Marc Andreessen reignites Twitter spat over Web3 after Jack Dorsey snubs World Economic Forum

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Billionaire venture capitalist Marc Andreessen reignited a spat about the future of the internet with Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. 

After Dorsey snubbed the World Economic Forum as "useless" on Twitter, Andreessen, who is the cofounder of the venture capital firm a16z, named himself the new chairman of the organization and said he would rename it Wef3 — a reference to the next version of the internet known as Web3. The actual chairman of the Switzerland-based World Economic Forum, the international organization behind the annual Davos convention, is professor Klaus Schwab.

The tweets follow a December spat ignited by Dorsey who dissed Web3 on Twitter by saying venture capitalists like a16z — not individual users — own the next version of the internet. Andreessen then blocked Dorsey on Twitter, to which the Twitter founder responded, «I'm officially banned from web3.»

Though the definition of Web3 remains loose, enthusiasts have described it as an decentralized virtual world run on blockchain technology. It would be the successor to Web 2.0, which critics have said is wholly owned by the largest tech firms. 

Andreessen's firm, based in Silicon Valley, has been busy investing in startups heading into the future internet. Last year, it raised more than $2 billion for a crypto fund, one of the largest ever. The firm has invested in non-fungible token companies like OpenSea and Dapper Labs as well as crypto wallet-maker Phantom, and blockchain Solana.

Jack Dorsey, who is now solely focused on digital financial services provider Block (formerly Square) after stepping down as CEO of Twitter, is a vocal bitcoin bull. His Twitter bio, simply reads "#bitcoin," and he previously said the cryptocurrency would