Founders

Today's web3 with a16z episode is all about marketing — including differences between marketing in crypto and traditional tech.

The conversation shares a candid look at what works — and what doesn’t — when it comes to building reputation and community, attracting developers, hiring teams and agencies, launching tokens, raising founder profiles, and more.

Our experts are:

... Amanda Tyler (@amandatyler), who was most recently Head of Marketing at the Optimism Foundation (and was formerly at Polygon, Coinbase, and Google);

... Claire Kart (@clairekart), Chief Marketing Officer at Aztec (who previously was at Risc Zero and SoFi);

... in conversation with Kim Milosevich (@kimbatronic), CMO at a16z crypto (who was formerly VP of Comms at Coinbase, and who has spent decades in tech at a16z, Skype, Yahoo, and elsewhere).

Check out the full episode:  https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/podcast/marketing-101-startups-token-launches-memes-devs/

marketing masterclass with @kimbatronic @clairekart @amandatyler

👋 Hi, we’re on the same team. 🔴✨Head of Marketing @ Optimism 

CMO Aztec // mother of chains // in testnet // reply girl

idk how they did it but koreans have mastered the technology of food

Parenting

nothing has persuaded me of the power of marketing more than my toddler swinging from tantrum to wild enthusiasm when i label his food something it isn’t

*points at sliced beets*

“you don’t like your fruit?”

Stablecoins are a payments inflection point:

There has been a flurry of stablecoin news lately, so did a special podcast episode to cover everything that’s been going on. 

@smc90 and @hackr are joined by a16z crypto’s Data Science lead @darenmatsuoka who shares the actual data behind the stablecoin trend. 

Then we have @sambroner — who is a Deal Partner here and our frequent author on stablecoins — to analyze the news, and help highlight the signal versus the noise.

Check out the full episode: https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/podcast/stablecoin-news-stripe-visa-coinbase-circle/

One of the most critical phases of the secure software development cycle is the security audit: an independent assessment of one’s code or systems that’s designed to flag possible flaws. 

In this post,  a16z crypto Security Engineer Matt Gleason shares what he’s learned that can help you prepare for and follow best practices throughout — before, during, and after — a security review.

Full post: https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/security-audit-best-practices/

more than a THIRD of rekt leaderboard hacks were for 'unaudited' projects. 

how many more could have been prevented by following security review best practices?

more than a THIRD of rekt leaderboard hacks were for 'unaudited' projects. 

how many more could have been prevented by following security review best practices?

 https://rekt.news/leaderboard

Every human life is a differential for computing the arc of history in a cosmic calculus

memecoiners were so preoccupied with whether or not they could coin it they didn't stop to think if they should

pretty sure this game already has a well-established name…

i know this is a controversial take and may get me in trouble but what we actually need is 

more tolkienized content

Stablecoins have found product market fit and this chart shows it.

Stablecoin activity is largely uncorrelated to crypto market cycles – organic, non-speculative use appears to be widespread and growing even as crypto trading volume fluctuates.

crypto trading: cyclic

stablecoin use: linear

luckily my duolingo gems are completely unaffected by the stock market

The Biden SEC's attack on crypto created perverse incentives that were detrimental to Americans. 

For example, it led to them being excluded from airdrops, depriving them of ownership of the internet. 

Today, we published a quick explainer of our airdrop safe harbor proposal👇
https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/airdrops-safe-legal-frequent/

Airdrops are more than token giveaways, they redistribute ownership of internet protocols and services

Over 4 years at @a16zcrypto, I've found writing to be the best tool for exploring crypto’s complexity—from advising founders to constructing policy.

It’s a discovery engine that demands clarity, consistency and transparency.

Here are 10 posts I learned the most from writing:

In this episode, we talk about one of the most familiar — and most misunderstood — mechanics in crypto: the airdrop.

We explore the history of airdrops in and outside crypto, the challenges of incentive design, and learnings from airdrops to date.

We also answer questions like how do you avoid Sybil attacks and professional airdrop farming? Should your drop be big or small, one-time or ongoing? And what happens when AI agents enter the mix?

To break it all down, we’re joined by @eddy, @darenmatsuoka, @andyhall, & @hackr 

Whether you’re planning a token launch, looking for token rewards, or just curious why airdrops have become such a powerful mechanism in crypto — this episode is for you.

https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/podcast/all-about-airdrops/

Everything you ever wanted to know about AIRDROPS, packaged just for you...

Thanks @eddy @darenmatsuoka @andyhall for coming on the show.

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

I study decentralized governance @ Stanford GSB & a16z crypto 

andrewbenjaminhall.com

Reminder that the Old English for a forester was wuduweard, or ‘forest-guardian’. Today the word survives as the last name Woodward. https://t.co/JrtCKKjPuI

Wylfċen

Squidward, guardian of squids https://x.com/wylfcen/status/1909110538950365658

In this episode, we’re talking about congestion pricing — an area of mechanism design that’s aimed at alleviating something everyone hates: traffic.

In the first part of today’s episode, we’ll trace the history of the economic ideas that got us here. In the middle, we’ll dig deeper into the details of putting congestion pricing into practice, plus technological alternatives. And in the final part, we’ll explore parallels to — and implications for — crypto networks.

Our guest is Michael Ostrovsky, a Stanford Economics Professor who specializes in this area and who has done research on congestion pricing in New York. We’re also joined by a16z crypto Research Partner @skominers, who is a Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, where he teaches market design and entrepreneurship.

With our host @hackr 🎙️

https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/podcast/congestion-pricing-economics-new-york/

i spoke to two economists about congestion pricing — from city blocks to blockchains

great conversation with @skominers + Mike Ostrovsky (who has been researching the implementation in NYC)

@a16zcrypto • Harvard/HBS • 🧩 • QED

1/ I’m excited to announce the cohort for our fourth Crypto Startup Accelerator program (CSX 04), starting this week in San Francisco.   

CSX helps early-stage startups building on blockchain technologies to accelerate development and product-market fit. It is an intensive program that provides the expertise, mentorship, and support that startups need to build ambitious products across industries. 

Over the next two months, the founders of these companies will get firsthand guidance and support from a16z crypto’s investing and operating teams. We connect founders with capital, industry experts across the a16z network, and a cohort of leading web3 teams. a16z CSX also invests a minimum of $500,000 in each company that’s accepted. 

The founders in CSX 04 are coming to San Francisco from countries around the world: Canada, France, Germany, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, and across the US.

OH: monster jam is just figure skating but antielitist

intercomputer realist @a16zcrypto / editor https://readwriteown.com/ / host a16zcrypto.com/posts/podcast/