Episodes
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Catherine Gu are back this week for a special episode of Blockchain Insider, kicking off the new year by talking about what 2024 might hold for us in the crypto, blockchain and web3 space. A lot happened in 2023 - can we expect the same, or even more, from 2024? Mauricio and Catherine reflect on 2023 and speculate on 2024 joined by a fantastic guest: Balaji Srinivasan, entrepreneur and investor. Join us while we talk through last year's predictions to see...
Published 01/03/24
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Catherine Gu bring you this very special bonus episode looking at how blockchains can enable digital artists to have a global reach and bring art and artists together at a global scale. They are joined by two participants in Visa’s Creator Program. They have both chosen to use blockchain technology as the means to share their art with the world. Crypto and NFTs allow artists to build communities all over the world, since they are borderless. As part of this...
Published 12/20/23
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Catherine Gu are back this week, talking about tokenized deposits — We’re taking a closer look at what they are, how they intersect with CBDCs, and how bankers are thinking about using these assets. In general, tokenized deposits have been viewed as an alternative to stablecoins or CBDCs, though payments made with tokenized deposits can be a little more complex. We also take a look at the future of these different assets and the implications they have for banks,...
Published 12/13/23
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Catherine Gu are back this week, talking about identity on the blockchain We’ll dive into what identity on blockchain means, how it works, learn about on-chain KYC, important use-cases, and its potential impact on AML checks and safeguarding users against financial crime; as well as the future of identity on the blockchain and how it is giving rise to a whole new generation of applications that redefine how we present ourselves on the internet. To do this, we are...
Published 11/29/23
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Catherine Gu are back this week, talking about the future of bitcoin. We’ll dive into what people in the space are building and ultimately, how do we create more utility around BTC, arguably the most important asset in crypto. Bitcoin is one of the most important and secure blockchains and assets, but the challenge with transacting BTC has always been its scalability, high cost and slow speed when transacting. Lightning Network is a layer-2 built on top of...
Published 11/15/23
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Catherine Gu are back this week, talking about real world assets. On today's episode they dive into real world assets, or RWAs for short. They explain what they are, discuss some of the use cases of tokenized RWA we’re seeing today, the pros and cons of bringing RWA on-chain, and where this emerging market is headed. To discuss all of this and more they were joined by some amazing guests: Vanessa Grellet, Aglae Ventures Justin Schmidt, President and COO at...
Published 11/01/23
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and brand new co-host Catherine Gu are here this week, talking all things crypto UX. Since crypto is still very much in the growth and build stage, a lot of time, effort, and money is spent on technical research, cryptography, software engineering, and getting the structural parts figured out. But going forward, user experience will need to be prioritized and researched in order for it to be more accessible and usable to encourage mass adoption of blockchain and...
Published 10/18/23
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Cuy Sheffield are back this week, this time talking all things crypto regulation and the positive movement there has been to get some momentum behind some regulation bills. July was a big month where multiple standalone crypto bills have been advanced to the House of Representatives. This is huge for the future legitimacy of crypto. Cuy, Mauricio and their guests look at some of the progress made in crypto regulation and recently proposed bills and what the...
Published 10/04/23
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Cuy Sheffield are back this week, this time talking all things USDC settlement, CBDCs and the difference between CBDCs and stablecoins. Following our discussion around the development of stablecoin in our last episode, we thought it would be fitting to dive deeper into another type of digital currency that is closely related to fiat, CBDC, or Central Bank Digital Currency. Banks are looking to CBDCs as a form of currency that expedites transactions and increases...
Published 09/20/23
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Cuy Sheffield are back this week, this time talking all things stablecoins. In this show - we’re taking a look at the latest stablecoin launches and look at what this means for the industry more broadly when big name players like PayPal start getting involved. With their increasing popularity, can stablecoins become a core financial infrastructure in our world today? To discuss all of this and more, we are also joined by an amazing guest: Zach Abrams,...
Published 09/06/23
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Cuy Sheffield are back this weekfor more Insights into AI. This week we’re taking a look in the direction of web3 and web2 social media. What happens when most of our feeds and timelines are AI generated? Can audiences tell, and if not, should they be able to? What risks does this pose? And what does this mean for authenticity? To discuss all of this and more, we are also joined by some amazing guests: Zachary Edwards, Content Lead & Community Manager at...
Published 08/23/23
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Cuy Sheffield are back this week for more Insights! In this show, we wanted to revisit one of our favourite episodes - Predictions 2023. As we have just passed the halfway mark of this year, we wanted to take a peek at some of the things we predicted would happen this year, and see - what did we predict correctly? What did we get completely wrong? What still has potential to materialise in the next few months leading up to 2024? Join us for the recap! Just a quick...
Published 08/09/23
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Cuy Sheffield are back this week for more Insights - this time on the vast world of Smart Tokens! According to CoinMarketGap’s definition, ‘Smart tokens are simply regular tokens that not only transmit value they contain but also all the information needed to execute a transaction simultaneously’. While that’s accurate, we feel like they are so much more - and that’s why we want to take a deep dive into this topic with some incredible guests. Join us while we...
Published 07/26/23
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Cuy Sheffield are back this week to explore one of the key conceptual primitives - ownership. To give you a better glimpse of ownership in web3 means, we are opening up the archives and we’re bringing you a fantastic show from July 2022. So what really is web3 ownership? How is this different from web2 ownership and What technologies enable this shift in gravity? Join us while we discuss some real world financial use cases, and what we might expect of the...
Published 07/12/23
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Cuy Sheffield are back this week for more Insights. We have started diving deeper into the topic of AI lately, and there’s SO much to explore, as it continues to make more and more headlines. So for today’s insights, we want to take a look at something that feels inevitable - AI chatbots in the crypto space. We are also joined by an amazing guest: David Morris, Chief Insights Columnist, Coindesk Just a quick reminder - nothing we share here is legal, tax...
Published 06/28/23
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Cuy Sheffield are back this week for another deep dive. In this weeks' episode - bienvenidos a la Argentina! Join us while we explore how the past couple of years have shaped this country’s crypto sector, what exciting new projects and initiatives are coming out of Argentina, the challenges they face, and as always- what we hope to see in the near future! We are also joined by some amazing guests: Eduardo Novillo Astrada, CEO & Co-Founder,...
Published 06/14/23
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Cuy Sheffield are back this week to talk about the latest and greatest news in the world of crypto, including: Airstack raises over $7M for AI-backed Web3 developer platform Crypto.com launches ChatGPT-based AI user assistant Amy OpenAI’s Sam Altman nears $100mn funding for Worldcoin crypto project We are also joined by some amazing guests: Angie Malltezi, Chief Strategy Officer, Shipyard Software Danny Nelson, Managing editor for Data & Tokens,...
Published 05/31/23
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Cuy Sheffield are back this week for another deep dive. A few months back, we did our first ever case study with WalletConnect, that you guys seemed to love! We want to take a moment to thank you for your support on that show, and also give back to you guys in the best way we know how! So, in today’s episode, we’re going to be looking at another fascinating case study. On March 27, Dune published a blogpost to announce the launch of their first LLM feature, and...
Published 05/17/23
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Cuy Sheffield are back this week to talk about the latest and greatest news in the world of crypto, including: US Congress to introduce new draft bill for stablecoins Ethereum’s Shanghai Upgrade Is Complete, Starting New Era of Staking Withdrawals EU Parliament Approves Crypto Licensing, Funds Transfer Rules We are also joined by some amazing guests: Rhian Lewis, Developer, Author and Cryptocurrency Consultant Robert Mullins, Token Design Associate at Outlier...
Published 05/03/23
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Cuy Sheffield are back this week for another deep dive. In this weeks' episode - we're going to Nigeria! Join us while we explore how the past couple of years have shaped this country’s crypto sector, what exciting new projects and initiatives are coming out of the country, the challenges players face, and as always- what we hope to see in the near future! We are also joined by some amazing guests: Buchi Okoro, CEO and Co-Founder of Quidax Maya Caddle,...
Published 04/19/23
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Cuy Sheffield are back this week to talk about the latest and greatest news in the world of crypto, including: First zkEVM goes live on Ethereum 1:54 A recap on USDC/SVB 12:46 Coinbase’s SEC Wells Notice 25:26 Amazon NFTs Will Be Tied to Real-world Assets, Token Possible 36:35 We are also joined by some amazing guests: Janay Eyo, Director of Financial Policy, Chamber of Progress Filippo Chisari, Web3 Strategic Advisor and Chief Commercial Officer In Residence...
Published 04/12/23
In today's bonus show, our expert hosts, Mauricio Magaldi - Global Strategy Director for Crypto, Kate Moody - Global Strategy Director for Customer Experience, and David Barton-Grimley - Global Strategy Director for Embedded Financial Services, sit down to take a look at everything that went down with Ticketmaster in the past few months. We wanted to share this really exciting conversation with our Blockchain Insider listeners, especially after last week's big Ticketmaster news:...
Published 04/05/23
gm. Mauricio Magaldi and Cuy Sheffield are back this week for another deep dive. In today’s Insights episode, we aim to answer the following question: "What is the current state of crypto, and what is fostering adoption?" In the past two years, we have covered an immense range of topics and new stories, ranging from all things DAOs, NFTs, web3 advancements and all the exciting news about them, all the way down to regulation, stablecoins and pretty much anything you can think of. We...
Published 03/22/23
In today's bonus show, our expert hosts, David M. Brear and Mauricio Magaldi, are joined by some great guests to ask: "Why should governments embrace new payment technologies?” This week's guests include: Mauricio Magaldi, Global Strategy Director of Crypto, 11:FS Chris Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond Janay Eyo, Director of Financial Policy, Chamber of Progress Innovation can often move a lot faster than the bureaucracy - and sometimes that’s a good thing when it comes to risk and...
Published 03/17/23