Off The Chain

Chris Slaughter is co-founder and CEO of LVL, a new full-fledged banking account that I invested in that is focused on providing all of the fiat and Bitcoin financial services you would expect for only $9/month. This disruptive business model is already growing in popularity with users, so I wanted to bring Chris on to explain it in more detail. In this conversation, we discuss demand deposit accounts, custodial accounts, importance of FDIC insurance, why monthly subscriptions make more financial sense for everyone involved, and how they built a product to service US dollars and Bitcoin simultaneously.  =============================== The Trends premium weekly report helps you understand market trends poised to skyrocket and how you can pounce. Join the private network of 5k+ builders, founders, and investors spotting tomorrow’s trends. Expand your network, and discover the next big business idea before it explodes: https://trends.co/pomp/ =============================== The Helium Hotspot is a new product t

Greg Isenberg is the Founder of Late Checkout and a Growth Advisor to TikTok. He previously built and sold a number of technology companies, including acquisitions by Stumbleupon and WeWork. In this conversation, we discuss businesses as vending machines, why momentum matters for social companies, working at WeWork, the no code movement, and various startup ideas that people should go build. =============================== BlockFi allows you to keep your crypto, put it up as collateral, and receive a USD loan funded directly to your bank account. They do loans ranging from $2,000 to $10,000,000, and they're perfect for helping you reach your financial goals of all sizes. Visit BlockFi.com/Pomp to learn more about putting your crypto to work without having to sell it. https://www.blockfi.com/pomp  =============================== Our second sponsor is Choice, a new self-directed IRA product that I'm really excited about. If you are listening to this, you are likely part of the 7.1 million bitcoin owners who ha

Brooke Pollack is the Founder and Managing Partner at Hutt Capital, a blockchain venture capital fund of funds and direct investment firm. In this conversation, we discuss the institutional LP world, how a traditional due diligence process works, common mistakes fund managers make, and the current blockchain VC fund landscape. =============================== The World Series of Trading (WSOT) is the first of its kind to bring the exhilaration of crypto trading competition to the global stage. WSOT believes in the importance of empowering traders who embody the passion and power for crypto trading. This bi-annual event aims to champion the spirit of competition, fair play, and cultivate camaraderie among crypto derivatives traders from around the world with the ultimate goal of creating positive change in the crypto space. This year’s prize pool is a whopping 200 BTC. Sign up here: http://www.bybit.com/wsot_warmup? =============================== Pomp writes a daily letter to over 50,000 investors about busine

Ben Zhou is the co-founder and CEO of Bybit, a global crypto derivatives exchange. He previously ran a retail forex brokerage for almost a decade. In this conversation, we discuss Bybit's founding story, how they used affiliate marketing to grow so fast, mobile trading trends, the World Series of Trading event, and what Ben thinks about the Chinese digital currency plans. =============================== Blockset by BRD is your hosted blockchain infrastructure. Blockset enables enterprises and developers around the globe to deliver high-quality blockchain-based applications in a fraction of the time, at a fraction of the cost. Using the services provided by Blockset, businesses can build professional custody solutions, accurate and near real-time portfolio management solutions, auditing platforms, commercial block explorers, and much more: https://www.blockset.com =============================== The Helium Hotspot is a new product that enables the people, not the telcos, to own and operate a wireless network i

Ryan Radloff is the CEO of Kingdom Trust, an independent qualified custodian focused on leveraging technology to provide customized and innovative custody solutions for clients including alternative asset investments. He previously was the co-founder and CEO of CoinShares, which led the charge for crypto adoption in Europe. In this conversation, we discuss Ryan's background, why he started Coinshares and how they grew, the importance of leveraging Kingdom Trust's Choice product to get Bitcoin into retirement accounts, and why Bitcoin provides the ability for savers to financially outperform investors. =============================== LVL is a mobile banking app that provides an integrated Bitcoin and traditional bank account experience for a flat $9 monthly fee. They have no trading commission like Coinbase and no hidden spread like Robinhood. Your cash is held in a private, FDIC-insured checking account and you can buy and sell Bitcoin as many times as you want and only pay the monthly $9 flat fee. Legendary

Michael Sonnenshein is the Managing Director at Grayscale Investments, the largest digital currency asset manager. In this role, Michael oversees the daily operations and growth of the business and its more than $4 billion in assets under management. In this conversation, we discuss Grayscale's Q2 results, where the capital inflows are coming from, why investors are flocking to digital assets, how Grayscale thinks about the premiums, and whether Grayscale will eventually own all the Bitcoin being mined. =============================== The Trends premium weekly report helps you understand market trends poised to skyrocket and how you can pounce. Join the private network of 5k+ builders, founders, and investors spotting tomorrow’s trends. Expand your network, and discover the next big business idea before it explodes: https://trends.co/pomp/ ===============================  Crypto.com is the only all-in-one platform that allows you to BUY / SELL / STORE / EARN / LOAN / INVEST crypto all from one place. Join ove

Mikey Taylor is a former professional skateboarder who now spends his time investing in real estate across the United States at Commune Capital. He previously was also the co-founder of Saint Archer Brewery before they were acquired by MillerCoors. In this conversation, we discuss Mikey's epic run as a pro skateboarder, learning to be an entrepreneur, how he used self-evaluation to pursue self-improvement, how the Saint Archer acquisition happened, what he is seeing happen in the real estate market, and why market cycles are essential to understand. =============================== The BTSE exchange allows you to trade confidently. They are the leader in futures, which means they are pioneering Futures 2.0. With BTSE, you can trade next-level futures: freely choose and combine your margin and settlement assets and trade with up to 100x leverage. You can also sign up for a BTSE Elite membership that gives you unbeatable discounts and bonuses across the BTSE Exchange, OTC platform, and more. Go to BTSE.com/pomp

Ana Lorena Fabrega is a former teacher who now spends her time focused on building products to reimagine education. In this conversation, we discuss what traditional education gets wrong, how to unlearn what you learned, the toxic school culture of memorization, the changing role of educators, the future of online learning, and how to raise generations of entrepreneurs, creators, and producers.  =============================== BlockFi allows you to keep your crypto, put it up as collateral, and receive a USD loan funded directly to your bank account. They do loans ranging from $2,000 to $10,000,000, and they're perfect for helping you reach your financial goals of all sizes. Visit BlockFi.com/Pomp to learn more about putting your crypto to work without having to sell it. https://www.blockfi.com/pomp  =============================== Our second sponsor is choice, a new self-directed IRA product that I'm really excited about. If you are listening to this, you are likely part of the 7.1 million bitcoin owners who

Jesse Proudman is the co-founder and CEO of Strix Leviathan, a quantitative crypto hedge fund algorithmically trading digital assets. In this conversation, we discuss quantitative trading in crypto, the lack of institutional infrastructure, why prime brokerage is so important, and the power of narratives. ========================== The World Series of Trading (WSOT) is the first of its kind to bring the exhilaration of crypto trading competition to the global stage. WSOT believes in the importance of empowering traders who embody the passion and power for crypto trading. This bi-annual event aims to champion the spirit of competition, fair play, and cultivate camaraderie among crypto derivatives traders from around the world with the ultimate goal of creating positive change in the crypto space. This year’s prize pool is a whopping 200 BTC. Sign up here: http://www.bybit.com/wsot_warmup? ========================== The Trends premium weekly report helps you understand market trends poised to skyrocket and how

Julie VerHage is the Senior Correspondent at FinTech Today. She also serves as a fintech analyst for a number of well known Silicon Valley venture capital funds after having spent a number of years as a journalist at Bloomberg. In this conversation, we discuss Square, Robinhood, Apple, Uber, Stripe, Brigit, Libra, neo-banks, streaming payments, the lending industry, technology companies helping distribute PPP money, what is next for fintech companies, and how incumbents are likely to respond to these upstarts. Julie also writes a weekly newsletter covering product strategy and analysis on the fintech industry. Check out Fintech Today to learn more. =========================== LVL is a mobile banking app that provides an integrated Bitcoin and traditional bank account experience for a flat $9 monthly fee. They have no trading commission like Coinbase and no hidden spread like Robinhood. Your cash is held in a private, FDIC-insured checking account and you can buy and sell Bitcoin as many times as you want and

Hiten Shah is the co-founder of FYI, a company that helps you find your documents in 3 clicks or less. He previously co-founded CrazyEgg and KISSmetrics as well. In this conversation, we discuss lessons learned over the last 20 years in the tech industry, venture capital vs bootstrapping, the future of remote work, why labor costs decrease and marketing costs increase, and why creators are so well positioned to build massive companies in the future. =============================== Blockset by BRD is your hosted blockchain infrastructure. Blockset enables enterprises and developers around the globe to deliver high-quality blockchain-based applications in a fraction of the time, at a fraction of the cost. Using the services provided by Blockset, businesses can build professional custody solutions, accurate and near real-time portfolio management solutions, auditing platforms, commercial block explorers, and much more: https://www.blockset.com ===============================  Crypto.com is the only all-in-one pl

Kat Cole is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Focus Brands, a company doing nearly $5 billion in annual revenue. She is the former president of Focus Brands' subsidiary Cinnabon. Prior to that, she was an Executive Vice President of Hooters. In this conversation, we discuss leading through hyper-growth, obsession with truth, why time is bad when dealing with problems, what the hotshot rule is, the importance of consumer-obsessed mindsets in business, and how Focus Brands is handling the COVID-19 pandemic and the related economic crisis. =============================== BlockFi allows you to keep your crypto, put it up as collateral, and receive a USD loan funded directly to your bank account. They do loans ranging from $2,000 to $10,000,000, and they're perfect for helping you reach your financial goals of all sizes. Visit BlockFi.com/Pomp to learn more about putting your crypto to work without having to sell it. https://www.blockfi.com/pomp  =============================== Our second sponsor is cho

Jon ‘DRJ’ Najarian was linebacker for the Chicago Bears before he turned to another kind of contact sport – trading on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. He became a member of the CBOE, NYSE, CME and CBOT and worked as a floor trader for some 25 years. He built and sold a number of companies, including a $750 million exit to E*TRADE in September 2016. In this conversation, we discuss the physicality of the old school trading pits, how Wall Street has evolved over the years, Robinhood, Davey Day Trader, why Jon and his brother are building a company to educate investors, and how much of his portfolio is currently in Bitcoin. ===============================  The BTSE exchange allows you to trade confidently. They are the leader in futures, which means they are pioneering Futures 2.0. With BTSE, you can trade next-level futures: freely choose and combine your margin and settlement assets and trade with up to 100x leverage. You can also sign up for a BTSE Elite membership that gives you unbeatable discounts and

This is an episode of The Pomp Podcast with host Anthony "Pomp" Pompliano. He answers a bunch of questions from listeners about everything from finance to business to his personal story. =============================== BlockFi allows you to keep your crypto, put it up as collateral, and receive a USD loan funded directly to your bank account. They do loans ranging from $2,000 to $10,000,000, and they're perfect for helping you reach your financial goals of all sizes. Visit BlockFi.com/Pomp to learn more about putting your crypto to work without having to sell it. https://www.blockfi.com/pomp  =============================== Our second sponsor is choice, a new self-directed IRA product that I'm really excited about. If you are listening to this, you are likely part of the 7.1 million bitcoin owners who have retirement accounts with dollars in them, but not bitcoin. I was in that situation too. Now you can actually buy real Bitcoin in your retirement account. I'm talking about owning your private keys and using

Cameron Porter is a Venture Architect at Alley Corp, an organization in New York that originates a startup idea, hires the team, funds the initial 6-12 months and launches the company. Occasionally, they invest in very early stage companies as the first seed investors as well. In this conversation, we discuss Apple as a services company, the rise of the quantitative self, why Apple will need to get into healthcare, how switching costs get higher over time, and why Cameron thinks Apple may prescribe you LSD one day. =============================== BlockFi allows you to keep your crypto, put it up as collateral, and receive a USD loan funded directly to your bank account. They do loans ranging from $2,000 to $10,000,000, and they're perfect for helping you reach your financial goals of all sizes. Visit BlockFi.com/Pomp to learn more about putting your crypto to work without having to sell it. https://www.blockfi.com/pomp =============================== Our second sponsor is choice, a new self-directed IRA produ

John Shahidi is a businessman, software developer, manager and producer. He and his brother started Shots Studios, a management company that produces content and serves as the creative studio for top internet talent. In this conversation, we discuss data-driven content creation, how audience is the new currency, why Shots Studios focuses on YouTube, the importance of Shopify, creators as a micro platform, and various monetization strategies for the modern internet. =============================== The Helium Hotspot is a new product that enables the people, not the telcos, to own and operate a wireless network in their city for Internet of Things devices. You can literally earn crypto for helping to build the network and providing connectivity to Internet of Things devices sending small bits of data. Join the movement and get your Helium Hotspot today with $50 off using the code POMP at helium.com.  =============================== Pomp writes a daily letter to over 50,000 investors about business, technology,

Michael Arrington is the founder of Arrington XRP Capital. He is also the founder and former co-editor of TechCrunch, a blog covering the Silicon Valley technology start-up communities. In this conversation, we discuss the modern media landscape, what he learned from TechCrunch, how regulation is affecting crypto, what is happening in US politics, why the 2nd Amendment is important, and a conversation around Bitcoin, Ripple, and XRP. =============================== Blockset by BRD is your hosted blockchain infrastructure. Blockset enables enterprises and developers around the globe to deliver high-quality blockchain-based applications in a fraction of the time, at a fraction of the cost. Using the services provided by Blockset, businesses can build professional custody solutions, accurate and near real-time portfolio management solutions, auditing platforms, commercial block explorers, and much more: https://www.blockset.com ===============================  Crypto.com is the only all-in-one platform that allo

Marc Levine is the Former Chairman of the Illinois State Board of Investment. He also started Chicago Asset Funding, which navigated the 2008 financial crisis very profitably. In this conversation, we discuss runaway pension liabilities, the disciplined systematic approach Illinois used to go from 3rd quartile of performance to top 8% in 3 years, the importance of overweighting tech and innovation, the index model of pensions, and what it will take to get Bitcoin in every pension portfolio. =============================== BlockFi allows you to keep your crypto, put it up as collateral, and receive a USD loan funded directly to your bank account. They do loans ranging from $2,000 to $10,000,000, and they're perfect for helping you reach your financial goals of all sizes. Visit BlockFi.com/Pomp to learn more about putting your crypto to work without having to sell it. https://www.blockfi.com/pomp =============================== Our second sponsor is choice, a new self-directed IRA product that I'm really excit

Douglas Boneparth is the president and founder of Bone Fide Wealth. He is also the co-author of The Millennial Money Fix, which helps millennials learn the reasons for their financial challenges and provides the mechanics for their solutions. In this conversation, we discuss how access without knowledge is dangerous, why advisors are better than roboadvisors, FOMO culture, Doug's current view on crypto, and his best & worst investment ever. =============================== BlockFi allows you to keep your crypto, put it up as collateral, and receive a USD loan funded directly to your bank account. They do loans ranging from $2,000 to $10,000,000, and they're perfect for helping you reach your financial goals of all sizes. Visit BlockFi.com/Pomp to learn more about putting your crypto to work without having to sell it. https://www.blockfi.com/pomp =============================== Our second sponsor is choice, a new self-directed IRA product that I'm really excited about. If you are listening to this, you are

Amir Haleem is the co-founder and CEO of Helium, a technology company that built the Helium Hotspot. The Helium Hotspot has created an innovative way to decentralize and democratize ownership of wireless networks. In this conversation, we talked about Amir's time as one of the top gamers in the world, why he thinks we have to decentralize wireless networks, how the Helium Hotspot works, and what it means to build the people's network. =============================== Blockset by BRD is your hosted blockchain infrastructure. Blockset enables enterprises and developers around the globe to deliver high-quality blockchain-based applications in a fraction of the time, at a fraction of the cost. Using the services provided by Blockset, businesses can build professional custody solutions, accurate and near real-time portfolio management solutions, auditing platforms, commercial block explorers, and much more: https://www.blockset.com ===============================  Crypto.com is the only all-in-one platform that al