TRM Talks

How do you build a forward-looking regulatory framework while keeping innovation moving at internet speed? In this episode, Ari is joined by Kenneth Gay, Chief FinTech Officer at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), for a wide-ranging conversation on technology, regulation, and the future of finance. Together, they trace Kenneth’s 21-year journey across enforcement, markets, macro-financial...

What do Al Capone, the Bitfinex hack, and the largest child-exploitation takedown in history have in common? IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) played a defining role in all of them. In the latest episode of TRM Talks, Ari sits down with Chief Guy Ficco — the head of IRS-CI — for a wide-ranging conversation on how one of the smallest federal law-enforcement agencies has become one of the most pow...

As digital assets move into the regulatory spotlight, few have the global vantage point of Tom Duff Gordon, Vice President of International Policy at Coinbase. With experience ranging from banking at Credit Suisse to steering policy at one of the world’s largest crypto firms, Tom offers a rare behind-the-scenes view into how crypto policy is shaped around the world. In this episode, Tom joins Ari...

Detective David Coffey has spent more than 25 years with the Toronto Police Service, tackling everything from violent street crime to complex financial fraud. In this episode, he joins Ari, to unpack the evolving nature of fraud in Canada — and how crypto is changing the game. Now assigned to the Financial Crimes Unit, Det. Coffey reflects on his journey from divisional beat cop to leading major f...

Stablecoins are transforming how money moves — and nowhere is that shift more dynamic than in Asia. In this episode of TRM Talks, Ari sits down with Yam Ki Chan, Vice President for Asia Pacific at Circle, to explore how stablecoins are powering the next chapter of cross-border payments, trade finance, and digital money innovation. From his early days tinkering with school computers in Chicago to h...

Over the last decade we have seen a shift from experimentation to implementation in digital finance and few people have been closer to that evolution than Wee Kee Toh, Executive Director and Global Head of Business Architecture for Kinexys Digital Payments at JP Morgan. Wee Kee joins Ari to explore the arc of institutional crypto adoption — from his early work at the Monetary Authority of Singapor...

Stablecoins are having a moment. In this episode of TRM Talks, Ari sits down with Lesley Chavkin, Head of Global Policy at Paxos and former US Treasury official, to unpack the regulatory evolution shaping the future of digital finance. Lesley shares her journey from building anti-money laundering frameworks in the Middle East, to building at Stellar, to now helping guide Paxos through a pivotal pe...

How did a Wall Street-bound grad become a pioneer in counterterrorism and threat intelligence? In this episode, Josh Lefkowitz, CEO of Flashpoint, joins Ari to unpack that journey — and share critical insights from the frontlines of global threat monitoring. Josh shares how 9/11 transformed his career trajectory and catalyzed his entry into the national security world. Fast forward to today, Flash...

Former Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Director Steve Francis dedicated his life to public service from a young age, rising to the pinnacle of US federal law enforcement. On this episode of TRM Talks, Steve joins Ari to reflect on a career defined by protecting the financial system, empowering agents in the field, and building innovative enforcement programs that span borders and sectors. S...

Can a crypto-native company become a fully licensed bank? Joey Garcia not only believes it, he has done it. In this episode, Bitcoin pioneer and Xapo Bank’s Executive Director Joey Garcia joins Ari, to share the story of building a crypto-native bank. From advising government in the early days of Bitcoin in Gibraltar to leading Xapo’s transformation into a regulated financial institution, Joey off...

In this special episode of TRM Talks, Ari sits down with Tyler Williams, Counselor to the Secretary of the US Treasury for digital assets and one of the lead architects of last week’s landmark White House report on digital assets. Ari and Tyler, from inside the historic Cash Room at Treasury, unpack the 163-page report which outlines a forward-looking framework for market structure, stablecoin ove...

This week on TRM Talks, Ari Redbord, Global Head of Policy, TRM Labs, sits down with Nikhil Raghuveera, CEO of Predicate, to talk about the future of compliance in decentralized finance — and why the next wave of policy innovation will be built directly into code. As DeFi matures and regulators sharpen their focus, projects are facing a new challenge: how to meet real-world policy and legal expect...

What happens when a veteran of traditional finance decides to help shape the future of crypto compliance? In this episode, Kraken Chief Compliance Officer CJ Rinaldi joins Ari Redbord, TRM's Global Head of Policy, to discuss his journey from the the SEC to UBS and Deutsche Bank and finally to crypto compliance at  Blockchain.com  and now Kraken. CJ delves into what makes a world-class compliance p...

What does effective crypto regulation look like in practice? Ryosuke Ushida, Chief FinTech Officer, Financial Services Agency of Japan (JFSA) joins Ari Redbord , Global Head of Policy at TRM Lab to discuss how Japan became a global leader in regulating digital assets — and what the rest of the world can learn. From the collapse of Mt. Gox to the containment of FTX's fallout, Japan's regulatory evo...

On this episode of TRM Talks, Ari Redbord sits down with Michael Greenwald — former US Treasury attaché to the Gulf and now Global Head of Financial Innovation and Digital Assets at AWS — to explore the intersection of financial innovation and governments. From representing the United States in high-stakes financial diplomacy to building bridges between policymakers, technologists, and financial i...

On the eve of the most important legislative discussion in US crypto history, Congressman Bryan Steil, Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Artificial Intelligence, joins Ari Redbord, TRM's Global Head of Policy, to discuss the most significant legislative efforts impacting the future of digital assets in the United States. With a market...

In this episode, Ari Redbord, TRM's Global head of Policy, sits down with Kate Eyerman, Chief Compliance Officer at  Blockchain.com , to unpack her unconventional path from the US State Department and Treasury to leading compliance in one of crypto’s most dynamic environments. With deep experience in counter-terrorism financing and sanctions policy, Kate brings a policy-informed lens to naviga...

Crypto compliance is a journey — and sometimes it feels like flying a plane while building it. Fortunately, this week’s TRM Talks guest knows how to do both. Brandi Reynolds, licensed pilot and trailblazer in crypto compliance, joins Ari Redbord, TRM’s Global Head of Policy, for a high-altitude conversation on what it takes to build and scale effective compliance programs for crypto businesses. Wi...

Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange — and at its core are people working to shape the future of digital finance. In this episode of TRM Talks, Ari sits down with Eleanor Hughes (General Counsel( and Steven McWhirter, (Global Policy Lead), for an insider conversation on how Binance is navigating today’s evolving global regulatory environment. Eleanor reflects on her journey from...

What happens when a top financial journalist turns her lens on crypto policy? In this episode, Ari sits down with Eleanor Terrett — former Fox Business reporter and co-host of the "Crypto in America" podcast — for a timely conversation on how US regulation is reshaping the digital asset ecosystem. Ellie reflects on her path from the New York Stock Exchange to becoming one of the most tru...

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Virtual Assets Unit Chief Patrick Wyman, joins Ari on this episode of TRM Talks to explore the Bureau’s evolving strategy for combating crypto-related crime. Patrick shares his unconventional journey from mortgage fraud investigator to leading the FBI’s work on virtual assets. He explains how the Virtual Assets Unit operates as a cross-programmatic force...

North Korea just executed the biggest crypto heist in history, stealing USD 1.5 billion from Bybit. But how did they do it? And can they be stopped? On this episode of TRM Talks, Jean Lee (The Lazarus Heist) and Nick Carlsen (TRM Labs, Former FBI) join Ari to break down: The making of a cyber army — how North Korea recruits and trains hackers from childhood The Bybit hack step by step — from infil...

In this very timely episode of TRM Talks, Ari sits down with Katherine Minarik, Chief Legal Officer at Uniswap Labs, to discuss a truly extraordinary week in crypto legal history. Katherine, formerly head of litigation at Coinbase, shares her firsthand insights on the SEC’s decision to dismiss its case against Coinbase and to close its investigation into Uniswap, signaling a major shift in regulat...

AI reshaping society — the way we live and work. However, it is also supercharging illicit activity from deepfakes to automated fraud, large-scale cyberattacks to child exploitation. In this episode Ari sits down with Hany Farid, UC Berkeley professor and leading expert on deepfakes and AI-driven deception, to unpack how criminals are exploiting artificial intelligence to manipulate reality, commi...

On this episode, Albert Forkner joins Ari as he explores the evolving frontier of finance, sharing his journey from Wyoming’s State Banking Commissioner to leading risk and compliance at Two Ocean Trust. Discover how his work on Wyoming’s innovative SPDI bank charter and his unique perspective on balancing regulation and innovation are helping shape the future of digital assets and trust managemen...