watch time: 26 minutes

As a former Department of Justice prosecutor, Katie Haun set up the first-ever “cryptocurrency task force” for the U.S. government. She also led the investigations into the Mt. Gox hack and the corrupt agents on the Silk Road task force — the first cases of the U.S. government using the bitcoin blockchain to fight fraud, not just against criminals but against their own.

Haun — Coinbase board member, Stanford lecturer, and now general partner on a16z crypto — shares that story in this talk, originally delivered at a16z’s annual innovation summit, which features invited speakers from various organizations discussing innovation and the evolution of tech trends. So she further dispels some misconceptions about crypto, sharing use cases beyond speculation around the world, where crypto is being used to address hyperinflation, help the unbanked, ease international remittances, and more.

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