this week's a16z crypto newsletter 👇

​​🧠 1. Big idea: Forget antitrust, let tech disrupt itself
by Christian Catalini

'Today we’re at a critical policymaking juncture for all of our digital infrastructure, including AI, robotics, financial services, and digital marketplaces. If the…

With World ID, everyone can be unique online. Even Leo Messi 🇦🇷

1/ Wrapping up CSX Week 5!

We were lucky enough to have Brian Quintenz and Michele Korver join us to unpack and decode the crypto policy & regulatory landscape across the US & UK.

Together, they answered Founders' burning questions in terms of how to best navigate the current…

As my partner cdixon.eth often says, watch what engineers do on the weekends as the best leading indicator of which technology trends are candidates to go mainstream. Maybe a corollary to that - when that gets reflected in undergrad enrollment, the signals are even stronger!

Another one! Ep 2 of In the Vault feat. Marco Argenti of Goldman Sachs

Marco has had a hand in every major platform shift of the last 20+ years: internet, mobile, and now AI. We trace his journey from @Nokia to Amazon Web Services, to leading Goldman's global tech org.

Topics covered👇
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Two decades ago, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued Regulation AB and registration forms for asset-backed securities. ABS emerged as a unique asset class needing unique rules to comply with the law. If this wasn’t “special treatment” for a particular asset class then, why would it be now?

Farcaster Wants to Win Over Crypto. Here’s How It’s Different From 'Crypto Twitter'

🗣️ Accounts not known for being popular on Crypto Twitter are developing big audiences on Farcaster. Meet the “casters” and channels to know as Farcaster tries to win over crypto.…

Great policy and regulatory discussion at a16z crypto CSX in London with Brian Quintenz and Michele Korver!

'Being able to do a software update and have several million cars suddenly go from manual driving to autonomous driving, I think, will be the single biggest asset value increase in history.'

Under the SEC's theory of the Howey Test, Elon just turned every Tesla into a security.

Yet the SEC approved ETH Futures ETF in October of 2023.

So Gensler needs to be under oath, explaining why he approved something that he believes was a security and under investigation.

Can’t have it both ways.

(1/7) Launching a token too early is one of the most common mistakes in web3 – it can be fatal for projects.

So, how do you get ready to launch?

Jason Rosenthal and I wrote about 5 things you can do before taking the leap.

Here’s a quick guide 🧵

a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/…

Most DEX frontends aren't brokers.

That's true for Coinbase 🛡️, and it should prove true for Uniswap Labs 🦄 and Consensys.

The SEC doesn't care. When told they were wrong on the law, their response was to go look for another judge...

Good on @ConsenSys for beating them to the punch💪

A huge announcement from the UK HM Treasury that they will focus on decentralization policy as a priority in implementing their new cryptoasset regime. The UK could be the first jurisdiction to get this right, which would make it the blockchain superpower of the world.

1/ CSX London Week 4 was a banger!

We kicked off the morning by exploring the bleeding edge of Incentives and Cryptography with Tim Roughgarden, Scott Kominers, Pranav Garimidi, Valeria Nikolaenko, Joseph Bonneau & Justin Thaler.

1/ When you want to launch a token, there are several steps you need to think about from an ops perspective. This applies even more when you’re working with stakeholders that get audited.

Launching a token can be as easy as sending an email.

Unlocking their potential as a new digital primitive and bringing them to market is much harder.

I’ve worked with dozens of founders tackling this challenge and am now releasing a 3-part playbook written for everyone. 🧵

One of the most frequent questions we get from founders is…

“How do I approach a token launch?”

So miles jennings , Jason Rosenthal, & Adina Fischer | adinafischer.eth put together a playbook covering the how, when, and what, as it relates to token launches.

Dig into the posts ⤵️

Cutting access to our legacy financial system for Bitcoin/crypto companies — even for pedestrian fiat-only services — is still alive and well. On Tuesday, BILL notified @Lightspark that based on their processing banks requirements, they couldn’t serve us anymore. Yesterday,…

Got to attend a great policy discussion on crypto/blockchains yesterday with UK City Minister Bim Afolami MP and then later with Lord Franck Petigas, the PM's business adviser with many from the UK ecosystem.

Was heartening to see the legislative work in progress around…

Google’s new “leave your activism at home” policy marks the end of an era. I spoke with Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong, the architect of mission-first, and Rails legend DHH. A retrospective on the policy that saved tech: piratewires.com/p/mission-acco…