Messari's Unqualified Opinions

Latest Episodes:

Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino on Tether’s Dominance and Spotting Fake Volume Apr 30, 2020

Show notes

Paolo Ardoino sits at the intersection of one of crypto’s most liquid exchanges and its most dominant stablecoin. In this conversation, Paolo provides unique insight into the philosophy behind Tether and walks us through its path to a $5B+ market cap. He also discusses how Bitfinex approaches markets, how to spot fake liquidity and whether or not he’d consider exploring proof-of-reserves. --- Special thanks to our sponsors: Lukka - Crypto taxes made simple. Use the promo code "MESSARITAX" and get $5 off the normal price of $19.95 Crypto.com - The best place to Buy, Earn, Pay with Crypto. If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with your colleagues & friends, rate, review, and subscribe.This podcast is presented by BlockWorks Group. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at: https://www.blockworksgroup.io

ErisX CEO Thomas Chippas on Creating Regulated Crypto Markets Apr 28, 2020

Show notes

ErisX is one of a handful of highly regulated crypto platforms that currently offers spot and derivatives trading for top assets. In this discussion, CEO Thomas Chippas discusses their slow and steady approach to organically creating vibrant markets. He details the table stakes required for institutional participation that don’t apply to retail, such as the need to fully understand counterparty risk. He provides an overview of ErisX’s roadmap for retail and institutional traders alike and reveals why their greatest near term opportunity lies within retail derivatives traders who want to trade in a regulated environment and don't need 125X leverage. --- Special thanks to our sponsors: Lukka - Crypto taxes made simple. Use the promo code "MESSARITAX" and get $5 off the normal price of $19.95 Crypto.com - The best place to Buy, Earn, Pay with Crypto. If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with your colleagues & friends, rate, review, and subscribe.This podcast is presented by BlockWorks Group. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at: https://www.blockworksgroup.io

Midcap Doubleheader with Zcoin’s Reuben Yap and Zilliqa’s Colin JG Miles Apr 23, 2020

Show notes

In this double header, we dive into two midcap projects across the privacy and smart contract sectors. First we talk to Zcoin founder Reuben Yap and learn about how Zcoin is differentiated from other privacy protocols like Monero and Zcash. Reuben details how Zerocoin’s protocol works and discusses its focus on building community throughout Asia. Then we talk to Zilliqa Head of Marketing Colin JG Miles who details their plan for ascending through a crowded smart contract field by taking a localized focus on open finance, stablecoins and remittances. --- Special thanks to our sponsors: Lukka - Crypto taxes made simple. Use the promo code "MESSARITAX" and get $5 off the normal price of $19.95 Crypto.com - The best place to Buy, Earn, Pay with Crypto. If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with your colleagues & friends, rate, review, and subscribe.This podcast is presented by BlockWorks Group. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at: https://www.blockworksgroup.io

Celo Founder Rene Reinsberg on Stablecoins, Emerging Markets & Financial Inclusion Apr 21, 2020

Show notes

As long as there have been blockchains there has been talk of “banking the unbanked”. Backed by a16z and Polychain, Celo aims to deliver financial inclusion through a mix of on-chain collateralized stablecoins and easy to use mobile applications built with the unbanked in mind. In this conversation, Celo founder Rene Reinsberg describes how Celo’s solutions differ from Libra, where he sees Celo’s open and permissionless approach taking root, and why stablecoins are on the verge of exploding in popularity and usage. --- Special thanks to our sponsors: Lukka - Crypto taxes made simple. Use the code messaritax and get $5 off the normal price of $19.95 Crypto.com - The best place to Buy, Earn, Pay with Crypto. If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with your colleagues & friends, rate, review, and subscribe.This podcast is presented by BlockWorks Group. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at: https://www.blockworksgroup.io

Chad Cascarilla on the Early Days of Crypto, Regulation and Paxos’ Long Term Ambitions Apr 16, 2020

Show notes

Paxos founder and CEO, Chad Cascarilla, is one of crypto’s longest standing entrepreneurs who first fell down the bitcoin rabbit hole in 2010. Paxos is the first crypto company to receive a NY Trust charter and has blazed a trail as one of the few regulated financial settlement and custody platforms outside of the legacy banking system. In this conversation, Chad details how Paxos is playing the long game with respect to regulation. Where Paxos currently offers regulated trading and custody for top assets, PAX stablecoin and PAX gold, their long term ambitions lie with providing the financial and regulatory infrastructure that others can leverage to rebuild the financial system. He explains why and how they’re pursuing tokenized securities with cooperation from giants like Credit Suisse. Chad also shares how he’s navigating Paxos through the current economic crisis and who he’d want to play him in the eventual crypto-movie. --- Special thanks to our sponsors: Lukka - Crypto taxes made simple. Use the code messaritax and get $5 off the normal price of $19.95 Crypto.com - The best place to Buy, Earn, Pay with Crypto. If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with your colleagues & friends, rate, review, and subscribe.This podcast is presented by BlockWorks Group. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at: https://www.blockworksgroup.io

Paxful CEO Ray Youssef on Bitcoin Usage in Africa and its Emerging Market Future Apr 14, 2020

Show notes

Today’s episode with Ray Youssef covers his path to founding Paxful after immigrating to New York from Egypt, founding 2 successful startups and 11 failed ones before temporarily becoming homeless while finding his way to bitcoin. He details how he sees Bitcoin moving beyond a speculative instrument and returning to its roots, with payments, e-commerce and wealth preservation in emerging markets. Lastly, he predicts that peer-to-peer bitcoin transactions will eclipse exchange volume within two years and that crypto’s future is African. --- Special thanks to our sponsors: Lukka - Crypto taxes made simple. Use the code messaritax and get $5 off the normal price of $19.95 Crypto.com - The best place to Buy, Earn, Pay with Crypto. If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with your colleagues & friends, rate, review, and subscribe.This podcast is presented by BlockWorks Group. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at: https://www.blockworksgroup.io

Anchorage’s Nathan McCauley on Custody, Libra, Bitcoin, XRP & crypto M&A Apr 09, 2020

Show notes

Backed by Visa, Andreesen Horowitz and Blockchain Capital, Anchorage has emerged as one of the largest custodians in crypto. In this conversation, Anchorage CEO Nathan McCauley details the origins of the company and their early involvement with the Libra Association where Nathan saw Facebook’s engineering and legal might up close and personal. He relays what he’s seeing from institutional buyers with respect to bitcoin and the coronavirus crisis, their recent support for XRP and why he sees crypto M&A picking up in a big way when the dust from the crisis settles. --- Special thanks to our sponsors: Lukka - Crypto taxes made simple. Use the code messaritax and get $5 off the normal price of $19.95 Crypto.com - The best place to Buy, Earn, Pay with Crypto. If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with your colleagues & friends, rate, review, and subscribe.This podcast is presented by BlockWorks Group. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at: https://www.blockworksgroup.io

Ben Hunt on the future of money, crypto, and political power Apr 07, 2020

Show notes

Ben Hunt is the author of Epsilon Theory; a newsletter and website that examines markets through the lenses of history and game theory. In this wide ranging discussion, Ben discusses what our government's response to the COVID-19 crisis revealed about those in power and why we need to take a different approach to hedging against catastrophic risk. He shares his affinity for what crypto stands for and his fear that its focus on money will inevitably lead the powers that be to co-opt it. Lastly, he shares his belief that the recent actions from Central Banks around the world is simply the beginning phase of governments redefining money to support political power. --- Special thanks to our sponsors: Lukka - Crypto taxes made simple. Use the code messaritax and get $5 off the normal price of $19.95 Crypto.com - The best place to Buy, Earn, Pay with Crypto. If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with your colleagues & friends, rate, review, and subscribe.This podcast is presented by BlockWorks Group. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at: https://www.blockworksgroup.io

The Bitcoin Custodian with BitGo CEO Mike Belshe Apr 02, 2020

Show notes

While BitGo may not be as much of a household name as Coinbase and Binance, they’re easily one of the industry’s most important institutional custodians. BitGo supports custody for over 200 assets and In 2019 alone, accounted for 20% of all transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain. In this conversation, CEO Mike Belshe shares his views on the role of custodians in the industry, BitGo’s approach to asset selection, and how he views Bitcoin’s prospects in light of the current economic crisis. --- Special thanks to our sponsors: Lukka - Crypto taxes made simple. Use the code messaritax and get $5 off the normal price of $19.95 Crypto.com - The best place to Buy, Earn, Pay with Crypto. If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with your colleagues & friends, rate, review, and subscribe.This podcast is presented by BlockWorks Group. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at: https://www.blockworksgroup.io

A Blockchain Future with Overstock CEO Jonathan Johnson Mar 31, 2020

Show notes

Overstock is known in crypto circles as one of the first major online retailers to accept Bitcoin payments. On top of being an early adopter, Overstock has invested heavily into blockchain technology through its subsidiary, Medici Ventures. In this conversation, Overstock CEO and President of Medici Ventures, Jonathan Johnson, details why the company is betting heavily across blockchain’s application in capital markets, banking, identity, property, voting and supply chains. --- Special thanks to our sponsors Nexo: Borrow, lend and grow your crypto. Lukka: Crypto taxes made simple. Use the code messaritax and get $5 off the normal price of $19.95 Crypto.com - The best place to Buy, Earn, Pay with Crypto. If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with your colleagues & friends, rate, review, and subscribe.This podcast is presented by BlockWorks Group. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at: https://www.blockworksgroup.io

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