The Fabricant founders. Left to right, Amber Slooten, Kerry Murphy and Adriana Hoopenbrouwer. (Image credit: The Fabricant)
The concept of “Web3” is something that has been discussed for a few years now by the mainstream media and members of the internet community.
Originally coined by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood in 2014, Web3 is a new form of the internet that sits on top of the foundation built by its first iteration — the read-only, static web pages (Web 1.0) that were in use long ago.
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Why is Web3 special?
Web3 is intended to be more democratic than previous iterations of the internet.
Instead of being controlled by massive corporations like Google or META, ones that are prone to censorship and favouritism, users can have equal access in Web3 to transact back-and-forth safely, while at the same time being able to derive real value from digital assets and content.
To simplify it, Web3 can give end-users greater power over their settings, putting them back into full ownership of everything they create and produce through this new system.
Web3 global market
A report from Emergen Research reveals that the global Web3 market size is expected to reach $81.5B in 2030 at a CAGR of 43.7 per cent.
“Increased transparency and high data security, increasing traction of NFT payments and digital collectibles, and rising investment in R&D initiatives by major market players are some of the key factors driving revenue growth of the global Web3 market,” adds the report.
Several Web3 startups are spearheading the future of the internet economy. We have listed some of the Amsterdam-based startups and initiatives working on Web3 technologies.
The Fabricant
Founder/s: Kerry Murphy, Amber Slooten and Adriana Hoppenbrouwer
The Fabricant creates digital couture NFT collectibles in collaboration with fashion and entertainment brands to bring them into the 3D digital fashion space.
The company has created a space where a savvy 12-year-old can create a metaverse-native brand that can compete on the same terms as a heritage fashion label.
The Fabricant estimates that by 2025, 100M people will be metaverse-ready by wearing digital garments which are minted in their studio. The company has partnered with Adidas, Under Armour, Off-White, Napapijri, Puma, Peak Performance, World of Women, and gaming platforms like Epic Games and The Sandbox.
mintBlue
CEO: Niels van den Bergh
mintBlue develops solutions designed to make blockchain accessible to businesses and enterprises of all sizes without the need for prior blockchain expertise, and with product offerings like invoicing, payments, and document verification.
mintBlue’s proprietary API allows companies to migrate data to the public blockchain, increasing data security, interoperability, and traceability. The company aims to become the ‘decentralised AWS.” Further, its solutions are non-custodial, meaning that end-users control their data and have no lock-in issues.
Dusk Network
Founder/s: Emanuele Francioni, Mels Dees, Fulvio Venturelli
Amsterdam’s Dusk Network offers innovative financial products and services in the blockchain ecosystem. Being a privacy blockchain for financial applications, Dusk Networks aims to set a new standard for compliance, control, and collaboration. The company went public in the first half of 2019 after raising €7.4M in 2018.
Kryha
Founder/s: Tobias Disse, Thom Bergman, Haischel Dabian
Kryha empowers enterprises to improve their ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) performance by reinventing supply chain collaboration. The company’s solutions allow customers to trace materials and confidentially share verified ESG data across supply chains, providing actionable insights.
Recently, the Amsterdam company expanded its portfolio into the world of (interactive) NFTs, privacy applications, and community-governed platforms through Kryha Web3. With this, the company aims to create meaningful applications for communities worldwide using the power of blockchain technology.
Kryha Web3 will be working with change-making protocols such as Aleo, Agoric, and Dfinity, as well as ambitious brands aiming to explore the potential Web3 has to offer.
Bitfury
Founder/s: Valery Nebesny and Valery Vavilov
Bitfury is a full-service bitcoin and blockchain technology company. Based out of Amsterdam, it is a security and infrastructure provider for the Bitcoin Blockchain.
In addition to that, Bitfury also designs and produces innovative hardware that keeps cryptocurrencies and blockchains secure.
Bitfury is the brain behind blockchain projects including Exonum, a private blockchain framework, Crystal Blockchain, an advanced analytics platform, and LightningPeach, an open-source lightning network project.
THX
Founder/s:NA
THX is a spin-off from Open Social, a community software solution from The Netherlands. Project THX is building a decentralised ecosystem using blockchain that will revamp the way online communities encourage engagement and achieve long-term sustainability.
Weyu
Founder/s:NA
WEYU is a multi-chain platform that facilitates entry into the NFT industry. The company was developed as a user-friendly platform that helps cutting-edge NFT projects launch their collections or initiatives within the WEYU ecosystem.
The company is on a mission to make the NFT space more accessible to everyone by promoting initiatives that can be successful, assisting with their marketing, and building a passionate community while supporting a good cause.
Sovereign Nature Initiative
CEO: Catherine Bischoff
The aim of the Sovereign Nature Initiative is ‘restoring the balance between human behaviour and nature’. That is.
Amsterdam-based nonprofit foundation Sovereign Nature Initiative (SNI) fosters the exploration and development of technologies that can allow nature to become self-governing.
The platform features work from a collection of developers, scientists, artists, and investors who are researching, prototyping, or creating artistic explorations of conservationist projects enabled by new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain.
SNI aims to function as a meeting place of discovery and experimentation for anyone interested in reshaping sustainability.
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