logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2021
56m 22s

NFTs: What, Where, How, Why, Who

Andreessen Horowitz
About this episode

This deep-dive -- one of our occasional 2-4X explainer episodes on 16 Minutes; (past such episodes have covered everything from Section 230 and Tiktok to GPT-3 and the opioid crisis) -- teases apart what's hype/ what's real -- and the what, where, how, why, who, and other questions top of mind around all things NFTs:

  • what NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are -- as well as the properties of crypto that enable them, just to set some big-picture context;
  • what forms they take, and what is and ISN’T an NFT -- including where “social tokens” and the creator economy do and don’t come in;
  • common myths and misconceptions -- from ‘just a jpg’ to the frequent question of energy use & NFTs;
  • how they work -- as well as the broader ecosystem around NFTs, and different players;
  • various applications, now and next -- touching briefly on how to think about NFTs, whether you’re an artist/ creator, developer, or institution.

Editor in chief Sonal Chokshi interviews friends of a16z crypto Linda Xie, co-founder of Scalar Capital and former Product Manager at Coinbase; and Jesse Walden, founder at Variant Fund and former co-founder of Mediachain Labs (which was acquired by Spotify, where he was then an R&D lead).

Posted on both the a16z Podcast show and 16 Minutes, this episode is for everyone!

transcript available at: https://a16z.com/2021/03/27/nfts-explainer-faqs-hype-reality-innovation-crypto-creator-economy

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. In addition, this content may include third-party advertisements; a16z has not reviewed such advertisements and does not endorse any advertising content contained therein.

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.

 

Up next
Feb 2022
Parasite, the Malaria (Tech & Science) Edition
original episode notes and transcript here: https://future.a16z.com/podcasts/malaria-vaccine-tech-science-news/ Longtime podcast showrunner (2014-2022), primary host, and editor Sonal Chokshi shares three best-of episodes as she shifts gears and the show goes on hiatus until rela ... Show More
38m 5s
Dec 2021
Crypto at Congress: 'Watershed' Moment for Regulation and Web3
Welcome to 16 Minutes, our podcast where we discuss tech trends in the news and their impact on the long arc of innovation. Today’s topic is crypto regulation, and specifically, two recent federal government hearings in the news that were focused on crypto and therefore the relat ... Show More
12m 20s
Dec 2021
Inside the GameStop Drama; The U.S. Constitution, Auctioned
Welcome to 16 Minutes, our show on the a16z podcast network where we talk about tech trends that are dominating news headlines, industry buzz, and where we are on the long arc of innovation. Today’s episode actually features a look back at the GameStop saga — the stock market dra ... Show More
21m 11s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2020
TikTok & Beyond: The Algorithm Question, The Future of Product
With the U.S. tech partnership for TikTok being finalized, what happens if source code is excluded (and more specifically, the For You Page algorithm), given China’s revised export controls? But more broadly -- well beyond the specifics and politics of this deal -- what does the ... Show More
37m 30s
Jun 2019
a16z Podcast: Entrepreneurs, Then and Now
with Marc Andreessen (@pmarca), Ben Horowitz (@bhorowitz), and Stewart Butterfield (@stewart) A lot in technology -- and venture -- happens in decades. New cycles of technology come and go, including some secular shifts; a new generation of founders matures; and so much more chan ... Show More
44m 53s
Feb 2021
Amazon Narratives: Memos, Working Backwards from Release, More
When you hear stories about Amazon's "invention machine" -- which led to a company with not just one or two products but several successful diverse lines of business -- we often hear about things like: Memos, six pages exactly and no powerpoints at all!; or, the idea of just "wor ... Show More
1h 3m
Jun 2019
a16z Podcast: Stories from the Frontlines of Synthetic Fraud
Synthetic fraud—yes, it's a thing: a new evolution of consumer fraud that’s been emerging in financial services, to the tune of $1-$2B a year. In this episode of the a16z Podcast, Naftali Harris, co-founder and CEO of Sentilink, which builds technology to detect and stop syntheti ... Show More
34m 30s
Jul 2021
Systems Leadership for Disruptors and Incumbents
There's been a false dichotomy in technology and management lore over the past decade, between "brain" and "brawn", digital and physical, independence and interdependence, software culture versus industrial culture… or so observes Stanford Graduate School of Business lecturer, fo ... Show More
48 m
Mar 2019
a16z Podcast: How Many Taps in the Apple (Plus) Tree?
with Benedict Evans (@benedictevans) and Steven Sinofsky (@stevesi) What does Apple's recent event — in which a range of new services was announced, from Apple News Plus to Apple TV Plus to the Apple card — mean for the company's overall strategy and tactics? In this another of a ... Show More
28m 48s
May 2021
NFT Use Cases, Today and Tomorrow
Recently, a16z and the Stanford Center for Blockchain Research hosted the NFT Virtual Summit, which brought together leading thinkers and builders on the topic of NFTs, or non-fungible tokens — these tokens are enabling new creator and ownership economies to emerge. We’ve covered ... Show More
19m 7s
May 2024
Remaking the UI for AI
Make sure to check out our new AI + a16z feed: https://link.chtbl.com/aiplusa16z a16z General Partner Anjney Midha joins the podcast to discuss what's happening with hardware for artificial intelligence. Nvidia might have cornered the market on training workloads for now, but he ... Show More
40m 5s
Apr 2021
Crypto, an Oral Essay
This is a special episode of the a16z podcast — it's an audio history, told through the voices of the a16z crypto team, about what crypto is, how it really works, and why it matters. This "innovation overview" is meant as a resource, and it features hallway-style conversations wi ... Show More
38m 34s
Oct 2023
When Will AI Hit the Enterprise? Ben Horowitz and Ali Ghodsi Discuss
Today’s episode continues our coverage from a16z’s recent AI Revolution event. You’ll hear directly from a16z cofounder Ben Horowitz and Databricks cofounder and CEO, Ali Ghodsi as they answer questions around AI and the enterprise, plus their perspectives on open source, whether ... Show More
25m 33s