2022's "Top 10 Uncertainties" in Web3 (Part 2)
"Uncertainty" is the greatest charm of the crypto industry, making Web3 endlessly imaginative.
Since Tim Berners-Lee proposed the concept of the World Wide Web in 1989, the internet industry has weathered two tumultuous eras — Web1 and Web2. Now, Web3 is approaching. Standing on the shoulders of Satoshi Nakamoto and other industry pioneers, this全新的技术赋予我们通过加密技术实现Assets完全私有的能力, through smart contracts to execute constitutions and laws unwavering, through token issuance for taxation, through transparent ledgers for rule-making and enforcement, and through DeFi and NFT for the fusion of finance and culture.
All of this is so wonderful, so uplifting.
If the copy were to end here, this opening would read more like soft-copy for a certain project rather than an objective and fair Web3 educational article. There is no doubt that Web3 made significant strides in 2021, with infrastructure ranging from wallets to public chains receiving substantial capital attention. As we look ahead to this space at the start of 2022, what kind of "uncertainty" might we encounter?
This article is published in two parts. The first part of this article, "2022's 'Top 10 Uncertainties' in Web3 (Part 1)," was published on January 14. The first half of the article focuses on lower-probability uncertainty events in Web3, while this second half focuses on higher-probability uncertainty events.
6. Composability Becomes a Web3 Essential
Composability and decentralization are clearly the two most prominent characteristics of Web3.
Since Satoshi Nakamoto published the whitepaper, decentralized thinking has become the primary consideration for underlying infrastructure driven by blockchain technology. Composability, on the other hand, deserves格外关注, especially composability between different ecosystems.
The academic definition of composability is that system components recombine into larger structures, and the general ability to use one structure's output as another structure's input is called composability. The simplest理解就是乐高积木不同模块之间的拼接过程.
Composability is extremely difficult to achieve in the Web2 world — advocating for composability in Web2 is like asking Alibaba and JD.com to merge their databases, or Google/Meta/Apple to share servers, or allowing users of Exchange A to deposit Assets at Exchange B and withdraw Assets from Exchange A. All of the above possibilities are zero!
In the blockchain world, composability within a single ecosystem is effortless. For example, on Ethereum, you can轻松Complete这样养操作: borrow DAI through Maker DAO, then deposit into Curve's DAI pool and receive Curve LP tokens, then use those LP tokens on Convex to earn trading fees while also receiving CRV and CRV token rewards. Aside from the high fees, the whole process is silk-smooth and no one will say a word against it. This is the most direct体现 of Web3 composability.
However, in multi-blockchain ecosystems, things are quite different. As Ethereum/Solana/Terra/Polkadot/Avalanche/Polygon/Cosmos/Near and other underlying technologies continue to develop, on one hand, total value locked keeps hitting new highs — more than 16 underlying protocols alone have a TVL exceeding $10 billion, with Ethereum's single TVL reaching $139 billion. On the other hand, the number and variety of applications built on different基础设施 also continue to grow. As of now, the top three public chains by market capitalization have thousands of applications combined.
In different ecosystems, the key to composability lies in bridges. Messari's 2021 annual report also shed light on this issue. Messari believes that all these new blockchains (plus Ethereum's Layer 2 rollups) need to communicate with each other, so the most severe pain point in crypto right now may be the lack of bridges. If the future is multi-chain, then those projects that build better cross-chain connectors and help across subchains, partitions, and rollups while supporting the smooth flow of Assets will win the entire (virtual) world.
7. DAO Becomes an Important Part of Web3
DAO represents network democracy and is an important component of Web3.
In the Web3 world, every Token carries voting rights, and every contributor is granted power commensurate with their contribution — this is the purest expression of DAO's core. While there is the possibility of "hegemonic detractors," for example in the section "Complete decentralization of governance is not always optimal," a whale may press the pause button on a certain proposal and severely slow down the development pace. After all, these are merely isolated cases. DAO's decentralized governance philosophy will nevertheless remain an important part of Web3.
You might say, "Voting? Hmm."
In reality, voting and governance in the Web3 world have long been as important, ordinary, and simple as breathing. Simply connect your Meta Mask wallet, deposit your tokens, and if you want to participate in ENS governance, deposit the corresponding ENS tokens, link to Snapshot, and you can cast your support or opposition votes on proposals.
That way, you are a qualified voter in the Web3 world.
Of course, the role of DAO extends far beyond simple voting. It can also initiate fundraising campaigns for matters with shared visions. The most breathtaking case to date is the Constitution DAO auction of the Constitution in November 2021. The Constitution DAO group raised $5 million in less than 48 hours, attempting to purchase a rare copy of the Constitution being auctioned at Sotheby's. Although they ultimately lost the auction, this feat was undoubtedly a milestone in the Web3 world.
Similar governance practices are too numerous to列举. In mid-December 2021, well-known crypto community investor Mike Dudas collaborated with his friends Jim Daily and Chris Maddern to launch Links DAO, with the mission to create "one of the greatest golf clubs in the world." Through NFT sales, they raised over $10 million in just two days.
8. Ownership Becomes the Consensus as the Soul of Web3
In the Web2 world, if you ask Tencent, "Who owns this data?"
They would answer, "This data is stored on our servers, we are responsible for protecting your privacy, please feel free to use it." What they didn't tell you is that they are also making money using your data.
So in the Web3 world, is it truly "no one making money off your data"? Yes and no.
In this Web3 economy led by decentralization, there is no centralized control, and no single entity can fully reap all the benefits of a project's growth unless an individual completely controls all tokens — though such an economic system could not function properly anyway. In the Web3 world, value exchange is conducted through Tokens, and those who hold more Tokens will gain greater returns from ecosystem development.
Therefore, in Web3, the essence of data ownership lies in decentralized token holdings — every participant can enjoy the benefits brought by system growth and governance, rather than "my trading data is valuable."
9. Web3 is Being Advanced in the Form of the Metaverse
Before Web3 is widely adopted, it will appear in the form of the Metaverse. From 2021 to now, Metaverse-related acquisitions are轰轰烈烈地Show More, which will accelerate the arrival of Web3.
In March 2021, the listing of sandbox game platform Roblox ignited the Metaverse concept in the market, with a market capitalization of nearly $40 billion opening up想象空间 for the "Metaverse " industry. Domestically, companies such as iQiyi, Kuaishou, and Soul have successively applied to Register "Metaverse"-related trademarks through their affiliated entities.
Additionally, since Meta acquired VR device manufacturer Oculus in 2014, it has invested nearly $10 billion in AR/VR business. Facebook revealed in its Q3 2021 earnings report that it would continue investing in building the Metaverse at a scale of $500 million annually, and the subsequent rebranding was the culmination of all this.
In late August 2021, ByteDance spent 9 billion RMB to acquire Pico, a domestic VR startup and the largest hardware and software R&D manufacturer in China's VR industry by shipment volume. The prevailing industry view on why ByteDance was willing to spend heavily on this acquisition is that VR is one of the natural gateways to the Metaverse. Just as Zuckerberg acquired Oculus to get his Metaverse entry ticket, Pico is ByteDance's Metaverse entry ticket.
Just recently, on January 18, Microsoft abruptly announced the acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. To Complete this Trading , Microsoft deployed 53% of its cash reserves — the largest acquisition in Microsoft's 46-year history. This deal is also considered an important step in Microsoft's grand Metaverse vision.
The reason major internet companies are flocking into game-related industries is that gaming is a necessary condition for the Metaverse, and the Metaverse is a necessary condition for Web3. It can be said that the Metaverse is not equivalent to Web3 — the Metaverse is a necessary path toward Web3 driven by major players.
10. The Expectation That Ethereum Will Surpass BTC Weakens
Finally, can Ethereum truly surpass Bitcoin ?
Until around October 2021, the crypto space still held strong expectations for "Ethereum flipping Bitcoin ." However, with the successive surges in Solana/Avalanche/BSC/Luna and other L1 public chains and people's重新认知 of L2 — that Layer 2 is not merely Ethereum's Layer 2, and could independently exist outside Ethereum like Polygon — people's expectation that Ethereum will surpass BTC is waning.
As Messari's year-end report describes, "Can ETH surpass BTC within this cycle? The answer is unlikely." This is not only because Ethereum faces scaling challenges, but also because the current competition among public chains is fierce, and the market in the future is more inclined toward building a multi-chain parallel ecosystem. However, Messari believes that the combined force of all public chains may collectively overtake Bitcoin's " supremacy, much like how FAMGA's market cap surpassed M1.
The above concludes all the content of the "Top 10 Uncertainties" in Web3 for 2022.
Disclaimer
This article may contain product content that is not applicable to your region. This article is only intended to provide general information and does not responsible for any factual errors or omissions contained herein. This article represents only the personal views of the author and does not represent the views of OKX . This article does not intend to provide any recommendations, including but not limited to: (i) investment advice or investment recommendations; (ii) offers or solicitations to purchase, sell, or hold digital assets; or (iii) financial, accounting, legal, or tax advice. Holdings of digital assets (including stablecoins) involve high risk and may fluctuate significantly, or even become worthless. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for you based on your financial situation. For questions about your specific circumstances, please consult your legal/tax/investment professional. The information contained in this article (including market data and statistics, if any) is provided for general reference purposes only. Although we have taken all reasonable precautions in preparing this data and these charts, we do not accept any responsibility for any factual errors or omissions expressed herein. © 2025 OKX. This article may be reproduced or distributed in its entirety or in excerpts of 100 words or less, provided that such use is non-commercial in nature. Any reproduction or distribution of the full article must prominently state: "This article is copyrighted © 2025 OKX, used by permission." Permitted excerpts must cite the article name and include attribution, for example, "Article Name, [Author Name (if applicable)], © 2025 OKX." Some content may have been generated or assisted by artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Derivative works and other uses of this article are not permitted.
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