a16z crypto Profile picture
Oct 16, 2024 10 tweets 6 min read Read on X
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/…Image
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/…Image
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/…Image
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/…Image
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/…Image
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/…Image
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/…Image
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/…Image
*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.comImage
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.Image

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with a16z crypto

a16z crypto Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @a16zcrypto

Apr 30
Stablecoin transaction volumes hit $1.82 trillion last month, a record high.

And organic, non-speculative uses appear to be growing, even as crypto trading volume fluctuates.

Still, it’s easy to underestimate the promise of stablecoins.

So we’ve rounded up a quickstart guide for understanding stablecoins — from what’s *not* a stablecoin to reimagining money from first principles.

Check out the guide: a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/…

⤵️Image
Stablecoins could be a ‘WhatsApp moment’ for money, making international transactions nearly free and instant.

Before apps like WhatsApp, sending a text across borders meant paying 30 cents per message.

Payments are now where messaging was in 2008: expensive, full of intermediaries, and limited by borders. Stablecoins could dramatically improve this situation.

More on this here… a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/…Image
What is (and is not) a stablecoin?

There are two types of stablecoins, and one common miscategorization.

Stablecoins can be:

✅Fiat backed: The value of a token is linked to an underlying currency
✅Asset-backed: The product of onchain loans, also known as CDPs.

Stablecoins are not:
❌Strategy-backed synthetic dollars (SBSDs): $1-denominated tokens that represent a combination of collateral and an investment strategy. SBDSs expose consumers to centralized exchange risks and and asset price volatility. They aren’t considered to be a reliable store of value or medium of exchange.

More on this here… a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/…Image
Read 8 tweets
Feb 4
Making the U.S. the crypto capital: What it would take

The U.S. seems to be turning its combative stance on blockchains and crypto toward a more supportive one that offers guidance and clarity on the rules for builders to follow. While it’s still early, a number of encouraging steps have already been taken across government toward that end. New leadership, new rules, new task forces — all of these help give the crypto industry something that it has sorely lacked: a meaningful path forward.

Whereas recent years were marked by lawsuits against startups, turf wars between regulatory agencies, angry letters from lawmakers, incidents of debanking, and regulation-by-enforcement, the past few weeks signal a much more optimistic, pro-tech approach. From the White House, we’ve seen the appointment of an AI & Crypto Czar and an executive order declaring support for blockchain development. The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has formed a new crypto task force and repealed Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, a damaging rule that had held back crypto development. And in both houses of Congress, prominent legislators have indicated a willingness to enshrine clear rules of the road for the industry in legislation.

To foster the conversation between government officials and blockchain experts, we’ve gathered 11 views from industry experts on issues ranging from taxes and the freedom to stake, to broader issues like encouraging decentralization and reforming the U.S. regulatory regime. These views offer policymakers important considerations for how to approach crypto regulation, ensuring that the U.S. leads this critical shift toward the next generation of the internet.

Read them here: a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/…Image
1. Why decentralization matters, and needs incentives

by @milesjennings

🔖: a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/…Image
@milesjennings 2. A new (digital) age at the SEC

by Scott Walker (@rstwalker) and Bill Hinman

🔖: a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/…Image
Read 13 tweets
Jan 7
5 pieces on AI x crypto: What, where, how

Beginning with why that convergence matters, and ending with some big ideas for the near future.

⤵️ Image
#1 Blockchain innovation will put an AI-powered internet back into users’ hands

by @cdixon

a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/…Image
#2 AI centralizes, crypto decentralizes

w/ @alive_eth, @danboneh, & @smc90

a16zcrypto.com/posts/podcast/…Image
Read 7 tweets
Dec 19, 2024
Here are a few of the books the a16z crypto team is reading and recommending this winter.

This list has something for everyone, from spherical geometry to celebrity autobiographies, and from the science of supervolcanoes to science fiction.

📚 ⤵️ Image
From @danboneh –– Heavenly Mathematics: The Forgotten Art of Spherical Trigonometry by Glen Van Brummelen

From @SamBroner –– Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War by Robert

From Brittney Burrows –– Medea by Rosie Hewlett Image
From @NoahCitron –– The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov

From @ahall_research –– The Restless Republic: Britain Without a Crown by Anna Keay

From @skominers –– If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler by Italo Calvino Image
Read 5 tweets
Aug 29, 2024
Your guide to tokens:

How to design, launch, structure rights, and more.

🧵
Token do's and don'ts

w/ @eddylazzarin, @milesjennings, @rhhackett

a16zcrypto.com/posts/podcast/…
How tokens can attract top talent: A compensation primer for web3

by Madan Nagaldinne, @cnaylor_ , @MehdiHasan715

a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/…
Read 13 tweets
Jul 16, 2024
Interested in learning about Zero Knowledge?

Here are some of our resources. 🧵
Zero knowledge made simple w/ @SuccinctJT
17 misconceptions about SNARKs (and why they hold us back)

by @SuccinctJT a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/…
Read 8 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(