When I first started out in the Web 3.0 space, I was not sure where I should start and how I could be able to start my journey. As the Web 3 space is vast, looking for a place to start could be frustrating. So, I started to trade, and there are times that I gain profits and lose money. I have also tried buying early on NFT's, but then again, sometimes I profit and sometimes I lose. And so, it becomes clear to me that it is very hard to chase good and long-term projects in the space. So, I think to myself how I could be able to help projects be good and maybe even create a good project myself.
Building in the Web 3.0 space does not happen overnight, as we discussed in our previous blog "Can We Build?". We have understood some of the challenges and hardships we might face if we build in the Web 3.0 space and have a solution to help you somehow ease it up, like looking for platforms like Cope.studio to help you with your project.
Also, in the "The New Normal" blog, we answered the question "Why should you start in Web 3.0 space?" But also, one of the questions most people might ask is "Where do I start?". Even if we have the motivation to build a project in the space, it might get confusing and frustrating to look for a place to start, a place to build. Because, as we know, the Web 3.0 space is massive, and it is important that we have a perfect place, a community, and an environment in which you will start your journey of building in the space.
This is one of the most frequently asked questions I receive from most people in the space. Many were really interested in starting something but were being discouraged, maybe because of the complexity of some of the things and technicalities in the space, because, as you know, most of the platforms and applications in the space were not that easy to use and understand (which is what we are trying to make better).
So, if you ask me where to begin and how to begin in the space, I will tell you to start with yourself. There is no defined place in the space where you will start. It depends on what your goal is and what you want to do in the space. If you are a developer, a designer, or a product manager, you might consider joining hackathons and building some projects, or maybe joining a community in the space with people with the same goals and values as you are.
It is not where you start, it is if you start, because if you start doing something, it is already an action that could prompt you to take another step forward and, according to 0xWarren (ThirdWeb), anything could be a start, just like reading this blog, knowing the fundamentals in Web 2 and Web 3, like knowing what Web 3 ecosystems are all about, could greatly help you.
So, what is a Web 3 ecosystem anyway?
I am sure you have heard of the Ethereum Ecosystem, Polygon Ecosystem, Binance Smart Chain (BSC) Ecosystem, Avalanche Ecosystem, Solana Ecosystem, Ronin ecosysystem and many more. And yes, ecosystems are the places where builders build platforms, DApps, DeFI platforms, NFT Games, NFT projects, and collections, and understanding ecosystems could be a great start on your journey to starting something in the space, as understanding the factors and considerations to look into these ecosystems will help you choose and understand what ecosystem to build on.
From the word "Ecosystems", these networks allow people to build projects and platforms on top of them. They are allowing people to build functioning smart contracts and create tokens (NFT, Cryptocurrencies) within the network standards (ERC-20, ERC-721, ERC-1155, BEP-20, BEP-721), so builders will not need to build their own blockchain just to make their projects on chain. The Ethereum Ecosystem, for example, which most of the well-known projects in the Web 3.0 space are built on top of, such as Axie Infinity, Decentraland, The Sandbox, Brave Browser, OpenSea, Uniswap.
An "Ecosystem" in the Web 3 space could also be defined as a place where people and communities can thrive and grow. According to AxieSpike (AxieInfinity), the Web 3 ecosystem is a way for us to create projects, organizations, and systems to work together and align values and goals. The closest example of this is the Axie Infinity Ecosystem. This enables the creation of governance in the ecosystem that gives joint ownership and incentivizes people and builders who contribute to the ecosystem. And according to 0xWarren (ThirdWeb), ecosystems are made possible by blockchain technology and have unlocked some possibilities that may seem impossible from the Web 2 perspective.
So now we know what an ecosystem is, can we give some in-depth details on some ecosystems in the Web 3 space?
Being Ethereum is also the most used and well-known ecosystem in the space and there are also some benefits in building in the Ethereum ecosystem like having your project and product more on the premium and exclusive feel as you will expect that the people who will be on your project are people who could be able to afford the pricey gas prices and you will compete with much less projects within the ecosystem. And another advantage is that you will have the first mover’s advantage.
But deploying a project in Ethereum might cost you a fortune in a perspective minting an NFT and starting an NFT collection in the Ethereum ecosystem could cost you around 70-330 dollars or 3500–16500 PHP. Even transferring a token in the Ethereum network gas fees might get expensive sometimes we know that most of us cannot afford such expenses as your every action in the Ethereum network will cost you gas fees.
So, this is the time where layer 2 solutions come in, like the Polygon Ecosystem. The Polygon network is very similar to the Ethereum network. But the main difference is the gas prices. Gas prices in the Polygon network don’t cost even above 1 dollar. This means that you could be able to experiment and just try out things in the ecosystem. The Polygon ecosystem provides support, especially to builders, with their programs like the Polygon Village, which offers some programs, partnerships, grants, and community which could be beneficial on your building journey. This was shared with me by AngKevin (Polygon).
The same low gas fees apply to Avalanche, Solana, and the Binance Smart Chain Ecosystem. This means that deploying a project and building on these ecosystems will not cost you that much, but the downside is that since the cost of deploying a project in these ecosystems is cheap, it is expected that you will be competing with many more projects in the space. This will make the market saturated with projects and products, which could hinder your growth as you start your project in the space.
So that leaves us with the following questions, what should you do then? How could I be able to start building on these ecosystems without costing me a fortune while having the growth that my project needs? That is what we are going to answer in the next blog. Stay tuned!
Let’s build together!⚒️
Contributors
A special thanks to @AxieSpike (AxieInfinity), @0xSushiKev (Polygon), and @warengonzaga (ThirdWeb) for giving some of your insights and inputs for this blog. This blog would not be possible without them, so they deserve some love.