SALT Talks

Matt Hougan is one of the world’s leading experts on crypto, ETFs, and financial technology. He is the Chief Investment Officer for Bitwise Asset Management, the world’s largest provider of cryptocurrency index funds, with more than $1 billion in assets under management. He was previously CEO of ETF.com and Inside ETFs, where he helped build the world’s first ETF data and analytics system, the leading ETF media site, and the world’s largest ETF conference.

Hougan is co-author of two publications from the CFA Institute Research Foundation: “A Comprehensive Guide to Exchange-Traded Funds” and “Cryptoassets: The Guide to Bitcoin, Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies for Professional Investors.” He is a crypto columnist for Forbes, a three-time member of the Barron’s ETF Roundtable, a member of the ETFdb’s ETF Hall of Fame, and the eighth person to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from ETF.com for contributions to the ETF industry.

Hougan sits on the board of directors for Equbot, creator of the first AI-driven ETFs (in partnership with IBM Watson), and is a strategic advisor to multiple crypto- and financial advisor-related startups, including Blockworks, Stratifi, Advisor Circle, and Exchange.

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Registration for SALT New York is now open! Join us September 13-15, 2021 and sign up at https://register.salt.org/event/411f76d9-c215-4719-9bc4-8dfac6cfacdd/summary

For podcast transcripts and show notes, visit https://www.salt.org/

Watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RKIFKEtrdg0

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. Developed, created and produced by SALT Venture Group, LLC. 

Robert Breedlove is a freedom maximalist, ex-hedge fund manager, and philosopher in the Bitcoin space. To him, Bitcoin is fundamentally a humanitarian movement exposing the greatest con in human history: central banking. By learning about the connection between honest money, entrepreneurship, and civilization, we are renewing hope for the future of humanity. To this end, Robert's mission is to restore freedom, truth, and virtue in our world by tenaciously asking the question: "What is Money?"

He is also a YouTuber and the host of the “What Is Money?” podcast. Through his writing and media work, Robert aims to elucidate the importance of freedom and self-sovereignty across all spheres of human action. Find Robert on Twitter (@Breedlove22) where he posts about Bitcoin, macroeconomics, and philosophy.

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Registration for SALT New York is now open! Join us September 13-15, 2021 and sign up at https://register.salt.org/event/411f76d9-c215-4719-9bc4-8dfac6cfacdd/summary

For podcast transcripts and show notes, visit https://www.salt.org/

Watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/U7hLb8-YYBI

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. Developed, created and produced by SALT Venture Group, LLC. 

Mariana Mazzucato (PhD) is Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London (UCL), where she is Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose (IIPP). She is winner of international prizes including the 2020 John von Neumann Award, the 2019 All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values, and 2018 Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought. She was named as one of the '3 most important thinkers about innovation' by The New Republic, one of the 50 most creative people in business in 2020 by Fast Company, and one of the 25 leaders shaping the future of capitalism by WIRED. 

She is the author of three highly-acclaimed books: The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths (2013), The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy (2018) and the newly released, Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism (2021). She advises policymakers around the world on innovation-led inclusive and sustainable growth. Her current roles include being Chair of the World Health Organization’s Economic Council on Health for All and a member of the South African President’s Economic Advisory Council, the Scottish Government’s Council of Economic Advisors, and the United Nations High-level Advisory Board (HLAB) on Economic and Social Affairs, among others.

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Registration for SALT New York is now open! Join us September 13-15, 2021 and sign up at https://register.salt.org/event/411f76d9-c215-4719-9bc4-8dfac6cfacdd/summary

For podcast transcripts and show notes, visit https://www.salt.org/

Watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/iJk3-vdkpx4

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. Developed, created and produced by SALT Venture Group, LLC. 

Sasha Issenberg is the author of "The Engagement: America's Quarter-Century Struggle Over Same-Sex Marriage" and three previous books, including "The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns". He has covered presidential elections as a national political reporter in the Washington bureau of The Boston Globe, a columnist for Slate, and a contributor to Bloomberg Politics and Businessweek. He is the Washington correspondent at Monocle, and his work has also appeared in New York, The New York Times Magazine, and George, where he served as a contributing editor. He teaches in the political-science department at UCLA.

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Registration for SALT New York is now open! Join us September 13-15, 2021 and sign up at https://register.salt.org/event/411f76d9-c215-4719-9bc4-8dfac6cfacdd/summary

For podcast transcripts and show notes, visit https://www.salt.org/

Watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/votaaEndd_c

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. Developed, created and produced by SALT Venture Group, LLC. 

Asiff Hirji is the President of Figure Technologies, Inc. (‘‘Figure’’), a blockchain-based home equity lender since January 2020. Kyle Samani is a Managing Partner at Multicoin Capital, a thesis-driven investment firm that invests in cryptocurrencies, tokens, and blockchain companies reshaping trillion-dollar markets.

Prior to joining Figure, Mr. Hirji served as President and COO of Coinbase, Inc. (‘‘Coinbase’’), where he helped significantly grow the company’s revenue and valuation. Prior to Coinbase, he was an Operating Advisor with Andreessen Horowitz from October 2016 to December 2017, Chief Restructuring Officer of Hewlett Packard Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) from November 2014 to March 2017, and served as President and COO of TD Ameritrade from July 2005 to October 2006.

As a former engineer, Kyle leads technical thesis formation and diligence. He is the more outwards facing partner, owning relationships with entrepreneurs and other investors. He is widely recognized in the crypto ecosystem for his writing and system-level analysis.

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Registration for SALT New York is now open! Join us September 13-15, 2021 and sign up at https://register.salt.org/event/411f76d9-c215-4719-9bc4-8dfac6cfacdd/summary

For podcast transcripts and show notes, visit https://www.salt.org/

Watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wQct00PoxfU

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. Developed, created and produced by SALT Venture Group, LLC. 

Daniel Silva is an American journalist and author of thriller and espionage novels. Prior to his novelist career, Daniel became a journalist at the age of thirty-three, directing CNN’s political talks. There is a tremendous amount of historical content worked into all of his novels.

Elegant and sophisticated, provocative and daring, The Cellist explores one of the preeminent threats facing the West today—the corrupting influence of dirty money wielded by a revanchist and reckless Russia. It is at once a novel of hope and a stark warning about the fragile state of democracy. And it proves once again why Daniel Silva is regarded as his generation’s finest writer of suspense and international intrigue.

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Registration for SALT New York is now open! Join us September 13-15, 2021 and sign up at https://register.salt.org/event/411f76d9-c215-4719-9bc4-8dfac6cfacdd/summary

For podcast transcripts and show notes, visit https://www.salt.org/

Watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ayfEjnQYDzM

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. Developed, created and produced by SALT Venture Group, LLC. 

Gillian Tett is an Editor-at-Large for the Financial Times, where she is chair of the editorial board and editor-at-large, US. She has written about the financial instruments that were part of the cause of the financial crisis that started in the fourth quarter of 2007, such as CDOs, credit default swaps, SIVs, conduits, and SPVs. She became renowned for her early warning that a financial crisis was looming.

In 2014, she was named Columnist of the Year in the British Press Awards and was the first recipient of the Royal Anthropological Institute Marsh Award. In June 2009 her book Fool’s Gold won Financial Book of the Year at the inaugural Spear’s Book Awards. Tett’s past roles at the FT have included US managing editor, assistant editor, capital markets editor, deputy editor of the Lex column, Tokyo bureau chief, and a reporter in Russia and Brussels.

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Registration for SALT New York is now open! Join us September 13-15, 2021 and sign up at https://register.salt.org/event/411f76d9-c215-4719-9bc4-8dfac6cfacdd/summary

For podcast transcripts and show notes, visit https://www.salt.org/

Watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vU9wpfOOsuE

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. Developed, created and produced by SALT Venture Group, LLC. 

Gary Ginsberg is the Author of “First Friends: The Powerful, Unsung (And Unelected) People Who Shaped Our Presidents”. He is also a lawyer, American political operative and corporate adviser, serving as a strategist in both the public and private sectors for more than 25 years. He was most recently Senior Vice President and Global Head of Communications at SoftBank Group Corp. before resigning in 2020. Before joining SoftBank, Ginsberg served as Executive Vice President of Corporate Marketing and Communications at Time Warner and as Executive Vice President of Global Marketing and Corporate Affairs at News Corp.

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Registration for SALT New York is now open! Join us September 13-15, 2021 and sign up at https://register.salt.org/event/411f76d9-c215-4719-9bc4-8dfac6cfacdd/summary

For podcast transcripts and show notes, visit https://www.salt.org/

Watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8Kg-UCH36c4

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. Developed, created and produced by SALT Venture Group, LLC. 

Zac Prince is the Chief Executive Officer of BlockFi. Founded in 2017, BlockFi provides trade execution services for institutions and opportunities for retail investors to earn a yield on their bitcoin holdings. In January 2018, BlockFi launched its first product: USD loans backed by cryptocurrency for cryptocurrency holders allowing them to offer their bitcoin, ether or litecoin assets as collateral for a loan. In 2019, BlockFi launched its second major product to retail customers, a crypto-funded interest account. With this account, customers deposit bitcoin, ether or litecoin with the company for the assets to accumulate cumulative interest every month. BlockFi has previously advertised 6.2% annual interest, compounded monthly. The firm has $10 billion in outstanding loans, $15 billion in total assets and has been operating profitably for several months.

Prior to starting BlockFi, he led business development teams at Orchard Platform, a broker dealer and RIA in the online lending sector, and Zibby, an online consumer lender. He graduated Cum Laude from Texas State University with a BA in International Business and minor in Spanish.

—————————————————————— 

Registration for SALT New York is now open! Join us September 13-15, 2021 and sign up at https://register.salt.org/event/411f76d9-c215-4719-9bc4-8dfac6cfacdd/summary

For podcast transcripts and show notes, visit https://www.salt.org/

Watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-3RA72CIki0

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. Developed, created and produced by SALT Venture Group, LLC. 

Michael Frazis is a Managing Partner and Portfolio Manager at Frazis Capital Partners. Frazis Capital Partner's Frazis Fund beat both the S&P/ASX 200 and MSCI World Total Return Index by over 100% net in 2020. Over the past 12 months, the fund has generated returns of 188%. 

Prior to founding the firm, Michael spent five years in private equity in London, after completing internships in Goldman Sachs Special Situations Group and the Boston Consulting Group. Michael read Chemistry at Oxford University, and has a Masters of Finance from the London School of Economics. At Oxford, Michael’s research focused on the scale-up of enzyme-catalyzed fuel cells in the same laboratory that pioneered lithium batteries. Michael came first in Australia in the 2006 Chemistry Olympiad.

—————————————————————— 

Registration for SALT New York is now open! Join us September 13-15, 2021 and sign up at https://register.salt.org/event/411f76d9-c215-4719-9bc4-8dfac6cfacdd/summary

For podcast transcripts and show notes, visit https://www.salt.org/

Watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wKUkKf7EFfg

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. Developed, created and produced by SALT Venture Group, LLC.