Episode 81 Unpacking Blackrock’s Bitcoin ETF and the XRP Ruling

Episode 81: Unpacking Blackrock’s Bitcoin ETF and the XRP Ruling

Episode 81

Unpacking Blackrock’s Bitcoin ETF and the XRP Ruling

Alex Thorn is the Head of Research at Galaxy. We talk about why the time was right for the Blackrock Bitcoin ETF, the probability of its approval, and the legal merit behind the XRP ruling.

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(00:02:13) - (First question) - Why Alex started rapping on his podcast

(00:05:38) - Going from a teenage rapper to a career at Fidelity 

(00:06:22) - A walkthrough of Alex's journey into cryptocurrencies 

(00:10:11) - Meeting Matt Walsh and whether or not his convictions about crypto made him feel isolated

(00:11:32) - Transitioning into Galaxy and what the crypto landscape felt like at that time 

(00:13:06) - Public sentiment on the mutually exclusive TradFi and DeFi ecosystems merging 

(00:18:03) - How trading Bitcoin without understanding it could hurt its growth potential 

(00:20:30) - How Blackrock’s ETF could positively or negatively impact crypto 

(00:25:28) - The mechanics of Coinbase being a custodian of Blackrock’s ETF

(00:27:01) - SEC applications and how Blackrock managed to position themselves to get so close to an approval  

(00:32:26) - The odds we actually get a Blackrock ETF

(00:37:01) - XRP’s victory over the SEC and the potential of Ripple going forward 

(00:42:24) - Overview of the Coinbase lawsuit and the delisting backdoor for exchanges

(00:44:48) - Whether or not regulation will increase the risk for bad actors and scams 

(00:47:37) - Growing uncertainty as the court battles wage on

(00:49:53) - The Howey test and potential of a supreme court ruling over crypto  

(00:52:13) - What Alex is excited to see built in the future

Unpacking Blackrock’s Bitcoin ETF and the XRP Ruling

Introduction

Eric
This is Eric Golden. And my guest this week is Alex Thorn. Alex was an early Bitcoin evangelist and former Director of Blockchain Research and crypto venture capital at Fidelity. Today, he is the Head of Research at Galaxy Digital, where he consistently publishes some of the most insightful work in the space.

Alex starts by telling us how he went from working at a children's summer camp to becoming the Head Blockchain Researcher at Fidelity. We then talk about the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF, why the time was right, the probability of its approval and its impact on the asset class. Finally, we dive into the XRP case and its many implications. Please enjoy this conversation with Alex Thorn.

Alex's Background

Eric
Alex, I'm excited to have you today. Another part of the "Fidelity into crypto" crew. And we're going to jump through your career, where you are. You've been in crypto for a lot longer than I have. But I thought a funnier place to start would be you have your own podcast, you have your own show and you start rapping at the beginning of all of them. It's such an interesting thing, and I'll say that being in production of this stuff. Everyone's trying to keep you all hooked for the first couple of minutes, and yours definitely does. Where did this all come from?

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