Crypto Adoption & Culture

In this episode of When Shift Happens , I sit down with Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, to discuss why Bitcoin may be worth millions per coin, why Solana has one of the strongest setups he has ever seen, and why the most reliable path to wealth in crypto is also the least exciting one. Hougan is not a chain maximalist. He comes from traditional finance, spent more than a decade in ETFs, and now sits at the intersection of institutional capital and digital as

In this episode of When Shift Happens , I sit down with Kostas Chalkias to discuss why the next decade of blockchain won’t be defined by faster transactions, but by quantum-safe cryptography, AI-native infrastructure, and systems designed for machines and humans. Chalkias is the co-founder and chief cryptographer at Mysten Labs, best known for building the Sui Network after leaving Facebook’s Libra project. With over 15 years in cryptographic research and security, he brings

In this episode of When Shift Happens , I sit down with Raoul Pal for the 2nd time this year to discuss how to survive and succeed in crypto in 2026 without relying on luck, perfect timing, or constant trading. At the centre of the conversation is a deceptively simple framework: hold the right assets, understand your risk tolerance, and do absolutely nothing. Beneath that simplicity, however, lies a demanding discipline shaped by time horizons, liquidity cycles, and a thoroug

In this episode of When Shift Happens , I sit down with Sandeep Nailwal, founder of Polygon, to discuss what it takes to build through chaos, why he refused to “walk off” when crypto turned ugly in 2022, and what Polygon is really trying to become: not just another blockchain, but a global payments layer powered by stablecoins. Along the way, Sandeep reflects on his childhood, his obsession with individual sovereignty, and the philanthropic moment that turned crypto into a cu

In this episode of When Shift Happens , I sit down with Meow, founder of Jupiter, to unpack how a decision made in a ramen shop turned into one of crypto’s most important DeFi platforms, why he thinks crypto desperately needs an “iPhone moment,” and what he really means by Web4 and “social money.” From ramen shop to Jupiter Meow’s “cat” persona comes across as a meme, but it’s actually a metaphor for adaptability. Cats survive in any environment, and he wants to be “whatever

In this episode of When Shift Happens , I sit down with Brian Armstrong to discuss what it really takes to build something that lasts. We talk about the myth of the “smartest founder in the room,” the unglamorous muscle of unreasonable determination, and the emotional cost of scaling Coinbase over more than a decade. Brian opens up about burnout, loneliness, ambition, and the mindset shifts that helped him keep going when things felt heavy. We also get into why he believes ca

In this episode of When Shift Happens , I sit down with Anand Gomes to discuss why decentralised exchanges are becoming the new systemically important financial centres, how Paradex can offer zero fees without breaking, and what it really takes, mentally and structurally, to build the rails of a new on-chain economy. Built Different: The Reality Behind “Eating Glass” Anand is very clear: running a crypto exchange is not glamorous. When Paradex processed $5.4 billion in 24 hou

In this episode of When Shift Happens , I sit down with Mert Mumtaz, CEO and co-founder of Helius, to discuss why he’s betting hard on privacy, Solana infrastructure, and long-term conviction plays like Zcash, SOL, Bitcoin, and Hyperliquid. The conversation goes deep on first-principles investing, how internet connectivity reshapes price action, and the discipline it takes to build and capture value over a 3–5 year horizon. Mert’s worldview starts with time. “Every investment

In this episode of When Shift Happens , I sit down with Seung Yoon Lee to discuss the $80 trillion creative asset class, why creators are shut out of the value they generate, and how Story Protocol aims to tokenise and “programme” intellectual property so anyone can legally remix it while paying royalties automatically. Fixing Creator Economics Seung’s path to this problem began with a long apprenticeship in media economics. Fresh out of Oxford, he tried to fix journalism’s b

In this episode of When Shift Happens , I sit down with Zen and Soju to discuss how a 20-person team built Solana’s most advanced liquidity engine, why “Internet Capital Markets” are the next frontier, and what it really takes to launch culture-shaping tokens without losing the plot. Meteora didn’t begin as today’s sleek “liquidity layer”. Its roots trace back to Mercurial, a 2021-era Solana project that launched during the FTX boom. Zen, a product-first operator with a knack

In this episode of When Shift Happens , I sit down with Paolo Ardoino to discuss how Tether became one of the most profitable businesses per employee in history, why stablecoins matter most to people outside the West, and what it means to build a “stable company” in an unstable world. Ardoino, CEO of Tether and CTO of Bitfinex, is matter-of-fact about the numbers. Tether earned $13.7 billion last year and expects similar performance this year. Some of that windfall reflects m

In this episode of When Shift Happens , I sit down with Arthur Hayes to discuss why he keeps most of his wealth in Bitcoin, his framework for turning “shitcoins” into more BTC, the stablecoin meta he thinks will reshape finance, and the human routines like skiing, tennis, and discipline that anchor his risk-taking.  The Bitcoin Standard Hayes is the CIO of Maelstrom, co-founder and former CEO of BitMEX, and the inventor of the perpetual swap. Across an hour of fast exchanges

In this episode of When Shift Happens , I sit down with Mark Moss to discuss how to build lasting wealth without gambling or luck, why...

In this episode of When Shift Happens , I sit down with David Bailey, Chairman of Bitcoin Magazine, the man behind the world’s largest...

In this episode of When Shift Happens , I sit down with Paul Faecks, the founder and CEO of Plasma, to discuss the trillion-dollar...

In this episode of When Shift Happens , I sit down with Lily Liu, President of the Solana Foundation, to discuss why Bitcoin and Solana...

In this episode of When Shift Happens , I sit down with Emin Gün Sirer to discuss his journey from Turkish immigrant to Cornell professor...

In this episode of When Shift Happens , I sit down with Sergey Nazarov, co-founder and CEO of Chainlink, to discuss why crypto has...

In this episode of When Shift Happens , I sit down with Luca Netz to discuss the highs and lows of building Pudgy Penguins, how he...

In this episode of When Shift Happens , I sit down with Hunter Horsley, CEO of Bitwise, to unpack why he believes 2025 is the best year...