Invest Like The Best
Episode 72 Cryptopocalypse
Invest Like The Best

Episode 72: Cryptopocalypse

Cryptopocalypse

Preston has a legal background and is the former COO of Monax. We cover his thoughts on various coins, his skepticism of crypto assets, and potential regulatory reactions from major governments.

This episode is brought to you by:

Paxos. Paxos offers your customers crypto buying, selling, transferring, and more with easy-to-integrate APIs. Whether you’re a small fintech or a large financial institution, Paxos takes care of everything in the backend – from licensing and compliance to custody and exchange. You can start offering crypto to your customers within months. To learn more, visit paxos.com/patrick.

Fidelity Investments. Fidelity Investments is constantly researching and experimenting with emerging technologies like crypto assets and blockchain to improve the lives of their customers. Fidelity provides a comprehensive set of products and services to individual investors, employers, and financial advisory firms.

[00:02:12] – (First Question) – Ponzi scheme vs pyramid scheme vs Nakamoto scheme

[00:05:29] – Why there are regulatory challenges to cryptocurrency

[00:09:59] – Who are the most influential people supporting this and how are they swaying the regulatory minefield on this issue

[00:13:23] – Looking into the idea of a digital asset and the difference between blockchain and the token itself

[00:16:09] – What about the idea that cryptocurrency’s only feature is that it’s censorship-resistant

[00:18:39] – Why cryptocurrencies become less usable the more successful they are

[00:21:04] – Why can’t we rely on off-chain solutions to solve the scaling issue

[00:22:29] – The idea of bubbles and what happens next in this one

[00:25:41] – What are the incentives to build technology to support cryptocurrencies

[00:29:23] – Explaining Ripple

[00:31:21] – What would precipitate a massive reversal in the inflated valuations of cryptocurrencies

[00:34:52] – Understanding reverse network effects

[00:37:45] – The principles behind stablecoins

[00:42:20] – What has been the greatest lesson that Preston has learned about blockchain he wish he knew when he first got started

[00:44:05] – How embedded will blockchain be by 2024/2025

[00:45:12] – ICO’s, why Preston is not a fan and if there are any positives to them

[00:50:20] – What are the conditions under which these things will be viewed legally.

[00:54:00] – Preston’s history owning cryptocurrencies

[00:55:35] – What has Preston most excited in the space

[00:59:02] – Utility settlement coin

[01:00:36] – Why the fascination with marmots

[01:02:10] – What to reference before getting started with cryptocurrencies

[01:04:03] – Understanding supply chains in blockchain

[01:07:14] – Some smart people on blockchain to follow

[01:08:24] – Kindest thing anyone has done for Preston

Cryptopocalypse

Intro

Patrick
My guest this week is Preston Byrne. Preston is a vocal critic of the crazy prices and projects in the world of cryptocurrencies. His background is in the legal world and also as a founder and former CEO of Monax, which made the first open source permissioned blockchain client. As Preston says, he is a blockchain without Bitcoin guy who believes that this crypto mania will end in some sort of apocalypse for token holders and Ico issuers.

We tackle several issues from his broad skepticism of crypto assets to the potential regulatory reaction from major governments to types of coins like Stablecoins, which Preston views as analogous to perpetual motion machines.

Nakamoto Schemes

Let's talk in some detail about your notion of a Nakamoto Scheme. So I think you had called some aspect of something a Ponzi scheme and then gone back and refined that idea a little bit. So maybe refresh on Ponzi schemes or pyramid schemes that are a little bit different. And then what you now call a Nakamoto Scheme, and what's distinct about it?

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