đź”· Agentic Commerce Everywhere
AI Summary
David Hoffman argues that AI agents, stablecoins, and high-throughput blockchains are converging to reconstruct internet commerce, referencing Ben Thompson's thesis on the 'Original Sin of the Internet' and debates between Marc Andreessen and Antonio GarcĂa MartĂnez on ad-based internet models. The newsletter also covers the latest Ethereum ecosystem news including ETF supply holdings, Glamsterdam upgrade discussions, and notable app launches like Polymarket acquiring Brahma and Mastercard acquiring BVNK.
Key Facts
- David Hoffman argues that AI agents + stablecoins + blockchains are converging to replace the ad-based internet with native agentic commerce
- Mastercard is acquiring BVNK and Polymarket acquired Brahma, signaling major consolidation in crypto-adjacent fintech
- ETH ETFs now hold 5.1% of total ETH supply, and the SEC clarified that digital commodities, collectibles, tools, and certain stablecoins are non-securities
Contrarian Angle
Stablecoins Retroactively Justify Ad-Based Internet
Ben Thompson argues Marc Andreessen is too hard on himself — there was no intuitive way to integrate money into the early internet before stablecoins existed, so the ad model wasn't a mistake but a necessity
Reframes the 'Original Sin of the Internet' narrative — ads weren't a failure of vision but a rational constraint before crypto-native money existed
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