Is web3 a solution looking for a problem? Or did it start with a customer’s needs and the technology followed? Which non-speculative use cases do you bring up when these questions arise?
Well, for one, NFTs (and their adjacent tech) are an actual solution to multiple real-world problems that have plagued the fine art world for centuries. Examples: accessing markets and audiences, archiving, authenticity/detecting forgeries, provenance, and compiling an artist’s catalogue raisonné.
As an artist NFT offer the solutions as @mxvoid states. Personally came in web3 early 2020 from a cypherpunk angle, interested in cryptography and privacy-enhancing technology. That's the reason I'm excited by Farcaster protocol. My customer need is fix social media and online identity - the need for an open internet.
I think it’s an innate solution to a system which is why it’s difficult to see in real life. The nature of decentralization goes completely against the current way society operates. Which is why we’re having to look at singular use cases to justify the tech.
Depends which part of Web3 you’re referring to. For identity it’s a bending arc towards self-controlled identity for decades. We’re building in the right place at the right time for decentralized identity.