Raoul Pal: The Journey Man

What happened with the OpenSea $1.7 million phishing hack? And did Laura Shin unmask the perpetrator who siphoned 3.6 million Ether (with a current value north of $11 billion) from the Ethereum network? Robin Schmidt and Camila Russo of The Defiant join Real Vision's Elaine Ly to talk about these headline-making stories and the issues around them – including their views on safety and traceability in the crypto space. Robin, Camila, and Elaine also discuss the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Rising geopolitical tensions will impact all financial markets, and crypto is no exception. Recorded on February 23, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Centralization has defined technology, finance, and government for decades. Bill Barhydt, co-founder and CEO of Abra, considers the 1969 moon landing the peak of centralization: people working together, pooling massive amounts of resources, achieving the near-impossible. Centralization has its benefits. It’s also had its day. History shows that global change often corresponds with the introduction of new technology. The present shift from centralization to decentralization, according to Barhydt, is being catalyzed by blockchain. And Abra’s global DeFi hub is at the cutting edge of this revolution. In addition to his big-picture philosophy, Barhydt explains how yield is generated in the DeFi economy and shares his views on the future of several mainstream layer 1 tokens. Interviewed by Real Vision’s Ash Bennington on February 9, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re still in the Netscape phase of crypto, according to Marshall Hayner, founder and CEO of Metal Payments, and the future is bright. Hayner sees regulation and user interface as the two pivotal factors affecting mass adoption. While 2021 saw a rapid acceleration of lobbying efforts as well as public-awareness initiatives, most governments still just don’t seem to get it and people are still using clunky software like Metamask. Hayner and his team at Metal are currently working to create browser-based and seamless crypto payment systems. In the very near future, though, the cumbersome tasks we assume are just part of the process will slowly ease as they are abstracted away by developers. The implications of what is a relatively simple shift are immense, according to Hayner, and he remains highly optimistic on the next decade in this space. Interviewed by Ash Bennington on February 3, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From the revolutionary potential of the microprocessor to the prediction of “anonymous digital cyber cash,” James Dale Davidson’s 1997 book “The Sovereign Individual” is full of future-looking scenarios that are part of 2022’s reality. Robert Breedlove, founder of the “What Is Money?” podcast, interviews Davidson, editor of the “Strategic Investment” newsletter, to discuss Bitcoin’s potential to destabilize entrenched power. Breedlove and Davidson explore the cyclical struggle between liberty and power that, for thousands of years, has defined civilization. Both see blockchain technology as a major disruption, a breakthrough for liberty without historical peer. Tune in for a compelling journey. Filmed on February 2, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

That Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana personally designed a set that ended up selling for $6 million strongly suggests NFTs are more than just a novelty. We’re talking real money – and real assets. Dolce & Gabbana launched its first NFTs with the help of UNXD co-founders Shashi Menon and Nick Gonzalez. Menon and Gonzalez share with Leslie Lamb, founder and host of the Crypto Unstacked podcast, the story of how they were able to inspire this multi-billion-dollar fashion conglomerate to create its own nine-piece virtual/physical collection. Menon and Gonzalez see this as a watershed moment for NFT experimentation by large corporations; UNXD is now working with watchmaker Jacob & Co. for yet another large-scale release. Menon, Gonzalez, and Lamb discuss the future of NFTs and why they’re here to stay. Recorded on February 8, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alkemi Network touts itself as “an institutional-grade liquidity network facilitating professional DeFi for financial institutions and individuals to earn yields on their Ethereum-based digital assets.” On the ground, that means helping old-school financial institutions update their legacy infrastructure for the modern era. More and more companies and more and more people want ready access to digital assets and related products and services. According to co-founder Brian Mahoney, Alkemi makes it happen by unlocking the “three Cs”: “capital,” through deep liquidity; “connectivity,” through Web2 and Web3; and “control,” through the ability to manage risk on its platform. As he shares with Real Vision’s Ash Bennington, Alkemi’s goal is to build a CeFi experience with a DeFi ethos. Recorded January 19, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Does the sheer number (and entertainment value) of crypto commercials during the Super Bowl broadcast mean widespread adoption is on the horizon? Or is this just a replay of the Web 1.0/Pets.com fiasco of the late 1990s? Does BlockFi’s settlement with the SEC complicate the process? Robin Schmidt and Camila Russo of The Defiant join Real Vision’s Elaine Ly to break it all down. Robin, Camila, and Elaine also dive deep into Coinbase’s plan to make more than 2,000 new hires this year, and they also take a close look at what the $23.7 million sale of a Crypto Punk means for the NFT space. Recorded on February 16, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kadena’s combination of “revolutionary, braided multi-chain architecture” and powerful, readable smart-contract language for writing applications directly on the blockchain make it the only sharded and scalable proof-of-work network in production today. In other words, according to co-founder and CEO Stuart Popejoy, Kadena is the only PoW platform capable of scaling to settle the more than 9 million trades executed on the New York Stock Exchange each day. And its consensus mechanism maintains the security and integrity that characterizes Bitcoin. Popejoy talks with Real Vision’s Ash Bennington about changing the way people interact and transact – and making blockchain work for business at speed and scale in an energy-efficient way. Recorded on February 7, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With more than 100 million users worldwide and over $20 billion in assets under management, Celsius founder and CEO Alex Mashinsky is doing his part to move DeFi into the mainstream. Mashinsky emphasizes the importance of liquidity in reducing friction and lowering barriers to entry, critical objectives that will accelerate widespread adoption. He notes too that DeFi platforms like Celsius are able to offer yields around 6%, while traditional financial institutions are effectively at zero. Mashinsky’s team was among the first of crypto’s early adopters to pound the table for federal regulation on the theory that recognition and regulation by authorities in Washington D.C. is a necessary condition for mass adoption. Ultimately, Mashinsky’s goal is growth – to see DeFi encompass global finance. He joins Santiago Velez, co-founder and division lead of R&D at Block Digital, and Real Vision’s Ash Bennington to lay out the key factors in achieving this end. Filmed on January 31, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom Bilyeu, co-founder and host of Impact Theory, is an amazing storyteller with an amazing story, from business builder to educator to giant influencer. He’s driven by mission and purpose, and his journey into crypto and NFTs is an inspiration to us all. He’s an accidental macro investor who sees the big picture and can comfortably live in the world of possible futures, allowing him to make the big bet. His bet is the nexus of NFT storytelling, social impact, education, money, and value, all within a community construct. Peer into the future with Raoul and Tom, and see the endless opportunities and possibilities that lie ahead. Along the way on their conversation journey, you might pick up some great tips about how to maximize your own life experience. Recorded on January 13, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices