If you have even a passing interest in technology, you have undoubtedly spent the last two years hearing nonstop talk about Web3 and the metaverse.
Gavin Wood, one of the co-founders of Ethereum, first proposed the idea of the third version of the web, often known as Web3. But it didn’t become well-known until 2021, the year that digital currency truly took off and entered the mainstream. Gains from investing in digital currencies increased by nearly 400% last year. The potential impact of blockchain technologies on the world is generating more interest. That is the core idea behind Web3.
How Does Web3 Fit The Metaverse Into It?
The terms Web3 and metaverse should not be used interchangeably. The concept of a decentralised web constructed using blockchain technology is encompassed by Web3. Users have complete control over their data and the information they produce in the Web 3 universe. The cornerstone of the Web3 experience will be peer-to-peer transactions as opposed to the walled gardens that currently rule online interactions.
A totally distinct idea is the metaverse. It is a 3D user consumption concept built on AR and VR technology. The experience in the metaverse is entirely dependent on the online “worlds” you select to live in. The metaverse vision of Facebook or Meta may differ from what other businesses seek to provide to their clients.
It also goes without saying that businesses like Meta intend to take out a sizeable portion of every transaction that occurs in their virtual worlds. You’ll probably have to pay middlemen to sell content instead of peer-to-peer. In the case of Meta, they intend to deduct an astounding 47.5% from all sales made in the metaverse.
These two scenarios for the future of the web are completely different from one another. One is decentralised, and the other is centred on the experiences that the top tech companies in the world have created for you.
How Blockchain Businesses Are Displacing Talent From Big Tech
If there is a battle between two competing ideas for the internet’s future, blockchain and Web3 firms are going for big tech. Many of the major internet companies who invested in the metaverse, like Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, and Snap, are no longer the most in-demand employers for tech workers.
Yes, employment with any of the tech behemoths will pay well. However, when it comes to stealing top talent away from big tech, these other businesses are acting quite aggressively. In order to fill any skill gaps between traditional tech and the requirements for Web3 roles, one organisation is even developing a training programme.
Investment in blockchain-related businesses increased from $3.1 billion to $25.2 billion between 2020 and 2021. Insights data were used in one brief to estimate the level of investment in blockchain-based businesses. With more than three billion dollars invested simply between these three businesses, it was discovered that Alphabet, Blackrock, and Morgan Stanley were among the active investors in the largest funding rounds. With such a big war chest, blockchain companies are able to pay their employees even higher compensation than the majority of the major players in the industry.
According to one estimate, the median pay for blockchain developers in the United States is roughly $140,000. Companies like Coinbase, which had an IPO valuation of over $86 billion, pay their software engineers up to $900,000 annually. At UMA, smart contract engineers can expect to earn between $120,000 and $200,000 annually. Nirvana Interactive pays full-stack Web3 engineers about $120,000 annually.
Blockchain companies may pay top talent wages that are not only competitive with those of traditional IT companies, but also offer better compensation in the form of shares. These businesses stake a lot on the success of Web3 technologies, so they pay employees who are willing to take on that risk. Although working for well-known IT companies may be a secure pick, your chances of making it big in terms of stock compensation are substantially lower.
Putting Money Into The Web’s Future
Users will determine which version of the internet succeeds. It will be difficult for these digital experiences to take off, regardless of how much money businesses invest in their Metaverses, if consumers aren’t enthusiastic about the concept of virtual worlds or if AR/VR technology doesn’t become more widely used.
Similarly, Web3 lacks a clear road to victory. However, a lot of blockchain businesses are currently relishing their time in the spotlight. These startups are able to pay higher compensation and entice some of the most skilled programmers in the world away from big tech thanks to record-breaking investments in the last few of years. We’ll have to wait and see if they can use that talent to use blockchain technologies to change the web.
