It’s not difficult to find recent examples of investment in Web3, the sometimes controversial plan to make the internet decentralized.
For those in the know, this part of internet lore includes everything related to cryptocurrency, NFTs, and the blockchain, the latter of which will, hopefully, one day, serve as the backbone for everything that goes on in and around the internet, safe from the control of any one group.
Trainable AI
For instance, in an effort to bolster the appeal of Web3 around the world, the Blockchain Founders Fund has raised $75m from influential companies in the space, like Ripple. The CoinTelegraph website indicates that the Fund has already given cash to a group of start-ups including Altered State Machine, an interesting organization that melds NFTs with trainable AI.
The generosity shown by the Blockchain Founders Fund is actually part of a wider movement to secure the future of SMEs in Web3. Blockchain platform BitDAO has also raised money to aid start-ups, to the tune of $200m. It calls this piggybank the Mantle EcoFund. In more general investment news, wallet company Portal recently persuaded backers to give them $5.3m to keep the business turning over.
This is a lot of money. The worry for Web3 technologies is that a problematic 2022 has eroded trust in services based on cryptocurrency and NFTs – and, so, getting new users onboard could be a challenge as the middle of the decade approaches. Of course, lots – even most – new things deal with the same problem, whether they’re completely untested things or something that’s changing itself for a new generation.
Crypto Winter
The iGaming sector, which has itself begun dabbling with cryptocurrency, began life as a purely offline industry. However, a need to move away from physical retail meant that mobile play would become the norm within the space as the 2020s began to crest the horizon. This ultimately meant finding a way to convert customers from one form of playing to another.
The website Slots of Vegas outlines just how iGaming companies managed to do this by listing many of the promotions offered by the company. The latest Slots of Vegas casino online bonus codes include a new player offer, which provides first-timers with a 250% on deposits of $30 or more. Accompanying this is an extensive glossary that helps streamline the onboarding process for beginners.
Web3 has yet to find a solution for that latter issue, i.e. easing people into the world of blockchain and co., which almost makes a mockery of optimism in the space for global adoption. For example, one of the backers of Portal, Slow Ventures, stressed that Web3 is “fundamentally transforming” our daily lives, something that’s only true for people already entrenched in the space.
Coupled with the crypto winter of mid-2022 onwards, the resistance of traditional governments, banks, retailers, and payment processors to integration with Web3 does paint a rather gloomy picture for the concept outside its own offices. Still, for those willing to shoulder the burden of making Web3 a success, the amount of money being invested in the space does offer a silver lining.