with @mg_486662 and @rhhackett

Welcome to web3 with a16z. I’m Robert Hackett and today we’re talking about what is potentially the biggest heist of all time — a hack of the Dubai-based crypto exchange ByBit which took place last month for a total of $1.5 billion and which the Federal Bureau of Investigation has attributed to a North Korean state-sponsored hacking group.

In this episode, we cover details of how the attack went down, the state of crypto security across different types of wallets and organizations, and what you can do to help protect yourself from similar attacks.

We’re joined by Matt Gleason, a security expert at a16z crypto, whose excellent write-up of the incident you can find below. We’ve also included an FBI PSA about the hack and other useful links as well.

Resources:

• Breaking down the ByBit hack: Lessons to learn from crypto’s largest heist [a16z crypto; March 2025]
• North Korea responsible for $1.5 billion ByBit hack [FBI; February 2025]
• Learn THIS so you don't lose $50M | Multi-sig (Safe) Hardware Wallet Verification [Patrick Collins on YouTube; January 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.

with @haydenzadams @kidsuper @smc90

This episode involves a special mix of guests:

• Hayden Adams, founder and CEO of Uniswap Labs, and inventor of the Uniswap Protocol a leader in decentralized finance (DeFi); they recently announced Unichain; and
• Colm Dillane, the multimedia artist behind fashion brand KidSuper, CFDA award winner who has his own Warhol Factory-like creative studio and space; Dillane started out selling t-shirts in his highschool cafeteria, and then went on to present his collection at Paris Fashion week — and has also done creative campaigns for iconic brands from Louis Vuitton and Mercedes Benz to Puma and Converse

...in conversation with editor in chief Sonal Chokshi. The conversation originally took place at our Founder Summit (October 2024) but is more relevant than ever as the crypto industry focuses on mainstream applications and users. It covers:

• industry jargon, to making technology not just more broadly available but more culturally and socially understood
• the power of naming, including the origin story behind the unicorn and Unisocks and more
• the difference between marketing vs. spectacle
• the power of early community and what it means to expand to new users vs "sell out”
• drops -- “airdrops” in crypto; drops in fashion (a la Supreme), and just product launches in general

We also touch on some questions and issues around open source, including forking and copying -- good or bad? -- and whether a collective can actually do good design.

The theme throughout is about innovating vs. stagnating -- learning from different industries and places; trying (unexpected) new things, even when there may not be a clear business case up front, and much more.

As a reminder: None of the following should be taken as business, investment, legal, or tax advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information.

Welcome to web3 with a16z, today we’re running a special episode about the intersection of AI and crypto.

Our guests are a16z crypto Founder and Managing Partner Chris Dixon & a16z Growth General Partner David George. They discuss the broken economics of the internet, new models for creative people, how to think through the first-, second- and third-order effects of big platform shifts, and more.

Today’s episode is a crossover from a16z’s AI Revolution conversation series — and it’s especially timely as the paperback edition of Chris Dixon’s bestselling book Read Write Own goes to print. Check out the show notes for links to those and more.

• Watch the video here
• Read the transcript here
• See more from the AI Revolution conversation series here
• Check out Chris Dixon's book Read Write Own here

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.