The Fintech Blueprint

Lex chats with Anthony Cimino, the head of policy at Carta - an equity management company that builds the infrastructure for innovators, supporting approximately 35,000 companies, over 2.2 million stakeholders, and more than 5,000 funds. Cimino discusses his background in government and policy in the financial services industry and how he got involved in finance and policy. He explains the role of policy in the fintech industry and the importance of engagement with policymakers. Cimino also talks about Carta's core business of cap table management and valuation services, as well as their fund administration business. He discusses the challenges and opportunities in the private markets industry, including the barriers to entry for investors and the need for more access and standardization. Cimino also mentions Carta's focus on supporting founders and their plans to expand globally. He emphasizes the role of policy in unlocking capital and creating access to private markets. MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION Carta's Website: https://bit.ly/3U92K0wAnthony's LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3J6u5db Topics: fintech, regulation, policy, private markets, fund administrationCompanies: Carta, SEC,  Committee on Financial Services ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT 🔥Subscribe to the Fintech Blueprint newsletter to stay at the forefront of Fintech and DeFi: https://bit.ly/3hyhlC2 🤝 Partner with Fintech Blueprint through sponsorships: https://bit.ly/3UZllsV 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/LexSokolin TIMESTAMPS 1’23: From Capitol Hill to Financial Crisis Management: Tracing Anthony's Journey through Finance and Policy 6’24: Building Trust in Turbulent Times: The Crucial Link Between Public Engagement and Policy Formation 10’50: Shaping the Future of Finance: The Essential Role of Stakeholder Engagement in Policy and Regulation 14’50: Digitizing Equity: Carta's Impact on Private Markets and the Future of Financial Infrastructure 20’07: Unlocking Private Markets: Navigating Complexity and Challenging Paternalistic Regulations 24’17: Expanding Economic Opportunity: The Imperative of Broadening Access to Private Markets 27’27: Beyond Data: Carta's Vision for Empowering Founders and Investors in the Private Market Ecosystem 31’50: Tailoring Growth: How Carta Supports Founders from Startup to Public Transition 34’39: Navigating the Terrain: The Dynamics of Private Fund Administration in Changing Economic Climates 38’56: Charting the Future: Carta's Vision for Empowering Founders, Revolutionizing Fund Administration, and Expanding Global Footprints 40’57: The channels used to connect with Anthony & learn more about Carta Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH BLUEPRINT LTD.Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, DaniellaWant to discuss? Stop by our Discord and reach out here with questions.

Nvidia's Global Head of Financial Services discusses AI, machine learning, and GPU computing in finance. Topics include fraud detection, sentiment analysis, generative AI, and collaboration for successful AI deployment. Open-source models and federated learning are highlighted for the future of AI in financial services.

Nelson Chu discusses building a private credit marketplace, challenges in fintech, alternative investment options, importance of infrastructure and technology, impact of macroeconomic factors, different types of investors and borrowers, AI in the industry, and the role of data in financial services.

Quantstamp CEO Richard Ma discusses the importance of security in blockchain, audits of blockchain projects, different adversaries in the space, the role of AI in security auditing, and exciting sectors to watch in the future like EigenLayer, ZK-rollups, and development on Solana.

Lex chats with Christian Catalini, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Lightspark - a company aiming to break down global payment barriers, throwing its weight behind a new standard intended to make payments as easy as sending an email. Christian kicks off by discussing his career in blockchain and academia, as well as the challenges and opportunities in the fintech industry. He explains how he became interested in crypto through his research on crowdfunding and how he later focused on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Catalini also discusses the importance of decentralized governance and the potential of Bitcoin as a global payment network. He introduces Lightspark's products, including Lightspark Predict and Universal Money Addresses (UMA), which aim to make Lightning Network more efficient and user-friendly for cross-border money movement. He emphasizes the need for compliance and regulatory clarity in the crypto industry and highlights the role of various partners in facilitating on and off-ramps between digital assets and traditional payment systems. MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION Lightspark's Website: https://bit.ly/3uQ0Nw1Christian's LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3UVwBu3 Topics: blockchain, crypto, cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Digital Assets, AI, cross border, payments, lightning network Companies: Lightspark, Diem, Libra, Meta Fintech, MIT, MIT Cryptoeconomics Lab ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT 🔥Subscribe to the Fintech Blueprint newsletter to stay at the forefront of Fintech and DeFi: https://bit.ly/3hyhlC2 🤝 Partner with Fintech Blueprint through sponsorships: https://bit.ly/3UZllsV 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/LexSokolin TIMESTAMPS 1’22: Bridging Worlds: From Academic Inquiry to Entrepreneurial Action in the Crypto and Crowdfunding Era 7’12: Innovating at the Intersection: From the Creative Destruction Lab to the Cryptoeconomics Lab at MIT 13’00: Designing Stability: The Economic Architecture and Vision Behind the Diem Experiment 18’37: Governance and Trust in Crypto: Navigating the Complex Landscape from Diem to Bitcoin 25’42: Money as a Public Good: The Evolutionary Path of Bitcoin and Digital Assets in the Global Economy 31’57: Unleashing Potential: Crypto and AI's Complementary Forces in Shaping the Future of Open Source Technology 37’02: Universal Money Addresses: Revolutionizing Global Transactions with Seamless, Compliant, and Real-Time Payments 41’31: UMA and Bitcoin: Simplifying Cross-Border Payments with a Global, Liquidity-Driven Settlement Layer 46’49: Integrating Innovations: How UMA Partners Enable Smooth Cross-Border Payments Through Bitcoin Liquidity and Local Infrastructure 50’14: The channels used to connect with Chris & learn more about Lightspark Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH BLUEPRINT LTD.Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, DaniellaWant to discuss? Stop by our Discord and reach out here with questions.

Shelby Austin, CEO of Arteria AI, discusses using AI to streamline document management in financial services, emphasizing user-centric design and practical AI applications. The conversation covers the challenges of working with large financial firms, data security, and integration with existing infrastructure, showcasing the impact of AI in revolutionizing documentation processes.

Lex chats with Rachel Lin, the Co-Founder & CEO of SynFutures, a decentralized derivatives trading platform. Lin discusses her background in traditional finance and her transition into the fintech and cryptocurrency industry. She explains her experience working in structured derivative sales and trading at Deutsche Bank, where she interacted with clients such as hedge funds and corporates who used derivatives for speculative purposes, hedging, and arbitrage. Lin then moved to fintech company Alipay, where she learned about blockchain technology and became interested in the potential of decentralized finance. She later joined Matrixport, a centralized platform, before starting her own decentralized derivatives platform, SynFutures. Lin explains that decentralized platforms offer transparency and the ability for anyone to become a market maker or service provider, while centralized platforms require more configuration and rely on market makers. She also discusses the growth potential of decentralized derivatives and the current dominance of speculation in the crypto derivatives market. Lin believes that as digital economies grow, the usage of blockchain and derivatives for economic purposes will also increase.  MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION SynFuture's Website: https://bit.ly/3OCDRaa Topics: crypto, digital assets,  investment, blockchain, AMM, DeFi, CeFi, Liquidity, hedging, arbitrage, derivatives, perps, synthetic Companies: Synfutures, Alipay, Matrixport, DYDX, GMX, Synthetix, Deutsche Bank, Uniswap ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT 🔥Subscribe to the Fintech Blueprint newsletter to stay at the forefront of Fintech and DeFi: https://bit.ly/3hyhlC2 🤝 Partner with Fintech Blueprint through sponsorships: https://bit.ly/3UZllsV 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/LexSokolin TIMESTAMPS 1’23: Trading Illusions for Insights: Navigating the Complex World of Financial Derivatives 6’35: Hedging Needs vs. Market Speculation: Deciphering the Derivatives Landscape 10’54: Institutional to Retail: Transitioning Through Chinese Fintech and Cryptocurrency Markets 16’16: SynFutures: Unlocking Decentralized Derivatives Trading for All 20’54: Synthetic Derivatives and Leverage: Amplifying Trades on Decentralized Platforms 26’56: DeFi Derivatives: AMM Liquidity, Competition, and the Future of Synthetic Trading 32’13: The promise of Crypto Derivative Markets: Beyond Speculation - Hedging, Arbitrage, and the Promise of Digital Economies 35’00: The channels used to connect with Rachel & learn more about SynFutures Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH BLUEPRINT LTD.Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, DaniellaWant to discuss? Stop by our Discord and reach out here with questions.

Lex chats with Stan Miroshnik, founder and managing partner of 10Squared Capital, discusses his early experiences in financial services and his journey into the world of digital assets and crypto. He talks about the challenges of navigating the ICO market and the importance of price discipline in investing. Miroshnik also shares his insights on the current state of the market and the opportunities he sees in sectors such as infrastructure, consumer applications, data analytics, and financial services. He also discusses the potential of security tokens and real-world asset tokenization.  MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION 10Squared Capital's Website: https://bit.ly/3ShddVmStan's LinkedIn profile: https://bit.ly/3w8kO0S Topics: crypto, digital assets, venture capital, investment, blockchain, ICO, tokenization Companies: TenSquared Capital, 10THoldings, 10T, 10SQ, Animoca, Coatue, Tiger, Civic ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT 🔥Subscribe to the Fintech Blueprint newsletter to stay at the forefront of Fintech and DeFi: https://bit.ly/3hyhlC2 🤝 Partner with Fintech Blueprint through sponsorships: https://bit.ly/3UZllsV 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/LexSokolin TIMESTAMPS 1’28: Navigating the Financial Landscape: From Soviet Childhood to Blockchain Innovation 4’03: Transitioning from Soviet Roots to Global Finance: A Journey Through Capital Markets and the Emergence of Digital Assets 11’07: Emergence of Russian Capital Markets: Navigating the Complexities of Financial Evolution and Integration 15’15: Bitcoin and the Birth of a New Capital Market: Pioneering Digital Asset Investment Banking 19’13: Compliance Complexity in 2024: Navigating the Evolving Landscape of Digital Asset Regulation 23’25: Reflecting on the ICO Market: Balancing Innovation, Speculation, and the Evolution of Digital Assets 27’53: From ICOs to Institutional Investment: Charting the Evolution of Digital Asset Markets with 10T Holdings and TenSquared Capital 32’18: Assessing Growth Stage Investments in the Digital Asset Space: Navigating the Challenges of Valuation and Opportunity in 2021-2022 35’24: Identifying Emerging Leaders in Digital Assets: A Look at Key Sectors and Companies Shaping the 2024 Market Landscape 36’25: Exploring the Future of Digital Assets:  Exploring Infrastructure, Consumer Applications, and Financial Services in the Blockchain Ecosystem 43’04: The channels used to connect with Stan & learn more about TenSquared Capital Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH BLUEPRINT LTD.Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, DaniellaWant to discuss? Stop by our Discord and reach out here with questions.

Lex chats with Jerome Le Luel, founder and CEO of TRIVER -  a London-based startup that uses open banking data and AI to provide short-term working capital to SMEs. To kick off, Jerome discusses the application of AI in fintech lending for small businesses. He explains that traditional banks have struggled to automate lending decisions for SMEs due to regulatory constraints and manual underwriting processes. However, with the emergence of open banking and the ability to access transaction-level data, fintech companies like TRIVER can use data science to automate underwriting decisions and provide instant capital to small businesses. TRIVER's platform allows SMEs to apply for short-term financing in a few clicks, using bank data and credit bureau information to make lending decisions. The capital comes from a combination of equity and debt raised by TRIVER, and the company is also exploring partnerships with non-financial institutions to embed its technology and offer instant capital to their SME clients.  MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION TRIVER's Website: https://bit.ly/3OiT1RNJerome's LinkedIn profile: https://bit.ly/3ubNWUz Topics: Fintech, lending, SME, SME finance, Open Banking, Underwriting, API Companies: TRIVER, Funding Circle, Barclays, Barclaycard, Capital One ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT 🔥Subscribe to the Fintech Blueprint newsletter to stay at the forefront of Fintech and DeFi: https://bit.ly/3hyhlC2 🤝 Partner with Fintech Blueprint through sponsorships: https://bit.ly/3UZllsV 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/LexSokolin TIMESTAMPS 1’29: From analytics to innovation: Pioneering credit card strategies in the UK with Capital One 4’13: Segmentation and innovation: How Capital One's early customer insights revolutionized consumer finance 9’19: Scaling financial services: Lessons in clarity, efficiency, and rigorous execution from Capital One's rapid growth 14’53: From challenger to major player: Navigating the shift to large-scale operations in financial services at Barclaycard 18’59: Risk management in lending: Balancing uncertainty, reward, and scaling in financial services 26’44: Innovating in Fintech: Leveraging flexibility and focus to outpace traditional banking at Funding Circle and TRIVER 31’37: Entrepreneurship and innovation: The impact of organizational culture and talent on Fintech advancements 33’53: Solving short-term SME finance challenges: TRIVER's innovative approach leveraging data science and open banking 40’23: Real-time SME underwriting: Leveraging transaction data and open banking for effective financial decisions at TRIVER 41’53: Empowering SMEs with instant capital: TRIVER's seamless integration of tech, data, and finance for efficient working capital solutions 46’02: The channels used to connect with Jerome & learn more about TRIVER Disclaimer here — this newsletter does not provide investment advice and represents solely the views and opinions of FINTECH BLUEPRINT LTD.Contributors: Lex, Laurence, Matt, Farhad, Mike, DaniellaWant to discuss? Stop by our Discord and reach out here with questions.

David Minarsch, Co-founder and CEO of Valory, discusses the intersection of AI and crypto networks. Valory focuses on building autonomous systems that connect to blockchain networks. David highlights the importance of AI agents in the future and the launch of the Autonolas protocol on Gnosis chain. He believes autonomous agents will become the primary daily active users of crypto, providing a new user experience for humans.