How Many Developers Know About Web3?

For a variety of reasons, the future of Web3 appears promising. It heralds the arrival of decentralized applications (dapps), which represent a return to the ideals of a publicly owned internet and a direct challenge to Web 2.0’s emergence as a corporate behemoth ecosystem.

But How Many Developers are Into Web3?

Distributed ledgers, blockchain, NFTs, and cryptocurrency are the new languages that many see as the future for developers looking to establish a competitive advantage. While the number of Web3 developers is lower than that of Web 2.0 developers, research indicates that we are on the verge of a boom, with 350,000 active developers using one blockchain development platform by 2021.

Web3 dapps, which use blockchain and peer-to-peer technologies, are not like today’s apps, which are hosted on corporate-owned services and single cloud providers. Dapps are frequently open source, and as such, they appeal to ambitious developers as a place to quickly innovate and collaborate (often anonymously) within a flat structure where everyone is rewarded.

Consider Web3, which encourages in-production testing, to be the Lego of the developer world, where iterations and improvements are built on top of each other. For Web3 developers who want to see the fruits of their labor as soon as possible, this method of working improves their ability to iterate products and innovate quickly.

Cryptocurrency is usually the go-to example of Web3 in action among the plethora of fascinating developments in this space. Regardless of the opposing views expressed in the media, the building blocks of cryptocurrency are what make it interesting. The cutting-edge concept of zero-knowledge proof, for example, is an exciting development with enormous potential.

The concept is that one party (the prover) mathematically proves to another (the verifier) that a given statement is true “without revealing anything other than the statement’s veracity.” This has applications ranging from income and age verification to smart contracts.

Web3 Reward And Recognition

Web3 developers are rewarded not only for the promise of rapid innovation and ground-breaking development opportunities, but also for the financial payoff.

To begin, there is a reward based on the Web3 premise, where earnings, in addition to salaries, are paid in protocol tokens similar to stock options that are directly correlated with the success of the products. Everyone who owns a token has the right to vote within this flat structure. A fundamental premise of Web3 is that every product is also an investment opportunity, similar to liquid equity.

However, it is not only the tokenized system that may be profitable. Because the industry is still in its infancy, developers who contribute to these projects in the hope of eventual payoff are frequently participating in social experiments rather than ensuring future success. That is not to say that Web3 careers are not financially rewarding. Web3 Developer salaries from forward-thinking companies can reach $500,000 in locations ranging from London to Singapore to San Francisco.

The Toolkit

Web3 necessitates a very different approach and set of tools than Web2.0. Web3 developers must not only understand programming fundamentals, but also blockchain, wallets, and smart contracts, as well as harness a new stack that includes tools such as Hardhat, Poly.gon, and Next.js, to name a few.

While still in its infancy, a steady stream of Web3 frameworks and SDKs are making their way into the hands of developers, expanding opportunities to learn and experiment with others. Web3 will inevitably become a part of tomorrow’s development ecosystem in some form or another, so developers should start planting the seeds of knowledge now.

The Business Advantage (And How To Realize It)

The advantages of pursuing Web3 are obvious for developers, but what about businesses? Should they be actively seeking these skills for their workforce right now? Web3 principles include the following:

• Self-governing;
• Permissionless;
• Stateful;
• Verifiable;
• Distributed and robust;
• Providing for native built-in payments.

This has a variety of implications for businesses, including streamlined business processes, increased transparency, opportunities for less risky collaboration, improved security, and real-time payments, among others.

We are already seeing the impact of Web3 in new financial models and pharmaceuticals, and it will undoubtedly open the door to more opportunities for a larger number of innovators, potentially releasing the current big players’ stranglehold. Strategic organizations will want to get in on the ground floor now rather than playing catch up in order to reap the long-term benefits.

However, as with the scarcity of skilled Web 2.0 developers, Web3 developers are even scarcer. While there has been a lot of buzz about Web3 and what it means for society, companies with a clear mission have a significant advantage in the talent search.

To attract these skill sets, organizations must demonstrate that they are committed to developing serious Web3 projects with long-term visions and goals. A clear vision and the opportunity to create something new with Web3 have legs to attract Web 2.0 talent in addition to attracting new talent.

If you want to be at the cutting edge of technology and reap the benefits of Web3, this could be the next step in your career. However, if people are a little risk-averse, Web 2.0 is probably a good place to be right now.

Disclaimer: The opinion expressed here is not investment advice – it is provided for informational purposes only. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of EGG Finance. Every investment and all trading involves risk, so you should always perform your own research prior to making decisions. We do not recommend investing money you cannot afford to lose.