In this episode, Patrick Murck, a legal expert on cryptocurrency since its earliest days, joins us to talk about the present and future regulation of the space. Described by investor Michael Troiano as "the man who made Bitcoin respectable," Patrick co-founded and later served as Executive Director of the Bitcoin Foundation, playing a key role in 2013 Senate hearings that shaped the opinions of policy makers. Today, Patrick serves as a member of both the IMF and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York FinTech advisory groups, as a Special Counsel at Cooley LLP, and as an angel investor. Show notes & links below; subscribe for future episodes!
You can also watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHFyAvpHHhQ
This episode hosted by: Manasi Vora
Manasi is a Boston finance professional and blockchain enthusiast. A former portfolio manager for Dalal Capital Advisors, she's more recently worked in research with the MIT Digital Currency Initiative. She served as Director of this year's MIT Bitcoin Expo, and is the founder of Boston's Women in Blockchain group.
00:51 - The 2009 startup that first got Patrick interested in Bitcoin
02:27 - Bitcoin devs to Patrick: "You're a lawyer / startup guy that knows digital currency regulation in 2011? Come be a part of this." Patrick's journey into the crypto ecosystem + what led to the lightbulb moment for him.
05:41 - Has the US's regulatory environment been confusing? Has it caused the US to fall behind the rest of the world?
06:51 - Fragmentation of US regulatory bodies vs other countries like Singapore or the UK
10:34 - US regulator actions on token sales
15:00 - Are most ICOs securities offerings?
16:40 - Implications for exchanges trading tokens + who's the 'operator' of a decentralized exchange?
18:45 - Future of ICOs / alternative models for distributing tokens for a new network
22:30 - What makes Bitcoin special
24:58 - Patrick's approach to angel investing
28:50 - The closing gap of KYC arbitrage, and the opportunity for better tools that balance privacy with fighting illicit finance
34:28 - The dearth of good information serving institutions in the crypto ecosystem
36:32 - The magical properties of money and why code is law
41:55 - The need for regulatory clarity that holds back some institutions + why that creates entrepreneurial opportunity
44:22 - What crypto infrastructure does the ecosystem still need?
46:05 - Patrick's 3rd or 4th "crypto winter" and why he loves it
Thanks for listening! Subscribe for future episodes.