Web3 referred to an evolving set of standards aimed at improving upon web2, which is a set of protocols and standards that make up the modern Internet. These standards include HTTP, TCP/IP, and various other online protocols through which internet traffic is running. But when it comes to Web3, there was never any widespread consensus as to what actually constituted this new technological movement and standard.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or unique digital collectibles, memecoins like DogeCoin (DOGE), DeFi protocols such as Aave, and decentralized exchange (DEXes) had been loosely referred to as Web3 as sort of an umbrella term. However, this terminology was widely debated and never consistently used across social media channels.
But what’s really important is that real innovations such as Bitcoin, stablecoins, and some of the DeFi protocol built atop Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and other permissionless blockchains are serving real world use-cases.
It is no longer necessary to refer to these technologies as Web3 because they have emerged, developed, and significantly matured on their own merit. Now in 2026, under the Trump Administration, we are seeing significant progress on the regulatory front, we are seeing serious progress being made when it comes to establishing the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, and we are also seeing considerable movements in the positive direction with the CLARITY Act and the GENIUS Act.
Whether Web3 realized its modern vision of the Internet remains unclear because there was never any widespread consensus among crypto and blockchain industry participants as to what actually constituted this so-called Web3 tech stack. And now, we are seeing the rise of the real technological breakthroughs such as infrastructure and legislation supporting digital securities, tokenization, and US dollar or Euro backed stablecoins.
In summary, Web3 never truly existed because it was an umbrella term used to loosely refer to an evolving set of so-called decentralized Internet based protocols.
In fact, billionaire tech entrepreneur Jack Dorsey referred to these emerging innovations as Web5, although he has now refrained from using this term recently and to avoid any confusion, there is not a lot of narrative-building around these older terms (kind of like how the initial coin offerings or ICOs are not really being talked about much anymore because we have all moved past it).