This episode of The New Money Podcast features Hong Fang, President of OKX, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges serving over 60 million users. Hong traces her path from Goldman Sachs into crypto and explains how Bitcoin and open, auditable infrastructure address TradFi’s opacity, credit dependence, and widening inequality. She details OKX’s rebrand and unified CeFi–DeFi strategy, including its expanding self-custody wallet, OKX Pay, and the Brazil-focused OKX Card, alongside licensing progress across key jurisdictions. The conversation explores how OKX builds trust through on-chain proof of reserves, multi-layered controls, and a local–global “team of teams” model, and why hiring for passion and a growth mindset remains central to the company’s culture. Hong concludes by emphasizing that entering crypto requires humility and curiosity in an industry where assumptions must constantly be challenged.

Key Chapters

01:00 Hong joins to discuss OKX’s strategy

02:14 Hong recounts her path to crypto

04:52 The discussion examines TradFi’s opacity and incentives

12:49 OKX integrates CeFi and DeFi strategies

16:28 Product innovation bridges payments and self-custody

19:20 Hong outlines priorities and leadership philosophy

24:24 Local CEOs operate within global frameworks

27:05 Trust is earned through verifiable controls

29:50 Quickfire Insights on Fintech and Crypto Trends

This is NOT financial, tax, or legal advice

Music by Marcelo Cataldo - http://www.marcelocataldo.com

This episode of The New Money Podcast features Daniel Seifert, Vice President and Regional Managing Director, EMEA, of Coinbase. Daniel shares his journey from traditional finance at McKinsey and UBS to leading one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges through turbulent times, joining just weeks before the FTX collapse. He reflects on stabilizing the organization, motivating teams amid market downturns, and driving Coinbase’s global expansion outside the U.S. The conversation explores Europe’s regulatory landscape, highlighting MiCAR as a global benchmark for crypto clarity while cautioning against stifling innovation. Daniel discusses stablecoins, the future of Euro-denominated assets, and the coexistence of private stablecoins and a digital euro. Other topics include Coinbase’s Crypto-as-a-Service partnership with Citi, the vision to bring one billion people on-chain, and why talent density and a mission-driven culture remain core to Coinbase’s success.

Key Chapters

01:05 The host previews topics and welcomes Daniel

01:54 Joining before FTX and steering turbulence

04:55 Coinbase elevates hiring with talent density

06:52 MiCA gives Europe a regulatory edge

10:41 A career path from UBS to crypto

13:35 Digital euro versus private stablecoins

15:24 Europe builds euro stablecoins for markets

21:03 Institutions adopt crypto through partnerships

23:12 Better UX is essential for adoption

25:03 Quickfire Insights on Fintech and Crypto Trends

This is NOT financial, tax, or legal advice

Music by Marcelo Cataldo - http://www.marcelocataldo.com

This episode of The New Money Podcast features Sanja Kon, Vice President for EMEA at Circle, the company behind USDC and EURC stablecoins. Sanja shares how witnessing the collapse of financial systems during her early years sparked her curiosity about money and technology, leading her to work at PayPal, co-found a crypto-to-fiat payments startup, and ultimately scale stablecoin infrastructure at Circle. The discussion dives into Circle Payments Network, how its OFI/BFI model unlocks near-instant, transparent cross-border settlement, and why the network doesn’t require bilateral partner builds. Sanja also introduces Arc, Circle’s Layer 1 for stablecoin-native finance with predictable USDC gas fees and enterprise-grade functionality. They wrap up with insights on Circle’s partnership with Ivy, MiCA-driven adoption in Europe, and the growing role of EURC in global payments.

Key Chapters

01:34 Sanja Kon shares her origin story

04:53 Early payments faced hurdles, and early adopters emerged

06:40 Circle broadens use cases beyond checkout

08:06 Circle Payments Network streamlines cross-border settlements

10:45 A stablecoin sandwich powers near-instant settlement

12:48 One integration unlocks many payout corridors

14:10 Arc as a new ‘Economic OS’ for the Internet

16:23 Ivy partnership enables seamless bank to USDC

18:43 MiCA fuels European adoption and new use cases

23:08 Quickfire Insights on Fintech and Crypto Trends

This is NOT financial, tax, or legal advice

Music by Marcelo Cataldo - http://www.marcelocataldo.com

This episode of The New Money Podcast features Hoolie Tejwani, Head of Coinbase Ventures, the venture arm of Coinbase, investing in crypto and blockchain startups. Hoolie traces Coinbase Ventures’ origins from a nights-and-weekends experiment to a 500-plus company portfolio, outlining a financial-ROI-first mandate, flexible check sizes, and the strategic flywheel it creates for Coinbase. He maps the team’s current theses across stablecoins, DeFi, on-chain consumer apps, and the frontier of crypto x AI agents. The conversation provides insights on stablecoin issuance models, cross-border payments, and the complex economics of on-chain FX and liquidity, including when local-currency stables and USD preference matter. This episode offers a view into the crypto landscape through a venture capital lens, revealing how one of the industry’s leading investors allocates capital and identifies emerging opportunities.

Key Chapters

01:14 Coinbase Ventures begins as an internal experiment.

06:27 The early team shapes first investments.

08:04 The strategy expands and themes crystallize.

10:10 AI agents push toward on-chain commerce.

13:12 Stablecoin issuance diversifies as demand surges.

16:43 Stablecoin payments streamline cross-border flows.

17:27 FX economics depend on deep on-chain liquidity.

22:56 Quickfire Insights on Fintech and Crypto Trends

This is NOT financial, tax, or legal advice

Music by Marcelo Cataldo - http://www.marcelocataldo.com

This episode of The New Money Podcast features Nick van Eck, Co-Founder and CEO of Agora, a stablecoin infrastructure platform and the issuer of AUSD. Nick traces his path from a family of gold investors and a love for classical history to Bitcoin, and explains why non-sovereign money and self-custody matter. He outlines why stablecoins are far more valuable outside the US, what’s broken in today’s stablecoin market, and how Agora aligns economics for builders. The conversation covers white-label stablecoins that share AUSD liquidity, predictions for a dozen large issuers and market‑maker clearing, and why “yield coins” like USDe are not true stablecoins. Nick also shares how Agora will deploy its $50M Series A to build a full-stack, neobank-like experience that brings traditional businesses on-chain. A timely, practical roadmap for how stablecoins can export capital market access globally while fixing incentives for the next wave of crypto payments.

Key Chapters

00:51 The Origins of Agora’s Name and Vision

05:12 A Gold Legacy Leads to Bitcoin Beliefs

10:35 Stablecoins Expand Access Beyond the US

14:43 Agora Rebuilds Stablecoin Incentives for Builders

18:38 White Label Stables Share AUSD Liquidity

19:59 Enterprise Segregation Carries Heavy Costs

22:53 Market Makers Emerge as Stablecoin Clearers

24:24 Yield Coins Are Not Stablecoins

27:48 Agora Builds a Full Stablecoin Stack

32:05 Quickfire Insights on Fintech and Crypto Trends

This is NOT financial, tax, or legal advice

Music by Marcelo Cataldo - http://www.marcelocataldo.com

This episode of The New Money Podcast features Nick van Eck, Co-Founder and CEO of Agora, a stablecoin infrastructure platform and the issuer of AUSD. Nick traces his path from a family of gold investors and a love for classical history to Bitcoin, and explains why non-sovereign money and self-custody matter. He outlines why stablecoins are far more valuable outside the US, what’s broken in today’s stablecoin market, and how Agora aligns economics for builders. The conversation covers white-label stablecoins that share AUSD liquidity, predictions for a dozen large issuers and market‑maker clearing, and why “yield coins” like USDe are not true stablecoins. Nick also shares how Agora will deploy its $50M Series A to build a full-stack, neobank-like experience that brings traditional businesses on-chain. A timely, practical roadmap for how stablecoins can export capital market access globally while fixing incentives for the next wave of crypto payments.

Key Chapters

00:51 The Origins of Agora’s Name and Vision

05:12 A Gold Legacy Leads to Bitcoin Beliefs

10:35 Stablecoins Expand Access Beyond the US

14:43 Agora Rebuilds Stablecoin Incentives for Builders

18:38 White Label Stables Share AUSD Liquidity

19:59 Enterprise Segregation Carries Heavy Costs

22:53 Market Makers Emerge as Stablecoin Clearers

24:24 Yield Coins Are Not Stablecoins

27:48 Agora Builds a Full Stablecoin Stack

32:05 Quickfire Insights on Fintech and Crypto Trends

This is NOT financial, tax, or legal advice

Music by Marcelo Cataldo - http://www.marcelocataldo.com

This episode of The New Money Podcast features Nicolas, CEO of Coinhouse, a French crypto broker offering regulated digital asset services for individuals and businesses. Nicolas retraces Coinhouse’s roots alongside Ledger and its evolution from a Paris storefront to a regulated brokerage that helped shape France’s PSAN regime, later informing MiCA. He lays out why the real value sits with client-facing brokers, not exchanges, and how Coinhouse is building toward a crypto-native bank serving premium clients. The conversation dives into Europe’s regulatory fragmentation under MiCA, why France’s early lead has faded, and why Nicolas believes the travel rule should be scrapped in favor of robust AML/CFT controls. It’s a candid look at building a compliant crypto business in Europe, the missing piece in institutional exchange infrastructure, and the road to tokenized finance at banking scale.

Key Chapters

00:00 From Ledger roots to Coinhouse spinout

03:39 The 2017 crypto market in Europe

06:53 Building a regulation‑first strategy

11:26 Why broker beats exchange for value

16:10 Serving premium high‑touch clients

17:16 The missing institutional‑grade exchange

20:41 France’s head start fades under MiCA

23:59 Best EU jurisdictions for crypto today

27:09 Why the travel rule should go

29:32 Quickfire Insights on Fintech and Crypto Trends

This is NOT financial, tax, or legal advice

Music by Marcelo Cataldo - http://www.marcelocataldo.com

This episode of The New Money Podcast features Armani Ferrante, founder and CEO of Backpack, the regulated crypto exchange and wallet platform unifying access to digital assets across chains and fiat. Armani unpacks Backpack’s brand philosophy, why the company prioritizes custody, security, and global liquidity, and his journey from Apple to Alameda to the early Solana ecosystem. He shares candid lessons from the FTX collapse—after losing 88% of company capital—and how that shaped Backpack’s transparency-first, compliance-led culture. The conversation dives into Backpack’s launch in Europe via the FTX EU acquisition, the emerging regulated perps landscape, and how CeFi front-ends can leverage DeFi back-ends for provable safety, including daily proof-of-reserves and zero-knowledge attestations. A timely look at where the digital asset market is heading and why the next wave of crypto adoption will blend regulation, real liquidity, and verifiable infrastructure.

Key Chapters

02:03 Backpack’s brand and aesthetic vision

05:04 Choosing Backpack’s product scope

06:55 From Apple to Backpack

09:04 FTX lessons and the survival plan

17:56 Why Europe and the regulatory strategy

19:54 Inside the FTX EU acquisition

22:48 Outlook on regulated market structure

24:42 CeFi meets DeFi in exchange design

27:01 Auditable infrastructure and daily proofs

28:51 Quickfire Insights on Fintech and Crypto Trends

This is NOT financial, tax, or legal advice

Music by Marcelo Cataldo - http://www.marcelocataldo.com

This episode of The New Money Podcast features Henri Stern, co-founder and CEO of Privy, the wallet infrastructure enabling embedded wallets and secure key management for modern crypto apps, recently acquired by Stripe. Henri unpacks the hard-won lessons from his first startup, the co-founder dynamics that powered Privy, and why truth-seeking beats ego when navigating pivots. He traces Privy’s shift from data tokenization to embedded wallets, the evolution of wallet UX, and the rise of stablecoins drawing fintechs into crypto. Henri also explains how Privy remains fast inside Stripe, why serving both crypto-native and fintech customers compounds product quality, and how to think about chain fragmentation and interoperability. A timely conversation for builders deciding custody models, developer experience, and product bets in the stablecoin era.

Key Chapters

00:30 From Shout to Privy lessons learned

04:23 Grit versus quit in startups

07:41 Pivoting from data to wallets

13:14 Staying fast post-acquisition

15:13 Wallet UX shifts and embedded wins

19:19 Stablecoins, fintechs, and strategy bets

24:42 Privy's architecture, TEEs, and 4337

30:56 Inside the Stripe deal and chain strategy

34:59 Quickfire Insights on Fintech and Crypto Trends

This is NOT financial, tax, or legal advice

Music by Marcelo Cataldo - http://www.marcelocataldo.com

This episode of The New Money Podcast features Tracy Jin, COO at MEXC, a leading global crypto exchange known for altcoin breadth, deep liquidity, and ultra-low fees. Tracy unpacks MEXC’s M-E-X-C philosophy, why liquidity depth and zero-fee trading matter, and how the business model works at scale. The conversation dives into listing at speed with rigorous diligence and delisting safeguards, the emerging stablecoin war, and MEXC’s partnership with Ethen’s USDE that accelerated volumes. Tracy outlines the $300M ecosystem fund and IgniteX to back top talent and projects, and explains why multiple stablecoin winners make the market healthier. She also previews Dex Plus, which blends CEX and DEX UX, and new AI tools that help traders discover high-potential alts and trusted signals. A timely look at how exchanges will bridge retail and on-chain finance amid rapid product innovation and shifting regulation.

Key Chapters

00:00 MEXC’s pillars and growth focus

03:41 Zero fees and the business model

04:34 How MEXC builds deep liquidity

06:23 Fast listings with strict safeguards

08:10 Stablecoin strategy and USDE momentum

09:56 Why multiple stablecoins should win

11:00 Ecosystem fund and IgniteX talent bets

14:56 Alts Bitcoin and stablecoin roles

16:49 Roadmap for Dex Plus and AI features

23:48 Quickfire Insights on Fintech and Crypto Trends

This is NOT financial, tax, or legal advice

Music by Marcelo Cataldo - http://www.marcelocataldo.com