Just as the browser became the window of the primitive network, digital wallets are becoming the interface for decentralized online, alias website 3.

Most people may not remember that websites used to have the “This website was optimized for World Wide Web Explorer” icon, but that was not uncommon two decades ago.

Just like today’s battle between Web 2 monopolies and website communities, there was a similar battle for ownership of the portal in the early days of the early consumer web: a global closed source monopoly or an open source non-profit. Organization.

A battle for the soul of the internet

Long before Internet 3rd, the browser war defined early online. Netscape Navigator was the first consumer browser on the market and the browser of choice for early World Wide Web users. For many, it is synonymous with the dawn of the internet.

But slowly but surely, Microsoft has used its monopoly position in the operating system area to promote its closed source alternative: Net Explorer (IE) browser. It was able to outperform Netscape and become the default choice for users by simply bundling the browser with Windows.

In 1998, Netscape released its browser as open source and helped found the Mozilla Foundation, which supports a free software community of its contributors. In 2002, the Mozilla Firefox browser, based on open source principles, was originally codenamed “Phoenix” to refer to the way it rose from the ashes.

A battle ensues for the soul of the World Wide Web. Internet Explorer is closed source Firefox is open source. World Wide Web Explorer is started by a proprietary company Firefox is operated by a platform.

Firefox broke Microsoft’s closed-source siege and paved the way for Chrome, which builds on the open-source Chromium project. Along with the growth of the mobile network, it created a key to the cogs of online explorer. Otherwise, users might still see “This World Wide Web Page is optimized for Internet Explorer” when loading the page.

The World Wide Web Explorer is also at the heart of Microsoft’s monopoly case that resulted in Microsoft reinventing itself as the champion for open source software for 10 years.

A new network

Fast forward to today. Net 3 powered wallets are the tool that millions of people use to enter the brave new world of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), community-driven DeFi protocols, and the Metaverse. you are portal for these applications, like the browser, is the gateway to the world-wide websites of the stub online. Soon they will be the standard interface for a new network – the land on which they will fight.

Related: Three features of the website 3. have corrected the errors that are occurring on the Internet today

Everything changes

Once again, a monopoly stands in the way. It’s not free and open source. World-Wide-Web pages optimize for this. We have to fight for that again. Similar to the role of IE in shaping the World Wide Web 2., many DApps and Web 3. applications have started to optimize themselves for MetaMask, today’s market leader for digital wallets. While users take the path of least resistance, this can have the negative effect of placing the entry point into the ecosystem in the hands of a consortium.

Just like IE, MetaMask began to rely on proprietary operations and a walled garden approach to return to Net 2 and its declining business models. After the code base switched to a tiered proprietary license, it grew from around 500,000 to over 21 million active users per month in less than a year when the mainstream switched to Net 3. The same users paid over $ 237 million in service fees for their in-wallet exchange function during that period.

Based on these numbers, the project has raised $ 200 million in capital from many companies, including HSBC. All of this is good for ConsenSys, the company that owns the MetaMask code base. However, none of these have any benefit to their users. In addition, former employees and shareholders are now sounding the alarm about ConsenSys’s involvement in Wall Street firms like JPMorgan – a relationship that runs contrary to the early ideas of openness, open, and decentralized finance.

Many believe that this growing market penetration and MetaMask’s Web 2. approach to developing digital wallets reveal the potential of the Net 3. Stack for a more open Internet. Business models can redefine the relationship between tools and their users.

Related: Three functions of the World Wide Web 3. corrected the errors that are occurring on the Internet today

But they don’t have to stay the same

History doesn’t have to repeat itself. In this new landscape, we are going to generate a lot of buzz when it comes to the world wide web 3. and digital wallets. There will still be closed, proprietary software, and there will be new alternatives to open source and community run. However, unlike Web 2, users now have a greater say in where things go. You now have a choice to develop and manage open source software, and to enjoy the benefits that it may actually possess.

The World Wide Web 3. creates an environment in which the profit-oriented, copyright-heavy business models of the Internet 2. will no longer function as they did before. The projects developed on this stack are open source, composable, and community-driven. When we talk about technologies that enable programmable money, these details make all the difference.

Related: Is it possible to use the new decentralized web or the world wide web 3?

The nature of the World Wide Web 3. has allowed each project to split off another’s code base and develop a better alternative – a situation that ultimately benefits users. At the same time, there is decentralized access to capital and community incentives that enable every project to enter the market.

This turns the World Wide Web 2. centralization model on its head and makes the community a decisive factor in every third website project. Some examples of this are the current DeFi-2 trend towards protocol-owned liquidity and the increasing purchasing power of DAOs. Unfortunately, the interface that many users use to access these apps is still stuck on World Wide Web 2.

What to expect

More and more users are becoming familiar with Website 3’s capabilities. In the future, they expect the user interface they use to access these applications to provide the same benefits as the applications themselves. It may be too early to say which current projects will share the fate of Net Explorer. It’s not too early to know that Net 3 users want to own trusted software in addition to their digital assets.