America's advantage in the world economy comes from many places. One of these places is strong institutions that maintain a balance of power. Another reason is the highly capable Administrative function of the government (i.e., bureaucrats). The administrative branch gets a lot of heat, especially as of late. But when it comes to market regulations and banking oversight, the U.S. is second to none. This is one major reason American capital markets are so strong. The function of a stablecoin i...

America's advantage in the world economy comes from many places. One of these places is strong institutions that maintain a balance of power. Another reason is the highly capable Administrative function of the government (i.e., bureaucrats). The administrative branch gets a lot of heat, especially as of late. But when it comes to market regulations and banking oversight, the U.S. is second to none. This is one major reason American capital markets are so strong. The function of a stablecoin i...

The best way to understand the opportunity in blockchain right now is to deeply understand what an open blockchain network is, what it is useful for, and how small variations in network design make all the difference. First, what does a blockchain network offer to its users? At its core, a blockchain is an asset ledger. In function, this is very similar to the ledger your bank uses for your checking account. Open vs. closed blockchainsIn an open blockchain network, anyone can help operate the...

The best way to understand the opportunity in blockchain right now is to deeply understand what an open blockchain network is, what it is useful for, and how small variations in network design make all the difference. First, what does a blockchain network offer to its users? At its core, a blockchain is an asset ledger. In function, this is very similar to the ledger your bank uses for your checking account. Open vs. closed blockchainsIn an open blockchain network, anyone can help operate the...

With the current progress in blockchain legislation here in the U.S., we have an opportunity to shift financial regulations from rules-based to principles-based. Principles-based regulation will reduce resource requirements for the administration, and offer more flexibility to the industry with the same amount of risk. This is a win-win. Blockchain regulation is awkwardMost regulations were built to protect people from the mistakes and fraud of management. Painful experience has taught us tha...

With the current progress in blockchain legislation here in the U.S., we have an opportunity to shift financial regulations from rules-based to principles-based. Principles-based regulation will reduce resource requirements for the administration, and offer more flexibility to the industry with the same amount of risk. This is a win-win. Blockchain regulation is awkwardMost regulations were built to protect people from the mistakes and fraud of management. Painful experience has taught us tha...

I don’t envy you. The crypto Industry attracts a particular type of person. Gaining a solid understanding of an advisor’s motivations is very difficult. I’m going to broadly label the groups of people that have historically operated in this industry into two cohorts. Cohort 1: A portion of the industry believes, as I do, that neutral blockchain ledgers, and other cryptographically/economically secured technology, can fundamentally reduce risk in our financial system. Some small portion of thi...

I don’t envy you. The crypto Industry attracts a particular type of person. Gaining a solid understanding of an advisor’s motivations is very difficult. I’m going to broadly label the groups of people that have historically operated in this industry into two cohorts. Cohort 1: A portion of the industry believes, as I do, that neutral blockchain ledgers, and other cryptographically/economically secured technology, can fundamentally reduce risk in our financial system. Some small portion of thi...

The section, “Access to Providing Banking Services” from the July 2025, White House Crypto Working Group’s recommendations is inconsistent with blockchain’s original vision of building a substitute for traditional banking services. Isn’t it ironic that we are demanding traditional banking services for the companies that are building financial services outside the purview of traditional banking frameworks? This point led me down a brief thought experiment that helped me explore the role regula...

The section, “Access to Providing Banking Services” from the July 2025, White House Crypto Working Group’s recommendations is inconsistent with blockchain’s original vision of building a substitute for traditional banking services. Isn’t it ironic that we are demanding traditional banking services for the companies that are building financial services outside the purview of traditional banking frameworks? This point led me down a brief thought experiment that helped me explore the role regula...

Blockchain downtime and reliability (i.e., the ledger)In most cases this will be determined by the robustness of the chain's transaction fee mechanism and the diversity of the software implementation (we refer to the latter as client diversity). Is downtime acceptable? If a blockchain network goes down, how do we agree on the correct version of the ledger to start with when we 'reboot' the network? In the event of open, permissionless ledger downtime, there are few options we can fallback on ...

Blockchain downtime and reliability (i.e., the ledger)In most cases this will be determined by the robustness of the chain's transaction fee mechanism and the diversity of the software implementation (we refer to the latter as client diversity). Is downtime acceptable? If a blockchain network goes down, how do we agree on the correct version of the ledger to start with when we 'reboot' the network? In the event of open, permissionless ledger downtime, there are few options we can fallback on ...