Making Markets

Eric Golden, the host of Web3 Breakdowns, reflects on the art of interviewing and shares insights into his experience. He discusses the evolution of his interview style and preparation process, the importance of reframing questions, and how to create an authentic atmosphere. The podcast also explores the evolution of podcasts and the challenges and rewards of hosting a show. The chapter highlights the preparedness and vulnerability of Howard Stern's show and compares his style to Joe Rogan's. Overall, it offers valuable advice for starting a podcast and discusses the struggles and appreciation of being a host.

This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Nick Neuman, the CEO of Casa. Casa offers crypto users a secure and straightforward way to self-custody their assets, and today, we dive into this critical topic. We talk about the problems of self-custody, Casa’s solution, the recent addition of Ethereum to their platform, and the trade-off between security and usability. This is Nick’s second time on a Colossus Podcast after first appearing on an Invest Like the Best episode called “Becoming your Own Bank”, which I highly recommend. Please enjoy my conversation with Nick Neuman.Web3 Breakdown listeners can use code WEB3BREAKDOWN23 for 20% off your first year of a Casa Standard membership.For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.-----This show is brought to you by OKX. Want to stop paying trading fees? You can now trade for free for two months with OKX. Over 20 million traders and institutions choose OKX when they want to trade. And you can join them by signing up at okx.com/landingpage/okxtraderseries to start your two months of fee-free trading today.-----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.Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @ericgoldenx | @patrick_oshag Show Notes (00:02:09) - (First question) - Introduction to Casa: simplifying self-custody for secure storage of Bitcoin and Ethereum(00:05:13) - The risks of overestimating security among even experienced crypto enthusiasts(00:06:01) - Private keys, single points of failure, and Casa's multi-key approach to security(00:11:44) - Mobile key security: SIM swapping and securing funds through layers(00:14:28) - Balancing security and convenience with different security levels(00:17:32) - Spikes in interest during moments of fear or price volatility(00:19:53) - Offering video calls to simplify setup for hardware wallets(00:21:18) - Transitioning to Ethereum while maintaining security and usability for users(00:27:07) - Future challenges of balancing security and ease in interacting with smart contracts(00:29:54) - The importance of self-custody, simplifying the process for mass adoption(00:34:07) - Anxiety and laziness often delay sign-up, eased by simplified processes(00:36:49) - Blending user understanding with an effortless product experience(00:38:56) - Self-custody, like setting up a will or life insurance, brings relief and security(00:40:59) - What he is most excited to build over the next six months and six years Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senior Research Analyst at Fidelity Digital Assets, Jack Neureuter, discusses Bitcoin cycles, the Taproot upgrade, the XRP court case, and institutional perspectives on allocating to crypto. They also explore Bitcoin's price movement and halving event, surprise classification of XRP as a security, allocating Bitcoin in portfolios, including cryptocurrencies in traditional portfolio optimization frameworks, and Ethereum's development and regulatory clarity.

Adam Zarazinski and Cameron Smith from Inca Digital discuss topics such as North Korean hacking in the crypto space, Inca's business model, the government's view on crypto, BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF, and the role of Inca in the crypto world and national security. They also explore data collection in the crypto industry, challenges faced by data providers, and the impact of high frequency trading on traditional markets.

This is Eric Golden, and my guest today is Luca Netz. Luca grew up with nothing but made millions before his 25th birthday by building and selling multiple businesses. Two years ago, he spent $2.5M to buy the Pudgy Penguins NFT project and has since turned it into one of the best-run NFT projects in the world. In the episode, Luca explains why the $2.5M purchase price was a bargain and why he believes Pudgy Penguins could be the face of NFTs in the future. We also talk about the overall NFT landscape, whale management, the strategy for Pudgy Penguins, and much more. Please enjoy this conversation with Luca Netz.For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. -----This show is brought to you by OKX. Want to stop paying trading fees? You can now trade for free for two months with OKX. Over 20 million traders and institutions choose OKX when they want to trade. And you can join them by signing up at okx.com/landingpage/okxtraderseries to start your two months of fee-free trading today.-----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.Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @ericgoldenx | @patrick_oshag Show Notes(00:02:45) - (First question) - When he first learned about Pudgy Penguins(00:05:19) - The original project owners and what lead to the community forcing them out(00:09:53) - Bidding high on Pudgy Penguins based on a bigger understanding of its potential(00:15:03) - His background before crypto and his skills as an elite marketer(00:21:44) - Thoughts on risk aversion when he first started amassing wealth (00:24:28) - The relationship between a brand and its founder (00:28:08) - How building in public has elevated his game(00:30:38) - Overview of the whale management thesis(00:35:30) - Marketing for niches versus expanding to multiple communities(00:40:36) - Early things he’s most proud of that helped grow Pudgy Penguins(00:43:20) - Planning for the future versus being spontaneous and reactive(00:46:17) - What the industry needs to help move it forward(00:52:45) - What he’s excited to see built over the next six months and six years Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Eric Golden, and my guest this week is Alex Thorn. Alex was an early Bitcoin evangelist and former Director of Blockchain Research and Crypto VC at Fidelity. Today, he is the head of research at Galaxy Digital where he consistently publishes some of the most insightful work in the space. Alex starts by telling us how he went from working at a children’s summer camp to becoming the head blockchain researcher at Fidelity. We then talk about the Blackrock Blockchain ETF, why the time was right, the probability of its approval, and its impact on the asset class. Finally, we dive into the XRP case and its many implications. Please enjoy this conversation with Alex Thorn.For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.-----This show is brought to you by OKX. Want to stop paying trading fees? You can now trade for free for two months with OKX. Over 20 million traders and institutions choose OKX when they want to trade. And you can join them by signing up at okx.com/landingpage/okxtraderseries to start your two months of fee-free trading today.-----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.Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @ericgoldenx | @patrick_oshag Show Notes(00:02:13) - (First question) - Why Alex started rapping on his podcast(00:05:38) - Going from a teenage rapper to a career at Fidelity (00:06:22) - A walkthrough of Alex's journey into crypto currencies (00:10:11) - Meeting Matt Walsh and whether or not his convictions about crypto made him feel isolated(00:11:32) - Transitioning into Galaxy and what the crypto landscape felt like at that time (00:13:06) - Public sentiment on the mutually exclusive TradFi and DeFi ecosystems merging (00:18:03) - How trading Bitcoin without understanding it could hurt its growth potential (00:20:30) - How Blackrock’s ETF could positively or negatively impact crypto (00:25:28) - The mechanics of Coinbase being a custodian of Blackrock’s ETF(00:27:01) - SEC applications and how Blackrock managed to position themselves to get so close to an approval  (00:32:26) - The odds we actually get a Blackrock ETF(00:37:01) - XRP’s victory over the SEC and the potential of Ripple going forward (00:42:24) - Overview of the Coinbase lawsuit and the delisting backdoor for exchanges(00:44:48) - Whether or not regulation will increase the risk for bad actors and scams (00:47:37) - Growing uncertainty as the court battles wage on(00:49:53) - The Howey test and potential of a supreme court ruling over crypto  (00:52:13) - What Alex is excited to see built in the future Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Matt Reustle and we are back with another quarterly review. I joined Eric to talk about everything that happened in the second quarter of 2023—most of this quarter seemed to focus on regulatory headlines, scrutiny from the SEC, and unexpected rulings in the Ripple case. So we dive into what those mean and what it looks like on the horizon. Then we cover some interesting developments like the BlackRock ETF, Eric shares a few applications that get him most excited about blockchain in the future, and we talk about what development is like in the industry as a whole. Please enjoy this short but action-packed conversation with me and Eric.For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. -----This show is brought to you by OKX. Want to stop paying trading fees? You can now trade for free for two months with OKX. Over 20 million traders and institutions choose OKX when they want to trade. And you can join them by signing up at okx.com/landingpage/okxtraderseries to start your two months of fee-free trading today.-----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.Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @ericgoldenx | @patrick_oshag Show Notes(00:03:36) - (First question) - Cryptocurrency Q2 performance steady despite headline volatility(00:04:43) - Crypto sentiment is highly volatile, influenced by headlines and deep analysis(00:08:27) - Regulatory actions on Binance expected, Coinbase surprising, timing caught people off guard(00:11:06) - Coinbase sentiment impacted by regulatory uncertainty(00:12:56) - XRP's lawsuit reveals debate over security classification for institutional vs. retail sales(00:16:06) - The XRP ruling highlights the need for new cryptocurrency regulations(00:13:54) - Crypto's focus shifted to AI, but some still build projects(00:24:50) - Blockchain's global appeal and potential as a listed currency excites investors(00:27:44) - The potential of blockchain to streamline finance and ownership(00:29:46) - BlackRock ETF approval could propel Bitcoin's adoption (00:32:21) - Closing thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Gary Coover. Gary spent 8 years building Samsung’s innovation arm, Samsung Next, before he was drawn into the Web3 world. Today, he is the Chief Operating Officer of Superlayer, a venture studio focused on building Crypto startups. We start this conversation by analyzing what went wrong in the industry over the past 2 years, and why Gary advocates “Burying the Rails”. We then talk about Superlayer’s attempt to build an economically sustainable and inflation-resistant token model within their products, Hotline and Trophy. Please enjoy my conversation with Gary Coover.For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.-----This episode is brought to you by OKX. You may have seen OKX on McLaren’s Formula 1 race car or Manchester City’s football kit. But what is OKX? OKX has over 730 spot trading pairs, 280 derivatives markets, and 1000 options markets. It processes 400,000 requests per second with 99.95% uptime. That’s why over 20 million traders and institutions choose OKX when they want to trade. Visit okx.com to learn more.-----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.Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @ericgoldenx | @patrick_oshag Show Notes(00:01:35) - (First question) - Things he got wrong while trying to launch his new business(00:03:27) - His view on NBATopShots as an inflation failure versus a crypto failure(00:05:48) - How his businesses differ from previously attempted token based companies (00:09:50) - Determining whether a founders business in capable of tokenization(00:11:54) - He tells us why a token is necessary for these businesses to be successful(00:13:52) - Examples of returning value to the wrong group of people(00:18:32) - He explains how users pay for content on the platform(00:19:33) - Using tokens for in platform purchases instead of centralized currency(00:21:18) - How the inflation economics work behind the token model(00:22:58) - Handling content on the platform that is deemed illegal or unethical (00:24:40) - Developing trust with creators that feel jaded from the past (00:27:00) - How he sees the business developing from a tokenless model to one with tokens(00:28:46) - How he approaches building the right tokenized economic structure(00:30:41) - The ability to charge by preference in either tokens or dollars(00:32:58) - Pros and cons of not having control over market volatility (00:34:49) - Which of his companies are currently using token based currency(00:37:48) - A look back at things he is proud he got right and still believes in(00:40:28) - What he sees in the space today that gets him excited(00:42:11) - What he is most excited to build over the next six months and six years Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Eric Golden and my guest today is William Quigley. William has had a fascinating career working on the frontier of technology. 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. We start with a quick tour of his career and then dive into the history of Tether, the design choices that made it the most traded cryptocurrency in the world, and how digital assets have been around a lot longer than you may have thought. From my experience working in traditional finance, I have been a bit obsessed with stablecoins and enjoyed the opportunity to dive this deep into Tether. I hope you enjoy my conversation with William Quigley.For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.-----This show is brought to you by OKX. Want to stop paying trading fees? You can now trade for free for two months with OKX. Over 20 million traders and institutions choose OKX when they want to trade. And you can join them by signing up at okx.com/landingpage/okxtraderseries to start your two months of fee-free trading today.-----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.Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @ericgoldenx | @patrick_oshag 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Eric Golden and my guest today is CL207, also known as CL or Cat, one of the most popular anonymous accounts on crypto Twitter. I have followed him since I got into crypto and, like many, have always wanted to learn more about the person behind the account. CL is academically trained in chemistry and had no finance background before he began trading crypto. He made no money for 2 years but over time has evolved into an extremely thoughtful and intelligent trader.We start this conversation with one of the weirdest and most fun back stories we've ever had on the show. We then dive deep into CL's trading journey and bring this process to life with examples. We end the conversation on a variety of topics like fashion, anonymity, virtual reality and more. Cat is a highly original and interesting thinker. Talking to him was an absolute blast. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.-----This show is sponsored by OKX. Want to stop paying trading fees? You can now trade for free for two months with OKX. Over 20 million traders and institutions choose OKX when they want to trade. And you can join them by signing up at okx.com/landingpage/OKXtraderseries to start your two months of fee-free trading today.-----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.Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @ericgoldenx | @patrick_oshag Show Notes(00:02:23) - (First question) - Who Cat was before he started trading crypto and where his avatar came from(00:06:48) - Where his convictions came from to stick out trading crypto with no experience(00:10:21) - Finding an edge using intuition and mentally quantitative processes(00:12:53) - Putting together behavior and patterns to find market opportunities (00:14:49) - Where he would start to get a sense of the market if he stepped away for a while(00:16:25) - His average holding period and whether or not he trades based on news(00:18:13) - What his trading day looked like today (00:19:23) - His trading track record and how what he’s learned as changed his relationship with risk  (00:22:07) - Never working a job and being risk averse after becoming successful (00:24:22) - Digging deep until you find an edge in the market (00:26:13) - Sources of information and where the most alpha is amongst them (00:28:02) - Whether or not narratives and chats have influenced his trading (00:29:17) - How his focus has changed as he’s accumulated wealth (00:31:33) - Having a passion for fashion and what captivates him about it(00:33:41) - Thoughts on anonymity and the pros and cons of it in the digital age(00:37:10) - Engaging with an avatar that has expressive emotions (00:39:21) - Becoming Twitter famous and befriending Edward Snowden(00:41:59) - Whether or not he misses being a chemist (00:45:07) - Giving your kid money to trade online hoping they get rugged (00:47:35) - The Vision Pro and being incredibly bullish on virtual reality (00:55:24) - The crossover of meeting someone in a virtual world that you’re interested in  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices