According to many tech executives and business prognosticators, the world wide web is on the cusp of its next major transformation—Web 3.0—built on the opaque landscape of the blockchain. While the technology is still perplexing to many, its promise of elevated security is attractive given the omnipresent threat of cybercrime. Thus far, blockchain technology has been generally limited to public, consumer-facing use cases—primarily through cryptocurrency. But what about enterprises?
Some tech-savvy businesses have already incorporated crypto into their businesses by trading in Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other coins. But in order for the blockchain to truly break through into enterprises, there are other possibilities being explored. Blockchain tech could be used to adopt and promote a central bank digital currency—as has been done in El Salvador, where Bitcoin is now the country’s primary currency. Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, have become a visible and popular example of blockchain’s potential, but their potential ceiling is still far away.
The developing metaverse could incorporate blockchain technology for digital currency or other yet unknown purposes, or the booming gaming industry could adopt it to enable rewards or represent in-game ownership. Identity and access management might also benefit from a further developed incarnation of Web 3.0, but for now, the next generation of the web is under construction.
