Jan 2, 2019 · 20m · a16z
a16z Podcast | The Blockchain, in Congress
Congressman David Schweikert · 8m spoken Congressman Jared Polis · 4m spoken Mike Lempress · 3m spoken Matthew Colford · 3m spoken Sonal Chokshi · 16s spoken
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
Recorded on Capitol Hill during a tech policy summit, this episode of the a16z podcast features Representatives Jared Polis and David Schweikert alongside Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Mike Lempress discussing blockchain literacy, policy frameworks, and transformative public sector applications.
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 3.7 Guest teaching 2.3 Guest disagreement 1.3 The host pushing back 1.0
speaking balance: gold is the host, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 13:02 Lempress Corrects Schweikert's Timeline
Mike Lempress directly pushes back on Congressman Schweikert's decade timeline estimate, arguing that autonomous vehicle code integration and blockchain technology are moving much faster.
Hardest push from the host ▶ 6:35 Colford Frames Blockchain as Leapfrogging TechHost Matthew Colford reframes the premise of federal tech engagement, contrasting slow catch-up efforts with blockchain's forward-leaning ability to leapfrog existing infrastructure.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 0:55 Schweikert on Technical Communication PitfallsCongressman Schweikert educates the panel on the reality of communicating with lawmakers, explaining how technical whiteboard diagrams failed until they focused strictly on practical benefits.
The host holds their own ▶ 6:35 Colford Highlights Institutional IT Lag vs. BlockchainHost Matthew Colford demonstrates high domain expertise by contrasting typical reactive Congressional IT caucuses with the proactive policy framework required for blockchain.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The host as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The host pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Explaining Blockchain Benefits Beyond Cryptocurrency | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Host Matthew Colford prompts the congressmen on Congressional perception of Bitcoin and the dark web. Congressman Schweikert explains that trying to whiteboard the technical stamping of nodes confuses members, so they pivot to explaining concrete societal benefits instead. | |
| The Purpose of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Colford asks how the Blockchain Caucus was formed and inquires about executive branch interest. Schweikert details using the caucus's gravitas to propose distributed ledger solutions for VA scheduling fraud. | |
| Policy Frameworks and Disruptive Potential | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Colford offers an insightful synthesis comparing blockchain's leapfrogging potential against traditional IT modernization caucuses. Polis and Schweikert agree and expand on left-right political alignment around self-sovereign data ownership. | |
| Constituent Views and Silicon Valley Regulatory Concerns | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | Colford pivots to constituent views and asks Mike Lempress about Atherton's perspective. Lempress notes constituents fear government overreach, and Polis strongly agrees that legacy incumbents often co-opt government to block innovation. | |
| Autonomous Vehicle Code, Trust, and State Laboratories | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | Schweikert illustrates insuring autonomous vehicle code via distributed ledger, while Lempress gently pushes back that adoption will happen faster than a decade. Colford asks about state laboratories versus federal action. | |
| Future Outlook and Technological Integration | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Colford opens a discussion on the 5 to 10 year outlook. Lempress reframes the timeline into rapid dog years, while Schweikert describes future medical record portability on mobile devices. |
Statements from this episode (17)
Rep. Polis: Members of Congress struggle to understand basic cloud computing
“Keep in mind the demographics around here. I mean, we have a tough time explaining cloud computing. I mean, you know, this is a challenge.”
Rep. Schweikert: Lawmakers need practical benefits explained, not technical mechanics
“We used to actually try to do on the whiteboard the description of how A series of nodes actually talk to each other and how it stamps and time those things, and I realized there's no reason for that. You just now explained, here's the benefit.”
Rep. Polis: Congress lacked formal blockchain education prior to the caucus
“There was no effort or way or manner of educating our colleagues about blockchain. So we really got together and said, look, let's formalize it so we can take out rooms and do briefings, which is effectively what that means, and provide a forum for other membe…”
Rep. Schweikert: Blockchain was proposed for VA scheduling to prevent fraud
“We worked on a concept for using blockchain or distributive ledger for scheduling at the VA to deal with the fraud issues of people were sneaking in, changing the schedules, and the benefit of, hey, there's a timestamp. You would know who touched it, when, and…”
Rep. Schweikert: Blockchain networks enable viable gig worker micro-savings
“The Uber driver, the peace worker who wants to put aside 25 cents every time they finished a drive or a project, could we dramatically lower the cost using a blockchain encrypted network? To move value from one end to the other, all of a sudden makes doing sor…”
Rep. Polis: Blockchain has massive ramifications for the global unbanked
“It has massive ramifications in the developing world for the unbanked and the untitled.”
Rep. Polis: Blockchain projects will violate laws without updated regulations
“Absent a deliberate effort to create a legal ecosystem that allows for innovation, It's quite possible that efforts to do innovative things will run afoul of current law.”
Rep. Polis: Blockchain satisfies both left and right data privacy concerns
“Many on the left, like myself, don't want corporations to play that role either, but frankly, the blockchain is a way to address both of those concerns from the left and the right.”
Rep. Polis: Legacy incumbents will lobby Washington to stifle blockchain tech
“And I wouldn't even call it a misstep, because we know when there's any fundamentally disruptive technology, there's a bunch of incumbents and legacy operators that come to this town to try to co-op government to sustain their advantage, and that we've seen th…”
Rep. Schweikert: Distributed ledgers will enable autonomous vehicle insurance by 2027
“If the code were held in a distributive ledger, you know that if someone touched it has a timestamp. You know that the code is the code that was involved in the accident, and that's not esoteric. This is about to change a lot of our lives over the next decade,…”
Coinbase Legal Chief: Crypto requires regulatory oversight to build consumer trust
“Certainly in Coinbase, we believe there has to be, the space has to be regulated. There has to be trust in the space, and in order for people to have consumers and others to have trust in the space, there has to be a layer of regulation so people know the rule…”
Lempress: State jurisdictions provide safer regulatory laboratories than federal mandates
“I mean, one of the nice things in an emerging technology space, Is if you have 50, actually I think there's 55 different state jurisdictions because of territories and things like that, looking at it, if somebody makes a misstep, we can correct, or people can,…”
Rep. Schweikert: Arizona added smart contracts to state commercial code
“Arizona's legislature about three, four weeks ago actually put into the state commercial code smart contracts And recognition of distributive ledger.”
Rep. Schweikert: Arizona counties can legally record real estate on blockchain
“In Arizona, it would be legal now for a county to try to take its real estate ownership records. And put them on a distributive ledger.”
Lempress: Blockchain will transform the world by 2022
“I think it won't be 10 years. I think in five years we'll look back and be surprised at how much the world changed. Much You know, similar to something like the iPhone or the internet itself, how quickly things changed in response to that.”
Rep. Schweikert: Most users won't know they are using blockchain
“Most of the consumers, most of government, isn't going to need to know that it's running on a distributive ledger rails.”
Rep. Schweikert: Bureaucratic self-preservation is the greatest barrier to blockchain adoption
“Actually, the greatest battle today is the threat to the current bureaucracies. Whether it be on the right or the left, you often defend your own personal income stream, your own job, your own bureaucracy, It's hard to say, hey, this is a great idea. You just …”