Bits and Borders

Rudá Pellini is co-founder of Arthur, Inc, which is a Brazilian bitcoin miner and energy tech firm. We discuss Arthur's recent expansion in the US with facilities in Ohio, Wyoming and Oklahoma. We also talk about how the bitcoin mining business model has evolved over the years, and the mining landscape in Brazil and Latin America For more information about Arthur, take a look at this interview...

In this episode Aaron talks to Luca Prosperi and João Reginatto of M^0, which is an exciting new stablecoin project that rethinks the core assumptions of how money should be issued and circulate in the crypto economy. They discuss how Luca's prior experience as a core contributor to the Maker ecosystem and João's role building out USDC at Circle led them to create one of 2024's most ex...

Rita Martins is the author of a new book exploring the role of Web3 in financial services from the lens of a practitioner. We discuss her career working for Accenture and HSBC, where she was heavily involved in financial technology and digital transformation initiatives. She now is an author, consultant and content creator exploring this intersection in more depth. You can connect with Rita on Lin...

Diego Fernandez is the Secretary of Innovation and Digital Transformation for the city of Buenos Aires. In this episode we talk about Crecimiento, a movement to turn Argentina into a global crypto, startup and innovation hub. This movement will formally kickstart in August with the Aleph startup city that will convene hundreds of builders in Buenos Aires for the month. You can connect with Diego o...

Daniela Barbosa is Executive Director of the Hyperledger Foundation and General Manager for Blockchain and Identity at The Linux Foundation. In this conversation, we discuss current state of the Hyperledger ecosystem and how it's being used in several key projects in Brazil - including the Brazilian Central Bank's Drex CBDC/tokenization platform You can connect with Daniela on Linkedin. --...

If you've spent any time in Brazil recently, you've probably seen the online sports betting ads plastered absolutely everywhere - bus stations, websites, football team jerseys. Today's conversation dives into how Brazil has become the most exciting online gambling market in the world, a new licensing regime set to take effect in 2025 and the overlap with cryptocurrency. Today's gue...

Jack O'Holleran and Andrew Saunders of Skale Labs join to discuss why they believe gaming applications will be a killer blockchain application for markets like Brazil, and how the Skale platform can facilitate this by removing gas fees from the end user journey You can connect with Jack and Andrew on Linkedin and X/Twitter https://www.linkedin.com/in/oholleran/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/andr...

Ricardo Bomfim is a reporter covering cryptocurrency at Valor Economico, which is Brazil's leading business media outlet. Claudia Mancini is a financial journalist and entrepreneur who runs BlockNews, which covers Brazil's emerging crypto economy. In this conversation we discuss the delays impacting two projects coming out of the Brazilian Central Bank - the hybrid Drex CBDC/smart contract...

Leandro Pereira Sciammarella is the tech lead for digital assets at Nuclea, while Rafael Castaneda is a popular YouTuber and content creator. In this conversation, recorded onsite at Web Summit Rio, we discuss the state of Drex - the ambitious CBDC/tokenization platform being developed by the Central Bank of Brazil. You can connect with Rafael on X/ Twitter and Leandro on Linkedin 🚀 Sign up for t...

Edward Woodford is the CEO of Zero Hash, a leading crypto infrastructure provider that works with clients such as Stripe, Interactive Brokers and Securitize. We discuss Zero Hash's operations in Brazil, and why cross-border payments, remittances and global payroll remain underrated opportunities You can connect with Edward on Linkedin 🚀 Sign up for the 🇧🇷Brazil Crypto Report newsletter for an...

Marlyson Silva is the CEO of Transfero, and Daniel Marquez is a partner at Koyamaki Ventures. In this episode, recorded onsite at Web Summit Rio, we discuss the major cryptocurrency and stablecoin adoption trends across Latin America, ranging from Brazil to Colombia to Argentina. You can connect with Marylson and Daniel on Linkedin 🚀 Sign up for the 🇧🇷Brazil Crypto Report newsletter for analysis,...

Gurvais Grigg is the chief technology officer at Chainalysis, where he focuses on engaging public sector and law enforcement entities around the world. Before that, he spent 20 years combatting financial crimes as an assistant director at the FBI. In this conversation we dive into the state of crypto crime around the world and in Latin America, how illicit use cases have expanded beyond ransomware...

Bernardo Srur is the CEO of ABCripto, which is Brazil's leading trade association and lobby group advocating on behalf of the digital asset industry. Marcelo Sampaio is the CEO of Hashdex, which is the largest digital asset manager in Brazil and recently launched a bitcoin ETF product in the US. In this conversation, recorded at Web Summit Rio, we discuss how crypto ETF products are propelling...

Yat Siu is the co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands - a Hong Kong based game software and venture capital company that has been a pioneer in the realm of Web3 branding. In this conversation, recorded onsite at Web Summit Rio, Yat gives a masterclass on Web3 how concepts like NFTs, aidrops and memecoins will revolutionize how brands interact with their customers You can connect with...

Yan Martins is a co-founder of Hathor Network, which combines the scalability of a Direct Acyclic Graph with the security of a traditional blockchain. We talk about how players such as Brazil's B3 exchange and Vortx QR Tokenizadora are deploying tokenization projects using the Hathor Network. You can connect with Yan on Linkedin 🚀 Sign up for the 🇧🇷Brazil Crypto Report newsletter for analysis...

Gino Matos is one of Brazil's OG crypto journalists - currently working at Crypto Briefing with previous stints at CoinTelegraph Brasil and CriptoFacil. He's also the host of the Papo de Pelicano podcast. We discuss the evolution of Brazil's crypto media landscape, balancing the need for deeper reporting vs click-bait price stories You can connect with Gino on Linkedin and X/Twitter ,...

Luiz Hadad is a blockchain researcher at Sherlock Communications, where he publishes a comprehensive annual report on blockchain adoption in Latin America. In this conversation, we discuss the key findings of the 2024 edition of the report. You can follow Luiz on X/Twitter , Linkedin and Instagram 🚀 Sign up for the 🇧🇷Brazil Crypto Report newsletter for analysis, interviews and market intelligence...

João Kury is the co-founder of Modular Crypto, which provides Portuguese language educational content about Web3 technology. In this conversation, we discuss João's learnings from ETH Denver, the current state of the modular vs monolithic blockchain rivalry, and his work to bring more local language content and meetups to Brazil. You can connect with João and Modular Crypto on X/Twitter and In...

Michael J. Casey is a renowned journalist, author and speaker in the blockchain and cryptocurrency world. He has served as Chief Content Officer at CoinDesk, an advisor to the MIT Media Lab and Digital Currency and as a capital markets reporter at Wall Street Journal. also He spent six years in Argentina covering financial markets during the 2000s, an experience that led him down the bitcoin rabbi...

Fabricio Tota is the head of new business at Mercado Bitcoin. In this episode we discuss MB's push to tokenize R$1 billion worth of assets in 2024, how the exchange weathered the bear market, and the recent surge in memecoin volume You can connect with Fabricio on Linkedin 🚀 Sign up for the 🇧🇷Brazil Crypto Report newsletter for analysis, interviews and market intelligence ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Thiago Barbosa is an attorney with Salles Nogueira Advogados and an expert on crypto taxation issues in Brazil. In this episode, we discuss a new law mandating that income derived from crypto assets held with overseas exchanges or custodians be taxed at a 15% clip. We dive into the nuances, misconceptions and problems resulting from this rule change. You can connect with Thiago on Linkedin 🚀 Sign...

Vance is the founder of My Latin Life, a platform that has been helping gringos navigate life in Latin America for more than a decade. We talk about how crypto and remote work has opened the door for North Americans and Europeans to pursue life in Latin America in the post-Covid era. You can connect with My Latin Life on X/Twitter 🚀 Sign up for the 🇧🇷Brazil Crypto Report newsletter for analysis,...

Luca Cosivi is one of the organizers of Rio Onchain Week, which is a Web3 builder-focused series of events happening March 19-24. The week is being modeled after Devconnect, the popular developer-focused conference hosted by the Ethereum Foundation. Luca explains how the week will feature numerous builder-focused community events, with the second annual ETHSamba hackathon as the capstone. You can...

Today we have a Brazil-focused ETHDenver roundtable featuring Fuse Capital João Zecchin, Tansi Head of Growth Thiago Rudiger and Cartesi Head of Business Development Bruno Maia We discuss the vibe at this year's event and how it compares to prior years, major event themes like DePIN, RWAs, airdrop farming and modular vs monolithic blockchains You can connect with João , Thiago and Bruno on Lin...

Jason Lau is Chief Innovation Officer and Guilherme Sacamone is Director General for Brazil at OKX, one of the world's largest crypto exchanges specializing in spot and derivatives trading. We discuss OKX's 2024 push into emerging markets across the Latam region, as well as its new product suite which includes a Web3 wallet, an Ordinals marketplace and a forthcoming Layer 2 blockchain You...