This is a special episode of the a16z podcast — it’s an audio history, told through the voices of the a16z crypto team, about what crypto is, how it really works, and why it matters. This “innovation overview” is meant as a resource, and it features hallway-style conversations with the a16z team as well as outside experts.
In brief segments, we’ll take you from the ground up — from the basics, to the most current developments, and beyond that to a look at what we might see in the future.
Here are the topics and voices you’ll hear, with timestamps of the segments included for easy navigation:
Introduction — Zoran Basich, a16z crypto editor
Before bitcoin: previous attempts to create digital money (1:45) — Dan Boneh, computer science professor at Stanford and a16z advisor
The core innovations of Satoshi’s white paper (3:36) — Dan Boneh
Proof of work (5:36) — Alex Pruden, chief strategy officer at Aleo Systems and former a16z crypto partner
Mining and why it’s important (7:10) — Alex Pruden
The history of mining (8:20) — Alex Pruden
Value in monetary systems, or why bitcoin is worth anything (9:53) — Arianna Simpson, a16z crypto partner
Bitcoin as store of value (11:30) — Arianna Simpson
Security in crypto (12:45) — Alex Pruden
Why is it called a blockchain? (14:00) — Eddy Lazzarin, a16z data scientist
Why the blockchain matters and what you can do with it (15:09) — Chris Dixon, a16z general partner
Beyond bitcoin (17:01) — Eddy Lazzarin
Ethereum as logical extension of open source (17:36) — Eddy Lazzarin
Tokens: What are they? (19:04) — Eddy Lazzarin
Tokens and the functions they serve (19:53) — Scott Kupor, a16z managing partner
Tokens and the ownership economy (21:19) — Jesse Walden, Variant Fund founder, former a16z partner, and Mediachain founder
What tokens enable for creators (22:18) — Ali Yahya, a16z general partner
What DeFi means (23:58) — Eddy Lazzarin
Yield farming: What is it? (25:16) — Eddy Lazzarin
NFTs: What they are and why they matter (27:15) — Linda Xie, Scalar Capital managing director, and Jesse Walden
Developer ecosystems, crypto, and composability (30:17) — Jesse Walden
Decentralized networks, value capture, and what it means for builders (33:05) — Ali Yahya
The big picture, web3, and DAOs (35:38) — Chris Dixon
For more crypto resources, please see our Crypto Startup School page, our documentary about the program, and our NFT Canon.
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Dan Boneh is a special advisor on the a16z crypto team.
Chris Dixon is a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz since 2012 where he founded and leads a16z crypto.
Scott Kupor is an investing partner focused on growth-stage companies building in the bio and healthcare industries.
Eddy Lazzarin is the CTO of a16z crypto.
Alex Pruden
Arianna Simpson is a General Partner at a16z crypto (@AriannaSimpson on X).
Jesse Walden
Linda Xie
Ali Yahya is a General Partner at a16z crypto (@alive.eth on Farcaster | @alive_eth on X).
Sonal Chokshi is Editor in Chief of Crypto at Andreessen Horowitz.
Zoran Basich
The a16z Podcast discusses the most important ideas within technology with the people building it. Each episode aims to put listeners ahead of the curve, covering topics like AI, energy, genomics, space, and more.