Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said on Twitter that VCs were gaining all the benefits of Web3 and that it was another form of centralization. Many notable names fought back, dismissing the criticism.
Former Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey launched a series of disparaging tweets against venture capitalists and corporations on Dec 21. Dorsey stepped down as Twitter CEO early in December 2021, sparking much discussion about the move.
Dorsey’s latest tweets, made over the course of two days, remarked that “the problem” was with VCs, not end-users. He said that retail investors and users don’t own Web3, but that VCs and their limited partners do. He called it “ultimately a centralized entity with a different label” and that users should and “know what [they’re] getting into.”
The overall sentiment of the tweets was that all the benefits of Web3 would be going towards VCs and not the public as it was originally envisioned to. VCs like Balaji Srinivasan and a partner at VC a16z fought back, disagreeing with the view.
Srinivasan said that Twitter itself has become a slave to corporate and political incentives, which led to deplatforming and censorship. A16z partner Chris Dixon also responded with criticism to the tweet, but Dorsey retorted by calling a16z “a fund determined to be a media empire that can’t be ignored…not Gandhi.”
Even Elon Musk replied to the tweet, saying he “couldn’t find” Web3. Dorsey responded by quipping that “it’s somewhere between a and z.” Musk has also criticized Web3 in the past.
Dorsey also rebutted Srinivasan’s statement on Twitter, saying that the platform had begun as a corporation. He elaborated that Web3 had corporate incentives but was hiding them under decentralization.
While Dorsey is clearly opposed to how Web3 is being taken to by VCs, he is all for decentralization. The entrepreneur has on multiple occasions shown support for bitcoin and decentralized initiatives.
Dorsey all for decentralization
Dorsey’s departure from Twitter brought about some speculation as to why it happened. Some believe it had to do with Twitter’s increasing censorship. Indeed, after Dorsey left, Twitter changed its privacy policy and began implementing bans.
It’s hard to say why Dorsey left, but it’s clear that he was not happy with how things were generally proceeding in the tech space. Censorship has become a hot topic in 2021 and will remain a point of contention in the future.
Dorsey is now leading the initiatives of Block, formerly known as Square. The company has made multiple forays into the cryptocurrency space. He announced in Nov. 2021 that there would be a new product for “at home” bitcoin mining, besides asking for help in building an open, decentralized exchange for bitcoin.
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