The third generation of the internet (or “Web3”) is usually associated with cryptocurrencies and NFTs, but its appeal is potentially much wider. Photo: Shutterstock

The third generation of the internet (or “Web3”) is usually associated with cryptocurrencies and NFTs, but its appeal is potentially much wider. Photo: Shutterstock

On 6 June, the Luxembourg Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence) announced the launch of a market study on blockchain, its developments and its implications. The study will be conducted by Thibault Schrepel, researcher and law professor.

If and when blockchain deployment becomes widespread, how will it affect the web of competitive balances in Luxembourg and Europe?

Luxembourg’s Competition Authority plans to explore answers to this question via a new study that aims to document the competitive landscape of Web3 (the third generation of the internet), its interaction with Web2 and potential anti-competitive practices in its usage.

Given the complex nature of this technology, the competition authority has called on Thibault Schrepel, researcher and law professor (at Stanford and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) and author of Blockchain + Antitrust: The Decentralization Formula (2021, Edward Elgar Publishing) to carry out the study. Schrepel, the world-leading expert on competition within the crypto-economy, will begin contacting relevant organisations in Europe in the coming weeks.

According to the competition authority, the blockchain sector had attracted $30bn in investment by 2021 and is expected to reach one billion users by 2031.

The competition authority also invites anyone with relevant information to share it with them at [email protected].

This article in Paperjam. It has been translated and edited for Delano. Updated 7 June at 3pm to correct email address provided by the competition authority.

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