INTRODUCTION
Before we begin, let’s try to understand what is Web3.0?.
To understand, Web3, we will first need to do a bit of time travelling into the past and see how internet evolved since it was first launched for the public – all the way from Web1 to Web2 and now, Web3. At the very beginning, the internet was used solely for the purpose of information gathering and reference. It was simply a place where you could get answers to your questions and nothing else. This was because in that phase of the development of the internet, the ability to create web pages and content online was something that was restricted to web techies. That was Web1.
Then we saw the gradual inflow of Web2, where internet became more than just an online encyclopedia. This phase of the internet brought about the democratisation of content creation online. It had humble beginnings with simple emailing that progressed to Facebook, where one could post text and share images for the world to see, and eventually now we have a mass proliferation of such applications on the internet from Instagram to YouTube and everything else in between. This is known as User Generated Content (UGC) and many of the biggest social media and e-commerce platforms of today are all built on the back of the concept of UGC.
NOW, WHAT IS WEB3?
Web3, very simply, is about ownership.
Web3 is working towards challenging the way we now think about ownership in the online space. The content you post on YouTube or Instagram might feature your face, but technically, you don’t own it. It is owned by the platform it is published and hence can be used by them to monetize and maybe share a bit of that money with you as the content creator.
But Web3 is going to revolutionise the way we think about ownership in the Web2 world. Web3 gives the full control of the content and information control in the hands of the user and the user community will control the platform and not a company anymore. The space is still in its nascent stages so only time can say what new kinds of business will emerge to take advantage of this new ownership of digital content and create a new digital economy.
With that out of the way, let’s take a look at some of the top Web3 tokens (by marketcap) out there that you can consider investing in to be a part of this new future of the internet.
| PROJECT NAME | PROJECT IN BRIEF | NATIVE TOKEN | MARKET CAPITALISATION |
| POLKADOT | It is a protocol that serves to connect previously incompatible blockchain networks and bring about further interoperability. | DOT | $8.3 BILLION |
| CHAINLINK | Chainlink is a blockchain network that enables other blockchain based smart contracts to interact with external data in a decentralised manner. | LINK | $3.3 BILLION |
| FILECOIN | Filecoin is a protocol that wants to create a decentralised cloud storage service by utilising previously unutilised data storage of computers worldwide. It wants to create a market where you can rent out your free storage. | FIL | $1.6 BILLION |
| THETA NETWORK | Theta Network is a protocol that works to create a decentralised video delivery network that provides a wide range of blockchain enabled solutions. | THETA | $1.2 BILLION |
| HELIUM | The Helium Network is a blockchain that wants to create a network of decentralised wireless ‘Internet of Things’ using the LoRaWAN system. | HNT | $908 MILLION |
| THE GRAPH | GRT is an Ethereum based token that powers The Graph, which is a decentralised protocol for indexing and querying data from different blockchains. | GRT | $782 MILLION |
| BASIC ATTENTION TOKEN | The primary objective behind this project is for readers and consumers of content to experience fewer ads that are typically more well tailored to their interests while at the same time not giving up their data privacy rights in the process. | BAT | $548 MILLION |
| STACKS | Stacks is associated with the Bitcoin ecosystem where it aims to enhance Bitcoin’s potential by bringing smart contract functionality at a L1 level by building on top of it. | STX | $510 MILLION |
| LOOPRING | Loopring is another Etheruem based token that described itself as ‘an open-source, audited, and non-custodial exchange protocol.’ | LRC | $505 MILLION |
| ARWEAVE | Arweave is a Decentralised Storage Network (DSN) that strives to connect people who have extra storage available on their computers and those who need more data storage. | AR | $415 MILLION |
1. POLKADOT (DOT)
Polkadot is an open-source blockchain network and its native crypto token is DOT. Its main functionality as a blockchain network is to solve the problem of interconnectivity and interoperability amongst blockchains, by enabling independent chains on those blockchains to securely exchange messages and be able to perform transactions with each other without the need for a trusted intermediary.
It allows data to be transferred over blockchain network which were previously incompatible networks. Its native crypto token, DOT is used for staking and governance in the network and can be bought or sold on CoinDCX.
It recently made news as per data from Messari, with over 21 parachains, 250+ dapps, 2500 nodes including 297 active validator nodes, and Polkadot has managed to remain the greenest blockchain network out there.
Pink is the new green🟢
21 parachains [blockchains], 250+ dapps, 2500 nodes including 297 active validator nodes, and Polkadot remains the greenest blockchain. https://t.co/3V4FkMoIoC
— Polkadot (@Polkadot) August 12, 2022
2. CHAINLINK (LINK)
Chainlink is a blockchain network that enables smart contracts based on other blockchain networks to receive data from outside the blockchain securely and without the need for intermediaries. Its native crypto token is LINK. It essentially works as a middleware that connects blockchain based smart contracts with external data, which could be anything from interest rates to stock prices.
LINK is the token that is used to reward those network operators who help make this happen in a decentralised manner and collateralises the network’s smart contract agreements.
Back in July 2022, Chainlink even took to Twitter to share its performance over the last quarter – which mention that it had grown to support to over a thousand decentralised oracle networks and powered over 1350 projects running on 12 different blockchain networks. The oracle network also stated that it delivered over 3,000,000,000 data points on the chain and served over 7,000,000 randomness requests.
In Q2 2022, Chainlink grew to support 1000+ decentralized oracle networks, powering 1350+ projects across 12+ blockchains & layer 2s.
Key milestones:
📶 3B+ data points
⛓️ 185M+ on-chain calls
🎲 7M+ randomness requestsExplore the latest integrations: https://t.co/nRKpsQncKa pic.twitter.com/lqsWTid8dm
— Chainlink (@chainlink) July 1, 2022
3. FILECOIN (FIL)
Filecoin is a decentralised blockchain network that enables anyone to basically rent out spare storage on their computer. Likewise, on the other side, you can buy storage on the network too. Thus, by allowing anyone in the world to join the network, it can create a huge source of data storage online and as more and more systems become computerised, that vast amount of un-utilised data will be needed to satisfy the increase in demand. Its native crypto token is FILE.
It has a number of advantages over typical centralised data storage solutions including, efficient pricing and costs by creating a larger free market for data storage which would drive costs down and incredible scalability by leveraging millions of computers and their un-utilised storage. It also promises a greener economy thanks to it using already existing storage from computers rather than building new storages. Also, this provides a larger degree of safety than typical centralised storage solutions like Dropbox and iCloud which have been hacked in the past – thanks to its decentralised nature.
Additional Read: Top Metaverse Projects
4. THETA NETWORK (THETA)
Theta Network is a protocol that works to create a decentralised video delivery network that provides a wide range of blockchain enabled solutions to problems that plague the traditional video streaming sector. The platform provides high quality video streaming at a reduced cost relative to traditional service providers and also has a bunch of incentive mechanisms for decentralised bandwidth and content sharing. Its native crypto token is THETA.
In recent news, Theta Network announced that it is working with the biggest TV network in the Philippines, ABSCBN in partnership with the reality music show, ‘Idol Philippines’.
We're proud to be working with the biggest TV network in the Philippines @ABSCBN in partnership with @idolphilippines.
This is just the beginning of a huge opportunity for mass adoption!https://t.co/MawKLsTqHChttps://t.co/GNjYPO9fEG
— Theta Network (@Theta_Network) August 16, 2022
5. HELIUM (HNT)
The Helium Network is a blockchain that wants to create a network of decentralised wireless ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) using the LoRaWAN system. It is tied to the crypto token HNT. Nodes on this kind of decentralised network are generally owned and placed by the individuals in their homes or offices and are rewarded for their participation by the means of the HNT crypto.
Internet of Things essentially refers to a network of objects which are embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies so as to enable a connection and be able to exchange data with other objects and systems. The network also wants to provide connectivity to IoT sensor devices in areas where wireless or mobile coverage is minimal or requires too much power.
6. THE GRAPH TOKEN (GRT)
GRT is an Ethereum based token that powers The Graph, which is a decentralised protocol for indexing and querying data from different blockchains. This works along the lines of Google search engine, where it indexes the web, The Graph – indexes blockchain data from networks like Ethereum and Filecoin. This collected data is then grouped into open APIs and subgraphs that anyone can query for and know about.
In its latest news, The Graph protocol is implementing another chain to GRT’s decentralised network and is expected to launch in two days.
The multi-chain future is coming to life on The Graph Network 🛸
In 2 days the next chain that will begin integration with The Graph’s decentralized network will be announced.
Which chain will it be? 👀 pic.twitter.com/oMdwq4jC20
— The Graph (@graphprotocol) August 23, 2022
7. BASIC ATTENTION TOKEN (BAT)
The Basic Attention Token is a blockchain protocol that is used to track media consumers’ time and attention on websites using its own Brave browser. It is built on the Ethereum network and its goal is to efficiently distribute advertising money between advertisers, publishers and readers of online marketing content and ads.
The primary objective behind this project is for readers and consumers of content to experience fewer ads that are typically more well tailored to their interests while at the same time not giving up their data privacy rights in the process.
In recent news, BAT‘s own browser called Brave announced that it is now integrating Solana onto its Brave wallets and thus be able to receive and send SOL tokens seamlessly from their Brave browser.
Brave now supports @Solana on mobile! With version 1.42 Brave Wallet users on iOS and Android can:
1️⃣ Create a new Solana wallet
2️⃣ Import an existing Solana wallet
3️⃣ Send and store SOL and SPL tokensRead more: https://t.co/Avl0eKXHcP
— Brave Software (@brave) August 18, 2022
8. STACKS (STX)
Formerly known as Blockstack, Stacks project is an open source platform to build smart contracts and decentralised applications (dApps). Stacks blockchain connects to Bitcoin to enable apps and smart contracts. It is essentially a layer-1 blockchain that allows for the execution of smart contracts on top of a blockchain that probably doesn’t have the feature, in this case – Bitcoin.
Thus very much unlike Ethereum Cardano, Solana or Avalanche – Stacks is associated with the Bitcoin ecosystem because it aims to enhance Bitcoin’s potential by bringing smart contract functionality at a L1 level by building on top of it. It’s native crypto token is STX.
In case you're wondering what $STX is all about 👇https://t.co/7PM6tMCY0H
— stacks.btc (@Stacks) April 19, 2022
9. LOOPRING (LRC)
Loopring’s objective is to create a hybrid platform that combined prominent functionalities of both centralised and decentralised exchanges. The protocol wants to maintain the decentralised aspect of DEXs while lowering or eliminating their efficiencies via centralised solutions, like maintaining liquidity. Its blockchain network runs with the help of the LRC token.
10. ARWEAVE (AR)
Quite similar to Filecoin, Arweave is a Decentralised Storage Network (DSN) that strives to connect people who have extra storage available on their computers and those who need more data storage. It is designed to provide scalable, cost-effective and permanent data storage, Arweave is a blockchain based data structure called the Blockweave.
Arweave works to make information permanence cost-effective and scalable with its decentralised architecture. Arweave financially incentivizes data storage providers with its Arweave token (AR).
Additional Read: Top Cryptos this Week
CONCLUSION
So at the end of the day, considering how quickly Web3 has expanded so far, we can be quite sure that the future of the internet will inevitably be Web3. Web3 is built on the concepts of utility, openness and decentralisation. We are seeing more and more adoption across the board and thus a further growth in the industry also seems highly probable.
However, cryptos are still a very speculative investment class and hence investors should do their homework and research before investing. Also, they shouldn’t invest more money that they can afford to lose.
SO, HOW CAN YOU INVEST INTO WEB3 COINS?
Today investing in Web3 coins is extremely simple with the CoinDCX App! Just download the CoinDCX App crypto investing app, enter the details required and wait for your profile to get verified. Once done, fund your wallet and buy any metaverse coin of your choice which include Filecoin, Loopring, Chainlink, Polkadot and many many more.
Prices as of 24th August, 2022
