Making Markets

William Quigley: Building the World’s Most Traded Cryptocurrency - [Web3 Breakdowns, Replay]

Oct 13, 2023

01:09:35

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In this replayed episode, William Quigley, co-founder of an early consumer VC fund, discusses his career in VC and gaming, the potential of blockchain and crypto, the origin story of Tether and its role in arbitrage trading, trust and stablecoins in the crypto market, building Wax and virtual items, and the future of blockchain in augmented reality.

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Quick takeaways

Tether was created to simplify the process of converting between fiat and cryptocurrencies, providing a stable value token that can easily switch between the two.

Blockchain technology ensures the authenticity and transparency of Tether, allowing users to send value without needing to trust intermediaries.

Tether's global appeal lies in its reputation for privacy, decentralization, and alignment with traditional crypto values, attracting users who perceive it as less influenced by regulatory agencies compared to other stablecoins.

Deep dives

Origin Story of Tether

Tether was founded to address the inconvenience and time-consuming process of converting between fiat and cryptocurrencies. The team wanted to create a token that maintained a stable value with the dollar, allowing users to easily switch between cryptocurrencies and fiat. This led to the concept of tether, a token that represents a one-to-one value with a fiat currency, redeemable for that currency. The simplicity and ease of understanding the tether concept made it appealing to users. While it faced initial skepticism and took time to explain, tether has maintained its value and grown globally.

Introduction

2min

From Skepticism to Potential: Exploring the Evolution of Crypto

14min

Harnessing the Power of Blockchain

7min

The Origin Story and Concept of Tether

2min

Trust and Stablecoins in the Crypto Market

33min

Building Wax and the Evolution of Virtual Items

10min

Building in Blockchain and the Future of Augmented Reality

3min

This is Eric Golden. Today we're replaying my conversation with William Quigley. He co-founded one of the earliest consumer VC funds, wrote the first institutional check for PayPal, and helped build the first major stablecoin, Tether. This is a favorite episode of the year, as William combined his lessons from his decades in technology with a strong first-principle understanding of blockchains. I hope you enjoy my conversation with William Quigley.

We will be releasing new episodes along with an exciting update about the show within the next few weeks.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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Web3 Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Web3 Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Show Notes

(00:01:57) - (First question) - His career in VC and gaming prepared him for the world of crypto

(00:11:25) - Exploring the potential of blockchain and crypto

(00:16:04) - Blockchain's ideal applications

(00:22:43) - Tether's origin story and its role in enabling arbitrage trading

(00:30:28) - Building trust, tokenization, and Tether's reserves in stablecoin development

(00:38:09) - Tether's redeemability, trust, and market dynamics in cryptocurrency

(00:43:44) - Trust, convenience, global risks, and regulatory considerations in stablecoins

(00:48:30) - US banking dominance, Tether's struggle with banking relationships in regulation

(00:53:25) - Tether's growth reflects demand for freedom and challenges with banking

(00:57:00) - WAX's purpose-built blockchain facilitated NFT growth and trust in collectibles

(01:06:34) - What he is most excited to build over the next six months and six years

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Making Markets

William Quigley: Building the World’s Most Traded Cryptocurrency - [Web3 Breakdowns, Replay]

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Origin Story of Tether

Benefits of Blockchain in Tether

Global Appeal and Challenges

The Importance of Tokenization vs. Digitization

Building a Trustworthy Stablecoin: Tether's Approach

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Making Markets

William Quigley: Building the World’s Most Traded Cryptocurrency - [Web3 Breakdowns, Replay]

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Origin Story of Tether

Benefits of Blockchain in Tether

Global Appeal and Challenges

The Importance of Tokenization vs. Digitization

Building a Trustworthy Stablecoin: Tether's Approach

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