This week on The Defiant Podcast we speak with Ali Yahya, General Partner at a16z, also known as Andreessen Horowitz. a16z is an investment giant - they’ve raised $6.7B between their crypto funds in the last two years and are the largest crypto-dedicated fund in the world.

We start by discussing how a16z got its start in crypto - their first investment, where they channelled their focus, and how they evolved to where they are today.

According to Ali, we’re entering the Golden Age of blockchain applications. We talk about how building in the middle of the bear market is laying the foundation for the next bull run.

Ali notes several key developments he’s observing in blockchain that span from networking to usability at the application layer. These include innovations in privacy, programming languages, proof-of-stake, consensus algorithms, zero-knowledge proofs, scalability and interoperability.

An important takeaway from our conversation is that Ali believes in a future of multiple blockchains that coexist with each chain serving a particular purpose.

Will we see today’s biggest players maintain their dominance in the future? Or are the next generation of blockchains yet to launch?

🙏 Thanking our podcast sponsors:

• This episode is brought to you by Circle, the sole issuer of USDC, and a leader in crypto that’s held to a higher standard. Learn more at https://www.circle.com/en/usdc


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• Aleo is enabling developers to build their own private and scalable apps. Currently in their third incentivized testnet phase, you can find more information at https://leo-lang.org/