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Top Web3 Companies In 2023
From DeFi protocols to dApps and NFTs, these companies are leading the way in developing web3 tech and use cases.
14 min read
If you're looking for an opportunity to help shape the future of the web with cutting-edge, decentralized tech like smart contracts, blockchain technology, and decentralized finance (DeFi) then you should consider joining a top web3 company. The web is constantly evolving, and the rise of decentralized technologies, such as blockchain and cryptocurrency, is driving the next major shift in the web's evolution. This shift, known as web3, is focused on enabling more intelligent and interoperable applications and services to help people find and use information more easily and effectively. In this article, we will take a look at some of the top web3 companies that are at the forefront of this exciting and rapidly-growing industry. From decentralized finance protocols to blockchain-based gaming platforms, these companies are leading the way in developing web3 technologies and applications.
What Is Web3?
Web3 refers to the use of decentralized technologies, such as blockchain, smart contracts, and cryptocurrency, to create a more intelligent and interoperable web. To better grasp the concept web3, it's important to understand the preceding evolutions of the internet: web 1.0 and web 2.0
Web 1.0
Web 1.0, also known as the "static web," was the earliest version of the web and was characterized by a collection of static, interconnected pages of information that were created and published by individuals and organizations. These pages were often accessed using a web browser and could be linked to each other using hyperlinks. Web 1.0 was a major milestone in the development of the web, as it allowed people to easily share and access information online.
Web 2.0
Web 2.0, also known as the "participatory web," was the next major evolution of the web and was characterized by the rise of social media, user-generated content, and web-based applications. This allowed users to interact with each other and with the web in new and more dynamic ways. Web 2.0 also introduced new technologies and standards, such as RSS and XML, that enabled the creation of more interactive and user-friendly web experiences.
Web 3.0
Web 3.0 is the third generation of the World Wide Web and is often referred to as "an extension of cryptocurrency and blockchain." In contrast to the centralized entities built-in Web 2.0, Web 3.0 aims to create a decentralized, interoperable web with self-executing smart contracts and permissionless blockchains serving as guardrails for the internet. As a result, Web 3.0 contains the emergence of new technologies like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized applications (dApps), and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
What Are Web3 Companies?
Web3 companies are businesses that are focused on developing and implementing technologies and applications that are associated with the third generation of the World Wide Web, also known as web3. Web3 is characterized by the use of decentralized technologies, such as blockchain and cryptocurrency, to enable more intelligent and interoperable applications and services that can help people find and use information more easily and effectively.
Web3 companies often develop and deploy decentralized applications (dApps) and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, which are built on top of blockchain networks and use cryptographic techniques to enable secure and transparent interactions between users and data. These companies are also involved in the development of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other blockchain-based technologies and applications that are designed to improve the functionality and usability of the web.
Top Web3 Companies
1) Binance
Binance is the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange as measured by daily trading volume. It is home to 350+ listed cryptocurrencies and 120 million registered users. In addition to being the world's largest digital asset exchange, Binance has a suite of other blockchain-based products; such as BNB Chain (its own community-driven blockchain), Trust Wallet (a decentralized crypto wallet), and Binance Academy (an open access learning hub).
2) BrainTrust
BrainTrust is a decentralized, user-owned talent network that seeks to redefine how work gets done. The BrainTrust platform connects vetted tech talent with the world's leading enterprises, such as NASA, Walmart, and Deloitte. Unlike freelance marketplaces like Fiverr or Upwork, BrainTrust removes the middleman (and the associated fees) by building a decentralized network on the Ethereum blockchain and using the native BTRST token to power its governance.
3) QuickNode
QuickNode is a web3 infrastructure platform that helps developers build and scale blockchain ecosystems with ease. Instead of dealing with the headache that comes with running your own Ethereum node, blockchain developers can rent and rely on QuickNode's globally distributed network of blockchain nodes and launch dApps quickly and efficiently.
4) Consensys
Based in New York City, ConsenSys is a blockchain software company for Ethereum developers. Through consulting, startup incubation, capital, and education, ConsenSys empowers developers and enterprises to build the next generation of Ethereum applications and participate in DAOs, NFTs, DeFi, and the metaverse. ConsenSys' suite of blockchain products include MetaMask, Infura, Codefi, Quorom, and more.
5) Uniswap Labs
Uniswap Labs is responsible for developing the Uniswap protocol along with the Uniswap web interface. The Uniswap protocol is the largest decentralized trading protocol that serves as an automated, peer-to-peer market maker. The Uniswap web interface provides a simple UI for users to swap ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain.
6) Chainalysis
Chainalysis is a New York City-based blockchain data platform that assists governments, crypto companies, and financial institutions in engaging with cryptocurrency. By providing data, software, services, and research to its clients, Chainalysis's data helps ensure crypto compliance along with investigating tools to solve the world's most high-profile criminal crypto cases.
7) OpenSea
OpenSea is the world's largest non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace where users can mint, buy, and sell NFTs. OpenSea's NFT platform is home to over $20B in NFT trading volume and 80M+ NFTs. By providing an easy-to-use interface for beginners, OpenSea allows users to purchase NFT collectibles, 1/1 artwork, domain names, and play to earn NFTs.
8) Coinbase
Headquartered in San Francisco, Coinbase is the most popular US-based crypto exchange and boasts more than 108 million users. Similar to Binance, Coinbase provides a secure online platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. But unlike Binance, Coinbase provides a much simpler user interface and caters towards onboarding new users into the crypto ecosystem.
9) Ripple
Ripple Labs is a centralized tech company based in San Francisco that uses blockchain to process international money transfers and provide global payment solutions. Specifically, Ripple assists global financial institutions, governments, and businesses in moving money across borders quickly, cheaply, and in a trustless fashion.
10) Polygon
Polygon is a decentralized layer-2 Ethereum platform that enables developers to build and scale dApps with low fees and high security. Polygon aims to combine the best aspects of Ethereum, like Proof of Stake consensus, with the best aspects of other blockchains to create an open multi-chain platform that helps Ethereum scale in size, efficiency, and compatibility with more decentralized products.
11) Messari
Messari is an online database that "brings transparency to the crypto-economy.” By providing a suite of crypto market intelligence products, Messari empowers users with reports and metrics related to DeFi, NFT, and web3-related companies.
12) Ledger
Ledger develops state-of-the-art crypto hardware wallet technology that provides security to your digital assets. Instead of storing your cryptocurrency and NFTs in less secure places, like a centralized exchange (Coinbase) or a hot wallet (Metamask), users can securely store their digital assets in Ledger products like the Nano X, which is an offline, bluetooth-enabled hardware wallet.
13) Spatial
Spatial is a metaverse platform that allows creators to build their own spaces in the metaverse and organize virtual events, build tight-knit communities, and drive sales to their creative works. Spatial envisions the metaverse as a place for creators to expand their creativity and connect more intimately with their true fans. Spatial is similar to Twitch in that you can step into live streams of your favorite creators, but instead of simply watching and chatting, you create an avatar and interact with the community within a 3D metaverse space.
14) Immutable
Immutable is a global blockchain technology company that consists of two main entities: ImmutableX and Immutable Games Studio. ImmutableX is a layer 2 scaling solution for NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. By offering near-zero gas fees and instant trade confirmation for NFTs, the ImmutableX minting and trading platform assists builders in launching projects at scale without compromising security. Immutable Games Studio is an NFT game development studio "focused on fantastical creativity" with leading titles such as Gods Unchained and Guild of Guardians.
15) Magic Eden
Magic Eden originated in San Francisco in 2021 as the most popular NFT platform on the Solana blockchain - a rival blockchain to Ethereum. Similar to OpenSea, Magic Eden provides users with the ability to purchase and sell NFT collectibles, digital artwork, and P2E games. In August of 2022, Magic Eden broadened its scope by including Ethereum NFTs. Many NFT beginners prefer a platform like Magic Eden, due to the lower gas fees associated with the Solana blockchain.
16) Chainlink Labs
Based in San Francisco, Chainlink Labs is a leading provider of secure, blockchain-oracle solutions. Blockchain oracles are entities that connect blockchain to external systems, thus enabling smart contracts in the real world. For example, off-chain data sources like asset prices, web APIs, IoT devices, and payment systems can all be integrated into the Chainlink decentralized oracle framework and benefit from the advantages of using smart contracts.
17) The Block
The Block is a web3 media company based in New York City. Through the Block's website, newsletters, online tools, and podcasts, they aim to deliver news and deep insights into the crypto financial markets. If you're from a journalism or finance background, the Block is looking to become the Bloomberg equivalent of web3.
18) Unstoppable Domains
Based in San Francisco, Unstoppable Domains helps bridge the gap between web2 and web3 by helping people and businesses to register a web3 domain using blockchain technology. Web3 domains simplify the crypto experience by serving as your online digital identity. For example, your crypto wallet address, website domain, social media handle, email address, DeFi login, and more, will all be linked to your web3 domain. If crypto achieves true mainstream adoption, web3 domains will become a key aspect of every online business in the world.
19) RECUR
RECUR is an innovative multi-chain platform that helps the worlds biggest brands and creators launch seamless, easy-to-use NFT experiences for their fans. RECUR is the only blockchain-agnostic NFT platform providing brand partners with a wide range of distribution and utility options. The RECUR team also fundamentally changed the NFT market by co-authoring the decentralized recurring royalty standard, which allows creators to capture a percentage of secondary sales of their NFTs in perpetuity.
20) Ava Labs
Founded by a team of Cornell University computer scientists, Wall Street veterans, and early web3 adopters, Ava Labs make it easy to deploy dApps on Avalanche - an Ethereum competitor known for its speed and scalability. Over the past several years, hundreds of dApps have been launched on Avalanche as Ava Labs strives to develop an open, democratic internet of finance.
21) Voodoo
Based in Paris, France, Voodoo is a leading mobile games publisher with over 6 billion app downloads. At the tail end of 2021, Voodoo announced it will invest $200 million into blockchain gaming over the course of 2022 in an effort to disrupt the industry and bring concepts like NFTs and play-to-earn gaming to the masses. Voodoo is positioned to assist both non-crypto startups and promising blockchain startups, through financing and tech tooling, in taking mobile game ideas from concept to launch.
22) MoonPay
MoonPay is a fintech company that builds crypto payment infrastructure. Specifically, MoonPay supplies on and off ramp products that make it easy to convert fiat to crypto (and vice versa) using the major payment methods such as debit cards, credit cards, local bank transfers, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. MoonPay is also well-known for its NFT Checkout software, used by major NFT marketplaces like OpenSea so users can purchase NFTs with a credit card instead of a crypto wallet.
23) Figment
Based in Toronto, Figment is a blockchain infrastructure provider that supplies a comprehensive staking solution to institutional investors seeking to earn yield on their crypto. In addition to providing a staking service, Figment's API allows exchanges and other crypto platforms to seamlessly add end to end staking on their own native platforms.
24) Kraken
Kraken is a US-based crypto exchange founded in 2011. It is home to 9M+ users and 185+ cryptocurrencies. Kraken is viewed as a reputable exchange because it is one of the oldest crypto exchanges, and it is also fully regulated by the laws and regulations of the United States. Similar to Coinbase, Kraken offers a variety of crypto-related services such as buying and selling cryptocurrencies, buying and selling NFTs, and earning rewards on your holdings via staking.
25) OpenZeppelin
OpenZeppelin is an open-source framework for building secure dApps. Rather than spending with security tools, smart contract developers can deploy dApps and focus on shipping products with OpenZeppelin's tools. For example, OpenZeppelin's Smart Contracts Wizard provides developers with a library of reusable, battle-tested smart contracts along with automated workflows that minimize security risks. Popular web3 projects like Ethereum Name Service, Aave, and Decentraland all build with OpenZepplin contracts.
26) Mythical Games
Mythical Games is a full-service decentralized gaming studio that helps developers integrate blockchain-based play to earn economies into their games. Mythical Games' first game is called Blankos Block Party, an open-world game where players can create games with "playable NFTs" and participate in a player-owned asset economy. The Mythical Games platform can be added to pre-existing games or built into the design of new games.
27) Gnosis
Gnosis is a blockchain infrastructure provider for Ethereum that originally launched in 2015 as a prediction market provider. When building the prediction market platform, Gnosis discovered a need for developing infrastructure tools to expand the Ethereum ecosystem's capabilities. As a result, Gnosis launched a suite of infrastructure tools: Gnosis Safe (multisig and programmable account), Cow Protocol (formerly CowSwap and Gnosis Protocol), Conditional Tokens (prediction markets), Gnosis Auction, and Zodiac (standard and tooling for composable DAOs)
28) Aldrin
Aldrin is a decentralized exchange (DEX) built on the Solana blockchain. It provides a simple user interface for Solana-based wallets to exchange cryptocurrencies, and mimics the experience of Uniswap - the most popular DEX built on the Ethereum blockchain. With Aldrin's Automated Market Maker (AMM), beginners and advanced users can trade crypto assets without the involvement of intermediaries.
29) Brave
Brave is the browser of choice for web3 users. Unlike alternatives such as Google Chrome (which does not block tracking, cookies, and invasive ads), Brave Browser provides superior online privacy, incognito windows, ad-blocking, and even VPN when searching the internet. In addition to being a private browser, Brave offers a native crypto wallet (Brave Wallet), which is integrated into the browser and rewards users with BAT (Brave's native token) if you opt into viewing privacy-protected ads as you browse.
30) Autograph
Co-founded by Tom Brady, Autograph is an NFT platform that helps the most iconic celebrity athletes launch digital NFT collections to further connect with fans. Unlike NBA Top Shot, another popular sports NFT platform that focuses on the NBA, Autograph celebrities span across different sports and include legendary names such as Tiger Woods, Tony Hawk, Simone Biles, and Derek Jeter. For example, users can bid in an auction to win an NFT memorializing Tom Brady's biggest career accomplishments.
31) Animoca Brands
Founded in 2014 by Yat Siu, Animoca began as a simple mobile games development company. After a period of gradual success in traditional games, Animoca stepped into web3 by purchasing The Sandbox in 2018 and launching the blockchain-based version of The Sandbox in 2019. From there, Animoca Brands evolved its portfolio of blockchain-based games, and today exists as a leader in digital blockchain gamification.