Coinbase takes you through the Web3 stack from the bottom up

2022-01-14 11:27

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Beyond ownership, The power of Web3 lies in its modularity and interoperability.

A Simple Guide to the Web3 Stack

Original source: Coinbase blog & NBSP;

原文编译：胡韬，链捕手

The industry has come up with a lot of definitions for web3, but at Coinbase, we generally think of it as. Web3 is an untrusted, unlicensed and decentralized Internet that leverages blockchain technology.

The defining feature of Web3 is ownership. The first iteration of the commercial Internet (Web1) was read-only to most users, while Web2 allowed users to read and write on centralized platforms (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.), while Web3 gave users full ownership of their content, data and assets via blockchain. It enables users to read and write autonomously.

In the case where a third party like Facebook owns your Web2 identity and data, your Web3 identity can move smoothly between platforms without your data being captured and monetized by service providers. Although Web2 applications are centrally controlled, tokens in Web3 grant users the right to help manage the services they use, which represents a form of ownership in the platform itself.

Given this framework, what does the Web3 stack look like?

Web 3 stack

The Web3 stack is still nascent and fragmented, but with a lot of innovation over the years, it's starting to come into focus. What follows is neither mutually exclusive nor completely exhaustive. Rather, it is a framework for thinking about the situation as it evolves.

Let's start from the bottom up.

The protocol layer

At the bottom of the stack, we have the protocol layer. This consists of the underlying blockchain architecture on which everything else is built.

Bitcoin was their granddaddy, and while it doesn't play a major role in today's Web3, it pioneered the ability to give someone access to scarce digital assets through the use of public-private cryptography. Bitcoin has been followed by a number of Tier 1 smart contract platforms such as Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, Cosmos, and others, which are the basis for many Web3 applications currently in production.

Both Bitcoin and Ethereum have additional protocols built on top of them. Bitcoin has networks like Lightning Network (for fast and cheap payments) and Stacks (for smart contracts). To alleviate its capacity constraints, several Layer 2 extension protocols are built on top of Ethereum.

With the rise of many Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks, Bridges need to be built between them. Inputs act as cross-chain Bridges on highways, allowing users to transfer value from one chain to another.

Infrastructure layer

The infrastructure layer sits on top of the protocol layer and is made up of interoperable building blocks that are very reliable for performing specific tasks.

This is a dense and diverse layer, with projects building everything from smart contract auditing software, data storage, communication protocols, data analytics platforms, DAO governance tools, identity solutions, financial primitives, and more.

For example, Uniswap supports the exchange of one asset for another. Arweave enables data to be stored in a decentralized manner. ENS domain names can be used as user identities in the Web3 world. Users can't do much with each individual application. However, when combined, these category primitives are like lego bricks that Web3 developers can use to build applications.

Use case layer

On top of the protocol layer and the infrastructure layer is the use case layer, all of which comes together.

以像 Axie Infinity 这样的基于区块链的游戏为例，它使用以太坊 Token 和 NFT，可以桥接到名为 Ronin 的低成本/高吞吐量侧链。玩家经常使用 Uniswap 将 ETH 换成玩游戏所需的 Token 。同样，去中心化博客平台 Mirror 使用存储协议 Arweave 来存储数据。同时，它利用以太坊让出版方获得加密货币报酬，通常是通过将 Token 定向到他们的 ENS 地址。

You'll notice that Uniswap appears in our infrastructure and use cases section. That's because while Uniswap's core is just a series of smart contracts, it also provides a front end with which users can interact directly. In other words, it doubles as a standalone user-facing application as well as the infrastructure for other Web3 applications such as Axie Infinity.

Access layer

At the top of the stack is the access layer -- the application that serves as the entry point for various Web3 activities.

Want to play Axie Infinity on the Mirror or pay for your content? You first need a wallet, which is the main entry point for most Web3 applications. Users need fiat entry points like Moonpay and Wyre, or cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase, to get started.

With some cryptocurrencies in the wallet, users can go to aggregators like DappRadar to browse and connect to various Web3 applications in one place. Other projects, such as Rabbithole, help users discover and learn how to use various Web3 applications. There are aggregators like Zapper, Zerion, and Debank that help users keep track of all their activities and assets across a variety of applications.

最后，我们已经接近一个未来，在这个未来中，已经聚集了加密社区的 Web2 平台，如 Reddit 和 Twitter，将成为 Web3 的入口点。Reddit 期待已久的加密计划将让某些社区 Token 化，用 Token 和可能的 NFT 奖励积极参与的用户。Twitter 已经拥有与比特币闪电网络的集成，让用户可以在 BTC 中给其他人小费。

An evolving stack

The protocols, infrastructure, user applications, and access points mentioned above make up the nascent but growing world of Web3: a user-owned Internet. Beyond ownership, The power of Web3 lies in its modularity and interoperability. In essence, this means that the above stacks can be combined in countless ways to create new and interesting use cases -- a feature we expect to lead to an explosion of new, world-changing applications in the Cambrian period.

While the frameworks and layers we emphasize are likely to remain the same, we expect the programs and opportunities within them to change dramatically over the next few years.