Web3 Encyclopedia
Web3 Encyclopedia — definitions, explanations, and context for the protocols, governance structures, financial instruments, and technical concepts of the decentralised internet.
The ZUG WEB3 Encyclopedia provides clear, technically grounded definitions for the terms, concepts, protocols, and structures of the Web3 ecosystem.
Web3 terminology is often used imprecisely — by promoters who benefit from ambiguity, by critics who conflate distinct concepts, and by practitioners who assume shared knowledge that does not yet exist. The Encyclopedia aims to establish clear definitions grounded in technical reality, legal treatment, and economic substance.
Entries cover:
- Foundational concepts: Web3, blockchain, smart contracts, decentralisation, cryptographic primitives.
- Token types: Utility tokens, asset tokens, payment tokens (per FINMA’s classification), and the evolving landscape of token design.
- Governance structures: DAOs, multisig, on-chain governance, off-chain governance, delegation mechanisms.
- Protocol primitives: Consensus mechanisms (Proof of Work, Proof of Stake, BFT variants), sharding, rollups, bridges, data availability.
- Financial instruments: DeFi protocols, AMMs (automated market makers), lending protocols, liquid staking, restaking.
- Legal and regulatory terms: FINMA classifications, DLT Act definitions, MiCA categories, DAO legal wrappers.
- Swiss-specific terms: Stiftung, Verein, GmbH, AG — and their application in the Crypto Valley context.
Entries are updated as protocols evolve, regulation develops, and our understanding of Web3 systems deepens.