a16z crypto says blockchain can lower barriers to entry in traditional finance

a16z crypto said blockchain can lower barriers to entry in traditional financial markets by enabling permissionless issuance and global distribution, easing hurdles such as listing reviews, legal frameworks and regional market fragmentation. The firm said perpetual futures, spot decentralized exchanges, prediction markets, lending, memecoins, NFTs and real-world asset tokenization are among the main markets that have grown by leveraging those features. It added that perpetual futures stand out in particular, noting that annualized on-chain RWA perpetual futures trading volume reached $1.4 trillion in July, accounting for about half of Hyperliquid's total volume. Looking ahead, a16z crypto said mechanisms such as HIP-3 and HIP-4, which lower the threshold for launching new markets, could help expand on-chain markets beyond commodities, foreign exchange, indices and 24-hour stock exposure into areas that have been difficult to commoditize in traditional finance, including CPI, computing power, music, social trends and sports.