The next Amazon is an open protocol.

Today the EF and OA announce zkAPI—a new means for private AI Picture this: deposit ether into a vault, sign a zk proof, get a fixed amount of private inference. Advances like these help us move past middlemen's requirements that we link our data and identities. Read more below

Amazon, like any centralized platform, can never be neutral infrastructure for global, agentic commerce. Just as finance is moving to Ethereum, commerce will too for the same reasons. Slice was built for that world: commerce as an open protocol, where anyone can transact without asking permission.

Zuck basically laying out the thesis for Muse’s long-term strategy right here. Eventually a tax on commerce. $META

realizing blender MCP just nuked an entire design economy. crazy

Excited for the future of commerce

I just lost $300 using Instinct. Can I please get a refund?😭@noahrshinn

Listing your products on Slice today is the biggest opportunity since AI. Do with that what you will.

For crypto founders, the biggest lesson from @fomo and @Pumpfun ascendance is that the distribution model of the last 5 years for apps is moot. Web3 is dead, wallet connect is dead, dApps are dead. The new plan is vertically integrated mobile: hide the crypto mechanics entirely. Single balance across chains, integrated onramp (Apple Pay is king), no bridges, no seed phrases or private keys (sign in with Google or X). For wallet apps themselves, this presents an existential crisis. The user demands simplicity & the feeling of safety. In the past, your wallet was a gateway to crypto. Now, I hold a deposit in each app I use and I don't yet care if they talk to each other. As always, we go through bundling and unbundling cycles. If Phantom and Jupiter and Metamask were bundling, we are now seeing a great unbundling.

I am so tired of logging into stuff

Here's Stripe's letter to investors explaining its acquisition of OpenRouter (LEAKED)

Introducing Cloudflare Wallets. They will allow you to store stablecoins, purchase services, and receive funds across the web. cfl.re/455An86

JUST IN: Amazon $AMZN surpasses $3 trillion market cap for the first time in history.

David now saying that ETH is down because Ethereum hasn't retained enough dominance. Idea of "Ethereum not ETH" has always been nonsense. Real question is, is eth going to win? Eth has 66% of all app capital. Other 33% is on centralized chains. Believe in decentralization.

This is an email I sent earlier today to all employees at Coinbase: Team, Today I’ve made the difficult decision to reduce the size of Coinbase by ~14%. I want to walk you through why we're doing this now, what it means for those affected, and how this positions us for the future. Why now Two forces are converging at the same time. We need to be front footed to respond to both. First, the market. Coinbase is well-capitalized, has diversified revenue streams, and is well-positioned to weather any storm. Crypto is also on the verge of the next wave of adoption, with stablecoins, prediction markets, tokenization, and more taking off. However, our business is still volatile from quarter to quarter. While we've managed through that cyclicality many times before and come out stronger on the other side, we’re currently in a down market and need to adjust our cost structure now so that we emerge from this period leaner, faster, and more efficient for our next phase of growth. Second, AI is changing how we work. Over the past year, I’ve watched engineers use AI to ship in days what used to take a team weeks. Non-technical teams are now shipping production code and many of our workflows are being automated. The pace of what's possible with a small, focused team has changed dramatically, and it's accelerating every day. All of this has led us to an inflection point, not just for Coinbase, but for every company. The biggest risk now is not taking action. We are adjusting early and deliberately to rebuild Coinbase to be lean, fast, and AI-native. We need to return to the speed and focus of our startup founding, with AI at our core. What this means To get there, we are not just reducing headcount and cutting costs, we’re fundamentally changing how we operate: rebuilding Coinbase as an intelligence, with humans around the edge aligning it. What does this mean in practice? - Fewer layers, faster decisions: We are flattening our org structure to 5 layers max below CEO/COO. Layers slow things down and create coordination tax. The future is small, high context teams that can move quickly. Leaders will own much more, with as many as 15+ direct reports. Fewer layers also means a leaner cost structure that is built to perform through all market cycles. - No pure managers: Every leader at Coinbase must also be a strong and active individual contributor. Managers should be like player-coaches, getting their hands dirty alongside their teams. - AI-native pods: We’ll be concentrating around AI-native talent who can manage fleets of agents to drive outsized impact. We’ll also be experimenting with reduced pod sizes, including “one person teams” with engineers, designers, and product managers all in one role. In short: AI is bringing a profound shift in how companies operate, and we’re reshaping Coinbase to lead in this new era. This is a new way of working, and we need to leverage AI across every facet of our jobs. To those who are affected I know there are real people behind these decisions — talented colleagues who have poured themselves into this company and our mission. To those of you who will be leaving: thank you. You’ve helped build Coinbase into what it is today, and I am sincerely grateful for everything you've done. All impacted team members will receive an email to their personal account in the next hour with more information, and an invitation to meet with an HRBP and a senior leader in your organization. Coinbase system access has been removed today. I know this feels sudden and harsh, but it is the only responsible choice given our duty to protect customer information. To those affected, we will be providing a comprehensive package to support you through this transition. US employees will receive a minimum of 16 weeks base pay (plus 2 weeks per year worked), their next equity vest, and 6 months of COBRA. Employees on a work visa will get extra transition support. Those outside of the US will receive similar support, based on local factors and subject to any consultation requirements. Coinbase prides itself on talent density. Our employees are among the most talented people in the world, and I have no doubt that your skills and experience will be highly sought after as you pursue your next chapters. How we move forward To the team that is staying, I know this is a difficult day. We’re saying goodbye to colleagues and friends you've been in the trenches with. But here’s what I want you to know as we move forward together: Over the past 13 years, we have weathered four crypto winters, gone public, and built the most trusted platform in our industry. We’ve made it this far by making hard decisions and by always staying focused on our mission. This time will be no different – nothing has changed about the long term outlook of our company or industry. And most importantly, our mission has never been more important for the world. Increasing economic freedom requires a new financial system, and we’re building it. The Coinbase that emerges from this will be more capable than ever to achieve our mission. Brian

Old playbook: “Get big to go global” New playbook: “Go global to get big” Some stats: - 22.9% Stripe users are making most of their money abroad (up 2x from 11.6% in 2020). - Of those, a quarter are making most of their money outside the top 10 global markets. - Among the top 100 ai startups on Stripe, the median earns most of its revenue internationally and sells into 55 markets within its first year. - As an example, Emergent Labs gets 70% of their revenue from abroad, and is doing material business (1%+ of revenue) in sixteen countries. 🌎🌍🌏