Blockchain and crypto technology form the basis of the transaction-based Internet, also known as Web 3.0. This means new revenue models for content creators and new advertising models for advertisers. But also new opportunities for cybercriminals. You have been hereby warned.
The Internet has fundamentally evolved since we got our first web browser over 30 years ago. However, what has not changed is how advertising continues to emerge as a primary means of revenue generation. This model has transformed companies like Alphabet and Meta into some of the largest and most powerful companies in the world in just a few years.
But will advertising be the only model in the future too, or is it conceivable that the rise of blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies could lay the foundations for a better model? A business model that fits best in an online world full of content creators big and small.
Web 3.0
The new paradigm is often referred to as the “crypto income generating internet,” or Web Crypto Cash In English. The trend is closely related to the development of the Internet. From Web 1.0, which was information oriented, to Web 2.0, which was focused on communication, and now to Web 3.0, which would be transactional.
The internet generated by cryptocurrency will largely reward content creators with cryptocurrency as an alternative to ad revenue.
Of course, this won’t happen overnight. And on the way to an internet driven by crypto revenue, there will be many challenges along the way. Among other things from cybercriminals who will try to steal and defraud crypto values. Plus, there’s no indication that ad templates will disappear any time soon. exactly the contrary. The global digital marketing market is expected to grow from over $500 billion in 2022 to More than a thousand billion dollars in 2031. At the same time, models are challenged by the fact that more and more of us do not want to be subject to surveillance and persecution. With new laws and regulations from the European Union, privacy measures from actors like Apple and the ongoing killing of third-party cookies, it is inevitable that billions of dollars will disappear from today’s advertising market.
Encoder reputation
Here, cryptocurrency can be an alternative, where content creators are rewarded in the form of their cryptocurrency based on their popularity and reputation. Because even though today’s YouTubers earn money largely by placing ads before, during and after their videos, the crypto income model will be based on the audience rather than investing in YouTubers’ cryptocurrency. The higher the popularity, the more valuable your cryptocurrency will be.
Such an approach is relatively unknown in Norway, but there are already many such services internationally. on me Bitclout, which is a Twitter-like platform where users can share and read content, and can also buy Bitclout coins (called DESO) for content creators they like or think is a good investment. There are also revenue generating versions of Facebook (Special), YouTube (glass) and Spotify (My voice), which the assets will almost certainly buy once the market is mature and large enough.
In the same way that the “old” advertising model won’t go away, the traditional ways in which content creators make money likely won’t disappear anytime soon either. But the transition from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 will create entirely new business models for how audiences approach content makers. With the help of these crypto income generating services, content creators will benefit from a more predictable income stream.
Cybercriminals lie in the reeds
The challenge, as always with (new) technology, is that cybercriminals are also finding new ways to make money. Here we can expect to see a new wave of new cyber threats, in addition to existing threats like fraud, data capture, identity theft and ransomware. At least, hijacking creators’ profiles will become a profitable method, as cryptocurrencies will be directly linked to the respective profile.
Alternatively, cybercriminals’ motive may be to destroy the reputation of the content creator. A hacked profile can be used to advertise illegal and fraudulent products, as well as post trust-damaging content and, in the worst case, lead to a person’s cancellation.
On the other hand, it can also be profitable to pay to increase the reputation of the content creator, for example laundering cryptocurrency. If the value of the seized account increases, it also becomes cheaper for cybercriminals to pay for other illegal goods and services. As with a lot of other things, the biggest limitation will be imagination, and cybercriminals have proven over the years to have a good imagination. Unfortunately.
The future is not here yet
Now, of course, we don’t know if this will ever become a reality. We don’t even know if the internet generated from crypto revenue will ever become a reality and not just a concept. What we do know, however, is that we have a tired tendency to plan for the best, without preparing for the worst.
Right now, we don’t know what the worst-case scenario will look like, as long as we still don’t know exactly how the integrated blockchain and crypto technology will turn out to be in our society. However, what we do know is that Web 3.0 is on its way and that an increasingly large proportion of digital transactions today already pass on some form of blockchain technology.
You have been hereby warned.
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