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Web3 is a relatively new term that describes the next stage evolution of the internet which incorporates blockchain technology and various forms of crypto assets. One of the main themes of web3 is decentralization and enabling participants to truly own their digital identities and assets instead of relying on the whims of tech industry giants.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that big companies are not engaging with web3 technologies, as both crypto-native and traditional tech companies are actively building out web3 infrastructure and onboarding users to this new and exciting stage of the internet.
In this article, we’ll give you a broad overview of the crypto and blockchain industry by showcasing the most important web3 companies today. We’ve selected web3 companies from a variety of sectors, including exchanges, infrastructure companies, development studios, blockchain analysis firms and more.
The top 8 web3 companies in 2023
Without further ado, let’s get into our list of the top web3 companies in the world today.
- Coinbase - A publicly-listed crypto exchange platform
- ConsenSys - Leading development and infrastructure company for the Ethereum ecosystem
- Binance - The biggest crypto exchange in the world
- Alchemy - Web3 infrastructure and development tools
- Polygon Labs - Ethereum scaling solutions used by major companies
- OpenSea - The leading NFT marketplace
- Yuga Labs - The creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club
- Chainalysis - The leading blockchain analysis firm
1. Coinbase - A publicly-listed crypto exchange platform
Coinbase is a cryptocurrency industry giant that’s primarily focused on operating a cryptocurrency exchange platform, although it also offers a variety of other web3-related services.
Coinbase was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong, and rose to prominence as one of the best platforms where users could exchange between fiat currency and Bitcoin. Today, Coinbase lists well over 200 cryptocurrencies and also offers support for a variety of fiat currencies such as the US dollar, euro and the British pound. As a crypto exchange, Coinbase has a global presence and offers trading services in more than 100 countries.
Besides its crypto trading products, Coinbase also provides institutional-grade cryptocurrency custody services, a non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet, crypto payments processing, an NFT marketplace and more. The company has also developed Base, a layer 2 platform that functions on top of the Ethereum blockchain.
Notably, Coinbase is a publicly-traded company, having secured a listing under the ticker COIN on the Nasdaq stock exchange in April 2021. The company has a market capitalization of $17.4 billion, more than 3,400 employees and secures over $120 billion in customer assets.
2. ConsenSys - Leading development and infrastructure company for the Ethereum ecosystem
ConsenSys is a web3 development company that develops software and provides web3 infrastructure with a particular focus on the Ethereum ecosystem. Consensys was founded in 2014 by Joseph Lubin, who was one of the co-founders of the Ethereum project.
The best-known product developed under the wing of ConsenSys is MetaMask, an Ethereum wallet that has become the industry standard for Ethereum wallets. MetaMask serves more than 30 million monthly active users, making it one of the most successful cryptocurrency apps in the world.
However, ConsenSys is also the company behind Infura, which is a comprehensive platform for web3 development. Infura’s RPC (remote procedure call) node infrastructure is a crucial part of the Ethereum ecosystem, and the Infura platform serves a whopping 2 trillion requests per year.
Besides MetaMask and Infura, ConsenSys has also developed the Linea layer 2 platform for Ethereum, the Truffle suite of smart contract development tools, the Teku client for Ethereum 2.0, and many other products and services.
3. Binance - The biggest crypto exchange in the world
Binance probably needs no introduction to most cryptocurrency traders and investors, as it’s the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange by a considerable
Binance was launched in 2017 and conducted an ICO (initial coin offering) to secure initial funding for the project. The CEO of Binance is Changpeng Zhao, who is one of the most influential figures in the cryptocurrency industry.
The token that Binance sold through the ICO is called BNB. Binance’s ICO was one of the most successful ICOs of all time, as BNB is currently the 4th largest crypto asset overall and commands a market capitalization of over $32 billion at the time of writing.
Today, Binance handles well over $10 billion in daily trading volume across its spot and futures markets. It lists more than 350 cryptocurrencies, which are available for trading across over 1,300 pairs.
Binance doesn’t just offer basic trading functionality, as its suite of products touches upon practically all aspects of crypto investing, trading and usage. For example, Binance provides products that allow users to earn passive income with their cryptocurrencies, an NFT marketplace, crypto lending, mining pools, trading bots and more.
Binance has expanded extremely rapidly, and this has caused some clashes with regulatory agencies across the globe. However, the exchange has so far been quite successful in navigating the uncertainties, and is still firmly positioned as the leading crypto exchange in the industry.
4. Alchemy - Web3 infrastructure and development tools
Alchemy is a web 3 infrastructure company that offer a truly impressive suite of products for web3 development. The company was founded in 2017 by Joseph Lau, and reached unicorn status in 2021, when it was valued at around $3.5 billion in a $250 million Series C funding round.
Alchemy’s solutions support development on Ethereum, Solana, Optimism and several other blockchain platforms. The company provides APIs, software development kits, RPC nodes and other tools that allow teams to launch decentralized applications or products that interact with web3.
For example, the Alchemy Build suite of tools allows developers to debug code, create prototypes and analyze blockchain activity. The Alchemy Monitor dashboard allows web3 developers to monitor the performance of their blockchain-based applications and get insights into user activity.
Alchemy’s list of customers includes a swath of prominent web3 projects, including the likes of OpenSea, Lido, Polygon, LayerZero, GMX, Curve, Zapper and many others.
5. Polygon Labs - Ethereum scaling solutions used by major companies
Polygon Labs is the web3 company behind the Polygon suite of Ethereum scalability solutions. Polygon was first introduced to the cryptocurrency community in 2019, when it held an IEO (initial exchange offering) on the Binance cryptocurrency exchange. At the time, the Polygon project was called Matic Network, which is why the token used by Polygon’s solutions is called MATIC.
The most prominent platform in the Polygon ecosystem is the Polygon PoS platform, which is one of the most popular options for users who require an Ethereum-compatible blockchain with significantly lower transaction costs. However, Polygon is also building a range of other Ethereum-based platforms, including Polygon zkEVM, Polygon Miden and Polygon ID.
The Polygon PoS platform has been used by several mainstream companies that are trying to get their foot into web3. For example, Nike has launched its .Swoosh web3 platform on the Polygon blockchain, and Reddit uses Polygon for its Collectible Avatars NFTs.
MATIC is currently the 16th largest crypto asset on the market, and commands a market cap of $4.2 billion.
6. OpenSea - The leading NFT marketplace
OpenSea is the biggest marketplace for NFTs (non-fungible tokens), and is the leading platform for traders and collectors of popular NFT collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, Azuki and DeGods.
The OpenSea platform supports a variety of NFT types, ranging from PFP NFTs to 1-of-1 artworks, music, photography and more.
The hype surrounding NFTs has dropped considerably from its peak in late 2021 and early 2022, and this is reflected in OpenSea’s declining trading volume. In August of 2023, OpenSea handled $106 million worth of trading volume, a far cry from the $4.8 billion mark the platform achieved in January of 2022.
In 2022, OpenSea raised a $300 million round which valued the company at a whopping $13.3 billion. This valuation is now likely much lower — for example, Tiger Global marked down its investment into OpenSea by a whopping 76%.
However, OpenSea is still a leading player in the NFT sector, and stands to benefit considerably if enthusiasm for various forms of crypto collectibles returns in the future.
7. Yuga Labs - The creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club
Yuga Labs is the company that created the BAYC (Bored Ape Yacht Club) collection, which is arguably the biggest NFT success story so far. When the BAYC collection was being launched, users could purchase an NFT from the collection for 0.08 ETH. At its peak in May 2022, the BAYC floor price was 153 ETH, representing a 1,912x increase in value (in ETH terms) compared to the initial price.
The stunning success of BAYC unsurprisingly attracted a lot of interest from investors. Yuga Labs raised a seed round in June of 2022 which valued the company at a whopping $4 billion.
Currently, Yuga Labs is working on a metaverse world called the Otherside, which features land parcels that were sold as NFTs. According to Yuga Labs, holders of various NFT collections will be able to utilize them as avatars in the expansive virtual world.
The Otherside metaverse is not playable yet, but players have been able to experience it briefly through demos. So far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive, with participants praising the platform’s capability of smoothly handling a large number of players simultaneously.
In 2022, Yuga Labs acquired the intellectual property for CryptoPunks and Meebits, which are two highly influential NFT collections created by Larva Labs.
8. Chainalysis - The leading blockchain analysis firm
Chainalysis develops software for both businesses and law enforcement that analyzes blockchain activity and monitors for suspicious transactions. For example, Chainalysis assisted the U.S. Department of Justice in the investigation that ultimately led to the seizure of $1 billion worth of Bitcoin which was allegedly stolen from the illegal Silk Road marketplace by a hacker.
Chainalysis’s suite of products includes Reactor, which allows users to connect crypto transactions to real-world entities, providing deep insights into both legitimate and illegitimate activity on the blockchain. Meanwhile, the KYT tool allows businesses such as cryptocurrency intelligence to monitor transactions in real time and flag potentially suspicious activity.
In May of 2022, Chainalysis raised a $170 million funding round which valued the company at $8.6 billion, making it one of the most valuable web3 companies in the world.
The bottom line
The number of large companies that the web3 sector has produced is extremely impressive given that Bitcoin was introduced to the world less than 15 years ago. We hope that our article helped you get a better overview of the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry’s biggest players and how they became the leaders of this emerging sector.
If you’re interested in web3 jobs, make sure to explore our article highlighting the top web3 jobs you can get right now.