# Fireside chat with Christian Crowley (a16z crypto) and Ishan Singh (Google Cloud) at ETHConf

- Channel: [ETHGlobal](https://streameth.org/ethglobal)
- Date: 2026-07-09
- Duration: 19:51
- Topics: A16Z, Christian Crowley, Ishan Singh, Google Cloud, ETHCom, Clarity Act, stablecoins, tokenized deposits, Universal Ledger, RWA, tokenization, collateral mobility, money market funds, treasuries, interoperability, agentic commerce, AI agents, virtual cards, X2X, MPC wallet, key shares, multi party computation, security, frontier models, exploits, go to market, enterprise sales, friction, Web2 vs Web3, DeFi, payments, institutional adoption, banks, Consensys, AWS, reconciliation, settlement
- Watch: https://streameth.org/watch/yt-mNMRZ23tv34
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNMRZ23tv34

## Description

In this fireside chat, Ishan Singh from Google Cloud's digital asset team sits down with Christian Crowley, partner on the A16Z crypto go to market team, to discuss the pending Clarity Act, the future of tokenization, agentic commerce, and lessons for crypto founders selling into institutions. Christian draws on his background as a former founder who built DeFi and AI startups and the first Ethereum analytics company under the Consensys umbrella, plus his time at AWS, to explain that good go to market advice often sounds great in theory but is much less compelling in execution. His central principle for the founders he advises is reducing user friction at every step.

The conversation digs into the parallel tracks of stablecoins and tokenized deposits. Christian explains that banks want the 24/7 interoperability and composability benefits but want to maintain deposit relationships and fit into existing compliance frameworks, which is why tokenized deposits will persist alongside stablecoins. Ishan previews Google Cloud's Universal Ledger product built at the protocol level for interoperability between onchain money assets. On RWAs, Christian argues tokenization itself is not the product since what matters is what the asset gains (24/7 trading, collateral mobility, interoperability), with money markets and treasuries leading early. Ishan emphasizes collateral mobility as the real killer use case for eliminating reconciliation across TradFi books and records. They debate the rails for agentic commerce, with virtual cards up 6x year over year offering an easier behavior shift while X2X and direct stablecoin payments make more sense for net new behaviors like real time compute adjustments. On the AI security tension, Christian notes that until frontier models have comprehensively reviewed existing code bases there is an unknowable set of risks in production, and the same tools attackers use are available to defenders. Ishan covers Google Cloud's MPC wallet using key shares with sub second signing across Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana, and Universal Ledger. Christian closes with the most consistent founder mistake: assuming Web2 go to market lessons don't apply to Web3, when enterprises buy for clear measurable benefits, not decentralization.

00:00 Introductions
01:22 What Christian Brings to Founder Conversations
02:15 Reducing Friction as a Core Mental Model
03:14 The Clarity Act and Tokenized Deposits vs Stablecoins
04:00 Why Banks Want Tokenized Deposits
05:14 From Bank Issued Stablecoins to Integration Focus
05:56 Google Cloud Universal Ledger and Interoperability
06:26 The Trouble with the Term RWA
07:12 Tokenization Itself Is Not the Product
07:53 Why Collateral Mobility Is the Real Killer App
08:39 Eliminating Reconciliation Across TradFi
08:57 Money as Internet Packets
09:50 Legacy Distribution vs Better Technology
10:34 Rails for Agentic Commerce
11:00 Virtual Cards vs X2X and Stablecoins
11:36 Why Virtual Cards Are Easier Behavior Shifts
12:26 When Net New Behaviors Call for Open Rails
13:05 The Dark Side of AI for Web3
14:00 Founders Have Always Cared About Security
14:21 The Race Between Frontier Models and Attackers
15:14 Google Cloud MPC Wallet
15:59 Sub Second Signing Across Multiple Chains
16:41 Common Mistakes Founders Make Selling to Institutions
17:54 Why Best Technology Doesn't Always Win
18:11 The Champion's Asymmetric Risk Inside Enterprises
18:40 TradFi Budget Constraints and Quantifiable ROI
19:24 Knicks or Spurs Tonight
19:43 Closing

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  

*ETHConf 2026*
ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum.

Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  

✅ *Follow ETHConf*
X: https://x.com/ethconf
Website: https://ethconf.com

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  

🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets
🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _