Alex Thorn: Unpacking Blackrock's Bitcoin ETF and the XRP Ruling - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.81]

This is Eric Golden, and my guest this week is Alex Thorn. Alex was an early Bitcoin evangelist and former Director of Blockchain Research and Crypto VC at Fidelity. Today, he is the head of research at Galaxy Digital where he consistently publishes some of the most insightful work in the space. Alex starts by telling us how he went from working at a children’s summer camp to becoming the head blockchain researcher at Fidelity. We then talk about the Blackrock Blockchain ETF, why the time was right, the probability of its approval, and its impact on the asset class. Finally, we dive into the XRP case and its many implications. Please enjoy this conversation with Alex Thorn.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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Show Notes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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