Is Web3 the next phase of the internet?

The next phase of the internet may be underway, according to some analysts, amid growing interest in Web3.

The first phase of the internet, known as Web 1.0, centred around simple websites loading on your computer screen. Then came Web 2.0, amid the rise of social media, user-generated content and interactivity.

"That was the birth of companies like Amazon, Facebook, Alphabet, Microsoft, the big companies that created what are now known as walled gardens -- these wonderful entities that we benefit from a social media perspective and digital media perspective that we're currently in right now and that big business has been built off," Mohit Rajhans, an emerging media consultant at Thinkstart.ca, told CTV's Your Morning on Thursday.

But in Web 2.0, content is kept within a small group of highly centralized "walled garden" platforms. Now, some analysts believe we're headed towards Web3, which Rajhans says has become a "catch-all phrase" used to describe a future of web based on decentralized blockchain technology.

Blockchain is the same tech that underpins cryptocurrency as well as NFTs, which are uniquely identifiable digital artworks that are authenticated using cryptography.

"We're starting to see social media companies being called to action over their security flaws. The world is changing based on their needs and there's this new need for a type of internet that isn't controlled by just a small group of people," he said.

But the vision of a decentralized web reliant on blockchain isn't without its faults. Last month, the cryptocurrency market crashed after the collapse of the Terra Luna coin, wiping away billions of dollars in value. There are also concerns over the fact that there is zero recourse for scam victims if their cryptocurrency or NFT artwork becomes stolen through a phishing scam.

"There was this promise of decentralization that was going to be secure. You were going to be able to own everything that you were doing on the internet and Web3. But what's happening right now is people are showing that there's holes," said Rajhans.

Watch the full interview with Mohit Rajhans at the top of this article.