Posts in digital securities / STO
Pioneering Crypto ETPs to $3B in assets in 3 years, with 21Shares CEO Hany Rashwan
Pioneering Crypto ETPs to $3B in assets in 3 years, with 21Shares CEO Hany Rashwan

In this conversation, we chat with Hany Rashwan – the founder of Amun and 21Shares. Hany built the company that put out the first physically backed crypto Exchange Traded Product (ETP). In simpler terms, he created a vehicle for people to buy crypto assets, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, on the stock market. Alongside Cathie Wood of ARK, 21Shares recently submitted a Bitcoin ETF to the SEC. While he waits for the US to get on board, Hany's products are already offered all over Europe, with more than $3 billion under management.

More specifically, we touch on his early entrepreneurial mindset which lead him to building successful businesses, how currency devaluation in Egypt pushed him to create 21Shares, what an Exchange Traded Product (ETP) is and how it related to Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), the regulatory landscape for crypto-backed ETPs, and so so much more!

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asset management, crypto, digital investing, digital securities / STOLex Sokolin21Shares, Amun, Ethereum, Bitcoin, RuneScape, World of Warcraft, Neopets, MapleStory, PowerPets, Kout, PayPal, Stripe, Ribbon, Payout, Kleiner, Netflix, Blockbuster, Deutsche Borse, Axie Infinity, Solana, Polygon, Cardano
The software stack powering Capital Markets and its coming transformation, with Horacio Barakat of Broadridge
The software stack powering Capital Markets and its coming transformation, with Horacio Barakat of Broadridge

In this conversation, we geek out with Horacio Barakat, who serves as the Head of Digital Innovation for Capital Markets and the Head of DLT for the Repo Platform of Broadridge, about digital transformation, capital markets, and the role of blockchain in the institutional part of the financial industry.

Additionally, we explore the embedded complexities of capital markets and how fundamental they are to the smooth functioning of our economy, determining the growth of companies, and funding expansion. Touching on everything from the engine that powers capital markets, how that engine has evolved to becoming computational, and lastly how companies like Broadridge are leading the deep work going on in making that engine better.

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digital transformation, enterprise blockchain, exchanges / cap mkts, digital securities / STOLex SokolinBroadridge, DTCC, Euroclear
The path from institutional finance (Goldman) to enterprise blockchain (PwC) to the $26B edge of DeFi innovation (Aave) with Ajit Tripathi
The path from institutional finance (Goldman) to enterprise blockchain (PwC) to the $26B edge of DeFi innovation (Aave) with Ajit Tripathi

In this conversation, we talk Ajit Tripathi, currently the Head of Institutional Business at Aave and a former colleague of mine at ConsenSys, about the path from traditional finance, to enterprise blockchain and “DLT” consulting, to full-on decentralized finance.

Thinking about how to connect these worlds and different available journeys? Or the timeless risks developing in tranched DeFi that look like mortgage-backed securities? We even touch on hegelian dialectics! Check out our great conversation.

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decentralized finance, digital securities / STO, digital transformation, enterprise blockchain, exchanges / cap mktsLex SokolinConsenSys, Aave, Paxful, Notional, Swivel
DeFi should take the middle road between the extremes of QAnon and J.P. Morgan
DeFi should take the middle road between the extremes of QAnon and J.P. Morgan

This week, we look at:

  • How the music industry needed The Pirate Bay and Napster

  • Why J.P.Morgan is paying $1B in fines for allegedly manipulating the precious metals market

  • Whether DeFi is flirting with self-dealing and veering towards apathy

  • Why QAnon and 8chan are a bad example for global governance

  • And how the European Commission’s proposed crypto-market rules are highly productive for blockchain-based capital markets infrastructure

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central bank / CBDC, decentralized finance, exchanges / cap mkts, big tech, digital lending, digital securities / STO, enterprise blockchainLex SokolinNapster, Pirate Bay, JP Morgan, QAnon, 4chan, European Commission, Alan Moore, Anonymous, Marcel Duchamp
How Monzo, Revolut, and Starling get to break-even, and comparison with WeChat and Facebook
How Monzo, Revolut, and Starling get to break-even, and comparison with WeChat and Facebook

This week, we look at:

  • The financial model behind Monzo, and comparisons to Revolut and Starling

  • How the Eastern super apps inspired the marketplace model, and why that success is hard for neobanks to replicate

  • Paths from losing $100 million per year to break-even and enabling digital assets and other financial products

  • Facebook Financial forming to take over payments and commerce

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digital lending, neobank, digital securities / STOLex SokolinMonzo, Revolut, Starling, Square, SoFi, Curve, Robinhood, Schwab
Everyone should trade the billions in DeFi Structured Products! Or do digital asset derivatives need custodians and regulators?
Everyone should trade the billions in DeFi Structured Products! Or do digital asset derivatives need custodians and regulators?

This week, I grapple with the concepts of financial centralization and decentralization, anchoring around custody, staking, and DeFi examples. On the centralized side, we look at BitGo's acquisition of Lumina, Coinbase Custody and its similarity to Schwab and Betterment Institutional. On the decentralized side, we examine the recent $500 million increase in value within the Compound protocol, as well as the recursive loops that could pose a broader financial risk to the ecosystem.

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crypto, decentralized finance, DAOs, digital securities / STOLex SokolinBitGo, Coinbase, Lumina, Addepar, Fidelity, Betterment, Schwab, Ethereum, Bitcoin, ConsenSys, Institutional Shareholder Services, Compound, Balancer, PieDAO
Can the $4 Trillion municipal bond market be a digital asset in your pocket?
Can the $4 Trillion municipal bond market be a digital asset in your pocket?

I reflect on ConsenSys acquiring a broker/dealer focused on municipal bonds, and why we believe that blockchain-native platforms are a fantastic fit for this $4 trillion asset class. Can direct holding of franctional munis enable deeper community participation and usage of common resources? Are there new sources of liquidity to unlock? At the same time, there are real dangers. I compare the evolution of digital lenders and their funding sources against the current possibilities in municipal bond markets. We also look into the reasons that some innovative Fintechs have failed to achieve their stated missions, and what can be learned and done better.

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fixed income, asset management, p2p & crowdfunding, digital securities / STOLex SokolinLending Club, SoFi, OnDeck, Figure, Marcus, Neighborly, ConsenSys, Digital Asset Holdings, Nivaura
Top 5 Decentralized Finance predictions for 2020 and beyond
Top 5 Decentralized Finance predictions for 2020 and beyond

In the long take this week, I revisit decentralized finance, providing both an overview and 2019 update. The meat of the writing is the following long-range predictions for the space in the next decade -- (1) the role of Fintech champions like Revolut and Robinhood as it relates to DeFi, (2) increasing systemic correlation and self-reference in the space, which requires emerging metrics for risk and transparency, and (3) the potential for national services like Social Security and student lending to run on DeFi infrastucture, (4) the promise of pulling real assets into DeFi smart contracts and earning staking rewards, and (5) continued importance of trying to bridge into Bitcoin. Here's to an outlandish 2020!

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crypto, decentralized finance, stablecoins, central bank / CBDC, ICO / IEO, digital securities / STOLex SokolinEthereum, EOS, Tron, Uniswap, MakerDAO, USDT, Set Protocol, Nexus Mutual, UMA Protocol, Synthetix, Coinbase, Argent, InstaDApp, Zerion, Centrifuge, Figure, Bitcoin