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Aug 29, 2019 · 15m · a16z

Taking Crypto Beyond Volatility: Stablecoins

Sep Kamvar · 12m spoken
0:00 / 0:00
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In this presentation from the Andreessen Horowitz Crypto Regulatory Summit, Sep Kamvar explains why stablecoins are essential for global financial inclusion and details the technical mechanisms, trade-offs, and societal potential of programmable money.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →

The host as informed peer 0.0 Guest teaching 0.0 Guest disagreement 0.0 The host pushing back 0.0
05100:0010:000:00–2:08 · The host as informed peer 0/10 Legal Disclosures and Disclaimers Sep Kamvar delivers an introductory monologue outlining the necessity of stablecoins, drawing parallels to e-commerce adoption in Japan and addressing the needs of global unbanked populations. The host is entirely absent from the dialogue, resulting in zero scores for host metrics.2:08–4:37 · The host as informed peer 0/10 The Problem of Price Volatility in Crypto The guest details the mechanics of algorithmic stablecoins proposed by Robert Sams alongside the emergence of fiat-backed Tether. The presentation remains explanatory and monologue-based without host involvement.4:37–8:31 · The host as informed peer 0/10 Fiat-Backed Stablecoins and Their Limitations Sep critiques fiat-backed stablecoins for central operator dependency and references Charles Eisenstein's concept of natural capital-backed currencies. There is no host interaction or pushback present.8:31–12:38 · The host as informed peer 0/10 Crypto-Backed Stablecoins and Mechanism Design The guest introduces crypto-backed hybrid stablecoins and shares the historical Curitiba bus token case study to advocate for currency ecologies. The host does not interject or participate in the segment.0:00–2:08 · Guest teaching 0/10 Legal Disclosures and Disclaimers Sep Kamvar delivers an introductory monologue outlining the necessity of stablecoins, drawing parallels to e-commerce adoption in Japan and addressing the needs of global unbanked populations. The host is entirely absent from the dialogue, resulting in zero scores for host metrics.2:08–4:37 · Guest teaching 0/10 The Problem of Price Volatility in Crypto The guest details the mechanics of algorithmic stablecoins proposed by Robert Sams alongside the emergence of fiat-backed Tether. The presentation remains explanatory and monologue-based without host involvement.4:37–8:31 · Guest teaching 0/10 Fiat-Backed Stablecoins and Their Limitations Sep critiques fiat-backed stablecoins for central operator dependency and references Charles Eisenstein's concept of natural capital-backed currencies. There is no host interaction or pushback present.8:31–12:38 · Guest teaching 0/10 Crypto-Backed Stablecoins and Mechanism Design The guest introduces crypto-backed hybrid stablecoins and shares the historical Curitiba bus token case study to advocate for currency ecologies. The host does not interject or participate in the segment.0:00–2:08 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Legal Disclosures and Disclaimers Sep Kamvar delivers an introductory monologue outlining the necessity of stablecoins, drawing parallels to e-commerce adoption in Japan and addressing the needs of global unbanked populations. The host is entirely absent from the dialogue, resulting in zero scores for host metrics.2:08–4:37 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Problem of Price Volatility in Crypto The guest details the mechanics of algorithmic stablecoins proposed by Robert Sams alongside the emergence of fiat-backed Tether. The presentation remains explanatory and monologue-based without host involvement.4:37–8:31 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Fiat-Backed Stablecoins and Their Limitations Sep critiques fiat-backed stablecoins for central operator dependency and references Charles Eisenstein's concept of natural capital-backed currencies. There is no host interaction or pushback present.8:31–12:38 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Crypto-Backed Stablecoins and Mechanism Design The guest introduces crypto-backed hybrid stablecoins and shares the historical Curitiba bus token case study to advocate for currency ecologies. The host does not interject or participate in the segment.0:00–2:08 · The host pushing back 0/10 Legal Disclosures and Disclaimers Sep Kamvar delivers an introductory monologue outlining the necessity of stablecoins, drawing parallels to e-commerce adoption in Japan and addressing the needs of global unbanked populations. The host is entirely absent from the dialogue, resulting in zero scores for host metrics.2:08–4:37 · The host pushing back 0/10 The Problem of Price Volatility in Crypto The guest details the mechanics of algorithmic stablecoins proposed by Robert Sams alongside the emergence of fiat-backed Tether. The presentation remains explanatory and monologue-based without host involvement.4:37–8:31 · The host pushing back 0/10 Fiat-Backed Stablecoins and Their Limitations Sep critiques fiat-backed stablecoins for central operator dependency and references Charles Eisenstein's concept of natural capital-backed currencies. There is no host interaction or pushback present.8:31–12:38 · The host pushing back 0/10 Crypto-Backed Stablecoins and Mechanism Design The guest introduces crypto-backed hybrid stablecoins and shares the historical Curitiba bus token case study to advocate for currency ecologies. The host does not interject or participate in the segment.

speaking balance: gold is the host, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%0:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%3:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%3:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%6:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%6:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%9:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%9:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%12:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%12:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%15:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%15:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 2:08 Constructive Critique of Crypto Volatility

Sep notes that denominating mortgages or contracts in volatile crypto fails in practice, serving as a mild critique of traditional cryptocurrencies without hostility.

 Hardest push from the host ▶ 0:00 Absence of Host Pushback

The host does not interject or challenge any statements throughout the entire recorded presentation.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 1:10 Educational Insight on Unbanked Populations

Sep explains the severe financial constraints faced by 1.7 billion unbanked individuals, providing key educational context to the audience.

 The host holds their own ▶ 0:00 Absence of Host Expertise Demonstration

The host provides no interjections or commentary, leaving no opportunity to demonstrate expertise.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicThe host as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementThe host pushing backWhy
Legal Disclosures and Disclaimers 0000 Sep Kamvar delivers an introductory monologue outlining the necessity of stablecoins, drawing parallels to e-commerce adoption in Japan and addressing the needs of global unbanked populations. The host is entirely absent from the dialogue, resulting in zero scores for host metrics.
The Problem of Price Volatility in Crypto 0000 The guest details the mechanics of algorithmic stablecoins proposed by Robert Sams alongside the emergence of fiat-backed Tether. The presentation remains explanatory and monologue-based without host involvement.
Fiat-Backed Stablecoins and Their Limitations 0000 Sep critiques fiat-backed stablecoins for central operator dependency and references Charles Eisenstein's concept of natural capital-backed currencies. There is no host interaction or pushback present.
Crypto-Backed Stablecoins and Mechanism Design 0000 The guest introduces crypto-backed hybrid stablecoins and shares the historical Curitiba bus token case study to advocate for currency ecologies. The host does not interject or participate in the segment.

Statements from this episode (11)

Assertion Supported
Kamvar: 3.5 billion people globally lack active bank accounts
“1.7 billion people in the world don't have bank accounts. And about three and a half billion people in the world don't have active bank accounts.”
Sep Kamvar Aug 29, 2019 ▶ 1:14
Insight
Kamvar: Smart contracts enable financial infrastructure for billions of underbanked
“Cryptocurrencies and the blockchain and smart contracts more generally give the tools to create all of these. Payment rails, inexpensive remittances, credit histories, escrow, et cetera, for the billions of underbanked.”
Sep Kamvar Aug 29, 2019 ▶ 1:46
Insight
Kamvar: Bitcoin volatility renders it unsuitable for long-term financial contracts
“And it equally doesn't feel great to denominate a contract in bitcoin. If you denominate your mortgage in bitcoin, you might find that your mortgage payments triple from month to month.”
Sep Kamvar Aug 29, 2019 ▶ 2:22
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kamvar: First credible stablecoin proposal was Robert Sams' 2014 Seigniorage Shares
“And the first credible Sablecoin proposal was in 2014 by someone named Robert Sams, and he called this proposal sign your shares.”
Sep Kamvar Aug 29, 2019 ▶ 3:02
Assertion Contradicted
Kamvar: Tether users cannot inspect code to verify its operations
“Now, the drawback to Tether is that unlike the open source cryptocurrency that I described previously, it's, there's no way for a user of Tether to inspect the code to see that it is doing what it says it does.”
Sep Kamvar Aug 29, 2019 ▶ 5:24
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kamvar: Tether maintained stability and pioneered fiat-backed stablecoins
“Now, despite that drawback, Tether has remained remarkably stable over the few years that it's been running, and it laid the intellectual foundation for a class of stable coins that I'll call fiat-backed stable coins.”
Sep Kamvar Aug 29, 2019 ▶ 5:50
Opinion
Kamvar: Fiat-backed stablecoins misunderstand the true potential of cryptocurrency
“And the second limitation, and this is subtler, but I think it's even more important, is that all they can be is a proxy to fiat. And I think this misunderstands the true potentiality of cryptocurrencies.”
Sep Kamvar Aug 29, 2019 ▶ 7:04
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kamvar: Crypto-backed stablecoins can be fully open-sourced and decentralized
“Because it's all in crypto, the protocol can be written entirely in code, open sourced, and operated in a decentralized manner.”
Sep Kamvar Aug 29, 2019 ▶ 9:09
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Kamvar: Money will inevitably become diverse ecologies rather than single objects
“The whole story is we're moving inevitably to a world in which both store of value and medium of exchange are ecologies rather than objects.”
Sep Kamvar Aug 29, 2019 ▶ 10:27
Insight
Kamvar: Stablecoins are necessary for smart contracts and community currencies
“It's because they not, not only are stablecoins necessary for micropayments, for peer-to-peer insurance, for any kind of smart contract, but they are necessary to enable, at scale, stories like Korachiba.”
Sep Kamvar Aug 29, 2019 ▶ 12:24
Insight
Kamvar: Blockchain makes money programmable just as the internet transformed media
“In the same way that the internet made media accessible and programmable, the technology of the blockchain does the same for money. It makes money accessible and programmable.”
Sep Kamvar Aug 29, 2019 ▶ 14:37
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