History

There’s no more instructive history for those who work in crypto than the rise of the personal finance industry. 

Almost everything we take for granted about money today…
- credit cards and national payment networks
- mutual funds, money markets, ETFs
- high interest savings accounts and the discounting (later zeroing) of broker commissions 
- investment firms “going direct” to retail
…even government financing through budget deficits and inflation!

All these once heretical ideas had to be invented (circa 1958 on). By people who were crazy. Revolutionaries and renegades… who were RIGHT.

math

51 feels like a prime number

…it’s weird that 51 = 17 x 3

crypto

BTC and ETH ETFs (actually ETPs!) were approved and listed earlier this year.

Here's what it means for crypto as an asset class:
https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/eth-etf-etp-faq/

A lot of people mistakenly call the recent BTC and ETH market products “ETF.”

They’re not ETFs!

Here’s why the nuance makes all the difference.

A lot of people mistakenly call the recent BTC and ETH market products “ETF.”

They’re not ETFs!

Here’s why the nuance makes all the difference. https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/eth-etf-etp-faq/

Founders

It’s time to fight for the right to create.

Today, @a16zcrypto, @standwithcrypto, @opensea are kickstarting the Creator Defense Fund, a legal defense fund for creators using blockchain technology to connect with fans, monetize their work, and bring creativity to the world.

We’re contributing $1M and partnering with top law firms to offer legal services and consultations for artists and creators who are facing potential government action or simply want to ensure they are structuring their NFT projects in a legal and compliant manner.

In this special series of posts continuing our Token Launch Playbook, we cover token "do's and don'ts"; the ins and outs of tokens as part of overall compensation; a new cash flow model for web3 application tokens; and the art of tokencraft.

We also share more on how to prepare for token launches, and how to structure deals involving token rights and restrictions — including how to avoid predatory term sheets.

See also the first part of this series below, which covers what you need to know before you launch a token, as well as an operational readiness checklist from token creation to custody; rules for token launches and strategies for managing risk; and more.

Check out all of the new resources here: https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/guide-to-tokens/

Featuring @eddy, @milesjennings,  @hackr, @mehdi, @mason, @shuel.eth, & more.

Books

New podcast episode covering what we're reading -- including picks from our latest summer reading list and evergreen recommendations as well -- as well as how we read, and why we read (religion, mythology, fantasy, infotainment, fiction vs nonfiction, and more).

w/ @smc90, @hackr, @stzinn, & Tim Sullivan
   
Tune in: https://link.chtbl.com/yA_BTHQP?sid=warpcast

Music

the funk cannot be stopped

the funk cannot be stopped

you cannot stop the funk

the funk cannot be stopped

the funk cannot be stopped

you cannot stop the funk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWW4tFuzxGE

Here are some books we're reading and recommending this summer:

 📚 → https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/book-recommendation-reading-list-summer-2024/

e/acc

This skewering of the decels gave me a good laugh

Some tools/ apps i'm thinking about building for myself:
- a weblog scraper
- a daily habit tracker
- a repository for book excerpts

What other fun coding projects are there for beginners?

gm to everyone who is also building a web scraper with python this fine sunday morning

Writing is the handmaiden of leadership; Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill rode to glory on the back of the strong declarative sentence. 

- William Zinsser, Writing to Learn

O P T I M I S M 🔴✨

Today's podcast episode features @jing, CEO and executive director of the 
@optimism Foundation, along with our CTO @eddy & editor @hackr.

⤵️

https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/podcast/optimism-open-source-superchain-jing-wang/

i spoke with @jing @eddy about

- open source
- the superchain
- theory of the firm
- articles of confederation
- foundations (how to)
+ ~vibes~

on the latest @a16zcrypto pod (ft. @optimism)

listen here

CTO @a16zcrypto, lover of https://github.com/a16z/awesome-farcaster

We back bold entrepreneurs building the next internet. 
a16zcrypto.com/

The House of Representatives made history today by passing the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21). 

FIT21’s success is proof that protecting blockchain technology in the U.S. has strong, bipartisan support.

More below. ⤵️

huge moment for crypto and America

FIT21 passes in the House

now onto the Senate

Ethereum

Our new podcast episode covers the bustling area of “layer 2” rollups, a technology for scaling “layer 1” blockchains such as Ethereum. 

Featuring @jessepollak from @coinbase along with our very own 
@hackr & @ncitron.eth.
https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/podcast/layer-2-rollups-base-building-onchain-jesse-pollak/

Learned a lot from @jessepollak and how he thinks about building @coinbase's @base on the latest @a16zcrypto pod.

We talked about...
- bottom-up vs. top-down leadership
- scaling Ethereum
- rollups vs. bridges
- winning product vs. winning market
- futarchy
- hyphens (and a lot else)

with @ncitron.eth

@base builder #001; onchain cities w/ OAK & city3

building open source public goods @a16zcrypto

Play-to-Earn 
https://warpcast.com/tom-major/0x0eec1025

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 @milesjennings, @jasonr, & @adina put together a playbook covering the how, when, and what, as it relates to token launches.

Dig into the posts ⤵️

From 'tap' chips to Taylor Swift.

Check out this timely episode w/ @creeefs, @michaelblau, & @hackr 🎙

https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/podcast/lets-get-digi-physical-from-tap-chips-to-taylor-swift/

👀

Good timing for an episode covering T Swift