>>shscs9+(OP)
I hope we aren't too close to "territorial currencies" where each feudal lord was authorized (or not forbidden) to mint his own currency, which couldn't be carried over the next feud. Think awarded "miles" by your credit card, or tickets in a games center.

https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/41452/1/112....

>>shscs9+(OP)
Remember when YC funded (and boosted reach of) ~50 crypto scamlike co's during the heyday of the craze? Like the Stablegains scam fiasco:

>>31686140

>>31431224

>>31461634

>>joshri+eh
That's a very misleading way to say that Flock is a YC company [0]!

[0] https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/flock-safety

>>reduce+sh
50 crypto scams? Why do you link the same one thrice, then?

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/5mghcxCabxuaK4WTs/...

>>n2d4+qk
SVB was considered the "standard" bank for all startups for decades so it's not surprising that YC would give the same advice. If you run a startup out of a normal bank sometimes you get weird glitches: https://mitchellh.com/writing/my-startup-banking-story

Of course today startups are probably using Mercury/Ramp/whatever.

>>mothba+Fr
> OPM will bail you out via FDIC.

I'm waiting for the demands for a bailout when the next big stablecoin goes bust. Especially if it's Trump's.[1]

[1] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-usd1-stablecoin-hits-5b...

>>wmf+9u
Axiom's pitch is "Trade memecoins, perpetuals, and earn yield" [1] so presumably they've hired a load of cryptocurrency-loving developers, and are eager to pay them in cryptocurrency.

Of course, given that the grandparent said "If they aren’t a crypto startup" - Axiom clearly doesn't apply.

[1] https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/axiom

>>KnuthI+w11
One of the biggest YC success story is Coinbase. It has literally got "coin" in its name.

It also trades under the ticker "COIN": https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/COIN/

And after a serious beating it's still value at $48 billion.

Put it another way: of all the companies YC funded, both those who succeeded and the countless who failed, only two companies, AirBnB and Doordash, are valued more than Coinbase.

I don't think YC hates cryptocurrencies as much as the typical commenter on HN.

>>UqWBcu+t41
The purpose of VC’s were never to fund companies until they become profitable, it’s the find the “bigger fool”.

Occasionally it’s the public market…

https://medium.com/@Arakunrin/the-post-ipo-performance-of-y-...

Most often for successful exits, it’s to get acquired and shut down the original product with a “Our Amazing Journey” blog post.

>>ground+pi1
The fear is the loss of safe guards and independence of the Federal Reserve. Trump is actively trying to remove safe guards and independence that would allow the Federal Reserve to counteract anything like this. If for instance Trump wants to hold interest rates low regardless of what anyone is telling him, he wants that power[0][1].

The upcoming decision by the Supreme Court on case Trump v. Cook is about this very issue[2]

[0]: https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/29/economy/federal-reserve-indep...

[1]: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/why-the-federal-reserves...

[2]: https://hls.harvard.edu/today/will-the-federal-reserve-remai...

>>no_wiz+Sk1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Big_Beautiful_Bill_Act#Rem...

>>no_wiz+Nj1
Trump v Cook is not upcoming it has been argued already

https://www.oyez.org/cases/2025/25A312

>>irishc+tB1
But the stable coins are also backed by the US military. All major USD stablecoins have sanctions mechanisms baked into their smart contract.

See for yourself the blacklist features

https://github.com/circlefin/stablecoin-evm/tree/master/scri...

>>irishc+tB1
Since the GENIUS act [1], stablecoins have been backed by the US military too, as long as the stablecoin issuer itself keeps its reserves in U.S. Treasuries.

It's an interesting point about currencies being backed by military force though. Given the recent technological advancements in drones and robotics, it makes me wonder if someone will launch a non-GENIUS-act-compliant cryptocurrency and then back it simply by military force.

[1] https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/158...

>>BLKNSL+zH1
Just a money market account or something (e.g. https://mercury.com/treasury ).

Also X=Y for almost all startups.

>>n2d4+Qi
Where's the misleading part? What GP said is true:

https://x.com/garrytan/status/1856932483864170606

>>arbol+2X1
https://metamask.io/news/metamask-adds-tokenized-us-stocks-e...

Binance moving in a similar direction. I was thinking more in the realm of early-stage private equity. I think Switzerland is in the process of allowing it but there are significant hurdles.

https://gemini.google.com/share/b06020007217 (see bottom)

A black market may arise for this sort of stuff. People won't want to be locked out of investing due to not being eligible due to lack of High Net-Worth status. Is that even validated on the blockchain? Maybe such investing could be classed as gambling in certain places.

>>bandra+An2
Perth Mint runs click and collect for bullion bars (say 10 ounce) against the AU market spot price.

It costs more as I'd have to drive 250 km round trip to pick it up (or pay extra for transport).

* https://www.perthmint.com/shop/bullion/cast-bars/

>>duttis+C32
This isn’t just a problem in the Netherlands or a thing of the past. 2025 actually saw the highest number of attacks ever recorded [0].

There are ways to prevent this. Like using multi-sig with geographical separation (so you can't move funds alone) or setting up forced time-delays. Ultimately, being your own bank is a massive responsibility, and I think too many people take that reality too lightly.

0: https://stats.glok.me/

>>tehjok+Pk1
Beyond crypto teams, we're seeing increasing use cases for more teams to use stablecoins to pay. For example, both Gusto and Deel (YC teams) are using stablecoins to offer worldwide payouts.

Here's Gusto's CTO: https://x.com/edawerd/status/2018785968669815011

>>westur+x34
Re: a similar question: "Small Businesses vs. Corporations: What Tech Tools Are We Missing?" >>42399253 :

> ERP / Accounting + Finance + Corporate Treasury integration (with ILP Interledger)

>>nemild+Cv3
> great for micropayments globally

My personal Website supported WebMonetization (details https://webmonetization.org ) for more than 5 years already so no need to convince me about that, I agree. I also believe one could just as easily have a funding.md with an IBAN and structured communication to make the equivalent.

Anyway that's beside the point, what I still don't get is a use case without or without AI according to the constraints I listed before.