CoinDesk Reports

This week, “Opinionated” hosts Ben Schiller, Anna Baydakova and Danny Nelson are talking about Art Basel Miami Beach, the annual international art fair that took place in Florida last week.

Danny was reporting from the ground: This year, a new kind of art made its way to Miami, under the picky gaze of art collectors, curators and, yes, artists themselves. And yes, it’s NFTs, or non-fungible tokens.

NFTs used to be seen as merely cute funny antics of the crypto world (remember Crypto Kitties?) back in 2017, but now, they go for millions of dollars in the world’s most prestigious auction houses, like Christie’s and Sotheby’s.  

The auction houses are aggressively hiring, fashion brands and music labels are signing up international stars to do exclusive NFTs, and artists are learning how to store files on IPFS and use MetaMask – are NFTs here to stay and become a necessary fixture of the future? 

Listen to Ben, Danny and Anna discuss Danny’s impressions from Art Basel Miami Beach – and learn what Tina Turner high heels have to do with it!

This episode was produced, announced and edited by Michele Musso. Our theme song is by Elision.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“Crypto in and of itself represents access. It represents freedom. It represents inclusion and digital social justice.”

“On Purpose” host Tyrone Ross returns from a Thanksgiving holiday to provide an introduction to the macro landscape in the Registered Advisor (RA) industry. As the emerging crypto industry continues to increase its relevance to clients, advisers need to be up to date on topics such as decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO), the metaverse, Web 3, decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFT).

One emerging technology in particular has the potential to transform the entire RA industry. DAOs present a new opportunity for groups to come together and exercise their combined power for the global good. Ross emphasizes that advisers who start learning now will be ready to embrace “an industry that is going to rush in new ideas, creativity, wealth generation, financial inclusion, diversity and inclusion.”

This episode has been produced, announced and edited by Michele Musso with additional production support from Eleanor Pahl. Our theme song is Walk with Swag.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Last week a ramshackle group of crypto investors tried (and failed) to buy the U.S. Constitution. This week on “Opinionated,” Ben, Anna and Danny talk about why. Recorded one day prior to the auction, this week’s episode explores the tough questions decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) face in the wake of ConstitutionDAO.

For starters, how should DAOs organize themselves? Should it be one wallet, one vote or should larger contributors get a bigger share of the pie? Most projects follow the latter, but ConstitutionDAO’s unique focus on an important document in the history of democracy forces the question, Danny thinks.

This could prove to be an inflection point for DAOs as a whole, no matter the outcome. Media attention is rampant, new wallets are joining the movement. It may not have worked out for ConstitutionDAO but, as the gang points out, this form of flash crowdfunding is only just getting started.

This episode was produced, announced and edited by Michele Musso. Our theme song is by Elision.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“I love this space and all its rough edges, evolutions and spits and spats. It’s a reflection of humanity.”

Jeff Garzik  joins “On Purpose” host Tyrone Ross for a wide-ranging conversation on all things bitcoin. Listeners get a peek into Garzik’s journey, from his involvement in the initial stages of web journalism, to his work as an early Linux kernel developer, to his contributions to Bitcoin Core. At one point, Garzik was even the third most prolific Bitcoin Core contributor. 

Throughout his varied career, Garzik has been motivated by a need to do good in the world. He’s achieved that goal through creating sustainable business models and leading by example, ranging from everything from a micro-trucking model to innovative crypto education.

What does someone with so much experience in the space think bitcoin is? As Garzik describes, “it's an evolving organism,” whether in forms such as currency, digital gold, financial freedom and so much more. How will bitcoin evolve next?

This episode has been produced, announced and edited by Michele Musso with additional production support from Eleanor Pahl. Our theme song is Walk with Swag.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With the advent of cryptocurrency and related technologies, and with the failure of the existing banking-centric monetary architecture to address inequities and avoid financial crises, the one thing people tend to agree on is that our system of money needs an overhaul, specifically an upgrade to meet the needs of the digital economy. 

This episode is sponsored by Quantstamp and Nexo.io.

But what form should it take? And who gets to decide?

This week, “Money Reimagined” co-hosts Michael Casey and Sheila Warren talk to two guests who’ve thought as much about these issues as anyone.

Brett King is the author of six books and the founder of payment app Moven. Via his “Breaking Banks” podcast, he has been talking about the disruption of money since well before the crypto boom. 

Patrick Murck, a research affiliate at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, is probably the very first lawyer to ever take an interest in bitcoin. That led him to help found the Bitcoin Foundation in 2012. More recently, Murck has moved somewhat away from bitcoin. As president and chief legal officer at stealthy startup Transparent Financial Systems, he is seeking to take our existing system of money and transform it into a digital, community-based framework that’s open, programmable, interoperable and privacy-preserving.

The launching pad for the discussion was King’s latest book, co-written with Dr. Richard Petty, which carries the provocative title of “The Rise of Technosocialism.” Does new money technology allow us to get away from some of the core tenets of contemporary capitalism to provide things like Universal Basic Income? Or, do we run the risk of undermining the notion of private property and ownership, feeding some of the more radical, decentralizing principles of the crypto movement?

From there, the conversation goes to the heart of what matters to society, and the big questions of how we optimize for them. 

It rounds out with a look at money itself. What is the role for the state in money? What is the role for communities to apply their own values to monetary systems?

This episode was produced and edited by Michele Musso with announcements by Adam B. Levine. Our theme song is “Shepard.”

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Quantstamp is the leader of blockchain security, having secured over 100 billion USD worth of digital assets. Visit quantstamp.com to learn why top DeFi projects like Maker, Compound and BarnBridge trust Quantstamp to secure the financial infrastructure of tomorrow. Learn more at quantstamp.com/blog.

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Nexo is a powerful, all-in-one crypto platform where you can securely store your assets. Invest, borrow, exchange and earn up to 12% APR on Bitcoin and 20+ other top coins. Insured for $375M and audited in real-time by Armanino, Nexo is rated excellent on Trustpilot. Get started today at nexo.io.

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, “Opinionated” hosts Ben Schiller, Anna Baydakova and Danny Nelson are talking to Gurvais Grigg, global public sector chief technology officer at Chainalysis, a blockchain investigative firm.

Grigg spent 23 years at the FBI, rising from a trainee to assistant director. But this April, he took a career turn and joined a private sector company, which is often helping law enforcement agencies investigate crypto-related crimes. 

In his intro blog post, Grigg said crypto becomes a tool of global economic influence, and it’s important for the U.S. to keep up to speed with the technology, unless it wants rivals like China or Russia to outpace it. But do we think the U.S. is the world’s best possible crypto cop? Gurvais have some ideas to share about this.

2020 and 2021, indeed, became years of a ransomware pandemic, with cybercriminal groups hitting vast numbers of companies in the U.S. and Europe. In response, the U.S. government started a massive campaign against the hackers, or rather, against people and entities who helped those hackers cash out ransom crypto.

Two Russian crypto services have been sanctioned already, the over-the-counter (OTC) trading firm Suex and crypto trading bot Chatex, and another OTC founder, Denis Dubnikov, was arrested in Amsterdam last two weeks ago, allegedly for helping launder proceeds from the Ryuk ransomware attacks. 

Chainalysis has been involved in some of these investigations, and Grigg said he expects there will  be more indictments, sanctions and arrests. Also, there will probably be more ransomware attacks in the future. What is the role of companies like Chainlaysis in all that? 

Listen to Anna, Ben and Danny to talk to Gurvais about all that, and more. 

Gurvais Grigg’s Twitter handle is @gurvais

Mentioned in this episode:

• US Sanctions Enforcer Blacklists a Crypto Exchange for First Time

This episode was produced, announced and edited by Michele Musso. Our theme song is by Elision.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“The future of wealth management is a non-custodial plus discretion relationship.”

Host of “On Purpose” Tyrone Ross recaps his lessons learned from spending the past few weeks travelling and speaking with bank executives, RIAs, broker dealers and financial advisers across the country.

Those who are already sold on crypto will resonate with Ross’ sentiment that many of the largest institutions are reluctant to embrace crypto in any capacity. Regardless of their reluctance, clients will search for and invest in products with asymmetric returns. Clients will have a portfolio of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), they will be staking at Coinbase and they will have a MetaMask wallet.

Even if the clients are self-custodying crypto assets such as these, they will still search for advice on what to do with their wealth. Recognizing this future and preparing for it is the best an adviser can do for themselves and their firm.

This episode has been produced, announced and edited by Michele Musso with additional production support from Eleanor Pahl. Our theme song is Walk with Swag. 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why was the Philippines uniquely primed for the rapid and widespread adoption of Axie Infinity and other crypto opportunities?

This episode is sponsored by Quantstamp and Nexo.io.

Joining “Money Reimagined” hosts Michael Casey and Sheila Warren are Maoi Arroyo, serial entrepreneur and founder of Ignite Impact Fund, the first fund focused on eradicating income and access poverty in the Philippines, and Leah Callon-Butler, director of Emfarsis and screenwriter of the recent “Play to Earn” documentary. Maoi and Callon-Butler bring a depth of understanding of the economic, political and social context of the Philippines and the recent Axie Infinity phenomenon that swept the nation.

The island nation is heavily dependent on its Overseas Filipino Workers, whose U.S.-based workers sent a combined $12 billion dollars in cash remittances back in 2020 alone. The country also faces extensive corruption dating back to the Spanish colonial administration. The low trust of Filipinos in the national economy have pushed them to innovate new ways to interact with money.

Over the summer, the play-to-earn game Axie Infinity exploded in popularity, with a significant portion of its user base hailing from the Philippines. Many Filipinos recognized the opportunities abound within the play to earn economy, and more broadly with digital payment solutions and blockchain technology. What will this ambitious, mobile-native population adopt next?

This episode was produced by Michele Musso and Adam B. Levine, with editing by Jonas. This episode was announced by Adam B. Levine with additional support by Eleanor Pahl. Our theme song is “Shepard.”

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Quantstamp is the leader of blockchain security, having secured over 100 billion USD worth of digital assets. Visit quantstamp.com to learn why top DeFi projects like Maker, Compound and BarnBridge trust Quantstamp to secure the financial infrastructure of tomorrow. Learn more at quantstamp.com/blog.

-

Nexo is a powerful, all-in-one crypto platform where you can securely store your assets. Invest, borrow, exchange and earn up to 12% APR on Bitcoin and 20+ other top coins. Insured for $375M and audited in real-time by Armanino, Nexo is rated excellent on Trustpilot. Get started today at nexo.io.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, “Opinionated” hosts Ben Schiller, Anna Baydakova and Danny Nelson are discussing Anna’s investigative piece on the black market of “verified” accounts on crypto exchanges and payment apps.

Know-Your-Customer (KYC) at crypto exchanges might be a painstaking process for users  but there is a way to avoid all the troubles by simply buying a verified account in someone else’s name, Anna’s investigation found. 

Online forums and Telegram groups where people buy and sell accounts registered to other people count thousands of members and thrive all over the world. Accounts on virtually any exchange, from Huobi to Coinbase Pro, services from Paxful to BlockFi and apps like CashApp, Wirex and Revolut – the offerings are abundant. 

The price tag, somewhere between $50 and $500 for an account, makes such accounts a cheap and disposable tool for taxation avoidance, money laundering and getting around sanctions and other restrictions. 

How does the black market of KYC work, what it takes to fool video-verification and what crypto exchanges and payment services are doing about this all? Listen to Ben, Danny and Anna dive into the life of underground black markets and read Anna's piece, For $200, You Can Trade Crypto With a Fake ID.

This episode was produced, announced and edited by Michele Musso. Our theme song is by Elision.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“I think there is a new age of wealth coming… a massive transformation of wealth that’s occurring right now from Baby Boomers to their children.”

Sean Ristau of FinTech infrastructure company Prime Trust joins “On Purpose” host Tyrone Ross for an in-depth discussion of the growing intersection between technology and finance. Ristau sees an incoming new age to finance as the next generation takes over and sees crypto as pivotal in that shift.

For advisers looking to dive into crypto, Ristau has two pieces of advice: “you decide where [crypto] falls on your risk curve,” and to “work not only with investors, but also fellow industry colleagues.” With Ristau’s advice in hand, advisers can better prepare a strategy to go to market with their clients.

As Ristau says, crypto “is only going to grow,” the time to learn is now.

This episode has been produced, announced and edited by Michele Musso with additional production support from Eleanor Pahl. Our theme song is Walk with Swag. 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.