The Opening Shot
Y Combinator and Coinbase have opened a joint crypto batch.
Their pitch to builders: the plumbing is finally done—cheap L2s, 1-second stable-coin settlements, self-custody wallets with Face-ID—and the policy fog is lifting.
We are leaving the “API-on-banks” era (Fintech 2.0) and entering Fintech 3.0: a rewrite of the financial stack in open-source code, running 24/7 on global public ledgers.

Fintech in Three Frames

1. 1995-2010 Fintech 1.0 – digitising payments (PayPal, online banking).

2. 2011-2022 Fintech 2.0 – banking-as-a-service wrappers (Stripe, Plaid, Chime).

3. 2023-∞ Fintech 3.0 – native on-chain money and assets. Users hold, programme and move value without touching a bank ledger ever again.

Stable-Coins: The First Killer App

• Already settled trillions, < $0.01 fee, < 1 s finality, no FX spread.

• US GENIUS Act (passed Aug 2025) created a federal charter; m-cap up US $30 bn in six weeks. Amazon & Walmart confirm internal stable-coin pilots.
  YC/Coinbase want to fund:

1. Invisible stable-coin rails inside neobanks, remittance apps and merchant acquirers.

2. Local-currency coins (ARS, TRY, NGN) so high-inflation countries get crypto utility without full dollarisation.

3. Commerce 3.0 shops—Shopify plug-in just shipped open-source; lets any storefront accept USDC with refunds, tax-calc and delayed capture.

Tokenise Everything That Moves
If it has cash-flow, cap-table or collectability, it becomes a token.
Live previews:

• JPMorgan’s “Deposit Token” repo ledger > US $15 bn intraday volume.

• Courtyard.io 400 k physical Pokémon cards trading as ERC-721s.

• Axiom (YC W25) tokenised SaaS revenue—fastest-growing YC company ever.

Next bets:

1. On-chain credit scores → under-collateralised loans to the 2 bn “thin-file” population.

2. Cap-table as code → founders mint equity tokens, vesting cliffs are smart-contract calls, no Carta + 3 law-firms.

3. Asset-specific exchanges—front-ends purpose-built for fractional real-estate royalties, influencer income or carbon credits.

Blockchain = New Operating System; AI = Its Power-User
Every app gets a wallet, every user gets an agent.
Imagine WhatsApp bots that can zap USDC, collateralise it for a flash-loan, buy an NFT concert ticket and hedge the FX back to pesos—in one chat bubble.
Base already hosts 200+ “agent-apps” doing instant loans, play-to-earn quests and creator tips. YC expects a Cambrian explosion across social, gaming and productivity verticals once devs realise they can monetise in 170 currencies without Stripe or App-Store tax.

Builder Check-List (a.k.a. What Gets You Funded Tomorrow)
Stable-coin native product with 10× cheaper unit-economics than SWIFT/Visa.
Tokenisation play that unlocks a formerly illiquid asset > US $10 bn TAM.
AI agent that holds its own keys and earns/spends on behalf of users.
Built on an L2 with sub-cent gas and an easy smart-wallet (Coinbase Smart Wallet, Privy, Particle).

Regulation? GENIUS Act for stable-coins; CLARITY Act (draft) for securities tokens—both passed or pending with bipartisan support.
In short: the policy window is open, the infra is bored and waiting, and the capital is literally sitting in Coinbase Ventures and YC’s checking account.

Apply now or watch the next Stripe-size outcome happen without you.

The Opening Shot
Y Combinator and Coinbase have opened a joint crypto batch.
Their pitch to builders: the plumbing is finally done—cheap L2s, 1-second stable-coin settlements, self-custody wallets with Face-ID—and the policy fog is lifting.
We are leaving the “API-on-banks” era (Fintech 2.0) and entering Fintech 3.0: a rewrite of the financial stack in open-source code, running 24/7 on global public ledgers.

Fintech in Three Frames

1. 1995-2010 Fintech 1.0 – digitising payments (PayPal, online banking).

2. 2011-2022 Fintech 2.0 – banking-as-a-service wrappers (Stripe, Plaid, Chime).

3. 2023-∞ Fintech 3.0 – native on-chain money and assets. Users hold, programme and move value without touching a bank ledger ever again.

Stable-Coins: The First Killer App

• Already settled trillions, < $0.01 fee, < 1 s finality, no FX spread.

• US GENIUS Act (passed Aug 2025) created a federal charter; m-cap up US $30 bn in six weeks. Amazon & Walmart confirm internal stable-coin pilots.
  YC/Coinbase want to fund:

1. Invisible stable-coin rails inside neobanks, remittance apps and merchant acquirers.

2. Local-currency coins (ARS, TRY, NGN) so high-inflation countries get crypto utility without full dollarisation.

3. Commerce 3.0 shops—Shopify plug-in just shipped open-source; lets any storefront accept USDC with refunds, tax-calc and delayed capture.

Tokenise Everything That Moves
If it has cash-flow, cap-table or collectability, it becomes a token.
Live previews:

• JPMorgan’s “Deposit Token” repo ledger > US $15 bn intraday volume.

• Courtyard.io 400 k physical Pokémon cards trading as ERC-721s.

• Axiom (YC W25) tokenised SaaS revenue—fastest-growing YC company ever.

Next bets:

1. On-chain credit scores → under-collateralised loans to the 2 bn “thin-file” population.

2. Cap-table as code → founders mint equity tokens, vesting cliffs are smart-contract calls, no Carta + 3 law-firms.

3. Asset-specific exchanges—front-ends purpose-built for fractional real-estate royalties, influencer income or carbon credits.

Blockchain = New Operating System; AI = Its Power-User
Every app gets a wallet, every user gets an agent.
Imagine WhatsApp bots that can zap USDC, collateralise it for a flash-loan, buy an NFT concert ticket and hedge the FX back to pesos—in one chat bubble.
Base already hosts 200+ “agent-apps” doing instant loans, play-to-earn quests and creator tips. YC expects a Cambrian explosion across social, gaming and productivity verticals once devs realise they can monetise in 170 currencies without Stripe or App-Store tax.

Builder Check-List (a.k.a. What Gets You Funded Tomorrow)
Stable-coin native product with 10× cheaper unit-economics than SWIFT/Visa.
Tokenisation play that unlocks a formerly illiquid asset > US $10 bn TAM.
AI agent that holds its own keys and earns/spends on behalf of users.
Built on an L2 with sub-cent gas and an easy smart-wallet (Coinbase Smart Wallet, Privy, Particle).

Regulation? GENIUS Act for stable-coins; CLARITY Act (draft) for securities tokens—both passed or pending with bipartisan support.
In short: the policy window is open, the infra is bored and waiting, and the capital is literally sitting in Coinbase Ventures and YC’s checking account.

Apply now or watch the next Stripe-size outcome happen without you.