Andreessen's Dixon Spies Riches in Web3. Others See Rubbish

"Blockchains provide a powerful new way to build networks where the network effects accrue as public goods, as they did in web1," Dixon tweeted

For Andreessen Horowitz's Chris Dixon, there are billions of dollars at stake in the blockchain-based future of the internet known as web3. But even as the venture capitalist charms his investors with dreams of what this next stage could bring, his vision relies on an untested premise — chiefly, the presumption that if you build it, everyone will come. Will they, though? 💯 https://t.co/YaEO5tLlWl Network effects are the main source of user and developer lock-in. If I try to leave Twitter, I lose the followers I built up over the years. That's because in web2 the network effects accrued to private companies like Twitter. web1: read web2: read, write web3: read, write, own https://t.co/VtJMsQzTE8

If the first version of the internet was read-only, and the second allowed us to upload our everyday lives to MySpace and Facebook, web3 is where we get to own those outcomes and take them with us. Instead of the tech giants making money from your data, proponents like Dixon believe in decentralizing their power via blockchain networks: Everyone gets a share of the prize, everyone gets a say in how it's run, and it's all written down publicly so nobody can quibble.

It sounds like progress, and yet even in infancy, this digital utopian plan has faced criticism for not achieving its goal. Major crypto and blockchain-based companies like Coinbase Global Inc. and OpenSea already claim massive market share, poised to become the next Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc. Meanwhile, as Twitter Inc. co-founder and Bitcoin advocate Jack Dorsey has pointed out, a handful of venture capital firms own most of the web3 market. Andreessen, also known as a16z, is at the top of the list.