Summary

In this episode of the ATX DAO Podcast, we sit down with founding member Clifton and DAO and community members, Vardo and Scott for a wide-ranging roundtable on crypto, macroeconomics, and the evolution of ATX DAO. Clifton shares his journey from building EdTech startups to working at Bridgewater and launching a market-neutral hedge fund—before diving deep into crypto and helping start ATX DAO. The group discusses what it takes to bootstrap a community from scratch, why Austin continues to attract Web3 builders, and how life, family, and finance all collide in the world of crypto.

We also unpack major economic and policy trends: U.S. tariff strategies, the dollar’s outlook, and what “reciprocal tariffs” really mean. Clifton offers sharp insights on why DeFi infrastructure still outperforms TradFi in key areas—despite regulatory headwinds—and how institutional players are approaching crypto adoption behind the scenes. Whether you’re DAO-curious or deep into the macro weeds, this episode offers an unfiltered look at the people and policies shaping crypto’s next chapter.

Chapters

00:00 Current Developments and Future Goals of ATX DAO

06:21 Market Dynamics and Economic Discussions

11:55 Political Insights and Economic Policies

17:40 Future of Dogecoin and Scalability Discussions

29:46 Exploring Dogecoin's Potential in DeFi and Gaming

32:51 The Future of Gaming on Dogecoin

34:33 Preparing for the Avalanche Summit

37:56 Launching a Friends and Family Fund

39:20 Market Sentiment and Crypto Strategies

42:22 The Impact of Regulation on Crypto

48:11 Use Cases for Permissioned Roll-Ups

50:50 The Future of Tokenization and Asset Management

55:17 The Shift in Government Stance on Crypto

57:36 The Future of Crypto Mining in the U.S.

01:01:47 Quantum Resistance and Bitcoin's Future

Connect with us on X (Twitter):

• Ash:  ⁠@ashinthewild⁠
• Clifton: @cliftonk
• Luke: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@Luke152⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Scott: @1ScottAugustine
• Vardo: @varderes_crypto

Check out our friends at Tequila 512:

• Website:  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tequila512.com⁠⁠
• Socials: ⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Facebook⁠

To learn more about ATX DAO:

• Check out the ⁠ATX DAO ⁠website
• Follow ⁠@ATXDAO⁠ on X (Twitter)
• Subscribe to our newsletter
• Connect with us on ⁠LinkedIn⁠
• Join the community in the ⁠ATX DAO Discord⁠

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