Web3 Newcomer's Guide to Entering the Circle: From Understanding to Practice

Many friends ask me how newcomers should play in the circle. As a continuously evolving industry, Web3 has its own technical architecture, economic system, core applications, and is changing the future of the internet. For newcomers, the first step in entering the circle is not to blindly rush into projects, but to establish a solid foundational understanding, and then gradually practice and iterate for growth.

1. Recognize the essence of Web3: Understand the infrastructure

Web3 is not a single concept but an ecosystem composed of multiple technologies and ideas. To better understand Web3, one can first learn about the foundation of Web3—blockchain.

  • Blockchain: Essentially an immutable ledger, all your various actions will be recorded on the ledger, and these ledgers are linked together to form a chain.

  • Wallet: Used to store assets (protect your mnemonic phrase and private key!!!), mainstream wallets include MetaMask, Trust Wallet, OKX Wallet, Phantom, etc.

Understanding the infrastructure can provide direction in the Web3 world, rather than becoming a 'fool who blindly follows others' advice.'

2. The core ecosystem of Web3

Web3 is not merely a technology; it is a world with a complete economic system and application ecosystem, having its own currency, applications, and programming languages.

  • Cryptocurrency: The native economic system of the Web3 world, such as BTC, ETH, SOL and other public chain tokens, as well as stablecoins (USDT, USDC). Trading on CEX (Centralized Exchange) / DEX (Decentralized Exchange), analogous to banks.

  • Decentralized Applications (DApp): Applications running on blockchain, covering multiple tracks including DeFi, GameFi, SocialFi.

  • Smart Contract: The 'code' of Web3, mainly written in Solidity (Ethereum), Rust (Solana), Move (Sui/Aptos), their difference is like the difference between JAVA and C+ in Web2.

  • Digital Identity (DID): Decentralized identity authentication, all your actions on the chain will be recorded and form your identity.

  • Organizational Form (DAO): A digital-native community organized by a group of like-minded individuals centered around resource allocation or completing tasks.

3. Choose a track and start practicing.

After understanding the basic architecture of Web3, you need to choose a specific track, explore in-depth, and participate in practical operations. Here are several popular tracks:

  • Meme: There is always a wealth effect on-chain, and it tends to traverse bull and bear markets, quickly understanding the gameplay and risks of such assets.

  • Airdrop: Although the glory of the airdrop track is no longer, for ordinary people, airdropping is the fastest track to get started and doesn't require too much tuition. In the past, people often engaged with public chains, as they had plenty of money and were stable. Since the collapse of L2 narratives, the airdrop track has also seen more options, with past big airdrops being Movement, Sonic, Berachian, etc. Binance Wallet's IDO is also a relatively good airdrop opportunity.

  • DeFi (Decentralized Finance): Such as Uniswap, AAVE, Curve, exploring liquidity mining, lending protocols, and DEX trading.

  • SocialFi (Social Finance): Such as Friend.tech, Lens Protocol, combining social and Web3 economic models, focusing on user growth and network effects.

  • GameFi (Blockchain Games): Combining blockchain and gaming models, such as Axie Infinity, BigTime, focusing on the sustainability of token economies and P2E models.

🚨 Important Reminder: Practice is the only shortcut, and paying tuition is unavoidable.

  • Try creating a wallet and engage in on-chain interactions, such as using DEX to exchange tokens, participate in GameFi games, and experience NFT trading.

  • Appropriately invest funds for practice, but control risks and avoid blindly investing due to FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).

  • Research project white papers extensively, understand their economic models and token incentive mechanisms.

  • Read more materials and keep learning.

Web3 Learning = Understanding + Practice + Trial and Error, the earlier you act, the faster you grow.

4. Consolidate & Reflect, Continuously Optimize Understanding

The Web3 industry changes rapidly, with new public chains, protocols, and economic models continuously emerging; continuous learning and review are key to long-term survival.

  • Stay updated with industry information: Follow news distribution channels like Twitter, Mirror, YouTube, Discord, Telegram, and pay attention to industry hotspots.

  • Look at others' methodologies: Learn from the analyses of top researchers (if unsure whom to look at, you can check Kaito's rankings), and understand how they evaluate projects.

  • Reflect on your decisions: After every trade, investment, or participation in a new project, ask yourself: What did I learn? How will I optimize next time?

Those who can truly stand firm in Web3 are those who continuously learn, dare to practice, and know how to summarize their experiences. The core of gambling in Web3 is not leaving the table.

Summary

The process of learning Web3 is a cycle of basic understanding → in-depth exploration → practical application in the field → reflection and optimization.
✅ Understanding the Web3 infrastructure, blockchain, wallets, and smart contracts are the core foundations.
✅ Familiarity with the Web3 ecosystem, understanding core concepts such as cryptocurrency, DApp, NFT, and DeFi.
✅ Choose a field to practice, GameFi, DeFi, Meme, and SocialFi are all good entry points.
✅ Continuously consolidate and optimize, pay attention to industry changes, and learn the thinking methods of top players.

💡 Remember, Web3 is not about watching how others make money, but about how you understand trends, find value points, and execute!