Web3

Web3 is a pitch for the internet's next chapter. Web1 was mostly reading static pages. Web2 brought posting and sharing, on platforms owned by big companies that keep the data. Web3 imagines apps built on blockchains, where you log in with a wallet and actually own your accounts, money and digital items like NFTs.

The term was popularised by Gavin Wood. Supporters see it as handing power back to users; critics see a lot of speculation wearing a futuristic costume. It's still more direction than destination. (Don't mix it up with "Web 3.0", an older idea about a machine-readable web, though people often use the names interchangeably.)