A16z’s Chris Dixon: Crypto Growth Is Consistent, Despite Downturn

Dixon urged the Permissionless conference audience to look past the recent market slide

May 17, 2022 11:59 am

a16z’s Chris Dixon | Photo by Mike Lawrence

Andreessen Horowitz’s inaugural “State of Crypto” report addresses recent market moves
A slowdown in the market is often the best time to focus on building, a16z’s Chris Dixon said

In crypto, prices are often a leading indicator of performance, according to researchers at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

“Prices are a hook,” analysts at Andreessen Horowitz wrote in a blog post Tuesday announcing the firm’s inaugural “State of Crypto” research report. “The numbers drive interest, which drives ideas and activity, which in turn drives innovation.”

Talent is drawn to the space when prices are high, Chris Dixon, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, said Tuesday at the Permissionless conference in Palm Beach, referring to the recent market sell-off that has many skeptical of what is next for the digital asset space.

Newsletter

Subscribe to The Breakdown

“Not to minimize the bad stuff that’s going on,” Dixon said. “But I do think if you step back and look at the broader trends, it’s promising.”

The movement into Web3 is shifting the way creators interact, Dixon added. The social networks of Web2 have made it possible for anyone to be a publisher and creator, but Web3 innovations are going to transform ownership and earning capabilities.

“There’s about four or five companies that basically control the internet,” Dixon said. “I think we’re at risk of having the internet turn into the 1970s broadcast landscape [with networks] controlling everything.”

NFTs are the start of what is next for the creator economy, Dixon said. NFT (non-fungible tokens) creators earned on average $174,000 per creator in 2021. Music platform Spotify, which hosts 11 million artists, earned on average $636 per artist in 2021, the research report noted.

To give power back to creators, Dixon said, there will need to be a push for building improved infrastructure. A slowdown in the market is often the best time to focus on this building, he added.

“It’s a really exciting time,” he said. “There’s a lot of great people building logic and reason.”

Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

The Breakdown: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.
0xResearch: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst.

Tags

Newsletter

The Breakdown

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Digital Asset Summit 2026

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

buy tickets learn more

recent research

Research

Kinetiq Protocol: From LST Infrastructure to HIP-3 Deployer

Kinetiq has established itself as Hyperliquid's dominant liquid staking protocol, holding 82.5% of LST market share with $610M in TVL. The protocol is now expanding beyond its kHYPE staking core into higher take-rate verticals: iHYPE for institutional custody rails, Launch for HIP-3 capital formation, and Markets for builder-deployed perpetuals. We view Markets, launching Jan. 12, as the highest-potential product line given its mechanically scalable, activity-linked unit economics. Near-term revenue remains anchored by kHYPE's KIP-2 fee schedule (~$1.6M annualized), while Markets provides embedded optionality if HIP-3 economics normalize post-Growth Mode. KNTQ's setup is relatively clean: zero insider unlocks until November 2026, 6.2% buyback yield from staking revenue, and cleared airdrop overhang. Risks center on unproven Markets execution, declining kHYPE TVL despite ongoing incentives, and competition from Hyperliquid's native initiatives.

by Shaunda Devens