The Milk Road Show Retail Is Quitting Crypto at the Worst Possible Time w/ Guy Wuollet
17 snips
Apr 8, 2026 
Guy Wuollet, General Partner at a16z Crypto and longtime crypto infrastructure investor, explains why institutions are more bullish than retail. He explores DePIN and how tokens can fund physical networks. He discusses AI agents using micropayments and stablecoins, plus ZK proofs for proving humanity. He contrasts decentralization ideals with Wall Street’s view on digital assets.
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DeFi Is Merging With Wall Street
- DeFi is annealing with traditional finance as stablecoins, agentic payments, and on-chain capital markets scale.
- Guy Wuollet says this shift reframes crypto from ideological opposition into practical infrastructure for Wall Street and fintech players.
Back Founders Who Span Tech And Markets
- Invest across stages but prioritize founders who bridge blockchain and real-world products.
- Guy says a16z still deploys first-money early and large late checks, focusing where founder energy and market cycles align.
Reframe Decentralization As Counterparty Risk
- Institutional players prefer language like counterparty risk over decentralization to evaluate crypto primitives.
- Guy argues describing smart contracts as long-running immutable counterparties makes DeFi's value clear to traditional finance.
