a16z's Andreessen: Crypto's Survival Wins Over Lawmakers

Andreessen called for a permanent U.S. framework, similar to the CLARITY Act delay risks US crypto lead, Haridopolos warns currently stalled in the Senate. Without clear rules, he said, bad actors thrive offshore while compliant domestic firms face a disadvantage.

"We need a stable, permanent regulatory structure for crypto in the U.S. the same way we have for stocks and bonds and everything else," he said.

He pointed to the collapse of offshore exchange FTX as the prime example of what happens without a domestic perimeter.

"We need it so that it doesn't result in what FTX is. We need it so that people's money doesn't get stolen. And we need it so that the winners of the market aren't fly-by-night operations operating on yachts off some coast somewhere," he said. "We're not looking for a free lunch, we're not looking for subsidies, we're not looking for protectionism... we're just looking for a permanent framework that lets people do business in a responsible way."

Andreessen also pushed back against critics like Senator Elizabeth Warren. National security officials he has spoken with take a different view, he said.

"In fact, they typically say something quite different, which is, ironically, they're hoping that more criminals and terrorists use crypto and use blockchains because there's a trail," he said.