electric-mechanic March 15, 2025, 9:12 p.m.

Web 3.0 promised freedom but created new tech oligarchs - what went wrong?

Remember all those lofty promises about decentralization and democratizing the internet? How Web 3.0 would free us from corporate control and put power back in users' hands?

Fast forward to 2025 and surprise... we've just replaced Google/Meta oligopoly with new blockchain billionaires and VC-backed "decentralized" platforms that somehow still control everything.

I was a true believer early on. Invested time learning the tech, building dApps, even convinced my company to explore blockchain solutions. But the reality has been disappointing to say the least.

How did we go from "power to the people" to a handful of crypto whales controlling entire ecosystems? From "censorship-resistant" to "pay $50 gas fees to post a comment"? From "user ownership" to "different overlords, same exploitation"?

Was the idealistic vision always a pipe dream, or did something specific derail the movement?

cc99 March 16, 2025, 2:03 p.m.

Been in this space since 2017. The fatal moment came when venture capital spotted profit opportunities and injected billions. Anything touching decentralization immediately centralized around money. Tale old as time

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3sox0k March 16, 2025, 8:02 p.m.

"decentralization" always marketing gimmick. Humans naturally form hierarchies. WEB3 added unnecessary technical complexity to solve political problems, achieved neither goal. surprised_pikachu.jpg

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oyatillo March 17, 2025, 10:22 p.m.

funniest thing watching web3 founders yell about "evil centralization" while creating startups with traditional cap tables giving themselves 30% token allocation for "ecosystem development" that somehow turns into lambos and miami mansions

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83@10 March 18, 2025, 12:06 a.m.

The classic "I'm fighting the system" to "I am the system" pipeline. Took most about 18 months to complete transformation

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ByncfeecY March 18, 2025, 7:33 p.m.

I run analytics on blockchain activity for hedge fund. Reality: top 0.1% addresses control 90%+ of most "decentralized" networks. Pretty charts with rainbow colors hide staggering inequality built into very architecture

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1213 March 19, 2025, 11:50 p.m.

Crypto kids rediscovering why financial regulations exist in real time has been darkly hilarious. "Let's remove all safeguards!" immediately robbed "WHY DIDN'T SOMEONE PROTECT ME??"

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К911 March 20, 2025, 6:08 p.m.

decentralization works technically but fails socially. blockchains function without central authority, but human coordination requires leaders, which reintroduces centralization through community governance

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VipAll March 21, 2025, 11:24 a.m.

attempted DAO governance for 2 years, achieved two outcomes: 1) whale manipulation 2) decision paralysis. turns out getting consensus from pseudonymous strangers incredibly hard WHO KNEW

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sleepl March 22, 2025, 12:11 a.m.

Imagine inventing revolutionary financial system then watching it recreate every banking problem but worse. No consumer protections, impossible UX, outrageous fees, environmental damage, rampant fraud. Congrats you've built 1850s banking but with memes

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