Consensys’ 2023 reflections & 2024 predictions for Ethereum, web3, and beyond

As we usher in 2024, it's time to reflect on the milestones achieved by Consensys in 2023 and share our predictions for web3 in the coming year.

Looking back on 2023

2023 was filled with significant achievements for Consensys and the web3 ecosystem as a whole. From launching MetaMask Learn, the first educational platform of its kind to help audiences around the world learn about web3, to releasing our first-ever global perception survey on web3, we made great strides in educating and onboarding new and diverse participants and communities to web3. And the successful launch of Linea underscored that 2023 was indeed the year of L2s.

We've worked on the Shanghai Capella Upgrade to enable ETH staking withdrawals and relaunched Diligence Fuzzing, a tool to test smart contract vulnerabilities. Our new brand was launched to inspire the builder in everyone, and Infura acquired HAL to strengthen infrastructure scalability. MetaMask’s partnership with Blockaid made users safer and scammers’ jobs harder and we ended 2023 by preparing for the forthcoming Dencun Upgrade.

What the Consensys Perception Survey taught us about web3 in 2023

The web3 global perception survey revealed strong awareness of cryptocurrency but less awareness of the term ‘web3’ amongst participants surveyed. Despite this, we learned a strong desire exists from internet users around the world for more ownership and data privacy online. 

Regional discrepancies were also evident, with European nations exhibiting a greater degree of skepticism towards crypto, while most countries in Southeast Asia, South America, and Africa generally exhibited more enthusiastic attitudes. The survey taught us that the most crypto savvy nation in the world in 2023 wasn’t the USA, but Nigeria. 

Most importantly, the survey results demonstrated a gap in the desire for a web that provides people with more control over their identities, personal data, and that equitably shares profits with Creators and web3. Bridging this gap inspired our communications to audiences about web3 on a global scale in 2023 and will continue to do so this year. 

Look out for another survey in 2024 with new data and insights aimed to help bridge the informational and educational gaps that stand between mass adoption of web3. 

What excites us about web3 in 2024

Looking ahead, we're excited about the potential for more transparent regulation to provide clarity within the blockchain landscape, especially in the United States where regulations are lagging compared to other regions like LATAM and APAC. 

We anticipate critical upgrades to the Ethereum protocol through the Dencun Upgrade, as well as the maturing of L2s and ZK-rollups. We look forward to the decentralization of ZKs in 2024 and the growth of Linea. 

We believe that attestation solutions like Verax and other blockchain tools will help AI become safer for users. We're excited about the potential for digital ownership beyond tokens and NFTs into social graphs for Creators. We're also optimistic about more scalability coming to DeFi through ETF approvals and the rise of web3 gaming use cases.

As we reflect on the past year and look ahead to 2024, we're excited for continued growth and innovation across the crypto industries. We're committed to continuing to lead the way alongside other web3 projects and partners, and can't wait to see what 2024 brings.