a16z crypto, Robert Hackett, Sonal Chokshi
130 episodes listed below
Crypto as infrastructure, argued carefully.
a16z crypto show is a measured interview series about the practical architecture behind crypto and adjacent technologies. Episodes move from big claims to implementation details: verification layers, lending markets, tokenized assets, creator data, Solana performance, and AI-era verification problems.
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a16z crypto show approaches crypto as a systems problem. That gives the series a different center of gravity from market commentary or trend chasing. Episodes usually begin with a broad pressure point, then work down into the machinery underneath it. What breaks when deepfakes become real-time? How does a lending protocol manage risk without a bank in the middle? Why does cheap block space create spam, and what does transaction ordering do for a network like Solana? The answers are rarely quick. The show lets guests explain their categories, assumptions, and tradeoffs at length, then uses follow-up questions to translate the argument into consumer, institutional, or developer terms. Recent conversations make identity feel less like a login feature and more like a missing internet layer. DeFi lending becomes a discussion about collateral, asset managers, banks, tokenized assets, and whether finance eventually lives on shared rails. AI is treated as both an accelerant and a verification problem, especially when agents, software work, provenance, and measurable tasks start to blur together. Creator episodes focus on audience ownership, not just monetization, asking what changes when fans can have a direct on-chain relationship with artists. The storytelling episode with Emily Yang aka pplpleasr adds a cultural dimension, connecting community participation, interactive media, and crypto-funded creative work. Institutional conversations with Fidelity frame tokenization through utility rather than novelty: who uses the asset, what does it do, and why does putting it on-chain matter? The show can be dry, but usually in a useful way. It is careful with definitions. It is comfortable admitting that verification, user behavior, and incentives are part of the same problem. Humor appears around the edges, from croissant transparency to reality television, but the analytical core stays intact. For listeners already curious about crypto, AI, finance, or internet platforms, the value is in hearing guests reason through what has to exist before the promised future becomes usable.
Made for: For technically curious listeners who want crypto, AI, and digital markets explained through systems, incentives, and implementation tradeoffs. It suits founders, investors, engineers, creators, and finance people who can tolerate jargon when it is tied to concrete problems.
What sets it apart: The show spends less time selling crypto as a movement and more time testing it as infrastructure. Its strongest episodes connect consumer examples to protocol-level questions about verification, ownership, lending, markets, and institutional adoption.
The a16z crypto show explores how decentralized networks are reshaping money, ownership, and the architecture of the internet. We go beyond the hype to look at what’s actually working, what isn’t, and what comes next as crypto continues to go mainstream and blockchains become core infrastructure. Each episode features conversations with founders, engineers, economists, policymakers, and researchers building at the frontier of finance, payments, AI, and distributed systems. We cover stablecoins and global payments, the tokenization of "real-world" assets, decentralized physical infrastructure, network design and governance, and the practical tradeoffs behind decentralization — along with less…
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
It turns crypto's biggest forecasts into concrete questions about payments, identity, lending, verification, and product design.
a16z crypto show follows the point where finance becomes a software infrastructure problem. The host uses conversations with founders and technical guests to examine AI agents with bank accounts, proof-of-human systems, crypto wallets as consumer finance hubs, and on-chain…
A crypto wallet as your everything app? You'll want the founder to explain that one.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A steady look at the messy problem of telling people from machines online.
The episode treats the line between humans, bots, agents, and deepfakes as a live problem, not a distant sci-fi worry. It is clearest when it moves from the broad question to specific situations: video calls, gaming, and high-value transactions.
A sober look at DeFi lending that favors operating mechanics over slogans.
This episode treats Morpho as lending and borrowing infrastructure rather than a crypto catchphrase, which gives the conversation real shape. Paul Frambot keeps returning to a small set of practical ideas: DeFi does not need a fully trustless system for under-collateralized…
A grounded look at how AGI changes work, verification, and economic surplus.
This episode treats AGI less like a sci fi idea and more like an economic one: what happens when one person, or a very small team, can command serious compute and get the output of several workers for $200 a month.
A sharp look at the plumbing agents need before they can handle money.
Sean Neville treats agentic software like plumbing, not prophecy. If agents are going to transact, hold balances, make payments, lend, and apply for credit, they need rails built for them.
Wallets are framed as the strongest crypto super app candidate.
This conversation makes a clean case that crypto wallets are the closest thing to a super app because they start with finance and money management instead of bolting payments on later. Robert Hackett, Brandon Millman, and J.
Freight news with the brakes off.
Workforce change, explained at executive altitude.
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire says USDC's utility and liquidity reinforce one another, with $150 billion minted and redeemed each quarter.
Guy Willette, an A16Z Crypto general partner, calls blockchains a digital transformation for finance comparable to cloud services for business.
Proof of human is turning into a platform problem with teeth.
Paul frames Morpho as non-chain lending and borrowing infrastructure.
This episode features an interview with Jito Labs CEO Lucas Bruder discussing how Solana is improving its speed and capacity, the role of Jito as a liquid staking protocol and validator client, and the vision for on-chain finance.
This episode features a live debate between Vitalik Buterin and Beff Jezos on AI acceleration, contrasting E/acc (effective accelerationism) and D/acc (deceleration) perspectives, moderated by Shaw and Eddie from A16Z Crypto.
This episode discusses how blockchain technology can solve creators' lack of audience data and direct communication with fans, enabling better monetization through platforms like Bond.
Christian Catalini and Eddie Lazarin open with the idea that AI may have given people a fresh kind of leverage.
Fidelity’s Cynthia says tokenizing an asset matters only if it gains on-chain uses that brokerage accounts cannot provide.
Sean Neville argues that agents will eventually need financial infrastructure built for them.
Robert Hackett opens by arguing that crypto wallets are the strongest candidate for the internet's next super app because they already start with finance.
This episode features Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko discussing the blockchain's origin story, engineering design, near-death experiences, and its unique approach to speed and iteration.
This episode explores marketing strategies for Web3 startups, focusing on differences between crypto and traditional tech, with insights from industry experts on building reputation, attracting developers, and launching tokens.
This episode explores the intersection of AI and crypto, discussing how AI agents might replace traditional websites and apps, and what user-owned AI means in this context.
This episode features a conversation with Eigen Labs founder Sriram Kanan discussing his transition from academia to tech entrepreneurship, the concept of Eigen Layer as an open innovation platform for blockchain networks, and practical insights on career decisions and leverage.
This episode explores creativity and innovation across industries through a conversation with Uniswap founder Hayden Adams and fashion artist KidSuper, discussing topics like crypto mainstream adoption, community building, and open source principles.