Web3Net as a revolution: April theses from ATH conference participants

Is Web3Net the next iteration of the internet? Participants of the All Time Half conference explain what the network of the future might look like and what will change for users and entrepreneurs when it arrives.

Web3Net, mass adoption and startup pitfalls

Theses from Web3 entrepreneur Vladimir Menaskop

Web3Net is three things

1. An economy of action instead of an economy of services. You get a coin for some action, useful or useless.
2. Transactional reputation instead of subject‑based reputation. In Web3Net what matters is what I do, not who I am. Even if I am ChatGPT — what does it matter if I do what you need.
3. Technologically, Web3 is blockchain, zero‑knowledge proofs and programmable assets.

Mass adoption must start with a mental reboot

There is a claim that crypto is not ready for mass adoption — the blockchain trilemma and other technical difficulties have been chewed over from all sides. Yet in practice, the tech is ready and works. The opposite is true: the masses are not ready for what Web3 offers because it breaks the consumerist template. People are used to pressing a magic button.

Web3 is different for everyone

Web3 is a decentralised computer that everyone rebuilds for their needs. My version of the computer will look nothing like that of someone only just starting to use blockchain.

Maximalists misunderstand decentralisation

A decentralised milieu is full of maximalists of particular blockchains — Cardano, Ton, Bitcoin and others. But decentralisation does not imply maximalism at all — either you support decentralisation, or you are a maximalist. One can be a maximalist of decentralisation.

Mass adoption is a risk

As mainstream users arrive, pressure on the sector of legacy systems will increase.

Strangely enough, meme coins are Web3

Notcoin is a Web3 project on two counts: it monetises action and has incomplete, yet some, decentralisation. The trouble with meme tokens is that they offer nothing new. These coins are a rejection of innovation within Web 3.0.

Startups should not chase a big audience

Startups think it is easier to educate a big mass at once and pour money into marketing. But the efficiency of marketing per acquired user tends to zero. That is why startups do not survive the crypto winter. If you have taught 100 people to use your product, you can think about scaling. Bitcoin began with 100 people.

Slick decks matter only when raising money

Form is fine, but there must be a substantive hook. This is clear in the case of decentralised social networks — they add nothing to what existing products already have.

Do not be careless when choosing a chain

Many startups ignore the tokenomics of the blockchain on which they will deploy. That is a ruinous approach.

The network of the future is a paradigm shift

Theses from philosopher Alexander Boldachev

Web 3.0 is not a new term

It emerged in 2007, with several interpretations. Some thought it would be an internet for professionals, others spoke of the Internet of Things, and Tim Berners‑Lee spoke of the semantic web. The idea was that site owners would provide semantic markup, but big problems arose with technical implementation, and the idea did not take root.

Semantics, blockchain and language models — the future of Web3

I am working on a network I conceive as the next generation of the internet. I single out three ideological foundations for it:

• semantics — unifying and standardising data exchange, clustering the network, semantically described business models;
• blockchain — a system of automated trust management;
• language models that help pull it all together.

I would add that the aim is a user‑centred internet — a shift from a “site‑centred” ideology, where information sits on platforms created by who‑knows‑whom, to a “user‑centred” one, where everything happens on the users’ side.

Web3 is not merely evolutionary

New technological solutions are layered on top of existing networks. But what lies ahead is a global transition at the level of evolutionary platforms — akin in significance to the passage from biological to social systems. We are entering a post‑social world, with a global network at its core.

What Web3Net resembles

Theses from Sergey Simonovskiy (Citizen Web3)

Web3 is like the Houthis

Everyone has heard about the guys in slippers. That is Web3. And not only them: you have no credit history in a country, you go to “normal guys”, they make sure you behaved properly with other guys and they give you a loan. Then you can repay the debt in another country to the same sort of normal guys.

Web3 does not yet exist

There is the so‑called Web3 — a bunch of bridges that connect Web2 technologies. But the problem is not even the technologies, but values. Or rather their absence. Everyone was recently talking about Farcaster, but what kind of Web3 is it when you need to enter your email and pay with a bank card?

It is easy to tell Web 2.0 from Web3

There is a basic, very simple criterion: if there is a registration form with a login and password — it is not Web3.

Web3Net and the future of social networks

Theses from Subsocial founders Oleh Mell and Alex Siman

Decentralised social networks are not in demand right now

Habit matters. People are used to Twitter, Instagram, TikTok. These products have been evolving for decades; they are finely polished.

Incumbent platforms are not interested in Web3

Web3 presumes data openness by default: anyone can plug into your blockchain and smart contract. You can build alternative interfaces, analyse data. Platforms do not like this because their data are their money, the basis of their business. That is the core conflict of interest between Web3 and Web2.

Web3 social networks need new mechanics

A range of interesting experiments is under way: simple crypto tips for posts; a staking mechanic in which you like based on stakes, rewarding creators; paid subscriptions in crypto. The list can be long.

Experimentation is the essence of Web3

Everything is raw; startups are playing, trying new mechanics. It will be good if one in ten hits. With each wave of innovation new products appear; some survive, some pivot, some disappear. It is an iterative process, and we do not yet know the form we will end up with. Most likely, there will be several.