6 Questions for Lili Zhao of Neo

April 24, 2022 Coin Telegraph

We ask the buidlers in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector for their thoughts on the industry… and throw in a few random zingers to keep them on their toes!

This week, our 6 Questions go to Lili Zhao, director of ecosystem growth at Neo an open-source blockchain development platform.

The A to Z of Lili Zhao:

Authenticity easier said than done

Blockchain advocate

Community Neo has the best!

DAO fascinating!

Economics interests me much more now than when I was studying it at university

Falling never afraid of it because I always bounce back

Game life is a game, so lets play

Hot N3 is hot

Ideas too many ideas, not enough focus

Job growing the ecosystem of the Neo blockchain by profession and passion

Key keep your private key safe

Love may everyone be blessed with it

Minimalist a chaotic minimalist wannabe

Neo an open network for the smart economy

Open source love it

Polaris Neo hackathon, register now

Qi breath, energy and flow

Raison detre if you found it, tell me how?

Spicy food cant live without it for more than a week!

Twitter @Lili_Zurich

Unique all of us are

Vegetarian 90% of the time, I am one

Wallet get a NEO wallet on our website

X do you have a word suggestion?

Yield a stable NEO/GAS yield

Zurich-based, zest for life!

1 Does it matter if we ever figure out who Satoshi really is or was? Why, or why not?

It doesnt matter at all! The technology Satoshi created and its legacy has lived on and will continue to live on. One of the main appeals of the blockchain ecosystem is its community-driven spirit instead of being about personal glorification. Imagine if someone comes out and is indeed being confirmed as Satoshi Nakamoto. If that person deviates widely in terms of values and ethics from the ones envisioned by many, that may shatter some dreams and faith!

The anonymity of Satoshi has allowed people to have their own version of who they might or should be. The identity, or lack thereof, of Satoshi has been elevated into a Holy Grail that is to be pursued.

We say curiosity kills the cat and in this case, curiosity may kill Bitcoin! Let Satoshi remain as a legendary myth, and let us honor their creation, Bitcoin, by advancing it to mass adoption.

2 Which countries are doing the most to support blockchain, and which ones will be left behind?

There are quite a few countries that immediately come to peoples minds for those of us working in the blockchain space namely, Switzerland, Singapore, El Salvador, Portugal, the United Arab Emirates especially Dubai and more. However, in my opinion, the country that is doing the most to support the adoption of blockchain technology is actually China. It may surprise some people, as China has been known to ban Bitcoin mining and crypto trading. Let me explain why.

Chinas state-backed Blockchain-based Service Network is working on an interoperable blockchain infrastructure at both the national and international levels. As an open-source blockchain platform, Neo forms part of the permissionless blockchains from the international version of the BSN. The organization plans to support multiple future central bank digital currencies an initiative in which China is the undisputed champion.

At the national level, the BSN is integrating Neos Jiuquan Chain for the large-scale issuance of NFTs, or distributed digital certificates its alternative name as preferred by China. As stated by He Yifan, CEO of Red Date Technology the BSNs technology support provider NFTs in China will see annual output in the billions in the future. The use of the term digital certificate indicates that the technology could be used to digitize any asset and automate any paper-based process with smart contracts.

The mass adoption of blockchain technology can only come when the underlying infrastructure is built with it from the ground up. This is because it is a replacement rather than an upgrade to the existing legacy technology.

China is leading this digital transformation in building blockchain infrastructure and launching large-scale mainstream use cases. This will greatly advance the whole industry globally and, in the long term, benefit everyone.

3 Which is sillier: $500,000 Bitcoin or $0 Bitcoin? Why?

Bitcoin at $500,000 is sillier because Bitcoin at $0 is impossible!

Ten years ago, Bitcoin at $50,000 would have been thought of as silly. Today, it has become a norm, even though some question how sustainable it is. Bitcoin will never become zero because it has intrinsic value beyond its technological and monetary merits. In addition, it has become a domain of economics, philosophy and politics.

Value has been redefined in the smart economy underpinned by blockchain technology. The factors that make things valuable according to mainstream economic theories such as labor, costs of production, utility or even scarcity can no longer explain the rise of cryptocurrencies. Take the memecoin Dogecoin, for example: It has an infinite supply and ranks 12th on CoinMarketCap at the time of writing. Or is it because it has a God-like father figure advocate in Elon Musk?

Whatever the case, the point is that value has been fundamentally challenged. Anyone who envisages Bitcoin going down to zero is too attached to the traditional economic theories to recognize this paradigm shift. And silly can be the birthplace of innovation. So, be kind to silliness! (Silly emoticon here)

4 Whats the most interesting place youve ever visited, and why?

I would say the Canggu surf beach in Bali is the most interesting place I have visited. It tops my list not because of the exotic nature but more the feelings it evoked in me while I surfed there a sense of total freedom and flow! I am a rather spiritual person, so a place with only physical spectacles will delight or impress me; but to move me, it will need to evoke something deep.

However, despite my passion for surfing, I am actually pretty lousy at it. Haha! I do want to get better, but for me, its about the experience rather than being competitive. As someone who values experiences above all, this question is one that I hope I will have a different answer for every year.

5 What talent do you lack but wish you had? How would you use it if you had it?

I wish I could sing so I could use this talent to make some cool songs that will make people happy or bring some positive impact to their life. Our thoughts and emotions are often suppressed because words are inadequate to capture them. When they are properly captured by the linguistically blessed, they are poetry.

However, when they are linguistically captured and also musically conveyed, they are like food and cocktails for the soul both nourishing and tasty. A song with the right lyrics and melody can easily move me into a state of bliss, calm or melancholy.

Of course, there is also the possibility of becoming a commercial hit while doing what you love. Singing is one of the few talents that affords such an opportunity.

I would then tokenize all my songs on the Neo blockchain and receive and distribute royalty payments with full transparency. Here, the use case excites me more than being a commercial hit. I suppose I could already become a hit by singing now people would pay for me to shut up!

6 Who makes sense to you, and who makes no sense whatsoever?

When I was younger, I was much more opinionated and binary, so I could have given you a long list of who made sense and who didnt! Now, I am wiser. At least thats my sense of it. This may make no sense whatsoever to somebody who witnesses the silly things I still say and do at my not-so-tender age.

I am an existentialist. I believe that life has no inherent meaning apart from what each of us chooses to do that gives sense to it. There are three key qualities that I value and use to guide me in life: freedom (to do what I love), authenticity (to be who I am) and growth (a dynamic process evolving with new experiences).

I believe that everything that happens makes sense, even if it might appear senseless at the time of it happening. Navigating through nuance is the fundamental difference that separates us from artificial intelligence, which works best in binary.

A wish for the young, ambitious blockchain community:

No one would be asking for the elusive killer DApp if it were already here it would be everywhere!

Helping Ukraine without donating: Laura’s DeFi staking plan

April 22, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Laura K. Inamedinova is a marketing agency CEO from Lithuania who started early with ICOs, a journey that has led her to launch UkrainianPool, an initial staking pool offering raising money for the Ukrainian government.

Inamedinova got into ICOs right out of university in 2016 and is shy to mention the name of the first crypto fundraising project she worked for. There were definitely not only bad projects, but you didnt know at that time, she explains, referring to the early days of the industry. You didnt know that anything was off at the time, she says with a chuckle.

Inamedinovas early plunge into the industry may not have met with success, but after a number of more successful projects such as Waves and CoinGate, her experience has led to a most interesting development: a humanitarian fundraiser in collaboration with the Ukrainian government.

UkrainianPool is a Cardano staking pool that works by allowing anyone to deposit Cardano into the pool, which grows at 5% per year, according to Cardanos staking rewards schedule. Inamedinova explains that this form of charitable support is effectively risk-free because staked tokens can be un-staked at any time and never leave the owners wallet. Inamedinova explains:

Every five days, accumulated rewards get passed on to the Ukrainian governments wallet.

The project became possible after Inamedinova, who was close to a DeFi project that incorporated the ISPO strategy, came to the realization that the staking pools could be used for charity. She shared the idea with Nadiia Dvoinos, a serial entrepreneur who used to run Quadrate 28 an in-house marketing firm for startups. Inamedinova met her on her first visit to Dubai and describes Dvoinos as a mentor.

Dvoinos got in touch with her former business partner Valeriya Ionan, who now serves as Ukraines deputy minister for eurointegration at the Ministry of Digital Transformation. A zoom call was arranged with various government figures on March 8, and UkrainianPool went live soon after.

Only 10 days after the call, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation Alex Bornyakov explained the project to The New York Times:

Participants do not need to directly donate assets to raise money. Instead, they stake their funds temporarily, which generates high-interest yields that are transferred to a wallet owned by our ministry.

He added that the pools goal is to raise $10 million for humanitarian efforts things such as food, medicine and protective equipment, including helmets and ballistic vests, according to other publications by the ministry.

As far as I know, this is the first charitable project using the ISPO model, Inamedinova notes, referring to an initial staking pool offering.

*A publication posted on Twitter shows donations made by the ministry. Source: Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation*

LKI Consulting

Inamedinova runs LKI Consulting, which has a team of 10 staff members distributed across Europe. We have two Ukrainians; we just hired a refugee, she notes.

The company represents Inamedinovas return to the blockchain marketing niche. As we meet in Dubais Marina Mall in an office overlooking a yacht club, she recounts a meeting she just left. I had to sit through the whole hour to be polite, though I knew within five minutes that it wasnt going to work these guys dont even know what they are building, she laments regarding her prospective clients.

The industry sucked me in without me even planning that, Inamedinova recounts regarding her return to the blockchain industry in 2020 after having previously left behind the glamorous life of an initial coin offering consultant in the 20162017 bull market.

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This time, the cryptocurrency market was different, as the ICO funding mechanism had gone out of style in part owing to the fact that the majority of ICO investors had lost money during the 2017 cryptocurrency bubble, during which anonymous teams were raising tens of millions of dollars with just a white paper or vague slideshow.

*The famous meme detailing exactly how many ICOs played out.*

The initial stake pool offering was thought up as an alternative by DeFi project Meld, which conducted one to successfully raise millions in October 2021 after 40,000 users staked over $1 billion of Cardanos ADA. While discussing Melds success with a close friend in the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, they came to a realization that ISPO and Ukraine these two words just made sense, Inamedinova recounts. In addition to Inamedinova, the initiative includes Paulius Vaitkeviius, Ugnius ekas and Karolis Gogaitis, all of whom are from Lithuania.

ICO promoter

Though Inamedinova was born in Lithuanias capital, Vilnius, she spent much of her childhood abroad, first in Vietnam and later in Thailand, where her father worked in the real estate industry. The family moved back to Lithuania as Inamedinova reached her teens, and at 14, she was excited to get a job with a home appliance business owned by a family friend.

My first job wasnt glamorous. It was literally cleaning used washing machines and refrigerators, she recalls, adding that the 15 Litas she made per machine was a significant amount for someone her age in pre-euro Lithuania.

Upon graduating high school, she began a Bachelor of Physics on a full scholarship at Vilnius University in 2012. Despite her love of science, Inamedinova soon decided, Im not going to be a scientist; I dont want to be in the lab for extended periods of time, as Im more of a people person. As she excelled in giving group presentations, Inamedinova felt that my role could be to communicate difficult concepts in a way that is easy to understand and began pursuing internships outside the lab.

Her first internship was in cybersecurity with Barclays bank. The experience broadened her horizons, fuelling a deeper interest in economics and finance. Describing herself as always having held a libertarian outlook, Inamedinova joined a free-market think tank, which she saw as a way to break into the field of economics. After some time in what she describes as a male-dominated industry, Inamedinova says that it was quite clearly communicated between the lines that Im never going to be taken seriously in that sector due to my gender, so she changed course toward the technology industry.

She began helping a friend with a startup that resembled a Kickstarter for startups, where the best ideas get funded, but the project failed to take off.

She also interned at Vinted, a company selling used clothing that went on to become the first unicorn tech company in Lithuania. They were still a small company at the time; I was doing customer support, she recalls.

*Inamedinova tells her story from a conference room overlooking the Dubai Marina. Photo by Elias Ahonen*

Though she had no real experience in public relations, she was hired as a communications for Plag, a social media app, whose hiring manager told her, You talk a lot, so I think youll be good with journalists. While taking care of marketing for her employer, Inamedinova came to realize that she also wanted to build a personal brand as an expert in the business and technology sector.

While attending Web Summit in Ireland, Inamedinova met Forbes managing editor Bruce Upbin, who mentioned that the magazine was looking for someone to cover technology in the Baltics, which is where Lithuania is located. I think he liked that I was hustling and building something, and he offered her the opportunity. Beginning in April 2016, she wrote pieces such as 20 Growth-Hacking Strategists You Should Follow In 2016 and, in July, began contributing what she calls thought leader articles to Huffington Post as well.

Her career as a reporter came to an end, however, when a new managing editor took issue with Inamedinovas work in marketing and told her that she should choose to be either a journalist or a public relations person. I was, like, Sorry, Im going to be a PR person, she recalls telling her manager.

It was around this time that crypto came knocking at my door in 2016 when, due to her experience in public relations, a friend of a friend asked for assistance in launching an initial coin offering, or ICO. Though Inamedinova knew little about the blockchain industry, she felt she had nothing to lose.

Laura, why dont you help us fundraise money for our project? Were only gonna have three Ws: Website, White paper, and a Wallet. Were going to be rich. That was his pitch.

The team managed to raise a few million dollars, and Inamedinova realized that she had a unique opportunity at hand. When you do one ICO and talk about it, others start approaching you. This was a huge opportunity for me, as I was only 21 at the time, she recounts. With a year in the industry, she knew she could build a personal brand. I can actually make a difference here. I can be listened to and build something, she reasons, with the existing technology marketing world being far more competitive for a newcomer.

The ICO consulting industry gave Inamedinova the opportunity to travel the world, attending conferences and often giving speeches. Companies she worked with in this time included CoinGate and Waves, both of which were proper and are still operational, she notes.

I was speaking about crypto everywhere in London, Belgrade and a workshop in New York. So, basically, after a year and a half doing crypto, I was the OG, honestly, she says with a laugh.

The clients I worked with in 20162017 raised more than $200 million via crypto funding methods ICOs, STOs, everything like that.

Despite loving the spotlight, Inamedinova took a break for a year as the ICO market dried up. After some reflection, she decided that my career, my business is the most important thing for me and, in 2019, returned to PR work her bread and butter taking the lead of communications at both Cybernews, a technology media outlet, and Aurora Cannabis hemp division. I was always doing at least two things at a time, she explains, adding that she ultimately developed a dislike for the cannabis industry and its promotion of recreational use.

As signs of optimism returned to the crypto market around 2020, so did the need for crypto PR.

I started to get a lot of inquiries from my old acquaintances they needed everything related to crypto marketing.

The future of ISPOs

Considering Cardanos 5% annualized payout, the $10-million goal would require $200 million of ADA to be staked for one year a little less than 1% of the $23.4 billion of ADA, which is currently staked. So far, however, only about $200,000 is staked in the pool, meaning that the biweekly payout to the ministry would amount to a measly $400 funding is 0.1% complete, in other words.

This lack of engagement is somewhat surprising, considering that the vast majority of Cardano staking pools operate in countries considered supportive of Ukraines cause, which would suggest that the Cardano community might also be generally supportive. That said, the drawback of ISPO strategies as they exist so far is that they are limited to single cryptocurrencies, meaning that promotion must target a highly specific community as opposed to cryptocurrency holders in general.

*Adatainment.com collects information on the locations of Cardano staking pool operators.*

ISPOs can be conducted using any token that offers API for staking, possibly including Ethereum later on.

Inamedinova believes that the ISPO model has a bright future both in charity donations and startup funding because the psychology of contributing money from staking is different from that of more traditional philanthropy or investing, which typically involves budgeting and allocating money away from other competing purposes. Since the whole idea of the staking pool offering is that you dont actually have to give away money, participating in an ISPO does not feel like money is actually being spent.

When people invest, they think there needs to be a certain percentage likelihood of it actually working I could see ISPOs becoming a fun way of funding moonshots.

Powers On… It’s been a wonderful life (week): SEC Commissioner Peirce, Bitcoin 2022 and more

April 21, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

In life, there are times when things are going well in your business affairs but not your personal ones. Other times, the things you are doing and enjoying in your personal life are great but your professional or business matters are suffering. Sometimes, you also dont realize or understand that the good times you are experiencing will not last forever and may soon end. So, I have always tried to recognize when things are going well, savor and mark the moment, and thank my lucky stars for it. The first week of April was such a time.

Powers On… is a monthly opinion column from Marc Powers, who spent much of his 40-year legal career working with complex securities-related cases in the United States after a stint with the SEC. He is now an adjunct professor at Florida International University College of Law, where he teaches a course on Blockchain & the Law.

For those who personally know me or are regular readers of my monthly column, you know I am a securities lawyer who had the privilege of representing clients on some amazing matters, a number of which were high profile. I started my legal career 40 years ago at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in its Enforcement Division. For the final 20 years of my law firm career, I was a partner at two AMLAW 50 law firms, BakerHostetler and Reed Smith. I moved from Reed Smith to BakerHostetler in 2004 to build and lead a national securities litigation and SEC defense practice. I led that new practice team for over 13 years, and I also built BakerHostetlers hedge fund industry practice beginning in 2012. In 2017, I turned my professional and personal focus to the exciting world of blockchain and crypto.

Since retiring from law firm practice in December 2020, I havent once looked back at my decision to shift my focus toward contributing ideas and leadership to the laws, regulations and other considerations needed to promote the sentiments of altruism and decentralization that Bitcoin and blockchain allow or encourage. Some of the ways I seek to have an impact include writing this monthly column, accepting a position as an adjunct professor of law to teach law students about blockchain, and being an early and active member of Global Digital Finance an international association of blockchain-based businesses, lawyers and former regulators who regularly meet with government officials worldwide in an effort to standardize global protocols and regulations for blockchain and its financial applications.

SEC Commissioner Peirces Q&A with students at FIU

Given my background, I experienced one of the highlights of my career when I had the honor and pleasure of hosting SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, affectionately known as Crypto Mom, in the Blockchain & the Law class I created and teach at the College of Law at Florida International University in Miami. The commissioner was kind enough to accept my invitation to a fireside chat with me, attended by FIU faculty and students and followed by a Q&A with my law school students.

It was quite a memorable hour, with wide-ranging topics of conversation. Commissioner Peirce was quite open with us in describing her career path to the SEC, acknowledging that early in her legal career, she had no plan to focus on securities laws or regulation. But while serving as the senior counsel to Senator Richard Shelby formerly the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs she began formulating ideas about the effects of regulation and how the intended effects of legislation do not always turn out as planned. She crystallized these ideas in her 2012 book, Dodd-Frank: What It Does and Why Its Flawed.

When asked about her December 2021 public statement with former Commissioner Elad Roisman criticizing SEC Chair Gary Genslers proposed agenda to not focus much attention on regulation changes for blockchain technology advancement, Commissioner Peirce was unwilling to criticize his current SEC agenda. Instead, she acknowledged that the SEC has vast areas of jurisdiction, some of which Gensler has chosen to emphasize over blockchain. If Peirce were the SECs chair, her priorities would include updating custody, bookkeeping, settlement and clearing operations at financial institutions with new technological improvements that can now accommodate digital assets. She would also focus hearings and proposals on the powers Congress has given the SEC to exempt certain aspects of federal securities laws for digital assets and transactions from compliance, including registration and disclosure requirements.

One of the more interesting, but not surprising, comments by the commissioner was related to crypto exchange-traded funds. On this, she said it was indefensible for the SEC to allow a futures-based ETF but not a spot ETF. Unfortunately, she is alone in that belief, given the current composition of the commission. But the good news is that she confirmed during our chat that she intends to fully serve out her current five-year term, which ends July 2025. So, we have her as a clear advocate at the SEC for three more years.

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Hall of Fame alumni and Bitcoin 2022 conference

The interview with Commissioner Peirce occurred in Miami during my class on Monday, April 4. From there, I flew to NYC to attend a gala hosted by my law school alma mater in celebration of its 50th anniversary and the inaugural group of Hall of Fame alumni. That occurred on Tuesday evening, April 5, at the Whitney Museum in the citys Meatpacking District. It was a magical evening, as I was one of the 75 HOF honorees at Hofstra Law School which I affectionately call the other H law school. Given that the school has probably graduated over 15,000 students throughout its history, it was an unexpected, humbling honor. It was an incredibly happy moment to have my immediate family my siblings and 91-year-old father and some of my former partners from BakerHostetler there to celebrate this occasion with me. I felt proud and content with my choices in life.

The rest of the week was no less memorable, as I attended the Bitcoin 2022 conference back in Miami with 25,000 other attendees. One keynote speaker I very much enjoyed was Peter Thiel. I like and admire people like him who are willing to speak their minds. As has been widely reported, he called out Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan, Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway and Larry Fink of BlackRock as regressive thinkers when it comes to Bitcoin. But what I particularly enjoyed was his diss of the environmental, social and governance movement, calling it out as a cabal that demands groupthink and, in effect, breeds intolerance for anything or anyone that does not conform to the righteous thoughts and ambitions of the movement. He called the movement a hate factory that loves to cancel its detractors and suggested that when one considers ESG, they should think of the Chinese Communist Party. Thiel also described BTC as the canary in the coal mine, as it was the first asset to anticipate inflation. While the dollar has devalued due to inflation over these past 18 months, Thiel noted that BTC increased tenfold in price, from $5,000$6,000 to $60,000.

For those in the audience considering investing in BTC, the Billionaires Club panel offered some good advice: You dont need to have up to 40% or even 100% of your investable assets in BTC to get started and make profits, just buy some amount and hold. Stop worrying about daily, weekly or even monthly price fluctuations. BTC as an asset was compared to buying a home. You only follow the price increases of your house maybe every five or 10 years. Instead, you focus on price only after many years and when youre ready to sell.

Another interesting panel discussed the efforts of El Salvador to encourage its citizens to adopt BTC, which is now a national currency. Panelist Eric Gravengaard stated that the president and legislatures groundbreaking decision has already had positive impacts on the economy and welfare of the small Central American country. The yearly GDP growth had reportedly been 2% but has now been projected to be 10%. Since the formal adoption of BTC last September, there have been over 1 million transactions processed to date. Also, the discussion noted that some of the criticism around the slow pace of adoption has been unwarranted. Panelist Justin Newton reminded the audience that El Salvador is a developing country where about 75% of the population had never been through a KYC process before (which is required to obtain a wallet) because they never had bank accounts before.

Other interesting comments by conference speakers included those from Cathie Wood, a well-known ETF manager heavily focused on technology and innovation. Wood saw the politics around Bitcoin changing radically in a more positive way. Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy stated that he saw President Joe Bidens March executive order regarding blockchain as giving the green light to Bitcoin, which Saylor now describes as a risk-off investment. I agree.

Overall, it was a pretty incredible week for me one I will not forget any time soon.

Marc Powers is currently an adjunct professor at Florida International University College of Law, where he is teaching Blockchain & the Law and Fintech Law. He recently retired from practicing at an Am Law 100 law firm, where he built both its national securities litigation and regulatory enforcement practice team and its hedge fund industry practice. Marc started his legal career in the SECs Enforcement Division. During his 40 years in law, he was involved in representations including the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, a recent presidential pardon and the Martha Stewart insider trading trial.

The opinions expressed are the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph nor Florida International University College of Law or its affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice.

In Georgia, crypto is a crucial tool for refugees escaping the war

April 20, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

I arrived in Tbilisi, Georgia, near Russias southern border, in late February just a few days after Russian forces invaded Ukraine. I had been reporting on crypto and blockchain from St. Petersburg, but after the war started, staying there had become untenable. During my first week in the city, I searched for an apartment to rent and for ways to set up a basic bank account.

I went to a major branch of the Bank of Georgia, the second-largest private bank in the country, next to Liberty Square in the city center. The bank had only been open for an hour, but it was already full of people waiting to meet with a banker.

As I entered, a visibly frazzled teller at a help desk asked me point blank, Russian? I said no but that I wanted to open a bank account. She handed me an application form, a piece of receipt paper with a number on it, and told me to wait my turn.

While I waited, filling out the bank application, I noticed that no one who was holding a red passport i.e., a Russian passport had been handed application forms. I watched Russian clients approach the bank windows. Each was invariably handed a long list of required documents they must produce in order to open a standard bank account with a debit card. The list included six months worth of transaction records, translations of passports, and a copy of a work contract.

I began to worry because, as far as I was aware from my own research, none of this was previously required. As I approached the window, the banker reflexively reached for a copy of the list of required documents until I showed my American passport. Within a half-hour, my application was processed, and the banker told me to stop by the next day to pick up my card.

Your papers, please

Money issues are further complicating the lives of Russians and Belarusians who have come to Georgia to escape draconian crackdowns at home. Telegram channels devoted to Russians relocated abroad are flooded with questions about how and when people were able to move their money.

Sanctions from major banks, payments firms and card issuers such as Mastercard and Visa, in addition to strong capital controls at home, have left Russians in Georgia with little means to access their savings in Russian banks.

They face further difficulties at Georgian banks, where once relatively lax requirements for opening a bank account have been replaced by intensive Know Your Customer procedures for hopeful clients.

Reports surfaced on social media of some banks requiring Russian and Belarusian applicants to make sworn statements that Russia is the aggressor in an illegal war on Ukraine, recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia as parts of Georgia, and swear to counteract propaganda.

Given recent laws about anti-Russian propaganda and disseminating misinformation about the special operation in Ukraine, signing such a statement could constitute a crime if the signatory returned home to Russia.

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Crypto without questions

Some Russian friends who know I work in crypto media asked me if there was any way to use crypto to access their funds.

Buying crypto is still largely unregulated in Russia, with small exchanges requiring only very basic KYC procedures, if they require them at all. And since any transactions via bank card still happen within Russian territory, residents neednt worry about sanctions on credit card companies when buying crypto on a local exchange.

These small exchanges were quick to catch on to the spike in demand, and many were selling major coins like Bitcoin and popular dollar-based stablecoins like Tether at premium prices, some well above their adjusted value in dollars.

But smaller, less popular coins like Litecoin were still relatively fairly priced in the first two weeks following the onset of the war. One friend shifted the majority of their savings into Litecoin via a Russian online exchange. Once their phone-based wallet pinged them with a notification that they had received their LTC, they went straight to one of several physical crypto exchanges in Tbilisi to sell their coins for dollars.

I, myself, ventured to one such exchange to sell some Ether for cash. On its website, the firm maintained its apolitical status and compliance with Georgian law. Im not really sure what I expected to see when I arrived, but what I found was a rather humble affair.

The small room in the crowded office building in the city center had two desks and a few chairs for clients to relax while block confirmations went through. In the single window, neon Bitcoin, Litecoin and Tether signs glowed. Miniature Georgian and Ukrainian flags were stuffed into the potted plants.

As I arrived, a small group of clients speaking Russian were leaving, thanking the two staff who sat at their respective desks. The staff asked how they could help me, and I said I would like to sell some crypto.

What kind? Ether. How much? About $2,500 worth.

They gave me an address, and I sent the crypto. After the transaction was confirmed, a cash counting machine whirred, spitting out the exact amount in U.S. dollars, which the staff carefully counted again on the desk in front of me. The whole process took about 10 minutes.

I was not once asked about my nationality, ID or business in Tbilisi.

Dollars in hand, I made small talk with the staff. The operators of the exchange, who prefer to remain anonymous, said that the vast majority of their customers in recent weeks had been Russian or Belarusian and that the flow of clients had been more or less nonstop.

This was just one of several physical crypto exchanges in the capital of Georgia, which maintains laissez-faire laws on cryptocurrency. It has no licensing scheme for crypto trading, and crypto traders do not have to pay tax on income or gains. The sale of crypto and hashing power both abroad and domestically is also exempt from the countrys value-added tax.

No Russians

The capital city of just over 1 million residents has found it difficult, both materially and politically, to absorb the thousands of new arrivals from Ukraine, Belarus and especially Russia.

And while many of the citys cryptocurrency-centric businesses observe a live-and-let-live approach to their clientele, many other businesses and services are outright discriminatory.

Take one example: Much of the citys residential rental property was snatched up in the weeks leading up to and following the start of the conflict. Now, well over a month into the war, theres little to choose from for the crowds of Russians who are still arriving.

Supply issues aside, Russians also face discrimination from landlords. When contacting real estate agents in the city, the first question I invariably faced, even as an American, was, Are you Russian? followed by something like, We will need to see your passport before we can move forward. Several real estate agents I spoke to said landlords have a no Russians policy.

In a local cafe, I overheard an exasperated Russian man talking on his phone to someone I assumed was a real estate agent. He rattled off a list of requirements like the number of bedrooms, the price range, needing a stove and washing machine that hes desperate to find:

My wife and I are renting a room in the city center right now, and she is hysterical. She says theres nowhere to cook, no washing machine to clean our clothes. She says she wants to go back. I say, What do you mean go back? We cant go back, not for anything. Were here…

While I cant approve of such outright discrimination, I can understand how it came about.

In 2008, Russia supported separatists in the Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali, now known by many as South Ossetia. The subsequent war in August 2008 lasted 12 days and left many areas bombed out and scarred. Years later, the conflict has given the Georgian people a strong sense of solidarity with Ukraine, and bitter resentment toward Russia.

An instrument, not a solution

Almost all of the Russians I have met in Tbilisi have used crypto to move at least some part of their savings. And while this initially seems like a success story a time for crypto to shine as the decentralized future allowing people to control their own savings I think it is important to zoom out.

Cryptocurrencies, like any other technology, are only as good or as useful as the people and human institutions who surround and implement them. While many libertarian-minded crypto-maximalists will no doubt laud the technology and its apolitical design amid this Russia-Georgia context, the only thing allowing it to be successful is the people and businesses on both ends of the transaction connecting traditional financial systems to blockchain-based, decentralized ones.

If the Russian government required exchanges to implement more robust KYC protocols as they do with bank accounts and foreign currency transactions citizens could not buy crypto, or theyd be severely limited in how much they could buy and subsequently save.

If the Georgian government required exchanges to follow the same robust, almost impossible KYC measures that private banks are currently implementing, it would be incredibly difficult for Russian immigrants to sell their crypto in order to pay rent, buy food and organize transportation.

If the exchange operators allowed their political stance to determine their clientele, the crypto-owning public could find their options for buying, selling and withdrawing assets further limited.

Crypto, like most other new tech praised upon its creation as apolitical or neutral, becomes political in the hands of the people who use it and regulate it.

Aaron Wood is an editor at Cointelegraph with a background in energy and economics. He keeps an eye on blockchains applications in building smarter, more equitable energy access globally.

The opinions expressed are the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph or its affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice.

6 Questions for Lynn Liss of Akoin

April 17, 2022 Coin Telegraph

6 Questions For...

We ask the buidlers in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector for their thoughts on the industry… and throw in a few random zingers to keep them on their toes!

This week, our 6 Questions go to Lynn Liss, the chief operating officer and co-founder of Akoin, a cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem designed to empower entrepreneurship and fuel rising entrepreneurs in Africa.

Lynn Liss serves as chief operating officer of blockchain company and cryptocurrency Akoin, co-founded with global leader Akon. She is an operations executive and social impact leader driving financial revolutions, building empowering technology and business models, and forging strategy, partnerships and teams for massive social change. Steering Akoins mission to empower entrepreneurship and financial inclusion across Africa, she brings more than 10 years in the social impact and startup sector to the table as well as another 10 years as a management consultant advising, executing and operating innovative business and financial models for world change with C-level executives at top global firms. Lynn was a first mover in the blockchain for good space, providing executive advice to blockchain companies and new cryptocurrencies and blockchains with a social impact.

1 What kind of consolidation do you expect to see in the crypto industry in 2022?

Well, were certainly in the protocol wars right now between L1s, L2s, and every walk of life in between and around the protocol space. While the idea of interoperability allows many protocols to exist simultaneously, the space wont require the current amount thats being envisioned or is coming to life. That said, having these various models to both technically and financially assess and determine where and how you want to experience them, coupled with the pure competition makes you stronger mentality, causes the platforms to sharpen their approach and platform by the minute. Its beyond thrilling to watch such a race!

We all benefit from the plethora of strong protocol options just getting better and better, including the approach for interoperability simultaneously getting stronger from an industry perspective and how we adopt these tools into our toolset. So, consolidation, yes, but existing together and cross-chain also yes.

Im very encouraged by the sheer number of projects being launched right now. In my opinion, were witnessing a renaissance in the blockchain space where there are no wrong answers. This will not last indefinitely, as is always the case, emerging use cases will render others obsolete, different mechanics will be well-received, while others wont be. This will in turn lead to the next gen of blockchain applications launching with much higher fidelity from a UX perspective as well as strong corporate structures and operational procedures. This transition from experiment to use case as an overarching industry ethos is going to be fascinating to watch in the coming months and years.

2 What will happen to Bitcoin and Ethereum over the next 10 years?

Speaking of walks, I just took one with a friend in the neighborhood who is relatively new to the blockchain and cryptocurrency space, and found myself suggesting that a toe in the water would be to invest in a few of the major currencies and protocols as a starting point via wallets such as Coinbase. Given Bitcoin and Ether are the most commonplace stepping stone for the masses (there are one or two others I added to that list, and Bitcoin is too volatile for my liking), these OG players obviously arent going anywhere, and given the size of the the communities that support them, theyll continue to drive industry innovation along with the new L1s and L2s described above. As others rise up, well see stronger competition and more interoperability with these majors. This is also where most companies first start to consider receiving cryptocurrency for basic payments, which leaves no doubt in making these currencies even stronger and not go anywhere anytime soon.

Whats more interesting to me is which of the up-and-coming L1s and L2s related currencies will rise to the top and begin getting adopted by the lesser crypto-savvy players. My forecast is that when it comes to specific industry lanes (i.e., market sectors such as lending all the way to geographics, like what were doing with Akoin in Africa), many altcoins will rise up into the top 20 and become more commonplace and utilized for everyday activities. This is the place where youll find users who really care about a specific market or space, that want more value and utility then the current offerings provide, and are seeking solutions custom to their needs. These users will become more and more comfortable holding those assets, not from an investment perspective, but from a true utility and daily usage perspective, which is the holy grail.

Doubling back to the original question, the reality is that these main protocols arent going anywhere, particularly as far as Bitcoin is concerned, as it represents the gold equivalent to a store of value on the blockchain. Ethereum, on the other hand, is far more analogous to an operating system than anything else. The benefit of Ethereum is the constant attention to upgrades and usability. While its currently price-prohibitive due to a host of reasons not the least of which being exorbitant gas fees the emergence of L2 solutions enable Ethereum to essentially cannibalize the useful mechanics it comes across while discarding the less useful. As a result, I see Ethereum remaining as the dominant L1 for years to come, with Bitcoin retaining its status as the primary store of value on the blockchain.

3 When you tell people youre in the blockchain industry, how do they react?

Im happy to report that, generally, people are less surprised and perplexed about what the heck that means than two years ago, when the ICO craze was taking the world by storm. While still very nascent, blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies have found their way into traditional banking, government agencies and fortune 500s, all the way to people holding a few of the major cryptocurrencies. There seems to be a higher comfort level with making basic payments in crypto, there is less perplexion and more curiosity these days. That curiosity coupled with people and major companies willing to dip their toes in the blockchain waters is where major crypto adoption will occur, and were thrilled to be able to figure it out together. This is what gets me most excited to be at that tipping point between an emerging technology paradigm and widespread adoption into industry standard. With that, myself and others, who have been in the space for a long time and want to see this industry grow, enthusiastically take the time to walk and talk the newbies through it. In doing so, you sharpen the story and the pathway, and forge how everyone will find their way into this space some way or the other. This all keeps us excited, and on our toes too!

4 List your favorite sports teams, and choose the single most memorable moment from watching them. If you arent a sports fan, choose a few movies and a moment!

Ask my husband I had to ask him who was playing at the Super Bowl, and we live in Los Angeles. When it comes to movies, anyone who knows me well knows that Eminems Lose Yourself from the movie 8 Mile will be playing at my funeral, (unless we exist in another interdimensional plane by then, but thats for another question). That moment on stage and the lyrics sum it all up.

5 Where do you stand on alien intelligence and the existence of life elsewhere in the universe?

I have no doubt on the existence of life elsewhere in the universe front, so a resounding Yes. For a deep dive on all things alien intelligence and whether weve been visited by such forces here on Earth, youd have to ask my husband, Ira Liss, who is a semi-expert on the matter. I remain openly curious, as with all things.

6 Other than the present day, in what time and in which country would you like to have lived?

I had to really think about this one, from the glamor and sensational music of the 1920s into the 30s coming from the jazz renaissance happening in Paris, to New York in the 40s and 50s with its eclectic literary circles and swanky gatherings. That said, I wouldnt choose to exist anywhere else but my present place and time. One of my favorite sayings is: Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift! That is why it is called the present. Many wonderful people have been credited with creating this quote, from Eleanor Roosevelt to Bil Keane and more. This resonates for me on a daily basis, as making the most of each day and the magical energy that surrounds you is truly a gift.

A wish for the young, ambitious blockchain community?

Continued curiosity, experimentation and innovation.

6 Questions for Michelle Legge of Koinly

April 10, 2022 Coin Telegraph

6 Questions For...

We ask the buidlers in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector for their thoughts on the industry… and throw in a few random zingers to keep them on their toes!

This week, our 6 Questions go to Michelle Legge, head of crypto tax education at Koinly a cryptocurrency tax calculator and portfolio tracker for traders, investors and accountants.

Alongside her work at Koinly, Michelle is passionate about closing the financial literacy gap for women. Before crossing into the crypto space, she looked after consumer education for an Australian fintech startup, where she launched a world-first gender-pay-gap insurance product.

Today, Michelle is back in her homeland of South Africa, living the digital nomad life and managing a remote team of content and social media wizards from plant-based cafes across Cape Town. As for her crypto curiosity, Michelle is cautiously optimistic, betting on altcoins with unconventional use cases. Blame it on her day job, but while Michelle knows that crypto is the future, crypto tax appears to be the dark side of the moon. Helping crypto investors to be tax-strategic seems a worthy cause in light of ever-tightening regulations.

1 From smart contracts to DApps, NFTs and DeFi, we have seen so many of the next killer apps for crypto, but none have really taken off quite yet. What will stick?

Projects that attract the warm embrace of Joe Public are the ones that stick. Weve gotten a lot closer to a retail use case with DeFis many yield farming products, and that shows no signs of slowing down. But will it go fully mainstream? Possibly, in time provided the space doesnt get taxed into oblivion. On the other hand, NFTs have seen massive adoption from all walks of life, creating a sense that this blockchain use case has cracked a very tough nut.

While the NFT arena might be dominated by the glitz and glam of the celebrity art scene today, I imagine NFTs will come into their own in a rather mundane way. If the public can interface with the blockchain via pictures, then its logical to assume that anything were used to seeing on paper will go the way of a digitized, ownable NFT. What could this look like at the most basic level? Share certificates, graduation diplomas, medical records, insurance policies, birth certificates, passports, etc.

The creation, distribution and management of proof-of-ownership NFT administration could spawn an industry of its own, much like it already has in the gaming industry. However, for NFTs to work like this, we need to remember that the NFT art were just getting our heads around is a taxable asset. Thats fine when were thinking about art, music, movies and domain names, but no one wants to face a tax bill for erroneously profiting from the disposal of a health insurance policy. It will need to be clear to all, the taxman included, that NFTs used in this way have a zero-dollar value.

2 If the world is getting a new currency, will it be led by CBDCs, a permissionless blockchain like Bitcoin, or a permissioned chain such as Diem?

It pains me to say, but central bank digital currencies are waiting in the wings. Everything weve seen, from Bidens executive order to the much-hyped inflation curse throttling the global economy, tells us that governments are hungry for CBDCs. Even without the regulation headlines, we need only consider the power and control that CBDCs offer. Rishi Sunaks Britcoin appears in the works, with disturbing undercurrents of programmability leaning into the likes of Chinas social credit system. CBDCs will be, but unlike the disruptive and empowering future presented by Bitcoin and friends, CBDCs seem a different blockchain beast altogether.

3 Which is sillier: $500,000 Bitcoin or $0 Bitcoin? Why?

Dont call me negative, but I work in crypto tax. Its my opinion that the bulk of the Bitcoin mooning happened behind the curtains, in the good old days when governments and tax agencies were none the wiser. Can stratospheric growth happen under the iron fist of rampant regulations and scrutiny? I fear not.

4 Tell us about a hidden talent, and give us a link to prove it!

A talent so hidden it might not even exist? I guess I dont have bedroom DJ in my Twitter bio for nothing, but if being good at Spotify playlists makes me gifted, then so be it. Le Crush is the name of my pet playlist, and a homage to my heady nights (perhaps seven in total?) steering the decks in Melbournes noughties club scene.

5 What talent do you lack and wish you had? How would you use it if you had it?

Is it because women are coded for multitasking, or because we live in a high-octane, caffeine-fuelled society? Either way, the talent I lack is the laser-beam focus of a border collie and its tennis ball.

If focus is the house, then the foundation is Buffetts famous Say no to almost everything. The key, it would appear, is to limit open tabs to five max a great step down from the 39 currently calling my attention. Hyperfocus in a crazy world? I think its a talent, or rather a superpower, that most of us wish for.

6 Whats the silliest conspiracy theory out there… and which one makes you pause for a moment?

This question and its loaded gun is just the kind of thing to get a woman canceled! The fact is, Im rather a reasonable conspiracy theorist, but theres a spot for a tinfoil hat in my closet, nonetheless.

I think, like many people drawn to cryptocurrency, our sort comes bearing gifts of distrust and who could blame us? Some of the rabbit holes biggest targets lets mention Big Pharma here do have priors. Its right to question everything, and its good to remember that no chapter on WWII is complete without an entry on the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. I will say this though: A flat earth could be a great solution to the rising tides, right?

A wish for the young, ambitious blockchain community:

To the women of blockchain, we need your voices. Be the reason and balance that keeps us moving in the right direction.

4 clever crypto scams to beware — Dubai OTC trader Amin Rad

April 8, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Aminhossein Amin Rad runs an over-the-counter trading desk in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Searching for a business after dropping out of university, he started to style himself as a Bitcoin broker in 2016. Starting with his first deal after five months of wading through scammers and tire-kickers, Rad went on to found Crypto Desk, a business-to-business exchange that now deals millions of dollars of private crypto transactions among its 2,500 clients every day.

But why do people use OTC desks when centralized exchanges offer lower fees, and what dangers come with the business? Rad spills the beans on a sector of the crypto world that flies under the radar for most retail traders.

The devil is in the deal-tails

The crypto asset industry has its share of rampant unethical behavior that is encouraged by anonymity and a lack of regulation or enforcement. Having come across all types of scams over his years in the industry, Rad differentiates between what he calls soft scams and hard scams. The former are things such as indirect and impersonal rug-pulls, while the latter are more direct and targeted.

He says most buyers see shitcoins and memecoins as a joke or a game, and relatively few experience much emotional trauma when the game ends and prices take a nosedive. However, getting scammed is far from a joke when a serious investor is looking to invest a portion of their hard-earned wealth into the crypto market or cashing out to buy real estate.

The psychological effects of hard scams are much more deteriorating in part because they are direct, playing on the marks trust rather than greed, and the money is not always an amount that the victim can afford to lose. Rad goes on to explain the common scams.

*Amin Rad, CEO of Crypto Desk, is at home in his office in downtown Dubai. Photo by Elias Ahonen.*

Third-party scam

A third-party scam involves a cybercriminal who finds a buyer and seller, introduces themselves as a broker, and offers an attractive deal to both. Rad explains that after building trust and playing mind games, the scammer will convince both the buyer and seller to meet in person for the exchange, with perhaps the buyer arriving at the sellers office with cash.

Between these transacting parties will be a broker, or, more commonly at least, what appears to be a chain of brokers. The buyer will share their address with the broker, who will instead forward their own address to the seller. The seller then transfers the coins to the address without thinking twice because the cash is right in front of him, and the coins will arrive in the cybercriminals wallet, Rad explains. With a suitcase of money on the table, chaos will ensue as the BTC fails to arrive.

Huge volumes of money can disappear in a second even professional people who get scammed once can sometimes get distracted and lose focus, only to fall victim again.

Fake crypto coin scam

A fake crypto coin scam involves the scammer sending a different, usually worthless cryptocurrency to the buyer who mistakes it for the real thing. This could be as simple as sending Bitcoin Cash or Ethereum Classic instead of BTC or ETH. Often, it involves the creation of an entirely new token that looks like the real thing when it arrives in the buyers MetaMask wallet. This is easily done because Ethereum is an open platform, and anyone can create any coin they want, like USDTx in place of USDT, Rad stresses. To be sure, one should check the smart contract dont trust, verify.

*OpenSea offers on an NFT listed for 121.95 ETH note the currency! Screenshot by Elias Ahonen*

A variant of this has been seen on NFT marketplace OpenSea, where buyers can bid in Ether or stablecoins USDC or Dai, both of which are worth $1 each. As the Dai symbol can be mistaken for that of Ethers, an inexperienced or tired user might accept a bid of 79 Dai on their 80-ETH NFT, only to realize too late that they are down by a quarter of a million dollars. While it can be argued whether such a transaction is a scam in the legal sense since there is no direct misrepresentation, those making such offers in bad faith are surely bankrupt in terms of morality.

Transfer recall scam

A transfer recall scam works by way of chargebacks, where a dishonest buyer of a cryptocurrency sends funds to the seller, receives cryptocurrency, and goes on to file a fraudulent complaint with their bank or payment provider, alleging that they themselves have fallen victim to a scam.

Some banks immediately return the money, Rad says. This is actually one of the most difficult types of scams to follow up on because neither banks nor the police are likely to understand much about cryptocurrency.

Lets say this case goes to court you will end up having to pay the government to hire a specialist to make sure that you transferred cryptocurrency to that guy. It is very difficult unless you have powerful lawyers and are willing to spend a lot of money, Rad describes.

Wallet import scam

A wallet import scam happens when a seller of cryptocurrency says that they cannot send directly to the buyers wallet by way of a public address but insists that the Bitcoin must be imported. They import a watch-only address to your wallet, Rad says, referring to a setting that allows the wallet to mirror an address it does not control.

If you are not experienced, you will open your wallet and think, Ooh, I have 100 Bitcoins here in my wallet, and you will hand over the cash, but later on, when you try to sell the Bitcoins, you understand that the coins are not transferable.

In order to pull off this scam successfully, the scammer must generally know which Bitcoin wallet the unwitting buyer is using. You should never tell anyone what wallet youre using. Its none of their business. If the cryptocurrency is sent correctly, it will be received correctly, Rad warns, using the analogy that you do not need to know whether someone is using an iPhone or Nokia in order to call them.

Of course, you should never allow anyone to see your seed phrases or private keys or hand them your wallet for any reason, he adds.

In addition to avoiding scams, Rad recommends that anyone conducting OTC trades should take care to obtain and verify the identity of the other party and, regardless of regulations, sign an agreement stating that they have exchanged cryptocurrency and fiat with each other.

The workings of an OTC desk

Now in his mid-20s, Rad was born to a Middle Eastern family and grew up in Dubai, UAE. In 2012, he enrolled in an electrical engineering program at the American University of Sharjah, just north of Dubai. After studying in Sharjah for three years, he was not entirely satisfied with his prospects and dreamed of moving to America, receiving acceptances to continue his electrical engineering studies at both Stanford and the University of Texas at Austin. Despite what would appear to be a solid opportunity, Rad felt a deeper call to start a business back home in the UAE and decided not to move to the United States. He decided to drop out, as he saw no future in engineering.

I wanted to get into the technology business, but I didnt know what to start with, Rad recalls. It was around then that he heard Bitcoin and blockchain being discussed in his friend circles. I got curious, so I independently went on to learn about this technology blockchain and decentralization, he explains.

There was no example in this region that I could follow all the blockchain entrepreneurs were in China and the USA. There was no one here who was doing blockchain entrepreneurship.

Soon he found an opportunity: There was money to be made by brokering Bitcoin deals. Rad started to seek out contacts who were interested in buying or selling cryptocurrency and connecting them. A lot of them were non-serious, and a lot of them were scammers, he recalls, adding that filtering serious traders from time-wasters was a drain. Introducing himself as a broker and getting business through word of mouth, he also used online platforms like LocalBitcoins to find business. Often, he would pass referral fees to those introducing new clients.

It took five months until I made my first deal. For five months, I kept encountering non-serious people and scammers a lot of scammers.

Rad explains that the margins on OTC transactions were higher in the early days, with 2%3% being common in 2016 and 2017. Now, there are more competitors in the market, and rates have gone down, while volume has risen. Exact percentages change constantly according to market demand, but the golden number is half a percent for high-volume deals, while lower-volume retail traders can expect to pay double or triple. While he describes $1-million and $2-million transactions as common, anything over $1 million is considered high volume, Rad says.

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Business was informal at first, and Rad came up with the Crypto Desk name in 2018. The company received a crypto trading license in early 2021, which he says makes the business easier and safer because we can work in a regulated space instead of a gray one.

More than margins have changed since the early days. At the moment, most deals on the OTC market are in USDT, Amin states, which is a departure from the past when most people looked to buy or sell specific quantities of Bitcoin. USDT is easy to exchange into any cryptocurrency on both centralized and decentralized exchanges or back into fiat. While USDC and Dai appear to be held in higher regard in DeFi and NFT circles, most people who use USDT are not so familiar with blockchain, and are afraid to change to another stablecoin, Rad admits. USDT was the first stablecoin, after all.

Journeys scribe Elias Ahonen visits Crypto Desk in Dubais downtown and just happens to have a copy of his book Blockland on hand!

As Crypto Desk deals only in UAE dirhams, whose exchange rate has been pegged at 3.6725 dirhams to the U.S. dollar since 1997, exchanging USD stablecoins and AED is a relatively straightforward process with little exchange risk.

My daily turnover is $4 million$5 million, but that comes from several different transactions, Rad clarifies, adding that all of his clients are based in the UAE. He explains that there is a natural balance to the business, with UAE locals tending to be buyers looking to allocate money into the crypto sphere, while those from abroad are most often looking to sell cryptocurrency in order to purchase real estate, cars, and pay their living expense in the UAE, Rad explains.

In my opinion, the UAE will be the center of blockchain in the world.

In the future, Rad foresees his localized model thriving around the world. Though the market is now controlled largely by big players, Rad believes that local exchanges have better knowledge of the local markets needs and regulations.

So, what about the mythical buyer who is looking for $100 million in cryptocurrency?

They exist. I can facilitate up to $30 million per day, but I dont find them, he says, adding that $4 million$6 million is the maximum he regularly sees from any single client. When a large order comes in, it falls onto Rad to figure out if the deal is real, a process he says takes only two or three minutes.

When I see them, I understand: Are they a $100-million person or not? Rad says with marked confidence. For him, conversation is a better marker of seriousness than appearance. Most scammers have branded items, and most serious people try to keep a low profile, he concludes.

6 Questions for Chen Li of Youbi Capital

April 3, 2022 Coin Telegraph

6 Questions For...

We ask the buidlers in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector for their thoughts on the industry… and throw in a few random zingers to keep them on their toes!

This week, our 6 Questions go to Chen Li, the co-founder and CEO of Youbi Capital, a venture capital firm investing in blockchain technologies and disruptive decentralized applications.

Chen Li is the co-founder and CEO of Youbi Capital. He has a Ph.D. in chemistry and worked as a scientist for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, where he won two awards for his contributions to developing groundbreaking antibody drugs. In 2015, he was introduced to Bitcoin mining by his roommate in college, then jointly founded Youbi Capital in 2017. Chen built the foundation of Youbis thesis in blockchain infrastructure and led investments in Algorand, Avalanche, Polkadot, Flow, Kadena, Chainlink, Debank and others. He was also an advisor to JP Morgans blockchain team.

1 What is the main hurdle to mass adoption of blockchain technology?

The main hurdle to mass adoption of blockchain technology now is still its infrastructure, specifically, scalability and security of layer 1s. We all saw that the watershed moment for Axie Infinity was not the play-to-earn movement that started in early 2020 but the migration of the game from Ethereum to Ronin in mid 2021, which led to an explosion of players and revenue growth right away.

But Axie was just one application, and can therefore be easily accommodated on a dedicated chain, while for the DeFi protocols which are highly composable and already interconnected we still dont have a layer 1 for the entire set of DeFi protocols to migrate over without starting to jam its traffic. Solana might be the closest to achieving this goal, but it is not horizontally scalable for mass adoption.

There is still a lot to do to lay a solid foundation for the blockchain application.

2 What will happen to Bitcoin and Ethereum over the next 10 years?

Bitcoin has successfully extended the consensus on its asset as a decentralized store of value for everyone from individuals to a large group of institutions in this cycle. It is only a matter of time before it is universally accepted. Furthermore, under the global inflation backdrop, Bitcoin might also have the chance to become a broadly used currency in international settlements. There has been a lot of speculation on the Bitcoin value proposition broken down to its usage in different categories.

In terms of technology, the community has intentionally kept Bitcoins progress at a slow pace to avoid introducing any uncertainty. While I believe that is the right strategy for its use cases, Bitcoin will still be limited in supporting smart contracts over the next 10 years.

Ethereum, on the other hand, is going through much faster reiteration by transitioning to proof-of-stake and potentially sharding in the near future. All EVM-supporting chains are also in the Ethereum ecosystem, contributing value to the base layer. Due to the strong network effect, the Ethereum ecosystem will likely remain as a dominant force in the DeFi space throughout the next 10 years.

3 When you tell people youre in the blockchain industry, how do they react?

I remember when I first talked to outsiders about Bitcoin in 2015 they either fell silent and gave me awkward looks like I was trying to talk them into some kind of scam, or in some cases, enthusiastically challenged me on whether Bitcoin had any value. Bitcoin mining was more of a business that people could understand, but it was extremely rare to find someone that was open-minded about the cryptocurrency itself.

Now, people are becoming more and more knowledgeable and engaged about blockchain technology and crypto. I am often not the only person they know in the industry. I used to be asked lots of basic questions about blockchain. But now, people who arent blockchain professionals sometimes share their perspectives first once they know I am in the industry.

They have much more diverse perspectives on the blockchain industry now. Besides holding crypto in their portfolio, several people are NFT collectors or even landowners in blockchain games. They see blockchain as a technology to issue and transact NFT assets as well as infrastructure for the Metaverse, but are more attracted to NFTs and Metaverses. That is why I am very confident that the Metaverse will be the entry point to the Web3 era.

4 Who makes sense to you, and who makes no sense whatsoever?

Whoever is building a product then tells a story makes sense to me and who just tells a story or builds a product for imaginary demand makes no sense whatsoever.

There are lots of great products that are carefully designed and reiterated to fit the needs of the users. For example, Binance has a very efficient feedback loop, from customer service to management. As a result, it is able to reiterate its product in the right way and engage a new trend in the market. The Binance team makes sense to me. Polygon, Debank and The Graph are all excellent examples of products with strong product-market fit. All these teams make sense to me and I see lots of potential in the adoption of their product.

5 List your favorite sports teams, and choose the single most memorable moment from watching them.

My favorite sports teams were the Chicago Bulls and Denver Broncos. The most memorable moment was Michael Jordans final shot with the Bulls that won them the sixth championship.

6 Other than the present day, in what time and in what country would you like to have lived?

I wish I had lived in Shanghai, China from 2012 to 2015. That was the first crypto market cycle that I missed. The two major events in that time frame were the growth of Bitcoin mining and the fundraising and initial community-building of Ethereum. They both happened during that time in China.

Plus, China is my home country. I love the food and people.

A wish for the young, ambitious blockchain community:

I wish that everyone in the community can survive the ups and downs, holding tight to their crypto assets.

6 Questions for Mitch Liu of Theta Labs

March 27, 2022 Coin Telegraph

6 Questions For...

We ask the buidlers in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector for their thoughts on the industry… and throw in a few random zingers to keep them on their toes!

This week, our 6 Questions go to Mitch Liu, co-founder and CEO of Theta Labs a decentralized video streaming platform powered by users and built on a new blockchain.

Theta Labs is the organization behind the Theta Network a fast, green blockchain designed from the bottom up for media and entertainment. In 2019, Mitch launched Theta.tv, a decentralized livestreaming platform that makes use of tokenized bandwidth-sharing to make video content delivery faster and cheaper than mainstream alternatives. Most recently, Mitch and his team launched ThetaDrop, an NFT marketplace powered by the Theta Network.

Mitch has been an investor and entrepreneur in the tech space since 2007. He received a BS in computer science engineering from MIT, conducted research at MIT Media Labs Interactive Cinema group and received an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

1 What has been the toughest challenge youve faced in our industry so far?

I think convincing stakeholders in legacy industries that blockchain and Web3 technologies have a place in their industrys future. Understandably, this wasnt as hard with the tech folks new technologies and new ideas are kind of their bread and butter. But youd be surprised at how even people in those spaces can be wedded to an older way of doing things. Its hard to totally reimagine your industry. I dont blame anyone for that.

In media and entertainment, it has been a little more difficult. The transition from television, radio and Web1 to social media and Web2 seemed pretty intuitive. Were traveling from a one-directional kind of media to a shared, more collaborative model. Web3 and distributed ledger technology are the same but turbocharged, and a little harder to wrap your head around. But weve started to see a shift in the attitudes of media companies. Once people realize how, for example, sharing computer power and bandwidth to reduce cost and energy consumption in video streaming works, the concept clicks for them pretty quickly. One day, Web3 will seem just as intuitive as the TV. I really believe that.

2 What does decentralization mean to you, and why is it important?

To me, decentralization means taking back control and sharing power with the people and the broader community. Over the last couple of decades, we have sleepwalked into an internet a society even that has placed far too much power in the hands of too few people and organizations. Tech giants like Facebook (or Meta) are starting to realize that, and theyre now trying to innovate and change their narrative to convince users that they are still valued.

3 When you tell people youre in the blockchain industry, how do they react?

Im quite lucky. Most of my contemporaries are familiar with what I do and react really well to our work in the blockchain space. I also have an easier answer I can use if I want because, in so many respects, Theta is in the business of media and entertainment, and its easier to understand. Blockchain is just the technology that allows us to add new value to the media industry, not necessarily replacing the entire industry.

4 Which two superpowers would you most want to have, and how would you combine them for good or evil?

I would have to pick one for practical reasons and one for fun. As much as I like to sleep, it can be such an inconvenience when you have so many plans. Id love to be able to spend more time on Theta. We have so many exciting projects in the works, and instead of spending my nights with my head on the pillow, it would be great to turn that into productive time Id have no distractions!

My second superpower would have to be the ability to fly. Sure, it has a practical transportation element (is that cheating?), but it would also be the greatest adrenaline rush.

5 If you didnt need sleep, what would you do with the extra time?

Id like to spend as much time as possible with my friends and family. Life is too short, and its only after a hard week at your desk that you realize how little time there is for the good things in life. To relax and unwind with the people you love is one of lifes blessings, and Id love to spend more quality time doing it.

6 What should we be teaching our kids?

Things are almost never as hard as they first appear to be.

Unless youre blessed with unnatural confidence, taking on a new challenge is always difficult. But I have lost track of all the times in my life when a task seemed impossible yet I ended up either doing better than expected or learning from the experience. And this has nothing to do with my natural ability at any given thing. From what I can see, this is universal. Try your best, and it will be infinitely easier the next time.

A wish for the young, ambitious blockchain community:

I would like to wish them the best of luck in this space… and tell them to keep on innovating! It is them who will lead us to global adoption. Well get there… its just about when.

Powers On… Biden accepts blockchain technology, recognizes its benefits and pushes for adoption

March 24, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

On March 9, United States President Joe Biden issued a quite comprehensive executive order that directs no less than two dozen cabinet members, departments and agencies in the government to study the benefits and detriments of blockchain technology for various aspects of the American economy. There has been a considerable amount already written about the implications of the executive order. I will add to this discourse and also offer some predictions, which few have done, on what the industry might expect to arise from the various governmental studies and reports over the next year.

President Biden issued his executive order in a surprising act of executive power. No one quite expected it to occur the way it did, with most thinking that legislative action would be proposed sometime this year. I do not recall reading anywhere that an executive order, particularly without legislative action, would be proposed. Rather, our president instantly outtrumped pardon the poorly crafted pun former Vice President Al Gore, who under President Bill Clinton in the 1990s became a point man in the administrations adoption and support of the internet. By the very act of issuing the executive order, President Biden will forever be recognized as the U.S. president who materially advanced the technology and its various use cases.

An overarching theme running through the executive order is the direction that various government departments and agencies coordinate, and that they do so in a relatively tight time frame by way of presenting reports. The president even ordered that each of the various governmental bodies investigate specific topics to be covered in the report. For example:

Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Director of National Intelligence, and the heads of other relevant agencies, shall submit to the President a report on the future of money and payment systems, including the conditions that drive broad adoption of digital assets; the extent to which technological innovation may influence these outcomes; and the implications for the United States financial system, the modernization of and changes to payment systems, economic growth, financial inclusion, and national security.

Central bank digital currency

Remarkably, we also see an official acknowledgment of concern over, and a direction that the report consider, the fact that China has been seeking to disrupt the U.S. dollars global dominance as the worlds reserve currency with its digital yuan projects over the past several years. The executive order requests that the report discuss ways foreign CBDCs could displace existing currencies and alter the payment system in ways that could undermine United States financial centrality [emphasis added]. In other words, what should the U.S. be doing to protect the dollars reserve currency status?

The president also encourages the chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Jay Powell, to continue to research and report on CBDCs and develop a strategic plan […] that evaluates the necessary steps and requirements for the potential implementation and launch of a United States CBDC [emphasis added]. Then, in consultation with the attorney general and the secretary of the Treasury, Powell is asked to within 180 days offer an assessment of whether legislative changes would be necessary to issue a United States CBDC. If this does not make clear that this administration wants action in implementing an American CBDC and in short order then nothing will. As my friend Troy Paredes, a former SEC commissioner, observed during Inveniams excellent Data 3.0 For Web 3.0 conference in Miami this month, the executive order not only recognizes the risks of digital assets but also the benefits of blockchain technology.

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Agencies and their roles

The executive order directs certain cabinet members and agencies to study and report on relevant issues under their jurisdiction. The attorney general is to report on the role of law enforcement agencies in detecting, investigating and prosecuting criminal activity related to digital assets. The Federal Trade Commission is to consider the effects the growth of digital assets could have on competition policy, privacy interests and consumer protection measures. The Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission in consultation with the Fed chair, comptroller of the currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation are encouraged to consider the extent to which investor and market protection measures within their respective jurisdictions may be used to address the risks of digital assets and whether additional measures may be needed. You can be sure current SEC Chair Gary Gensler will have plenty to say and recommend in this regard.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council which is comprised of various agencies, including the SEC, CFTC, CFPB and federal banking agencies is to produce a report within 210 days outlining the specific financial stability risks and regulatory gaps posed by various types of digital assets and providing recommendations to address such risks. Here, too, expect the SEC to be front and center in new proposals.

The final item in the executive order to mention is what the Biden administration sees as the core principles and policies that are to guide the governments further actions. These include:

Strong steps to reduce the risks that digital assets could pose to consumers, investors, and business protections; financial stability and financial system integrity; combating and preventing crime and illicit finance; national security; the ability to exercise human rights; financial inclusion and equity; and climate change and pollution.

This hits me as sound. The executive order identifies a very thoughtful, systematic, comprehensive set of factors to inform policies that a government would or should be concerned about, and would or should like about, the use of blockchain technology, digital assets and currencies. I would not be surprised if a significant and comprehensive piece of legislation regarding blockchain, its regulation and a U.S. CBDC is proposed by the administration within the next 12 to 18 months. Even more comprehensive than SOX of 2002 ( mostly related to public companies) and Dodd-Frank legislation of 2010 (seeking to reign in excessive risk taking which led to the financial crisis) in ways it will affect the U.S. economy and our daily lives. I have less confidence that such a sweeping law will actually pass. It seems more likely that individual parts of our government will propose and adopt new rules and regulations addressing the findings and issues in the various reports they are directed to produce for the president.

Marc Powers is currently an adjunct professor at Florida International University College of Law, where he is teaching Blockchain & the Law and Fintech Law. He recently retired from practicing at an Am Law 100 law firm, where he built both its national securities litigation and regulatory enforcement practice team and its hedge fund industry practice. Marc started his legal career in the SECs Enforcement Division. During his 40 years in law, he was involved in representations including the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, a recent presidential pardon and the Martha Stewart insider trading trial.

Columns

1 Does it matter if we ever figure out who Satoshi really is or was? Why, or why not?

2 Which countries are doing the most to support blockchain, and which ones will be left behind?

3 Which is sillier: $500,000 Bitcoin or $0 Bitcoin? Why?

4 Whats the most interesting place youve ever visited, and why?

5 What talent do you lack but wish you had? How would you use it if you had it?

6 Who makes sense to you, and who makes no sense whatsoever?

A wish for the young, ambitious blockchain community:

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1 What kind of consolidation do you expect to see in the crypto industry in 2022?

2 What will happen to Bitcoin and Ethereum over the next 10 years?

3 When you tell people youre in the blockchain industry, how do they react?

4 List your favorite sports teams, and choose the single most memorable moment from watching them. If you arent a sports fan, choose a few movies and a moment!

5 Where do you stand on alien intelligence and the existence of life elsewhere in the universe?

6 Other than the present day, in what time and in which country would you like to have lived?

A wish for the young, ambitious blockchain community?

1 From smart contracts to DApps, NFTs and DeFi, we have seen so many of the next killer apps for crypto, but none have really taken off quite yet. What will stick?

2 If the world is getting a new currency, will it be led by CBDCs, a permissionless blockchain like Bitcoin, or a permissioned chain such as Diem?

3 Which is sillier: $500,000 Bitcoin or $0 Bitcoin? Why?

4 Tell us about a hidden talent, and give us a link to prove it!

5 What talent do you lack and wish you had? How would you use it if you had it?

6 Whats the silliest conspiracy theory out there… and which one makes you pause for a moment?

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1 What is the main hurdle to mass adoption of blockchain technology?

2 What will happen to Bitcoin and Ethereum over the next 10 years?

3 When you tell people youre in the blockchain industry, how do they react?

4 Who makes sense to you, and who makes no sense whatsoever?

5 List your favorite sports teams, and choose the single most memorable moment from watching them.

6 Other than the present day, in what time and in what country would you like to have lived?

A wish for the young, ambitious blockchain community:

1 What has been the toughest challenge youve faced in our industry so far?

2 What does decentralization mean to you, and why is it important?

3 When you tell people youre in the blockchain industry, how do they react?

4 Which two superpowers would you most want to have, and how would you combine them for good or evil?

5 If you didnt need sleep, what would you do with the extra time?

6 What should we be teaching our kids?