Raoul Pal: The Journey Man

What’s driving Bitcoin’s recent price action? Does it have anything to do with India’s plan to launch a digital rupee? Is it Russia’s move to recognize crypto? And what’s happening in Washington D.C. with regard to regulation? Robin Schmidt and Camila Russo of The Defiant join Real Vision’s Ash Bennington to unpack those issues and more – including the fact that Bitcoin is simply a volatile asset right now. Robin shares details of a conversation he had just yesterday with a high-profile American politician about U.S. lawmakers’ approach to crypto. The team also digs into scandals rocking the ecosystem, including the Solana bailout, ENS ousting Brantly Millegan over past tweets, and, of course, the chaotic (humorous? fun? crazy?) mess that is the fallout from the Bitfinex hack. Recorded on February 9, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Population growth in virtual worlds surpasses that of any nation today, a trend of keen interest to Richard Kim, general partner at Galaxy Interactive, unit of Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital Asset Management. Under Kim’s guidance, Galaxy Interactive is the Lewis and Clark of the virtual frontier. “Self-sovereign digital natives,” as Kim refers to them, are people who have partially grown up in virtual environments and/or spend the majority of their spare time in them. Today, they’re mostly younger people, through Web 2.0 platforms like Fortnite and Roblox. The next phase – into the “Metaverse” – is about user empowerment. Kim is also eyeing DAO governance in the world of gaming. It’s still in the experimental phase. But the potential for a community-driven game – where development decisions are made by the people playing it – already marks a major shift from the status quo. Interviewed by Ash Bennington on February 1, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rob Frasca, co-founder and managing partner of COSIMO, applies lessons learned from the early internet days as well as the mobile phone boom to harness crypto. “I’ve seen this movie before… and I know how it ends,” says Frasca in reference to past adoptions of new technologies. Whether it’s the proliferation of email addresses, search engines, or smartphones, the early days are always clunky and saturated with high-valuation companies that turn out to be nothing. Frasca has lived and invested through a few boom and bust cycles. He shares his big-picture techniques and methods of analysis. Frasca dissects the crypto investment economy into “six pillars”: infrastructure, decentralized governance, NFTs, payment rails, DeFi, and Web 3.0. See how he ties these categories together to frame COSMIO’s overall investment thesis. Interviewed by Ash Bennington on January 21, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An adventure like crypto is bound to attract talent from all corners. In a far-ranging conversation, Michael Creadon, a former journalist with Bloomberg, and David Micley, once a researcher at Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates, describe their journeys into crypto and bounce ideas off one another about where the space is headed. Creadon is now president of DeFi Developers at Inveniam, while Micley is director of sales and client relations at Floating Point Group. They come together to make sense of the current market. Regulation is an issue of central importance to their respective outlooks. Notably, Creadon considers SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who once taught a course on blockchain technology, an ally of cryptocurrency. Micley sheds light on the “tokenization of everything” revolution and shares what his firm looks for when evaluating the utility of digital assets. Filmed on January 26, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The metaverse can look a lot like online video games. But what Sebastien Borget, COO and co-founder of The Sandbox, is trying to create is a parallel universe. Blockchain gaming manifests in various ways. Some developers simply utilize blockchain technology to mint in-game NFTs, while others are going so far as to grant DAOs governance over the game’s rules. It’s about giving users dominion over the virtual world they occupy. Interoperability – as in the ability for avatars, items, and currency to be transferred from one world to another – is key. According to Borget, the essence of the metaverse can’t be captured in a simple rebranding campaign. Interviewed by Ash Bennington on January 20, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Curiosity is the driving force behind a crypto fund that now has more than $750 million in assets under management. Like many of us, Clayton Gardner, co-founder and co-CEO of Titan, initially dismissed blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. But he set aside his preconceived notions, took time to understand what’s happening, and dedicated himself to teaching friends, family, and investors like you how to fish the way the ultra-wealthy do. Gardner and his co-founders have created an actively managed crypto fund that’s generated an average annual return of 18% since inception. Titan centers crypto’s core values of individual empowerment and financial inclusion when searching for investable tokens and companies. Tune in for invaluable insights from an investor with demonstrated success in the crypto space. Interviewed by Ash Bennington on January 24, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Prepare to have your mind blown by today’s episode, as Robin Schmidt of The Defiant deploys his MetaHuman avatar for another peek at the potential of the Unreal Engine in a conversation with Camilla Russo of The Defiant and Real Vision’s Ash Bennington. Camila, Ash, and Robin’s avatar discuss India’s 30% tax rate on digital asset transfers and why it will eventually come down as well as how the Subcontinent represents unprecedented opportunity simply because it’s home to nearly 1.5 billion people. The trio also covers the scandal around Wonderland, Dan Olson’s attack on Camila and NFTs, and the long-term potential of DeFi technology. Recorded on February 2, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The gaming and animation industries are entering a new era, and Jules Urbach, CEO of OTOY, is at the cutting edge. Growing up a Star Trek fan, Urbach was fascinated by the idea of a Holodeck. This futuristic tech is not yet possible, but Urbach is making studio-tier rendering accessible to independent digital artists and game designers with the RNDR token. Virtually all movies, video games, and TV shows involve massive levels of rendering these days. Urbach’s blockchain approach allows large numbers of decentralized computers to pool their work. The RNDR token is also being used to incentivize NFT rendering, creating a real decentralized community of artists and technologists. Urbach explains it all in an interview with Santiago Velez, co-founder and R&D lead at Block Digital. Recorded on January 25, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Steve Kurz, partner and head of global asset management at Galaxy Digital, worked alongside Mike Novagratz to create a next-gen conglomerate with an eclectic mix of both clients and crypto investments. In a discussion with Real Vision’s Ash Bennington, Kurz shares vital insights on risk management in one of the riskiest asset classes around. He stresses the importance of discipline, noting that traditional due diligence is still necessary in the unorthodox world of crypto. It’s a learning experience for everyone. Kurz, whose young daughter is experimenting with buying NFTs, says the best way to learn is to get involved. Recorded on January 20, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India is one of the biggest and fastest-growing markets for digital asset adoption. However, regulation still stands in the way, and the journey has not been an easy one. Siddharth Menon, COO and Founder of WazirX, the largest Indian crypto exchange, weaves an incredible story of how hard it was to build in the early days, with no ability to use a bank and the clever solutions they were forced to find to get around it in order to continue to build for a future they all believed in. It is a truly inspiring story for all entrepreneurs. Raoul also gets a chance to get the big picture of crypto in India, it's potential for mass adoption, where regulation is going, and how NFT's are beginning to play a role. India is extremely important for digital asset adoption, and this is a story we simply have to follow. Recorded on January 13, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices