Appetite for Disruption: The Business and Regulation of FinTech

With the help of Professor Johnson of Virginia Tech, we discuss what it means to be human in an age of accelerating technology, where computers and robots can think and maybe even feel. Professor Johnson explains several of the amazing technologies that exist today, both “outside” people and those being incorporated directly into people’s bodies, and how industry and government is pushing this forward. He really expanded our views on how to think about humanity and technology.

We chat with folks from Clearpool, a financial services firm that provides a wide variety of technology tools and routing infrastructure to sell-side broker-dealers to help them seek best execution for their institutional clients. We cover the technical aspects of how trading works, the speed at which it happens, and some of the technologies being deployed. These technologies are cutting edge in terms of speed and reaction time, which may pave the way for speed in other industries. The Clearpool team also gave us insight into being a startup in a competitive space.

Stina Ehresnvard returns with more insights about security, the hardware business, and finding your dream client. The dream client helps drive your business forward and may not always be the one you think.

We welcome Stina Ehresnvard to get us focused on how to build a business around hardware, instead of our usual focus on software.  Yubico believes that hardware is key to security in the digital realm.  

Troy interviews Chris live at the Security Traders Association Annual Market Structure Conference to give us more insight into the trading world, AI, blockchain, and other developments impacting our securities markets, financial institutions, and investors. Recorded when Chris was still President and COO of Cboe (before he moved to MarketAxess), Chris gives his usual candid take on things.

We continue our discussion with Chris Concannon from when he was still an executive at Cboe (he’s now at MarketAxess). We explore the future of exchange technology, including the impact of artificial intelligence and blockchain. (Nothing in this or any other episode is advice of any kind; please contact your own experts to help with investment, legal, regulatory, or other advice.)

We chat with Chris Concannon, formerly President and COO of Cboe and now the same at MarketAxess. We spoke with Chris (before he switched jobs) about the role of technology, the role of humans, and the speed of markets, and about regulation and complexity. (Nothing in this or any other episode is advice of any kind; please contact your own experts to help with investment, legal, regulatory, or other advice.)

The continuation of our conversation with Brett Hemenway, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Pennsylvania, where we learn about zero knowledge proofs, why math is fun, and that the kinds of math and cryptography problems he wrestles with require a lot more than multiplication tables. Troy and Lee continue to learn more about the world of cryptography from Brett and conclude that math may rule the world.

To sum it up, math matters. Troy and Lee with Brett Hemenway, a cryptographer looking at various practical applications of secure multi-party computation to solve real-world information sharing problems. Ever want to tell someone something but you’re not sure if you should trust that person? Brett delves into the theory and practice of cryptography in a way that we think "Appetite for Disruption" listeners will find fascinating. Really amazing.

We continue our discussion with European AI lawyer Lokke Moerel. We chat about search technology and "filter bubbles," the ethics of AI, and AI and regulation (including privacy and GDPR).