web3 with a16z crypto

This podcast delves into the complexities of choosing the right blockchain to build on in the evolving web3 space. The speakers explore trade-offs, decision-making factors, and dimensions such as technical specs, community support, marketing, security, custody, and programming languages. They discuss successful blockchain switches made by projects like helium and Axie Infinity, compare the evolution of semiconductors to blockchain technology, and debate the inclusion of application logic and consensus in blockchain development. Additionally, they provide insights on considering factors like exit cost and portability when selecting the right blockchain for a project.

In this podcast, Anatoly Yakovenko, Co-founder and CEO of Solana Labs, discusses blockchain architectures, scalability, company-building, and engineering hiring. They explore the differences between Ethereum's roll-up vision and a permissionless system, the demand for block space, attracting developers, leadership in the crypto space, and predictions for crypto adoption. Builders are encouraged to focus on product market fit and pursue innovative ideas.

David Marcus, CEO and co-founder of Lightspark and co-creator of Diem (formerly Libra), shares insights on company building, decentralization, platforms, and financial freedom. They discuss the challenges and advantages of small teams, the regulatory environment's impact on innovation, simplifying the global payment system, exploring the potential of Bitcoin and interoperability in blockchain technology, and the parallel between the history of the internet and decentralized organizations.

with @alive_eth @danboneh @smc90This week's all-new episode covers the convergence of two important, very top-of-mind trends: AI (artificial intelligence) & blockchains/ crypto. These domains together have major implications for how we all live our lives everyday; so this episode is for anyone just curious about, or already building in the space. The conversation covers topics ranging from deep fakes, bots, and the need for proof-of-humanity in a world of AI; to big data, large language models like ChatGPT, user control, governance, privacy and security, zero knowledge and zkML; to MEV, media, art, and much more. Our expert guests (in conversation with host Sonal Chokshi) include: Dan Boneh, Stanford Professor (and Senior Research Advisor at a16z crypto), a cryptographer who’s been working on blockchains for over a decade and who specializes in cryptography, computer security, and machine learning -- all of which intersect in this episode;Ali Yahya, general partner at a16z crypto, who also previously worked at Google -- where he not only worked on a distributed system for a fleet of robots (a sort of "collective reinforcement learning") but also worked on Google Brain, where he was one of the core contributors to the machine learning library TensorFlow built at Google.The first half of the hallway-style conversation between Ali & Dan (who go back together as student and professor at Stanford) is all about how AI could benefit from crypto, and the second half on how crypto could benefit from AI... the thread throughout is the tension between centralization vs. decentralization.  So we also discuss where the intersection of crypto and AI can bring about things that aren't possible by either one of them alone...pieces referenced in this episode/ related reading:The Next Cyber Reasoning System for Cyber Security (2023) by Mohamed Ferrag, Ammar Battah, Norbert Tihanyi, Merouane Debbah, Thierry Lestable, Lucas CordeiroA New Era in Software Security: Towards Self-Healing Software via Large Language Models and Formal Verification (2023) by  Yiannis Charalambous, Norbert Tihanyi, Ridhi Jain, Youcheng Sun, Mohamed Ferrag, Lucas CordeiroFixing Hardware Security Bugs with Large Language Models (2023) by Baleegh Ahmad, Shailja Thakur, Benjamin Tan, Ramesh Karri, Hammond PearceDo Users Write More Insecure Code with AI Assistants? (2022) by Neil Perry, Megha Srivastava, Deepak Kumar, Dan BonehAsleep at the Keyboard? Assessing the Security of GitHub Copilot's Code Contributions (2021) by Hammond Pearce, Baleegh Ahmad, Benjamin Tan, Brendan Dolan-Gavitt, Ramesh KarriVoting, Security, and Governance in Blockchains (2019) with Ali Yahya and Phil Daian    As a reminder: none of the following should be taken as investment, legal, business, or tax advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information -- including to a link to a list of our investments – especially since we are investors in companies mentioned in this episode.

with @mclader @smc90 In this wide-ranging conversation, Uniswap Labs COO Mary Catherine (aka MC) Lader discusses the challenges -- and opportunities -- of decentralized finance (DeFi); business strategy (& competition) in a world of open source; product vs. protocol innovation... as well as organizational structure & collaboration, hiring, metrics, community engagement, app store policies, decentralization, and much, much more. The conversation -- based on an interview with host Sonal Chokshi and founder Q&A live from a16z crypto Startup School earlier this year -- also covers how to make decisions on what to innovate on or not; how to move from  idea and vision to business; and the transition overall from traditional finance/ tradfi. Before joining Uniswap Labs (which contributes to Uniswap, a protocol for trading and automated liquidity provision on Ethereum) -- Lader was a managing director at BlackRock (and chief operating officer of the firm’s digital wealth business and head of its climate tech business); was formerly a fintech entrepreneur; and began her career as an investment analyst at Goldman Sachs. ---As a reminder: none of the following should be taken as investment, legal, business, or tax advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information -- including a link to a list of our investments.

with @skominers @smc90In this deep dive and tour through key business concepts, from theory to practice, we cover the topics of strategy, competitive advantage,  network effects, moats, and more -- covering both both basic foundations, as well as the tricky nuances in a new world of open source, including web3.  In the first half of this discussion, we cover foundational business concepts and questions -- such as the nature of competition, and how it *really* changes in web3; as well as how network effects really work -- and then, in the second half (in case you want to skip ahead), we cover mindsets and general guidance for builders…Our expert guest -- in conversation with editor in chief and host Sonal Chokshi -- is a16z crypto research partner Scott Duke Kominers, who is also a professor at Harvard Business School; a faculty affiliate in Harvard’s Department of Economics; and advises several companies on marketplace development, incentive design, and more; as well as advises, and is directly involved, in several NFT communities. Scott also teaches on these topics -- both at Harvard and also recently at our Crypto Startup School -- so be sure to subscribe to our playlist for those talks on the a16z crypto YouTube channel to get the latest updates as we release more videos from the 2023 cohort.  related links // see also:Can web3 bring back competition to digital platforms? by Christian Catalini and Scott Duke KominersWhy build in web3 by Jad Esber and Scott Duke KominersVampire attacks: A theory (and thread) on 'blood sucking' platform competition by John William Hatfield and Scott Duke KominersWhy NFT creators are going cc0 by Flashrekt and Scott Duke KominersDecentralized identity: Your reputation travels with you by Scott Duke Kominers and Jad EsberIncreasing returns and the new world of business (1996) by W. Brian ArthurNetwork effects, origin Stories, and the evolution of tech with W. Brian Arthur, Marc Andreeessen, and Sonal ChokshiThe five competitive forces that shape strategy (2008 reformulation of 1979 paper) by Michael PorterStrategies for two-sided markets (2006) by Tom Eisenmann, Geoffrey Parker, and Marshall Van Alstyne---As a reminder: none of the following is investment, business, legal, or tax advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information -- including a link to a list of our investments.  

with @lera_banda @danboneh @rhhackettThis episode introduces concepts behind -- and applications of -- data availability sampling (DAS), a key piece of the puzzle that could help blockchains like Ethereum achieve full scaling. A low-overhead technique that uses random sampling of data to ensure that all necessary blockchain data has been made available to nodes without straining the network, DAS features heavily in a series of planned Ethereum upgrades called "Danksharding" [named to reference Ethereum Foundation researcher Dankrad Feist]. The next Danksharding milestone for Ethereum is an upgrade called EIP-4844, known as "Protodanksharding" [also named to reference Ethereum researcher Protolambda, now at OP Labs] -- which is planned for later this year.Our expert guests include:Valeria Nikolaenko, a16z crypto research partnerDan Boneh, Stanford cryptography professor and a16z crypto senior research advisor...who discuss their recent piece on data availability sampling and Danksharding -- including a proposal they put forward to the improve current plans for upgrading Ethereum -- with Robert Hackett (a16z crypto features editor and head of special projects), based on a live conversation that took place recently on Twitter Spaces.links to pieces/ topics referenced in this episode:on data availability sampling and danksharding, an overview and proposal / Valeria Nikolaenko & Dan Bonehon Proto-Danksharding, a technical analysis / grizzly-answer-991EIP-4844: the specification of ProtoDankSharding / Ethereum FoundationProto-Danksharding FAQ / Vitalik ButerinDanksharding workshop video / Devcon (Oct 2022)2D data availability with Kate commitments  discussion on commitments' expansion / Ethereum Research Foruma note on data availability and erasure coding / Github---None of this is investment, business, legal, or tax advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information – including a link to a list of our investments. 

with @cdixon @eddylazzarin @DarenMatsuoka @rhhackettAn in-depth overview of web3 trends and tech progress toward building the next internet, this conversation covers themes from the 2023 State of Crypto Report. The first half of the discussion (from our recent Twitter Spaces), delves into data points and analyses: what’s behind the recent uptick in NFT activity and experimentation; the curious relationship between gaming (including on-chain gaming) and innovation; as well as challenges, and opportunities, in blockchain scaling. We also discuss the pace of advances in the field of zero knowledge cryptography, plus what new applications and products are now possible... including beyond web3. The second half (based on a separate discussion) delves deeper into the report’s methodology, especially behind the interactive State of Crypto Index data tool… finally zooming out on the big picture.Guests include Chris Dixon, founding general partner at a16z crypto; Eddy Lazzarin, chief technology officer; and Daren Matsuoka, lead data scientist -- in conversation with guest host Robert Hackett, a16z crypto features editor and head of special projects. links to pieces or topics referenced in this episode:the 2023 State of Crypto Report (+ PDF, livestream, Twitter Spaces) / Daren Matsuoka, Eddy Lazzarin, Robert Hackett, & Stephanie Zinnthe State of Crypto Index / Daren Matsuoka, Eddy Lazzarin, Robert Hackett, & Stephanie Zinnon the “domino effect” meme / knowyourmemeon John Carmack, see "Masters of Doom" by David Kushner /  bookon web3 gaming & on-chain games / web3 with a16z crypto podcaston EIP-4844 aka “protodanksharding” / Ethereum Improvement Proposalson “Jevons paradox” in economics / Wikipediaon the concept of “induced demand” / WIREDon zero knowledge applications to machine learning / Elena Burgerthe zero knowledge canon (parts 1 + 2) / Elena Burger, Bryan Chiang, Sonal Chokshi, Eddy Lazzarin, Justin Thaler, & Ali Yahyaon developer activity trends in crypto / Electric CapitalNone of the content is investment, business, legal, or tax advice. See a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments. Also, please note that any charts, data, or projections discussed here are subject to change without notice, may differ from opinions expressed by others, and are for informational purposes only – they should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. The content speaks only as of the date indicated, and a16z has not independently verified third party sources nor makes representations about the enduring accuracy of the information. 

with @amandacassatt @kimbatronic @smc90All about marketing, and web3 -- not just for marketers already in or seeking to enter web3, but also anyone doing community marketing/ community management, devrel (developer relations); or simply doing marketing in web2 or classic growth marketing, seeking to understand the latest trends and tactics.With the  author of the new book, Web3 Marketing: A Handbook for the Next Internet Revolution, Amanda Cassatt (who was also the first CMO at ConsenSys, helping bring Ethereum to market; and also founded and leads the pioneering, native web3-marketing agency Serotonin). Also joining this episode to share insights on marketing web3 -- in conversation with host and editor in chief Sonal Chokshi -- is Kim Milosevich, CMO at a16z crypto, where she oversees brand, marketing, events, and communications (and before that was VP of communications at Coinbase, where she took the company through its direct listing while leading internal, policy, product, and corporate communications internationally). The episode also covers key top of mind questions for web3 builders and others, including how to do community marketing, manage "profiles" in decentralized and open source, and finding your audience... including feedback for product-market fit. And much. much more! 

with @ariannasimpson @eddylazzarin @smc90This episode provides an overview of web3 gaming, as enabled by crypto & blockchains -- including what ownership and decentralization really means for gamers and others; degrees of on-chain games; and a pulse-check on what’s working so far, what's more or less ready, and where the most exciting design spaces are for all kinds of builders. The conversation -- between a16z crypto general partner Arianna Simpson and CTO Eddy Lazzarin, in discussion with editor-in-chief Sonal Chokshi --  also covers specific trends such as "play-to-earn" (P2E), metaverse, autonomous worlds, and other forms of worldbuilding -- and also touches on  key themes such as design, user onboarding, open source, and frameworks for technology innovation. shownotes // links referenced in this episode:on  "strong vs. weak" forms of technology / Chris Dixonon Carlota Perez' framework for Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital, a summary / Jerry Neumannon "autonomous worlds" / 0xPARCon "on-chain procedural generation" / 0xPARCon  a few of the things we're excited about / a16z cryptoNone of this is investment, business, legal, or tax advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information -- including a link to a list of our investments.