web3 is an ever-expanding ecosystem of blockchains, blockchain protocols, scaling solutions, and applications. There are also token standards, development environments, and programming languages to consider → so yea, it can be a little daunting to digest.
We’re going to start simple. First things first, you need a wallet.
To interact with the blockchain, you need a wallet. It’s a terrible name for this key-like tool that unlocks access to blockchain resources, but the name has stuck.
A wallet is many things at once: it’s a way to access your tokens, an expression of your identity, and the tool you use to sign blockchain transactions.
There are many wallets in the wild to get started. Below are some common ones:
<aside> 👉 You might have heard of “not your keys, not your crypto” which refers to the idea that keeping crypto on centralized exchanges instead of directly controlling it with your wallet means you don’t have the intended control over your assets. But keep in mind, with great power, comes responsibility. Never share your wallet’s private key or seed phrase with anyone. Think of this as the password to your bank account. Except there’s no bank to help you recover anything if it’s compromised.
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Just as Web 2 developers have their favorite stacks (like the MERN stack - MongoDB, Express, React and Node.js) and use them to build fully-functional web applications, the web3 stack is an assortment of technologies that can be composed into applications and services.
The frontend is practically identical but the backend is replaced by various composable protocols for data storage, data indexing & manipulation, and many others. To learn about this, we recommend Defining the web3 stack by Nader Dabit.