I’ve talked about NFTs in some of my articles and social media posts, but haven’t covered them fully in-depth. But if you want to truly understand what NFTs are and what they have done, then keep on reading:)

They are crucial to the web3 space and have been the main medium that has made the masses aware of the fact that this space exists. Primarily people know about the basic cryptocurrencies but don’t fully know what the web3 space has to offer.

But NFTs have begun to open the door for many. So many are recognizing this, which can be seen with companies like Starbucks getting ready to launch their own NFT project!!

Companies like them play a crucial role in having the masses adopt the Web3 space since they have a large following compared to the web3 space alone.

NFTs are crucial because they are the core representation of decentralization. Which is what Web 3.0 is built upon.

So having people adopt the concept of NFTs is essential to the adoption of decentralization and the overall web3 space with everything it has to offer and introduce as it evolves.

So knowing NFTs is crucial because of their importance to the entire space.

Plus NFTs are just so interesting in what can be done with them and how they can be represented by their associated metadata which makes them so much cooler.

What is An NFT?

NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. Non-Fungible means that the token is unique, a 1 of 1 that cannot be replicated.

It is not like ERC20 tokens that can be used as a currency. Those tokens are known as fungible tokens meaning they can be replicated many times. NFTs are a token, but each token is unique.

The proof that each NFT is unique is stored on the blockchain! Since the blockchain is decentralized, anyone can see the proof anonymously and it cannot be replicated. Yes someone might be able to replicate the metadata attached to the NFT, but the token itself cannot so no one cannot manipulate it.

The blockchain also stores proof of ownership proving who owns said NFT Token.

That is the beauty of the blockchain showcasing the power of decentralization.

On the backend aka blockchain, we know the NFT token is unique, but the way it can be represented visually is through metadata.

Metadata is just information about the NFT token such as an image or video, the name of the NFT, its description, tokenID, attributes for marketplace purposes, and other associated metadata.

The metadata is also stored on the blockchain. Yes, someone can copy the metadata and attach it to an NFT collection they created claiming it’s the original, but the recorded data on the chain says otherwise.

Benefits of NFTs

One of the great benefits of NFTs is the power of expression it gives to artists.

NFTs have opened so many more doors for artists that seemed could never be opened.

The space is so young and open to expressionism, it’s incredible. There are no limits to the creativity of the type of art created for many amazing NFT collections.

Ranging from pixelated figures, APES, music, generative art created by algorithms, AI art and so much more the variety is so exciting to see.

Artists are also finally getting the option to be paid for their hard work. This is done through royalties which are small 2% to 7.5% fees on NFT market sales. Artists in the traditional Art market have to scrape by at times unless they luckily get their work shown by the holy grail of art galleries/museums.

But the web3 space has opened that up for all artists! Giving the artists a right to earn a small percentage of every transfer of that the art piece they developed for their NFT project.

It’s not even just the art or the royalties, it is the communities that have developed to support the art created through the hard work of the artists. Finally giving artists the credit not too many traditional Art galleries have given.

The communities are so incredible! I’ve seen the communities of many of my favorite projects such as CryptoPunks, Chromie Squiggles, and QQL. The amount of support is amazing!

Not even just support, these communities have helped contribute to the artist, spread the knowledge of the space to others, and provide opportunities to other creators wanting their voice to shine in the space.

Artists can also show their love to their audience through NFT utilities! Utilities are benefits that can be attached to NFTs showcasing love from the artist for supporting their project.

For example, a personal favorite project of mine called Death Bats Club, which is an NFT project created by a band I listen to on a consistent basis, has utilities attached to the NFTs they have minted out to the community.

Such as exclusive merch, meetups, access to tickets, lessons from the band, & many more.

Utilities are a unique feature in the NFT space that has created strong communities around many well-known projects.

NFT Projects that should be Known

Cryptopunks

This project may not have technically been the first major NFT project on the Ethereum blockchain but has been one of the major catalysts in the NFT movement.

It is a collection of 10,000 randomly generated pixelated characters, which is known as one of the most popular PFP(profile picture) NFT collections.

The creators of the project are also the founders of Larva Labs. One of the biggest in the NFT space. The platform also curated AutoGlyphs and MeeBits which are two other amazing NFT projects that are very honorable mentions to look into.

It was one of the first true NFT projects which helped it gain so much popularity. It sparked the NFT movement which has led to so many beautiful creations with more to come in the future.

Check out the CryptoPunks collection:

https://opensea.io/collection/cryptopunks

Learn even more about their impact:

https://modern.finance/episode/cryptopunks-the-nfts-that-started-it-all-their-origin-story-and-future-plans/

BAYC

Also known as Bored Ape Yacht club, is another very popular PFP-based NFT Collection that minted out 10,000 NFTs.

Very similar to the CryptoPunks collection, except that this particular project really capitalized on the concept of Utility giving back to their entire community which has kept the group strong up to now!

Being a holder of one of these NFTs gives you access to a Yachts Club membership with many other great benefits of being an owner of one of these NFTs.

This collection is the genesis project of Yuga labs! This powerhouse has also developed the Mutant Ape Yacht Club and is building a Metaverse called OtherSide!

This project is so popular that currently at the moment of this article’s posting, you can’t find a Bored Ape on the floor for less than 75 ETH which is the equivalent of over $97,000!

CryptoPunks is a great project that truly sparked the movement but this collection has really capitalized on the power of community so I expect to hear more to come from them. A very worthy project to pay close attention to.

Chromie Squiggles

This project is definitely one of my personal favorites and is one of the biggest in the generative art movement side of NFTs.

This project is different from CryptoPunks and BAYC. The creator, Eric Calderon also known as SnowFro, created this set as a form of expression, showcasing the artistic side of the space rather than the utility side of the space.

This project is the genesis project of Art blocks, which was also founded by Eric and the creation of this platform has led to so many other great curated pieces such as Fidenza by TylerHobbs who is also one of the best generative artists in the space.

This project sparked the generative art movement unlike no other and it is growing at a crazy pace even in a bear market!

The community developed from this project is amazing as I am a part of some of the discords that have been created including SquiggleDAO which is an amazing community that has collected so many of the Chrome Squiggles NFTs and has done so much for the community it has developed.

It is the project that made me fall for generative art because of how amazing it is to know that even though every piece of art is randomly generated, you can configure it to have a flow that represents you.

If you want to learn more about NFTs, this project and its resources are a great starting point it is so worth it!

Resources

If you’d like to learn about what I have covered and beyond, I highly recommend checking out the resources I will link below they cover very important topics on NFTs and how you can start building your own collections!

(1) ethereum.org/en/nft/ — Great for better understanding the concept

(2) buildspace.so — Amazing resource for project-based learning. I highly recommend it!!

(3) twitter.com/developer_dao — An awesome community teaching you the essentials

Recommend having twitter in general. Crypto twitter is the absolute best for learning

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this article! I wanted to provide an in-depth introduction of NFTs because they are truly a crucial part of the web 3 space and are honestly really cool! Let me know your thoughts in the comments and expect more NFT content to come soon:)

I have talked about some of the basics of smart contracts throughout some content I have posted. But I am ready to give you a full rundown on the importance of smart contracts in Web3 and why you need to know about them!

What are Smart Contracts?

Smart Contracts are these unique files of code that get deployed to a designated blockchain network that is EVM compatible allowing users to then be able to interact with it.

Smart contracts give users the ability to go beyond sending/receiving tokens via their crypto wallet to another. It is what sets Ethereum apart from blockchains, especially Bitcoin. The pioneer in the decentralized world!

The beauty of Smart Contracts

What is so great about these smart contracts is that they are decentralized so once they are deployed, they are forever a part of the blockchain.

Another beautiful thing about smart contracts is they are transparent since all transactions are visible to the public via Blockchain block explorers like Etherscan. An example of a viewable deployed smart contract for the CryptoPunks NFT collection can be viewed at the link below:

CryptoPunks: Ͼ Token | Address 0xb47e3cd837ddf8e4c57f05d70ab865de6e193bbb | Etherscan

This is what makes the transparency so great! The creators cannot hide its details from the public. Any transactions that go through the blockchain are recorded by these explorers allowing for complete transparency for the security of the community.

Attacks through smart contracts are possible but very rare to happen with features like transparency.

Smart contracts are also immutable! What this means is that once it's deployed, the code will never be able to be changed! I mean there is a possible way of upgrading contracts with certain practices and the Open Zeppelin Community Upgradeable contract standards. But still very limited as to what you can do and can be a hassle getting it set up.

The possibility of Upgradeable Contracts will definitely be something to be covered in upcoming content so stay tuned for that!

Smart contracts to me represent the core fundamentals of what web 3 is striving for and I absolutely love it.

How To Build a Smart Contract and how they get deployed

This is where it’ll get more technical but if you really want to learn how to build them, it is also very important to have a good idea of how it all works.

Just to give a basic rundown of a smart contract:

These contracts are just files of code that utilize a programming language known as Solidity. In a code editor, you create a file with the .sol extension in order to define that it is a file for a smart contract.

You then define the SPDX License at the very top of the file which is just a special identifier for how your open source contract code can be utilized!

Next, you define the version of solidity via a pragma which determines how your code gets compiled. It is important to specify the correct version if there are features you are implementing that require a specific version of solidity. This is so that when you are ready to deploy to a network, your code can get correctly compiled so that it can actually be deployed.

You then define the contract body and within you can start creating the functionalities of the smart contract! An example can be seen below:

/SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
pragma solidity ^0.8.0;

contract ContractName {

//write functions within the brackets!

//don't worry about the syntax will break down how it all works soon

function add() public pure returns(uint256) {
      return 1+1;
}

}

Above is just the base structure with an example of a function but that is how you can get started! I will go over in more detail soon the core fundamentals of building smart contracts to create some awesome projects.

You can also check out this resource below by an awesome blockchain developer who also is an advocate at Chainlink Labs. He breaks down the core of Ethereum and how you can build some awesome projects with Solidity and more. Definitely worth a look:

Now you have a smart contract, you are ready to deploy. So the way we did it by just creating a single sol file for our smart contract is not the end. The reason why I say this is because there are a few pieces missing in order to compile the contract to get what is called the ABI and the smart contract bytecode.

Those two pieces are crucial because the bytecode is how the Ethereum EVM recognizes it as a smart contract and the ABI is key for telling it about how the contract functionalities work so that you can interact with it.

EVM stands for Ethereum Virtual Machine. It’s a piece of software that executes smart contracts and is a core to the computation of the state of the overall Ethereum blockchain. It handles a lot of the execution layer of the chain.

So being able to compile that contract to get its ABI and its bytecode is key.

I highly recommend looking how to create smart contracts with hardhat. They make it so much easier to develop your smart contracts. All you do is create your contract, define a basic deploy script, get the network you want to deploy to and it does all the compiling work for you! Learn more here:

Hardhat | Ethereum development environment for professionals by Nomic Foundation

An even easier option if you are just looking to get started with build contracts without worrying about the overhead of creating deploy scripts, utilize the Remix.ide. It is a browser based contract editor where you can easily compile and deploy without any extra setup!

Remix - Ethereum IDE & community

This is just a basic overview of what a smart contract looks like and how it all works. There will be lots of content in more detail about everything teaching you how to build next level smart contracts.

But to make it even more interesting, let me tell you about the ground breaking developments that have arisen from smart contracts.

Innovations of Smart Contracts

Smart Contracts have led to many awesome innovations with one in particular representing a large core of the web3 community.

Innovation: NFTs

NFT, which stands for Non-Fungible-Token, represents a one of a kind token that cannot be replicated. The metadata associated with it such as its traits and the image that represents that unique token can be replicated but the token itself cannot.

NFTs are the hallmark of the web3 space. Once CryptoPunks were created, it just opened the flood gates for more to come. Some might find the concept of NFTs odd, but they represent what web3 is striving for. I absolutely find it fascinating how it all works.

It has allowed communities to absolutely thrive in many unique niches. An example can be with the overall art space. Especially with generative art!

A prime example can be with Eric Calderon commonly know by his alias of SnowFro. He is the creator of artblocks.io and his genesis project Chromie Squiggles.

Chromie Squiggles might just be the most popular and well recognized of generative art based NFT projects. And his creation of ArtBlocks has allowed other generative Artists share their work and earn a fair share for it.

You also see all these celebrities get involved and it is amazing seeing the community starting to slowly open up to the masses which is key for its general adoption.

Another prime example is on a project that I am working on with other amazing developers at NazaWeb and it is so exciting. The project is called Zukuverse which is a unique NFT project started by Carter Coughlin who is a linebacker for the New York Giants!

You can checkout more info about the project on their twitter excited to share more soon:)

ZUKU on Twitter: "A new species has entered the chat.Who's ready to enter the jungle?Any interaction on this Tweet will be considered for OG and Whitelist spots!#NFT #NFTCommunity #NFTs #AnimeNFT pic.twitter.com/eYIZUz7N8d / Twitter"

A new species has entered the chat.Who's ready to enter the jungle?Any interaction on this Tweet will be considered for OG and Whitelist spots!#NFT #NFTCommunity #NFTs #AnimeNFT pic.twitter.com/eYIZUz7N8d

The NFT space has definitely been one of my favorite developments. I highly recommend learning more about NFTs and how you can build some awesome projects. Stay tuned as always because special content/projects coming on NFTs from me:)

Innovation: DAOs

Another big development within the web3 space. DAO stands for Decentralized Autonomous Organization.

What is so powerful about these organizations is within the community! Instead of decisions all being made by higher ups that determines the future of the organization, it is based on the votes of holders in the decentralized organizations that determines a majority of the decisions being made.

And whats so great is its not like a contract! You are not tied to stay within that organization. That relieves so much pressure as you don’t feel tied down if it is not the right fit for you.

And funds that are stored in the treasury that are utilized for any decisions made are used for those decisions only. How the financials work is baked into the code so it is very transparent giving no room for manipulation of funds.

DAOs represent the future of organizations with the standards they set.

Innovation: Defi

Defi has taken off in the web3 space. It stands for decentralized finance and it has led to game changing developments for the way you can handle your finances without the hands of a centralized third party service such as a bank!

It has led to a development of many protocols allowing users to swap tokens for another, giving people the ability to liquidize custom tokens which is just powerful, earn interest on tokens, stake assets & so much more.

Decentralized finance has taken the bank out of the equation giving you more protection and flexibility to handle your finances the way you should be able to. It has giving users the ability to be able to escape from the very non-transparent, centralized & old infrastructure of banking systems.

If you want to learn an absolute shit ton more about all of decentralized services, their benefits and links to those services themselves, checkout the resource below:

Decentralized finance (DeFi) | ethereum.org

I can go on and on about what you can build with smart contracts and what I listed above is just the beginning with what you can do! And I cannot be more happy to teach you more to continue to lead you on your journey to be top notch smart contract developer.

Let me know what you think in the comments below and share with others that are curious to learn more about the space. I greatly appreciate you for giving this story a read!

See you in the next one:)

Knowing what wallet providers are is key to breaking into the web3 space!

They simplify the process of interacting with awesome blockchains like Ethereum. They provide great UI’s which allows you, a curious mind of the web 3 ecosystem, to easily be able to create a wallet!

These wallets you can create give you access to the blockchain you’ve heard so much about! With a wallet, you can send crypto, receive crypto, purchase NFTs, interact with smart contracts & so much more it is incredible!

We do not have to set up any of the infrastructures! All you have to do is find a wallet provider of your liking, create your wallet and use it as planned.

These providers do most of the hard work configuring all the logic to make these wallets do what the providers claim they do.

They are crucial to getting so many people involved in the space. Providing a user-friendly UI that simplifies the process for many users who can get easily overwhelmed with figuring out how to configure a provider of their own.

So, setting up with an already well-built Wallet Provider is essential to easily get into the web-3 space. Once you set up your wallet, you can now fully interact with the blockchain opening up many amazing opportunities!

What can I do with a wallet once I have it set up?

If you want to be able to store/receive/send cryptocurrencies, you need to make sure to have a wallet setup with a legit wallet provider!

These wallets have the logic to be able to store the cryptocurrencies your wallet possesses, and they have the ability to connect to the blockchain via RPC URLs and communicate with it through that connection!

The ability for our wallets to do the above is necessary to be able to manage your crypto.

But these wallets are able to handle more than just cryptocurrencies!

There is so much to see in the ecosystem of the Ethereum blockchain. Not only can you use your wallet to store crypto, but you also can purchase NFTs, interact with smart contracts, deploy your own smart contracts, utilize decentralized finance protocols, create DAOs, join DAOs, & so much more!

Wallets are the gateway to being able to interact with all of the core innovations that have taken place on the blockchain!

We can thank wallet providers for simplifying the process of creating a wallet so we can utilize the core features of the blockchain!

Where can I start?

There are a plentiful of options out there which is awesome. It gives you flexibility with how you can begin, but it can be daunting at the same time.

But that’s okay!

I’ll break down the different types of wallets you utilize depending on what you are looking to do. Also, I will be showing you in upcoming content how you can easily set up your own wallet utilizing the Metamask wallet provider which is a really cool one you should know if you don’t! I’ll link to an article about Metamask at the end of the article:)

Hardware Wallets

I wouldn’t recommend starting out with this type of wallet since it’s more of a physical wallet and not meant for beginners.

But they are a really cool way of securing your assets! They also are very great for storing your private keys. To keep it simple, private keys are these cryptographic hashes used to sign any transaction sent specifically by your wallet!

And the only way someone could get your private keys to access your wallet is through getting your ledger which would require a lot of work on their end to get to it.

Although it's great, I wouldn’t recommend looking to use this just yet. But once you get more into web3, then look into this type of wallet as you get more comfortable with the blockchain space.

But if you were to look into, check out ledger live which is an awesome app you can connect your physical hardware wallet to in order to be able to see your assets.

Ledger Live : Most Secure Crypto Wallet App | Ledger

Mobile Wallets

Mobile-based wallet providers in the web3 space have been coming a long way as there are so many great options in production.

They have some of the cleanest UI’s out there, making it super easy to navigate through the process of configuring everything I need.

The one I use is called Rainbow. This one is so awesome, and I have been using it more than the Metamask mobile app, which is also a great option.

Rainbow provides a beautiful UI that helps me access the core features I need.

I can easily create a wallet, give that wallet a name, utilize its built-in Decentralized exchange to buy any crypto-asset I need, easily send/receive assets, store NFTs, and so much more.

I highly recommend looking into a mobile-based wallet provider like Rainbow and Metamask. Just read up on these providers, ensuring they give you what you need/want.

Browser/Desktop based wallets

This is where it all really began for wallet providers such as Metamask.

Although mobile has come to light with its great providers, browser-based providers give you more to utilize. This holds true from a developer's perspective and for more advanced users who want to use more advanced tools to use their assets.

A great one to use which we’ll use within a lot of content is the Metamask browser extension! It is an extension available only in Chrome, Firefox & Brave browsers. The only drawback is currently there is no extension for safari but Metamask does have an app for iPhone.

But say if you were developing a DAPP using safari to see the DAPP, you would have to configure wallet connect with QR code to scan from Metamask mobile app to connect your wallet.

Overall though, Metamask is a great provider I recommend anyone to start with

There is more out there!

These wallets I mentioned above are great but are just a few of the many!

You might find one that better suits your niche use case! What I’ll link below is a great resource provided by Ethereum. This resource will help you weed out the provider(s) that best suit you depending on what you are looking for in a wallet.

Find an Ethereum Wallet | ethereum.org

I highly recommend checking out the link to teach you more about these wallet providers

I hope you enjoyed this one and taught you something more that you didn’t know about web3.

Let me know in the comments if you have a preference for a specific provider! I’d love to know why you daily drive it

Link to some other great resources on wallet providers will be linked below:

• The Ultimate Crypto Wallet for DeFi, Web3 Apps, and NFTs | MetaMask
• Ethereum wallets | ethereum.org
• Rainbow

Other great content to checkout

• How will the Merge Affect Gas Fees?
• Ethereum Blockchain

The merge everyone has been talking about is coming very soon next month. It is exciting news for the web3 space! This year, much progress has been made to merge the beacon chain into the main Ethereum chain we use today.

This merge will lead to a transition from the Proof-of-Work mechanism that has been used since its genesis to the Proof-of-Stake mechanism, which will set the future for what is to come.

What will this mean for Ethereum, especially with gas fees?

So, to keep it real with you, the merger will not profoundly affect the cost of gas fees. Proposed upgrades in the future will start to tackle important topics such as scalability to help reduce gas fees. Ethereum's current focus is to switch its Consensus layer from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake to continue to shift toward that bright future.

Then what will this merge introduce?

This merge will change how the nodes work together to create the blocks for grouped transactions. Instead of miners solving complex computations to verify transactions and create blocks, they will just validate transactions and propose new blocks by staking ETH.

And what is so great about having these nodes stake ETH is it will significantly help reduce the number of bad actors attempting to bring harm to the blockchain.

The amount of ETH you stake as a validator determines your position in the chain. So, for a bad actor to harm the blockchain after the transition to proof of stake, they would have to own over 51% of the ETH on the network to influence the other validators on the chain.

Compared to security with Proof-of-Work, although in-fairness would be pretty hard to do as well, is that all you would need is to have a computer 51% more powerful than all the other nodes on the chain. But needing to control over 51% of the eth staked is tougher than that since they would somehow gain control of each node’s staked ETH.

Not only will this merge beef up security, but it will also be eco-friendly. It has been proposed that after the merge, the energy consumption by Ethereum will be reduced by over 99.95%! This is unbelievably huge not only for web3 but for the environment!

With Proof-of-Stake, you don't need an all-power PC with like a 3090Ti to run a node at the top! If you want to be a validator, all you need to have is a basic laptop and enough eth to stake to get the rewards!

I know that gas fees have been a crucial problem that has arisen in the current version of Ethereum. But with the available layer2 solutions that exist to address scalability issues, network bottleneck, and overall gas fees, there are answers to these problems.

Ethereum wants to make a smooth transition to Proof-of-Stake but, with upgrades, will introduce core features such as sharding to address these core issues, especially gas fees.

I hope you enjoyed this breakdown of how the merge will affect gas fees! Stay tuned as there is more to come:)

Latest Story:

Ethereum Blockchain

Resources to Check out:

• The Merge | ethereum.org
• Proof of Work vs Proof of Stake: Basic Mining Guide
• Ethereum Energy Consumption | ethereum.org

Although Bitcoin set the standard for blockchains, Ethereum saw what set Bitcoin apart from many others attempting to be the standard and took it up a notch.

Ethereum is a blockchain that not only allows you to utilize a cryptocurrency, Ether, which is also known by its symbol ETH. But it took the standards(also known as its Consensus) Bitcoin implemented and upgraded, letting you do so much more than make simple transactions with its native cryptocurrency.

What Else Can you do on Ethereum?

With Ethereum, you can build what is called DAPPs(Decentralized Applications), which allow you to utilize web development tools/libraries giving you the ability to build web-based applications that can interact with the blockchain. It is awesome as I have built some great DAPPs utilizing tools created by the web3 community.

You can create your own collection of NFTs, create your own Decentralized organizations(DAOs) that allow users to vote on certain feature implementations, implement financial protocols that are decentralized(Defi), build decentralized chat apps and so many more. The possibilities are endless with what you can build, which is very exciting.

How does Ethereum work?

You might be wondering, “how does this decentralized chain work to allow us to build all these amazing applications?”.

To get technical about it, Ethereum runs on a set of standards, known as Consensus. It monitors the network of nodes(aka computers) that run the chain. Each node that is part of the network has a copy of the Ethereum blockchain and proof against each other to ensure everything that goes on in the blockchain runs smoothly. As well as securely as possible.

How these nodes prove against each other is they use what is called a Sybil resistance mechanism which is just the rules the nodes follow for the chain to run smoothly. Proof of work is the current mechanism they use to verify the transactions that take place on the blockchain.

But when the big Ethereum upgrade drops in September, they are going to transition from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake. Which is going to have profound enhancements on the flow of the chain. I will definitely be covering this upgrade in more detail as it is very exciting for the web3 space.

What sets Ethereum Apart?

Ethereum implements very similar standards that Bitcoin implemented to set the tone for blockchains but Ethereum as I have said recognized the potential in something more than simple transactions.

They made the chain programmable. Allowing you to build smart contracts utilizing a programming language called Solidity.

It has given developers the freedom to build decentralized applications setting the tone for the web space. Because of this, it led to the innovation of NFTs, DAOs, Defi, DAPPs, and so much more.

The space is continuing to grow at an incredible pace, and it is great to see the growth, especially with Ethereum still in its early stages!

Inspiring Innovation

Ethereum is great but I have mentioned in a recent story that it does have some downfalls since it is very young with kinks that need to be worked out.

But there have been many innovations in the space to make what Ethereum has given us even better.

There has been the creation of what are called Layer 2 solutions which are built on top of the Layer 1 protocols(aka Ethereum since it is a base chain) to improve scalability to help reduce network bottleneck and gas fees.

It is inspiring seeing the community get together to make Ethereum even better, to make it more of a fun and better experience for everyone.

With Ethereum 2.0 coming soon, it's only going to get better, so I cannot wait to see the beacon chain merge for the new changes to take effect.

Conclusion

Ethereum is a powerful blockchain that took what Bitcoin built and made it even better. It has only begun to shift the future of the web so there is more to come:)

Resources

Also if you’d like to read more awesome content, check out my post on some of its downfalls its a good read and I’ll have it linked below:

Limitations of Web3

And here are some great external resources provided by Ethereum that you can learn so much more from:

• What is Ethereum? | ethereum.org
• Ethereum upgrades (formerly 'Eth2') | ethereum.org

Recently, I created a short post on What is a Blockchain because it is essential to Web3. I’ll also link the content at the bottom of the page if you are curious to see;). Blockchains are the base layer of all the activity in the web3 space, so it is crucial to understand the basics.

Once I understood the basics of a blockchain, everything about Web3 clicked with me. And I’d like to go through it in even more depth showing how crucial this decentralized infrastructure is in Web3.

What is a Blockchain?

In simple terms, a blockchain is a decentralized database of transactions. And this database is powered by a series of nodes(aka computers) that verify against each other to ensure all activity on the blockchain is legit.

The development of the blockchain is such a huge development for the web space. Not only has it been revolutionary for truly bringing cryptocurrencies to life, but brought innovations to the space of the web. It is mind-blowing because the web from the start to now has always been controlled by a centralized entity getting ahold of data that they should not have access to!

It has led to a web that won’t be controlled by a centralized entity giving you the privacy you should always have, and they can’t be power hungry controlling what you can do!

Satoshi Nakamoto

Satoshi is the one who brought the first well-known blockchain to life with success. That blockchain is the “Bitcoin Blockchain”

This chain set the standard because it introduced the first successful digital asset “Bitcoin”. Although it led to the development of the first successful cryptocurrency, its introduction of the concept of “consensus” was what was really catching the eye of developers

Consensus is the mechanism that determines how the nodes run to perform the necessary steps on the chain. Essentially setting the rules for how things will run. I’ll also be talking about this in more depth as it is an important concept to know to understand some key differences between many of the chains that have been created.

Vitalik Buterin

But to continue, this concept led a man named Vitalik Buterin to develop something game-changing.

He created what is called the “Ethereum Whitepaper” in 2014. Essentially he broke down Ethereum and its vision in this paper before the Ethereum blockchain was released in 2015.

What is so powerful about this chain is it also has its own cryptocurrency called “ether” that powers it but its also programmable! You can program on the chain by building smart contracts with a programming language called “Solidity” and I can’t wait to talk more about that with you later in upcoming content.

He took what made Bitcoin so powerful and saw what else could be done on the blockchain and it has led to so many awesome innovations all the way from NFTs to DAOs.

Source of Inspiration

The reason I brought up the development of these chains is that they have laid the foundation for blockchains.

These chains have led developers to innovate and improve upon the current chains creating things like layer 2s(such as Arbitrum & Optimism) and even entirely new base layer chains(such as Solana, Avalanche, Polygon, etc).

Conclusion

Understanding the basics of what chains are is crucial to understanding the new developments. They are the core of it all, and I highly recommend checking out Ethereum’s main page. They cover content like I have spoken about in such well and easy-to-understand detail.

And as I have spoken about before, web3 is in its early stage and I see that there are going to be more developments in the space so stayed tuned for more content to come:)

Also as I had promised, here is that post I had mentioned at the beginning:

Let me know in the comments what you favorite blockchain is and one reason why, I’d love to know!

Recently, I have shown some of Web3’s incredible features. With its l implementation of decentralization, its users have control over their data! So wherever the user goes, their data will follow them!

It’s not stuck within the gates of a platform! Users’ identities are hidden, and the only truly personal piece of information you can see from a user is their public address, aka their “wallet address.

Web3 has also led to the rise of positively impactful developments that will continue to grow along with many more new ones to come! Including Cryptocurrencies, NFTs, DAOs, Defi, etc. And Web3 is in its early stages.

It is very promising, and even though the market has taken a bit of a hit at the moment, it will not die off. It will continue to grow, so keep an eye out for the latest developments.

Web3 Limitations to Address

What web3 already offers is next level, but it’s very young, so it does come with limitations that need a touchup for it to flourish. But don’t fear, the incredible work that the web3 community has been doing, solutions will come.

Accessibility

The community has grown, but with high transaction fees + high gas fees, it gets expensive. So it's not as accessible in lower-income areas, restricting the growth of web3. But what is so awesome is there are solutions that are being developed to solve this issue.

Network upgrades and layer 2 scaling solutions such as Optimism is a popular solution. These have helped improve the scalability of Ethereum reducing the costs of transactions, and improving accessibility.

And Ethereum 2.0 will be rolling out soon, improving transaction costs significantly, so plenty of good things are coming to improve this issue. Stay tuned because I will definitely be covering the developments!

User Experience

The power the entire web3 community has is beautiful, but the concern with being a part of the community is the technical barrier that rises.

Being able to understand the complex documentation that is essential to navigating the web3 space isn’t the most convenient for a lot of users on web2. And the UI interfaces that are currently out aren’t the most user-friendly.

But there has been progress made to fix these issues as well. Metamask is a vital example of making web3 user-friendly.

Metamask provides a nice friendly UI making it easy to create a wallet, access it, and simplify transactions. But, more work is required to improve the UI of Web3 interfaces across the board for it to be adoptable by the masses.

Education

Education is a proponent that is key to Web3’s success. Developing proper educational models for users to understand how it works.

The transition from web1 to web2 required the development of educational techniques in order for it to be accepted. So for the transition from web2 to web3 to happen, educational techniques must be developed to be accepted.

An example of an effort to educate is Ethereum's Translation Program which I will link below. It is a way of providing an education to everyone on web3 with no language barrier, and it is great seeing the effort taking place.

https://ethereum.org/en/contributing/translation-program/

Centralized Infrastructure

I know web3 is built upon the concept of decentralization. Not under the rain of a data-hungry company. But with how young web3 is, it does depend on some centralized infrastructure like Discord or GitHub to run.

But the web3 community is developing issues to make everything truly decentralized. But it will take some time for that infrastructure to be properly built.

Conclusion

Web3 isn’t perfect, I know it isn’t. But I am very excited for what is to come for its growth! As you see, many solutions are in the works and have already been created to address the issues I listed.

Web3 has a big future ahead of itself and I can see that with my own two eyes. So stay tuned for what is to come. Because it is going to be big, I’m definitely looking forward to it:)

Previously

In a recent blog post, I introduced what is web 3. It is a new evolution of the web that gives full ownership of data to its users! It’s groundbreaking stuff, and I am very excited about how it will continue to grow!

You will be seeing me experimenting a lot with the technologies it has introduced, so stay tuned if you want to learn more about how you can build on Ethereum!

But you clicked on this blog to hear more about what is so essential about web 3. You may know what is web 3, but curious about its powerful features. I am very excited to break these features down with you! Let’s get into it!

Importance of Web 3

The first important feature, the one that goes against the traditional centralization concept, is decentralization! What is so powerful about this is that it means there are no central entities like private corporations who have control over your data. You have ownership of your data! No one else controls it!

Although yes, there are these things called block explorers that showcase what goes on in the chain, all the data on-chain is hashed(aka encrypted). That means if someone wants to have control over any of your data, they would need access to your wallet’s private key/phrase, which they can only get from you!

What is also great about this form of ownership is that you can take your assets anywhere it’s awesome! It’s not like owning some random Fornite(a very popular videogame) skin you can only use in that game, not anywhere else. On the blockchain, you can take your digital assets anywhere with no third party controlling that asset!

An example of an asset on the blockchain you can truly own is NFTs! It stands for Non-Fungible Token. It is a unique digital asset that no one else owns! These tokens are known for their unique art like Bored Apes, Cryptopunks & more. I will link to some of these NFTs below if you are curious to see more about them:). And they can have these awesome utilities attached to them providing so much value on top of the art! I will cover NFTs in more detail soon:)

Another key feature that pairs so well with the powerful feature of Ownership is Censorship Resistance. This means that no company can one day just limit the content you can post and you can’t do too much about it!

An example of this is when OnlyFans, a user adult content creating site of millions of creators, tried to ban the creation of explicit content in August of 2021. The only reason why the ban didn’t go through is because of all the backlash they were getting. Although it didn’t happen, a company still holds that power over you, and they can change terms very quickly without anyone’s consent.

But since the data on web 3 lives on the decentralized chain, no one controls your data, it goes wherever you go! This is very crucial for giving users control over their data. No one else has the right to control it!

A couple of other killer features that web 3 has introduced are DAOs and Defi.

DAOs are known as Decentralized Autonomous Organizations! These are freaking cool because they allow for communities/platforms to be formed that are based on a majority, not just a select party that runs the platform however they want to!

These run on what are called smart contracts! These are programmatic agreements that are stored on the Ethereum blockchain that take it to the next level. They are also used for creating NFTs, Defi projects and so much more.

In DAOs, the smart contract it runs automates decentralized decisions over a pool of tokens that the users in the DAO can stake on a voting model to achieve a particular goal for the community. It is very powerful stuff!

On the other hand, Defi is a very large and growing piece of the web 3 world for good reason. It takes financing to the next level without having to go through a traditional bank which can be a hassle and I am all for it!

Defi is known as Decentralized finance! There are so many products on the Ethereum blockchain that allow you to borrow, save, invest, trade and so much more!

It has led to powerful financial services like UniSwap, SushiSwap, Yearn Finance, Gemini & so many more! I will be doing a lot of content on Defi soon it is a very awesome concept that has a very bright future.

And this has all been developed in Web 3’s early days!! That is so unbelievable how young it is and how people have already done so much on it. I honestly wish I could have gotten involved in the space even earlier!

This has all been done by the people! Not just some user data-hungry companies! Some may not be for it just yet, but I am all for it contributing all that I can to help it grow.

I can go on and on but soon I will go more into detail about a bunch more of these core concepts and I am very excited to do so.

I hope you enjoyed it and this has gotten you excited to learn more about web 3. So stay tuned for more awesome web 3 content to come:)

Before Web 3

The world wide web’s creation in the 1990s utilized the concept of centralization and has led to a web used by billions of people. Over time, the web took storm with the creation of social media in the early 2000s, and it has truly changed the ways of society up to this point.

I love the internet! I use it, for the most part, every day because of the kind of web development work I do. I also use it recreationally when I need to take a break from the burnout of trying to solve some bugs😂.

It is a place where you can essentially find the answers to any questions. I only know that because, as a developer, it means I’m a professional googler. The web is a place where you can find anything you need to know.

Web 1 and Web 2 Limitations

But the web does have its limitations! Centralized entities have a significant hold over us users on the web, giving us no control over the content we post, the content we see, etc.

It has been this way since its very beginning. Even in the 1990s, before the advent of social media, only companies were the ones who mainly created online content. It wasn’t until social media that content creators started to share content on the web.

But the problem is we don’t truly own the content we post. The content gets stored in centralized databases owned by the companies that run the servers. A company can potentially lock us out, and there isn’t much we could do.

It takes a lot of trust from us to trust these companies with our data, especially our Personal Information! These companies have a lot of unfair power over users, but an evolution of the web is coming to light to help solve these issues, to make an equal web for everyone, free of centralized control.

Introduction of Web 3

I am excited to introduce Web 3.0! Web 3.0 is a revision that focuses on the concept of decentralization, not centralization. What is so exciting about this is that ownership is now in the hands of all the users, not some large central bodies ceasing control.

The co-founder of Ethereum, Gavin Wood, coined the term web 3.0. He emphasized that the internet required too much from its users, making it hard to have a good user experience on the web. The internet relies too much on the trust of the companies that run it.

What is Web3

Web 3 is the term used to describe the new and improved internet. Based on the topics of blockchains such as Ethereum, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, DAOs, Defi, and so much more, showcasing the power that is turning back to users. We’ll cover these topics in more detail in upcoming blogs, so stay tuned for that!

Web 3 is a decentralized web in which ownership gets distributed to its builders and users. So no big corp has control over you, and it’s awesome.

It is permissionless, meaning everyone has access, and no one single person has more control than the other. You don’t have to worry about being restricted by some company as everyone has equal access.

Another great feature that can be a bit of a hassle with the main form of the web is payment issues. Dealing with those third parties to make transactions can be a pain, and I have had my fair share of difficulties.

But Web 3 has native payment configurations that allow you to make transactions directly through the browser. The transaction doesn’t go through third parties! Also, it utilizes cryptocurrencies, which is cool stuff.

Plus, Web 3 runs on incentives and economic mechanisms such as PoW(Proof of Work) to keep it running and not have to rely on private companies.

Web 3 truly gives ownership to the users. Not only can you view content and write content. You own the content you create in Web 3. The common theme with Web 3 is that no third parties control the entire web. It is the collective power of all users running Web 3.

Although Web 3 has just started, it is very promising with what it has to offer. It is worth learning more about and giving a look. It is the future of the web, and it is exciting!

I hope you enjoyed let me know what you think of Web 3! I’d love to know.

Stay tuned, and if you’d like to see more Web 3 content, check out the posts I have on Instagram and more below to learn even more:

In my previous story I introduced the world of e-commerce and how you can maximize it. So to begin our journey on maximizing this special type of commerce, I will introduce to you some of my favorite tools to built next level e-commerce sites!

I won’t lie to you, there are a lot of different types of tools you can use to build e-commerce based sites. There’s Woocommerce, Shopify, NextJs, Squarespace, Wix & more. It can be intimidating to figure which tool would be the best to start learning.

But it isn’t as bad as it seems. I am going to introduce to you a few of the mentioned above tools. I’ll show you the differences between these tools and what you might prefer to begin learning before touching another one of these.

WooCommerce

This is one of the most well know ones in the market. It powers over 3.8 million e-commerce sites. And WooCommerce is actually a WordPress plugin.

FYI: WordPress is a CMS(Content Management System) which allows for easy website builds using a dashboard without having to touch much code. And think of a WordPress plugin as way of adding desired functionalities to the WordPress website you are building.

So in this way, WooCommerce just adds e-commerce functionalities to your WordPress built site.

I love using this plugin to build e-commerce sites. It is very easily manageable in the WordPress dashboard and no need for technical experience to use the tools to create your site!

Everything including your products, shipping, orders, marketing, payment integration(essential to being able to accept payments), & more are all under one dashboard. So instead of having to micro manage a bunch of different tabs to handle the e-commerce site setup, it is all under a single page. That has definitely helped reduce headaches.

Also very easy to setup pages to display items on sale, your general store page, best selling & so much more. You can setup all sorts of different types of products, choose how you ship, where you ship, the packages you use, easy to integrate payment methods to accept payments on your store & so much more it is amazing.

And all you need to do is enter in information in couple of fields, click some buttons & save! Seriously requires no technical knowledge unless you want to add in some of your very own customization.

Plus it is free to get started! I know I haven’t gone over a few of the other tools yet but if you are starting to get into building e-commerce based websites, I recommend to start learning WordPress. Then from there integrate the WooCommerce Plugin to build e-commerce oriented sites. Trust me it is worth it.

Shopify

This particular tool is another well recognized one in the world of e-commerce. And it used by over 1 million people to power e-commerce sites.

Shopify, just like WordPress, provides a Content Management System via dashboard to build your e-commerce site. The big difference is Shopify is purely an e-commerce first platform.

With WordPress you can generally build any type of site ranging from a sports site to a restaurant site to of course e-commerce sites. But Shopify only allows for e-commerce built sites.

What is great about this is Shopify has specialized in this market. So Shopify does provide more out of the box. WooCommerce does honestly provide a lot of amazing tools out of the box but you might get snagged with limitations. The only way to get passed those limitations at a certain point might require more plugins to be installed. This can lead to a slower page load due to having to load in more resources and some other minor implications.

So Shopify does have a bit of an advantage in that field. The only thing with Shopify is if you want to get started with building the site is that you need to select a plan(which does come with a price of course) to begin. The prices are very flexible but it does cost some money to begin using Shopify in the first place.

That’s where WooCommerce wins. Since WooCommerce is what’s called an open-source plugin which allows the community to help provide feedback to improve it and also means it is free.

But they are both really great tools. If you need WordPress based features like the ability to easily integrate a blog on top of WooCommerce, go with WooCommerce. But if don’t see the need and you are willing to pay for a plan to build a clients site, go with Shopify.

NextJs

For those of you who don’t know what NextJs is, it is known as a framework to the popular JavaScript library ReactJs. NextJs is for those who want more control over every single piece of customization.

This one definitely requires technical knowledge as you need understanding of JavaScript programming fundamentals but is very powerful once you get into it.

The company Vercel, created this framework and decided to introduce NextJs commerce.

NextJs commerce is an all in one started kit to build highly performant e-commerce websites utilizing the NextJs framework.

You get total control over the design of products and can easily integrate with any backend!!! This means you can integrate products you have setup in Shopify, BigCommerce, Swell & more.

Plus you access to all the powerful features of pure NextJS including he built in page routing system, ISR, SSG, SSR, API Routes & more. Don’t worry too much about the technical terms. It’ll be something we’ll be covering in depth in upcoming content.

It very powerful but the only drawback is it requires a lot of technical knowledge to get comfortable with using. So if you are just starting out and don’t want to deal with the technical, Shopify & WooCommerce are great routes. But if you want full control and you have technical experience, then give NextJs a shot. It is amazing with the type of control you have utilizing it.

I hope you enjoyed! These tools I introduced all are very amazing as they provide there unique ways of allowing you to build some amazing e-commerce applications.

If you looking to get started, I highly recommend learning how to using Woocommerce. It is free and honestly really amazing how easy it is to use to build a fully functioning e-commerce application to elevate a client’s business.

If you have been in the field already and looking for something that might be more e-commerce niched, then Shopify could be a very viable option for you to look into.

The above are also really great for freelancing as they allow you to build the sites not only with easy but also a lot more quickly. Plus it makes it a bit more easier for your clients to manage. Will also be going over how to utilized these tools in the world of freelancing very soon

But if you are truly about that full control and have that technical control, then NextJs is a very great option as well to build an e-commerce application.

Let me know what you think about some of these tools in the comments I’d love to know!

Talk to you again soon:)

Top tools used to build e-commerce sites to elevate businesses was originally published in Djimenez Dev on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.