While Q3 of 2022 saw losses down by almost a third compared to the previous quarter, more than $500 million was lost from Web3 protocols over the course of the last three months. Exit scams and flash loan attacks are two of the most common yet most preventable types of exploits we see. Disappointingly, there has been no reduction in the frequency of these incidents over the last few months.
But let’s step back for a second. At this point, it’s become a cliché to say that the internet has revolutionized nearly every facet of our lives. Since the rollout of the World Wide Web to the general public in the 1990s, the ways we work, learn, communicate, shop, sell, and entertain ourselves have permanently changed. Such rapid and radical change has not been without its teething pains as we learn to live with and improve upon the technology we’ve created.
Web3 is the latest iteration of this profoundly revolutionary technology. It promises to rectify many of the problems that have arisen from the corporatization of the internet over the course of the last two decades.
Blockchain technology has the potential to give power back to users in a number of significant ways. Users can secure their data with nearly impossible-to-crack cryptography, choosing whom to give their information to and when. Arbitrary discrimination will become much more difficult, as all users are equal before the rule of immutable, deterministic smart-contract law. And residents of underserved communities will gain access to financial products and services that the developed world takes for granted.
(Copyright:VentureBeat What’s holding Web3 back from prime time | VentureBeat)