Everything Stablecoins: Big Picture, Deep Dive

with @cdixon @SamBroner @rhhackett

Stablecoins are quietly transforming how money moves — faster, cheaper, and more globally than ever before. 

In this episode, we take a deep look at why stablecoins have emerged as one of the most promising applications in crypto today — and how they could reshape global payments.

I’m joined by Chris Dixon, founder and managing partner of a16z crypto and author of the New York Times-bestselling book Read Write Own, and Sam Broner, a deal partner at a16z crypto who focuses on stablecoins. 

Together, we unpack the technical and regulatory foundations of stablecoins, explore the cracks in the current payments system, and look ahead to what becomes possible once digital dollars go mainstream. We also dig into the current state of regulation — and why the future of money might end up looking a lot more like email or the web than a bank.

Check out the show notes for links and resources that we reference throughout this episode. Also be sure to listen to the episode we dropped just before this one where we analyze all the recent stablecoin news.

Timestamps:

(0:00) Introduction

(1:45) Payments, Finance, and the Internet

(4:03) The Promise and Potential of Stablecoins

(9:02) Global Financial System and Its Shortcomings

(11:29) The WhatsApp Analogy

(15:38) The Read Write Own Thesis

(19:15) The Power of Blockchains

(21:06) Venmo's Business Model

(23:17) Stripe's Opportunity

(25:11) Backwards Compatibility (Like Skype)

(28:13) The Role of Stablecoin Regulation

(34:36) Political Realities (vs. Big Banks)

(38:11) The Business Implications of Stablecoins

(40:31) The Stablecoin Investment Paradox

(47:07) Why Blockchains?

(51:11) Tech Marketing: Words vs. Products

(54:28) What Happens Next

(57:26) Global Demand for Stablecoins

(59:37) Learning from the Past

(1:05:06) Conclusion

Links to related resources:

• A guide to stablecoins: What, why, and how by a16z crypto editorial (a16z crypto, April 2025)
• Stablecoins: Payments without intermediaries by Chris Dixon (a16z crypto, April 2025)
• The month fintechs embraced stablecoins by Sam Broner (a16z crypto, May 2025)
• What Stripe's acquisition of Bridge means for fintech and stablecoins by James da Costa and Sam Broner (a16z crypto, April 2025)
• How stablecoins will eat payments, and what happens next by Sam Broner (a16z crypto, December 2024)
• A useful framework for understanding stablecoins: Banking history by Sam Broner (a16z crypto, November 2024)
• Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet by Chris Dixon (Random House, January 2024)
• A Piece of the Action: How the Middle Class Joined the Money Class by Joe Nocera (Simon & Schuster, October 1994)
• All about airdrops [podcast] by Eddy Lazzarin, Daren Matsuoka, Andrew Hall, and Robert Hackett (a16z crypto, April 2025)

As a reminder, none of the content should be taken as investment, business, legal, or tax advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.