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

Oct 13, 2023

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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Introduction

00:00 • 2min

From Skepticism to Potential: Exploring the Evolution of Crypto

02:12 • 14min

Harnessing the Power of Blockchain

16:07 • 7min

The Origin Story and Concept of Tether

22:47 • 2min

Trust and Stablecoins in the Crypto Market

24:20 • 33min

Building Wax and the Evolution of Virtual Items

57:03 • 10min

Building in Blockchain and the Future of Augmented Reality

01:06:38 • 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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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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