Unraveling Crypto

Conversations about web3 and crypto can move so fast that it’s hard for newcomers to get a grasp on even the most basic concepts. This isn’t an issue with author, teacher, and tech founder Chris Castiglione in the guest’s chair. With his background in building successful startups and knack for breaking down key concepts like decentralization, shared ownership, and open source in easy to follow ways, Chris is an invaluable ally to have as we build the future of technology.

I sat down with Chris to talk about his company Console DAO, his experience founding tech companies in both web2 and web3, the book he’s writing, and the baby steps he thinks everyone new to web3 and crypto would benefit from.

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Meet Our Guest

Chris is the co-founder of Console DAO, a platform for decentralized communities to build and grow (basically discord for Web3), launching this summer. Console DAO is supported by Trust Machines - an ecosystem for Bitcoin applications.

Chris is also a writer, podcast host, and adjunct professor at Columbia University Business school.

Connect with Chris on Twitter: @castig

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What We Unraveled 

* What Chris is working on now with Console DAO, the book he’s writing about web3 called Decentralized Generation, his role teaching at Columbia Business School 

* The vision of the internet people in the web3 space share around freedom and human rights

* What decentralization, and why it’s important

* What shared ownership is, and what it has to do with identity

* Why Chris thinks NFTs are interesting 

* What it means to be open source and how it’s related to trust

* Tim Burner Lee

* Chris’ advice for newcomers to web3 and crypto (hint: baby steps)

* The difference between a web2 founder and web3 founder

* Where Chris sees gaps with web3

* What it means to build on Bitcoin, and why it’s valuable to do so

* The opportunity cost of not getting involved in web3 now

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Unravel Further

Chris on LinkedIn

Chris on web

Console DAO on Twitter

Console DAO on web

One Month

Bitcoin

Miami Coin

Tim Burner Lee

Ethereum

Stacks

Lite Coin

Coinbase

Hiro Wallet

Meta Mask

The History of the Internet

Who Invented the Internet?

Denial of Death by Ernest Becker

Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari,

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

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Connect with Vane

Twitter: @vanesvibes

Instagram: @vanesvibes

YouTube: Unraveling Crypto

TikTok: @vanesvibes

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Not many people could credit their mom with getting them into crypto, but this is exactly how it happened for Sarah Satoshi. Being totally new to the space when she received some Bitcoin as a birthday gift from her mom a few years ago, Sarah found the educational resources available were either seriously lacking or not accessible at all. This led her to create a nonprofit, Ladies in Bitcoin, which strives to bring underrepresented voices into the conversation by creating a space that allows women and nonbinary people to connect, build, learn, teach, and engage on an equal playing field.

I sat down with Sarah to talk about Bitcoin, understanding risk, what it’s like to be a prominent woman in the crypto space, and why it’s so important to create spaces and education around crypto that can be easily accessed by everyone.

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Meet Our Guest

Sarah Satoshi is a bitcoin educator passionate about helping those who are financially marginalized learn about the benefits of bitcoin. She currently works on Ladies in Bitcoin, a 501(c)(3) non-profit she founded to help empower women/non-binary folk, as well as consults on other exciting projects in the crypto & NFT ecosystem.

Connect with Sarah on Instagram: @Satoshisarah

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What We Unraveled 

* Sarah’s background as a dancer, how a birthday gift from her mom crossed with the timing of the pandemic was the catalyst of her entering the crypto space, and the organized chaos that can come with the creation process

* Sarah’s role in Bitcoin and crypto education, and her nonprofit Ladies in Bitcoin which aims to create space for voices that are typically underrepresented to connect, learn, build, invest, and become resourced (and why she’s committed to this space being permissionless)

* Why she found Bitcoin Twitter fascinating 

* The way women learn about crypto, why Twitter isn’t where most newcomers go to for education, and where they go instead

* Why a lot of the education about crypto available doesn’t resonate with a lot of people

* Why Sarah believes Bitcoin is the bedrock of crypto

* The importance of making Bitcoin more user friendly

* Real world examples of where Bitcoin has incredibly valuable utility

* The analogy Sarah uses to explain what Bitcoin actually is

* The difference between Bitcoin and Stablecoins, and how to know which coins to trust

* What Bear and Bull markets are in crypto

* How Sarah finds balance within the fast moving crypto and web3 space, and how she approaches both the positive and negative attention of being a well known person in the space

* Sarah’s experience as a woman in crypto, and how it compares to being a woman in any other male-dominated industry 

* How someone can get involved in crypto if they’re just starting (and why education alone isn’t going to help)

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Unravel Further

Sarah on Twitter

Ladies in Bitcoin

Sarah’s newsletter

21 Days of Bitcoin

Spiral Crypto

Dan Held

Elizabeth Stark

The Gods of Heavenly Punishment by Jennifer Cody Epstein

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Connect with Vane

Twitter: @vanesvibes

Instagram: @vanesvibes

YouTube: Unraveling Crypto

TikTok: @vanesvibes

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A lot of people talk about being of service, but when it comes to technology that intention can get lost in the midst of fast-paced innovation. Jamil is an exception, having come to web3 without much in the way of knowledge about crypto or NFTs, his only mandate was: be useful. It’s core values like this that have made sure Jamil and his NFT marketplace, Gamma, are having a huge impact in the way artists, creators, and collectors alike engage with the future of web3.

I sat down with Jamil to talk about his background in engineering, why making a difference is hugely important to him (especially when it comes to NFTs), digital ownership, and how he balances his long hours immersed in tech by reconnecting to the physical world around him.

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Meet Our Guest

Jamil is the founder of Gamma, the open marketplace for Bitcoin NFTs, powered by Stacks. Jamil has a background in computer science and worked as an engineer at Apple for 5 years.

Gamma consists of three core platforms: its user-first marketplace for exploring and collecting NFTs, its creator-first launchpad for artists to deploy fully-tested no-code, smart contracts in minutes, and its social platform, which brings together creators and collectors in an engaging and Web3-native way. Gamma supports hundreds of NFT collections, nearly 500 of which were deployed using its no-code portal. Its marketplace has facilitated millions of dollars of transactions in under six months and supports trading the largest number of NFT contracts of any platform built on Bitcoin.

Connect with Jamil on Twitter: @jamilbtc

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What We Unraveled 

* Jamil’s background in engineering, machine learning, and aviation, and how his love of building things crossed with understanding the potential impacts of the user experience propelled him into computer science.

* What drew him to working with Stacks (and why problems are opportunities to be useful and make a difference)

* The highly pragmatic reason that inspired Jamil to build Gamma before he really knew much about crypto or NFTs

* How Jamil explains NFTs and the utility they offer in terms of digital ownership

* Why building on a secure platform is crucial to keeping your digital assets safe

* Why Jamil would recommend Stacks to get started with blockchain and NFTs

* The differences between web1, web2, and web3

* The parallels between the innovation in aviation, and the innovation in web3

* Why Jamil feels that a gap in the web3 space is enough diversity of opinions

* The importance of balancing being immersed in technology with being in the physical world around us

Unravel Further

• Gamma on the web
• Gamma on Twitter
• Gamma on Instagram
• Stacks
• Ethereum
• Bitcoin White Paper: bitcoin.org
• Chris Dixon
• Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter

Connect with Vane

Twitter: @vanesvibes

Instagram: @vanesvibes

YouTube: Unraveling Crypto

TikTok: @vanesvibes

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Ever wondered what a diverse, women-led NFT platform would look like? 

Alla Koretsky and Marina Romashko, co-founders of HeyLayer, spent many years building successful careers in fashion and business coaching respectively, building an NFT company wasn’t on the cards. At least, that was the case until Gary Riger took the time to personally walk them through the complexities of the space and they realized that not only would they be left behind if they didn’t start participating now, but that if they could harness the same human-centered approach they’d experienced, a lot more people could connect with the potential web3 holds. 

I had a beautiful conversation with these two powerhouses about what exactly web3 is, how incredible it is to be a leader in the space, the cost of not participating in this movement now, and the importance of having a healthy mindset when getting started in this space.

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Meet Our Guests

Alla Koretsky, CEO & Co-founder of HeyLayer: Before joining HeyLayer, Alla spent 15 years working as a buyer in luxury fashion, eCommerce, and subscription business models, bridging the gap between branding, marketing, and product development.

Connect with Alla on Twitter: @AllaKor1

Marina Romashko, COO & Co-founder of HeyLayer. Prior to HeyLayer she worked in business coaching and project management for Fortune 500 companies. Marina's focus at HeyLayer is to make sure the team stays focused and delivers.

Connect with Marina on Twitter: @BIdeaLab

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What We Unraveled 

* Alla’s background in fashion, consumer product, and subscription boxes and falling in love with the way blockchain impacted supply chain transparency was her window into transitioning to working in the space

* Marina’s background as a productivity and mindfulness coach, and how the experience of having someone take the time to personally walk her through the complexities of web3 prompted her to see how taking a similar human-focused approach in a heavily technical world could connect more people with the potential of the space

* How HeyLayer started with NFTs and how it now helps companies and creatives step into web3 with the least amount of resistance possible

* The progression from web1, to web2, to now with web3 and it uses blockchain, cryptocurrency, and NFTs to give power back to users

* What Alla and Marina have found challenging about coming into the space and building with the technology of web3, and how to sustain healthy growth in a fast paced industry

* How Covid accelerated the global movement to the forefront of the digital revolution

* Why being one of the first companies in the space comes with a lot of responsibility, and how they’re approaching their role as leaders and wayshowers

* Why knowing your mission vision and leaning on your support system is crucial to staying centered

* The cost of not engaging in web3 and the importance of educating ourselves now so we can have influence in shaping how the technology is built

* Why Marina believes technology is serve and that the world now needs web3 more than ever

* What Alla and Marina each think is the best first step into web3, NFTs, and crypto

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Unravel Further

HeyLayer on Twitter: @HeyLayer

HeyLayer on Instagram: @heylayer

HeyLayer on web: heylayer.com

HeyLayer’s NFTs 101 Sessions

Creating on Purpose by Anodea Judith

The Overstory by Richard Powers

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Connect with Vane

Twitter: @vanesvibes

Instagram: @vanesvibes

YouTube: Unraveling Crypto

TikTok: @vanesvibes

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Gina Abrams was a recruiter for tech startups until one day she came across a project that was so exciting she knew she had to pitch herself for the job. Fast forward to now, and Gina has spent many years as an integral part of the web3 community and now serves as Chief of Staff at Trust Machines where the focus is on building the largest ecosystem of Bitcoin applications.

She sat down with me to talk about what it’s like to be a woman working on the forefront of the next wave of computing, why decentralization is a total paradigm shift that’s opening doors for many kinds of businesses, what excites her the most about Stacks, and where she sees the  web3 space headed from here.

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Meet Our Guest

Gina is Chief of Staff at Trust Machines where the focus is on building the largest ecosystem of Bitcoin applications. She has been in the crypto ecosystem for five years and helped build the Hiro team, has been a campaign manager for growth initiatives and special projects, and holds a weekly Stacker Chat series with Stacks Founder, Muneeb Ali.

Connect with Gina on Twitter: @Gina__Abrams 

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What We Unraveled 

* Gina’s background in the Stacks ecosystem, and how she found her way from recruiting for startups to chief of staff at Trust Machines (and why she believes the tech and crypto space needs a broad range of skill sets to really work)

* Why Gina pins her superpower as understanding what it takes to collaborate successfully

* What drew Gina to Web3 and why, as a recruiter, she pitched herself for a role in the space

* What decentralization is and why Gina sees it as a paradigm shift for business that opens new doors, and facilitates more imagination and creation

* The difference between Bitcoin and Stacks

* What excites Gina the most about Stacks and the way it’s been able to solve problems in interesting and creative ways

* Why the Stacks community is so beautiful compared to communities outside of the web3 space, and why this is significant

* The power of being principled and clear on what you want to do in the shifting landscape of crypto

* What Gina believes are the key foundations of getting started in crypto, and the importance getting a grasp on how the space has evolved and getting first hand experience on what’s actually working

* Where Gina sees gaps in the world of Web3, and which directions she feels will have the most growth

* Gina’s experience being one of the first women in the Web3 and Stacks spaces, and what she’d offer women wanting to learn more

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Unravel Further

Trust Machines: trustmachines.co

Bitcoin white paper: bitcoin.org

Stacker Chats Podcast

Ethereum

Meltem Demirors: twitter.com/melt_dem

Brittany Laughlin: twitter.com/br_ttany

Katherine Wu: twitter.com/katherineykwu

Rena Shah: twitter.com/renapshah

Zest Protocol: twitter.com/zestprotocol

Console.xyz: twitter.com/consoledao

Pond by Claire-Louise Bennett

Broad Band by Claire L. Evans

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Connect with Vane

Twitter: @vanesvibes

Instagram: @vanesvibes

YouTube: Unraveling Crypto

TikTok: @vanesvibes

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Elena Giralt’s career in the non-profit space was on a steady track forward, but curious to see what else was possible she enrolled herself in grad school and, keeping an open mind, landed in a crypto currency class. In her own words, it blew her mind, and prompted her to research crypto adoption in Venezuela, where she has family ties. The experience impacted Elena so much she shifted gears and began a new and fulfilling career in the web3 space.

I sat down with Elena, product marketing manager for Hiro Systems and founder of Blockchain Latinx, about getting familiar with web3, the importance of asking big questions about the real impact of crypto, learning the value of ownership, and her experience as a woman, Latina, and mother in the web3 space.

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Meet Our Guest

Elena is the product marketing manager for Hiro Systems, a developer tools company focused on bringing web3 to Bitcoin. Elena founded Blockchain Latinx, a monthly meetup group that explores what blockchain means for Latinos and for Latin America. She has an MBA from New York University Stern School of Business and spends way too much time on Twitter.

Connect with Elena on Twitter: @elenita_tweets

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What We Unraveled 

* Elena’s background in non-profits and the corporate world, and how being open to learning about digital currencies completely changed the trajectory of her career forever.

* Why crypto needs more people to solve hard, nuanced challenges in the industry (and what they are from Elena’s perspective)

* Why Elena rates her innate ability to distill information and direct it into action, and her passion for creating spaces for conversations that aren’t being had as two of the most valuable skills she brings to the table

* Elena’s take on where to start exploring crypto, especially if you’re brand new or feeling intimidated by web3, and why knowing all the technical terms isn’t crucial to finding value

* The importance of reflecting on big questions around decentralization, digital exclusion, end-to-end encryption, and financial censorship

* How a web3 business model could create a better system to reward creators by allowing users to influence the technology meaningfully

* How working in crypto has completely shifted the way Elena thinks about security

* The Cipher Punk movement and how it’s related to what Elena really loves about crypto

* Elena’s experience as a woman, Latina, and mother in the web3 space

* The importance of being an informed consumer

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Unravel Further

Elena’s Website: elenagiralt.com

Hiro Systems: hiro.so

Blockchain Latinx

Women in Blockchain: blockchaingirls.org

How to Land a Crypto Job

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

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Connect with Vane

Twitter: twitter.com/vanesvibes

Instagram: instagram.com/vanesvibes

YouTube: Unraveling Crypto

TikTok: tiktok.com/@vanesvibes

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Did you love this conversation? Leave us a review, or share this episode with a friend who's curious about crypto.

Welcome to Unraveling Crypto, a new podcast from Vane Vargas redefining what it means to carve your own path and build wealth in the digital age.

Each episode we bring on web3 experts to share what they love. Through easy conversation, Unraveling Crypto covers topics like financial literacy, blockchain, and how to use these in practical ways. Together, we’ll unravel what can sometimes be an overly complicated subject.

Web3 can feel like a big weird, tech term for the bros but with Vane at the mic guiding these conversations, you’ll soon learn how much freedom this expansive space can offer those of us brand new to web3, and how easy it is for you to dip your toe in too.

Meet Our Host

Vane Vargas is an entrepreneur, wellness coach, and grant ambassador for the Stacks ecosystem walking the path of self-mastery and empowering the sovereign woman to explore the next era of technology while leading a life of beauty and wonder. With a background in wellness, business, marketing and social media, Vane brings a richly textured perspective on what it means to demystify the sometimes bewildering world of web3, blockchain, and cryptocurrency.

Thinking she would need to start from ground zero when it came to crypto, Vane quickly realized that her ‘real world’ skills were transferable, and is now passionate about helping women break the rules, close their knowledge gaps through easy conversations, and expand their understanding of financial literacy to include the incredible value that web3 brings.

Connect with Vane

Twitter: twitter.com/vanesvibes

Instagram: instagram.com/vanesvibes

YouTube: Unraveling Crypto

TikTok: tiktok.com/@vanesvibes

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