The Crypto Conversation

Stephen Stonberg is the COO/CFO at Bittrex Global, a digital asset exchange based in Liechtenstein. Bittrex Global is a spin-off from one of the OG crypto exchanges, the original Bittrex, based in the U.S. Bittrex Global serves all Bittrex users based outside of the U.S. Why you should listen: Stephen Stonberg is a graduate of Harvard who spent time at Goldman Sachs. Working in the finance industr...

Jeff McDonald is the co-founder of the NEM Foundation. Jeff was one of the first members of the NEM community and has helped build the NEM project to where it is today. NEM is preparing for the launch of Symbol (codename Catapult), the second generation of the NEM blockchain.  Why you should listen: Jeff McDonald shares recollections of the NEM journey to date. NEM was one of the earliest enterpri...

Chris Brookins is the founder of Valiendero Digital Assets, a quantitative cryptocurrency investment fund. Chris is the co-author of a new report titled Safe Havens - How gold and bitcoin can adapt to a new paradigm. In the current global crisis - the world is trending towards negative interest rates, money printing, and a decline in cash - traditional safe-haven assets are being turned on their h...

DJ J-SCRILLA is a critically acclaimed hip-hop producer and illustrator from Washington DC. His discography includes hall of fame rappers Killer Mike, Raekwon, and Smif N Wessun. DJ J-SCRILLA has released a new hip-hop album called Sound Money that tells the story of Bitcoin, and samples John Mcafee, Hotep Jesus, and Andreas Antonopoulos. Why you should listen: Sound Money by DJ-SCRILLA is a body...

Hugo Renaudin is the CEO and co-founder of LGO Group, a digital asset exchange for institutions. Hugo says that Bitcoin has a fascinating market infrastructure. It is both revolutionary, but imperfect. Hugo says the Black Thursday crash revealed underlying problems with Bitcoin's market infrastructure. The crash triggered a wave of liquidations that could have sent BTC to zero. What can be done to...

Loong Wang is the CTO and co-founder of Ren, a DeFi protocol that enables the private, permissionless transfer of value between any blockchain. Ren is solving the blockchain interoperability problem. Why you should listen: Loong studied computer science and distributed systems and then became increasingly interested in the potential of blockchain and decentralized finance. The goal of Ren is gener...

Marco Streng is the CEO of Genesis Mining, one of the largest Bitcoin cloud-mining companies. Genesis has mining locations in Iceland, Greenland, Norway, and Europe. Marco studied mathematics at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. He set up a Bitcoin mining operation in his dorm room that ended when the electricity bill arrived. Why you should listen: Bitcoin mining is a contest for cheap...

Diogo Monica is the president and co-founder of Anchorage, the leading crypto custodian for institutional investors. Anchorage was selected as a founding member of the Libra Association and recently completed a $40m Series B fundraise, led by Visa.  Why you should listen: Diogo says that custody needs have evolved beyond simple cold storage. With proof-of-stake assets allowing on-chain governance...

Muneeb Ali is the co-founder and CEO of Blockstack, a decentralized computing network that gives users control of their data. Muneeb talks about the limits of Web 2.0 and how that led to an intrusive ad model, and how web 3.0 changes this model by giving individuals control of their digital sovereignty. Why you should listen: Muneeb explains that over a dinner with Balaji S. Srinivasan in February...

Trent McConaghy is a data and statistical modeling expert. Alarmed at the exponential spread of COVID-19, Trent became concerned that if the virus followed the same trajectory as in Wuhan and Lombardy - other cities would be similarly overwhelmed. Trent created a model to answer the question - how long before hospital capacity gets overwhelmed; at which point the death rate jumps? The focus of the...

Catherine Coley is the CEO of Binance. US - the San Francisco based digital asset marketplace that serves American traders under the blue-chip Binance brand. Catherine says that CZ led Binance to the top by adopting a remote-first, decentralized approach. Why you should listen: Catherine says Binance U.S. is the perfect mix for the 'ambitious trader', someone who knows markets, wants to see order...

Kevin Kelly is a co-founder and macro strategist at Delphi Digital, an independent research boutique providing institutional-grade analysis on the digital asset market. Kevin has been tracking what he calls an "inflection point" in the "everything rally." Is the Coronavirus the black swan event that will trigger a major correction across global financial markets? What does this mean for the crypto...

Andy talks with self-described 'flash loans maximalist' Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of the Aave Protocol. We explore the increasingly exotic and esoteric landscape of Decentralized Finance or Money Lego - the DeFi ecosystem built on Ethereum. Against the backdrop of the recent DeFi exploits, we discuss the new flash loan innovation that allows traders to take out a loan without collateral by p...

In part 2 of our conversation with Bram Cohen, Bram outlines the flaws in the financial system, and how Bitcoin was supposed to address them. Bram then takes on Bitcoin, his view is that Bitcoin is too centralized and that its energy footprint is wasteful. Bram explains how his new cryptocurrency project Chia hopes to build on the blueprint of Bitcoin, but instead of using the energy-intensive pro...

This is part one of a two-part conversation with Bram Cohen. Bram is the inventor of the peer to peer BitTorrent protocol that changed the world in the early 2000s, disrupting the way we understand copyright, how we consume content, and leading to the destruction and rebirth of corporate media companies. Bram is now working on Chia Network, a cryptocurrency with the same properties as Bitcoin, but...

In this episode of the Crypto Conversation Andy is joined by Arif Khan, CEO of Alethea AI, a decentralized Synthetic Content Network that allows users to own the rights to their AI-generated identity, secured by a blockchain. Are you ready to monetize your likeness, face and voice data in a trusted environment? Why you should listen: Deepfakes are hyper-realistic AI-generated synthetic media i n w...

In this episode of the Crypto Conversation Andy is joined by Rekt Capital, a trader and technical analyst who has been studying Bitcoin's price history to look at the effect of the previous halving events on Bitcoin's price performance. Rekt Capital says the Bitcoin Halving is an important catalyst that will propel Bitcoin into a new bull market. Why you should listen: Andy and Rekt Capital discus...

In this episode of the Crypto conversation I'm joined by Pierre Ansaldi and Paul Salisbury from Brave New Coin to discuss the Bitcoin halving, and the new halving countdown page on Brave New Coin. The Bitcoin halving is a key macro event for Bitcoin in 2020, and as we get closer to the halving, Bitcoiners and the rest of the world alike will be watching Bitcoin's price action. Why you should liste...

Scott Freeman, a former prosecutor with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, is the co-founder of JST Capital, a firm specializing in providing a full suite of traditional financial services to institutions and high-net worth individuals in the digital asset market. On this episode of the Crypto Conversation, Scott and Andy discuss institutional investors, whether the Bitcoin halving is price...

Samson Mow is the Chief Strategy Officer at Blockstream, a company dedicated to building the financial infrastructure of the future on the Bitcoin blockchain. Samson is an outspoken defender of Bitcoin and a self-described toxic maximalist. On this episode of the Crypto Conversation, Samson explains the Blockstream thesis for Bitcoin, why Bitcoin is the centre of the blockchain universe, and what...

Daniel Masters is the Executive Chairman at Coinshares, a leading digital asset management firm. The Coinshares Group manages nearly $700 million of assets on behalf of a global investor base. Daniel has a long history in the financial markets and was once the global head of energy and trading at JP Morgan. Now he wants to position CoinShares to be the crypto equivalent. Why you should listen: Coi...

Matthew Graham is the CEO of Sino Global Capital, a team of Beijing-based investment bankers. China sees blockchain as a key strategic technology pillar critical to the next decade of growth. As it prepares to deploy a state-issued digital currency or DCEP (Digital Currency / Electronic Payment) China has a unique opportunity to take control of its monetary system and get a jump on other nation st...

Andreas M. Antonopoulos has spent the last decade traveling the world, delivering hundreds of live talks on Bitcoin. Combining his knowledge of economics, psychology, technology, and game theory with his unique views on politics and history, Andreas makes a compelling case for the importance of open, decentralized, borderless, censorship-resistant, neutral, public blockchains. As we enter the 2020...

Sergey Nazarov is the CEO at Chainlink where he is spear-heading the smart contract oracle revolution. Sergey believes that blockchain technology has the ability to change the way societies distribute wealth, enforce contracts, and share, monetize, and utilize critical information. Relentlessly focused and logical, Sergey is single-minded in his approach to unleashing the true potential of smart c...

Chris Brookins is the author of a new report - Ethereum Price Forecast into 2020 - a data first analysis. The report assess Ethereum's tumultuous 2019 and attempts to address the question - is an ETH price reprieve on the horizon? Against the backdrop of the Ethereum 2.0 Serenity blockchain upgrade, Andy and Chris discuss how the Ethereum team plan to maintain the network's position as the leading...