Y Combinator Startup Podcast Fintech 3.0: Now Is The Best Time To Build In Crypto
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Sep 23, 2025 
Jesse Pollak, founder of Base and a leader in crypto product development, discusses the golden age of building in crypto. He unpacks the evolution to Fintech 3.0, emphasizing regulatory clarity and consumer adoption as pivotal. Pollak highlights how current conditions favor innovation, shedding light on the significance of stablecoins and their global impact. He urges builders to focus on real user needs while explaining the importance of layering technologies. His insights on the intersection of crypto and AI provide a glimpse of the future landscape.
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Build An AMM UI As A Hello World
- Build a simple UI that connects to an AMM to learn how swaps and wallets work.
- That small app teaches wallet integration, permissionless access, and core on-chain UX quickly.
Regulatory Clarity Lowers The Barrier
- Regulatory uncertainty forced founders to spend more on lawyers than engineers and chilled innovation.
- Jesse says emerging clarity (e.g., stablecoin rules) lowers barriers and will unlock entrepreneurship.
Four Forces Powering Crypto's Moment
- Four technical shifts enabled the current wave: chain scaling, regulatory clarity, stablecoins, and simpler wallets.
- Jesse calls these combined factors the golden age of on-chain building.