Crypto, Beyond Silk Road
watch time: 26 minutes
As a former Department of Justice prosecutor, Katie Haun set up the first-ever “cryptocurrency task force” for the U.S. government. She also led the investigations into the Mt. Gox hack and the corrupt agents on the Silk Road task force — the first cases of the U.S. government using the bitcoin blockchain to fight fraud, not just against criminals but against their own.
Haun — Coinbase board member, Stanford lecturer, and now general partner on a16z crypto — shares that story in this talk, originally delivered at a16z’s annual innovation summit, which features invited speakers from various organizations discussing innovation and the evolution of tech trends. So she further dispels some misconceptions about crypto, sharing use cases beyond speculation around the world, where crypto is being used to address hyperinflation, help the unbanked, ease international remittances, and more.
The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation.
This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly as well as unannounced investments in publicly traded digital assets) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/.
Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.