Founders

Wait — the bank froze your life savings? 

Debanking exposed...

Imagine waking up one day to find your bank account frozen. 

No warning. 
No explanation. 
No recourse.

This is not a thought experiment. It’s a real situation. And it’s happened not just to crypto companies and their founders, but to ordinary people who are just trying to live their lives. That includes our guest today, who learned firsthand what it means to be “debanked.”

In this episode, we talk about the unseen algorithms that monitor people’s accounts, the ramifications of the Bank Secrecy Act, and how crypto and decentralized finance may offer a much-needed check — and safety net — against the opaque systems of traditional finance.

Full episode: https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/podcast/debanking-exposed/

A snapshot of recent acquisitions. 

I love used books.

The end of crypto's foundation era is here.

New policy (CLARITY Act), emerging structures (DUNA), and smarter tooling (BORGs) enable better systems — better incentives, accountability, and decentralization.

My new post on why it’s time to move on from foundation structures:
https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/end-foundation-era-crypto/

it doesn't matter what you study

it matters what you do

Today's web3 with a16z episode is all about marketing — including differences between marketing in crypto and traditional tech.

The conversation shares 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.

Our experts are:

... Amanda Tyler (@amandatyler), who was most recently Head of Marketing at the Optimism Foundation (and was formerly at Polygon, Coinbase, and Google);

... Claire Kart (@clairekart), Chief Marketing Officer at Aztec (who previously was at Risc Zero and SoFi);

... in conversation with Kim Milosevich (@kimbatronic), CMO at a16z crypto (who was formerly VP of Comms at Coinbase, and who has spent decades in tech at a16z, Skype, Yahoo, and elsewhere).

Check out the full episode:  https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/podcast/marketing-101-startups-token-launches-memes-devs/

marketing masterclass with @kimbatronic @clairekart @amandatyler

👋 Hi, we’re on the same team. 🔴✨Head of Marketing @ Optimism 

CMO Aztec // mother of chains // in testnet // reply girl

idk how they did it but koreans have mastered the technology of food

Parenting

nothing has persuaded me of the power of marketing more than my toddler swinging from tantrum to wild enthusiasm when i label his food something it isn’t

*points at sliced beets*

“you don’t like your fruit?”

Stablecoins are a payments inflection point:

There has been a flurry of stablecoin news lately, so did a special podcast episode to cover everything that’s been going on. 

@smc90 and @hackr are joined by a16z crypto’s Data Science lead @darenmatsuoka who shares the actual data behind the stablecoin trend. 

Then we have @sambroner — who is a Deal Partner here and our frequent author on stablecoins — to analyze the news, and help highlight the signal versus the noise.

Check out the full episode: https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/podcast/stablecoin-news-stripe-visa-coinbase-circle/

One of the most critical phases of the secure software development cycle is the security audit: an independent assessment of one’s code or systems that’s designed to flag possible flaws. 

In this post,  a16z crypto Security Engineer Matt Gleason shares what he’s learned that can help you prepare for and follow best practices throughout — before, during, and after — a security review.

Full post: https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/security-audit-best-practices/

more than a THIRD of rekt leaderboard hacks were for 'unaudited' projects. 

how many more could have been prevented by following security review best practices?

more than a THIRD of rekt leaderboard hacks were for 'unaudited' projects. 

how many more could have been prevented by following security review best practices?

 https://rekt.news/leaderboard

Every human life is a differential for computing the arc of history in a cosmic calculus

memecoiners were so preoccupied with whether or not they could coin it they didn't stop to think if they should

pretty sure this game already has a well-established name…

i know this is a controversial take and may get me in trouble but what we actually need is 

more tolkienized content

Stablecoins have found product market fit and this chart shows it.

Stablecoin activity is largely uncorrelated to crypto market cycles – organic, non-speculative use appears to be widespread and growing even as crypto trading volume fluctuates.

crypto trading: cyclic

stablecoin use: linear

luckily my duolingo gems are completely unaffected by the stock market

The Biden SEC's attack on crypto created perverse incentives that were detrimental to Americans. 

For example, it led to them being excluded from airdrops, depriving them of ownership of the internet. 

Today, we published a quick explainer of our airdrop safe harbor proposal👇
https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/airdrops-safe-legal-frequent/

Airdrops are more than token giveaways, they redistribute ownership of internet protocols and services

Over 4 years at @a16zcrypto, I've found writing to be the best tool for exploring crypto’s complexity—from advising founders to constructing policy.

It’s a discovery engine that demands clarity, consistency and transparency.

Here are 10 posts I learned the most from writing:

In this episode, we talk about one of the most familiar — and most misunderstood — mechanics in crypto: the airdrop.

We explore the history of airdrops in and outside crypto, the challenges of incentive design, and learnings from airdrops to date.

We also answer questions like how do you avoid Sybil attacks and professional airdrop farming? Should your drop be big or small, one-time or ongoing? And what happens when AI agents enter the mix?

To break it all down, we’re joined by @eddy, @darenmatsuoka, @andyhall, & @hackr 

Whether you’re planning a token launch, looking for token rewards, or just curious why airdrops have become such a powerful mechanism in crypto — this episode is for you.

https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/podcast/all-about-airdrops/

Everything you ever wanted to know about AIRDROPS, packaged just for you...

Thanks @eddy @darenmatsuoka @andyhall for coming on the show.

CTO @a16zcrypto, lover of https://github.com/a16z/awesome-farcaster

I study decentralized governance @ Stanford GSB & a16z crypto 

andrewbenjaminhall.com

intercomputer realist @a16zcrypto / editor https://readwriteown.com/ / host a16zcrypto.com/posts/podcast/