How Public Are Blockchains Really? | Azeem Khan

In this episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn Melinek speaks with Azeem Khan, Co-Founder of Miden, a new privacy-focused blockchain designed to bring configurable, institution-ready privacy to onchain activity.

Azeem breaks down why public blockchains are far more open than people realize, how institutions think about visibility and copy-trading risk, and why privacy has become a prerequisite for real global adoption. He also discusses his founder journey from biotech and the entertainment industry to early crypto startups and how those experiences shape his approach to building trust, credibility, and long-term adoption. He also dives into his unexpected path through the music and entertainment industry, sharing how he worked on large-scale concerts and shows involving artists like Kanye West, Jay-Z, and other major performers. 

They also cover regional differences in crypto appetite, why many enterprises still hesitate, how Miden wants to fit into the broader Ethereum ecosystem, and why the next wave of blockchain users will arrive through distribution partners rather than retail onboarding.They also explore real-world use cases, emerging-market adoption, stablecoins, RWAs, and how privacy can evolve beyond the “North Korea vs transparency” framing that has dominated the industry.

Timestamps

Here’s the Spotify-style timestamp list for this episode:

(00:00) - Intro (01:03) - Azeem’s story through biotech, Boston Marathon and his first startup (03:05) - Getting into crypto in 2012–2013 (04:11) - Early entrepreneurship, family story, and identity (05:20) - Why institutions need privacy to come onchain (07:02) - Why privacy tech didn’t exist during Bitcoin/Ethereum’s early years (08:43) - Balancing transparency and privacy (10:00) - Copy-trading, wallet visibility & risk (12:04) - Misunderstandings about privacy-focused blockchains (13:40) - Why full transparency is unrealistic for real-world finance (15:09) - How Miden works: architecture, ZK lineage & Polygon ties (17:17) - Engaging the Ethereum ecosystem & enterprise teams (18:30) - Why institutional adoption lags: talent, liquidity, decision-making (20:57) - U.S. vs Middle East vs Asia (23:06) - Credibility, integrity & building long-term trust (25:15) - Enterprise pipelines, warm intros & outbound strategy (27:12) - Bringing blockchain to the masses through distribution partners (28:35) - Why most chains still fail emerging-market use cases (30:53) - Speculation vs real utility: shifting the industry mindset (32:33) - Creating success stories to unlock global adoption (34:32) - Privacy hype cycles & how long it lasts (35:22) - Parallels between entertainment, branding & crypto (38:50) - Celebrity stories, crypto, and why most don’t understand the tech (40:59) - Fan engagement isn’t solved: why previous attempts failed (42:46) - RWAs, risk-based stablecoins, yield clarity (46:45) - Final advice: conviction, long-term thinking & ignoring noise

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