with @PrimordialAA @rhackett

In this episode, host Robert Hackett sits down with Bryan Pellegrino, cofounder and CEO of LayerZero, one of the core infrastructure projects that enables blockchains to talk to one another. We talk about why crypto went multichain, what it means for crypto to compete with legacy financial systems, and a lesson Bryan took firsthand from Elon Musk. We also get into Bryan’s background as a professional poker player, and how that has shaped his views on competition, conviction, and focus.

We go deep on founder psychology:
– When founders must replace early leadership — and why no one talks about it
– Why conviction matters more than advice
– And why the hardest decisions are the ones no playbook prepares you for

Highlights
0:00 – Introduction
0:47 – The need for interoperability
1:04 – How crypto went multichain
2:51 – The institutional adoption of crypto
6:56 – Focus and conviction
13:19 – The nature of competition
14:43 – Elon Musk's game-changing advice
18:48 – The importance of self-disruption
20:08 – Lightning round
22:56 – Challenges in scaling a company
26:46 – Book recommendations and productivity hacks
28:19 – Core principles and company culture

This episode is part of a special series of interviews we recorded live at our Founders Summit in October. 

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As always, none of the following should be taken as investment, business, legal, or tax advice. Please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.

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with @LairdLife @GabbyReece @AriannaSimpson

Today's episode features two people who’ve spent their careers performing at the highest levels in sport and business: big-wave surfing pioneer Laird Hamilton and former pro volleyball star Gabby Reece. 

They join a16z crypto General Partner Arianna Simpson for a conversation that explores what it takes to endure and excel over decades — how to get back up after setbacks, when to push versus change course, and how to build resilience and adaptability. They also get into stress, burnout, intuition, and why experience and self-care matter as much as data.

It’s a fitting conversation as we head into the New Year: a moment to reflect on habits, goals, and the kind of people we wish to become.

They cover:
– How extreme environments teach resilience
– When to keep pushing forward (and when to walk away)
– Why adaptability matters more than strength or intelligence
– How data confirms intuition
– What it takes to sustain performance across decades

Highlights:
(0:00) Opening on ambition, discomfort, and pushing beyond limits
(0:55) A near-fatal big-wave wipeout and the decision to return
(2:57) Learning how to recover after fear, injury, and loss
(3:55) When to keep going and when to stop
(6:10) Are you attracting the right people?
(6:39) Adaptability as the core skill for uncertain environments
(8:22) Sustaining energy over decades
(10:42) Approaching work with a beginner’s mindset
(11:58) Working together under pressure
(15:00) Taking a company public
(16:37) Breaking bad habits and forming good ones
(18:20) Science & data confirming instinct
(20:58) Daily practices that matter
(24:06) Personal scars and the early experiences that shape resilience
(26:32) Choosing the right people
(28:30) Practical ways to de-stress and regain focus

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As always, none of the following should be taken as investment, business, legal, or tax advice. Please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.

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with @smc90 @rhackett @stephbzinn @Tim_Org

In a now-annual tradition, the a16z crypto editorial team discuss themes (and picks) from a16z crypto's latest reading lists, as well as books we keep re-reading, childhood favorites, classics, adaptations on adaptations — in book and movie form! — and much more.

We cover:

• What genres are we reading now, how, and why?
• How is technology — from AI and ChatGPT to the internet and audio — changing reading?
• Why are certain themes in the zeitgeist right now?
• Is all non-fiction just fiction now (and should we lean into this for education)?
• Are the kids alright?

From irony, truth, and why context matters, to Machiavelli, Formula 1, and nautical non-fiction this episode has it all... check out our "what we're reading" lists, podcasts, and more here:
https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/tags/what-were-reading

Highlights
(0:00) Overview of the summer reading list
(0:33) The list goes beyond tech and business books
(2:02) Formula One, optimization, and recurring reading themes
(3:12) Favorite picks: ASML, semiconductors, and industrial history
(4:50) Memoirs, grief, and reading for emotional understanding
(6:40) Why nonfiction feels broken — and what replaces it
(8:20) Adventure, boats, and narrative nonfiction
(11:39) Letters, primary sources, and Renaissance writing
(17:30) Antimimetics, ideas that resist spreading, and fresh nonfiction
(19:00) Mark Twain, irony, influence, and unreliable narrators
(24:16) Podcasts/the internet as book discovery engines
(26:10) The internet replaces nonfiction?
(27:31) Anne of Green Gables and its effects
(30:21) The role of the author in fiction vs. nonfiction
(32:00) Historical fiction, context, and why it still matters
(38:12) Machiavelli and interpreting texts across time
(45:43) Gothic fiction, Dracula, and modern adaptations
(51:00) Film adaptations and creative ownership
(55:16) Audiobooks, narration, and reading styles
(1:00:54) Reading aloud, poetry, and rhythm
(1:06:44) Childhood books that shape worldview
(1:15:24) Young adult books worth revisiting
(1:18:29) Closing reflections and where to find the full list

***

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As always, none of the following should be taken as investment, business, legal, or tax advice. Please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.

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with @BChillman @jay_drainjr @rhackett

Crypto wallets are no longer just wallets. They’re the front door to a decentralized internet.

In this episode, Phantom CEO Brandon Millman joins a16z crypto Investment Partner Jay Drain and host Robert Hackett to unpack how crypto wallets are evolving into full-blown consumer finance platforms — and why they may be the most credible candidates to become the internet's next super apps.

We explore Phantom’s journey from a Solana-first wallet to a multi-chain platform, why wallets are uniquely positioned to win trust around money, and how features like onchain trading, perps, social feeds, prediction markets, and payments are reshaping what people expect from a consumer finance app.

The conversation also dives into:

• Why starting with finance may be a better path to a super app than starting with social
• How Phantom thinks about UX, trust, and security in crypto
• The rise of perpetual futures (perps) and prediction markets
• What the FTX collapse meant for Solana — and the counterintuitive silver lining
• Whether AI agents could one day replace apps and browsers

If you’re curious about where crypto, fintech, and consumer apps are headed next — and why wallets may become the most important interface on the internet — this episode is for you.

Highlights
01:32 – The evolution and role of crypto wallets
2:42 – Wallets vs. browsers: the right mental model
12:03 – Phantom’s origin story and the Solana bet
19:05 – Perps, trading, and product-market fit
26:08 – UX, trust, and consumer finance
30:52 – Social feeds, discovery, and network effects
35:21 – Crypto as "black hole" absorbing finance
37:09 – AI agents and the future of wallets

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***

As always, none of the following should be taken as investment, business, legal, or tax advice. Please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.

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with @zcabrams @psneville @rhackett

In this episode, Robert Hackett sits down with Sean Neville, cofounder of Circle and co-creator of the USDC stablecoin, and Zach Abrams, founder of Bridge (now part of Stripe), for a deep dive into the real story behind stablecoins, finding product-market fit, and the future of payments infrastructure.

They explore the earliest days of USDC — when stablecoins were far from obvious and regulatory frameworks didn’t exist. Sean shares how his conviction in “money running at internet speed” helped shape a multibillion-dollar asset. Zach recounts Bridge’s pivot from NFTs to stablecoin infrastructure — and how his business has changed since joining Stripe.

Together, they break down:

• Why stablecoins are having their moment now
• What counts as product-market fit (and why founders rarely “feel” it)
• The challenges of building crypto and AI products within heavily regulated environments
• Why new base-layer chains like Arc, Tempo, and others may be needed
• How decentralization, liquidity moats, and interoperability will define the next decade of blockchain adoption
• What the future of programmable money and AI-driven financial workflows looks like

Whether you’re a founder, a crypto-curious builder, or someone trying to understand where global payments are headed, this conversation — originally recorded live at our recent a16z crypto Founders Summit — offers insights from two operators at the center of an industry-defining transformation.

Guests:
• Sean Neville — Cofounder, Circle; CEO and cofounder, Catena
• Zach Abrams — Founder and CEO, Bridge (acquired by Stripe)

Highlights:

01:26 — Origins of USDC

02:44 — Why stablecoins are having their moment now

04:14 — Circle’s early product experiments

06:19— Surviving crypto cycles

07:35 — Bridge: From NFT payments to stablecoins

08:58 — What product-market fit actually feels like

20:02 — Inevitability and the founder vs. employer mindset

20:58 — Why Bridge joined Stripe

26:18 — How AI changes company building

29:38 — What students should study now

30:27 — Why new payment chains (Tempo & Arc)?

35:55 — Decentralization as imperative

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• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/web3-with-a16z-crypto/id1622312549
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***

As always, none of the following should be taken as investment, business, legal, or tax advice. Please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.

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Every traditional financial institution faces the same dilemma: evolve or fall behind, build or buy. But when safety, predictability, and trust is paramount, how do traditional finance companies innovate? How do they place their innovation bets, and decide what to explore and not to explore? 

Fidelity Chairman and CEO Abigail P. Johnson shares an inside look into Fidelity’s decade of crypto experimentation -- from early Bitcoin mining to building foundational custody infrastructure to stablecoins and much more. Johnson shares how Fidelity explored dozens of crypto use cases; why only one initially mattered, and how a single foothold shaped a long-term institutional strategy. 

This episode is for anyone interested in exploring how innovation happens inside companies, how startups can partner with big institutions, how TradFi is approaching crypto in this "Year of Institutional Adoption"... and what the next decade of financial infrastructure might look like.

We originally recorded it at our Founders Summit event in October 2025, in conversation with a16z crypto COO Anthony Albanese, who was the Chief Regulatory Officer of the New York Stock Exchange before joining a16z; and was previously acting superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS), where he signed and issued New York’s first-ever BitLicense.

As a reminder, none of the following is investment, business, or tax advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more information. 

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with @cdixon @illscience

Welcome to web3 with a16z crypto. Today’s episode digs into the forces shaping the next generation of consumer software — from AI-driven tools to the new economics of apps.

Joining is Chris Dixon, a16z crypto founder and managing partner and one of the firm’s original consumer investors. He sits down with a16z General Partner Anish Acharya to explore how exponential forces — like Moore’s Law, composability, and network effects — help determine which products ultimately win.

They talk about what it takes to build enduring consumer apps, how tools evolve into networks, and why niche communities like early crypto and open source movements can trigger massive technological shifts.

Topics covered:
- What exponential forces define tech progress
- Moore’s Law, composability, and network effects
- How tools evolve into networks
- The new economics of paid consumer software
- Investing in “movements” — from 3D printing to crypto
- What makes niche communities powerful
- AI as a platform shift and the “idea maze”
- Native vs skeuomorphic tech — and what’s next for AI interfaces
- The future of open-source AI and decentralization

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• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@a16zcrypto

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***

As always, none of the following should be taken as investment, business, legal, or tax advice. Please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.

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with @mansourtarek_ @rhackett

In this episode of web3 with a16z crypto, host Robert Hackett talks with Kalshi Cofounder and CEO Tarek Mansour about how prediction markets are enabling people to trade directly on real-world events — from elections to inflation — and what this means for the future of finance and forecasting.

Tarek explains why prediction markets aren’t gambling, how regulation has been central to Kalshi’s success, and why the company is embracing crypto and stablecoins as key components of its international strategy. He also discusses lessons learned about policy, product design, and staying compliant while innovating at the frontier.

Topics include:

• How prediction markets make society "smarter"
• The role of regulation in fintech innovation
• Why Kalshi started with crypto payments
• Lessons from FTX and the importance of compliance
• Building consumer trust and network effects
• Tarek’s take on productivity, leadership, and even… kombucha

This episode kicks off a special series of interviews recorded live at our recent Founders Summit. Subscribe to web3 with a16z crypto for more conversations with founders and builders shaping the decentralized future.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction: What are prediction markets, and why now?

01:04 – Kalshi’s mission: making forecasting tradable

01:52 – Why crypto fits into Kalshi’s long-term strategy

03:19 – Going global with stablecoins

05:55 – The long road to regulation and why it mattered

7:51 – Coinbase and Robinhood as role models

08:17 – The Trump trade: direct vs. indirect exposure to events

10:51 – Lessons from FTX and why compliance is a moat

12:06 – How Kalshi monitors markets and prevents manipulation 

15:00 – Momentum after the presidential election

16:48 – How policy in DC really works

17:56 – The hidden advantage of being regulated

18:52 – Lightning round: worst advice, productivity habits, and more

21:00 – The importance of process and patience (“The Score Takes Care of Itself”)

22:30 – The smallest hill Tarek will die on

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• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/web3-with-a16z-crypto/id1622312549
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@a16zcrypto

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***

As always, none of the following should be taken as investment, business, legal, or tax advice. Please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.

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with @DavidSacks @pmarca @bhorowitz @eriktorenberg

Today’s episode features David Sacks, the Trump administration’s “AI and crypto czar," in conversation with a16z cofounders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, and General Partner Erik Torenberg.

They dig into:

• how the U.S. is approaching AI and crypto policy,
• the fight over open source software,
• the status of tech regulation and legislation (like the CLARITY Act for crypto),
• what’s at stake in the geopolitical race with China, and more

This episode is a special crossover with the a16z podcast, which you can follow for more conversations like this.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:16 David Sacks on Crypto and AI Policy

02:34 Trump's Vision for Crypto

06:16 The Crypto Crackdown and Debanking Years

08:58 AI Regulatory Capture and Gatekeeping

11:30 How Permissionless Innovation Built Silicon Valley

16:21 "Woke" vs. Orwellian AI

21:48 When AGI?

24:29 Polytheistic AI and "End-to-End" Humans

31:07 The Future of AI: Controlled or Decentralized?

37:13 Open Source and Global Competition

41:53 The AI Race: US vs China

46:32 Amping Up Energy and Infrastructure

47:17 Cultural Divides Over the American Tech Stack

55:01 The European approach and Doomerism

01:06:14 Crypto and the Legislative Process (GENIUS, CLARITY)

01:11:13 The Future of the Democratic Party

01:14:12 San Francisco Politics

📩 Subscribe for more industry reports, trend updates, news analysis, builder guides, and other resourcesfrom a16z crypto: https://a16zcrypto.substack.com/subscribe/ 

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***

As always, none of the following should be taken as investment, business, legal, or tax advice. Please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.

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with @DarenMatsuoka @eddylazzarin

Today, we’re bringing you something special: a presentation from our 2025 Founders Summit, which we just wrapped last week in beautiful Carlsbad, Calif. You’ll hear from Daren Matsuoka, our Head of Data and Fund Strategy, as he walks through the insights from this year’s State of Crypto report — our deep-dive into the data, themes, and signals shaping the industry right now.

Stay through to the end for audience Q&A featuring our founders and to hear a16z crypto CTO Eddy Lazzarin share his takes on this year’s findings. To watch the full video — and explore more deep dives, explainers, and interviews — visit the a16z crypto Youtube channel. Don’t forget to like and subscribe to stay updated.

Oh, and if you haven’t already, be sure to check out the full State of Crypto report at a16zcrypto.com/stateofcrypto, and also to listen to the episode just before this one — a conversation between Daren, Eddy, and me where we unpack the numbers and trends, explain what they mean, and why they matter.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

01:56 Crypto Market Developments in 2025 

07:19 Institutional Adoption and Market Trends

09:05 Stablecoins: The First Killer Use Case 

12:08 The Evolution of Decentralized Finance (DeFi) 

13:18 DePIN and Physical Infrastructure Networks 

15:12 Blockchain Scaling and Infrastructure 

17:24 Privacy, ZK Technology, and Quantum Computing 

18:53 Crypto and AI: Converging Technologies 

21:08 Regulatory Clarity and Legislative Progress

23:27 Looking Ahead 

24:04 Q&A Session

📊 Download the full State of Crypto 2025 report and explore our interactive dashboard to track the industry’s key metrics.

📩 Subscribe for more industry reports, trend updates, news analysis, builder guides, and other resources.from a16z crypto: https://a16zcrypto.substack.com/subscribe/ 

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***

As always, none of the following should be taken as investment, business, legal, or tax advice. Please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.

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