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A New Era Begins! a16z Partner Chris Dixon Explains the Differences and Importance of "Web3.0"

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A New Era Begins! a16z Partner Chris Dixon Explains the Differences and Importance of "Web3.0"

a16z partner Chris Dixon tweeted about the importance of Web 3.0, highlighting that NFTs, cryptocurrencies, and decentralization of power will be the main focus. This seems to signal the end of the era dominated by tech giants. The tweet has been widely shared, sparking both agreement and disagreement among people.

The Evolution of the Internet Age

1. Web 1 - Approximately 1990-2005: Driven primarily by decentralized, community-governed open-source protocols, with the main value generated at the edges of the network, i.e., users and developers.

2. Web 2 - Approximately 2005-2020: Mainly characterized by centralized services provided by corporations, with the primary value concentrated in a few companies like Google, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook.

3. Web 3 - Currently in its nascent stage: It combines the decentralization and community governance ethos of Web 1 with the advanced, modern functionalities of Web 2. It is an internet owned by users and builders, driven by token rewards.

Challenges of Today's Tech Giants

Chris Dixon referenced his 2018 article to discuss the issues with centralized platforms. Their rise follows a pattern:

  1. Aggressively recruiting users, creators, and developers to strengthen their network effects.
  2. Platforms stabilize and grow influence over users and third parties, reaching the peak of the S-curve adoption.
  3. The relationship between the platform and network participants shifts from positive-sum to zero-sum.
  4. Platforms start extracting user data, competing with former partners to sustain growth.

Typical cases include:

  • Microsoft and Netscape
  • Google and Yelp
  • Facebook and Zynga
  • Twitter and third-party clients
  • Epic and Apple

From the perspective of third-party collaborators, the transition from cooperation to competition with the platform resembles a classic "Bait and Switch" process. As time progresses, top entrepreneurs, developers, and investors have learned not to develop on centralized platforms: "It will stifle innovation."

Distinguishing Features of Web 3

In Web 3, ownership and control are decentralized, allowing users and builders to hold NFTs, fungible tokens (FTs), and other tokens to access specific network services.

NFTs grant users ownership, giving them a stake in parts of the internet.

NFTs enable users to own items like art, photos, code, music, or anything imaginable, which can be acquired through purchase or rewards using NFTs and FT tokens. Dixon used Uniswap's governance token airdrop as an example, believing similar incentives will become more common in Web 3.

In Dixon's description of Web 3, users can earn tokens through various activities, aligning participants towards network development and token appreciation.

Previously, value was monopolized by tech giants, which eventually compete with users and partners. Web 3 offers a new way that combines the advantages of previous internet eras.

Dixon concludes that Web 3 is still in its early stages and presents a great opportunity for involvement.

Views from Various Sectors

Coinbase CEO retweeted, indicating that many do not realize that cryptocurrency is the third generation of the internet, and when combined with decentralization, it becomes Web 3, aligning perfectly with financial inclusion and resisting the power of tech giants.

Coinbase senior engineer Luke Youngblood:

Sadly, I see many developers and companies dismiss web3 because they think crypto is a bubble with no use case beyond speculation. It's as silly as ignoring the App Store in the web2 era. Crypto is creating wealth, and early adopters are visionary.

Since Dixon only mentioned Ethereum in the article, there are contrasting opinions as expressed:

Web3 sounds great, but that's you trying to deploy smart contracts on Ethereum before it costs $8,000.

Another Twitter user pointed out that Dixon's tweets about Web3 and decentralization are disappointing, as he completely disregarded truly decentralized Bitcoin, and tokens controlled by venture capital and developers have no decentralization whatsoever.