“Experts say Web3 might be a bigger revolution than the internet”, “Bitcoin reaches a high of $68,000”, “Millions of dollars swept off the market in the latest Crypto crash.”

We have all come across these headlines before. But what’s all this hype around Blockchain and Crypto and the strange sounding term called Web3?

Since the internet’s last iteration in early 2004, we have been living in a simultaneous online world, powered by user data, input and dynamic content that we know as Web 2. 2014 onwards, the internet took its next big leap, introducing to the world Web3. At its core, Web3 is an improved version of the internet that gives power back to the users by employing technologies such as Blockchain, Crypto and NFTs. Pioneers in the field, such as Sandeep Naliwal, who founded Polygon, claim that Web3 technologies and systems will soon be the norm for day-to-day life through its wide-ranging applications in SaaS, banking and crypto.

Blockchain, Crypto and Web3 have more to them than just appearing as buzz words in news headlines, and it is almost a necessity to be acquainted with them even if you are not interested in tech or finance. Blockchain, in the very least amount of time it has been around, has already made its mark in fields ranging from insurance to healthcare. However, most primary blockchain networks act as tools for independent artists, creators and scientists to create their own unique tokens to monetize. At the end of the day, the power of blockchain, particularly networks like Ethereum, lies not in its market value or trending nature as a buzzword, but rather in the strength of the network and the power of tools it provides to external parties to use and build on their network.

Another industry that boomed recently is the creator ecosystem. The creator economy has given rise to the presence of micro-influencers turning entrepreneurs, finding means to generate revenue through the sale of merchandise, products and ideas with large loyal fanbases. In fact, in today’s day and age, social media presence is considered to be one of the most powerful forms of leverage.

The world is slowly opening its eyes to the possibilities of Web3, and alongside we have rising entrepreneurs from around the world leveraging the power of blockchain to generate value. The next generation of professionals will come to realize that multiple passive income streams is the simplest route to financial independence, matched with investments in equity and, of course, blockchain. Recently, there has been a rise of startups and platforms that provide a pedestal to the individual to create tokens that generate value and provide monetary compensation for communities that individuals build online.

At Violet Ventures, we are particularly interested in one such platform: CrowdPad. CrowdPad is a rising startup, recently backed with funding worth $2.5M from an investor panel including Balaji S, IVC, Tanmay Bhat, Ali Abdaal and FTX Ventures, among others. Featured on Sifted’s 13 European Web3 Startups to Watch, the team is led by co-founder Joel Alexander, an LSE graduate and entrepreneur who has hustled his way into VC and tech by working at ed-tech startups and creating his own podcast, all at the age of 23.

CrowdPad aims to provide monetization to content creators from day one, leveraging the booms in both blockchain and the creator economy to generate value. The company enables creators to become immune to deplatforming and demonetization, creating solid income flows for the next generation of digital entrepreneurs. CrowdPad has recently launched their Academy, a global education movement aiming to inform millions of people worldwide about the relevance of blockchain and its incorporated technologies by breaking it down to its essentials.

Violet Ventures is partnering with CrowdPad Academy to bring for the NYU Abu Dhabi community a Web3 session, hosted by the co-founder and CEO of CrowdPad, Joel Alexander. The event will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 27. You can sign-up here. For more details, contact annemaria.salmela@nyu.edu or nyuad.violetventures@nyu.edu.