We may not all agree over what Web3 is, or isn’t for that matter, but a majority of people believe it will define the future of the Internet, a new report has revealed. The report by KuCoin exchange also revealed that while blockchain is a male-dominated field, women are taking the lead in Web3, and as KuCoin Labs head Lou Yu told CoinGeek, this could lay the foundation for its success.
Titled the ‘Web 3 Career Market Report,’ it revealed that Web3 is becoming a big player in professional circles, with 16% of the 3,600+ respondents saying they worked in this sector. However, this was a generalized take on Web3, encompassing those working in DeFi, NFTs, the metaverse, digital asset projects, and more, which are not always necessarily Web3 companies.
“The majority believes that Web 3 leads to a decentralized new world and defines the future of the internet, going beyond crypto adoption,” the report found.
That Web3 will change the Internet is not in question. However, as it is today, it’s still in its infancy, and moreover, it’s still not clear which businesses are really Web3. As Britevue founder Connor Murray joked, “Web3 is just a meme at this point. As far as I can tell, web3 just refers to signing onto a platform with a crypto wallet.”
However, it’s much more than using a token. In essence, Web3 relates to data ownership. It’s the iteration of the Internet that allows users to own their data and do with it as they please, including monetizing it.
Johnny Lyu, the KuCoin CEO, concurs. Speaking to CoinGeek, he noted that “At present, the Web3 sector is headed more in the financial direction. However, Web3 is more than just transactions in the blockchain space on gaming concepts.”
Women taking the lead in Web3
Men dominate the blockchain sector, and expectedly so as it combines finance with technology, two largely male-dominated areas. However, in Web3, women have found their voice and are taking the lead.
The report found that female Web3 professionals are generally more active career-wise than their male counterparts. Further, 27% of these professionals have been involved in starting Web3-related projects or businesses.
Commenting on the role of women in this emerging sector, Lou Yu told CoinGeek, “Women can add their unique perspective on Web3 when engaged in the development of products for it.”
“The current Web3 environment can leverage the potential of women by giving them leading roles in product development, thus gaining invaluable insights into resulting traction. I am certain that female professionals can contribute unique and creative approaches to the overall rise of Web3 as a space of countless use cases and applications for the entire global online population,” Yu, a female pioneer in Web 3.0 herself, added.
The female trailblazers in Web 3.0 face unique challenges, however. 33% of the respondents identified the “bro” culture as the biggest impediment to women, with a lack of proper educational resources also being a major challenge. However, the ‘bro culture’ isn’t unique to Web3 and is only now being slowly phased out of the startup world.
Yu heads KuCoin Labs, the investment arm of the exchange, which in November last year raised a $100 million metaverse fund. As she told CoinGeek Conversations recently, she is super-bullish on the metaverse, which she says is “the place to be for the next generation of entrepreneurial internet users.”
While its stated area of focus is the metaverse, Yu revealed that it would go towards building Web3. She means to make the fund “a launchpad for promising projects that adhere to our inclusive and user-oriented vision of Web3. Over the years of working in the industry, I have become convinced that the future of Web3 lies with projects that are not after massive capitalization, but catering to real user demands. And my experience also dictates that such projects are in most need of financing.”
Watch: CoinGeek Conversations with KuCoin’s Lou Yu
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