The Crypto Conversation

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Decrypting Money - A Comprehensive Introduction to Bitcoin Oct 11, 2023

Show notes

Dr. Marco Krohn and Dr. Anthony Jefferies are co-authors of a new book - Decrypting Money - A Comprehensive Introduction to Bitcoin. The book provides a high-level overview of Bitcoin's properties, decentralization, mining, and its role in the larger context of money.

Why you should listen

In Decrypting Money, cryptocurrency experts Marco Krohn, Anthony Jefferies, Marco Streng, and Zoran Balkic pull back the curtain on the world of public ledgers, decentralization, mining, blockchains, and private keys.

On the podcast, the authors discuss the historical context of Bitcoin and its relevance in today's financial landscape. They highlight the recurring issue of centralized control over money supply throughout history and how Bitcoin offers a decentralized alternative. The authors express optimism about Bitcoin's progress, acknowledging its adoption and integration into conventional financial markets while recognizing that it is still not widely accepted as a medium of exchange. They also discuss the upcoming Bitcoin halving event, emphasizing that making concrete predictions about its impact is difficult but expressing confidence in Bitcoin's long-term value as an asset class.

The book is published under a Creative Commons license, allowing people to distribute copies freely. The authors are long-time Bitcoiners and believe spreading knowledge about Bitcoin and decentralized systems is important.

Listen to the podcast to learn how to win a copy of the book!

Supporting links

Decrypting Money Book

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Bastion - Uncomplicating Web3 Oct 09, 2023

Show notes

Riyaz Faizullabhoy and Nassim Eddequiouaq, are the former Chief Technology Officer and Chief Security Officer of a16z Crypto, and the founders of Bastion. Bastion is an enterprise-focused web3 orchestrator enabling companies to seamlessly integrate web3 infrastructure into enterprise technologies through a compliant, white-label platform.

Why you should listen

Bastion, founded by the former Chief Technology Officer and Chief Security Officer of a16z crypto, empowers enterprises to develop products and experiences that unlock the full potential of web3 for their end users by allowing brands to implement new, or expand existing, infrastructure. Using Bastion's proprietary routing system, companies can now leverage the utility of the blockchain only when necessary, providing a pragmatic solution for web3 implementation.

Through its comprehensive platform, the Company eliminates the need to individually source solutions such as custody, wallet management, and user onboarding. Bastion combines the simplicity of web2 with the efficiencies of web3, so businesses can create faster, easier ways for people to pay, play, connect, and shop, all while simultaneously offering valuable insights through data analytics.

Supporting links

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REKT Capital Returns - 200 Days Until the Bitcoin Halving Oct 05, 2023

Show notes

Rekt Capital is a cryptocurrency trader and technical analyst. In this episode, Andy and Rekt discuss the historical patterns and tendencies leading up to the Bitcoin halving, including pre-halving periods, retracements, and post-halving rallies.

Why you should listen

Rekt Capital suggests that the next 140 days present an opportunity for dollar-cost averaging and accumulation before potential price increases post-halving. He mentions the possibility of Bitcoin dropping below $20,000 before the halving, but cautions that it is not guaranteed. The conversation highlights the importance of this time period for long-term investors to position themselves strategically for the upcoming cycle.

Andy and Rekt discuss the potential impact of spot ETFs on Bitcoin's price, emphasizing the fact that both ETFs and halving events are long-term catalysts that will have significant effects over future cycles.

Rekt also discusses the importance of long-term time horizons, the psychological number that is a $100k Bitcoin, strategies for selling Bitcoin during peak periods, such as dollar cost averaging out of the market, the altcoin money cycle, and the inevitability of meme coins.

Supporting links

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XEROF - Cryptoassets with Swiss Precision Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

Marc Taverner is the CEO and co-founder of XEROF, a financial services provider for crypto assets. Marc says the idea for XEROF stemmed from a recognition of the friction between traditional finance and crypto assets. XEROF aims to provide compliance-first solutions that bridge this gap for high net-worth individuals, businesses, corporates, web3 companies, asset managers, and family offices globally.

Why you should listen

XEROF offers services such as cross-border payments using stablecoins like tether USDT to reduce fees and increase cash velocity; facilitating real estate purchases with cryptocurrency through currency conversion; supporting web3 companies' periodic conversion of treasury into fiat currencies for operational costs; and providing institutions with an Active Managed Certificate (AMC) to gain exposure to crypto assets in a regulated manner. This allows asset managers to recognize placements as assets under management without needing to take custody of the underlying asset.

Supporting links

XEROF

https://partner.bitget.com/bg/BNC0

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Versatus - The Most Versatile DevEx in Web3 Oct 02, 2023

Show notes

Andrew Smith is the founder of Versatus Labs. Versatus is building a decentralized compute stack to make it easier for developers to build on blockchains. Their vision is similar to cloud compute providers like AWS, but for blockchain technology. They aim to reduce the language barrier and provide tools for developers to build applications on any chain. They believe that attracting more developers will lead to the creation of killer apps and drive mass adoption of Web3 technology.

Why you should listen

Andrew Smith discusses the challenges of talent acquisition in Web3 development and emphasizes the need to make the hiring process easier and reduce barriers. He predicts that within the next decade, about a third of all applications will be built on decentralized stacks. Andrew provides an overview of Versatus' layer one blockchain and consensus mechanism. Andrew projects a future where Web3 has multiple killer apps and over 100 million daily active users, with trillion-dollar market cap platforms. He believes that decentralization is the future but acknowledges the current knowledge gap in blockchain technology among most people.

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Versatus

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Torque Drift 2 - Motorsport comes to Web3 Sep 28, 2023

Show notes

Billy Sullivan is the COO, and Arran Potter is the founder at Grease Monkey Games, a Melbourne games studio building immersive community-driven games for fans of Motorsport. Billy and Arran are Motorsport and car culture enthusiasts IRL and in the digital realm.

Why you should listen

Founded in 2013, Melbourne-based Grease Monkey Games is the developer of Torque Burnout and Torque Drift, both available on mobile devices, with the latter also released on PC. In 2022 Animoca Brands acquired Grease Monkey Games for an undisclosed amount.

Torque Drift 2 is an upcoming Web2 meets Web3 motorsport game from Grease Monkey Games. From the colorful drift scene of Tokyo streets to professional competitions sponsored by global brands, Torque Drift 2 invokes all aspects of drift culture. From nostalgic nightscapes to major league championships, your drift style and gameplay choices will determine your legacy as a drift legend.

With extensive profile and garage customization options as digital collectables, linear and open-world environments, a powerful suite of player custom creation tools, and a multitude of feature support for both single and multiplayer experiences, Torque Drift 2 aims to offer a 'play-your-way' experience that players can define for themselves.

The game will have continuous releases of interactive experiences such as a tuning garage open to players starting as early as Q3 2023, with the full release of the game staged for 2024.

Supporting links

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DAIM - The Investment Advisor Dedicated to Crypto Sep 27, 2023

Show notes

Brian Courchesne started his career on Wall Street and became interested in Bitcoin in 2014. He recognized a need for licensed advisors in the space and founded DAIM to provide professional management of crypto assets. DAIM's typical clients are busy business owners looking to make larger allocations to the crypto space. They offer personalized portfolio recommendations and manage assets according to their model portfolio. Additionally, they provide services such as tax optimization and access to various retirement accounts, including a unique corporate 401k plan that allows employees to invest in Bitcoin alongside traditional funds.

Why you should listen

DAIM is a successful traditional and digital asset manager that uses its unique investing experience to help its clients achieve their investment goals. DAIM's expertise, research, and access gives clients the confidence to stay at the forefront of modern investing. DAIM has established relationships with traditional and digital investment technology companies and are able to take disconnected platforms and combine them into streamlined solutions.

Supporting links

DAIM

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Ethena Labs - Enabling the Internet Bond Sep 24, 2023

Show notes

Ethena Labs - Enabling the Internet Bond

Guy Young is the CEO and Founder of Ethena Labs, the crypto infrastructure company building USDe, the first-ever global internet bond and stablecoin not reliant on existing banking institutions.

Why you should listen

Ethena Labs is a decentralized stablecoin protocol built on Ethereum that will provide a crypto-native solution for money not reliant on traditional banking system infrastructure, alongside a globally accessible and permissionless dollar denominated savings instrument - the 'Internet Bond'.

Ethena's stablecoin, USDe, will provide the first censorship resistant, scalable, and stable crypto-native solution for money by delta-hedging staked Ethereum collateral. USDe will be fully collateralized transparently onchain and free to compose throughout DeFi.

The 'Internet Bond' is built upon USDe and will combine yield derived from staked Ethereum as well as the basis in both perpetual swap and futures markets, to create the first onchain bond that can function as dollar denominated savings instrument for users worldwide.

Supporting links

Ethena

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Valio - Next Generation Asset Management Platform Sep 21, 2023

Show notes

Valio - Next Generation Asset Management Platform

Karlis is the of founder Valio, an asset management platform that connects users to leading traders and digital asset managers.

Why you should listen

Valio.xyz is a new cross-chain asset management platform that aims to solve the technical challenges that have held back decentralized asset management.

It works by allowing investors to allocate their capital to traders without the need for trust. Investors are able to allocate capital to traders without trusting them, while traders have access to the many chains supported by LayerZero, to craft flexible strategies that can include long-tail crypto assets, derivatives and, eventually, the full gamut of DeFi.

Valio.xyz is incubated by Openhedge, a venture studio. The core team is made up of six experienced professionals with backgrounds in software engineering, investment banking, and DeFi.

Supporting links

Valio