This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Austin Campbell. Between my time working at Fidelity on money market funds and my passion for blockchain technology, I became obsessed with the idea of Stablecoins. Stablecoins can serve as a means of payment and a store of value for transactions. They also act as the bridge between the traditional finance system and the digital world. After my interview with Mike Dudas, I asked, who is the smartest person I can talk to about Stablecoins? He instantly responded, you need to speak with Austin and as you'll hear, I think he's right. Austin spent 15 years in traditional finance before managing $22bn of Stablecoin reserves for Paxos. Today, he's an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School and the managing partner at Zero Knowledge Consulting. In this conversation, Austin helps me break down the nuts and bolts of how Stablecoins work. We also discuss the lessons crypto should learn from the traditional finance world and how the current US regulatory crackdown will shape the ecosystem going forward. Please enjoy this Stablecoin primer with Austin Campbell. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here -----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[00:03:21] - [First question] - What can be learned from TradFi and applied to crypto[00:05:13] - The basics of Stablecoins and why they are important[00:07:39] - The logistics and mechanics of Stablecoins from the ground up[00:17:14] - Time-delay and infrastructure problems when trading with Stablecoins[00:21:18] - Liquidity, time sensitivity, and credit risk for issuers and buyers of Stablecoins [00:24:59] - The roles, challenges, and faults of regulators in the space [00:33:04] - The extent to which he sees regulators favored versus fouled by crypto natives[00:34:50] - The SEC’s imposition that qualified custodians are needed to exchange crypto assets[00:37:53] - His takes on news regarding Paxos and the BUSD[00:43:01] - Concerns regarding Binance and its Stablecoin consolidations[00:46:30] - Aspects of global Stablecoin regulation he’s optimistic about[00:49:01] - Why the US may not be a promised land for crypto[00:50:21] - The positives and potential impact of Stablecoins broadly, despite the pushback[00:54:03] - The possibility of traditional assets using crypto rails[01:00:04] - What he’s most 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 today is Dan Finlay, the co-founder of MetaMask and Chief Web3 Ethos Officer at ConsenSys. MetaMask is a crypto wallet and has become a critical piece of web3 infrastructure, with over 30 million users around the world. We've likely all used MetaMask at some point, so I was excited to understand Dan's philosophical approach and long-term vision for the product, as well as talk to him about the challenges of securing digital assets and how they combat those with MetaMask. Please enjoy my conversation with Dan Finlay. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here ----- 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[00:02:17] - [First question] - His view of hyperlinks and self-security[00:05:38] - What’s happening when you’re signing a smart contract with MetaMask[00:10:33] - An elevator pitch of what MetaMask Learn is [00:12:45] - Thinking about adoption when building general purpose tools in a technical space[00:15:21] - How people feel about computer security versus Web3 security [00:18:38] - Whether or not he wishes the stakes were lower for perfecting MetaMask[00:20:03] - Stepping into crypto and the founding story of MetaMask[00:23:12] - What their intentions were for building MetaMask in the first place[00:27:13] - Some examples of what they tried to solve that didn’t pan out [00:29:11] - Dealing with asset co-location and the pros and cons of it [00:35:24] - Whether or not MetaMask will deploy the first ‘revoke all’ button  [00:41:32] - Users generally being displeased with the program’s UX[00:44:40] - Thoughts about what to prioritize as they improve MetaMask [00:46:34] - The account abstraction without a protocol change proposal [00:49:27] - An example of someone building on SNAPS and how it is beneficial to users  [00:53:14] - What he’s 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 this week is Andrew Parish. Andrew's Twitter account @AP_Abacus has grown based on his access to rumors and information about crypto. He is no stranger to controversy and getting information flow. Andrew is aware his views and tweets can upset some, especially those in power he may be calling out. Andrew's background and information gathering helped him identify several high-profile issues with businesses like FTX and Gemini, and his Twitter account has become a go-to source for breaking rumors. Andrew is the co-founder of Arch Public, which is building automated trading algorithms and blockchain authentication for brands and alternative assets. We dive into the Gemini-Genesis and DCG Saga before raising an alarm on the coordinated actions of crypto regulators. Please enjoy my conversation with Andrew Parish. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.  ----- 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[00:02:40] - [First question] - His look behind the curtain at DCG Genesis and Gemini [00:05:46] - The connections he discovered between DCG and Gemini[00:07:40] - The special circumstances that led to Gemini’s unique exposure and platform[00:09:45] - How external lending by Genesis led to cascades of trouble in crypto markets[00:13:27] - DCG’s problematic transactions associated with Three Arrows[00:16:19] - The unraveling of DCG’s integrity following the collapse of FTX[00:17:27] - How Gemini tried to hang on to its image and win over public opinion[00:21:25] - A basic overview of the DCG-Gemini deal as it stands today[00:23:37] - His correction of the mainstream story about Grayscale (GBTC)[00:29:04] - His process of sourcing information and separating signal from noise[00:35:11] - How regulators are choking out crypto-based businesses using banking infrastructure[00:44:22] - The potential for legal escalation between banks and federal regulators[00:45:59] - A deeper look at circumstances that may point to conspiracy by regulators[00:49:25] - Additional concerns he has that he hasn’t shared yet on Twitter[00:50:54] - What he’s 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 Will Weinraub. Will is the CEO and co-founder of OnChain studios, which is building Cryptoys. Cryptoys is a digital toy company that embraces different elements of web3 innovation, from collectible NFTs to play-to-earn gaming. We discuss the evolution of Cryptoys, how kids are increasingly used to digital products, and we have a really interesting discussion on the importance of different blockchains to build upon. Please enjoy my discussion with Will Weinraub. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.  ----- 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[00:02:18] - [First question] - The success of Cryptoys brand deals despite crypto downturns[00:04:23] - The basics of IP licensing deals in the crypto industry[00:05:49] - The kind of external partners he typically deals with for toyetic brand deals[00:07:02] - Rewinding to the company’s genesis and how people reacted early on[00:14:50] - The prototype design for Cryptoys[00:16:06] - A closer look at the Cryptoys business model then and now[00:18:37] - How kids are increasingly attracted to digital products[00:21:05] - Why they can’t buy and sell their NFTs to kids today [00:23:13] - What stops a child from joining Opensea and buying an NFT [00:25:26] - His take on digital ownership and the pushback from the gaming community[00:29:31] - Where Cryptoys on their timeline for developing a gaming component  [00:30:24] - What building on different blockchains means for the competitive landscape [00:35:19] - Blockchains aren’t a one size fits all solution for application development [00:38:36] - Why Cryptoys needs a blockchain at all compared to being hosted on a server [00:40:41] - Potential risks to owning an asset on a newer blockchain [00:43:00] - His take on going from a tech startup to a toy-focused startup [00:44:47] - What he’s 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 Nikolai Yakovenko. Nikolai is the founder and CEO of DeepNFTValue, which uses machine learning to price blue chip crypto assets like CryptoPunks and Bored Apes. He has spent his career working on deep learning at some of the most notable firms in the world, including Google, Nvidia, Twitter, and Point72. Our conversation starts with AI’s potential and Twitter’s mishaps and then turns to Nikolai’s investment experience and why he most recently decided to build a business that prices NFTs. Please enjoy my conversation with Nikolai Yakovenko. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- 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] - His impressions of recent innovations by ChatGPT[00:03:51] - A rundown of the technical breakthroughs that led to today’s most cutting-edge AI[00:06:08] - The types of questions he asks to test and evaluate new AI like ChatGPT[00:08:13] - Questions or requests that would stump ChatGPT[00:09:02] - Intuitive human tasks that would deeply confuse chat-based AI[00:11:42] - Impressive R&D spend at OpenAI to optimize machine learning[00:13:27] - The prospect of ChatGPT as competition for major search engines in the future[00:15:27] - How his time at Google and Twitter informed his understanding of algorithms [00:17:20] - How social media algorithms work and how users reverse engineer them[00:22:44] - His take on the amount of people it takes to run tech companies like Twitter[00:26:39] - How protocols like Twitter Spaces factor into the modern tech ecosystem[00:28:23] - His transition from big tech to Wall Street and how the two career paths intersect[00:30:35] - How proximity to the investing side of the tech industry boosted his finance skills[00:32:16] - The degree to which AI tech shows promise for universal applications[00:34:01] - How his affinity for poker led him to crypto and NFTs[00:35:55] - What inspired his jump to creating an NFT-based startup[00:38:23] - The comparative value of powerful machine learning models versus the data itself[00:40:03] - How he thinks about different NFT value models and their tradeoffs[00:42:14] - The criteria that tend to make a given NFT more valuable than other similar ones[00:43:48] - How his model for NFTs valuations actually works[00:47:44] - Feedback he gets from users about his model[00:48:55] - High valuations associated with both minimalistic and cluttered NFT visuals[00:49:38] - The NFT liquidation auctions of FTX and Three Arrows[00:51:09] - The proportion of NFT profits from instant buying versus bidding[00:52:08] - How NFT traders make use of the model through the DeepNFTValue open API[00:53:59] - The future of their profitability given that their goal is widespread distribution[00:55:38] - The potential for lending and levering in future NFT markets[01:00:24] - What he’s 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 this week is Mike Dudas. Mike started his career at Disney, helped build Google’s payment business, and worked at Venmo before taking the plunge into entrepreneurship and crypto full-time. He co-founded two businesses and is now an early-stage investor at the firm he started, 6th Man Ventures. We cover his career arc and dig into the highs and lows along the way before discussing what has him most interested in Web3 at the moment. Please enjoy my conversation with Mike Dudas. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- 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[00:02:11] - [First question] - Why it seems like he’s so connected across different networks [00:04:51] - Whether or not he always wanted to be an entrepreneur[00:06:30] - When crypto entered the picture for him  [00:09:19] - Why he didn’t jump in earlier after being fully aware of the potential of crypto[00:10:44] - What taught him the skills he needed to confidently step into the startup space[00:13:29] - Being in the business of manufacturing courage [00:15:01] - The transition from Button to The Block in 2018[00:20:54] - Recruiting people to the journalistic side of cryptocurrency [00:22:24] - Promise-driven sales and having strong convictions that are loosely held  [00:29:34] - Things he said as a Bitcoin maximalist that he regrets[00:30:33] - Selling The Block and what happened in the aftermath  [00:38:11] - What lead him from The Block into venture capital [00:41:47] - Going from a 7 million dollar fund to a 140 million dollar fund [00:43:27] - How he sees the pre-seed and seed stage focus in crypto playing out [00:48:04] - What the most exciting area is today and the deals that come across his desk[00:49:51] - How much of Twitter is a personal outlet for him and how he handles it [00:54:05] - What he’s most 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 today is Magdalena Kala, or "Mags" as she's better known. Mags has an incredible back story, which involves immigrating from Poland on her own to attend boarding school in the United States. Admission to Harvard and Stanford, working for Bain Capital, and even running a notorious female blackjack ring. She's now the founder of Double Down, an early-stage investor focused on Web3 companies. We discuss her story, how she learned to invest in the consumer space, and why people like the owner of Boston Celtics trust her with their capital. Please enjoy my conversation with Mags. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- 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] - Her surprising and unique background[00:04:31] - To what she attributes her drive and ambition[00:05:25] - Her big move from Poland to the US at 16 years old[00:07:42] - Challenges in adapting to American culture[00:08:57] - Her analysis of the world as a game[00:10:44] - How she approaches both failure and risk[00:14:10] - Her time with a group of all-female card-counting blackjack hustlers[00:16:14] - Her most memorable blackjack game[00:17:29] - Getting a start in consumer investing at Bain Capital[00:20:24] - Criteria she looks for in consumer investment targets[00:23:27] - Analyzing the stickiness of identity-driven consumer brands[00:25:58] - Using customer demographics to pinpoint long-lasting brands[00:28:18] - Why she goes after cheap partnership arbitrage[00:29:44] - The push-pull between exclusivity and mainstream success of a brand[00:31:38] - Her transition from Bain Capital to striking out on her own[00:34:13] - Why she chose to pursue early-stage VC investing[00:36:57] - What drew her to Web3-integrated consumer products[00:40:02] - Her focus on mainstream adoption of crypto and blockchain tech[00:43:00] - How both traditional brands and crypto natives are impacting the space[00:46:34] - The gestation period of a crypto-native brand compared to traditional big brands[00:48:46] - Venture pitch deck characteristics she’s seeing in 2022 and 2023[00:52:22] - The eccentric non-crypto-native people that back her fund[00:54:14] - How she managed to close her fund right before the FTX collapse[00:57:35] - Her philosophies for handling both early adopters and mainstream consumers[01:00:28] - Her current hot takes on the venture market[01:01:42] - How LPs are handling committing their capital in 2023[01:03:57] - What she looks for when evaluating founders[01:06:06] - Why a founder might want to avoid picking her as an investor[01:06:46] - What she’s most 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 today is Matt Walsh. Before we start, in addition to our opening disclaimer, I wanted to share that I have known Matt for many years. I’m an investor in his fund, and currently, or in the future, could work with some of the companies he mentions during this episode. With that said, Matt is one of the founding partners of Castle Island Ventures, which invests exclusively in the crypto industry. Including monetary networks, financial services infrastructure, and Web3. Before founding his VC firm, Matt worked at Fidelity, where he led a number of the companies crypto initiatives. In our discussion, which is far ranging, we discuss how his early experiences in crypto led to building a crypto VC, what themes his fund focuses on, his take on the 2022 collapse, the comparison of prior cycles, and his personal view on the appropriate regulatory response. Please enjoy my conversation with Matt Walsh. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- 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[00:02:38] - [First question] - Being labeled as one of the first people to understand Bitcoin[00:06:20] - Partnering with Nick Carter and how they came together [00:07:14] - What drove his decision to finally take the leap and become an entrepreneur[00:08:40] - Lessons learned from setting up and deploying his first fund[00:10:20] - Comparing the crypto space in 2022 to what it was in 2018 [00:14:15] - How regulation serves customers better than a libertarian outlook[00:16:04] - Thoughts on the best way forward given crypto’s regulatory shortcomings [00:18:13] - Commissioner Hester Peirce - A Regulator’s View of Crypto [00:18:47] - How far away we are from having an active congress involved in crypto [00:20:57] - The notion of retail and yield generating products and why that part of the industry imploded on itself [00:23:22] - Whether or not he’d invest in crypto again given its current state of affairs[00:24:14] - Areas and macro trends he’s most excited about today [00:27:26] - How the concept of crypto is more enticing for brands than a public database [00:32:38] - The difficulty of figuring out the real market value of any given project [00:36:20] - How he would approach handling privacy and KYC in DeFi [00:38:31] - Defining financial service infrastructure and where they invest in it [00:40:01] - Some of the market structure bets they’ve made over the years [00:42:17] - How a prime broker would have helped in light of the FTX scandal [00:44:05] - His view on where things stand with Genesis and FTX and how they’ll unfold [00:52:14] - Why some countries and governments will push back against stablecoins [00:53:26] - Some of the craziest ideas that have come across his desk [00:54:23] - Trying to get to the base of an idea when it comes to due diligence [00:55:57] - What he’s most excited to build over the next six months and six years [00:57:09] - Whether we’ll get regulation in crypto or a migration of traditional assets to crypto rails first  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our final quarterly recap to close what’s been an eventful year in the crypto industry. We thought Q2 was full of carnage but Q4 may have topped it. We cover the FTX collapse, the implications for the broader funding and building landscape, and close with Eric’s high-level state of the union. Enjoy. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- 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[00:02:10] - [First question] - His reaction to market fallout following the FTX collapse[00:09:12] - How crypto tech and infrastructure can outlast its disgraced figureheads[00:11:38] - His response to the notion that bad actors are weakening the crypto space[00:17:33] - How widespread negative perception of the crypto industry might affect innovation[00:24:11] - The impact of this crypto washout on future investment in eccentric founders[00:28:22] - Speculations on the magnitude of the domino effect from FTX’s downfall[00:35:06] - The precariousness and subjectivity of legal agreements in the space[00:37:10] - The level of risk the remaining big personalities of crypto are responsible for[00:43:59] - His closing thoughts on the state of crypto in Q4 2022 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Jared Klee. Jared is Director of Web3 at Vouch Insurance and was previously blockchain project manager at IBM. Our conversation starts with Jared's crypto experience at IBM and how they use blockchain technology to help move mangoes around the world. Yes, mangoes. We then dive into insurance, how Vouch underwrites Web3 startups, and what mistakes most founders make. Please enjoy this conversation with Jared Klee. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- 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[00:02:11] - [First question] - What IBM was working on when he was the Director of Blockchain[00:04:00] - How an enterprise blockchain works compared to popular blockchains[00:05:17] - What it means to secure a network like an enterprise blockchain[00:06:30] - Whether or not their process is displacing databases  [00:08:01] - Making the jump from a manilla envelope system to a blockchain [00:09:27] - A thumbnail sketch of the insurance world and policies one might need[00:13:28] - How the old model of insurance compares to the insurance market today[00:17:11] - Strong underwriting practices that ensure policies generate a profit [00:19:59] - Adding risk to their balance sheet when they underwrite projects  [00:21:21] - Thinking about underwriting risk as the insurer [00:24:40] - Key factors that allow their model to work   [00:25:28] - How founders work through the policy price, coverage, and terms[00:28:22] - Why Vouch considers Web3 an opportunity and not a risk [00:32:08] - How the crypto downturn has impacted their underwriting process [00:34:57] - Handling the uncertainty of the future when their clients add leverage [00:38:41] - Base level insurance packages startups should have and when to step it up [00:44:08] - Some of the greatest mistakes he’s seen while working with founders[00:47:07] - Examples of smart contract risk going well and badly  [00:49:31] - Whether or not more insurers will enter this space over time  [00:51:44] - A risk they’ve encountered that was too big for them to engage[00:54:09] - What he’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices