In early 2024, Chris Dixon of a16z published “Read Write Own,” a manifesto guiding us into the third era of the Internet—Web3, the Internet of Value. In previous generations of the web, information could move seamlessly across the globe: instantly, freely, and without borders.

With Web3, the focus shifts to “ownership.” We now have the ability to democratize and monetize information, and enable money and value to flow globally and effortlessly through blockchain technology.

While the vision is inspiring, reality remains challenging. Even in 2025, we still face a fundamental question:

If the Internet has made information flow free and global, why is moving money still so difficult and expensive?

Chris Dixon suggests that stablecoins built on blockchain networks offer a solution.

Stablecoins give us, for the first time, a real opportunity to transform money as radically as email transformed communication—making it open, instant, and borderless. This is a WhatsApp moment for value transfer: a global network built on blockchain and stablecoins that can benefit everyone.

To explore this further, we’ve compiled Chris Dixon’s recent article “Stablecoins: Payments without intermediaries,” along with his earlier piece, “The Read Write Own Manifesto,” to better understand the foundational logic behind the free flow of information and value as we enter the heart of the Web3 Internet of Value.

1. The Web3 Internet of Value

The Internet is arguably the most important invention of the 20th century, with an impact rivaling that of the printing press, steam engine, and electricity.

Unlike many earlier inventions, the Internet wasn’t immediately commercialized. Its early creators didn’t design it as a centralized system, but as an open platform accessible to everyone—artists, users, developers, companies, and more.

At low cost and without needing permission, anyone, anywhere, could create and share code, art, writing, music, games, websites, startups—anything imaginable.

And what you created was yours.

As long as you followed the law, no one could change your rules, take a bigger cut, or seize your work. The Internet was built to be permissionless and democratically governed, much like its earliest networks—email and the web—where no one had special privileges. Anyone could innovate on top of these networks and control their own creative and economic destiny.

This freedom and sense of ownership sparked a golden age of creativity and innovation, fueling the Internet’s growth and giving rise to countless applications that transformed the way we live, work, and play.

I see the Internet’s history as three distinct phases, each defined by a major network architecture:

The first phase, Web1 (roughly 1990–2005), was the “Read” era, where early Internet protocols democratized access to information. Anyone could type a few words into a browser and instantly read about almost any topic.

The second phase, Web2 (about 2006–2020), was the “Write” era, where corporate platforms democratized publishing. Anyone could share their thoughts with the world via social networks and other online services.

Now, a new architecture is powering the third era—Web3, the Internet of Value, focused on “ownership.” This new model naturally combines the previous two and is democratizing ownership itself. In the coming “Read Write Own” era, anyone can be a stakeholder in the network—enjoying rights and economic benefits once reserved for company insiders like shareholders and employees.

People can read and write online—but now, they can truly own.

（https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/read-write-own-intro/）

2. The Disruptive Potential of Stablecoins

The Internet has made information flow freely and globally. So why is moving money still so difficult and expensive?

Today’s payment systems weren’t designed for the Internet; they were built around organizations packed with rent-seeking middlemen—entities that once managed local partnerships, fraud prevention, and operations. Even now, sending money internationally can cost up to 10%. In September 2024, the average fee to send $200 overseas was 6.62%. These charges aren’t just friction—they’re effectively regressive taxes on some of the world’s poorest people. Even in our digital age, payment systems remain slow, opaque, and exclusive, leaving billions underserved or shut out of the global financial system entirely.

(How stablecoins will eat payments, and what happens next, a16z)

For many businesses, the inefficiency of traditional payments is a major burden. Stablecoins offer a dramatic improvement. For example, business-to-business payments from Mexico to Vietnam can take 3–7 days to settle, with fees ranging from $14 to $150 per $1,000, passing through as many as five intermediaries, each taking a cut. Stablecoins can bypass legacy systems like the international SWIFT network and its complex clearing and settlement processes, making these transactions nearly free and almost instantaneous.

(How stablecoins will eat payments, and what happens next, a16z)

This isn’t just theoretical—it’s already happening. SpaceX, for instance, uses stablecoins to manage its corporate funds, including repatriating money from countries with volatile currencies like Argentina and Nigeria. Other companies, like ScaleAI, use stablecoins to pay their global workforce faster and at lower cost. On the consumer side, Stripe is the first major service to widely offer crypto payments, charging just a 1.5% fee at checkout—half that of traditional providers. This could dramatically boost profit margins for some businesses: as a16z crypto’s Sam Broner points out, for low-margin businesses like grocery stores, a 1.5% improvement could double net income. And in a competitive, blockchain-powered market, transaction costs are likely to drop even further.

(How stablecoins will eat payments, and what happens next, a16z)

Unlike traditional financial systems, stablecoins are global by default. They live on the blockchain, an open and programmable network where anyone can build—no need to negotiate with dozens of banks for cross-border transactions. All you need is access to the network.

People are already seeing the benefits. In 2024, stablecoins moved $15.6 trillion in value—almost as much as Visa processed. While most of this is crypto asset flows rather than retail payments, the sheer scale shows we’re on the brink of a financial infrastructure revolution, one that doesn’t require patching together outdated 20th-century systems.

Instead, we can build something new, truly native to the Internet—or, as Stripe describes it, “room-temperature superconductors for financial services.” Here, it’s not lossless energy transfer, but lossless value transfer.

3. The WhatsApp Moment for Money

Stablecoins represent our first real chance to transform money the way email revolutionized communication: by making it open, instant, and borderless.

Think about how text messaging has evolved. Before apps like WhatsApp, sending an international SMS cost 30 cents per message—and even then, you were lucky if it arrived. Now, we send messages over the Internet instantly, worldwide, and for free. In comparison, payments today are stuck where messaging was in 2008: fragmented by national borders, weighed down by intermediaries, and limited by legacy design.

Stablecoins offer a fresh start. Instead of relying on outdated, expensive, and clunky payment systems, stablecoins flow seamlessly on global blockchains. These blockchains are programmable and composable, making them ideal for building solutions that scale across borders.

Stablecoins have already slashed the cost of sending money internationally. For example, sending $200 from the US to Colombia with traditional methods costs $12.13; using stablecoins, it’s just a penny. While converting stablecoins to local currency can still cost up to 5%, competition is quickly driving those fees down.

Just as WhatsApp disrupted costly international calling, blockchain payments and stablecoins are transforming how money moves across the globe.

4. Regulation: From Roadblock to Breakthrough

It’s easy to see regulation as a barrier, but smart legislation can unlock an entirely new era.

Clear rules for stablecoins and the broader crypto market could finally move these technologies out of the sandbox and into the mainstream. For years, decentralized finance (DeFi) has operated in a closed “crypto-to-crypto” loop—not because the tools lack value, but because regulations have made connecting to the traditional financial system extremely difficult.

That’s starting to change. Policymakers are now drafting rules to recognize and regulate stablecoins, aiming to keep the US competitive, protect consumers, and foster innovation. Well-designed regulation—like frameworks that distinguish between network tokens and securities—can keep out bad actors while giving responsible players the clarity they need. In fact, an upcoming bill clarifying stablecoin regulation could pave the way for broader adoption and integration into the global financial system.

5. Building Public Goods That Benefit Everyone

Traditional finance is built on private, closed networks, but the Internet has shown us the power of open protocols—like TCP/IP and email—to drive global collaboration and innovation.

Blockchains are the Internet’s native financial layer, combining the flexibility of public protocols with the economic power of private enterprise. They’re trustless, neutral, auditable, and programmable. Add stablecoins, and you get something we’ve never truly had before: open money infrastructure.

Think of it like a public highway system. Private companies can still build vehicles, run businesses, and create attractions along the route—but the roads themselves are open to everyone.

Blockchain networks and stablecoins aren’t just about cutting costs. They’re unlocking new ways to pay:

Programmable payments: Imagine AI-powered marketplaces where agents automatically arrange payments for computing resources and services. (Web3 Payments: An Overview of Programmable Payments, Programmable Money, and Dedicated Currencies)

（Web3 Payments: A Comprehensive Guide to Programmable Payments, Programmable Money, and Purpose-Bound Money）

Micropayments for media, music, and AI contributions: Imagine setting a budget and some simple rules, then letting a “smart” wallet handle distribution.

Transparent payments with full audit trails: Imagine using these systems to track government spending.

Global business: Imagine settling international transactions instantly and at almost no cost—in fact, this is already happening.

The stars are aligning for blockchain networks and stablecoins: the technology, market demand, and political momentum are all there to make these applications a reality. A stablecoin bill could pass Congress this year, and regulators are working on frameworks to match risk with appropriate oversight.

6. Final Thoughts

Just as early Internet startups thrived once they knew they wouldn’t be shut down by telecom companies or copyright lawyers, crypto is now ready to move from financial experiment to core infrastructure—led by stablecoins.

We don’t have to keep patching up old systems. We can build something better.

Disclaimer：

1.This article is reprinted from [Web3 Xiaolu]. All copyrights belong to the original author [Will Awang]. If there are objections to this reprint, please contact the Gate Learn team, and they will handle it promptly.

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