confessions

Honestly, it feels like users are losing lately.

You can't onramp without an account. You can't get an account without KYC.

Then, your information leaks and you're in danger of being targeted for serious crime as a result.

You also are constantly targeted for scams in a battle where your average user is woefully outmatched by scammers.

The playing field isn't level. Victims have little to no recourse.

Honestly, it just makes you feel kind of helpless. Even if you aren't a victim yet, these companies already have your information and it seems like it's just a waiting game until you are.

Even if you deleted your account with them, their database still has your data.

The right to privacy is fleeting before our eyes and every day, we become less and less capable of protecting ourselves as individuals.

DepressiveHacks is an investor, contributor, consultant, and writer in the web3 space, operating under the umbrella of DHR&D and depressivehacks.com.

name checks out ha -but in all seriousness, I’m with EV on this; the KYC is the crime.

web5

Web5: The Next Evolution of the Internet

The internet has changed from the read-only Web1 to user-generated Web2, and now the decentralized promises of Web3. There’s a new contender gaining momentum: Web5.

Some say that web3 achieved decentralisation, what if they're wrong?

What is Web5?

Unlike Web3, that relies heavily on tokens, smart contracts, and various blockchain ecosystems, Web5 focuses on user sovereignty, identity, and data ownership.
 
Web2 + Web3 = Web5

Key Features of Web5:

Decentralized Identifiers/DIDs: Your online identity isn’t tied to web2 social, or web3 wallets. It’s yours, portable anywhere.

Decentralized Web Nodes/DWNs: Instead of storing data on servers owned by Big Tech, data lives in an encrypted, personal data vault.

No Tokens/ Speculation: Web5 isn’t trying to create the next crypto boom. It’s building infrastructure without financial speculation.

Privacy & Utility: The goal is not to gamify the internet with tokens, but to make it safer and more user-controlled.

Web5 vs Web3: A Quick Glance

Blockchain reliance: Web3 heavily relies on blockchain  (crypto, tokens, smart contracts)	
While web5 relies minimally or not at all. 

Identity: web3 is often via wallets (e.g., MetaMask)	while web5 is solely Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs)

Data storage: web3 data is stored	On-chain or IPFS	while web5 data is stored on decentralized Web Nodes (user-owned)

Monetization: in web3 monetisation is Token-based	while in web5 it's totally Utility and privacy focused, say good bye to memecoins 😕👋 

Philosophy: web3 is trustless, incentivized via crypto	 while for web5 it's user agency, privacy-first, no tokens

This is exactly the problem I've always had. User privacy and liberty of liquidity. 

That's why I've been exploring web5 and the opportunity it avails us. 

I made a post about it and I think you should check it out 😉 

https://warpcast.com/web5manuel/0xb7fb14fe


Here's the link to the continuation
https://warpcast.com/web5manuel/0xf009b2c4

You should pivot to web5 👍