According to crypto analyst Ran Neuner, crypto treasury companies like SBET and Strategy aren't actually driving crypto prices higher because they're primarily redistribution mechanisms rather than net buyers of digital assets. Instead of purchasing crypto on open markets, these companies allow crypto insiders to exchange their existing holdings for publicly traded shares at premium valuations, essentially selling crypto exposure to retail investors at 2-4 times the underlying asset value.

YieldSec, an anti-crime platform using adapted military counter-terrorism technology, claims the illegal crypto gambling industry generated $81.4 billion in revenue in 2024, nearly matching the entire estimated legal online gambling market and dwarfing traditional operators like Flutter and DraftKings who struggle with profitability.

Jeffrey Wurgler is the Nomura Professor of Finance at New York University Stern School of Business. In this conversation, Professor Jeffrey Wurgler discusses his research on retail investor behaviour, focusing on how individual investors gather information and make trading decisions. He highlights the challenges of data collection and analysis, the influence of price action and news on trading behaviour, and the differences in investment strategies among various types of investors. The conversation also touches on the impact of social media on trading, the macro-level implications of retail trading, and the potential for regulation to encourage more thoughtful investment behaviour.

In this conversation, Devin Finzer, CEO of OpenSea, discusses the current state and future of NFTs, the impact of generative AI on content creation, and the evolving identity and community aspects within the NFT space. He highlights the divergence between in-game skins and on-chain NFTs, the improvements in user experience at OpenSea, and the positive changes in the regulatory environment for crypto. Finzer also shares insights on OpenSea 2, the future of NFT projects, and the importance of smaller projects in the ecosystem.

We spoke to Christian Reeves from Bank License Pro about international banking in Puerto Rico, and how one becomes an international banking consultant.

We spoke to Mike Hudack, the CEO of Sling Money on how stablecoins are changing consumer payments. We also spoke about Mike's time as CPO of Monzo & Deliveroo.

Discussion with Simon Jones, the Chief Commercial Officer from Baanx on non-custodial payments, advertising in finance apps, Metamask card and the future of Fintech.

We are joined by Pedro Barros, Remote.com's SVP & GM of Contractors.

We are joined by Archie Burgess, who is an Investment Director at Cibus.

Dr Sipke Shaughnessy joins us to discuss investing in Frontier Markets. He is a geographer and anthropologist who has worked as a strategic advisor on political, social and environmental risk to businesses operating in frontier and emerging markets since completing his PhD in 2019, which focused on nomadic pastoralist economies in northern Kenya.

With Doug Ricket, founder & CEO of PayJoy. PayJoy pioneered the use of phone-locking technology as collateral, enabling them to extend credit to customers who lack traditional banking relationships or credit histories.

We spoke to Noa Cohen from Next Gen Tories on the cost of living, demographics and more.

Samer Almousa joined us to discuss his extensive experience in alternative payments

Governments around the world have been cutting down on cash. But cash infrastructure has shrunk faster than consumer's need for it. We spoke to Filip Surowiak-Long on high risk payments, e-cash and more.

Iran has a highly developed economy and even a functioning stock market, yet it is cut off from global trade. We discussed the geopolitics behind the global sanctions programme against Iran with Esfandyar Batmanghelidj. Esfandyar is the founder of the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation.

In a conversation with Stephen Fallon we discussed how global trade is dictated by a few global banks. These banks may be headquartered in Asia or Europe, but they increasingly consider themselves US banks for regulatory purposes. Stephen was Chief Compliance Officer of INSTEX, a European state-owned company which aimed to facilitate trade with Iran after the US dropped out of the US-Iran nuclear deal.

In conversation with Martin Carrica, the founder of the Fintech company Mountain Protocol, about the economic realities of Argentina. What does it mean to live with a rapidly depreciating currency for decades? What happens if one day the money in your bank account is no longer yours? How have cryptodollars become a staple in the streets of Buenos Aires?

We spoke with Grace Jackson of GiveDirectly about poverty, international development, charities and some of the taboos around giving away money. We discuss evidence based charity, the role of development experts and GiveDirectly's experiences in developing countries such as Yemen and Malawi.

In our second episode we interview Craig McMahon, author of the book "Taming The Fringe". Taming The Fringe discusses the British payday lending and pawnbrokering markets from 1870 until today. We discuss the business of high cost consumer credit. Why payday loans are so expensive? Are they predatory debt traps preying on vulnerable consumers, or do they serve a valid business need? Why do regulators often feel the need to step in to regulate these markets? How do we strike a balance between protecting consumers and ensuring they have access to credit?

In our first episode we discuss Bitcoin Bonds, the fall of Venezuela and the market for junk sovereign debt with Frank Muci. Frank Muci is a Policy Fellow at the Growth Lab Research Collaboration at LSE. He is an international economic development practitioner with experience advising governments in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe on growth policy, economic diversification and public financial management.  This podcast is hosted by Boaz Sobrado & Alex Kidwell.