WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:02.520 I don't think we have the intel that we should. 2 00:00:02.640 --> 00:00:04.839 I think there's more to this than we know. Thanks 3 00:00:04.919 --> 00:00:07.599 blocking this, they know something that we don't have. They 4 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:10.679 know how the financial systems work and what will work 5 00:00:10.679 --> 00:00:12.039 long term, won't. 6 00:00:11.960 --> 00:00:14.880 It seems like Bitcoin was the trojan horse almost get 7 00:00:14.919 --> 00:00:18.280 everybody to come into this technology and acid class, so 8 00:00:18.359 --> 00:00:21.440 to speak. Buy meme coins, buy NFTs, buy all coins. 9 00:00:21.480 --> 00:00:24.239 But now tradify is taking over and they're saying, hey, 10 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:27.399 here's our tukenized version of our stocks and equities. 11 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:31.800 Yeah. 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So if you'd like 31 00:01:35.239 --> 00:01:39.319 to learn more, visit the link in the description. Hey, everyone, 32 00:01:39.480 --> 00:01:42.359 welcome into the Thinking Crypto podcast. I'm your host, Tony 33 00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:45.439 Edward and joining me today is Amanda Whitcroft, who is 34 00:01:45.480 --> 00:01:48.560 the founder of Witcroft PR and the host of Get 35 00:01:48.599 --> 00:01:51.120 to the Point podcast. Amanda, great to have you. 36 00:01:51.400 --> 00:01:52.959 Thank you so much for having me Tony. 37 00:01:53.599 --> 00:01:56.879 Yeah, I've been looking forward to this conversation and lots 38 00:01:56.879 --> 00:01:59.200 of talk about as far as what's happening in the market, 39 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:01.959 and certainly to get your perspectives. But let's kick it 40 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:03.879 off with your background. Tell us about where you're from 41 00:02:04.040 --> 00:02:05.359 and your professional background. 42 00:02:05.799 --> 00:02:08.319 Yeah, and by the way, I've been following your channel 43 00:02:08.360 --> 00:02:10.680 for a really long time, so what an honor to 44 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:14.719 be your guest now. But I was born on Staten Island, 45 00:02:14.919 --> 00:02:17.759 and you know, I was very young when my parents 46 00:02:17.800 --> 00:02:20.599 moved my sister and I to upstate New York, not 47 00:02:20.759 --> 00:02:25.080 too too far upstate. People get very you know, frustrated 48 00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:27.800 when I say upstate because I was a Hudson Valley area. 49 00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:29.759 If you're familiar, it's been an hour and a half 50 00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:34.159 up state from New York City. Yeah, very beautiful, very 51 00:02:34.280 --> 00:02:38.800 rural part of New York, you know, farmland, small town. 52 00:02:38.919 --> 00:02:41.719 I grew up in a town called Campbell Hall, and 53 00:02:41.759 --> 00:02:43.520 it was it was very pretty, very boring as a 54 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:45.960 kid growing up, but as an adult you really come 55 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:48.280 to appreciate that quietness. 56 00:02:49.159 --> 00:02:51.879 Yeah, you know, I'm kind of going through that phase. 57 00:02:52.199 --> 00:02:55.120 I grew up in New York and Queens so pretty 58 00:02:55.159 --> 00:02:57.039 much went to school in the city, hung out in 59 00:02:57.080 --> 00:02:59.280 the city a lot. Now I'm in the burbs in 60 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:03.439 New Jersey. And when I did that move in twenty twenty, 61 00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:05.439 I thought I was going to miss the city so much. 62 00:03:05.479 --> 00:03:07.960 I was going to be like miserable out in the burbs. 63 00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:12.879 But now I appreciate it having a backyard, having to quietness, 64 00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:15.240 and I'm still in proximity to the city so I 65 00:03:15.240 --> 00:03:16.520 can go out and hang out if I. 66 00:03:16.479 --> 00:03:19.479 Need to exactly, And that's really what the accessibility to 67 00:03:19.560 --> 00:03:22.719 a city is everything. So but now I actually I 68 00:03:22.759 --> 00:03:26.039 live in Charleston, South Carolina, so I was living also, 69 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:28.199 I was in the city during COVID and we all 70 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:32.520 know how that went. So I left and came down 71 00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:35.039 here and it's like COVID didn't even happen down here, 72 00:03:35.080 --> 00:03:36.919 which is so funny. You know New York, we all 73 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:39.120 know everything shut down. You couldn't do anything. You had 74 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:41.840 to stand six feet apart. Here people were going to 75 00:03:41.879 --> 00:03:45.479 concerts and it's just a completely different world. But it's 76 00:03:45.520 --> 00:03:48.919 also like you said, there's a backyard, there's a different 77 00:03:49.400 --> 00:03:51.599 it's a little bit of a slower life, which is 78 00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:53.879 a different pace than I'm used to. But it's nice 79 00:03:53.879 --> 00:03:56.199 to be kind of humbled by that, and you know, 80 00:03:56.319 --> 00:03:59.960 travel elsewhere and see different different walks of life. 81 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:03.400 Absolutely, and especially when you have kids, like it makes 82 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:06.199 things a lot easier. Tell us about Woodcraft pr and 83 00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:07.360 as well as your podcast. 84 00:04:07.560 --> 00:04:11.520 Sure, so Whitcroft PR. I founded this company. So I 85 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:14.840 initially it was panneda PR in marketing and I rebranded. 86 00:04:15.319 --> 00:04:18.079 This was almost ten years ago now, which is wild 87 00:04:18.120 --> 00:04:22.319 to think about, but I started in hospitality, So I 88 00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:26.360 had my business in New York City and I grew 89 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:30.079 it with close to thirty restaurants and hotels in that area, 90 00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:35.160 and then covid hit. I lost everyone within a week 91 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:38.160 time span, and I pivoted because I had a girl 92 00:04:38.199 --> 00:04:40.279 working with me at the time who was very well 93 00:04:40.360 --> 00:04:43.920 versed in crypto and blockchain, and you know, just like 94 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:47.000 your podcast, I completely immersed myself in all these things 95 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:49.560 that we have at our disposal now. I took classes 96 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:53.800 online and I just went down the rabbit hole on Twitter, 97 00:04:54.240 --> 00:04:56.639 learned everything I could, and I built my business back 98 00:04:56.680 --> 00:04:58.399 bigger than ever in this space. 99 00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:03.160 That's amazing. What kind of drew you into crypto? Was it? 100 00:05:03.560 --> 00:05:05.920 You know, the emergence of this technology, you know what 101 00:05:06.040 --> 00:05:07.399 was kind of a aha moment for you? 102 00:05:07.800 --> 00:05:10.079 So it was it was really big cooin, I mean, 103 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:14.800 you know it was it was bitcoin. It was My 104 00:05:14.920 --> 00:05:18.759 first real exposure to crypto was around twenty nineteen, and 105 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:20.759 it was just I remember too, I was I was 106 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:25.240 co hosting another podcast called Kryptonized, and I had these 107 00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:28.879 these KOLs like Natalie Brunell and other people who didn't 108 00:05:28.920 --> 00:05:31.600 even have that big following. They had their following from 109 00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:34.199 their previous careers if they were journalists or that, but 110 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:36.639 they were just getting into this space. So it's kind 111 00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:39.360 of wild to see the timeline of things now. But 112 00:05:39.519 --> 00:05:42.240 like many people, at first, I was skeptical. There was 113 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:44.920 so much noise and hype around the space. It was 114 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:47.680 kind of hard to separate, you know, what was real 115 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:52.319 and what was just speculation. So my real aha moment 116 00:05:52.519 --> 00:05:55.759 came when I stopped thinking about crypto purely as just 117 00:05:55.920 --> 00:05:59.600 this asset class and I really started understanding it as 118 00:05:59.720 --> 00:06:02.240 in structure. And I feel like that's happening a lot 119 00:06:02.680 --> 00:06:05.800 even now, especially in a bear market. So once you 120 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:10.720 realize that blockchain is essentially a new financial rail, you know, 121 00:06:10.839 --> 00:06:13.560 similar to how the Internet was created, as this a 122 00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:16.519 new way of information to be accessible to all of us, 123 00:06:16.519 --> 00:06:19.680 it really changes how you view the entire ecosystem. 124 00:06:20.360 --> 00:06:22.360 Yeah, you know, it's great. It's great. That's a great 125 00:06:22.360 --> 00:06:25.800 perspective because it's very challenging for a lot of folks 126 00:06:25.879 --> 00:06:29.480 to recognize that and the paradigm shift of this technology 127 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:32.639 because they're so used to looking at companies, well, what's 128 00:06:32.639 --> 00:06:35.399 your revenue and what's your stock price? Right, So the 129 00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:39.480 concept of a network a blockchain network that's globally distributed 130 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:41.879 and you can be a participant on a network by 131 00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:45.000 holding the token or building something on It is like 132 00:06:45.040 --> 00:06:48.399 this completely new model, and it is you know, you 133 00:06:48.480 --> 00:06:50.160 had like one buffet and all these guys come on 134 00:06:50.279 --> 00:06:53.920 to Bigcoin's rat poison Square, Larry Fink, CEO Black Rock 135 00:06:53.959 --> 00:06:56.560 at one point saying this is all a scam. Jamie Dimond, 136 00:06:56.600 --> 00:06:58.560 you know how he feels. And now all of a sudden, 137 00:06:58.600 --> 00:07:00.600 all these guys are like, yeah, we get it. 138 00:07:00.920 --> 00:07:03.480 We got to build with this, Yeah, exactly. And I 139 00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:07.680 think that's probably my most that's the most interesting to 140 00:07:07.720 --> 00:07:11.000 me is the convergence of traditional finance with the digital asset, 141 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:13.000 because I don't think there was ever there was a 142 00:07:13.040 --> 00:07:15.160 point in time, and in fact, my latest substat kind 143 00:07:15.160 --> 00:07:17.439 of covers this. There was a point in time where 144 00:07:17.480 --> 00:07:21.120 where it seems like crypto and even the infrastructure was 145 00:07:21.160 --> 00:07:24.000 going to replace traditional finance. And I think that's why 146 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:26.439 there was so much speculation, is because it did not 147 00:07:26.680 --> 00:07:30.279 seem possible. And now that there's more of this quiet 148 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:34.680 not so quiet anymore, there's a blend that even your 149 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:37.079 Larry Finks and Jamie Dimonds of the world can no 150 00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:40.759 longer deny. Now this becomes interesting because now this is 151 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:45.000 becoming more realistic, especially from a regulatory standpoint where you 152 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:47.680 have an administration and depend you know. The other thing 153 00:07:47.720 --> 00:07:50.439 I didn't like is depending on who's in office was 154 00:07:50.519 --> 00:07:52.800 kind of how the market shifted. You know. So when 155 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:56.160 Trump leaves, whoever comes in next, you know, do they 156 00:07:56.160 --> 00:07:58.800 have the power to undo the legislation that Trump is 157 00:07:58.839 --> 00:08:02.800 about to put into place? Scent. But I think that's 158 00:08:02.839 --> 00:08:06.279 where we have to align with traditional finance markets because 159 00:08:06.319 --> 00:08:09.120 then that's kind of untouchable once it integrates. 160 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:15.399 That's a great point because like it or not, if Blackrock, JP, 161 00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:19.560 Morgan in these powerhouses are on board with this technology 162 00:08:19.560 --> 00:08:21.360 and they want to build it, and they're saying this 163 00:08:21.480 --> 00:08:24.800 is the future of finance, no way in hell is Congress, 164 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:27.519 regardless of which party, they're going to be able to 165 00:08:27.519 --> 00:08:27.879 pull this. 166 00:08:27.879 --> 00:08:31.680 Back exactly because it's now it's an underlying part, it's 167 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:36.799 the foundation blocks of how people are earning saving you 168 00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:39.000 Now it's a part of the government in terms of debt. 169 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:41.679 You know, you're watching stable coins that are literally buying 170 00:08:41.759 --> 00:08:44.879 up US treasuries. You know, So now what was once 171 00:08:45.320 --> 00:08:49.000 just you know, collecting data off of the dollar. It's 172 00:08:49.080 --> 00:08:52.120 now becoming a part of the digital dollars. So that's 173 00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:55.919 that's my most interesting that that's what I'm most interested 174 00:08:56.360 --> 00:08:57.120 of right now. 175 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:00.759 Pardon the interruption. Hi, I'm Tony. I'm the host of 176 00:09:00.759 --> 00:09:03.240 the Thinking Crypto podcast. I wanted to ask you if 177 00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:05.679 you can please support the podcast by hitting the like 178 00:09:05.679 --> 00:09:08.240 button subscribing. If you haven't as yet, you can leave 179 00:09:08.279 --> 00:09:10.399 a comment below as well. And if you're listening on 180 00:09:10.440 --> 00:09:13.480 a podcast platform such as Spotify, Apple or wherever you 181 00:09:13.480 --> 00:09:16.480 get your podcasts, please be sure to follow and hit 182 00:09:16.519 --> 00:09:18.600 the five star rating. I'll let you get back to 183 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:21.120 the content. Thank you so much. A man, I don't 184 00:09:21.159 --> 00:09:24.240 know what do you think about this. It may sound 185 00:09:24.279 --> 00:09:28.679 conspiratual or conspiratorial, let's say word it there. But it 186 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:32.960 seems like bitcoin was the trojan horse almost get everybody 187 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:36.519 to come into this technology and acid class, so to speak. 188 00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:41.559 Buy meme coins, buy NFTs, buy all coins. But now 189 00:09:41.799 --> 00:09:44.279 Tradify is taking over and they're saying, hey, here's our 190 00:09:44.559 --> 00:09:47.480 tukenized version of our stocks and equities. And don't get 191 00:09:47.480 --> 00:09:50.960 me wrong, there are benefits there. Here are US dollar 192 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:54.440 back stable coins and maybe you can kind of forget 193 00:09:54.440 --> 00:09:57.080 about the NFT meme coin things. I don't know, it 194 00:09:57.159 --> 00:10:01.000 seems that that's direction we're headed. And also Cbdc's yeah, 195 00:10:01.159 --> 00:10:01.799 I think. 196 00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:03.679 You know, when you look at meme coins and NFTs, 197 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:07.480 meme coins represent the Internet's culture and that collides with 198 00:10:07.559 --> 00:10:13.639 financial markets. So they're they're driven largely by community humor 199 00:10:13.919 --> 00:10:17.519 and momentum rather than your fundamentals. So that's where a 200 00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:20.639 lot of them fade away over time. But you know, 201 00:10:20.759 --> 00:10:23.360 and again from a PR and marketing standpoint, they do 202 00:10:23.519 --> 00:10:27.480 demonstrate how powerful online communities can be when they rally 203 00:10:27.559 --> 00:10:29.879 around a shared narrative and then you have you know, 204 00:10:30.039 --> 00:10:33.440 NFTs are a bit different. So of course we all 205 00:10:33.480 --> 00:10:36.679 know the speculative art phase. They grabbed headlines, they you know, 206 00:10:36.720 --> 00:10:39.559 but then there was the underlying technology, and there was 207 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:42.639 the digital ownership, and there was the verifiable you know 208 00:10:43.399 --> 00:10:46.600 providence where we saw that that was that was something 209 00:10:46.679 --> 00:10:50.879 shaping the next wave of NFTs. So there was utility 210 00:10:50.919 --> 00:10:57.200 with ticketing, you know, gaming, digital identity, uh, intellectual property 211 00:10:57.279 --> 00:11:01.440 like so n f ts in my opinion, are way 212 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:03.759 more powerful today than they and I know that they 213 00:11:03.759 --> 00:11:07.440 were trying to rebrand that even to digital collectibles. I 214 00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:09.840 think they were trying to kind of massage that wording 215 00:11:09.879 --> 00:11:12.759 into the culture theme coins. I think they need to 216 00:11:12.840 --> 00:11:16.240 rebrand that now too because of all the the rug 217 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:18.840 pulls with meme coins and just but if you read 218 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:22.159 the tiny print in meme coins, you know you are 219 00:11:22.279 --> 00:11:26.960 it's gambling. It's one hundred percent. You're taking a risk. NFTs, 220 00:11:27.000 --> 00:11:31.200 I think are still figuring themselves out. But I just 221 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:34.440 I feel like it's almost the casino of this ecosystem, 222 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:38.919 both of these things. Until NFTs figure figure its figures 223 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:42.639 its way out, that's where that exists. But meme coins, 224 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:45.720 you know, again, I think I feel like it's almost 225 00:11:45.799 --> 00:11:48.399 gen Z's way of entering into this world. It's like, 226 00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:50.639 try it, try it a bit, look at what's look 227 00:11:50.639 --> 00:11:53.159 at who's in the you know, in the industry, look 228 00:11:53.159 --> 00:11:55.679 at some of the stakeholders, because there is to say 229 00:11:55.720 --> 00:11:59.480 to it. It helps. It's an open doorway to entering 230 00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:01.679 this market. You know. It's like because when you come 231 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:03.879 into mean coins, you don't just stay in mean coins. 232 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:06.919 It always seems to be like a rabbit hole similar 233 00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:10.039 to X of like that that's your start of something 234 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:13.399 you know, way more, it's like a gateway to this industry. 235 00:12:13.480 --> 00:12:17.639 Sometimes, Yeah, it's funny, you know, it's it's good and bad, right, 236 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:19.639 It has its pros and cons because to your point, 237 00:12:20.120 --> 00:12:23.639 this technology is so fascinating and has tons of benefits. 238 00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:27.000 So that same concept of mean coins and crowd sourcing 239 00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:30.039 around a movement that could be used for good in 240 00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:34.080 raising funds for people who need help, entrepreneurs who are saying, hey, 241 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:36.840 here's my idea, you can bet on me. I feel 242 00:12:36.840 --> 00:12:40.519 like that's the future. Just human beings are going to 243 00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:42.840 be human beings. So like, there's going to be a 244 00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:46.080 mean coin around the most dumb thing, right, this cat 245 00:12:46.279 --> 00:12:49.840 eating ice cream, I don't know, something like that, and 246 00:12:49.960 --> 00:12:52.240 it goes viral. It's so so wild. 247 00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:55.240 Yeah, well that and then there becomes a conversation also 248 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:58.080 of the pay to play, you know, influencers, which I've 249 00:12:58.120 --> 00:13:00.240 been very vocal about, and a lot of your mean 250 00:13:00.279 --> 00:13:03.399 coins like I hate that hok to a girl who 251 00:13:03.480 --> 00:13:06.879 created a pan. You know, it's it's also kind of 252 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:10.679 a representation of our society today. Is if you're going 253 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:12.720 to buy a mean coin because you were, you know, 254 00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:16.240 a fan of Hawk to a girl, I think that 255 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:19.519 says more about where your investments and priorities are more 256 00:13:19.559 --> 00:13:21.840 so than the risk of this industry. And it's like 257 00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:24.320 and and again with the pay to play models, a 258 00:13:24.360 --> 00:13:28.799 lot of your KOLs in the space are not forthcoming 259 00:13:29.080 --> 00:13:33.120 about their paid partnerships. So they're backing tokens or they're 260 00:13:33.159 --> 00:13:38.120 backing projects that you know they're not they're not organically promoting, 261 00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:40.960 they're being paid to and then people are getting So 262 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:43.960 you really have to be very smart when you approach 263 00:13:44.039 --> 00:13:46.000 this industry because there's a lot of I mean, and 264 00:13:46.039 --> 00:13:48.120 I can say that from the for the culture at large, 265 00:13:48.159 --> 00:13:52.039 not just crypto, it's a lot of celebrities and influencers 266 00:13:52.080 --> 00:13:54.840 that it's just we need to be more critically thinking 267 00:13:54.919 --> 00:13:56.080 when it comes to investment. 268 00:13:57.200 --> 00:14:01.720 Yeah, and education piece is you needed. I try my 269 00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:05.320 best to remind people about that, and note that if 270 00:14:05.360 --> 00:14:07.159 you're going to invest in mean coins, it's like going 271 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:10.440 to the casino throwing it on red or black. I 272 00:14:10.440 --> 00:14:13.639 don't understand who's maybe behind it. Right. There are some 273 00:14:13.799 --> 00:14:15.960 legit meme coins if I want to say that, like 274 00:14:16.039 --> 00:14:19.320 dosee coin, proven been around for a long time, has 275 00:14:19.320 --> 00:14:22.759 a brand, has a community, has adoption in the real world, 276 00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:25.600 where certain brands and companies accepted as payments. But if 277 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:28.519 something was started last week, you got to be careful. 278 00:14:28.559 --> 00:14:32.000 It could be some random DODWS basement getting ready to rug. 279 00:14:31.799 --> 00:14:34.799 You, exactly. And in this economy, I don't even know 280 00:14:34.840 --> 00:14:37.440 how many people are still unless you have money to 281 00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:40.679 just throw away, I guess good on you, but I don't. 282 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:43.600 I'm not looking at meme coins. 283 00:14:43.919 --> 00:14:46.720 Yeah. Same, That's something I stay away from. And some 284 00:14:46.759 --> 00:14:48.960 people they do give me crap for it. They're like, oh, 285 00:14:49.399 --> 00:14:51.679 you're missing out on this. I'm like, no, thanks, I'm 286 00:14:51.799 --> 00:14:53.919 gonna invest in somebody these projects that are actually getting 287 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:55.440 adoption from institutions. 288 00:14:55.720 --> 00:14:56.240 Exactly. 289 00:14:56.679 --> 00:14:59.080 You mentioned the economy, and obviously things are a bit 290 00:14:59.159 --> 00:15:02.320 rough right now going on, and I think this had 291 00:15:02.360 --> 00:15:05.679 to play. This played a part in the crypto market 292 00:15:05.720 --> 00:15:09.039 maybe not being as spectacular as we've seen in the 293 00:15:09.080 --> 00:15:14.039 past cycles where you had euphoria, parabolic one up, retail 294 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:16.799 flooding in right. We didn't have that this past cycle, 295 00:15:17.159 --> 00:15:19.399 and a lot of people were disappointed. Bitcoin I think 296 00:15:19.480 --> 00:15:22.600 did pretty well, obviously thinking one hundred and twenty six thousand, 297 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:26.799 but then there was talks of manipulation potentially October tenth 298 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:30.360 or eleventh last year, and the big cascading effect after that, 299 00:15:30.600 --> 00:15:32.320 you know, what are your thoughts on how kind of 300 00:15:32.320 --> 00:15:34.159 the bull market ended? And it was lackluster. 301 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:38.200 It was lackluster, and I think, you know, one of 302 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:41.120 the biggest developments in the past few years has, like 303 00:15:41.159 --> 00:15:44.120 I said, been the gradual embrace of crypto by traditional 304 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:47.799 finance institutions. And I think that's where we're going to see, 305 00:15:47.840 --> 00:15:49.960 even in a bear market that we're in right now. 306 00:15:50.120 --> 00:15:53.679 Your banks, your asset managers, your payment networks, you know, 307 00:15:53.720 --> 00:15:59.919 they're recognizing that blockchain technology can improve settlement times, transparency efficiencies, 308 00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:05.120 like like you mentioned black Rock launching bitcoin ETFs, you know, 309 00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:10.320 or major financial institutions exploring digital asset custody, and so 310 00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:13.279 I think that signals that crypto is no longer on 311 00:16:13.360 --> 00:16:16.279 the fringe so to speak, you know, it's instead it's 312 00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:19.639 it's becoming one. And I think also off of that 313 00:16:19.799 --> 00:16:23.279 is you have tokenization, and that's again another area I'm 314 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:26.679 most excited about. So you're you you know, it simply 315 00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:30.399 means you're representing real world assets on blockchain rails, and 316 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:33.600 that could be real estate, commodities, equity, is private credit. 317 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:37.279 And so I think that gets really interesting because we've 318 00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:40.399 been sitting in these cycles at bull Bear, you know, 319 00:16:40.519 --> 00:16:42.919 and I just went on proof of PR to talk 320 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:46.960 about you know, if your if your company is dependent 321 00:16:47.080 --> 00:16:50.480 on the market in terms of its it's relevance, then 322 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:54.759 it's fragile, I really do. It's so we have to 323 00:16:54.799 --> 00:16:58.000 be able to move past just the markets and how 324 00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:01.480 how we And that's why infrastructure is most important in 325 00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:07.160 my opinion. You know, historically asset classes have been difficult 326 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:10.039 to access unless you're a large institution or you're a 327 00:17:10.119 --> 00:17:14.119 high net worth investor. So I think things like this, 328 00:17:14.119 --> 00:17:19.039 this trad fi movement, tokenization, it has the potential to 329 00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:23.839 make things more efficient and not so dependent on the markets. 330 00:17:25.119 --> 00:17:28.200 Yeah, it's a brave new world. And when you think 331 00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:30.200 about you know, Larry Finks said a couple of years 332 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:32.559 ago or two or three years ago that tokenization is 333 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:35.519 the future of finance. So it seems everybody's in the 334 00:17:35.599 --> 00:17:39.279 race on Wall Street to tokenize as many of equities 335 00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:42.079 as possible plus commodities. Right, They're looking to do gold 336 00:17:42.119 --> 00:17:44.680 and much more and then put you know, any of 337 00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:48.079 their fancy financial products, money market funds and these things 338 00:17:48.400 --> 00:17:51.880 on chain. And eventually I think you're going to get 339 00:17:51.880 --> 00:17:55.440 to real estate. So it's going to be really crazy, Amanda. 340 00:17:55.559 --> 00:17:59.839 I think in maybe ten years time, all the stock 341 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:03.519 exchanges are twenty four to seven, everybody's training twenty four 342 00:18:03.559 --> 00:18:06.960 to seven. We might need AI it just to help 343 00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:09.680 us while we're sleeping, because it's going to be crazy. 344 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:12.960 Yeah, but think about with that, I feel that that 345 00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:16.039 makes the economy boom. You know, it's like you are 346 00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:19.400 no longer. I think there is good to AI. Despite 347 00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:21.599 the headlines that we're reading of it taking over, I 348 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:23.720 don't think we're going to see that in our lifetime 349 00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:26.480 because that's where you have no economy. How can you 350 00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:29.200 have an economy if you don't have humans working. You know, 351 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:32.799 you need the tax base, you need the people at 352 00:18:32.839 --> 00:18:35.079 the end of the day, but you also do need 353 00:18:35.119 --> 00:18:39.000 a technology that is assisting humans. And I think that's 354 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:41.000 what it will always be. It will be a tool 355 00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:44.559 that we use, not that replaces us in order to 356 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:48.759 because we're in such a very volatile time, probably one 357 00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:52.559 of the worst in our history, and just from a 358 00:18:52.880 --> 00:18:55.079 culture standpoint as well, and I think it's going to 359 00:18:55.160 --> 00:18:57.759 help to settle all of that to some degree. 360 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:02.359 That's a great point. And there are so many macroeconomic 361 00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:06.319 and geopolitical factors happening right now, and that's going to 362 00:19:06.440 --> 00:19:09.720 change the I think there's a book. I forget what 363 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:12.319 it's called. The title escapes me. But the point is, 364 00:19:12.440 --> 00:19:14.960 I don't know if it's the Fourth Turning, but it's 365 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:18.079 a time of major change. Essentially, is the TLDR. And 366 00:19:18.559 --> 00:19:21.279 I guess maybe this all started with the Internet because 367 00:19:21.799 --> 00:19:24.119 because of the Internet, then you can have scalability for 368 00:19:24.279 --> 00:19:27.799 technology like blockchain and the movement of data information plus AI. 369 00:19:28.559 --> 00:19:31.759 So it's like maybe like the Industrial Revolution that took 370 00:19:31.799 --> 00:19:34.480 place in the late eighteen hundreds into early nineteen hundreds 371 00:19:34.680 --> 00:19:37.680 with the automobile, the combustion engine, and electricity. You know 372 00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:40.720 that was such a major disruption. If you feel like 373 00:19:41.039 --> 00:19:44.359 we're in that type of moment and it's so disruptive, yes, 374 00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:47.279 there's going to be like peaks and valleys where some 375 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:50.000 industries get wiped out, some jobs get wiped out, but 376 00:19:50.039 --> 00:19:54.359 new ones get created eventually. To your point, if these 377 00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:57.119 AI agents and robots, human and I robits are part 378 00:19:57.119 --> 00:20:00.039 of the workforce and economy, what does that mean for 379 00:20:00.039 --> 00:20:02.240 a lot of people in jobs? Could it be universal 380 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:03.799 basic income has to be. 381 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:06.720 On the table exactly. I think it's just a recalibration. 382 00:20:06.799 --> 00:20:08.960 It's a total reset as to how we're thinking of 383 00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:11.759 the workforce because it's been a lot of where we're 384 00:20:11.799 --> 00:20:14.039 just kind of coasting at this point with how we've 385 00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:16.680 been working and how we've been operating. And I think 386 00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:20.720 AI forces people to finally deal with, Okay, we need 387 00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:24.400 to be utilizing talent in a different way. So I 388 00:20:24.400 --> 00:20:27.359 actually started my career in Hollywood. I started at the 389 00:20:27.400 --> 00:20:30.160 talent agency, and I worked for a director and things 390 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:32.920 like that. So of course, the biggest headline as we 391 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:36.160 know is AI is going to replace actors. And you know, 392 00:20:36.599 --> 00:20:39.359 and to me, coming from that world of talent management 393 00:20:39.400 --> 00:20:43.400 and production, you watch your NEPO babies, you know, take 394 00:20:43.480 --> 00:20:48.720 opportunities from rising talent. You watch celebrities take on nationwide 395 00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:50.839 commercials that could have been given to a no name 396 00:20:50.920 --> 00:20:53.880 who's just trying to audition and make a name for themselves. 397 00:20:54.279 --> 00:20:56.240 And so to me, you know, you get kind of 398 00:20:56.359 --> 00:20:58.799 jaded and you're like, well, what's what's the problem? AI 399 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:02.319 should walk right in. You're not focused on talent, clearly, 400 00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:04.680 it's who you know or you know, you've got to 401 00:21:04.680 --> 00:21:06.480