The a16z Show

Erik Torenberg × Alex Rampell × Max Levchin

Visa and Mastercard still impose a roughly 2.5-second transaction window, a roughly 60-year-old standard that limits room for antifraud and payment innovation even as agents could reopen the interface.Affirm shows where the economics are strongest: Beautylish installments lifted conversion 30%, merchants fund negative CAC, and products up to 3½ years require machine-learning underwriting, while whether consumers will delegate purchase choices remains unresolved.

David George × Will Gaybrick

Stripe’s first-half signups grew 50% YoY, while the median 2026 cohort generates 50% more revenue than 2025’s and its new SaaS-platform cohort is 103% larger.Stripe Minions produce 7,000 weekly one-shot PRs, KAI lifted seller productivity 20%, and Machine Payments Protocol, Link Agent Wallet, and Tempo offer potential catalysts as agentic commerce adoption and execution remain unproven.

Ali Yahya × Arianna Simpson × Erik Torenberg

Stablecoins are turning peer-to-peer digital cash into a usable payment rail, with something like $16 trillion in annual volume, transfers under a second, and costs below a penny versus cross-border fees of up to 10%.Expected US rules could commoditize compliant issuance and redirect value toward Solana, Ethereum, Sui, wallets and distribution, while fintech, treasury and AI-agent adoption provide catalysts and chain specialization remains unresolved.