a16z crypto show

Following major DeFi exploits, a16z crypto GP Eddy Lazzarin and security engineer Matt Gleason break down the recent surge in crypto hacks. Their argument: AI isn't creating new vulnerabilities—it's making existing ones easier to exploit. They explore whether defenders can evolve as fast as attackers, the role of geopolitics in cyber activity, and what users can do to stay safe online.

Transcribed - Published: 13 May 2026

a16z crypto is announcing Fund 5: $2.2B to back the founders building the next era of crypto. All four GPs — Chris Dixon, Ali Yahya, Guy Wuollet, and Eddy Lazzarin — join Robert Hackett to discuss why now, what's changed, and where it's all headed: from regulatory clarity and stablecoins, to AI agents, programmable money, and the infrastructure defining crypto's next chapter.

Transcribed - Published: 5 May 2026

Agents can now browse, decide, and buy on your behalf. So what happens to the internet's business model? Sam Ragsdale (founder & CEO of Merit Systems) joins a16z crypto's Eddy Lazzarin, Noah Levine, and Robert Hackett to unpack the open agentic commerce stack — from the headless merchant thesis to stablecoins vs. credit cards, and why the web's economic contract is quietly breaking.

Transcribed - Published: 27 April 2026

Gensyn cofounders Ben Fielding and Harry Grieve join us to discuss why AI’s infrastructure problem runs deeper than most people think. They explain how today’s AI ecosystem depends on a highly centralized stack of data and compute, why that matters, and what it would take to rebuild AI as open, decentralized infrastructure. Along the way, they cover how AI models are trained, why crypto may be essential to the future of AI coordination, and the rise of autonomous AI agents with onchain identities.

Transcribed - Published: 22 April 2026

Ben Horowitz and Erik Torenberg speak with Alex Blania of Tools for Humanity about World and the growing need for proof of human verification online. They discuss the challenge of proving human uniqueness at scale, the privacy model behind World ID, and why platforms from social media to dating apps to video conferencing may soon need stronger ways to verify that users are real people.

Transcribed - Published: 17 April 2026

Morpho cofounder and CEO Paul Frambot joins us to discuss how onchain lending could change the future of finance. He explains what Morpho does, the biggest misconception in DeFi lending, why institutions are starting to pay attention, and how open blockchain infrastructure could make lending markets more transparent, competitive, and efficient. Paul also shares his longer-term view of a financial system with broader access to capital and more customizable financial products.

Transcribed - Published: 8 April 2026

Lucas Bruder, CEO of Jito, joins us to talk about why he believes the future of finance is moving onchain — and how his team is helping make that possible on Solana. He explains what Jito does, why Solana’s speed and low transaction costs create both opportunity and complexity, and how Jito has become critical infrastructure for the network. Lucas also reflects on doubling down on Solana during the bear market, the company’s lean approach to building, and his broader vision for a more accessible financial system.

Transcribed - Published: 3 April 2026

In this episode, Vitalik Buterin, Guillaume Verdon (“Beff Jezos”) debate two competing visions for the future of AI: e/acc, which argues for pushing progress forward as quickly as possible, and d/acc, which calls for accelerating more carefully to avoid concentration of power and loss of control. They discuss whether acceleration can be steered, the risks and tradeoffs of increasingly powerful AI systems, the importance of open source and decentralization, and the role crypto may play as a trust layer between humans and AI.

Transcribed - Published: 25 March 2026

Justin (CEO, Bond) and Michael Blau(Head of Product, Bond) break down why the creator economy is broken — and how crypto might fix it. They discuss Bond, a new model where fans stake money to support creators, eliminating subscriptions while preserving direct relationships. We cover the gap between creators and fans, why past crypto models failed (speculation vs. true support), how stablecoins enable global products, and what happens to creativity when AI makes content abundant. Plus: why copyright might disappear, what magic teaches about originality, and why NFTs represent true digital ownership despite the hype cycles.

Transcribed - Published: 17 March 2026

Emily Yang, aka pplpleasr, joins us to talk about her evolution from artist to Emmy-winning storyteller and the vision behind Shibuya’s “permissionless creativity” model. She shares how White Rabbit became the first crypto-native project to win an Emmy, and how crypto-enabled community participation can open new possibilities for funding, building, and co-creating original IP. We also discuss interactive storytelling, the tension between audience input and artistic vision, and the inspirations that shape Emily’s creative world.

Transcribed - Published: 13 March 2026

A new paper, “Some Simple Economics of AGI,” is making the rounds—so we sat down with author Christian Catalini (MIT Crypto Economics Lab) and Eddy Lazzarin (CTO of a16z crypto), in conversation with Robert Hackett, to unpack what AGI could mean for work and markets.

Transcribed - Published: 5 March 2026

Cynthia Lo Bessette, Head of Digital Asset Management at Fidelity Investments, explains what it really means to bring assets onchain, and why tokenization matters to investors beyond the hype. She walks through Fidelity’s framework for digital asset adoption (Hold, Use, Build), how tokenized money market funds can combine payments and yield, and why real-world assets are accelerating onchain.

Transcribed - Published: 4 March 2026

When AI agents start earning, spending, lending, and investing, the internet’s money layer needs to evolve fast. Sean Neville—cofounder of Circle, architect of USDC, and now cofounder of Catena Labs—lays out his thesis for an agent-native economy built on programmable dollars and “AI-native banks.”

Transcribed - Published: 3 March 2026

From Eater to Blackbird, Ben Leventhal reflects on building companies for restaurants and the lessons he’s applying to loyalty, payments, and scale.

Transcribed - Published: 11 February 2026

Bridge Cofounder and CEO Zach Abrams argues that stablecoins are the next evolution of financial infrastructure — and that the future of payments will be dominated by AI agents, not humans. We explore what breaks when money moves 10x faster, what Stripe is building, and why open payment networks matter.

Transcribed - Published: 2 February 2026

Most blockchains are starting to look the same. So what actually creates defensibility in crypto?

Transcribed - Published: 30 January 2026

Chris Dixon and Palmer Luckey talk about the future of technology, geopolitics and AI, crypto and banking, and much more — marking our 100th episode.

Transcribed - Published: 23 January 2026

After working on one of the most ambitious corporate-backed digital currency projects at Facebook, Christian Catalini has strong views on how money should move. In this episode, we explore Bitcoin as infrastructure, lessons from building blockchains at a tech giant, and the case for open financial networks.

Transcribed - Published: 14 January 2026

This episode covers a destructive mental trap founders can fall into — and how to avoid it. We also explore why crypto went multichain, how it is competing with legacy financial systems, and an important lesson from Elon Musk.

Transcribed - Published: 7 January 2026

How do you achieve peak performance while avoiding burnout? Big-wave surfing pioneer Laird Hamilton and former pro volleyball star Gabby Reece join a16z crypto General Partner Arianna Simpson to talk about what it takes.

Transcribed - Published: 29 December 2025

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.

Transcribed - Published: 23 December 2025

Crypto wallets are no longer just places to store assets — they’re becoming full-fledged consumer finance platforms. In this episode, Phantom CEO Brandon Millman and a16z crypto Investment Partner Jay Drain join host Robert Hackett to discuss why wallets may be the most credible path to the internet's next super app.

Transcribed - Published: 19 December 2025

Sean Neville (cofounder of Circle and co-creator of USDC) and Zach Abrams (founder of Bridge, now part of Stripe) unpack the real story behind stablecoins and the future of internet-native money. They share lessons on finding product-market fit, surviving early chaos, and building financial infrastructure at planetary scale.

Transcribed - Published: 10 December 2025

Fidelity CEO Abigail 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. How Fidelity explored dozens of crypto use cases; why only one initially mattered, and how a single foothold shaped a long-term institutional strategy.

Transcribed - Published: 4 December 2025

a16z's Chris Dixon and Anish Acharya explain how composability, network effects, and the new economics of AI are changing the game for consumer startups. Plus, what crypto and open source movements teach us about where the next big ideas come from.

Transcribed - Published: 24 November 2025

Prediction markets are blurring the line between finance and forecasting. Host Robert Hackett talks with Kalshi Cofounder and CEO Tarek Mansour about how this innovation is creating a new way to price the future.

Transcribed - Published: 19 November 2025

Transcribed - Published: 5 November 2025

An overview of the insights from this year’s State of Crypto report: our deep-dive into the data, themes, and signals shaping the industry right now.

Transcribed - Published: 1 November 2025

Revealing the findings from the 2025 State of Crypto report, a16z crypto's annual deep dive into the data, trends, and themes that define this year in the crypto industry.

Transcribed - Published: 22 October 2025

Prediction markets are a hot topic again. But beyond the buzz, what is a prediction market, exactly? How do they work, how are they designed, and what makes them work? This is your definitive explainer on the topic.

Transcribed - Published: 26 September 2025

Surviving the market's ups and downs, founder advice, and what it takes to build a lasting company.

Transcribed - Published: 29 August 2025

How to design, govern, and grow decentralized networks in today’s changing policy landscape.

Transcribed - Published: 22 August 2025

We cover the important concept of antimemetics (and memetics) -- focusing on: where and how ideas take off in groups, whether in online chats or other high-shared context communities; how ideas not just spread but are contained, or mutate like viruses; why packaging ideas matters; and what we can all do to move ideas to action. Where do bureacracy, institutions, and protocols come in? What about tacit knowledge that lies in these communities, how (or do) we make it explicit? What roles -- from truth tellers to champions to individual nodes in networks -- can and do people play in making something go from mere commentary to reality? After all, ideas -- or ideas as viruses -- are how movements happen, how innovation happens, how things change... or don't ever change despite being discussed all the time.

Transcribed - Published: 7 August 2025

The GENIUS Act was just signed into law... What is it? How did it pass? And why does it matter?

Transcribed - Published: 22 July 2025

AI and crypto... How will these two powerful technologies collide, and what happens when they do?

Transcribed - Published: 16 July 2025

What are the books, classics, adaptations, genres, and themes we keep reading? How is technology -- from AI and ChatGPT to the internet and audio -- changing reading? Why are certain themes in the zeitgeist right now? ...and much more!

Transcribed - Published: 2 July 2025

As the crypto industry matures, what are the most telling signals of real growth and adoption? We dig into 5 metrics we use to track the market.

Transcribed - Published: 20 June 2025

What do you do when the bank suddenly freezes access to your accounts? "Debanking" has affected many people and companies, including our guest Katherine Minarik, legal chief for Uniswap. We share her story and others like it.

Transcribed - Published: 11 June 2025

Solana cofounder Anatoly Yakovenko shares the origin and evolution of Solana; what sets the chain's culture, values, and tech apart; how it has gotten to where it is today (despite several near-death brushes); and much else in conversation with a16z General Partner Ali Yahya.

Transcribed - Published: 5 June 2025

Today, we’re sharing a special episode of the TED Tech podcast that features GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke. This talk explores how AI tools — like Github Copilot and others — are changing the landscape of coding and making it more accessible and transparent.

Transcribed - Published: 2 June 2025

We’re entering a world where AI – including AI agents, bots, deep fakes, and so on -- are changing the internet, very drastically. And so we will need proof of who’s human, or not, online – aka “proof of human". (This theme is also represented on the latest cover of Time magazine). Since the technology -- and network -- story here draws on both existing and new tech to help solve what’s actually a *very* difficult problem, we cover why it matters, go into some common questions, and finally how it all works under the hood.

Transcribed - Published: 30 May 2025

A candid look at what works — and what doesn’t — when it comes to building reputation and community, attracting developers, hiring teams and agencies, launching tokens, raising founder profiles, and more with marketing leaders from Aztec, Optimism and a16z crypto.

Transcribed - Published: 22 May 2025

A deep look at why stablecoins have emerged as one of the most promising applications in crypto today — and how they could reshape global payments. We're joined by a16z crypto Founder Chris Dixon and Deal Partner Sam Broner.

Transcribed - Published: 15 May 2025

There has been a flurry of stablecoin news lately — from Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase, Circle, and more — so we're doing a special bonus episode to cover everything that's been going on. Our experts highlight the signal versus the noise.

Transcribed - Published: 15 May 2025

This episode is all about quantum computing -- explaining what it is, how it works, what's hype vs. reality, and how to prepare for it/ what builders should do -- with cryptography and proof system experts.

Transcribed - Published: 8 May 2025

Forget what you think you know about tokens. We present a new framework that could change the way you view crypto.

Transcribed - Published: 25 April 2025

Our guest Illia Polosukhin designed and implemented the first-ever "transformer" models that kicked off the current AI boom. He joins the show to share his vision for an internet overrun by trillions of "user-owned" AI agents, replacing websites and apps.

Transcribed - Published: 16 April 2025

We cover everything you need to know about one of the most familiar — and most misunderstood — mechanics in crypto: the airdrop.

Transcribed - Published: 7 April 2025

Everyone hates traffic. One way to reduce it is through congestion pricing, which New York City implemented at the start of the year — a first of its kind for the U.S. We spoke to two economists about the history of this approach, the challenges of putting it into practice, and the implications — which extend from city blocks to, yes, blockchains.

Transcribed - Published: 29 March 2025

From computational genomics research to building "humanity's coordination engine," Eigen Labs founder Sreeram Kannan shares his path — and lessons learned along the way — in conversation with a16z crypto General Partner Ali Yahya.

Transcribed - Published: 25 March 2025