Caught in a Web2 - The Daily Gwei #409
You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
The web2 revolution was a big deal - a really big deal - and has led to the creation of an incredible amount of value for billions of people. Of course, this hasn’t come without its drawbacks & negative outcomes, but web3 is aiming to fix some of these (centralization, gatekeeping, closed systems etc). Though, like with any new technology, there is push-back from the incumbents that are either willfully ignorant or actively working against a change that they feel is a threat to their business and way of life.
I’ll be honest - I’m very surprised that web3 is facing such stiff resistance from those who were at the forefront of the greatest revolution in technology since the industrial age. They built companies that disrupted entire industries & left them for dead, they skirted regulations to achieve their goals, and they used new technologies to empower the everyday person. This sounds familiar, right? That’s because it’s essentially what crypto/web3 is trying to do for basically everything - especially finance - so it’s totally insane that these web2 pioneers would be working against something that they themselves have been championing for decades!
I think a major issue is that the view that the web2 folk have of the crypto/web3 industry is totally dominated by mainstream media. All they see is headlines of scams, hacks, pump & dumps and a tonne of blatantly incorrect information which then leads them to form a strong opinion based on poor data. You’d think that these people would dig a little deeper, talk to the smart web3 people, and become much more informed but alas they are still subject to the human condition just like the rest of us. I’m sure in time there will be plenty of skeptics that come over to the web3 fields, but it’s unfortunately going to be an uphill battle.
I don’t think that the incumbents pushing back on web3 are going to slow it down at all - if anything it’ll just energize the web3/crypto community to keep building in order to disrupt these businesses even quicker. That’s the thing with technological progress - it never stops even if there are roadblocks put in place - you can’t kill an idea and you certainly can’t kill the entrepreneurial spirit of people who want to change the world. Add on to this that crypto/web3 is a truly global movement and people can build billion dollar businesses/DAOs while remaining completely anonymous and you have yourself a recipe for explosive disruption.
I expect the web2 vs web3 debate to rage on for years to come even though I believe the outcome has already been decided (spoiler alert: web3 wins). Though let’s not get sloppy - there’s still an enormous amount of work to do - but from what I’ve seen the web3 ecosystem has never been healthier, more energized and more motivated - I can’t wait to see what the crazy web3 builders come up with next.
Have a great day everyone,
Anthony Sassano
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All information presented above is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice.
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