Preserving Web Incentives via Payments

with @zcabrams @rhackett

What happens when money moves 10x — or 100x — faster than it does today?

In this episode, Zach Abrams, cofounder and CEO of Bridge (now part of Stripe), lays out a bold vision for the future of money: a world where stablecoins become the dominant payment rail, most transactions happen between non-human agents, and entirely new financial infrastructure is required to keep up.

Zach explains why stablecoins are the next evolution of fintech, much like credit cards were decades ago — and why we’re still in the very early innings. We dig into agentic payments, AI-to-AI commerce, micro-transactions on the open internet, and what Stripe is building by assembling stablecoin infrastructure across the stack.

Along the way, we cover:

• Why cards succeeded — and what stablecoins must learn from them
• How AI agents could drive the majority of future payments
• What breaks when the velocity of money increases 10x
• Stripe’s long-term strategy behind Bridge, Privy, and Tempo
• The case for open, decentralized payment infrastructure
• Zach’s unconventional views on management, productivity, and product-market fit

If you’re curious about the future of payments, fintech, crypto, AI agents, or the economic foundations of the next internet, this conversation offers a look several steps ahead.

Highlights:

00:00 Introduction
00:36 Stablecoins: The next platform for money
01:38 Credit cards had a moral panic too
03:29 What stablecoin infrastructure still needs to be built
05:22 The use cases no one predicted
11:11 Why Stripe is building with crypto
13:08 Why payments infrastructure must stay open
15:12 Lightning round: Bad advice, great books, and deep work

Follow a16z crypto for more...

• X: https://x.com/a16zcrypto
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/a16zcrypto/posts/
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7pMZvsNXEnb0CYcPiDQywE
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/web3-with-a16z-crypto/id1622312549
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@a16zcrypto

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

🎙️ Like, subscribe, comment, share the show: https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/podcast/

***

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.