In this essay, Patrick Rivera, product engineer at Mirror.xyz, explains why web3 represents not just a slight iteration on existing products but the birth of the world’s first global internet-native economy, and what this tells us about the real significance of web3

At first glance, crypto seems to be a slight iteration on existing products. Bitcoin is "just" a digital version of gold. DeFi is "just" existing financial services on a blockchain. Crypto-gaming is "just" gaming with digital assets. NFTs are "just" jpegs.

This surface-level view explains why many people see crypto as an industry that’s only good for scammy pump n’ dumps.

Greater clarity is needed to help people understand the deeper reality of what's happening. What we're actually seeing is the birth of the world's first global internet-native economy.

Seen from this lens, it becomes clear that the superficial similarity between crypto and existing products is far from reality. Instead, web3 products perform specific functions in the digital economy that offline analogues can't fulfill. Crypto tokens are the first digitally native asset and an entire digital economy is developing around them that is parallel to the traditional economy. This is the real significance of web3.

To fully understand how web3 represents the emergence of a digitally native economy, let's first briefly review what web3 actually is and how it is distinct from previous eras of the internet.