Founding Stories: Anchorage

Diogo MonicaNathan McCauleyChris Dixon

We continue our YouTube series “Founding Stories” with the story of Anchorage.

To set the stage, what do you do to keep a valuable asset safe? Well, if you were a pirate, you’d keep your booty in a locked treasure chest, assign a guard, and maybe bury the chest somewhere secret: X marks the spot!

Now flash forward to the modern age: how do you know you really own those stocks and mutual funds you bought? As it turns out, there is a complex set of technology, regulations, laws, and procedures that your broker follows to make sure they are keeping your holdings safe. When they do this, they are acting as a financial custodian.

Now flash forward again to the cryptocurrency era with its private keys, multiple cryptocurrencies, new ways to vote, and other complexities. We need to rethink the roles, technologies, and processes for a cryptocurrency custodian, and that’s exactly what Anchorage is doing.

In this video, a16z General Partner Chris Dixon talks with the co-founders of Anchorage Diogo Monica and Nathan McCauley about:

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