Haseeb, managing partner at Dragonfly, took a direct jab at the prevailing narrative that regulation and scams killed consumer web3 gaming and media. In a recent exchange with Chris from a16z crypto, he argued the failure goes deeper: users simply did not want these products.
“Arguments blaming Gary Gensler or rampant scams for why web3 games and media failed don’t hold up,” Haseeb said. He pointed out that financial crypto—Bitcoin, stablecoins, DeFi—faced far heavier regulatory scrutiny and an even greater frequency of scams, yet still achieved real adoption. That contrast undermines the convenience excuse. He noted that massive amounts of capital and talent tried to force consumer web3, but the pull from users never materialized.
Financial Use Cases: Scaled From the Bottom Up
Haseeb listed a chain of crypto use cases that have genuinely attracted users: Bitcoin, stablecoins, Ethereum, ICOs, DeFi, NFTs, prediction markets, and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). All of them are financial by nature. He emphasized that adoption happened bottom-up, driven by observed user demand rather than investor narratives. “Investors discovered demand through on-chain usage, not pitch decks,” he remarked.He contrasted this with the 2014 vision for Ethereum laid out by Vitalik Buterin—issuance, derivatives, DAOs, savings, insurance, prediction markets—all finance-oriented. “Finance accounts for a massive share of global economic activity,” Haseeb said. He also cited widespread dissatisfaction with traditional banking infrastructure as a natural driver for on-chain alternatives.
a16z: Crypto Is in a Financial Phase, Infrastructure Comes First
Chris from a16z crypto acknowledged Haseeb's point but framed it within a broader timeline. He stated that crypto is currently in a financial phase, but this isn't the destination. Blockchains introduced ownership-based coordination at internet scale, he explained, and finance is the natural first use case—not the last. “Infrastructure must precede consumer categories,” Chris said, drawing a parallel to the early internet where protocols and infrastructure were built before mass consumer applications emerged.Chris admitted that scams eroded trust and regulatory pressure has limited token-based communities. However, a16z crypto has been pushing for clearer token regulation for over five years. He referenced the recently proposed GENIUS framework as validation that the policy direction is shifting. “Market structure legislation could follow a similar path,” he added. The implication: consumer web3 may only thrive once ownership rules and financial rails are fully settled.