How to Build a Better Internet: 10 Principles for World leaders Shaping the Future of Web3

Tomicah Tillemann and James Rathmell

The year 2021 marked a watershed moment for web3. Significant numbers of policymakers began to grasp the potential of web3 to democratize access to opportunity, provide individuals with more control of their data, and build a better internet. In the year ahead, many of these leaders will work to create legal and regulatory architecture to sustain the broad adoption of web3 platforms.

These developments are encouraging, but it’s still unclear which countries and regions will emerge as winners in the global competition to leverage web3 to power more dynamic institutions and economies. We’ve heard from officials on every populated continent who are looking to build responsible web3 policy frameworks to benefit the communities they serve. They face the challenge of delivering on the extraordinary promise of web3 while mitigating the real risks that accompany the deployment of a new technology.

In response, we’re releasing a list of 10 principles for world leaders shaping the future of web3. These recommendations have emerged from discussions with stakeholders in the public sector, private sector, and civil society who are on the front lines of innovation and policy. Specifically, our agenda suggests that governments should:

  1. Establish a clear vision to foster decentralized digital infrastructure

  2. Embrace multi-stakeholder approaches to governance and regulation

  3. Create targeted, risk-calibrated oversight regimes for different web3 activities

  4. Foster innovation with composability, open source code, and the power of open communities

  5. Broaden access to the economic benefits of the innovation economy

  6. Unlock the potential of DAOs

  7. Deploy web3 to further sustainability goals

  8. Embrace the role of well-regulated stablecoins in financial inclusion and innovation

  9. Collaborate with other nations to harmonize standards and regulatory frameworks

  10. Provide clear, fair tax rules for the reporting of digital assets, and leverage technical solutions for tax compliance

Governments that embrace these principles will be well positioned to realize the benefits of web3 and better equipped to address unanticipated challenges on the path to population-scale adoption.

Contributors

  • Tomicah Tillemann

  • James Rathmell

More From These Contributors

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