I Was Building a Web App. Then Web 3.0 Happened.

What happens when your roadmap is built for Web 2.0 — but the world decides to skip ahead?

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Like many aspiring founders, I had a clear idea: build a solid web app, monetize with user subscriptions, maybe sprinkle in some automation. It was a classic Web 2.0 playbook. I knew the stack. I knew the flow. I thought I knew the game.

But while I was busy polishing dashboards and optimizing for engagement, the ecosystem evolved — and didn’t wait for me. Suddenly, everyone was talking about wallets, decentralized identity, and tokenized economies. Web 3.0 had arrived. And I was lost.

Web 2.0 vs Web 3.0: What Actually Changed?

To anyone who’s ever built a login page or debugged a REST API, this shift felt brutal. Let’s break it down:

Web 2.0

• Centralized platforms and servers
• Email/password logins (OAuth, etc.)
• Users generate content but don’t own data
• Monetization via ads and subscriptions
• Data stored and controlled by corporations
• Identity = account-based, siloed
• Examples: Facebook, Google, YouTube

By Comparison, Web 3.0

• Decentralized…