Enterprises and Web3

stolberg

•Feb 25, 2025

Why Enterprises Should Care About Web3

The global Web3 market is projected to grow significantly, from USD 2.2 billion in 2022 to USD 81.9 billion by 2032, with a CAGR of 44.5%. This growth suggests opportunities for new revenue streams, operational efficiency, and stronger customer relationships through technologies like NFTs and DeFi.

Understanding Web3: Definition and Core Components

Web3 is the next generation of the internet, characterized by decentralization, blockchain technologies, and token-based economies. Unlike Web2, which relies on centralized platforms, Web3 aims to give users more control over their data and enable peer-to-peer transactions without intermediaries. Research suggests this shift is driven by technologies like blockchain, which underpins decentralized applications (dApps) and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Key components for enterprises include:

Ownership: Enabled by blockchain, allowing digital assets to be treated like physical assets, transferable anywhere. For example, selling a movie or book online to a friend is made seamless.
Aligned Incentives: Supports tighter brand-consumer alignment through digital property ownership, turning consumers into partners or owners, such as influencers gaining co-branding opportunities.
Community: Intertwined with ownership and incentives, fostering super-loyalty through tokenization, such as an athletic shoe company using NFT-based community engagement to translate “likes” into discounts.

These components, as outlined by PwC - What is Web3?, suggest Web3 can fundamentally change how businesses interact with customers and manage assets.

The Business Case for Web3 Adoption

The evidence leans toward Web3 offering significant benefits for enterprises, driven by market growth and technological advancements. The global Web3 market was valued at USD 2.2 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 81.9 billion by 2032, with a CAGR of 44.5%, according to Shift Markets - Web3 for Enterprises Explained. This growth indicates a robust opportunity for enterprises to innovate.

Potential benefits include:

New Business Models: dApps and DeFi enable innovative revenue streams, such as tokenized assets and decentralized marketplaces.
Operational Efficiency: Blockchain enhances transparency, particularly in supply chain management, reducing costs and improving trust.
Customer Engagement: NFTs and token-gated communities foster loyalty, creating new ways to engage customers, such as branded crypto-lending or exclusive memberships.

This market expansion, combined with the potential for efficiency and engagement, makes Web3 a compelling area for enterprise investment.

Key Technologies Driving Web3 Transformation

Enterprises can leverage several Web3 technologies to drive transformation, each offering unique advantages:

Blockchain: Provides secure, transparent, and immutable record-keeping, ideal for supply chain tracking and data integrity, reducing costs by cutting intermediaries.
Smart Contracts: Automate agreements, enforcing terms without third parties, enabling models like automatic payouts and loyalty programs.
Cryptocurrencies: Facilitate secure global transactions, offering cost-effective international payments and the potential to launch branded tokens for user engagement.
DeFi: Offers lending, borrowing, trading, and insurance on blockchains, creating new revenue streams from decentralized financial products.
NFTs: Enable authentication, verification, and monetization of digital and physical goods, opening new branding opportunities and token-gated communities.

These technologies, detailed in Shift Markets - Web3 for Enterprises Explained, provide enterprises with tools to streamline operations and innovate customer offerings.

Practical Use Cases for Enterprises

Web3 offers transformative applications across B2B and B2C domains, with specific examples illustrating its potential:

B2B Applications:
- Supply Chain Transparency: Blockchain ensures immutable ledgers, enhancing trust and reducing audit costs, as seen with companies like Walmart and IBM using blockchain for traceability.
- Automated Agreements: Smart contracts streamline processes like procurement and vendor payments, cutting intermediary costs and improving efficiency.
B2C Applications:
- Branded Crypto-Lending: Use DeFi platforms to offer consumers crypto-based financial products, attracting underserved demographics seeking transparency and control.
- NFTs for Loyalty: Create digital collectibles or memberships to build customer loyalty, such as fashion brands like Gucci launching NFT collections sold for up to $25,000, collaborating with SuperRare for Vault Art Space (Program-Ace - Enterprise Transformation with a Web3 Development Company).
- Decentralized Finance: Provide faster, secure financial services via DeFi, appealing to customers seeking alternatives to traditional banking.

These use cases, supported by Shift Markets - Web3 for Enterprises Explained, demonstrate how enterprises can apply Web3 to both internal operations and customer-facing strategies.

Step-by-Step Guide to Adopting Web3

Adopting Web3 requires a structured approach to ensure success. The following steps, derived from Visartech - How Web3 Development Transforms Business, provide a clear roadmap:

Identify Your Project Idea: Choose a use case where Web3 can add value, such as supply chain transparency or customer engagement, and compile technical specifications.
Decide on the Type of Solution: Select from dApps, DeFi apps, NFT marketplaces, or smart contracts development based on your needs, ensuring alignment with enterprise ecosystems.
Find a Reliable Partner: Start with a pilot project to test viability and choose a trusted Web3 development company. Key considerations include:
- Experience and Expertise: Look for a company with successful projects and deep understanding of blockchain nuances.
- Reputation and Reviews: Check client testimonials, online reviews, and case studies for reliability.
- Technical Capabilities: Ensure proficiency in smart contract development, dApps, and latest Web3 tools.
- Communication and Collaboration: Prioritize clear communication, regular updates, and a client-centric approach.
- Scalability and Future-Proofing: Solutions should be adaptable and scalable, designed with future relevance in mind.

Examples of successful partnerships include Visartech’s work on a metaverse for remote collaboration, adopted by Google and Microsoft within months, and a sports social network integrated with ESPN-like services, built with Node.js and Firebase.

Additionally, Program-Ace - Enterprise Transformation with a Web3 Development Company highlights companies like Program-Ace, with 30+ years on the market and 900+ projects delivered, as top-tier partners for Web3 adoption.

Navigating Challenges and Considerations

While Web3 offers significant opportunities, enterprises must navigate several challenges, as outlined by McKinsey - What is Web3?:

Evolving Regulation: Authorities are developing approaches to govern consumer and investor protection, legality and enforceability of blockchain-based contracts, and know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money-laundering (AML) standards.
Value Proposition and User Experience: Web3 has relatively poor user experience standards compared with Web2 products, which have been fine-tuned over two decades. The utility of products like NFTs remains unclear to many consumers and enterprises.
Consumer Protection: Recent failures of several Web3 projects, such as high-profile DeFi platform collapses, have made consumer and investor protection a focal point for regulators and the public, necessitating robust security measures.

These challenges require enterprises to adopt a cautious, informed approach, balancing innovation with risk management.

Innovative Revenue Models in Web3

Web3 introduces unique revenue models that enterprises can leverage, as detailed in Truffle Suite - How Web 3.0 is Transforming Traditional Business Models:

Revenue Share: Includes Percentage Fee (popular with exchanges and marketplaces, where the seller pays) and Income Share (e.g., splitting tips in a coffee value chain with minimal transaction costs).
ICOs: Selling project tokens all at once or over time for fundraising, a common strategy in early-stage Web3 projects.
Continuous Funding Models: Selling ERC-20 tokens over time, including Curved Bonding (incentivizes early investment) and Continuous Organizations (using Decentralized Autonomous Trust with FAIR securities).
Streaming Money: Utilizes Side Channels (separate blockchains with merged mining) and State Channels (off-chain transactions with only outcomes on the main chain) for continuous, low-cost funding.

These models enable enterprises to pivot from traditional revenue streams, leveraging decentralization to disrupt conventional industries.

Best Practices and Real-World Success Stories

To ensure successful Web3 adoption, enterprises should follow best practices and learn from real-world examples:

Best Practices:
- Start with pilot projects to test feasibility, as recommended by Shift Markets - Web3 for Enterprises Explained, developing core capabilities and assembling talent.
- Launch minimum viable Web3 products, test, iterate, and develop risk management strategies for security, regulatory, and volatility concerns.
- Cultivate an agile, experimental mindset, given the uncharted nature of Web3 territory.
Success Stories:
- Metaverse for Collaboration: A Silicon Valley startup, as detailed by Visartech - How Web3 Development Transforms Business, built a metaverse for remote collaboration, adopted by Google and Microsoft within the second month, demonstrating rapid scalability.
- Sports Social Network: Integrated with ESPN and Yahoo-like services, built with Node.js and Firebase, showcasing B2C engagement through Web3.
- Gamified App: Boosted productivity by 33%, built with Unity, JavaScript, and Python, illustrating B2B efficiency gains.
- Industry Examples: Gucci’s NFT collection sold for up to $25,000, collaborating with SuperRare for Vault Art Space, and FC Barcelona’s NFT ‘In a Way, Immortal’ auctioned for $693,000, celebrating Johan Cruyff, as noted in Program-Ace - Enterprise Transformation with a Web3 Development Company.

These examples provide tangible evidence of Web3’s transformative potential across industries.

Conclusion and Call to Action

Web3 presents a paradigm shift for enterprises, offering new ways to operate, engage customers, and generate revenue. By understanding its key components, leveraging its technologies, and addressing its challenges, businesses can position themselves at the forefront of the digital revolution. Enterprises are encouraged to start exploring Web3 today, beginning with pilot projects and partnering with trusted development companies to unlock its full potential.

Key Citations

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