We’ve just released our latest State of Crypto report.
It shares insights on key trends — like stablecoins, L2s, and AI — plus, crypto’s rise as a hot policy issue, new data on builders and users, and much more.
Full report:
Here are 7 top takeaways ⬇️ a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/…
1) Crypto activity and usage hit all-time highs
There have never been more monthly active addresses at 220 million.
Monthly mobile wallet users also hit an all-time high in June of 27 million.
See more on how we size up the industry: a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/…
2) Crypto has become a key political issue ahead of the U.S. election
Google search trends show rising interest in crypto in several swing states.
Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have seen the 4th and 5th-biggest jumps in crypto search interest since the last election.
Michigan is in the top 10.
📜: a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/…
3) Stablecoins have found product-market fit
Stablecoins are one of crypto’s clearest “killer apps.”
They did more than double Visa’s transaction volume in Q2 2024.
$8.5 trillion in volume compared to $3.9 trillion during the same period.
📜: a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/…
4) Major scaling upgrades have drastically reduced onchain transaction costs
In some cases they have dropped by *over 99%.*
Sending USDC on Coinbase’s Base costs less than a cent on average.
Compare that to the $44 on average that it costs to send an international wire transfer.
📜: a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/…
5) DeFi remains popular — and it’s growing
In the U.S., the number of banks has dropped by two-thirds since 1990 — and five big banks now control nearly half of all assets in the U.S.
DeFi represents a decentralized alternative to financial industry consolidation.
📜: a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/…
6) Crypto could solve some of AI’s most pressing challenges
Blockchain networks could help to:
→ Verify the authenticity of media including deepfakes
→ Democratize access to compute for developers
→ Create transparent, user-owned services
→ Compensate users who contribute data to AI models
📜: a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/…
7) More scalable infrastructure has unlocked new onchain applications
NFTs have shifted from speculation on high-volume secondary markets to low-cost social collecting experiences.
New opportunities are also opening across:
→Decentralized social networks
→Onchain games
→DePIN + more
📜: a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/…
*Bonus*
This year we’re releasing a new tool: our Builder Energy dashboard.
It shares proprietary, aggregated data — for the first time — based on our unique view of the crypto landscape, including the blockchains, technologies, and categories that are attracting builders.
Explore more: builderenergy.a16zcrypto.com
Check out the full report below ⤵
📜: a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/…
None of the above should be taken as investment advice or an advertisement for investment services. The content speaks only as of the date indicated and is for informational purposes only; all figures are as of September 30, 2024, unless otherwise noted. Please see a16z.com/disclosures/ for more information.
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.