The Brave Technologist

Howard Wu, CEO of Provable and Shield Wallet, makes the case that full, on-chain transparency was never a design principle—it was a limitation that mainstream finance cannot build on. He draws a direct line from the internet's switch from HTTP to HTTPS to where crypto needs to go next, and argues that the biggest obstacle to private stablecoins isn't the technology. Instead, it's the assumption that compliance and privacy are fundamentally at odds.

Key Takeaways:

• Why on-chain transparency creates broken user journeys for everyday payments, payroll, and institutional trading

• How zero-knowledge proofs enable compliance without risk of traditional KYC data collection

• What distinguishes the Shield Wallet's approach to privacy from that of a standard crypto wallet

• What Howard predicts will be mainstream by 2030 that almost no one in the industry is building for today

Guest Bio:

Howard Wu is the CEO of Provable and Shield Wallet. He's also a founder of the Layer-1 blockchain, Aleo. His contributions to zero-knowledge proofs and elliptic-curve cryptography have been adopted across the industry, including by protocols such as Ethereum and Zcash. Howard graduated from UC Berkeley with a research background in cryptography, computer security, and verifiable computing.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Juan Leon, Senior Investment Strategist at Bitwise Asset Management, returns to the show to share how much the convergence of traditional finance and on-chain infrastructure has accelerated since our last conversation—and what the data behind that shift actually shows. He breaks down why vaults represent the next evolution in fund wrappers beyond ETFs; what distinguishes sustainable on-chain yield from the opacity that drove past cycle failures; and where AI agents fit into the future of institutional asset management on blockchain rails.

Key Takeaways

• Why vaults are emerging as the next evolution in fund structures and how they compare to ETFs

• What separates sustainable on-chain yield from the products that failed in previous cycles

• How AI agents and blockchains are symbiotic, and what guardrails need to exist before institutions delegate real financial decisions to these agent/blockchain pairings

• Why the distribution opportunity in tokenization is being underestimated

Guest Bio: Juan Leon is the Senior Investment Strategist at Bitwise Asset Management, where he helps lead research, product and strategy development, and fund and index management, and also supports sales and client relationships. Prior to Bitwise, he was a Portfolio Manager at U.S. Global Investors, managing equity and fixed-income funds, and designing quantitative investment strategies. Before that, Juan was a Financial Analyst at Rackspace Technology where he contributed to financial planning and analysis. He is a graduate of Trinity University, double majoring in Political Science and Economics. Juan also earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation from the CFA Institute.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Danit Nativ Navon, Senior Software Engineering Manager at Meta, unpacks how the company became the first major tech firm to build AI-enabled coding interviews. She breaks down the process of rethinking what engineering interviews actually measure (now that AI can write the code itself), and explains why the leadership qualities that matter most now look nothing like the skills these interviews were originally built to test. Key Takeaways:

• How to tell the difference between a candidate who's simply good at prompting from a genuine AI-native engineer

• What a viral interview-cheating tool revealed about a much deeper flaw in traditional coding tests

• Why leadership qualities are becoming more valuable to engineers in the AI era

• How company culture ends up being the real safeguard for privacy and safety

Guest Bio:

Danit Nativ Navon is a Senior Engineering Manager in Meta's Applied AI division, with two decades of experience and an academic background in Computer Science and Neuroscience.

At Meta, she pioneered AI-enabled coding interviews, making it the first major tech company to adopt AI-native evaluation for engineering talent. She also coaches leaders through AI-driven change and helps new hires to integrate AI skills into Meta's engineering environment.

A self-described late adopter who chose to evolve rather than fall behind, Danit now helps others step confidently into the AI era. Her global journey across Israel, Singapore, Mexico, and London informs her practical, people-first approach to engineering leadership.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Andrew Pelekis (CEO of HEEBOO) and Nicholas Cabana (Co-Founder of Claynosaurz and Chief Creative Officer at HEEBOO), break down how a Solana-based digital collectibles brand and a small team of Hollywood animators grew into an entertainment franchise now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. They unpack the decision to give 15% of company equity back to collectors; how selling products funds content production; and why treating fans as co-owners (not just customers) became their unlikely path to overcoming Web3's biggest adoption hurdle.

Key Takeaways:

• Why short-form content became the deliberate first move for Claynosaurz, long before the existence of any long-form series

• How giving equity away to early collectors solved a problem most brands don't realize they have

• What it takes to get kids excited about digital collectibles without ever mentioning crypto

• Why obsessing over token price charts can undermine a community's long-term value

• How pairing streaming with digital collectibles could turn passive viewing into something interactive

Guest Bio:

Andrew Pelekis is the CEO of HEEBOO, the studio behind the Claynosaurz entertainment IP. He leads the company's efforts to turn Claynosaurz from an internet-native community and digital collectible project into a broader entertainment franchise, including its recent expansion onto Amazon Prime Video.

Nic Cabana is the Co-Founder of Claynosaurz and Chief Creative Officer at HEEBOO, where he leads the creative vision behind the Claynosaurz universe. He's focused on building an entertainment IP that brings together storytelling, community, and emerging technology in new ways.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

David Kinitsky, Chief Corporate Development Officer at Everstake, shares what distinguishes this cycle of enterprise crypto adoption from every previous one, and why the shift matters. He explains why staking is a foundational infrastructure play, not just a yield product; what institutional due diligence on staking looks like in practice; and why the prevailing narrative around tokenization misidentifies the real unlock. He also lays out a longer-term thesis: that AI agents will eventually manage personalized financial portfolios for everyday people at the level currently reserved for the most sophisticated wealth management clients.

Key Takeaways:

• What's different about this cycle of enterprise crypto adoption

• Why staking matters beyond yield, and the role validators play

• What institutions require before allocating significant capital to staking

• Why tokenization's most important unlock is programmability and composability

• How AI agents could extend institutional-grade portfolio management to everyday users

Guest Bio:

David Kinitsky is a seasoned executive with 15+ years of experience in the financial and technology sectors, including 12+ years in crypto. He is currently the Chief Corporate Development Officer at Everstake, after previously helping to launch a streak of industry innovations and business successes at Kraken, Circle, Fidelity, Grayscale, and SecondMarket.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Navin Vethanayagam, Chief Brain of IQ and Co-founder of KRWQ, unpacks his "Stablewoods" theory: why non-dollar stablecoins like KRWQ, the first Korean won stablecoin, may end up reinforcing dollar dominance rather than challenging it. He also breaks down how IQ.wiki's AI editor SOPHIA—and their agent AIDEN—turned a static blockchain encyclopedia into living infrastructure.

Key Takeaways:

• What the "Stablewoods" theory says about non-dollar stablecoins

• Why Korea's restricted currency has created a hidden opportunity most stablecoin builders have overlooked

• How Bretton Woods history predicts where stablecoins are headed next

• What the global financial map could look like in a decade if regional stablecoins end up reinforcing (rather than challenging) U.S. monetary power

Guest Bio:

Navin Vethanayagam is Chief Brain of IQ and the Co-founder of KRWQ. IQ is building a more intelligent financial system, from leading stablecoin infrastructure and autonomous AI agents to the world's largest blockchain encyclopedia. IQ recently launched KRWQ, the first Korean won stablecoin, and previously launched IQ.wiki, the world's largest blockchain encyclopedia. IQ.wiki is managed by AI editor SOPHIA, and its data is used to train AIDEN, an AI agent for crypto communities.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Steve Gregory, CEO of Binance.US, shares what it actually takes to bring a compliant crypto exchange product to market in the US. He explains how his background as a compliance lawyer shapes the way he leads product decisions; why the US crypto user has been underserved on leverage and derivatives for too long; and how Binance US is quietly positioning itself as a bridge between DeFi and the world of centralized exchanges.

Key Takeaways

• Why compliance-first product development actually speeds delivery

• What the GENIUS Act and CLARITY Act have unlocked for US crypto exchanges

• How Binance US is approaching the tension between privacy and KYC requirements

• Why the next wave of crypto adoption won't come from DeFi power users

• What the US crypto market keeps getting wrong about what customers actually want

Guest Bio:

Steve Gregory is the CEO of Binance.US, a leading U.S. digital asset exchange. Prior to joining Binance.US in the spring of 2026, Steve was the CEO at Currency.com and has held compliance roles at CEX.IO and Gemini. Binance.US is America's home to buy, trade, and earn digital assets. As a compliance-first, U.S.-regulated exchange, Binance.US offers secure and reliable access to the world's most popular cryptocurrencies. The platform is an industry leader with low fees, an advanced trading engine, strong platform stability and security, and a robust compliance framework.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Joel McKelvey, VP of Product Marketing at Glean, shares why the enterprises winning with AI right now aren't the ones chasing the latest model—they're the ones who got their context layer right first. He explains why AI has moved from experimentation to company-wide production almost overnight, and why the biggest mistake enterprises are making is one they'll only recognize in hindsight.

Key Takeaways

• Why the model you're running matters far less than the context you're feeding it

• How to think about AI ROI across three levels: individual, team, and organization

• What actually breaks employee trust in AI agents

• Why being model-agnostic is the best future-proof decision

• How fear of AI disappears quickly once employees get firsthand experience of a productivity win

Guest Bio:

Joel McKelvey is VP of Product Marketing at Glean, where he helps organizations turn AI initiatives into practical, metrics-driven business transformation. He brings more than 30 years of experience across engineering, marketing, and strategy, with deep expertise in AI, machine learning, analytics, and data architectures. His work focuses on how enterprises move from experimentation to execution using AI agents, enterprise search, and trusted data foundations to improve productivity, decision-making, and customer and employee experiences.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Natalia Konstantinova, Lead Enterprise Architect in AI at Natwest, shares why most enterprise AI projects don't fail because of the technology, they fail because organizations skip the foundations. She also explains how responsible AI and scalable AI have converged, and why you can't achieve one without the other.

Key Takeaways:

• Why most enterprise AI projects stall before scale

• What software engineers consistently get wrong about AI reliability

• Why governance actually accelerates delivery

• How to make AI transformational rather than just another digital tool

Guest Bio:

Dr Natalia Konstantinova is Lead Enterprise Architect for AI at NatWest Group, where she leads the strategic adoption of AI across the enterprise. With a PhD in Information and Language Processing and a background spanning academia, industry, and innovation, she specialises in AI strategy, enterprise architecture, governance, and responsible AI. Natalia is passionate about helping organisations translate complex AI technologies into scalable business value, and is a recognised voice on the future of AI in highly regulated industries.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte

Preston Byrne, Tech & Free Speech Lawyer at Byrne & Storm, P.C., shares how a small American imageboard became the first test case for whether foreign governments can legally force American companies to comply with their censorship laws on American soil. He breaks down why the UK's Online Safety Act can't actually be enforced against US companies with no British presence; how a picture of an AI-generated hamster became a more effective legal strategy than a hundred-page brief; and what the proposed GRANITE Act would do to permanently close the loophole foreign regulators have been exploiting.

Key Takeaways:

• Why the UK's Online Safety Act can't legally be enforced against American companies

• What the GRANITE Act would do what current First Amendment protections can't

• How 98% of companies comply with foreign censorship demands they have no legal obligation to follow

• Why responding to Ofcom with a hamster worked better than a formal legal letter

Guest Bio: Preston Bryne is a technology lawyer with Byrne & Storm, P.C., and a Senior Fellow of the Adam Smith Institute in London. Preston is the architect of the GRANITE Act and the Adam Smith Institute's Freedom of Speech Bill, an effort to launch a coordinated, transatlantic legislative response to foreign censorship enforcement. He was appointed to the Legal Advisory Council of the UK's Free Speech Union in 2025.

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About this Show:

The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all!

Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together.

The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API.

Music by: Ari Dvorin

Produced by: Sam Laliberte