Zachary Townsend is the co-founder and CEO of Meanwhile, a life insurance company for the crypto economy.

In this episode, Townsend and The Block's Frank Chaparro discuss Meanwhile's model of Bitcoin-denominated life insurance and the advantages of this approach vs. traditional dollar-denominated insurance policies, such as protection against inflation and the ability to borrow against the policy's value tax-free.

OUTLINE

00:00 Introduction

04:48 How Meanwhile works

10:33 Role of insurance in the Bitcoin economy

14:09 Charting new territory

16:38 Bitcoin vs dollar-denominated insurance

20:32 Approaching new customers

24:10 Zac’s background

26:23 Looking forward

30:04 Conclusion

GUEST LINKS

Zac Townsend - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zactownsend/

Zac Townsend on X - https://x.com/ztownsend

Meanwhile - https://meanwhile.bm/

Meanwhile on X - https://x.com/meanwhilelife

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor: Polkadot

Polkadot is the blockspace ecosystem for boundless innovation. To discover more, head to polkadot.network

Himanshu Sahay is the Co-Founder and CTO of Arch.

In this episode recorded live at Emergence in Prague, Sahay and The Block's Frank Chaparro discuss the evolution of crypto lending after the 2022 market turmoil and Arch's approach to expansion and collateral.

OUTLINE

00:00 Introduction

01:16 Intro to Arch 

03:15 Shifting collateral standards 

07:33 The state of crypto credit

12:48 New administration, new regulation

14:35 Debanking and Barron Trump

17:41 Arch’s global expansion

19:29 Encounters with Voyager and Celsius

20:47 Conclusion

GUEST LINKS

Himanshu Sahay - https://www.linkedin.com/in/himanshusahay/

Himanshu Sahay on X - https://x.com/hhsahay

Arch - https://archlending.com/

Arch on X - https://x.com/ArchLending

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor: Polkadot

Polkadot is the blockspace ecosystem for boundless innovation. To discover more, head to polkadot.network

Samantha Bohbot is the Chief Growth Officer & Partner of RockawayX, a blockchain-focused venture capital fund.

In this episode recorded live at Emergence in Prague, Bohbot and The Block's Frank Chaparro discuss discuss challenges facing European firms compared to their American counterparts, and RockawayX's credit fund and developing opportunities in DeFi.

OUTLINE

00:00 Introduction

00:36 RockawayX

03:38 Tech and investment in Europe

07:11 Post-election investment

09:19 DeFi rally

11:58 Crypto credit

17:56 Standing out to investors

21:24 Value-add investor

25:32 The race to the bottom

27:52 Conclusion

GUEST LINKS

Samantha Bohbot - https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-bohbot-7622b933/

Samantha Bohbot on X - https://x.com/samantha_bohbot

RockawayX - https://www.linkedin.com/company/rockawayx/

RockawayX on X - https://rockawayx.com/

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor: Polkadot

Polkadot is the blockspace ecosystem for boundless innovation. To discover more, head to polkadot.network

David Wells is the founder and CEO of Enclave Markets, an institutional-grade digital asset trading platform that bills itself as the first Fully Encrypted Exchange (FEX).

In this episode recorded live at Emergence in Prague, Wells and Chaparro discuss Enclave's model, the maturing crypto market and the potential for more sophisticated trading strategies and liquidity.

OUTLINE

00:00 Introduction

01:21 Enclave Markets

04:12 The Enclave experience

05:53 Crypto capital markets

06:57 The maturing crypto market

08:54 Inefficient markets

10:01 New products and strategies

12:42 Concluding thoughts

GUEST LINKS

David Wells - https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-wells-12792413/

David Wells on X - https://x.com/wellsda2

Enclave Markets - https://www.enclave.market/

Enclave Markets on X - https://x.com/enclavemarkets

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor: Polkadot

Polkadot is the blockspace ecosystem for boundless innovation. To discover more, head to polkadot.network

Bill Barhydt is the founder and CEO of Abra, a global platform for digital asset prime services and wealth management.

In this episode recorded live at Emergence, Barhydt and Chaparro discuss how building a successful crypto businesses requires careful navigation of complex legal and regulatory hurdles, and how this process might change under the upcoming Trump administration.

OUTLINE

00:00 Introduction

01:57 Building in Crypto

05:38 Abra's Pivots

09:48 Surviving FTX

14:18 Abra's Future Strategy

16:26 Regulation & Innovation

20:32 Closing Thoughts

GUEST LINKS

Bill Barhydt - https://www.linkedin.com/in/billbar/

Bill Barhydt on X - https://x.com/billbarX

Abra - https://www.abra.com/

Abra on X - https://x.com/abraglobal

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor: Polkadot

Polkadot is the blockspace ecosystem for boundless innovation. To discover more, head to polkadot.network

Jon Kol is the co-founder of Hyperlane, an interoperability protocol.

In this episode, Kol and Chaparro discuss the challenges and progress of blockchain interoperability, and how the industry may now be turning a corner.

OUTLINE

00:00 Introduction

04:24 A year away

08:50 Interchange singularity

10:30 Bridge opportunities

13:32 Balancing speed and security

18:35 Poor UX, Poor DevX

20:11 Who’s the buyer?

26:52 Conclusion

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Polkadot

Polkadot is the blockspace ecosystem for boundless innovation. To discover more, head to polkadot.network

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Bitkey

Bitkey is the safe, easy way to own and manage bitcoin. Learn more at Bitkey.world

The Block Community

The Block is launching a new community experience for fans of The Scoop! Follow us on Lens to stay in the loop: hey.xyz/u/theblockcommunity

The Block Newsletters

The Block's newsletters bring you the latest news and analysis of the fast-moving crypto and DeFi markets. To subscribe, visit theblock.co/newsletters

GUEST LINKS

Jon Kol - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-kol-4bb37a9b/

Jon Kol on X - https://x.com/thePalenimbus

Hyperlane - https://hyperlane.xyz/

Hyperlane on X - https://x.com/hyperlane

Joshua Lim is the co-founder of Arbelos Markets.

In this episode, Lim and Chaparro discuss the crypto market surge sparked by Donald Trump's election as U.S. President. Lim sheds light on how the Trump administration's regulatory stance could pave the way for institutional investors to dive deeper ino the crypto space, potentially driving higher trading volumes and boosting liquidity across the ecosystem.

OUTLINE

00:00 Introduction

01:01 Macro Tailwinds

03:17 Flows & Volume

08:14 Market Opportunities

12:29 ETF Flows' Impact on Crypto

21:30 Crypto Credit Market

24:52 MicroStrategy's Strategy

27:37 Market Predictions

33:08 Banks & Crypto Adoption

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors, Polkadot & Bitkey.

The Block Community

The Block is launching a new community experience for fans of The Scoop! Follow us on Lens to stay in the loop: hey.xyz/u/theblockcommunity

The Block Newsletters

The Block's newsletters bring you the latest news and analysis of the fast-moving crypto and DeFi markets. To subscribe, visit theblock.co/newsletters

GUEST LINKS

Joshua Lim - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-lim-1b27098/

Joshua Lim on X - https://x.com/joshua_j_lim

Arbelos Markets - https://arbelos.xyz/

Arbelos Markets on X - https://x.com/arbelosxyz

Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and Managing Partner of Skybridge.

In this episode, Scaramucci and Chaparro discuss the recent U.S. Presidential election and its implications for the crypto industry. Scaramucci analyzes the factors that led to Kamala Harris's loss, naming crypto as a key factor.

OUTLINE

00:00 Introduction

00:36 2024 Presidential Election Retrospective

04:16 Trump's Cabinet

07:37 The Future of the Democrats

11:29 Market's Response to Trump Victory

14:23 New SEC Chair

19:17 D.O.G.E

22:54 Closing Thoughts 

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Polkadot

Polkadot is the blockspace ecosystem for boundless innovation. To discover more, head to polkadot.network

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Bitkey

Bitkey is the safe, easy way to own and manage bitcoin. Learn more at Bitkey.world

The Block Community

The Block is launching a new community experience for fans of The Scoop! Follow us on Lens to stay in the loop: hey.xyz/u/theblockcommunity

The Block Newsletters

The Block's newsletters bring you the latest news and analysis of the fast-moving crypto and DeFi markets. To subscribe, visit theblock.co/newsletters

GUEST LINKS

Anthony Scaramucci on X - https://x.com/scaramucci

Anthony Scaramucci - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anscaramucci/

Skybrdige on X - https://x.com/skybridge

Skybridge - https://www.skybridge.com/

dYdX founder Antonio Juliano discusses the evolution of dYdX and the broader DeFi landscape, highlighting the need for DeFi to move beyond copying tradfi products and build truly innovative applications made possible by decentralization.

OUTLINE

00:00 Intro

01:33 DeFi's Development

04:24 dYdX Mega Vault AMM

05:32 dYdX Prediction Markets

08:47 High-Performance Blockchain Development

10:35 Appchain Drawbacks

12:47 dYdX vs. Hyperliquid

14:36 New dYdX Markets

17:11 Onchain RWA Derivatives

18:39 DEX Adoption Hurdles

21:24 Crypto Market Makers

22:22 dYdX Development Roadmap

23:47 Appchain Advantages

GUEST LINKS

Antonio Juliano on X - https://x.com/AntonioMJuliano

Antonio Juliano - https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniojuliano/

dYdX - https://dydx.exchange/

dYdX on X - https://x.com/dYdX

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Polkadot

Polkadot is the blockspace ecosystem for boundless innovation. To discover more, head to polkadot.network

The Block Community

The Block is launching a new community experience for fans of The Scoop! Follow us on Lens to stay in the loop: hey.xyz/u/theblockcommunity

The Block Newsletters

The Block's newsletters bring you the latest news and analysis of the fast-moving crypto and DeFi markets. To subscribe, visit theblock.co/newsletters

Syncracy Capital co-founder Ryan Watkins sheds light on Ethereum, Solana and finding the next "generational winners" in the crypto market.

OUTLINE

00:00 Intro

01:47 Watkins' Crypto Journey

05:22 Syncracy's Liquid Strategy

06:51 Crypto Market Analysis

08:52 Ethereum's Underperformance

13:14 Long-Only

15:34 Picking Winners

20:38 SOL Trade

28:27 Bitcoin vs. Crypto

34:16 Market Cycle Analysis

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Polkadot

Polkadot is the blockspace ecosystem for boundless innovation. To discover more, head to polkadot.network

The Block Community

The Block is launching a new community experience for fans of The Scoop! Follow us on Lens to stay in the loop: hey.xyz/u/theblockcommunity

The Block Newsletters

The Block's newsletters bring you the latest news and analysis of the fast-moving crypto and DeFi markets. To subscribe, visit theblock.co/newsletters

Ripple Head of Product Jasmine Cooper and Axelar Co-Founder Sergey Gorbunov discuss advancements in Real World Assets (RWAs), tokenization, and interoperability.

OUTLINE

00:00 Introduction

01:12 Interoperable RWAs

04:18 Regulatory Clarity

08:09 RWA Tech Stack

11:37 White Labeling RWAs

13:05 Choosing a Chain

14:43 XRP Ledger RWA Experience

20:35 Asset Issuance 101

22:49 Global Accessibility of RWAs

26:05 Corporate Admin Crypto Adoption

27:26 Advancements in Interoperability

30:26 Axelar's Development Roadmaps

31:39 Institutional RWA FAQs

34:25 Closing Thoughts

35:55 Axelar Wrap-Up

This is episode is sponsored by Axelar Foundation.

Axelar is scaling chain abstraction to hundreds of new blockchains with its Mobius Development Stack (MDS). Find out more at axelar.network/mobius

The Block Community

The Block is launching a new community experience for fans of The Scoop! Follow us on Lens to stay in the loop: hey.xyz/u/theblockcommunity

The Block Newsletters

The Block's newsletters bring you the latest news and analysis of the fast-moving crypto and DeFi markets. To subscribe, visit theblock.co/newsletters