global digital revolution, each of us needs to be prepared to embrace the upcoming new era.