On Tuesday, Andreessen Horowitz published a study on the current state of crypto adoption in Silicon Valley. It emphasizes Ethereum as the most well-supported blockchain network for developers, yet it doesn’t discuss Bitcoin’s development in detail.
The Promise of Web 3
The firm’s report was boiled down into five key takeaways regarding crypto’s present condition. The panel began by suggesting that the business is in the midst of its fourth price revolution.
According to the cycle theory, developer activity and creativity thrive during a crypto bull run. The crypto market has entered a bearish trend, according to many experts, as the Federal Reserve tightens monetary policy.
Web 2, in addition, is a more inviting environment for its content producers than web 3 platforms, according to the report. OpenSea, on the other hand, charges just 2.5 percent fees for NFT sales, despite the fact that Facebook takes nearly all of the revenue from its content providers.
The term “Web 2” is a moniker for the current state of the internet. Despite the fact that it has a wide range of features, its management is dominated by a small number of business behemoths. In contrast, the term “web 3” refers to a decentralized internet with blockchain technology that may be accessible through web browsers.
However, smart contracts – self-executing code that powers decentralized apps – are required for web 3 to be more useful. The programming language of Bitcoin isn’t particularly friendly to smart contracts, leaving the majority of Ethereum crypto developers out in the cold.
Ethereum has more than 4000 monthly active developers, while Bitcoin only has 500. Despite having a shorter lifespan than Bitcoin and Solana, Solana nevertheless boasts a larger developer pool at nearly 1000.
Is Bitcoin mentioned in any way?
The report was surprisingly vague on Bitcoin, given its importance as a smart contract platform. Despite this, the document made no mention of Bitcoin, which remains the most valuable digital asset by market capitalization and has total market dominance of over 44 percent.
In December, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey – a prominent Bitcoin advocate – criticized a16z for overselling “web 3” over Bitcoin. The firm’s leader, Chris Dixon, claimed that the decentralized internet would ultimately be dominated by the VC company. A16z general partner Marc Andreessen blocked the billionaire in response.
Bitcoin is mostly used for simple financial tasks, such as transactions and value storage. However, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently acknowledged that finance is presently the most essential use for blockchain.
