What Comes After Stablecoins? (ft. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire and Chris Dixon)
What Comes After Stablecoins? (ft. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire and Chris Dixon)  
Podcast: a16z crypto show
Published On: Fri Oct 16 2026
Description: Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire joins a16z crypto founder and founding partner Chris Dixon for a conversation about stablecoins, Circle’s Arc blockchain, and what happens when programmable money meets increasingly capable machines.Drawing on decades of building and investing through changes in internet technology, Jeremy and Chris reflect on how far crypto has come, what still stands between it and mainstream adoption, and why its most compelling applications may look unfamiliar today.Highlights00:00 Intro01:00 Circle’s original vision for programmable money06:22 Why institutions started taking stablecoins seriously11:07 Building a global financial network14:05 What gives a stablecoin its moat?19:05 Is crypto still waiting for its iPhone moment?25:35 Crypto’s growing adoption beyond speculation27:18 From making existing things better to creating entirely new markets32:06 The weirdest experiments being built on Arc36:09 What happens when AI hires AI37:12 Why the next big thing starts out looking like a toy38:12 Can blockchains counter AI’s centralizing tendencies?39:47 How Arc balances openness and accountability43:32 What the machine economy could look like in five yearsSubscribe to the a16z crypto newsletterhttps://a16zcrypto.substack.com/More from a16z cryptohttps://a16zcrypto.com/Follow a16z cryptohttps://twitter.com/a16zcryptoSubscribe on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTHq3W46BiAYjKUYZq2qm-QThis content is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not necessarily reflect the views of a16z or its affiliates. For important disclosures, see https://a16z.com/disclosures/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.