Crypto Enters 'Collared Shirt' Era, Says Andreessen Horowitz Partner Guy Wuollet

In early 2024, venture capital firm a16z crypto predicted that the crypto industry was on the cusp of a new era of mass consumer adoption. However, that era has yet to materialize. Instead, the dominant trend in crypto has been Wall Street’s rapid adoption of blockchain. The firm, which published the book 'Read Write Own', anticipated a challenge to social media and other decentralized blockchain-based services.

Guy Wuollet, a partner at a16z crypto, explained on the latest episode of Fortune’s Crypto Playbook that the industry is maturing. Wuollet, a computer scientist who joined a16z crypto in 2023, described the current situation as the 'collared shirt era'. This suggests a step up from a more informal phase, although the formality of a suit has not yet been reached.

The current 'collared shirt' era is reflected in the entry of BlackRock and Fidelity, offering Bitcoin in ETF wrappers and embracing blockchain technology in the form of stablecoins and tokenized equities. Recent adoption by the biggest names in traditional finance has helped bring blockchain into the mainstream. This, however, has not achieved one of the primary goals of long-time crypto boosters: the spread of decentralized technology into everyday life.

Wuollet points to a convergence between blockchain and AI. This convergence is setting the stage for crypto-powered agentic commerce, which will involve agents engaging in a wide variety of online transactions. Blockchain's tamper-proof, always-on payment rails could play a central role, especially when it comes to micropayments.

Wuollet highlights the convergence of blockchain and AI as a key factor in the evolution of cryptocurrencies, setting the stage for crypto-powered agentic commerce. In practice, this will entail the use of agents, both by developers and consumers, to conduct a wide variety of online transactions. Blockchain's immutable and always-available payment rails could be crucial, especially for micropayments.

Wuollet mentions that many talented people from consumer AI use cases are joining the crypto world, believing that the first agentic payments will happen on the blockchain. Even companies like Stripe have addressed this topic in their annual letters, talking about agentic payments.

The key question is whether there will be a standard protocol for all these payments or if the emerging landscape will fragment due to different companies favoring their own proprietary standards. Wuollet acknowledged the possibility of multiple standards but added that, unlike earlier phases of technology, this is unlikely to slow adoption, as AI models are uniquely good at deciphering and understanding different systems.

On the vodcast, Wuollet also discussed how he uses AI in his day-to-day life and what it’s like to work at a firm where some of the biggest names in venture capital are partners. The full episode, where other relevant topics in cryptocurrencies and finance are also discussed, is available on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.