Where Does Web3 Touch?, Real Transformation Areas for Institutions

When new technologies first appear, they’re usually known and used by a small, curious circle. At first, most of the world doesn’t even notice. Over time, this new technology gets tested, evolves, and that small circle gradually expands, drawing in more people. More folks try it out, application areas grow, and this cycle repeats until the circle includes everyone who could use or benefit from the technology.

In the world of blockchain/crypto/Web3, it all started just like that, with an eager core group. But unlike previous technologies, it came with a deep philosophy. It entered this core group’s life with a clear manifesto about a completely different financial life and work model.

Now, this technology, sometimes along with its philosophy, is on the agenda not just for developers or that core group, but for the business world too. Some companies are quite cautious, others very bold. But the question remains the same:

How can Web3 truly offer value to institutions? In this piece, we’re not looking for a technical answer but a more strategic one, so we’re examining the philosophy it brings to our lives, not in its most fundamental and bold form, but in a way we can adapt to corporate life.

Web3 offers institutions not just a new technology but a new approach:

Building a community by involving the user in the process
Redefining ownership
Creating transparent relationships instead of closed systems

Web3 itself is quite a conceptual idea, even beyond its technology, with its philosophy and limited real-world applications today. So giving examples of how this concept is applied can clearly help things click into place. But still, in this article, we’ll focus on the concepts. Because sometimes a few clear and open concepts can spark more ideas than ten projects.

The New Perspective Web3 Brings to Business What Web3 offers to corporate structures isn’t software; it’s a shift in business models.

Ownership: In Web2, users create content, but the platform owns it. You can’t really claim rights over something you share, especially if it’s public. In Web3, content, data, even identity belongs to the user.
Participation: Customers or users can become actors who vote, contribute, and win together, not just consume. So growth isn’t just about the number of customers billed or users who download your app, but also about how much each customer and user internalizes the system and its benefits. The “being human” aspect gets involved in the process.
Transparency: Decision processes, revenue distribution, or user data become openly traceable on the chain. This might seem like one of the most intriguing and unlikely topics for corporate life or traditional financial systems, but I can tell you, yes, it’s possible.

This structure holds significant potential for change, especially in areas like loyalty programs, content platforms, and investment tools. But it’s not a transformation every institution is ready for. For some, this technology and its accompanying philosophy present a brand new vision, for others, a brand new threat.

Why Are Some Institutions Open to This Transformation? Institutions already aligned with this fresh perspective brought by Web3 share some common traits:

Strong relationship with the community: They’re already used to involving users in processes like loyalty, contribution, and storytelling, and actually support their brand, strength, and growth with this relationship.
Willingness to experiment: Instead of sticking to fully established, well-known, and reliable models, they aim to create value with new applications, perspectives, and experiments, even if small.
Data ownership or content production at the core: This means Web3’s “ownership model” for content, data, and identity directly creates value for these institutions and their existing business models and strategies.

For these institutions, Web3 might not just be “a step in digitalization,” but could even be the next competitive arena.

A Path Not Everyone Has Taken Yet But not everyone can choose this path, or even if they want to, there are many elements they need to change before embarking on it. Because this isn’t just an application you can attach to the edge of your system, a portal, or just changing one business process. This path is a complete, end-to-end transformation:

Questioning the existing structure: You need to face fundamental questions like ownership and decision-making processes within the institution. How open are you to making these structures more participatory?
Facing cultural resistance: In the centralized and hierarchical structures we’re all used to, “transparency” or “participation” isn’t always easily accepted. Integrating this philosophy into the company’s culture, making it work, requires time and effort. One of the most important aspects here is the process. Because you need to accept that you can’t change everything within the institution from day one, and you need to plan to do it gradually, step by step, starting from specific areas. Instant, top-down changes are already contrary to the essence of this philosophy.
Carrying legal and financial uncertainty: The many gray areas in tax, auditing, regulation can be concerning for institutions. But again, it’s about changing the perspective.

That’s why Web3 doesn’t immediately call out to every institution, but first to those ready to ask questions.

The answer to “what does Web3 offer to institutions” depends on whether you see it just as a technology or as an approach. This article is a first step.

In the next piece, we’ll discuss: Is it harder for corporate structures to transition to Web3, or for Web3 to institutionalize without losing its essence?