CopperCasts

Kevin de Patoul – CEO, Keyrock –Ep035

Amidst the abrupt collapse of FTX and Alameda, we invited Kevin de Patoul, co-founder of market maker Keyrock to discuss what impact the fallout of one of the biggest disasters in crypto history will have on crypto market liquidity.

Founded in Belgium in 2017, Keyrock is a digital asset market maker, providing liquidity services to tokens, exchanges and brokerages within the digital asset ecosystem. Earlier this year, the firm was ranked by Deloitte as one of the five fastest-growing companies in Belgium during 2022.

 

In this interview, Kevin and host Tyler discussed whether FTX’s downfall will fuel the case for DeFi, with Kevin citing concerns that even though FTX was a 'centralised crisis', it may be DeFi that will face stricter regulatory scrutiny. The two also discussed institutional adoption trends, and what’s needed to restore confidence in the sector. With Keyrock being based in the headquarters of the European Union, MiCA was also naturally a key topic.

 

For his Show & Tell, Kevin describes why in the quest to enhance crypto market transparency and accountability, moving everything on-chain is simply not enough.

Jesper Johansen – Founder and CEO, Northstake – Ep034

With staking rapidly gaining momentum within the crypto ecosystem, we sat down with Jesper Johansen, founder and CEO of Northstake.

 

Founded in 2021, Northstake is a Nordic staking provider that has registered its activity with the Danish FSA. Northstake operates dedicated validator node infrastructure that allows investors to earn rewards through network participation, without having to run their own infrastructure 24/7.

 

In this conversation with host Tyler, Jesper discusses the formation of Northstake, its relationship with Concordium, the flourishing Danish crypto ecosystem, and why post-Merge, staking yields will likely drive strong institutional ETH adoption.

 

For his Show & Tell, Jesper provides an overview of the rapidly growing staking ecosystem – showing that between Oct '19 to '21, the Proof-of-Stake market cap ballooned from $9bn to a staggering $339bn.

Michelle Noyes – Head of Americas, AIMA – Ep033

Episode 33 welcomes Michelle Noyes, Head of Americas at the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), to clear up misconceptions about institutional digital asset investment during this crypto winter.

 

AIMA is the global representative of the alternative investment industry with over 2,000 corporate members in over 60 countries.

 

Michelle recently celebrated her 10th anniversary at AIMA, having joined the organisation in 2012. In this conversation with host Tyler, she discusses seeing AIMA's membership evolve over the last decade, the formation of its Digital Assets Working Group (DAWG), its recent Annual Global Crypto Hedge Fund report and the new Crypto Trading report.

 

Michelle also provides her perspective on the latest frontiers of cryptoasset investing, including the operational and regulatory challenges that need to be bridged for further institutional adoption. She highlights how events of earlier this year have provided the impetus for institutions to adopt more sophisticated due diligence and risk management processes.

 

For her Show & Tell, Michelle explains that despite the current volatility in the crypto sector, allocation to digital assets from AIMA members continues to gain traction – although not exactly at the pace and volumes that some anticipated. 

Kyle Downey – CEO, Cloudwall – Ep032

Episode 32 of CopperCasts welcomes Morgan Stanley Managing Director-turned-startup-founder, Kyle Downey.

Downey launched the digital asset risk management firm Cloudwall in late-2021 shortly after calling time on his 17 year career at Morgan Stanley, where he was a managing director in the bank's automated risk trading department.

Based out of NYC and Singapore, Cloudwall is building an industry-leading set of digital asset risk management tools and metrics for institutional investors. The firm’s flagship product, Serenity, will help investors to understand market, liquidity, credit, operational and other risks both at the level of individual assets and whole sectors.

In this conversation, Kyle describes what prompted his interest in digital assets, Cloudwall’s founding story and dives into the challenges the platform is striving to solve. He also discusses the different types of risk in crypto – counterparty, regulatory, stablecoin, smart contract etc – and how institutional investors should be evaluating and assessing these risks.

Don’t forget to check out Kyle’s Show & Tell segment on our YouTube channel for his succinct explanation on the risks, benefits and trade-offs of different models of stablecoins (fiat-collaterised, crypto-collaterised and algo-stablecoins).

Dr Niclas Sandström – CEO, Hilbert Group – Ep031

Episode 31 of CopperCasts welcomes Dr Niclas Sandström, co-founder and CEO of Hilbert Group, a Nasdaq First North listed digital asset investment firm.

Niclas started paying attention to digital assets whilst working at a large London-based emerging markets hedge fund. He noted that the characteristics that exist in emerging markets – heightened volatility, high-growth and large inefficiencies – also typify crypto markets.

In 2018, Niclas went on to co-found Hilbert, which specialises in quantitative, algorithmic trading strategies in digital assets. Three years later in October 2021, the firm listed on Sweden’s Nasdaq First North Growth Market.

In addition to discussing of all the exciting developments at Hilbert, CopperCasts host Tyler Kenyon and Niclas unpack recent crypto and macro market events, policy developments, DeFi and risk management best practices.

For his Show & Tell, Niclas discusses recent crypto market events and the importance of adopting a holistic approach to risk management.

To hear more from the Copper team, follow @CopperHQ on Twitter, or visit our site, copper.co.

Lorien Gabel – CEO, Figment – Ep030

With the Ethereum Merge on the horizon, everybody is talking about staking – a process whereby crypto holders put their digital assets to work and earn passive income without needing to sell them.

Episode 30 of CopperCasts welcomes Lorien Gabel, CEO of one of the most important players in the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) space, Figment.

Founded in 2018, Figment is a Canadian-based PoS infrastructure provider that offers institutional staking and supports various projects with infrastructure and services.

In this conversation, Lorien and CopperCasts host, Tyler Kenyon, discuss all things staking and the misconceptions around it, what the Ethereum Merge really means for investors, and also how regulations around staking are evolving.

Make sure to also check out Lorien’s Show & Tell on our Youtube channel to hear his explanation as to why over the past two years, PoS has been gaining traction on PoW, and why going forward, Lorien expects PoS to remain the dominant consensus mechanism.

Note: This episode was recorded on 24 April 2022.

Joseph Cox – COO, XMonetae – Ep029

There are very few people in crypto who have transitioned from the Metropolitan Opera to digital assets. Joseph Cox, COO at XMonetae Capital, is one of them.

XMonetae is an NFA and SEC registered asset management firm specialising in digital asset trading for sophisticated and institutional investors.

In this conversation with CopperCasts host, Tyler Kenyon, Joe speaks about rising institutional interest in crypto as a digital asset class, how XMonetae approaches risk management, the challenges of staying focused in a sector abound with endless opportunities, and the areas of the industry he believes hold the most potential in the years to come.

Don’t forget to check out Joe’s Show & Tell on our Youtube where he shares why digital assets present a historic market opportunity. In this clip, Joe explains that the cryptoasset market cap being relatively tiny compared to traditional asset classes such as gold, US public equities and US bonds, demonstrates the vast amount of room there is for the digital asset industry to run.

Don't forget to download the full episode, and subscribe on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

You can hear more from the Copper team by following @CopperHQ, or visit our site and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, copper.co/insights.

Daniel Masters – Chairman, Coinshares – Ep028

Daniel Masters, Chairman of CoinShares, Europe's largest and longest standing digital asset investment firm, joins the pod to provide his perspective on the state of the crypto market. 

 

CoinShares needs no real introduction. Since its inception, the firm has been a pioneer in digital assets by offering a suite of financial products and crypto ETPs, enabling digital asset exposure for investors on traditional exchanges such as Euronext, Börse Xetra, Six Swiss Exchange.

 

In this wide-ranging conversation with Tyler, recorded on May 2022, Daniel discusses his long and distinguished career in commodities trading, how he stumbled upon bitcoin, his conviction in DeFi as the future of global finance, why crypto is anti-fragile, and all the cool things happening at CoinShares – including the firm's strategic plan to build an investment-crypto friendly bank. 

 

Make sure to check out Daniel’s Show & Tell on our YouTube channel, where he discusses the business models that Web3 is powering.

Glenn Morgan – Digital Asset Practice Leader, Aon – Ep027

Episode 27 of CopperCasts welcomes Glenn Morgan, Digital Asset Practice Leader, at Aon.

Aon is a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk solutions for a range of businesses, including crypto firms.

CopperCasts are split into two parts. The first is a short (2min) video in which our guest shares with us something they find unusual or inspiring about the digital asset space. The second half is a traditional audio-only podcast, which you can search for in all the usual places.

In this audio-only conversation with CopperCasts host, Tyler Kenyon, Glenn discusses crypto’s evolving risk landscape and the challenges the industry presents for insurers in underwriting policies. He details the different types of insurance coverage that are tailored to crypto unique risk profile include D&O insurance, crime insurance, staking and slashing insurance, and more.

In his Show & Tell, Glenn explains the evolution of insurance in digital assets, why insurance appetite waned after 2017, and how Aon is addressing this sector as it continues to transform.

Perianne Boring –Founder, Chamber of Digital Commerce – Ep026

In recent months, crypto has certainly received more than its fair share of attention from regulators and policymakers.

 

The enormity of this interest was evidenced at the DC Blockchain Summit in downtown Washington in May. Attended by over 800 people – including many of the country’s top lawmakers, regulators and crypto lobbyists – the conference was the largest gathering of the crypto industry in Washington to date.

 

Ahead of the summit, Tyler sat down with Perianne Boring, the founder and president of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, which hosted the summit.

As our long term listeners are aware, CopperCasts are split into two parts; a short (2min) video in which our guest shares with us something they find unusual or inspiring about the digital asset space, followed by a traditional audio-only podcast, which you can search for in all the usual places.

In her conversation with Tyler, Perianne explains that coming from a small town in Florida, the ripple effect of the housing crisis in 2008 was severe in her town. So when shortly afterwards a friend introduced her to bitcoin, she was immediately attracted by the asset's monetary properties. In 2014, Perianne founded the first national trade association for the industry, working to help policymakers in DC make sense of blockchain technology and what it can do for the country.

In her Show & Tell, Perianne provides an overview of the regulatory landscape for digital assets in the United States, explaining that although there are a panoply of regulators overseeing the crypto space, the industry is lacking a coordinated approach to regulation.

You can hear more from the Copper team by following @CopperHQ, or visit our site and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, copper.co/insights.