Silicon Valley loves a snappy marketing slogan. Its favourite these days is “Web3”, an abbreviation of Web 3.0, which is itself shorthand for everything from blockchain to cryptocurrencies to meme-driven retail investing apps and the metaverse. Web3 builds on Web 2.0, which was all about social media and user-driven content, taking it to the next level of either utility or hype, depending on your point of view.
I can see both sides. I have no doubt that digital coins will dominate the financial markets of the future; it’s a natural, no-brain successor to paper. But just as I would have been unable to pick which one of several hundred early 20th-century automotive start-ups would replace the horse and buggy, I am reluctant to buy into today’s crypto craze (I think sovereign-backed digital currency will ultimately win out over private coin).
Speculation is, of course, a natural part of the development and adoption of transformative new technologies, as academics like the British economist Carlota Perez and venture capitalist turned Cambridge scholar William Janeway have shown in their respective work. While some bubbles, like the property one that underpinned the 2008 financial crisis, are unproductive, others — such as the 1920s stock bubble, which triggered the Depression but also helped fund and fuel the spread of radio, the telephone, aviation and electricity — have productive elements.