The Crypto Conversation

Fran Strajnar is the co-founder of Techemynt, the issuer of the NZDS, a New Zealand Dollar (NZD) Stable Coin backed 1:1 with physical New Zealand Dollars in a cash and cash equivalent treasury managed by a New Zealand registered financial services provider. Guest: Fran Strajnar Why you should listen: NZDS was launched in March 2021 by Techemynt, a registered New Zealand Financial Services provider, using the FiatToken framework developed by Centre that is the basis for USD-Coin (USDC). New Zealand's currency is a leader in adaptability, resilience, and market trustworthiness. NZD is the 10th most traded currency globally. The NZDS stable coin offers cryptocurrency users the stability and utility of the New Zealand Dollar with the versatility of a cryptocurrency. The NZDS can be used through a variety of Ethereum wallets including Metamask. Once added to an Ethereum wallet, the NZDS token can be used for making payments and interacting with a variety of applications on the Ethereum blockchain network. An example of a decentralized application where NZDS can be used is on DFX, a stablecoin exchange, and finance platform. High yield is available for liquidity providers. The NZDS/USDC pool on the Automated Market Maker-based decentralized exchange, DFX, offers liquidity providers APYs of 10-25%. This is impressive given the average rate for 1-5 year term deposits in New Zealand is ~3%. The pool currently has US$4.2 million worth of assets locked into it by the DFX community. Supporting links: Techemynt Andy on Twitter Brave New Coin on Twitter Brave New Coin If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.

Andy Pickering is here with a weekly crypto market update where we look through the volatile world of Crypto Twitter to tease out the most important narratives and data points. Bitcoin is back above $44,500 and firmly in an uptrend for the first time since November. Plus, the strange circumstances surrounding the theft of 120,000 Bitcoin from Bitfinex back in 2016. Heather Morgan, one of the two people arrested after the DOJ recovered the Bitcoin is a rapper who describes herself as an expert in social engineering. Supporting links: Andy on Twitter Brave New Coin on Twitter Brave New Coin If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.

Phil Ingram is CMO of Lepricon, a community-governed games platform working to accelerate the blockchain gaming revolution. Guest: Phil Ingram Why you should listen: Lepricon is a blockchain-driven ecosystem of DeFi, games, and NFTs delivered on their gas-free Ethereum compatible side chain, Leprichain. Lepricon believe that the world of video games, from AAA titles for PC and console to the casual games you play on your phone, will be the first killer on-ramp to blockchain for mainstream audiences. Lepricon's mission is to provide the technology and know-how that enables mainstream game developers to incorporate blockchain into their games to improve player utility and experience. Key takeaway: While blockchain gaming and 'Play to Earn', is all the rage, it has limitations and does not appeal to traditional gamers. The real opportunity is when the gaming industry adopts blockchain. This monumental change will lead to player-run economies with tens of millions of players, not tens of thousands. However, for this to happen, the technology has to develop to meet the needs of the consumer. It has to be about the game, not blockchain. It's the experience that matters, not the technology. Technologies that allow AAA game developers to incorporate blockchain utility into their games will need to move beyond the ideology of DeFi, and the complex interplay of wallets and expensive NFT sales that count as the onboarding process. Players should not notice the difference when getting into a new game for the first time from any game they have played before, just the extra things they can do in their new player-owned economy. Supporting links: Lepricon Andy on Twitter Brave New Coin on Twitter Brave New Coin If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.

Alex Svanevik is CEO of Nansen, an analytics platform for smart contract blockchains. Nansen combines on-chain data with a database of millions of wallet addresses. Nansen helps institutional and retail investors surface the signal from the noise. Guest: Alex Svanevik Why you should listen: Alex Svanevik is the CEO of Nansen. Nansen gives its users better understanding of the activity of different participants on a blockchain network. Using Nansen dashboards users can get unique insights into different sectors of the market such as DeFi and NFTs, such as what the smart money and biggest wallets are doing. Key takeaway: Blockchains represent radical transparency. Investors are able to get real-time direct access to what is happening in the markets, something that is not available in the traditional markets. This radical transparency has advantages and disadvantages. On the negative side, some entities would prefer to hide their movements, whether that be purchases, investments or trades, so there is a lack of privacy to some degree. On the positive side, this transparency creates a higher degree of trust, and we can see what other entities are doing on-chain. Supporting links: Nansen Andy on Twitter Brave New Coin on Twitter Brave New Coin If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.

Alejandro Gutierrez is Co-Founder and Operations Lead at Defactor, an integration layer and suite of tools for traditional businesses to leverage Defi using the systems they already have in place. Why you should listen: Defactor is a bridge between decentralized and traditional finance. Defactor is an integration layer and suite of tools for traditional businesses to leverage Defi using the systems and processes which they already have in place. The platform enables asset originators to digitise their data and plug into the liquidity available through defi lending protocols. Defactor developed Springpad to help SMEs determine if DeFi is right for them. Springpad runs every quarter. Supporting links: Defactor Springpad Andy on Twitter Brave New Coin on Twitter Brave New Coin If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.

Jessica Manins and Anton Mitchell are co-founders of Beyond a VR studio in Wellington, New Zealand. Beyond has worked with Weta Workshop, and now Flufworld, to create the Burrows, the 3D VR immersive environments for the Flufworld NFTs to live. Why you should listen: Concept designer Imery Watson (Lord of the Rings, Batman Begins, Sweeney Todd, and Guardians of the Galaxy) created the concepts for Flufworld Burrows. The Jessica and Anton and the Beyond team used a variety of tooling including the Unrreal Engine to evolve the concepts into 3D environments. iOS and Android apps will be released in February with the full VR experience to follow later this year. The top tier burrow is a collab with Snoop Dogg that features a nightclub and production studio. Supporting links: Beyond Burrows Andy on Twitter Brave New Coin on Twitter Brave New Coin If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.

Paolo Ardoino is CTO at Bitfinex and Tether. Paolo and the team at Bitfinex Securities have worked with Blockstream and Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador to create the Bitcoin Bond. This is a key component in El Salvador's Bitcoin strategy. Why you should listen: Bitfinex Securities is a unique way for the modern trader to access tokenized equities, bonds, and investment funds. iFinex Inc., the parent company of Bitfinex has entered into an agreement with the Government of El Salvador to create digitized financial instruments to promote the growth of the cryptocurrency sector in El Salvador. The $1 billion "Bitcoin Bond" will be issued on the Liquid Network. The $1 billion US raised will be split between a $500M allocation of bitcoin (BTC) and a $500M infrastructure spend for building out energy and Bitcoin mining infrastructure in El Salvador. Plus hear Paolo's favorite science-fiction, his opinions on the importance of the Lightning Network, and whether other nation states are poised to follow El Salvador's lead. Supporting links: Bitfinex Andy on Twitter Brave New Coin on Twitter Brave New Coin If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.

Evan Cheng is co-founder at Mysten Labs. Mysten is building the foundational infrastructure to accelerate Web 3.0 adoption. The founding team recently left their positions at Facebook (Meta), where they developed Diem, Novi – Facebook's digital wallet, as well as highly composable blockchain language, Move. Why you should listen: It's early, but Web3 has arrived. Innovators are reimagining new kinds of products, services, and business models. The opportunities to leverage programmable assets and open, decentralized infrastructure are endless. But first, infrastructures must get out of the way, and developer tooling needs to be modernized. Mysten Labs is built to accelerate the adoption of web3. Under the assertion that true asset self-sovereignty will be the foundation of economics in the Metaverse, Mysten plans to unveil a new blockchain design allowing users to move NFTs across digital worlds while maintaining their functionality and history. In December, they drew $36M in funding from a16z and Coinbase Ventures. Supporting links: Mysten Labs Andy on Twitter Brave New Coin on Twitter Brave New Coin If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.

Luis Molina is co-founder at Superalgos, a trading bots platform that aims to empower a decentralized trading community like WallStreetBets - but being able to mobilize within a couple of minutes. Why you should listen: Superalgos allows Algo traders to design, test, and deploy strategies using the #1 trading bots platform on GitHub.com. The Superalgos platform integrates crypto trading automation in a visual scripting environment accessible to all and optimized for developers. The leading design principles are maximum power and flexibility. The software is free and open-source, running on your premises so that you have complete control, no third-party risks, and no limitations. Superalgos is pioneering Decentralized Trading with an open network designed for dominance! The ecosystem's design of incentives turns Superalgos into an ever-evolving technology infrastructure capturing ever-increasing amounts of talent. Supporting links: Superalgos Andy on Twitter Brave New Coin on Twitter Brave New Coin If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.

On our most recent episode, we offered regular listeners the chance to win a Crypto Coral Tribe NFT. Did you win? Listen to find out! Crypto Coral Tribe is a creative hub and NFT project leveraging art and tech to protect the natural world - the Crypto Coral Tribe invests 50% of all proceeds in a community-led Impact Fund driving marine and wildlife restoration. Supporting links: Crypto Coral Tribe Andy on Twitter Brave New Coin on Twitter Brave New Coin If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.