After the metaverse popularity, Web 3.0 — is the new buzzword taking over the Internet world. Also known as the decentralized web, Web 3.0 is the third version of the Internet, which is an improvement over the current Web 2.0 Internet.
Under Web 2.0, Internet has become more social. Under this stage, Internet users have been encouraged to connect with each other through social networking services and blogs, which has been leading to the creation of massive volumes of data and content.
However, these data and contents are largely controlled by a small group of tech giants including, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft and Google in the current Web 2.0 stage. This is creating privacy issues and users may think that they have lost their freedom over their personal, business or financial data as one has to accept all the terms and conditions to use the Internet services offered by these companies.
Furthermore, social media sites have implemented stricter norms for which types of content or posts will be accepted on their platforms. This has created controversy over free speech.
Web 3.0 is anticipated to help overcome this problem as it is expected to be a decentralized version of the Internet where people have control over their data. The third version of the internet will have more transparency and boast massive content that will be accessible to all.
Additionally, Web 3.0 is believed to be more user-specific, which will ensure data security and privacy while avoiding the risk of Internet hacking.
Ride With Web 3.0 Trend
Web 2.0 has made several billionaires including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Twitter’s Jack Patrick Dorsey. Also, the success of Web 2.0 companies has provided investors the opportunity to make significant money through equity investment.
However, if you missed the Web 2.0 takeoff, Web 3.0 could be a chance to make up for it. Currently, the companies that are running their businesses on the Web 3.0 model are mostly private startups. These companies are working on developing financial and social media platforms. Some companies are developing payment platforms while there are those that are building games on 3.0 business models.
Nonetheless, there are several publicly listed companies, which can give you exposure to Web 3.0. To get exposure in this space, investors have to look for stocks that have blockchain technology-related business.
Blockchain Technology Behind Web 3.0
Web 3.0 is being built on blockchain technology.
Blockchain is an electronic distributed ledger. Distributed ledgers provide a digital record (such as asset ownership) that is maintained without a central authority. It is relatively faster in closing a transaction as the need for manual processing and authentication by intermediaries is eliminated as it deploys a distributed consensus.
Moreover, as blockchain uses distributed consensus, it isn’t easy to alter data on the system without alerting the entire network. This makes the system extremely secure.
It should be noted that blockchain is the technology behind many major cryptocurrencies and also non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”).
Therefore, based on blockchain technology, Web 3.0 holds the potential to revolutionize the Internet world. The concept promises to provide peer-to-peer internet services with no single authority, thereby offering users to have more control over their data.
On that note, here we discuss three blockchain technology providing stocks that people can consider to have exposure in the future of the web.
Three Stocks That Give Exposure to Web 3.0
Microsoft
MSFT
: Its endeavors with blockchain technology are noteworthy. The company’s Azure Blockchain Service is a fully-managed ledger service that provides support for the Ethereum Quorum ledger utilizing the Istanbul Byzantine Fault Tolerance (IBFT) consensus mechanism.
Last year, Microsoft and Ernst & Young LLP announced the expansion of the former’s blockchain-based solution for gaming rights and royalty management.
Moreover, in March 2021, Microsoft’s Decentralized Identity team launched the ION Decentralized Identifier (DID) network on the Bitcoin mainnet. The network uses bitcoin’s blockchain to create digital IDs for authenticating identity online.
Microsoft carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here
.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s fiscal 2022 earnings has been revised upward by a penny in 30 days’ time to $9.13 per share. MSFT stock has rallied 52.5% year-to-date (YTD).
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
NVIDIA Corporation
NVDA
: It has solutions for next-generation technology including artificial intelligence, the internet of things, cloud computing and deep machine learning. NVIDIA’s graphics processing units (GPUs) and advanced chips are essential for running highly complex algorithms and boosting computing power, essential for blockchain technology to work.
This Zacks Rank #2 company is benefiting from strong demand for mining cryptocurrencies. NVIDIA has launched Cryptocurrency Mining Processor (CMP), a product line for professional mining. CMPs enable improved airflow while mining and also have a lower peak core voltage and frequency, which improve mining power efficiency. NVIDIA has generated revenues worth $526 million from the product line since its availability.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its fiscal 2022 earnings stands at $4.33 per share, having moved north by 4.6% over the past 60 days. NVDA stock has gained 126.6% YTD.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Intel Corporation
INTC
: The company is continuously working on providing foundational technology that can enable and enhance blockchain solutions. With its Sawtooth blockchain platform, Intel offers data protection, access to information from open sources and a virtually un-hackable ledger, thereby creating efficient and trustworthy environments for businesses to operate.
Intel carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2021 earnings has been revised upward by 10.2% in 90 days’ time to $5.28 per share. INTC stock has gained 3.8% YTD.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
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