Exploring the New World of Web3: Concept Evolution and Social Construction

From 2008 to 2009, the birth of Bitcoin as the native currency of the internet laid the groundwork for future technological innovations. Bitcoin represents a challenge to the traditional financial system, attempting to depict an ideal society of equality. Its decentralized concept profoundly reflects the core spirit of the cypherpunk culture, which is to protect individual privacy through cryptographic technology and empower individuals with economic autonomy. However, these ideas were initially propagated mainly within a small circle of technological elites.

In 2011, the author of the Bitcoin white paper completely disappeared from the internet. This anonymous founder was thus shaped into a mysterious hero, becoming a symbol of freedom and the spirit of decentralization. His "retirement" not only made the Bitcoin ideology appear more pure but also turned it into an almost religious leader-like existence.

Since the value of Bitcoin was discovered by the market in 2010, a series of cryptocurrencies based on the same technological framework have emerged. However, the early application scenarios of cryptocurrencies were quite awkward, often used for illegal transaction payments, seemingly representing a "gray area."

As time goes by, cryptocurrencies are becoming increasingly linked to market bubbles. In 2015, a well-known smart contract platform was launched, significantly reducing the cost of creating cryptocurrencies while also giving rise to a speculative bubble market. In 2018, the cryptocurrency market experienced its first large-scale collapse. In 2021, the waves of decentralized finance and non-fungible tokens swept through the market, reigniting an investment frenzy, but it collapsed again in 2022. With global regulators paying attention and intervening, cryptocurrencies are facing increasing compliance pressures, further exacerbating their market stigmatization.

Many people believe that "blockchain" emerged almost simultaneously with Bitcoin, or even earlier, but that is not the case. According to search trend data, the term Blockchain did not begin to be used to describe the distributed system technology behind Bitcoin until around 2012 to 2013. The emergence of the term blockchain as a symbolic construction strategy endowed the technology stack with new symbolic significance. Since then, the technology has been stripped of its market speculation label, shaping a neutral image of a "trust machine." As a result, technology companies have been able to drive the market in broader fields such as finance, supply chain, healthcare, and government data management.

The cryptocurrency industry is well aware of its stigmatization and has long begun to attempt to reposition itself with new terminology. The two most influential terms, Metaverse and Web3, are both examples of repurposing old words.

The concept of the metaverse originated from a science fiction novel in 1992, referring to a virtual world parallel to reality. The cryptocurrency industry uses this to express the vision of reconstructing the economic system in the internet world. However, when a social media giant rebranded, the narrative of the metaverse was rewritten to align with visions of a digital world related to VR and AR, showcasing the struggle behind the manipulation of discourse.

Web3 was proposed by a well-known developer in 2014, expressing the ideal of a cryptocurrency-driven, user-sovereign internet. This concept remained on the fringes for a long time, until it was rediscovered and adopted in 2021.

In the evolution of these terms, we see that the naming of technology and industries is a socially constructed process. Behind each term, there are interest groups that exert influence on society in various ways.

There are countless terms derived from cryptocurrency around the world, with popular usages varying by region. An international financial center aims to build a global digital economy hub by creating a stable market through specific application scenarios and regulatory frameworks. Currently, the most commonly used terms in the region include virtual assets, tokenized assets, real-world assets, and Web 3.0. These terms attempt to distance themselves from the speculative and bubble image of cryptocurrency, reshaping market trust and narrative.

From Bitcoin to blockchain, from cryptocurrencies to Web3 and tokenized asset markets, there is a social construction logic behind the birth of each new concept. Conceptual innovation is not technological innovation; it may simply be the discursive reshaping of interest groups responding to market changes to attract users and capital. The replacement of concepts does not eliminate risks; while they bring new hopes, they also hide risks in new labyrinths. Regardless of how the terminology changes, human nature remains unchanged.

The financial market, whether traditional or emerging, is a place of undercurrents - whether you are a novice or an expert.