a16z crypto

We’ve just released our latest State of Crypto report. It shares insights on key trends — like stablecoins, L2s, and AI — plus, crypto’s rise as a hot policy issue, new data on builders and users, and much more. Here are 7 top takeaways ?? 1. Crypto activity and usage hit all-time highs 2. Crypto has become a key political issue ahead of the U.S. election 3. Stablecoins have found product-market fit 4. Major scaling upgrades have drastically reduced onchain transaction costs 5. DeFi remains popular — and it’s growing 6. Crypto could solve some of AI’s most pressing challenges 7. More scalable infrastructure has unlocked new onchain applications Check out the full report: https://lnkd.in/gdyBPEEp

DePIN is one of the most exciting areas in crypto right now. Great progress being made across decentralized wireless, mapping, energy, and more.

We recently hosted some of the most talented builders in the UK to compete and collaborate on AI, crypto, healthcare+bio, and frontier tech projects. Thank you to everyone who joined and helped make the event happen.

I’ve been closely tracking how stablecoins will change payments since I worked on Project Hamilton at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Stablecoin adoption always seemed a few years away, but they have finally arrived. Stablecoins are an onchain store of value and a medium of exchange, but for most users they are an onchain dollar, redeemable for a dollar. Stablecoins have found product market fit – they're a nearly free, nearly instant, infinitely flexible payments platform. There are over $160B stablecoins issued & stablecoins were used for 2x the volume of the Visa network! ($8.5T v $3.9T in Q2 '24). More than 60M wallets sent stablecoins that same quarter. By looking at 10 years of stablecoin history and 250 years of US banking history, specifically the evolution of money & bank deposits - we can peak into the future of stablecoin adoption Fiat-backed stablecoins like USDC or USDT mimic old National Bank Notes -- a bearer note redeemable for a stable asset like a bond or specie. Asset-backed stablecoins (stablecoins created by lending protocols) extend the onchain money supply -- similar to how the traditional money supply is extended by bank lending. There is also a new category of dollar token that we call a Strategy-backed Synthetic Dollar (SBSDs). SBSDs are a dollar share in an onchain hedge fund -- useful for investors, but less safe than a stablecoin or money in a bank deposit. There's a reason why regulators prevent bank deposits from being invested in hedge fund strategies -- to keep the money safe. But this analysis only takes us so far: Stablecoins are the cheapest way to send a dollar. Stablecoins can reset the market structure in the payments industry, creating opportunities for incumbents and for startups to build on a new platform of frictionless and cost-free payments! Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eSQNHyir -- None of the above should be taken as investment advice or an advertisement for investment services; see a16z.com/disclosures for further information.

We estimate that there are 30-60 million monthly active crypto users. This is just 5-10% of people who own crypto. How did we arrive at this number? Learn here: https://lnkd.in/eXAtxevQ

Consolidation is happening across the U.S. economy. 5 banks control nearly half of all assets. 6 tech companies make up more than half the Nasdaq 100’s value. Crypto can help decentralize power. Full report: https://lnkd.in/gdyBPEEp --- This is an excerpt of a16z crypto’s State of Crypto. The full report should be read in its entirety for important disclosures and context. None of the above should be taken as investment advice or an advertisement for investment services; see a16z.com/disclosures for further information.

We’ve been flooded with crypto founders asking us what the recent election means for their projects. TLDR: We have an incredible opportunity to build on the bipartisan progress from the last Congress and bring the best of crypto to the world. You’ll hear a lot of speculation and hot takes in the coming weeks, but it’s too early to tell how everything will shake out. Nevertheless, we believe that we now have a future where we can deliver on the many consumer benefits that we’ve been excited about: giving people ownership over their digital identities, new business models for creatives, low to no-fee cross border transactions with stablecoins, development of physical infrastructure like energy grids, and so much more that we can’t even imagine yet. We’re optimistic that with clearer rules, it will make it easier to identify and shut down bad actors and allow well-meaning projects to take off. The future of crypto in the U.S. is bright! Our full thoughts below ????

Full house for CSX Demo Day in NYC. CSX connects founders with capital, a network of industry experts, and a cohort of leading web3 teams. We focus on the expertise, mentorship, and support startups need to build ambitious products across industries. Today, our NYC cohort will be presenting to a room full of investors and leaders in the industry. Here’s Jason Rosenthal kicking it off.

Crypto has broken into the national discourse this election cycle. So we measured swing states’ relative levels of crypto interest. Two battlegrounds expected to be among the tightest races in November — Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — have seen the fourth- and fifth-biggest jumps in crypto search interest since the last election in 2020, measured as a proportion of total searches using Google Trends. Learn more in the full post: https://lnkd.in/gknsug2U

Today we’re contributing over $23m in additional funds to Fairshake and its affiliated PACs for the 2026 midterm election cycle. No matter what happens on Election Day we are taking a long-term approach to our policy efforts. Contributing to Fairshake is just one important component to achieving our ultimate goal of achieving clear laws to govern the crypto industry while protecting consumers and allowing entrepreneurs to build with confidence. Many industries come to DC asking to roll back rules, and we have come to DC asking to establish them. You can read my full thoughts here: https://lnkd.in/gmdP8w_y