Crypto Startup School
https://a16z.com/crypto-startup-school/
Applications Today and 2025
History
- A blockchain is a datbase for storing things of value
- Bitcoin is a protocol. Payments are now packets.
- This means machines can now hold and send money
- Blockchains have already 10x’d gold, SWIFT and crowdfunding https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=648
- Blockchains have already created many billion dollar entities https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=761
- Blockchain means you have a choice of who to trust https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=808
- Blockchains enable internet-scale capitalisation tables https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=831
- Blockchain is the new mobile-first https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=916
- Blockchain breaks network effects https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=972; you give value to people for joining early
- Blockchains transform social networks https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1046
- Blockchain is a partial move away from cloud towards privacy https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1081
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A blockchain’s value derives from its community; currency-first as the formation of their identity.
Three random people are not economically aligned; but a blockchain community is economically aligned https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1200
Blockchains take us from the slippery slope to the crypto cliff https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1233
Blockchains allow for experiments in self-governance https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1278
See Blockchain Governance Programming Our Future
Applications: 2020
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- Exchanges, miners and issuers have made millions or billions of dollars https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1395
- Hardware wallets are at reasonable scale https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1413
- Stablecoins exist and have different ways of implementing to peg to USD https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1433
- DeFi is also at reasonable scale https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1489 (see DeFiPulse)
### Applications: 2025
https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1524
Not every one of these is definitely going to be successful, but some of them may be.
- Privacy coins and privacy features: Dash, Monero, Zcash - these are trying to add a layer of privacy over Bitcoin https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1556
- Lending and interest https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1586: Compound, Maker
- Scaling https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1607
- Decentralised Cold Storage https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1633 Casa
- Saas-for-gas https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1666
- Insurance: Opyn, Nexus Mutual https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1698
- Multi-wallets (buy/sell/sign/vote/stake/register): MyCrypto https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1713
- Security: ZenGo https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1731
- Nodel financial instruments: Fomo3D, PoolTogether https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1750
- Blockchain games: egamers,Forte, EOS https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1822
- Crypto social networks: Voice, Twetch https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1846
- Decentralised DNS: ENS, Unstoppable, Blockstack, Handshake https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1871
- Automated Market Making https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1896
- Decentralised Identity https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1933
- Personal tokenisation https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1965 folks are issuing tokens for their time, or some function of their time
- Mutuals and Guilds: Moloch, Gitcoin https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=1980
- Founder’s Reward: Zcash, BCH https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=2023
- On-chain Developer Bounties https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=2070
- Clients for dApps https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=2084
- Developer Tools https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=2093
- Oracles and Prediction Markets https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=2106
- DAOs https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=2130
- Community-Owned Organisations https://youtu.be/3jPYk7ucrjo?t=2158
Q&A
Mechanism Design 101
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCFlGLbI_kE
Crypto Business Models & Defensibility
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCFlGLbI_kE
Chris Dixon: Crypto Networks and Why They Matter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wxtiNgXBaU
Blockchain Fundamentals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0JdeRzVndI