Why Now Is The Best Time To Build In Crypto

Pollak describes fintech 3.0 as rebuilding financial services on a programmable platform that includes money. Cheaper, faster chains and Layer 2 networks such as Base make small consumer transactions practical while drawing on Ethereum’s decentralization. He suggests a simple first project: build an interface for swapping assets through an automated market maker.

Pollak says stablecoins give people and businesses around the world access to programmable dollars that can move globally and at low cost. He points to remittances and neobanks such as Dollar App and Aspora, and sees potential in stablecoins pegged to local currencies. Builders can issue local stablecoins or make products work across several currencies.

Pollak describes Coinbase and Shopify’s commerce payments protocol, which lets Shopify stores accept USDC on Base. He says the team translated complex payment processes, including escrow, refunds, and fee handling, into a smart contract of about a thousand lines. He advises founders to look for costly legacy systems they can make faster and cheaper with programmable infrastructure.

Pollak describes tokenization as moving assets such as stocks, bonds, and real estate from legacy records into programmable systems. He also sees potential in new asset classes, including creator content, which could be valued and traded onchain. He argues that creators could gain new ways to earn from and borrow against their work.

Pollak looks for small teams that build hands-on and understand the technology well enough to find useful applications. He sees crypto supporting AI through verification and by giving software agents a way to transact using wallets and smart contracts. His advice is to form a thesis about a problem, test it with customers, and keep showing up to learn.