CoinDesk Podcast Network PayPal -> LinkedIn -> AI -> Crypto: Reid Hoffman's Innovator Journey | CoinDesk Spotlight
Nov 6, 2025
Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn and a key player in PayPal, shares insights into his evolution from shaping online commerce to exploring AI and crypto. He discusses the challenges and resistance faced by disruptive technologies, the potential of stablecoins, and the political polarization within the crypto space. Hoffman also reflects on the role of AI in future work dynamics, advocating for a balanced approach to adoption. His current stealth projects aim to bridge AI and digital assets, promising intriguing developments on the horizon.
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Networked Communities Were Inevitable
- Reid Hoffman expected borderless networked communities to grow from early internet social experiments and blogging.
- He didn't foresee crypto's Satoshi-style breakthrough until it appeared, which changed trust and value models.
PayPal Was A Centralized Precursor
- PayPal used cryptography and identity but operated as a centralized service with nodes of records.
- The team saw distributed financial sovereignty as on the path to fully decentralized systems like Bitcoin.
Incumbents Fight Then Co-Opt Disruption
- Incumbent financial institutions resist innovations that threaten their control and claim the new tech is harmful.
- Over time many incumbents co-opt innovations once they see profit and utility.
