Tokenized Everything: Are We Selling Our Souls to Web3?

Web3 was supposed to set us free. You know the gist! Decentralization, financial empowerment, ownership. All big words, big promises. The idea was simple: take back control from banks, tech giants, and middlemen who profit from our data and hard-earned money. But are we missing what is slowly happening? Web3 seems to be turning every aspect of our lives into an asset to be bought, sold, or speculated on. We need to be aware of the world we are creating.

It started with real estate. Platforms like Lofty allow anyone to buy fractions of rental properties, turning homeownership into a tradable token. Then Gucci and Louis Vuitton launched digital fashion NFTs that blur the line between collectible and commodity. At first, I thought this seemed relatively harmless. If anything, it was just an extension of what already existed in traditional markets.

But then, people started selling access to themselves. Influencers tokenized their time, offering personal video calls and direct messages in exchange for crypto and fiat. Some projects introduced “social tokens,” where buying a share of someone’s token gives you privileges, like an investment, but in a person instead of a company. Even engagement on social media has become monetized, with users rewarded in tokens simply for paying attention. Money, money, money…

At some point, we must ask: what’s left? If everything is tokenized, does anything have value beyond its price tag?

The idea that Web3 would create a new digital economy was always part of the plan. I hear asset tokenization is expected to reach $5 trillion by 2030. Traditional institutions are already exploring ways to integrate blockchain into finance, real estate, and healthcare. But as we rush to turn everything into a marketplace, it’s worth asking what kind of world we’re building. Are we creating a future of empowerment, or simply hyper-capitalism where every interaction has a price? To be frank, even likes on social media have turned into a transaction of value. If I like you, you like me.

Web3 promised us ownership, but it never quite defined what we should own. Really think about it. If we’re not careful, we might wake up in a world where everything is for sale—including the things that were never meant to be for sale. Don’t get me wrong. I am fascinated by Web3 technology and what it can bring to society. I’m even bullish on it.

But what is priceless in our world? I would say that our trust, our lives, and our souls should be priceless. How can we trust it’s genuine and not just profit-driven when we start tokenizing our (digital) lives, including our identity, values, and humanness? Put differently, would you trust me if every aspect of me was always on sale?

I do not have all the answers, but these questions need to be raised as we embrace Web3 technology. So, what do you think? Are we tokenizing a bright future or just putting a price tag on things that were once priceless?