with @cdixon @pmarca @bhorowitz @rhhackett Welcome to the web3 with a16z podcast. Today's episode is the final installment in our limited series on Read Write Own , the new book by a16z crypto founding partner Chris Dixon. Today's episode features Dixon in conversation with a16z cofounders Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen. Their discussion covers the internet’s corporate takeover and how that affects startups, creativity, and innovation; blockchains as inheritors of the open source ethos; where ...
Mar 02, 2024•2 hr 33 min•Ep 35•Transcript available on Metacast with @stevenbjohnson @cdixon @rhhackett Welcome to the web3 with a16z crypto podcast. Today's episode features a conversation between Steven Johnson, a prolific author of books about technology and innovation who is also, as editorial director at Google Labs, helping to develop AI writing tools such as NotebookLM, and Chris Dixon, founding partner of a16z crypto and author of the new book Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet . The two discuss the history of their shared interest...
Feb 11, 2024•51 min•Ep 34•Transcript available on Metacast with @cdixon @rhhackett Welcome to the web3 with a16z crypto podcast. I'm Robert Hackett, an editor here at a16z crypto, and I'm here with Chris Dixon, founding partner of a16z crypto and author of the new book Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet . I had the privilege of editing Chris throughout the book writing process, and I'm thrilled now to talk to you about what went on behind the scenes, the big themes of the book, the challenges, and also about the crypto industry at lar...
Jan 30, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Ep 33•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome back to web3 with a16z -- a show about building the next generation of the internet, from the team at a16z crypto. This show is for anyone -- whether company leader or other entrepreneur, creator or developer, media or policymaker -- seeking to understand, and go deeper on all things blockchains, crypto, and web3. We’re back with all new episodes this season, beginning with some conversations that took place at our recent Founders Summit. Today's guest is Jonathan Dotan, tech founder, Em...
Dec 23, 2023•15 min•Ep 32•Transcript available on Metacast with @smc90 @stanfordgsb How does one *communicate* well -- especially in crypto, but also in other technical industries or open source communities? Or in distributed, decentralized organizations, where you may have participants that are both remote and in person, or a mix of regulars and newcomers/ strangers. (Take for instance a community call to discuss technical or governance changes.) How do you present information to different types of stakeholders; speak spontaneously; or resolve and reco...
Oct 07, 2023•59 min•Ep 31•Transcript available on Metacast with @guywuolletjr @eddylazzarin @smc90 "Which blockchain should I build in?" Is a very top of mind question for builders in web3, including for people coming into the space for the first time -- but also relevant to anyone interested in tech innovation, tech stacks, and the evolution of infrastructure. So how does one decide among all the chain choices out there, particularly given how fast-moving the crypto and web3 space is? Things are constantly changing, things are still being built, and th...
Sep 19, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep 30•Transcript available on Metacast with @aeyakovenko @alive_eth @guywuolletjr @smc90 This all-new deep-dive, hallway-style chat features a16z crypto general partner Ali Yahya and deal team partner Guy Wuollet, in conversation with Solana co-founder and Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko -- who also worked at Qualcomm for over a decade, where he was a senior engineer and engineering manager among other things. The first half of the episode is a discussion/ debate blockchain architectures -- including of course Solana & Ethereum, th...
Sep 05, 2023•1 hr 24 min•Ep 29•Transcript available on Metacast with @davidmarcus @smc90 This wide-ranging conversation covers company building, big to small -- including what cadence and when is the right "time" to ship; the relationship between centralization, decentralization, platforms, and financial freedom; moving from web2 to web3 in both crypto AND payments... as well as why bitcoin, views on remote work, and much much more. Our guest is David Marcus , CEO and co-founder of Lightspark; Marcus was also a co-creator of Diem (aka Libra and Novi, the cry...
Aug 22, 2023•46 min•Ep 28•Transcript available on Metacast with @alive_eth @danboneh @smc90 This 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 ...
Aug 12, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep 27•Transcript available on Metacast 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 an...
Jul 31, 2023•57 min•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast with @skominers @smc90 In 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 netwo...
May 16, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast with @lera_banda @danboneh @rhhackett This 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 referenc...
May 05, 2023•40 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast with @cdixon @eddylazzarin @DarenMatsuoka @rhhackett An 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 opp...
Apr 16, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast with @amandacassatt @kimbatronic @smc90 All 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, help...
Apr 06, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast with @ariannasimpson @eddylazzarin @smc90 This 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 edi...
Mar 29, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast with @milesjennings @brianquintenz @colinmccune @smc90 We provide an overview of policy and regulation in the crypto industry right now -- from a lay of the land to pulse checks on sentiment -- as well as share helpful frameworks for policymakers, and quick guidance on how things work (and how to navigate and participate) for builders. We also dig into the mindsets, myths, debates, nuances; and quickly discuss what to expect for regulation in a few specific domains -- from DeFi to DAOs, to brief...
Feb 13, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast with @b1ackd0g @noahcitron @eddylazzarin @smc90 This episode is all about programming languages and crypto -- and it’s for both existing blockchain & smart contract programmers, and also other non-web3 developers seeking to enter the space... and, for anyone who is just curious about how programming languages evolve and come into existence (as well as interested in the intersection of language, code, and expression!) It's a fun and fascinating ride, because we cover everything from differences (...
Jan 30, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast with @robertiger @cdixon @smc90 In this intimate chat with Bob Iger (now-again CEO of Disney, although this conversation was recorded a few months ago), a16z crypto host Sonal Chokshi and founding general partner Chris Dixon discuss the interplay between technology, content, and distribution... Bob shares his journey (as captured in his book The Ride of a Lifetime and beyond) -- and the journey of various creators! -- especially as the industry has evolved from TV and cable to the advent of the ...
Dec 20, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast with @brian_armstrong @bhorowitz An all-new, guest-hosted episode based on a chat that took place just this week between: CEO and co-founder of Coinbase Brian Armstrong; interviewed by a16z co-founder Ben Horowitz, who authored the bestselling business books The Hard Things About the Hard Things and What You Do is Who You Are on how to create your business culture. Their conversation — which took place just this week (November 29, 2022) at our inaugural a16z crypto Founder Summit — goes into man...
Dec 02, 2022•43 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast A hallway-style conversation between a16z crypto's Chris Dixon, Eddy Lazzarin, and Sonal Chokshi about market conditions, cycles of innovation, and mental models for navigating crypto and web3 -- as well as the longer arc and evolution of technology; methods & metrics for measuring price-innovation cycle ebbs and flows; some key trends; and more. This episode originally ran in May 2022, as episode #1 in our new show 'web3 with a16z'. The 2022 State of Crypto report referenced can be found at a16...
Nov 21, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast with @punk6529 @cdixon @smc90 Chris Dixon and Sonal Chokshi chat with Punk6529 about NFT use cases; NFT art (and generative art!); VR, AR, metaverse; more. As well as about regulatory mindsets, moves, and news -- such as Apple's in-app purchasing guidelines for NFTs, and Reddit NFTs. links: https://twitter.com/punk6529 https://web3-with-a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/metaverse-crypto-vr-games-virtual-society https://web3-with-a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/web2-to-web3-nfts-art-ai-hot-topics-trends-...
Nov 04, 2022•2 hr 31 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast This episode is a deep dive on all things metaverse, defining what the metaverse is, and what it isn’t; covering frequent misconceptions (and nuances) around how VR or virtual reality, videogames, and other applications relate (and don't relate) to the metaverse; and discussing how communities, fashion, sports, and more play here. We also go into where crypto comes in -- including discussing trends in on-chain gaming, DAOs; themes like interoperability, composability; etc. But we also go well be...
Oct 21, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast with @kevinrose @cdixon This wide-ranging discussion is a tour through tech trends and hot topics both within and beyond crypto – including art, AI, the evolution of mediums including blockchains; a deep dive on NFTs, artists, communities; debates around cc0, modding and copying on the internet, royalties; plus role of brands, DAOs, wisdom of crowds; and much more. The hallway-style conversation took place this week between Chris Dixon (founding general partner of a16z crypto, former entrepreneu...
Oct 09, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast with @timbeiko @tim_roughgarden @alive_eth @smc90 A deep dive on all things Ethereum, which this week makes the big move to Proof of Stake in The Merge. So in this long and wide-ranging conversation with Tim Beiko -- who runs the core devs calls and Protocol Support for Ethereum Foundation -- a16z crypto head of research (Tim Roughgarden), general partner (Ali Yahya), and editor in chief (Sonal Chokshi) cover: how Ethereum got here today -- and the co-evolution of the protocol and the community;...
Sep 12, 2022•2 hr 40 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast with @lera_banda @tim_roughgarden @smc90 We share an overview of proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchains -- from quick background on how blockchains work, differences between PoS & PoW (including the energy question), and approaches to improving both; to digging deeper into Sybill attacks and Sybill resistance... and much more on the design (and some debates) of PoS blockchains overall. We therefore also go into different consensus approaches for PoS blockchains, from Nakamoto to BFT-style consensus an...
Aug 29, 2022•50 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast with @michelekorver @jai_ramaswamy @smc90 We tease apart the facts vs buzz around recent news -- that the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Tornado Cash for allegedly laundering proceeds of cybercrimes, and then later the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service stated that they arrested a suspected developer of Tornado Cash Tornado Cash -- including what's novel and what's not here, as well as the broader regulatory and compliance backdrop. But we also share an evergreen explainer that goes we...
Aug 19, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast with @mg_486662 @riyazdf @nassyweazy and @smc90 This week’s all-new episode digs into recent high-profile hacks that took place in the crypto space over the last week -- we not only dig into what happened, including a more technical breakdown of the how and how we know -- but also cover the categories and issues specific to (and not specific to!) web3 security; as well as solutions and advice for builders. We also touch on related trends and topics such as the role of open source; communications...
Aug 12, 2022•52 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast @tim_roughgarden @josephbonneau @skominers with @alive_eth @cdixon A tour through top-of-mind blockchain & crypto tech topics, explained by several a16z crypto researchers, including VDFs (verifiable delay functions); zk-rollups, SNARKs, and zero knowledge in general; and others. We quickly zip up and down the stack, and across themes -- such as scalability; data availability; reputation and the creator economy, also discussing applications for NFTs and more. It is based on a conversation that t...
Aug 06, 2022•45 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast @jakeauch @cdixon @milesjennings A quick overview of principles for thinking about policy, briefly covering topics and recent moves that are top of mind in U.S. crypto regulation -- from stablecoins to NFTs to DAOs to more. It is based (only lightly edited for this medium) on a live conversation that took place a couple weeks ago on Twitter with: Congressman Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts, also Vice-Chair of the Financial Services Committee (he also formerly led product development at both a ...
Jul 23, 2022•26 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast with @x0rart / @blauyourmind, @nassyweazy, @smc90 Building “usable” security will be critical as NFTs scale across applications and mediums — including “dynamic NFTs” for art, identity, experiences (token access, more). In the latest episode of our podcast ‘web3 with a16z’, expert guests discuss security best practices for builders, experiments, and trends now and ahead — also addressing common myths and misconceptions along the way (artist royalties in smart contracts? immutability?... well…) A...
Jul 18, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast 
