The newest buzzword in today’s tech world, Web3, vaguely refers to a utopian and decentralized version of the internet, anchored in the blockchain of digital recording technology that also runs cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether.
Web3 recently joined the ranks of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and Metaverse to become a tech buzzword that generated significant attention and funding this year.
Billionaires and top tech CEOs Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey, however, rejected the so-called Web3, issuing scathing criticism of the involvement of venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz in the creation of the so-called next phase of the internet.
“Has anyone seen web3? I can’t find it,” Tesla CEO Musk tweeted last Tuesday.
That tweet generated a response from Dorsey, the former CEO of Twitter Inc, who responded, “It’s somewhere between a and z.”
Venture capital firms like a16z, founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, have warmly welcomed blockchain, crypto, and Web3.
According to its supporters, Web3 aims to give users stakes in platforms and applications, while Web2, the current iteration of the internet, is dominated by a very limited number of major technology giants such as Meta Platforms Inc and Alphabet’s Google.
Dorsey warned the optimists of Web3 in a recent tweet, saying, “You don’t own “web3, The VCs and their LPs do. It will never escape their incentives. It’s ultimately a centralized entity with a different label. Know what you’re getting into…”
Dorsey’s tweet garnered thousands of likes and retweets, but many also voiced their disapproval.
For more information, read the original story in Reuters.
