US crypto regulation is likely ‘in a holding pattern’ until after the 2024 election: Paradigm Policy Director

https://www.theblock.co/post/264741/crypto-2024-election-paradigm?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss

Paradigm Policy Director explains why progress on US crypto regulations is likely stalled until after the 2024 election cycle.

How to mitigate liquid staking derivatives threatening Ethereum’s decentralization

https://www.theblock.co/post/263967/ethereum-lsd-decentralization?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss

In this episode of The Scoop, Superphiz explains how liquid staking derivatives could impact Ethereum’s credible neutrality.

Early-stage VC explains how private valuations are reacting to crypto’s latest rally

https://www.theblock.co/post/263274/2023-q4-funding?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss

Delta Blockchain Fund CEO discusses the impact of the recent crypto surge on the early-stage venture landscape.

Tokenizing T-Bills is a ‘giant misnomer,’ says Hashnote CEO

https://www.theblock.co/post/262992/real-world-assets

Hashnote CEO Leo Mizuhara explores the hidden risks in tokenized real-world assets.

Solana strategy exec claims work done during the bear market is paying off

https://www.theblock.co/post/262710/solana-breakpoint-federa

Solana Foundation’s Head of Strategy explains how Solana’s tech advancements are debunking myths about its architecture flaws.

Multichain’s China situation could take more than a year to play out, says Fantom’s Andre Cronje

https://www.theblock.co/post/243934/multichain-fantom-ethereum

Andre Cronje and Michael Kong discuss Chinese authorities seizing $1 billion in crypto and Fantom’s exploration of optimistic rollups.

Here’s how a ‘ghost’ whale is shaping the crypto options market

https://www.theblock.co/post/243628/crypto-options-whale

Laura Vidiella explores the complexities of crypto’s options market and explains why some market participants think there is a ‘ghost’.

Worldcoin co-founder Alex Blania talks about orbs, artificial intelligence and aliens

https://www.theblock.co/post/243011/worldcoin-orb-ai

Worldcoin co-founder Alex Blania, delves into decentralized orb production, the $WLD token launch, and the future of the Worldcoin project.

A handshake agreement has kept DeFi from toppling, for now

https://www.theblock.co/post/242847/defi-bald-curve

DeFi researcher examines the potential link between $BALD and Alameda Research, and how a handshake deal averted a major on-chain crisis.

This crypto VC thinks we’re in the ‘best bear market of all-time’

https://www.theblock.co/post/242223/podcast-vasudev

Alok Vasudev discusses the current strength of the crypto sector and how to identify prime opportunities during bear markets.

EthCC Paris: Celo contributor explains move to Eth L2 and why ‘thousands’ of chains will follow suit

https://www.theblock.co/post/241588/ethcc-ethereum-celo

Episode 70 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block’s Frank Chaparro, and cLabs CTO Marek Olszewski.

Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Youtube, Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Please send feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblock.co.

This episode of The Scoop was recorded with Marek Olszewski, Chief Technology officer for cLabs — the core development team behind the Celo platform — live from the Ethereum Community Conference in Paris.

In this episode, Olszewski unpacks cLabs recent proposal to transition Celo to an Eth Layer 2, and explains why he thinks one day “hundreds if not thousands of chains will all be rolling up to Ethereum.”

© 2023 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

EthCC Paris: Inside Coinbase’s plan to build an Ethereum Layer 2

https://www.theblock.co/post/241411/ethcc-coinbase-base?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss

Episode 69 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block’s Frank Chaparro, and creator of Coinbase’s Base Jesse Pollak.

This episode of The Scoop was recorded with Jesse Pollak, the creator Coinbase’s Base network, live from the Ethereum Community Conference in Paris.

Outline:

00:44 Crypto ‘builder energy’

03:09 The L1 trade

05:07 Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2

06:45 Maturing beyond speculation

11:03 Technical obstacles to building

15:16 ZK vs. OP scaling solutions

EthCC Paris: Wildcat protocol, court interventions in DeFi, and grey hat hackers with Laurence Day

https://www.theblock.co/post/241212/ethcc-laurence-day

Episode 68 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block’s Frank Chaparro, and Wildcat Protocol creator Laurence Day

This episode of The Scoop was recorded with Wildcat protocol creator Laurence Day live from the Ethereum Community Conference in Paris.

Outline:

00:10 Intro

03:03 Laurence & law school

04:53 Wildcat protocol

09:29 Balancing proprietary data and transparency

12:31 Collapsed crypto lenders

14:55 EthCC Paris

16:52 Wormhole hack

20:01 Grey hat hackers

24:22 Closing thoughts

a16z’s Brian Quintenz: Congress must provide clarity where the SEC won’t

https://www.theblock.co/post/240887/a16z-quintenz-congress-sec

Episode 67 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block’s Frank Chaparro, and a16z crypto’s Global Head of Policy Brian Quintenz

Brian Quintenz is the Global Head of Policy at a16z crypto and a former commissioner at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

In this episode, Quintenz explains how the SEC’s failure to issue updated guidance for the crypto industry has created a legislative opportunity for clarity.

According to Quintenz, “Congress needs to show the way by creating the framework that the SEC is refusing to contemplate.”

Outline:

0:36 Policy & regulation overview

2:43 Securities v. commodities

06:37 Registered securities

11:58 Special Purpose Broker-Dealers

14:49 a16z’s policy uutlook

18:34 Ponzi schemes

21:31 CeFi regulation

27:16 Lummis x Gillibrand’s crypto bill

30:30 Token decentralization

32:32 Legislative hurdles

How AI can breathe fresh life into Web3 gaming: Lightspeed, Faction

https://www.theblock.co/post/239951/ai-web3-gaming

Episode 66 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block’s Frank Chaparro, Lightspeed Partner and Head of Gaming Moritz Baier-Lentz, and Faction Managing Partner Samuel Harrison

Moritz Baier-Lentz is a partner and head of gaming at Lightspeed, and Sam Harrison is the managing partner of Faction.

In this episode, Baier-Lentz and Harrison unpack their thesis behind investing in the Web3 gaming industry.

While Web3 gaming has yet to reach mainstream appeal, Baier-Lentz and Harrison state that a combination of technological advancements and veteran game developers embracing blockchain rails will help facilitate breakout Web3 games in the near future.

Outline:

1:13 Web3 VC Update

4:41 Lightspeed + Faction

8:46 Market Cycles

14:04 Web3 vs. Web2 Gaming

20:40 Gaming Metrics for VC

23:38 Tokenomics & Gaming

33:50 AI & Gaming

38:41 Closing Thoughts

Landmark XRP ruling could force SEC to settle with Coinbase, says securities law professor

https://www.theblock.co/post/239790/ripple-sec-coinbase

Episode 65 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Associate Professor of Law at George Mason Law School and former Advisory Committee Member to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission J.W. Verret.

Professor J.W. Verret teaches corporate and securities law and financial accounting at George Mason Law School.

In this episode, Verret analyzes the recent verdict on Ripple’s XRP token which concludes that “Ripple’s Programmatic Sales of XRP did not constitute the offer and sale of investment contracts.”

In addition to providing a degree of regulatory clarity for crypto assets, Verret also argues that the court’s decision in the XRP case will greatly improve Coinbase’s chances in their court case against the SEC.

Outline:

1:05 – XRP court verdict

6:00 – Coinbase re-listing XRP

7:15 – Coinbase vs. SEC

9:55 – Will the SEC settle?

12:08 – Appellate court

13:04 – New SEC Chair

14:06 – Unregistered securities

15:00 – Major Questions Doctrine

16:22 – Crypto legislation

17:00 – Partisan politics

20:40 – Spot Bitcoin ETF

22:05 – Closing thoughts

Here’s how financial giants like KKR and Hamilton lane are diving into crypto

https://www.theblock.co/post/239022/carlos-domingo-securitize-scoop

Episode 64 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Securitize Founder & CEO Carlos Domingo.

Carlos Domingo is the founder and CEO of Securitize, Inc. — a compliance platform for trading security tokens or digital securities on the blockchain used by the likes of KKR and Hamilton Lane.

In this episode, Domingo explains how blockchain technology can be used to unlock broader access to alternative investments and how regulatory clarity in the U.S. could help trillions of dollars of real world assets be tokenized on-chain.

Outline:

1:17 – About Securitize
2:32 – Market Evolution
7:22 – Tokenization
8:07 – Transfer Agent License
9:58 – Broker Dealers
12:00 – Prometheum
13:04 – Special Purpose Broker Dealer
16:38 – Alternative Trading Systems
19:05 – Second Order Effects of Regulation
21:30 – Tokenization of Real World Assets
28:02 – What’s Next for Securitize
31:32 – Closing Thoughts

How crypto’s lending market can overcome its confidence crisis

https://www.theblock.co/post/238185/how-cryptos-lending-market-can-overcome-its-confidence-crisis

Episode 63 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and BitGo co-founder & CEO Mike Belshe.

Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Please send feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblock.co.

Mike Belshe is the co-founder and CEO of BitGo — a leading digital asset custody and security platform.

In this episode, Belshe shares his thoughts on last year’s collapse of the crypto credit market and explains what it will take to restore confidence in the sector.

Outline:

0:52 – Market musings

3:12 – Crypto conspiracies

5:54 – Business at BitGo

8:39 – Crypto prime brokerage

14:24 – Lending market cooldown

15:55 – Crypto’s opaque transparency

21:22 – Crypto market recovery

32:47 – BitGo x Galaxy Digital

MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor on gold, Ordinals and Bitcoin ETFs

https://www.theblock.co/post/237105/michael-saylor-bitcoin

Episode 62 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor.

Michael Saylor is the Executive Chairman of MicroStrategy.

Since 2020, MicroStrategy has amassed an eye-catching bitcoin reserve, making it one of the largest corporate holders of bitcoin in the world. Critics have been vocal, but Saylor and his company have stood firm in their belief and commitment.

In this episode, Saylor explains why bitcoin’s performance over the last two years relative to other asset classes is indicative of relative strength, and gives his opinion on recent bitcoin developments including the flurry of ETF applications as well as the Ordinals/BRC-20 debate.

Outline:

1:59 – Inflation & Bitcoin

8:29 – MicroStrategy’s leverage

9:12 – Bitcoin’s volatility regime

13:48 – Technocrats

15:19 – Bitcoin legitimization

19:34 – Bitcoin Maximalism

25:31 – Saylor on Ordinals

28:39 – Unregistered securities

30:20 – Crypto crackdown conspiracies

34:38 – Spot Bitcoin ETF

39:54 – Bitcoin dominance

51:50 – Work/life balance

53:30 – MicroStrategy’s miscalculation

55:09 – Thermodynamically sound economic energy

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors PayPal and CleanSpark.

About PayPal

Make your crypto move with PayPal. Get started today at PayPal.com/crypto

About CleanSpark

CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

David Marcus wants to make Bitcoin’s Lightning Network the global settlement layer for the internet

https://www.theblock.co/post/236600/bitcoin-lightning-lightspark

Episode 61 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Lightspark co-founder and CEO David Marcus.

David Marcus is a renowned entrepreneur and executive in the tech industry known for his leadership roles at PayPal and Meta.

In this episode, Marcus unpacks how his latest venture, Lightspark, is helping transform Bitcoin’s Lightning Network into a real-time global settlement layer for the internet.

Lightspark raised about $173 million last year at a valuation of almost $1 billion at the time, as reported by The Block.

Outline:

2:33 – David Marcus’ Bitcoin journey

5:29 – Lightspark & Bitcoin

9:50 – Lightspark adoption

12:37 – Regulatory tailwinds for bitcoin

16:33 – Merchant payment innovation

23:25 – Lightspark’s partnerships

26:26 – SEN/SIGNET replacement

28:47 – Lessons learned from libra

40:21 – What’s next for Lightspark

43:43 – Closing thoughts

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors PayPal and CleanSpark.

About PayPal

Make your crypto move with PayPal. Get started today at PayPal.com/crypto

About CleanSpark

CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF application is the ‘holy grail’ of exposure for TradFi, says analyst

https://www.theblock.co/post/236111/blackrock-bitcoin-etf?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss

Episode 60 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Bloomberg Intelligence ETF Analyst James Seyffart.

James Seyffart is an ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

In this episode, Seyffart analyzes BlackRock’s recently announced spot bitcoin ETF application and the impact it would have on the crypto market if approved.

While bitcoin futures ETFs exist, Seyffart says that BlackRock’s spot bitcoin ETF application is the “holy grail of bitcoin exposure in the TradFi markets.”

In the wake of BlackRock’s filling, Wisdom Tree, Invesco, and Valkyrie also put their hats back in the race for a spot bitcoin ETF.

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors PayPal and CleanSpark.

About PayPal

Make your crypto move with PayPal. Get started today at PayPal.com/crypto

About CleanSpark

CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Securities law professor analyzes the SEC’s crypto crackdown: Part 2

https://www.theblock.co/post/235601/professor-part-2

Episode 59 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Associate Professor of Law at George Mason Law School and former Advisory Committee Member to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission J.W. Verret.

Previously on The Scoop, Professor J.W. Verret explained how the ‘major questions doctrine’ could put an end to SEC Chair Gensler’s regulation by enforcement.

In this episode, Verret continues his analysis of the SEC’s recent enforcement actions against Coinbase and Binance, and examines the ways in which U.S. regulation of the crypto industry might be able to strike a balance between innovation and consumer protection.

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors PayPal and CleanSpark.

About PayPal

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About CleanSpark

CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Securities law professor analyzes the SEC’s crypto crackdown: Part 1

https://www.theblock.co/post/235398/major-questions-doctrine

Episode 58 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Associate Professor of Law at George Mason Law School and former Advisory Committee Member to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission J.W. Verret.

Professor J.W. Verret teaches corporate and securities law and financial accounting at George Mason Law School.

From May 2018 to March 2022, Professor Verret served as an Advisory Committee Member to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission where he represented the interests of investors in making recommendations to SEC Chair Gensler and other Commissioners.

In part one of this two part interview, Verret explains how a principle of administrative law in the United States known as the ‘major questions doctrine’ could challenge the SEC’s use of the Howey Test to determine if an asset is a security under federal law.

According to Verret, the major questions doctrine is a way for the court to check the power of independent agencies:

“If Congress has not given you specific authority to regulate a thing as an agency and you’re seeking to regulate it, if it involves a major question of national, economic or political importance, then you need to get authorization from Congress before you do anything.”

The major questions doctrine will likely not be discussed until the SEC’s lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance.US reach the appellate courts, says Verret, “but it’s one of the things that looms over these cases, without a doubt.”

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors PayPal and CleanSpark.

About PayPal

Make your crypto move with PayPal. Get started today at PayPal.com/crypto

About CleanSpark

CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

The crypto credit market needs regulation to mature

https://www.theblock.co/post/235282/crypto-credit-clearpool?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss

Episode 57 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Clearpool CEO Robert Alcorn.

Robert Alcorn is the CEO of decentralized credit marketplace, Clearpool.

In this episode, Alcorn examines the state of the crypto credit market in the wake of a tumultuous 2022 for crypto lenders, and explains what is needed for the sector to mature.

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors PayPal and CleanSpark.

About PayPal

Make your crypto move with PayPal. Get started today at PayPal.com/crypto

About CleanSpark

CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Crypto exodus from US is “an absolute fumble” by government, says VC

https://www.theblock.co/post/234432/us-crypto-exodus

Episode 56 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Cinneamhain Ventures Managing Partner Adam Cochran.

Adam Cochran has over a decade of experience in the crypto industry and is the Managing Partner of Cinneamhain Ventures.

In this episode, Cochran examines how recent enforcement actions by the US Securities and Exchange Commission is driving crypto innovation outside of the United States.

“This is an absolute fumble for the U.S. government and U.S. industry at large,” he told The Block’s Frank Chaparro

Outline of the discussion:

2:12 – Crypto and Congress

4:30 – SEC Enforcement Actions

7:16 – Coinbase & Binance

9:17 – Impact on DeFi

11:08 – Innovation Outside the U.S.

15:57 – Impact on Venture Landscape

17:10 – Decentralization & DAOs

19:52 – Is Solana a Security?

23:36 – Market Update

27:55 – Hidden Binance Risk?

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors PayPal and CleanSpark.

About PayPal

Make your crypto move with PayPal. Get started today at PayPal.com/crypto

About CleanSpark

CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Why this MP is pushing for crypto adoption in the UK

https://www.theblock.co/post/234125/uk-crypto-opportunity?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss

Episode 55 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block’s Frank Chaparro, U.K. Member of Parliament Dr. Lisa Cameron, and CryptoUK Board Advisor Ian Taylor.

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 PayPal

Make your crypto move with PayPal. Get started today at PayPal.com/crypto

About CleanSpark

CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Coinbase legal chief sees a big hole in the SEC’s crypto securities claims

https://www.theblock.co/post/233601/coinbase-clo-lawsuit?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss

Episode 54 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal.

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 4️⃣7️⃣

27:31 – 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 PayPal

Make your crypto move with PayPal. Get started today at PayPal.com/crypto

About CleanSpark

CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Web3 may help AI scale beyond what it is today, says Outlier Ventures CEO

https://www.theblock.co/post/233096/web3-scaling-ai?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss

Episode 53 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Outlier Ventures Founder and CEO Jamie Burke.

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 Social

26:48 – 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 PayPal

Make your crypto move with PayPal. Get started today at PayPal.com/crypto

About CleanSpark

CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Here’s how Hong Kong is opening up to crypto

https://www.theblock.co/post/232961/hong-kong-crypto?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss

Episode 52 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Tangent Ventures Co-Founder Jason Choi.

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 PayPal

Make your crypto move with PayPal. Get started today at PayPal.com/crypto

About CleanSpark

CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Why Cyril Mathew left Stripe to double down on crypto

https://www.theblock.co/post/232447/zero-hash-cyril-mathew

Episode 51 of Season 5 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Zero Hash President & COO Cyril Mathew.

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 CleanSpark

CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.