Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Project 3
Project 3
Project 3
Tiffany Liu
R4B
12 December 2022
A New Way of Trusting: The Technological and Social Implications of Web 3.0 and Blockchain
Weebly: tiffany-r4b.weebly.com
Abstract: Analyzing the technological and social implications of the Web 3.0 revolution, this
paper highlights the impact of blockchain technology on security and trust in society. This paper
aims to dissect the definitions of decentralization, Web 3.0, and blockchain technology. Its goal
is to make Web 3.0 and blockchain understandable for the average consumer as it is more
important than ever to get in touch with these topics. From research analysis on cryptocurrencies
to comparison analysis of traditional versus blockchain governance structures, this paper will
drive home the role of blockchain in the world as we know it. As a glimpse into the paper,
blockchain is a technological solution to a social problem—the lack of trust between humans and
the reliance on centralized web services. Blockchain allows peers to not have to trust one another
because they can simply trust their own copy of information, but everyone must trust that the
system functions correctly and ethically. Ultimately, this paper will dive into what this means for
Our technological world is undoubtedly changing faster than ever, and one of the largest
innovations in recent years has been the decentralization of the web or the Web 3.0 revolution led
by blockchain technology. Decentralization of the web is the shift from centralized data hosting
services of corporations or the government to peer-to-peer networks where each user can gather
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and send information without a third party. The Web 3.0 era is what we live in today,
encompassing the shift from a centralized web to a decentralized web. Lastly, blockchain is the
technology that allows all of this to happen. Blockchain is a system of recording information that
maintained by multiple computers that are linked in a peer-to-peer network. In short, blockchain
leads to the shift from trusting humans to trusting machines as well as the shift from centralized
to decentralized control of the digital world. Ultimately, these new concepts of Web 3.0 allow
users to take control of the security of their information and the governance of their
communities, which increases trust in both the technological and social scopes of society. The
Each generation of the web has marked a huge transition in the technological world, and
it is important to understand the defining characteristics of each era. Web 1.0 is considered the
“read-only” web, meaning that users could only search for and read information. Web 2.0 is the
“read-write” web, meaning that users could create content and interact with other users online.
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Finally, Web 3.0 is the “read-write-execute” web. It describes a network where computers can
interpret information like humans and distribute content tailored to the needs of individual users
(Naik, 2009).
Rather than accessing the web through services mediated by companies like Google, consumers
themselves own and govern particular areas of the web. The goal of Web 3.0 is essentially to
eliminate third parties in any industry ranging from finance to healthcare. Besides blockchain,
Web 3.0 also encompasses advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning.
However, for the purposes of this paper, we will focus on blockchain technology and its
help drive home the definition of blockchain. Blockchain is the technology that enables the
uses cryptographic techniques in order to verify transactions and control its value. This is where
blockchain comes into play. Participants can confirm transactions without a need for a
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centralized authority like a bank as the blockchain is a decentralized ledger listing all
transactions in the peer-to-peer network (Likens, 2017). Peer-to-peer is the term used to
characterize how computers can connect to one another without the help of another server. There
are several reasons why cryptocurrency like Bitcoin has become so popular in recent years. First,
they are not associated with centralized governments, meaning that they are independent of any
turmoil that may exist in certain parts of the world. For those who do not trust their government,
cryptocurrency is the key to their world of financial assets and investments. Second, owning
transactions are safeguarded by the blockchain (World Financial Review, 2020). Since
blockchain allows peer-to-peer transactions, governing agencies do not need to act as the linkage
between a borrower and a lender. Instead, a borrower can directly borrow money from a lender,
of blockchain technology in the works. The field has had fragmented governance until the rise of
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would be a technology that allows a user to find patient information on a database, send a smart
contract to get consent for a surgical operation, and then ensure that medicines arrive efficiently
through a ledger system. There would be a seamless transition between the three steps, and a
patient would not need to sign the same forms each time they go to a new doctor’s office. It is no
secret that the United States healthcare system is expensive. According to Statista, the United
States spent over 20% of its GDP on healthcare in 2020 (Statista Research Department, 2022).
U.S. National Health Expenditure as Percent of GDP from 1960 to 2020 (Statista Research
Department, 2022)
However, blockchain technology may be the answer to this decades-long problem. Not only can
blockchain keep a transparent log of patient data, it can also conceal the identity of each patient.
Due to the administrative complexity of the healthcare system, healthcare costs are record high.
With the help of blockchain, these costs can be decreased. Medicalchain, a service based in
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London, allows hospitals and laboratories to request patient information while protecting the
patient’s identity from outside sources (Daley, 2022). This represents decentralized control of an
The main reason why blockchain will increase trust among participants is that it
represents the shift from trusting humans to trusting machines. Tomaso Aste, founder of the
University College London Center for Blockchain Technologies, highlights two lenses through
information and communications technology (ICT) used to log ownership of assets, rights,
obligations, or any other data type (Aste, 2017). This is no different from current modes of
recording information except blockchain allows the log of ownership to be recorded in a safer
manner. Through this lens, blockchain is seen as a solution to the lack of trust between people.
Through the second lens, on the other hand, blockchain can be seen as an institutional
people management (Aste, 2017). Blockchain technology allows independent people to work
with public data sources simultaneously. Thus, it is a tool to govern entities or communities of
people. This makes the impact of blockchain expand from merely the technological world to the
broader social world as it can increase security in patient, customer, and client information
within nearly every industry. Businesses that use fully automated and secure transactions would
have an upper hand over businesses that have not yet transitioned. In the supply chain,
blockchain would create a seamless process from production to distribution. Therefore, trusting
machines over trusting humans becomes a solution for both convenience as well as security.
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With blockchain technology, all users can hold one another accountable for the
information they put onto a chain. Thus, blockchain can be referred to as a technological solution
blockchain system because every person on the network retains a copy of the list of transactions,
meaning that if one person changes it, everyone else could prove that the change was invalid.
This requires that a majority of people on a network are honest and want what is best for the
system. While blockchain allows people to not have to trust one another because they can simply
trust their own copy of the information, everyone must trust that the system functions in a way
that prevents unethical activity on the internet. In “Blockchain and Web 3.0: Social, Economic,
and Technological Challenges,” Massimo Ragnedda argues that the goal of blockchain
technology is on the basis of distributed trust as well as the basis of rational self-interest and
competition (Ragnedda, 2021). Each user must trust everybody else as economic agents
participating in a network. Each user may also be acting in self interest as they want their own
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transactions and actions to be deemed valid, which is only possible if the invalid transactions are
deemed invalid. In short, there is still a level of trust that is associated with the technology in that
participants must trust that the mechanism works in the way it is intended to.
Not only does blockchain increase trust, but it can also increase involvement within an
employees abide by. Institutional hierarchies govern how socioeconomic communities interact
with each other. Blockchain technology, however, will alter the way in which these communities
are made across the network’s nodes—devices within a system—rather than being concentrated
Businesses can run under an incorruptible set of rules coded into smart contracts that are possible
through blockchain. A smart contract is a computer program that automatically executes actions
when certain terms are met (Frankenfield, 2022). For example, an organization can use a voting
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mechanism on the blockchain to ensure that votes are not tampered with and that every
pyramid (Aste, 2017). However, members must be active and involved participants in order for
this to occur. Therefore, it is important for the general public to learn about blockchain
spreads to the governing of communities or even countries, maybe we will have an autonomous
Though Web 3.0’s emergence is an exciting innovation for industry experts, it is still a
relatively new and unexplored topic for the general public. At the time that this paper is being
written, there are over 170 million blockchain wallets worldwide (Ruby, 2022). With 8 billion
people in the world, only 2.1% of the global population uses blockchain wallets. These wallets
are likely only owned by those who invest in cryptocurrencies, presenting the discrepancy
between those who have access to the finances to own cryptocurrency and those who do not. As
consumers begin taking control of their own information, it will become much more important to
provide adequate and equitable education on how to use blockchain and buy cryptocurrencies.
This presents the possibility of wealthier communities having easier and quicker access to
information than less privileged communities. For instance, the general public can enroll in
online courses created by campus clubs of accredited universities like Blockchain at Berkeley.
However, certification in the courses requires a fee that not everyone has access to.
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Eventually, the governance of blockchain technologies may directly or indirectly influence those
who do not understand how it works, meaning that minorities and marginalized communities
Nevertheless, this presents new opportunities for innovation within the blockchain space.
The challenge of involving those who have not yet had the opportunity nor access to these
technologies is one that is currently being explored. For instance, Optimism is a blockchain
protocol that aims to launch a new governing system called the Optimism Collective. This
collective will be governed co-equally by two houses: the Token House and the Citizens’ House.
The Token House would comprise of people who own Optimism’s native token, available only to
those who have the ability to purchase them. The Citizens’ House, though, would include
communities like college organizations that closely study the blockchain industry (Optimism,
2022). The goal of this governance model is to include those who do not have the funds to
purchase Optimism’s tokens in making decisions that could still potentially impact them. This is
a prime example of how the field of blockchain is constantly evolving and how it can
reformulate how we think about governance throughout various environments of the world.
Due to the current lack of knowledge surrounding blockchain, there is also a lack of trust
in it. In fact, according to Pew Research Center, only 16% of Americans say that they have
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invested in or traded cryptocurrencies in their lifetime (Perrin, 2021). Additionally, the majority
of those who participated in the study have only heard a little about cryptocurrency.
Ross Thompson, Accountancy and Finance Lecturer at Arden University, explains that “While
organizations may start trusting the security of blockchain once the technology is widely
accepted and used, blockchain users may not fully trust other parties on the blockchain network”
(CAEW Insights, 2022). If a business uses blockchain, it does not necessarily mean that the shift
function properly, the people using the system must participate in consensus. If someone is still
skeptical of others on the network, they are also skeptical of the blockchain’s functionality
because blockchain is supposed to eliminate the need for trust in others. Accordingly, there is not
enough awareness on how the blockchain works, which hinders the public’s trust in it.
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Another factor of trusting a system is how much others use it or believe in it. As humans,
we are heavily influenced by those around us. Since a majority of the population uses Google,
we believe it to be safe, and we add ourselves to the group of people who also use Google. It
becomes a cycle where more and more people use a system that is already trusted by others. This
is also the case for cryptocurrencies and other blockchain technologies. Ethereum, an
open-source blockchain, is a popular platform amongst people building smart contracts. Because
it is such a popular blockchain, the security of Ethereum is high. However, there is not enough
space on the Ethereum blockchain to accommodate each person who wants to include their smart
contract in a block. This leads to sky high transaction costs that are required of those who add
their smart contracts to Ethereum. A user who adds their smart contract on Ethereum is paying
for the security of the platform. For users who have smart contracts that do not require the same
level of security that Ethereum provides, their contracts can be built on a layer-2 solution—a
Although it inherits some of its security from Ethereum, it does not inherit all of it. Thus,
transaction fees on Optimism are a fraction of the cost of those on Ethereum. Layer-2 solutions
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are still being explored, and layer-3 will likely come as layer-2 solutions become more
expensive.
Taking all of the above into consideration, Web 3.0 and blockchain is at the center of how
many industries can eliminate the need for direct trust between different parties. Instead, if
everyone trusts that the technology works properly, direct trust becomes unnecessary. A
decentralized digital society can in turn create decentralization in real world social interactions
and organizational governance. As blockchain continues evolving, so does our perception of trust
and governance of society. Ultimately, it is imperative to spread the knowledge of Web 3.0 and
blockchain to all communities in the world as it is only a matter of time before everyone feels the
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Annotated Bibliography
Aste, Tomaso. “Blockchain Technologies: The Foreseeable Impact on Society and Industry.”
blockchain applications. This article describes various perspectives on the challenges and
While Aste takes on a supportive and positive outlook on blockchain technology, he also
presents its drawbacks and limitations. This provided insight into the positive and
Castro, Helio, et al. “Meta-Organization and Manufacturing Web 3.0 for Ubiquitous Virtual
2013, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212827113007099.
Porto. His research article is about how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are
driving economic and social development. His paper discusses the Meta-Organization
This article is relevant to the project because it discusses specific organizations used
when examining blockchain through a case study lens. By drawing from real-world
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applications of blockchain, it becomes easier to break down technical aspects of Web 3.0
and blockchain.
Juzwishin, Donald W.M. “Political, Policy and Social Barriers to Health System Interoperability:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0840470410601366.
Donald W. M. Juzwishin is the former CEO of the Health Council of Canada. His article
technology. It also highlights governance in the healthcare industry, comparing the effects
This article is different from any other sources utilized in the paper because it discusses a
specific use case of blockchain. It compares how blockchain can transform healthcare
and how Web 2.0 is currently affecting the industry, which allowed for further research
into Medicalchain.
Kshetri, Nir. “Web 3.0 and the Metaverse Shaping Organizations' Brand and Product Strategies.”
Nir Kshetri is a professor at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro whose research
describes blockchain as a 3-D virtual world, showing the crossover between the real
This article allowed the paper to adopt a conceptual lens to introduce the complex
informed the parallels and discrepancies between our digital and real worlds.
Murray, Alex, et al. “The Promise of a Decentralized Internet: What Is Web 3.0 and How Can
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681322000714.
Oregon. The article illustrates what Web 3.0 means for established businesses and
Murray lays out the effects of increased peer-to-peer interactions, which is central to the
paper’s argument that Web 3.0 alters socialization between people. Seeing Web 3.0 from
While putting together project 3, I learned that research goes through dozens of iterations
before it even becomes ready for review. Writing the assigned research arcs helped immensely as
it provided the opportunity for me to write freely without the pressure of perfecting my paper.
After I completed three research arcs, I was able to connect them together in order to generate a
full first draft. From there, I just had to create a better flow within and between the paragraphs.
A challenge I dealt with throughout the research process was simplifying complex
technical terms used in primary academic sources to make my essay palatable to my target
audience: the general population. However, this became a wonderful learning experience as it
allowed me to dissect quotes that I also found difficult to understand. I believe that the best way
to learn a concept is to attempt to explain it, which is a skill I practiced for my project.
decentralization and Web 3.0 extensively within the club, there is always more to learn. For
DAOs invert the hierarchical management pyramid. If the governance of blockchains eventually
spreads to the governance of real world organizations or countries’ governments, then the rise of
Ultimately, project 3 was one of the most beneficial projects I have ever done because
executing research from beginning to end was not an easy feat. After this project, I will continue
research in the world of blockchain as well as explore other topics that interest me.