Stablecoin volume rivals Visa Network
Stablecoin transaction volumes have grown to rival the size of the Visa network, representing trillions of dollars transacted on blockchain rails.
Snapshot · The a16z Show
Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon: What’s at Stake in Crypto Regulation
Explore episode
Aug 1, 2026
Where this was said
Why Rules Are Needed Now: The Case for Regulatory Clarity
At 10:49 · chapter starts 8:55
Robert Hackett poses the challenge directly: stablecoin volumes are trillions of dollars per quarter, gigantic financial institutions have rushed in, and yet we've gotten this far without rules. So why do we need them now? Chris Dixon walks through the deliberate political structure of crypto regulation: the Genius Act addressed stablecoins (roughly 15% of the market by cap) and was signed into law; its passage immediately unlocked adoption because consumers knew their stablecoin dollar was backed by a real dollar in an audited account. Entrepreneurs knew the rules were durable. But the other 85% — including blockchains themselves — operates in a legal gray zone. Dixon offers a vivid analogy: it's like having regulation for cell phones but not for cell towers. Marc Andreessen adds the historical sweep: the US financial system has been through this before. The Securities Act that created the SEC regulated the stock market, after which US capital markets became the envy of the world over the next 90 years. He's not asking for subsidies or protectionism — just a permanent framework for doing business responsibly.
Genius Act signed into law for stablecoins
The Genius Act, providing a comprehensive regulatory framework for stablecoins, was passed by Congress and signed by the president, and the stablecoin segment has seen the most growth since.
Why Stablecoins Took Off After the Genius Act
The moment the Genius Act passed, stablecoin adoption exploded — because consumers knew their dollar was backed by a real dollar, and institutions knew the rules wouldn't change on them tomorrow. Regulatory clarity is not a ceiling on innovation. It's the floor it's built on.
Blockchain transaction: sub-1 second, sub-1 penny
On popular blockchains like Solana and Ethereum, transactions now settle in under 1 second for under 1 penny — a dramatic improvement from even 3 years ago when costs could be tens of dollars.
FTX Was the Result of No Rules, Not Crypto Itself
FTX didn't blow up because crypto is broken. It blew up because there was no federal regulator, no auditing requirement, no disclosure regime — nothing. The real lesson of FTX is that you can't trust fully unregulated anything.
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