The term "Web3" has become synonymous with blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs. The prevailing narrative is that a decentralised, user-owned internet is impossible without a distributed ledger.
It's time to call this what it is: a catastrophic conflation of a philosophical goal with a highly problematic technology.
The truth is that the core ideals of Web3—user sovereignty, data ownership, and decentralised governance—are not only achievable without blockchain, but they are likely better, faster, and more sustainably achieved by other means. Blockchain, for all its hype, has failed to produce a single, scalable, and genuinely useful application for the vast majority of internet users.
Let's separate the vision from the vendor.
The Web3 Vision: What We're Actually Fighting For
At its heart, Web3 is a reaction to the failings of Web2—the age of centralised platforms like Google and Meta. The goals are noble:
User Ownership
You should own your identity, your data, and your digital assets.
Decentralised Control
No single entity should have the power to de-platform you, sell your data, or change the rules on a whim.
Interoperability
Your digital life should be portable. Your reputation and assets on one platform should be usable on another.
These are architectural and philosophical principles. They are not inherently tied to a specific data structure.
The Blockchain Problem: A Solution in Search of a Problem
Blockchain proposes to solve these problems with a specific toolkit: a distributed, immutable ledger secured by cryptographic proof-of-work or proof-of-stake. But this toolkit comes with fatal flaws that make it unsuitable for a global-scale web.
1. The Performance Paradox
A truly decentralised and secure blockchain is inherently slow and inefficient. The "trustless" consensus mechanism requires every node to validate every transaction, creating a throughput bottleneck. Visa handles 65,000 transactions per second; Ethereum handles 15-30. The internet cannot run on this.
2. The Centralisation Irony
The dream of decentralisation has birthed new, more opaque centralisations. Mining pools, proof-of-stake validators, and centralised exchanges (like the failed FTX) have become the new powerful intermediaries. The power did not disperse; it simply shifted to a different, often less-regulated, elite.
3. The Immutability Trap
An immutable ledger is a bug, not a feature, for most applications. What happens when you make a mistake? Or when a law requires data to be edited or deleted (the "Right to be Forgotten" under GDPR)? Immutability creates a permanent, unchangeable record of every error and piece of harmful data, making it legally and ethically fraught.
4. The Environmental Disaster
Proof-of-work blockchains consume electricity at a scale comparable to small nations for the sole purpose of securing the network. In an age of climate crisis, building a new foundational layer for the internet on such an energetically profligate technology is morally and practically indefensible.
The Better Paths to a Real Web3
If we jettison the blockchain dogma, a world of more elegant, efficient, and practical solutions emerges. The real Web3 will be built on a mix of existing and emerging technologies that achieve the same goals without the baggage.
Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) with Decentralised Identifiers (DIDs)
This standard allows you to create and control your own digital identity without a central registry—and without a blockchain. You can store your identity credentials (like a driver's license or professional certification) on your own device and present verifiable proofs to anyone, anywhere. It's user-centric, private, and efficient.
InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) & Content-Addressing
Instead of relying on centralised servers (https://facebook.com/your-photo.jpg), IPFS allows you to store and share data in a distributed network. Content is addressed by what it is (a cryptographic hash), not where it is. This creates a permanent, resilient, and decentralised web. It can be paired with technologies like Gun.js or Holochain for real-time data syncing without global consensus.
Federated Protocols (The "Email" Model)
Email is the most successful decentralised system in history. You can have an account with Gmail, and I can have one with ProtonMail, and we can still communicate seamlessly. This federated model is being revived by protocols like ActivityPub (which powers Mastodon and the Fediverse), providing a decentralised alternative to social media that doesn't require a token or a blockchain.
Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) & Advanced Cryptography
You can prove you are over 18 without revealing your birthdate. You can prove you have a valid driving license without handing over a copy. ZKPs and other cryptographic techniques enable trust and verification without exposing underlying data—and without needing a global ledger to do it.
Conclusion: Reclaiming the Web3 Vision
The conflation of Web3 with blockchain is a marketing coup that has held back genuine innovation. It has distracted us with speculative asset trading and techno-utopianism while ignoring simpler, more robust paths to a better internet.
The future of the web is not a global spreadsheet that everyone has to copy and update. It is a tapestry of interoperable protocols, user-controlled data vaults, and federated networks.
Let's stop trying to put the entire internet on a blockchain. Let's instead build a Web3 that is fast, sustainable, and usable—one that achieves the dream of user sovereignty without being shackled to a technology that has, so far, delivered little more than volatility, environmental damage, and a new class of centralised middlemen.
The real Web3 won't be built on a chain. It will be built on smarter, more human-centric foundations.