Blockcast

You've heard of digital money, you may have heard of digital identities, but have you heard of a digital country? Draper Startup House Global Founder, Vikram Bharati, is leading Draper's initiative to build a digital country with help from the blockchain. Known as Draper Nation, the abstract concept feeds rather seamlessly into the Web3 narrative of decentralisation and community building, but how realistic is it?Join us as we ask Bharati more about his vision for a world where physical and digital countries can coexist, and what citizens can expect from such a paradigm-shifting form of government.

Vikram is the Global Founder of Draper Startup House, a concept inspired by his two-year backpacking journey across more than 50 countries on six continents. His vision is to create a global network of economic and soulful landing pads for entrepreneurs, effectively forming a new type of global chamber of commerce in every major city worldwide. Vikram is also the Co-Founder of Draper Nation and the Founder of Draper Startup House Ventures, which focuses on investing in early-stage startups globally. Before establishing Draper Startup House in 2018, Vikram led venture capital investments at REAPRA, where he invested in early-stage ventures across Asia. His career began at J.P. Morgan, where he was an early member of several new ventures. Vikram grew up in Los Angeles and completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Riverside, followed by an MBA from the University of Southern California.

From Diablo to FIFA to Final Fantasy to Pokemon, here at Blockhead, we're big fans of gaming. But despite our love for gaming and our ardent passion for Web3, blockchain gaming has yet to convince us to abandon our Articunos for Axies.
Join us as Jeremy Foo, who serves as the Global Head of Gaming for TrilliTech and Tezos, tells us how blockchain gaming is restoring its reputation from deafening backlash, and why we should delve into the vibrant Web3 worlds of Meta Pals, Battle Tabs, Stars Symphony, and Dogami.

Jeremy Foo is an experienced gaming industry leader with deep experience in strategy, operations, and investment. Today, he leads the gaming vertical at TriliTech, and is responsible for the success of gaming on the Tezos blockchain.

Previously, he has successfully guided senior management at Sea Group on key strategic initiatives. He also drove major investment deals, improved the monetization of Garena Free Fire, and led the League of Legends publishing team in Thailand. As a passionate gamer, he adopts a first principles understanding of gaming trends.

Here at Blockhead, we love working in Web3. But what are the challenges in securing a job in crypto? With markets wildly fluctuating from bull to bear overnight, is job security in Web3 one of the most unstable among all industries?

With over 8 years in Web3 recruitment, Randstad Associate Director, Rumi Mohd, has seen it all. From ruthless mass layoffs to ambitious mass hirings, Mohd has helped countless candidates rotate within the industry over the years.

Join us as Mohd reveals what it takes for candidates to survive in the Web3 workforce, as well as offering guidance for newcomers to the market. Mohd is a passionate leader in talent recruitment and employer consultancy services at Randstad Singapore, specialising in the sales, marketing, and communications industry. He partners with companies across exciting sectors like Web3, Fintech, and Crypto – from pre-seed start-ups to listed Unicorns – to identify top talent with the perfect blend of technical expertise, personality fit and culture match. Rumi’s dedication to his work extends beyond talent acquisition; as he is consistently recognised as a top performer within Randstad Singapore, demonstrating exceptional loyalty and growth since 2017.

Credited with being one of the world's first bitcoin exchanges – accounting for up to 80% of trading volume during its peak – Mt Gox first launched in the summer of 2010 but suspended operations in February 2014 amid heightened speculation about potential untoward activity. The fall of the Japanese exchange in 2014 was prompted by 750,000 bitcoin – at the time worth around $500 million, and now in the billions – that went missing, putting crypto’s future in doubt. Its former CEO Mark Karpeles remains a controversial figure.

Mark Karpeles rose to prominence as the CEO of Mt. Gox, once the world's largest Bitcoin exchange. Founded in 2010 by American programmer Jed McCaleb, Mt. Gox quickly became the go-to platform for buying, selling, and trading Bitcoin, handling a significant majority of all Bitcoin transactions at its peak.

However, Mt. Gox's meteoric rise was accompanied by mounting controversies and technical challenges. From security breaches to regulatory scrutiny, the exchange faced numerous setbacks that ultimately culminated in its catastrophic collapse in 2014. Hundreds of thousands of Bitcoins belonging to users vanished, sparking outrage and legal battles that continue to this day.

Mark Karpeles found himself thrust into the spotlight as the face of Mt. Gox's downfall, grappling with accusations of mismanagement, negligence, and even embezzlement. Despite maintaining his innocence, Karpeles faced a grueling legal battle and endured intense public scrutiny in the aftermath of the exchange's demise.

In this candid and unfiltered interview, Karpeles opens up about his experiences navigating the tumultuous landscape of early cryptocurrency adoption, and the state of the cryptocurrency industry a decade later.

Katherine Ng might be leaving her Tezos days behind her, but the former TZ APAC MD is taking her experience and channeling her Web3 wisdom into a new project: Katashe. Focusing on Venture Building, Katashe has just signed its first partner, Filliquid (the premier decentralized liquidity pool on Filecoin), through which Katherine serves as the Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer.
Join us as we sit down with Katherine to discuss the challenges of reshaping your personal brands in Web3 and why working with your significant other might just be the best business decision you can make. Katherine also shares her experience working with Filliquid and her plans to grow Katashe.

Welcome to the latest episode of Blockcast, where dreams of crypto riches ride the meme wave until they wipe out on the shores of reality. This time, we're surfing the tumultuous tides of the memecoin market—a place where fortunes are made and lost faster than you can say "Pepecoin."
As your trusty co-hosts, we're diving deep into the crypto craze that's once again captivating and confounding investors across the globe. These aren't your grandma's investments, unless your grandma is into frog-themed cryptocurrencies and turning pocket change into millions on a whim.
In the world of memecoins, the motto is "get rich or meme trying." The stakes are high, with the entire memecoin sector now worth over $44 billion, but these digital assets are the wild west of the investment world.
Today, we're dissecting the frenzy fueling these meteoric rises, debate whether any of these coins have the staying power, and consider if the dream of meme-riches is achievable or just a fantasy.
Remember, in the world of memecoins, the journey to the moon might just be a detour "Straight to Zero." But hey, we're here for a good time, not a long time, right?

As part of the pioneering team for MAS’s Payment Services Act, Angela delves into her experience from within Singapore's regulator, reminding us that "regulators are people too." Now serving as a Senior Policy Advisor at TRM Labs, Angela reflects on her policy experience and how she is applying it to strengthen security in the crypto market.
Today's unstoppable bull market continues to attract investors but also presents a breeding ground for criminal behavior. Illicit crypto crimes are continuing to evolve, with more egregious and intricate exploits circumventing existing safeguards. Angela discusses the work TRM Labs is doing to help law enforcement across the world tackle these challenges.

Dive into the heart of digital asset management and the evolving landscape of crypto marketing in this episode of Blockcast, featuring Kimberly Jin, Chief Marketing Officer at Darwinbit.

Kimberly takes us on a journey through the innovative world of Darwinbit, a firm that's setting new standards in offering structured products, staking, and fixed income services to meet the diverse financial needs within the crypto sector. With offices in Hong Kong and Singapore, Darwinbit has quickly become a key player, engaging with clients and investors from traditional finance and beyond.

In this episode, Kimberly shares her unique transition from the Web2 giants like Nielsen and Google to the forefront of Web3, highlighting the challenges and opportunities of marketing in the ever-changing crypto environment. We delve into the impact of recent events on branding strategies, the lessons learned from the industry's highs and lows, and the distinct differences between Web2 and Web3 branding.

Whether you're deeply embedded in the crypto world or just crypto-curious, this episode will give you insights into the dynamic interplay between marketing, technology, and finance in the digital age.

This week, we turn the questions on to the Blockhead team, uncovering what Web3 goodness we're looking forward to in 2024. From crypto ETFs, to Layer 2's, to airdrops, to regulation, to even the metaverse, Blockhead reveals its most anticipated themes for the digital asset world this year.

In this episode of Blockcast, we've invited Kenny Chan, StraitsX's Head and General Manager to dive into all things Stablecoins.

Exploring the significance behind these crypto assets that are designed maintain a stable value, we discussed with Kenny what the role of stablecoins are in the crypto market, why some coins may destabilise, and why they still have such an investment appeal in the market.

And with their newly acquired IPA from MAS, we found out how the license will impact StraitsX's retail customers going forward, and what they are up to in this brand new year.

In this week's Blockcast, we sit down with Ripple APAC Policy Director, Rahul Advani, to discuss the SEC's historic decision to approve Bitcoin ETFs. Advani also shares his thoughts on the regulatory landscape in 2024 and the challenges facing the crypto industry this year

Bitcoin Ordinals have swarmed up our radars over the past few months, with news of their trading volume on marketplaces such as OKX surpassing established NFT platforms like OpenSea and Blur. 

But what exactly are Ordinals? Is it just another buzzword for NFTs that degens are leveraging to trade their way to fortune, or do Ordinals actually carry more weight and responsibility in the Bitcoin ecosystem?

In this episode, we invited Naqib Noor, co-founder and development lead of Ordzaar, a permission-less and fully decentralised marketplace dedicated to helping creatives launch their artwork on Ordinals.

Join us as we discuss distinctions Ordinals from Ethereum NFTs, why some Bitcoin maxis hate them, and how Ordzaar is changing the game for the industry.

Don’t forget to stay tuned all the way to the end for some juicy exclusive announcement from the co-founder himself. (You heard it here first on Blockcast!)

The buzzword of 2022, "NFT" fell on hushed tones through 2023's brutal crypto winter. Now that the market has entered bull-mode, are we seeing the re-emergence of NFTs through the hype of Ordinals and Solana NFTs feeding off the growing attention of their respective blockchains? Join us as we uncover what went down in the NFT-degen world this year and evaluate whether it has the legs to run alongside the current market run.

It’s never been a better time to be a solo staker on Ethereum.

From the lower financial and technical barriers to entry to the abundant opportunities from ETH staking projects, both new and old, the stage is set for the rise of a new class — the “sovereign staker.”

This week, we're joined by Samuel Chong, who runs Stakesaurus, which is building a community of home-stakers. If you've ever thought about owning and running your Ethereum validator node in a completely self-sovereign manner, dive in!

Welcome to another episode of Blockcast, where we delve deep into the evolving world of digital assets. In this episode, we're joined by Jason Allegrante, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer at Fireblocks, a trailblazer in the realm of digital asset operations and blockchain innovation.

Jason brings a wealth of experience from his tenure at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and his legal practice at prestigious international firms. His journey through the fintech landscape, advising early-stage companies at the crossroads of financial services and the burgeoning digital asset economy, makes him a voice of authority in this space.

In our conversation, we explore the intricate web of compliance and risk mitigation challenges that are increasingly prevalent in the digital assets industry. As financial institutions venture deeper into offering digital asset services, Jason sheds light on how Fireblocks is tailoring its solutions to meet these evolving compliance needs.

We also dive into the global regulation outlook for 2024, discussing potential shifts and trends that could shape the future of digital assets. Jason's insights provide a unique perspective on how regulations might unfold and impact the industry.

Fireblocks, known for its enterprise-grade platform that ensures secure management of digital assets, is at the forefront of this revolution. With over $4 trillion in digital assets secured and a unique insurance policy covering assets in storage and transit, Fireblocks is a beacon of security and innovation in the digital asset world.

Join us as we unravel the complexities of compliance in the crypto sphere, understand the role of Fireblocks in this dynamic environment, and get a glimpse of what the future holds for digital asset regulation and innovation.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone keen on understanding the intersection of finance, technology, and the law in the digital age.

Join Blockhead as we explore Singapore Fintech Festival 2023, talk to some of the leading exhibitors such as OCBC, Sygnum Bank and Circle, and discuss MAS' latest announcements and partnerships on 'Project Guardian'.

Alright, fellow blockchain buffs and crypto connoisseurs, welcome back to Blockcast, your go-to spot for all things quirky and quizzical in the crypto-verse.

This week, we're diving headfirst into the wacky world of memecoins. So, grab your Doge ears and strap in—it's going to be a wild ride.

Bitcoin just reached a new high not seen since early 2022. In this week's episode, we looked deep into the swirling currents of Bitcoin's potential 2024 bull run.

We got the opportunity to chat with Raoul Pal; economist, investment strategist, and CEO & co-founder of Real Vision.  

Our columnist Jon Reiter sits down to have a chat with Raoul Pal about cryptocurrency and its place in the real world. They explore CBDCs (Of which Raoul doesn't care about), why Raoul keeps Ethereum, the shades of grey of DAOs, Space X, and a number of other intense topics.   

Watch the video on our YouTube: https://youtu.be/JInc33as-s0

Tammy Tay first made her mark as a successful influencer in Singapore, even if she hates the word. Now, she's dived face-first into the world of NFTs and DAOs - while our other guest, Xeppy of UnfilteredNFT went from Dungeons and Dragons to Web3 Educator all within a year.

We present our very first Blockcast, the podcast about all things Web3 by Blockhead. In our inaugural episode, we sit down with Clara Peh of NFT Asia about building a strong regional community, the power of memes, and the definition of art in the NFT space.