Blockchains Unlock Explosion of New Markets

a16z argues that blockchains can unlock an explosion of new markets by removing geographic and listing constraints, allowing for the creation of new or existing exposures into continuously tradeable products.

According to Robbie Peterson's thesis, traditional finance has been constrained by geography, listing committees, and legal frameworks, which have limited market supply more than demand. Blockchains can remove this friction by making issuance permissionless and distribution global.

Permissionless markets can expand what can be traded, separating risk into two dimensions: the underlying unit of exposure and the instrument used to transfer it. This allows developers to create both new assets and trading mechanisms onchain, compressing the process that traditional finance expanded slowly over decades.