Get ready for web3 in a couple of hours!
In the following, we share some beginner’s resources to make yourself familiar with the concept and decide if it’s worth the hype. (-:
If you decide you want to learn more, you can check the following articles.
The “cypherpunk manifesto” was written by Eric Hughes already 30 years ago. It is one of the key contributions of the so-called “cypherpunk” movement, often referred to as the ideological background to Bitcoin and later web3.
The cypherpunks were known as a group from the early 90s on, incorporating both “cypher” and “punk” in their name. They strongly advocated the value of privacy in the upcoming digital age. One of the main tools to defend privacy would be the use of encryption methods and open-source software.
The group especially emphasized the need for anonymity in digital transaction systems (compared to cash in the real world), since it's one of the most sensible areas regarding one’s privacy. More than a decade later, Bitcoin was the first widely used system to fulfil this “cypherpunk dream”. Read more in the Bitcoin whitepaper.
Bitcoin was also the first large-scale application of blockchain technology. Transactions are processed in time-stamped data packages called “blocks”, that are periodically added to the database. One of the key characteristics of a blockchain is, that this database consists of many geographically distributed computers (“nodes”) – building a “decentralized” network.
The article by Vitalik Buterin explains decentralization: he identifies three different axes of (de)centralization: architectural decentralization describes, how the computers of a network are physically distributed and how many of them can fall out while still maintaining the network. Political decentralization, on the other hand, refers to how many individuals or organizations these computers are controlled.
Finally logical decentralization refers to the question whether the network rather is a “monolithic object” or an “amorphous swarm”. In conclusion, blockchains would be characterized as architecturally and politically decentralized, or at least this is the preferred state, while they are not logically decentralized.
After understanding the concept of decentralization, we can go to the question, o why decentralization is beneficial, and how this leads us to web3. The term generally refers to the next iteration of the internet, where it becomes more decentralized and controlled by its users, by using blockchain technology to enable users to interact and transact more securely and transparently.
The development of the three internet "generations" is often characterized by the phrase "read - write - own". The web1 from the 1980s onwards was mainly characterized by static websites ("write"), built on open protocols that were controlled by the internet community. In contrast, web2 stands for new possibilities of interaction through large platform economies, parallel to the emergence of social media and mobile devices ("write"). These services became very successful, to the point that it is hard to use the internet to avoid centralized services.
The "web3" promises a return to the open-source culture of web1 and a departure from the platform models of web2. Users can not only participate but are also part of the infrastructure ("own"). While the services look similar, they are powered by smart contracts in the background and accessible via a wallet instead of credentials or social networks.
We hope you got an understanding of the term “web3” and its background. Check the a16z crypto glossary or this crypto dictionary to get some vocabulary and learn the web3 “language”.
Other web3 guides:
Make yourself familiar with Ethereum with just a few resources:
Get to know the concept of smart contracts and decentralized applications – and how they are different to web2 projects.
The Bitcoin protocol is considered a comparatively light and stable protocol, primarily focused on payment functionality. However, therefore it has little programmability to add other features. There were several attempts to build programming functionality on top of Bitcoin or launch other protocols.
Ethereum became the first dominant one. The project started in 2015 with its own blockchain and a native token called “Ether” (ETH). Wood describes Ethereum as a “decentralized computer” (sometimes also called “world computer”), since the network computers (“nodes”) are geographically distributed. The protocol is a public good, where independent developers can deploy their code.
Ethereum is capable of advanced computation and can be addressed via several programming languages. The most common so-called smart contract language is “Solidity”. The term “smart contract” was created to describe the code deployed on the blockchain. If the Bitcoin protocol was a calculator, Ethereum would rather be a smartphone – allowing applications to run on top of the protocol. These are called “decentralized applications” (DApps).
The article explains some key features of the Ethereum architecture, such as how blocks are structured and added to the chain, account types, and the fee model. It’s also a good resource to get an understanding of the so-called Ethereum virtual machine (EVM).
The application areas of smart contracts are much wider than the functionalities of Bitcoin. Thus, Ethereum allows tokenization, i.e., the creation of assets that can be transacted via the network and given certain utilities. They can be used in “decentralized applications” (DApps), addressing many different use cases.
In this way, some business areas are getting “decentralized” or newly formed, e.g., in the area of finance, cloud computing, data storage, identity, etc. There are even organizations operating on the blockchain. These entities are called “decentralized autonomous organizations” (DAOs).
After making yourself familiar with Ethereum’s architecture, you are more than prepared to start using Ethereum. Ethereum.org is an open-source website collaboratively managed by the Ethereum community. It’s one of the best resources to read about the ecosystem and find helpful resources and projects.
On the main page, you’ll find guides for the following steps:
Most smart contract platforms are similar to Ethereum in their architecture, so you can use them in a very similar way. Some are EVM-compatible (consequently, they use the same address scheme, so you can integrate them in your ETH wallet), e.g. Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, or Layer 2s like Optimism, Arbitrum, and Zksync. Analytics have a different architecture, requiring separate wallets and other programming languages, e.g. Solana, Cosmos, or Polkadot.
Recommended: There are several ways to contribute to the Ethereum.org project, e.g. through addressing open issues, writing blog articles, or translating the website.
Web3 is an area with lots of movement – staying informed can be difficult or overwhelming.
We recommend a few newsletters with well-prepared information. In our experience, that’s the most efficient way to stay up to date while ignoring the “background noise” of the crypto market.
This (daily and weekly) newsletter provides a great roundup of what happens in web3 in general. The motto “Your no-hype resource for all things crypto” by the host Laura Shin is promising (we know, news fomo is real…). They usually summarize some headlines of the day/week and some “daily bits”, as well as a daily meme. (-:
The newsletter also features the latest episodes of the unchained podcast, with (often) very interesting guests. I can very much recommend listening to it, but the newsletter gives a good summary if you don’t follow the episodes.
An alternative, that covers the whole crypto market, is Milkroad (one of the biggest newsletters in the space). If you are more interested in an overview about the crypto market, you can check out Crypto Briefing.
It’s mostly a collection of short headlines and links, so it’s very compressed. Therefore, it’s not really enjoyable to read, however, the newsletter provides a good overview of Ethereum’s development. If you want to dive deeper, you can look at the respective articles.
Looking at the different EIPs (Ethereum Improvement proposals), software updates, developer resources, and research articles, it’s a good resource for people deeply interested in Ethereum’s development. A nice feature is also the upcoming events, such as hackathons and conferences.
This newsletter is addressing the DeFi space (going bank-less), targeting daily a specific topic of the area every day. It aims to educate individuals to navigate the world of cryptocurrencies, decentralized applications, token economics, and the latest trends in the evolving world of finance outside the traditional financial system.
Bankless itself actually is a DAO, so the media content is created and revised by the community (instead of a central authority). The newsletter includes explanations, tutorials, guides, and recommendations for every DeFi user and people who are curious about living “bankless”.
You can search the articles if you are interested in specific topics, e.g., specific protocols or trends. The Defiant newsletter is a nice alternative in the DeFi space.
Find your own newsletter! Search for news outlets in your mother language or your area of specialization. You can search subtrack or mirror (web3 version) to find.
Finally, newsletters are not for everybody. Maybe you prefer other resources. It can be a nice routine to read your favorite newsletter every day, but it never should be an obligation. Understanding the core principles (as described in the previous articles) is more important than knowing every detail of the current web3 state.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please consider suggesting a resource to make this page more comprehensive.