The Scoop

Dr. Lisa Cameron is a UK Member of Parliament and is the Chairperson of the Crypto and Digital Assets All-Party Parliamentary Group. Ian Taylor is a Board Advisor to CryptoUK — the trade association for the UK's crypto industry.In this episode, Dr. Cameron and Taylor share how the UK is taking steps to become a global hub for crypto and web3.According to Dr. Cameron, the crypto industry could play an important part of the UK's economy in the years to come:"I can see the potential of the technology for the future of of people's livelihoods in the UK and I want to make sure that we harness the skills here as well and that we have the correct opportunities for young people moving forward into the workforce." During this conversation, Chaparro, Cameron, and Taylor also discuss: How the UK's regulatory approach compares to the U.S.'s UK consumer protection in the wake of FTX Bipartisan support for crypto in the UK This episode is brought to you by our sponsors PayPal and CleanSpark.About PayPalMake your crypto move with PayPal. Get started today at PayPal.com/cryptoAbout CleanSparkCleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Paul Grewal is the Chief Legal Officer of Coinbase — the crypto exchange that recently found itself in the crosshairs of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.In this episode, Grewal shares Coinbase's perspective on the SEC's recent enforcement actions, and gives a behind-the-scenes look at the efforts Coinbase has made over the years to comply with regulators.Outline of the discussion:1:48 - Coinbase Tried to Work with the SEC 🕊6:23 - The SEC & Alternative Investments 🧑‍⚖️9:06 - SEC vs. Coinbase 🧐12:30 - SEC vs. Binance 😬13:58 - Business as Usual 💪17:20 - Congress & Crypto 🇺🇸21:24 - Institutional Reaction 🐋24:09 - Coinbase International 🌐25:48 - Change in Administration 4️⃣7️⃣27:31 - SEC Stubbornness or Coinbase Naivety? ⚔️31:16 - Coinbase Wallet x Lawsuit 🤷32:49 - The Crux of the Case 🌰This episode is brought to you by our sponsors PayPal and CleanSpark.About PayPalMake your crypto move with PayPal. Get started today at PayPal.com/cryptoAbout CleanSparkCleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Jamie Burke is the Founder and CEO of Outlier Ventures — a Web3 accelerator program for projects that align with Outlier's vision for an open metaverse. Despite adverse market conditions, Outlier Ventures assisted 89 Web3 startups in 2022.In this episode, Burke examines the state of the metaverse today and explains how Web3 infrastructure can enhance AI's development and scale.Outline of the discussion:1:59 - Is the Metaverse Dead? ☠️7:11 - The Metaverse Under Attack 💥14:36 - Regulation and the Metaverse 🧑‍⚖️19:22 - Principles of Web3 🌐24:17 - Web3 Social26:48 - Identity and Web3 🛂31:13 - AI and Web3 🤖39:30 - ‘Composable Creativity’ 🎨Guest links: Jamie Burke on Twitter Outlier Ventures Base Camp  This episode is brought to you by our sponsors PayPal and CleanSpark.About PayPalMake your crypto move with PayPal. Get started today at PayPal.com/cryptoAbout CleanSparkCleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Jason Choi is the co-founder of Tangent Ventures and the host of Blockcrunch podcast.In this episode, Choi shares why Hong Kong's new Virtual Asset Service Provider ('VASP') licensing regime represents an "unapologetically bullish" shift in tone from regulators.Although the new laws effectively lift Hong Kong's prior ban on retail crypto trading, Choi still thinks it will take some time for Hong Kong to become a dominant hub for crypto:"A lot of crypto startups are effectively unbanked, especially startups that have to deal with crypto assets directly in high frequency such as exchanges... Without more banks actively supporting crypto businesses, it's a very hard to really thrive for crypto businesses."During this episode, Chaparro and Choi also discuss: The Asian VC landscape What's next for Web3 gaming Crypto market liquidity This episode is brought to you by our sponsors PayPal and CleanSpark.About PayPalMake your crypto move with PayPal. Get started today at PayPal.com/cryptoAbout CleanSparkCleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Cyril Mathew is the President and COO of Zero Hash, a B2B digital-asset-as-a-service provide that closed a $105 million Series D raise — that included Bain Capital and Point72 Ventures among others — in January of 2022.In this episode, Mathew shares his personal story of helping convince Stripe's leadership into supporting crypto and explains why he recently decided to join Zero Hash.According to Mathews, he discovered Zero Hash while working at Stripe and was impressed by the company's infrastructure and regulatory licenses. "Especially in a post-FTX world where the scrutiny is only going to be more, I think Zero Hash really has something here," Mathew said.Stripe recently partnered with Zero Hash to launch a fiat-to-crypto onramp solution that simplifies the payment experience for both developers and end-users.During this episode, Chaparro and Mathew also discuss: Will crypto cannibalize fintech payment providers? How bitcoin and stablecoins are revolutionizing remittances Why regulatory uncertainty is keeping institutional investors sidelined This episode is brought to you by our sponsor CleanSpark.About CleanSparkCleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Paolo Ardoino is the Chief Technology Officer for Tether and Bitfinex.In this episode, Ardoino talks through Tether's treasury management strategy, including the firm's recently announced bitcoin purchases and how the firm is planning to use the $1.5 billion in profit generated during Q1 of this year.According to Ardoino, Tether's recent profitability is prompting the firm to diversify:“The beauty of our next period plan is that we can start diversifying ourselves from the pure stablecoin offering and become a more round tech provider that that requires expertise in many important fields. So energy, communication, financial infrastructure are going to be the key of the next six to 12 to probably 48 months.”Despite the bear market, the market cap of USDT is currently near its all-time high of $84.1 billion.During this episode, Chaparro and Ardoino also discuss: Why USDT is so popular on Tron Tether's key to success in emerging markets The US default and how Tether is positioning This episode is brought to you by our sponsor CleanSpark.About CleanSparkCleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Alex Gladstein is the Chief Strategy Officer for the Human Rights Foundation and a frequent contributor to Bitcoin Magazine.In this episode, Gladstein talks through his newly released book, Hidden Repression: How the IMF and World Bank Sell Exploitation as Development.According to Gladstein, Western prosperity has come mainly at the expense of developing nations:"We should be proud of the American Revolution and we should be proud of our Bill of Rights and we should be proud of democracy — it's definitely part of the reason why we're so successful — but another part of the reason is we've stolen wealth, labor, resources from poor countries for a long time now."In contrast to neocolonial monetary policies which forced many developing nations into "debt traps," Gladstein says bitcoin is a credible neutral alternative:"Think about all the digital money we use in the world today that's run by governments and corporations. [Bitcoin] is the only thing where the people have control over the monetary policy, at least in my view, and that's what makes it so interesting."During this episode, Chaparro and Gladstein also discuss: How "number go up" drives bitcoin adoption Why gold has failed as a form of currency How bitcoin is used in the global south This episode is brought to you by our sponsor CleanSpark.About CleanSparkCleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

In this episode, Justin Sun reveals Huobi's and Poloniex's procedure for listing new memecoins and explains why the crypto market has grown too big for any single exchange to service effectively.Sun claims that Binance may be the biggest exchange by market share, but it is not the best venue for trading smaller memecoins:"Binance these days has a very high standard of listing crypto assets. [A coin] needs to be at least $100 million or even $1 billion to get listed on Binance in the first place. So that's why I think this leaves a very big room for other exchanges to grow."Justin Sun himself recently announced on Twitter that he would start trading memecoins for "fun."During this episode, Chaparro and Sun also discuss: What Justin Sun personally looks for in memecoins Huobi's and Poloniex's revenue sources The global crypto regulatory environment This episode is brought to you by our sponsor CleanSpark.About CleanSparkCleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Loomdart, a veteran member of the crypto community and the co-founder of eGirl Capital, is advocating for an FTX reboot.In this episode, Loomdart explains why 'FTX 2.0' could represent an opportunity for over a million FTX creditors to be made whole in a unique way.As Loomdart explains,"My quickest pitch for FTX 2.0 is you effectively get to 'airdrop' an exchange to over a million people who have a big vested interest in using this exchange."Last month, a potential reboot plan for FTX reportedly caught the attention of venture capital firm Tribe Capital.During this episode, Chaparro and Loomdart also discuss: The 'institutionalization' of $PEPE Making sense of memecoin mania Alameda's billion-dollar tax bill This episode is brought to you by our sponsor CleanSpark.About CleanSparkCleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Launched in July 2021, World of Women ('WoW') began its journey as a distinctive collection of 10,000 generative portraits that aimed to carve out a community in the web3 environment with a focus on equality, representation, and inclusivity. WoW has attracted high-profile support from celebrities, including Reese Witherspoon and Eva Longoria.While WoW originated as an NFT collection, it is evolving into a global branded business, including plans to release a custom WoW Monopoly board. It's also selling fashion goods via a collaboration with Nicole Richie's House of Harlow. In this episode, World of Women COO Shannon Snow delves into her role trying to drive the brand's growth IRL amid the crypto downturn.This episode is brought to you by our sponsor CleanSpark.About CleanSparkCleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.