We Just Launched the Internet's Most Rigorous Guide to Web3 and Crypto

We have officially launched our guide, Making Sense of Web3 and Crypto!

Carried out by our research arm, Life Itself Labs, this is the result of almost a year of dedicated research and analysis exploring the aspirations and claims of Web3, from a social, political and economic perspective.

Drawing on current research and critical discussions with technologists, economists, computer scientists, Web3 skeptics and Web3 enthusiasts, the guide provides a comprehensive and authoritative analysis of the biggest claims being made in the Web3 space.

Why is it important?

The guide is a vital resource particularly for policy makers and journalists seeking to understand and make sense of the complexity and controversy of Web3. That said, if you are in any way interested in Web3, the guide provides a useful perspective which is often missing from the mainstream crypto narrative.

Web3 & crypto has become a massive phenomenon with bold claims made about its actual and potential impact. These claims go far beyond traditional technology boosterism (better, faster) to claims for radical transformation (and improvement) of our economic and social systems – for example, Web3 is revolutionary for X where X is everything from money and the economy to governance to funding public goods like (open) software, carbon removal etc.

As you may know, Life Itself is all about creating a wiser, weller world and you might assume that crypto and Web3 would fit into our repertoire of tools like fingers in a glove. Yet, during our initial exploration we felt that the Web3 space lacked the rigorous sensemaking necessary to make an informed decision about whether the claims were legitimate.

“As someone who aligns closely with many of the more progressive aspirations of the Web3 space, I think it’s really important we have an honest, good faith conversation about whether these technologies are the best way of fulfilling them,” says Theo Cox, Head of Life Itself Labs.

“Too often discussions fracture into tribalism, with mud slinging from both sides on the basis of affiliations and vested interests. I wanted to move past that, into a space of “hey, we all want the same thing here. I may be more skeptical around Web3 as a way to achieve that, but here’s a detailed breakdown of the evidence and reasoning for my view so if you disagree, let’s talk”.

There was a gap in the collective knowledge surrounding Web3 and while there were many people critiquing its claims, no rigorous analysis had been made. So we did it!

“To my knowledge this is the most detailed and evidence-based breakdown of the key claims made about Web3 technology. I hope it can not only help people make sense of the underlying mechanics of what’s going on, but also spark a more productive conversation. I’d love nothing more than for this to lead to discussions with people who disagree which move us all closer to our shared aspirations,” says Theo.

What does the guide contain?

The guide explores the social, economical and political aspects of Web3 and Crypto with a particular focus on making sense of key claims often touted by proponents of Web3.

By steel-manning these key claims through conscious, critical and open-minded dialog with a diverse set of experts, the guide teases out the underlying hypotheses and assumptions and then engages in rigorous and constructive critique.

The guide also explores the overall aspirations of the Web3 movement and examines how these might be achieved, whether through improvements to blockchain based approaches or by other means.

All of this is neatly packaged into a stand-alone website from which the entire guide can be explored. It is split into three main sections:

Full analyses providing comprehensive and authoritative analyses of the biggest claims being made in the space. The following claims are analyzed:

Deep dive notes, which are detailed analysis notes from our deep dive conversations. These have not yet been formatted and expanded into full analyses (You can help). We've undertaken deep dives on the following claims:

Finally, FAQs are brief responses to some common questions asked about crypto and Web3. They form a useful starting point for further research, such as reading their references in our library.

Help disseminate the guide!

We’ve created it, now we need to spread it out into the world and we need your help.

A small action can make a big difference in disseminating this knowledge, so if you have 30 seconds you can use our media kit and share!

If you are a journalist please make use of our press release too.

We appreciate you 🙏

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We would also like to say a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to creating the guide. The conversations, recommendations, feedback and critique has made this guide as good as it can be. We couldn’t have done it without you!