From NFT.NYC 2024 in New York City, BlockchainJournal.com editor-in-chief David Berlind interviews Sam Whitaker, the founder of Quixotish, a newly launched startup focused on the usage of blockchain to drive the success of charities and non-profits. Given how Blockchain Journal is focused on implementations of blockchain meant to drive new or improved business outcomes for big brands and enterprises, Quixotish's first customer – St. Jude Children's Research Hospital – caught David's eye as one of the most well-known non-profits on the planet. During the interview, Whitaker explains how Quixotish's novel blockchain-based approach to driving charitable donations works.
The general idea, as Whitaker describes it, is for a charity like St. Jude to curate donations of valuable blockchain-based assets (e.g., NFTs) and then for the charity to conduct an auction where those assets are sold on the secondary market with the proceeds flowing to St. Judes as fiat currency. On the surface, it sounds pretty simple. But it's also important for donors to know that when they're dealing with a relatively anonymized address on a blockchain, that address actually belongs to the intended charity. In other words, it can be a bit more complicated than it sounds.
To ensure accountability, Whitaker highlights the steps he took with St. Jude, including the video recording of wallet setup sessions involving St. Jude representatives and the subsequent publication of these videos on Quixotish's platforms. The interview touches upon the significance of St. Jude's reputation and operational scale, framing it as the "Google" or "Apple" of the charity world, given the charity's multi-million dollar daily cash flow. Whitaker underscores the hospital's commitment to providing free care to children and openly sharing its research.
Towards the end, Whitaker discusses the practical aspects of the auction, including its timing and accessibility to both crypto and fiat currency users by virtue of St. Jude's reliance on a combined NFT marketplace and custodial wallet solution from Magic Eden. By supporting crypto users across a long list of public blockchains as well as non-crypto users who prefer to deal in fiat currencies like the US dollar, he underscores the initiative's inclusivity, welcoming participation from individuals regardless of their familiarity with blockchain technology.
To watch the video version of this podcast or read its full-text transcript, go to:
https://blockchainjournal.com/interview/how-quixotish-is-helping-st-jude-charity-raise-money-blockchain-technology
The video can also be watched on Blockchain Journal's YouTube Channel at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHr3gx8Jy78
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From NFT.NYC 2024 in New York City, BlockchainJournal.com editor-in-chief David Berlind interviews Sam Whitaker, the founder of Quixotish, a newly launched startup focused on the usage of blockchain to drive the success of charities and non-profits. Given how Blockchain Journal is focused on implementations of blockchain meant to drive new or improved business outcomes for big brands and enterprises, Quixotish's first customer – St. Jude Children's Research Hospital – caught David's eye as one of the most well-known non-profits on the planet. During the interview, Whitaker explains how Quixotish's novel blockchain-based approach to driving charitable donations works.
The general idea, as Whitaker describes it, is for a charity like St. Jude to curate donations of valuable blockchain-based assets (e.g., NFTs) and then for the charity to conduct an auction where those assets are sold on the secondary market with the proceeds flowing to St. Judes as fiat currency. On the surface, it sounds pretty simple. But it's also important for donors to know that when they're dealing with a relatively anonymized address on a blockchain, that address actually belongs to the intended charity. In other words, it can be a bit more complicated than it sounds.
To ensure accountability, Whitaker highlights the steps he took with St. Jude, including the video recording of wallet setup sessions involving St. Jude representatives and the subsequent publication of these videos on Quixotish's platforms. The interview touches upon the significance of St. Jude's reputation and operational scale, framing it as the "Google" or "Apple" of the charity world, given the charity's multi-million dollar daily cash flow. Whitaker underscores the hospital's commitment to providing free care to children and openly sharing its research.
Towards the end, Whitaker discusses the practical aspects of the auction, including its timing and accessibility to both crypto and fiat currency users by virtue of St. Jude's reliance on a combined NFT marketplace and custodial wallet solution from Magic Eden. By supporting crypto users across a long list of public blockchains as well as non-crypto users who prefer to deal in fiat currencies like the US dollar, he underscores the initiative's inclusivity, welcoming participation from individuals regardless of their familiarity with blockchain technology.
To watch the video version of this podcast or read its full-text transcript, go to:
https://blockchainjournal.com/interview/how-quixotish-is-helping-st-jude-charity-raise-money-blockchain-technology
The video can also be watched on Blockchain Journal's YouTube Channel at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHr3gx8Jy78
Given Regulatory Uncertainties, Businesses Should Seek Experienced Legal Input on Blockchain Plans
Blockchain Journal with David Berlind
17 minutes 40 seconds
1 year ago
Given Regulatory Uncertainties, Businesses Should Seek Experienced Legal Input on Blockchain Plans
Keith Miller, a partner at the Perkins Coie law firm, joins BlockchainJournal.com editor-in-chief David Berlind on the Blockchain Journal podcast during the NFT.NYC conference in New York City. As law firms go, Perkins Coie is well-known for its expertise in technology and has been involved in blockchain since 2012. During the interview, Miller recounts his journey into the space, representing early exchanges and navigating major crypto cases involving the SEC, such as Library (LBRY) and Ripple. But the conversation quickly turns to the current day environment where American businesses are hesitant to move forward with their blockchain plans so long as there's a chance they could end up on the wrong side of a law that hasn't even been written yet.
Today, Miller and other members of the Perkins Coie team help the law firm's clients figure out how to move forward with their blockchain innovations, given the significant regulatory uncertainty in the United States. While some states have passed blockchain-specific laws, the US Congress has made virtually no headway in terms of drafting such laws at the Federal level. This situation leaves government agencies such as the SEC, the CFTC, and the IRS to rely on existing laws (laws that were drafted before blockchain existed) to guide their regulatory activities when it comes to blockchain and cryptocurrency. Against the backdrop of that lack of regulatory clarity, Miller discusses the challenges facing organizations in the evolving crypto landscape and advises organizations against the idea of engaging in projects solely for fast profits. Highlighting recent cases involving NFTs, Miller stressed the need for organizations to develop a clearly articulated business purpose for their NFT ventures (implying that making a quick buck off primary market sales of NFTs is likely to attract the attention of regulators looking to carry out their next enforcement).
The conversation delves into the role of the SEC in fostering innovation amidst its primary objectives of investor protection, capital formation, and market integrity. Miller suggests that regulatory clarity is necessary for innovation to thrive, expressing skepticism about imminent changes from the SEC without Congressional intervention. The current highly tribalistic political divide is further complicating the regulatory landscape, potentially hindering progress when it comes to blockchain legislation. And, so long as the laws are slow in coming, organizations would be remiss not to seek the input of legal experts to help them strike the right balance between blockchain innovation and federal enforcement trends.
To watch the video version of this podcast or read its full-text transcript, go to:
https://blockchainjournal.com/interview/given-regulatory-uncertainties-businesses-should-seek-experienced-legal-input-blockchain
The video can also be watched on Blockchain Journal's YouTube Channel at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XST_RfApG1Q
Blockchain Journal with David Berlind
From NFT.NYC 2024 in New York City, BlockchainJournal.com editor-in-chief David Berlind interviews Sam Whitaker, the founder of Quixotish, a newly launched startup focused on the usage of blockchain to drive the success of charities and non-profits. Given how Blockchain Journal is focused on implementations of blockchain meant to drive new or improved business outcomes for big brands and enterprises, Quixotish's first customer – St. Jude Children's Research Hospital – caught David's eye as one of the most well-known non-profits on the planet. During the interview, Whitaker explains how Quixotish's novel blockchain-based approach to driving charitable donations works.
The general idea, as Whitaker describes it, is for a charity like St. Jude to curate donations of valuable blockchain-based assets (e.g., NFTs) and then for the charity to conduct an auction where those assets are sold on the secondary market with the proceeds flowing to St. Judes as fiat currency. On the surface, it sounds pretty simple. But it's also important for donors to know that when they're dealing with a relatively anonymized address on a blockchain, that address actually belongs to the intended charity. In other words, it can be a bit more complicated than it sounds.
To ensure accountability, Whitaker highlights the steps he took with St. Jude, including the video recording of wallet setup sessions involving St. Jude representatives and the subsequent publication of these videos on Quixotish's platforms. The interview touches upon the significance of St. Jude's reputation and operational scale, framing it as the "Google" or "Apple" of the charity world, given the charity's multi-million dollar daily cash flow. Whitaker underscores the hospital's commitment to providing free care to children and openly sharing its research.
Towards the end, Whitaker discusses the practical aspects of the auction, including its timing and accessibility to both crypto and fiat currency users by virtue of St. Jude's reliance on a combined NFT marketplace and custodial wallet solution from Magic Eden. By supporting crypto users across a long list of public blockchains as well as non-crypto users who prefer to deal in fiat currencies like the US dollar, he underscores the initiative's inclusivity, welcoming participation from individuals regardless of their familiarity with blockchain technology.
To watch the video version of this podcast or read its full-text transcript, go to:
https://blockchainjournal.com/interview/how-quixotish-is-helping-st-jude-charity-raise-money-blockchain-technology
The video can also be watched on Blockchain Journal's YouTube Channel at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHr3gx8Jy78
