00:54:12 · Erin Griffith, Mike Isaac
[00:54:12] S3: So I cover venture capital as as you know, and and one of the most famous firms, Andreessen Horowitz, recently made a big change to the branding and the name of one of their sub funds, which is their a 16 z crypto fund. They're one of the biggest crypto boosters and have been for many years. But now they are going by a sixteen z Frontier. Oh. And this was pretty notable to me. I mean, the Hard Fork listeners might remember Chris Dixon, their their top crypto investor, coming on for an interview a few years back talking about, you know, the importance of the blockchain and crypto for the future of the Internet. And so this would kind of make it look like they're backing away from that promise. And and that's kind of a thing that happens in VC a lot where, you know, VCs chase trends and and they change. And, you know, it it... It's not just a trend chasing business. It's also a marketing business because all money is kinda the same. And so in order to stand out and get the entrepreneurs to come to you, you have to kind of put a stake in the ground and say, like, this is what we're interested in, or this is what we're really excited about for the future. And so they were really, really big bulls on Yeah. On crypto. And and they, of course, despite the fact that crypto is super out of vogue right now and that, like, you know, something like 80, 90% of all VC dollars are basically going to AI, they have, you know, been very careful to say, we're not backing away from crypto. Mean, it's expanding our mandate. [00:55:39] S4: It's just all
00:55:39 · Mike Isaac, Max Read, Erin Griffith, Jasmine Sun
[00:55:39] S4: It's just all [00:55:40] S1: frontier now. [00:55:41] S3: Yes. Yeah. And and, like, this is something that other crypto funds have also been doing. They're not alone in this. There's a fund called Paradigm that, you know, was started by a Sequoia investor. In 2023, they very famously removed some of the crypto language from their website, and people noticed and freaked out. I I will say a big part of it is that there's probably just not that many people building crypto... Investable crypto startups right now because everyone wants to build an AI. So it kind of is necessary. Like, the crypto industry is... Like, one of their many problems with crypto is that without the hype, without the number going up, there's just less people that are interested in, like, working in this industry and and building on this industry. So, like, in order to find the opportunities to, like, deploy billions of dollars into startups, you you have to kind of, like, change your mandate. [00:56:28] S1: Yeah. When when crypto is too toxic even for Andreessen Horowitz, that's when you know the vibe [00:56:32] S3: has shifted. [00:56:33] S2: I mean, here at Hard Fork, we embrace our crypto nominated bargain. [00:56:37] S1: Right? That's right. Exactly. [00:56:39] S4: Our roots in the blockchain. We'll be sticking with this
00:56:39 · Mike Isaac, Max Read, S0, S5
[00:56:39] S4: Our roots in the blockchain. We'll be sticking with this [00:56:41] S1: name forever. Good lord. Wow. Well, guys, thank you for coming through. This has been a really fun discussion. I'm so glad to have you on. I hope you all come back soon. This has been Mike Isaac, Jasmine Sun, Erin Griffith. I'm Max Reed. Thank you for listening. [00:57:08] S0: You've invested in AI, but AI that doesn't know your business is just guessing faster. The real advantage comes when AI understands your goals, your priorities, and the decisions your teams have already made. Atlassian connects your work and knowledge, giving your teams and AI agents the context they need to make better decisions and move forward together. Learn more at atlassian.com. That's atlassian.com. [00:57:36] S5: This message is supported by ADT. It's all back. Back to school, back to work, back to the to do lists. ADT wants to help you get back to home. Their security systems protect you and yours so you can appreciate every moment. With systems that can be installed by pros and are accessible right from the ADT plus app. So you're always in control when you wanna be. With cameras, sensors, more doing what they do best, keeping an eye out. And if you ever need help, ADT's reps are on call 24 seven. When every second counts, count on ADT. Visit adt.com today.
00:57:36 · S5, S0
[00:57:36] S5: This message is supported by ADT. It's all back. Back to school, back to work, back to the to do lists. ADT wants to help you get back to home. Their security systems protect you and yours so you can appreciate every moment. With systems that can be installed by pros and are accessible right from the ADT plus app. So you're always in control when you wanna be. With cameras, sensors, more doing what they do best, keeping an eye out. And if you ever need help, ADT's reps are on call 24 seven. When every second counts, count on ADT. Visit adt.com today. [00:58:11] S0: Ripple has been powering modern finance for a decade. It's not our first trip around the blockchain, and it won't be our last. We are leading the charge to bridge the gap between existing financial systems and the future of finance. You can have it all. Legacy stability and digital innovation. Systems that work with your other systems. Because with the right partner, the question isn't crypto or traditional finance. The question is simply, why choose? A new standard of modern finance. It's happening with Ripple. For informational purposes only, availability of products can vary and may be provided by different Ripple entities.
00:58:11 · S0, Max Read
[00:58:11] S0: Ripple has been powering modern finance for a decade. It's not our first trip around the blockchain, and it won't be our last. We are leading the charge to bridge the gap between existing financial systems and the future of finance. You can have it all. Legacy stability and digital innovation. Systems that work with your other systems. Because with the right partner, the question isn't crypto or traditional finance. The question is simply, why choose? A new standard of modern finance. It's happening with Ripple. For informational purposes only, availability of products can vary and may be provided by different Ripple entities. [00:58:46] S1: This episode of Hard Fork was produced by Whitney Jones and Sawyer Roquet and edited by Viran Pavich. With additional editorial support from Brendan Klinkenberg, Lisa Tobin, and Brooke Minters, we were fact checked by Will Peischel and engineered by Daniel Ramirez. Original music by Marian Lozano, Alyssa Moxley, and Dan Powell. Additional video production by Chris Schott. You can watch this full episode on YouTube at youtube.com/hardfork. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Jessica Testa, Hui Wang Tam, Maddie Massiello, Dave Mayers, Luke Mylander, Thomas Trudeau, Samantha Winter, Kyle Grandillo, Michael Cordero, and Dalia Haddad. We love to hear from our audience. If you have any questions or comments or want to give us a piece of your mind, find us at nytimes.com/hardfork. You can also email us hardfork@nytimes.com.