In this episode we speak with Christian Kunz, Head of Group Strategy at DIFC Authority, a leading financial center based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates In his capacity as Head of Group Strategy at DIFC Authority, Christian is responsible to develop and continuously evolve the strategic agenda and initiatives of DIFC in line with the UAE’s commitment to innovation and development of future economies.  We start off speaking about the foundations of his experience in the region and work towards the future of fintech, blockchain and crypto within DIFC's ecosystem and the regional market places. If you are looking to know more about regulations, setting up and getting ahead within the region, this episode is a great listen. We want to give a special shoutout to our sponsor Blockfinex. Blockfinex offers one of the most competitive trading fees compared to industry leading competitors as well as a quick onboarding process for its users. You can find them at blockfinex.comSpecial Guest: Christian Kunz.

In this episode we speak with Christian Kunz, Head of Group Strategy at DIFC Authority, a leading financial center based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates In his capacity as Head of Group Strategy at DIFC Authority, Christian is responsible to develop and continuously evolve the strategic agenda and initiatives of DIFC in line with the UAE’s commitment to innovation and development of future economies. We start off speaking about the foundations of his experience in the region and work towards the future of fintech, blockchain and crypto within DIFC's ecosystem and the regional market places. If you are looking to know more about regulations, setting up and getting ahead within the region, this episode is a great listen. We want to give a special shoutout to our sponsor Blockfinex. Blockfinex offers one of the most competitive trading fees compared to industry leading competitors as well as a quick onboarding process for its users. You can find them at <a href="http://blockfinex.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">blockfinex.com</a>Special Guest: Christian Kunz.

#Ep. 81: DIFCs take on building Fintech and Crypto success in MENA

In this episode we speak with Ryan Gill, founder at Crucible.  Did you hear about that $69 million NFT sale on Christie’s? Well, we just dove right into NFTs! NFTs or non-fungible tokens are unique digital items that are not interchangeable. We are beginning to see the rise and value of NFTs take off, mostly in the creative industries, where we see digital art, music and other creative work being bought and sold as NFTs. In this episode we explore the state of play of the NFT world and how they have taken the world by storm this past year. Our guest, Ryan goes on to discuss the origins and beginnings of NFTs and the creative industries, namely creators and artists in Hollywood, his former hometown. We continue discussing the potential and opportunity NFTs hold for creators that have been traditionally left out of the spotlight and off the stage. Ryan describes how new and young creators can take work into their own hands and start making a living for themselves without necessarily needing to answer to the current “gatekeepers” of the creative industry.  Ryan shares the work they are doing at Crucible and his vision for the platform and how it will contribute to a larger paradigm shift of what he calls an Open Metaverse. We also touch on the future of NFTs and how the world will look in a decade’s time because of this new technology. We want to give a special shoutout to our sponsor Blockfinex. Special Guests: Ryan GillSpecial Guest: Ryan Gill.

In this episode we speak with Ryan Gill, founder at Crucible. Did you hear about that $69 million NFT sale on Christie’s? Well, we just dove right into NFTs! NFTs or non-fungible tokens are unique digital items that are not interchangeable. We are beginning to see the rise and value of NFTs take off, mostly in the creative industries, where we see digital art, music and other creative work being bought and sold as NFTs. In this episode we explore the state of play of the NFT world and how they have taken the world by storm this past year. Our guest, Ryan goes on to discuss the origins and beginnings of NFTs and the creative industries, namely creators and artists in Hollywood, his former hometown. We continue discussing the potential and opportunity NFTs hold for creators that have been traditionally left out of the spotlight and off the stage. Ryan describes how new and young creators can take work into their own hands and start making a living for themselves without necessarily needing to answer to the current “gatekeepers” of the creative industry. Ryan shares the work they are doing at Crucible and his vision for the platform and how it will contribute to a larger paradigm shift of what he calls an Open Metaverse. We also touch on the future of NFTs and how the world will look in a decade’s time because of this new technology. We want to give a special shoutout to our sponsor Blockfinex. Special Guests: Ryan GillSpecial Guest: Ryan Gill.

#Ep. 80: NFTs - The Direct to Avatar Economy & The Open Metaverse

In this episode we speak with Saqr Ereiqat, consultant at IBM and Akbar Farook,  founder of Just Chain, a justice in the public blockchain space solution.  We start off speaking about what blockchain applications are currently live in the region and where enterprise utilizes blockchain for the betterment of business. Saqr and Akbar both share their views on the current state of blockchain use in the Middle East and general region. We go on to discuss the challenges of raising funding for Proof of Concept projects. Both our guests walk us through their experiences in each of their domains and advise companies on how best to approach funding for a POC. Finally we discuss what adoption of blockchain technology will look like, specifically for enterprises. We want to give a special shoutout to our sponsor Blockfinex. Blockfinex offers one of the most competitive trading fees compared to industry leading competitors as well as a quick onboarding process for its users. You can find them at blockfinex.comSpecial Guests: Akbar Farook and Saqr Ereiqat.

In this episode we speak with Saqr Ereiqat, consultant at IBM and Akbar Farook, founder of Just Chain, a justice in the public blockchain space solution. We start off speaking about what blockchain applications are currently live in the region and where enterprise utilizes blockchain for the betterment of business. Saqr and Akbar both share their views on the current state of blockchain use in the Middle East and general region. We go on to discuss the challenges of raising funding for Proof of Concept projects. Both our guests walk us through their experiences in each of their domains and advise companies on how best to approach funding for a POC. Finally we discuss what adoption of blockchain technology will look like, specifically for enterprises. We want to give a special shoutout to our sponsor Blockfinex. Blockfinex offers one of the most competitive trading fees compared to industry leading competitors as well as a quick onboarding process for its users. You can find them at <a href="http://blockfinex.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">blockfinex.com</a>Special Guests: Akbar Farook and Saqr Ereiqat.

#Ep. 79: Scalability and Advancement of Enterprise Blockchain

In this episode, we hear from one of the most influential figures in the space, Paolo Ardoino who is the CTO of Bitfinex and Tether. In the beginning we discuss Paolo's background and his vision for the space. We then delve into the rise of DEXs and how decentralised vs centralised exchanges will fair in the years to come. Paolo shares what his vision for a decentralised exchange will look like and lays out Bitfinex's plans for doing so.  We also touch on the heavy stablecoin topic. We hear Paolo's views on the future of stablecoins, the differences between the various forms of stablecoins we see today, and also USDT's future roadmap. Paolo also shares recent updates with regards to the New York Attorney General's lawsuit against Tether and we discuss misconceptions that have arisen about Tether.  Additionally, we discuss the technical aspects of Tether's tech stack, specifically with regards to layer 2 and scalability. Finally, we discuss the role of Defi and what this means in the context of Bitfinex and Tether. We want to give a shout out to our sponsor Blockfinex (Not to be confused with Bitfinex). Blockfinex is the Global cryptocurrency exchange where you can trade your cryptos in seconds. With one of the fastest matching engines in the space, and high liquidity, you can trade your favourite cryptocurrencies quickly and seamlessly. Blockfinex offers one of the most competitive trading fees compared to industry leading competitors as well as a quick onboarding process for its users. You can find them at blockfinex.comSpecial Guest: Paolo Ardoino.

In this episode, we hear from one of the most influential figures in the space, Paolo Ardoino who is the CTO of Bitfinex and Tether. In the beginning we discuss Paolo's background and his vision for the space. We then delve into the rise of DEXs and how decentralised vs centralised exchanges will fair in the years to come. Paolo shares what his vision for a decentralised exchange will look like and lays out Bitfinex's plans for doing so. We also touch on the heavy stablecoin topic. We hear Paolo's views on the future of stablecoins, the differences between the various forms of stablecoins we see today, and also USDT's future roadmap. Paolo also shares recent updates with regards to the New York Attorney General's lawsuit against Tether and we discuss misconceptions that have arisen about Tether. Additionally, we discuss the technical aspects of Tether's tech stack, specifically with regards to layer 2 and scalability. Finally, we discuss the role of Defi and what this means in the context of Bitfinex and Tether. We want to give a shout out to our sponsor Blockfinex (Not to be confused with Bitfinex). Blockfinex is the Global cryptocurrency exchange where you can trade your cryptos in seconds. With one of the fastest matching engines in the space, and high liquidity, you can trade your favourite cryptocurrencies quickly and seamlessly. Blockfinex offers one of the most competitive trading fees compared to industry leading competitors as well as a quick onboarding process for its users. You can find them at <a href="http://blockfinex.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">blockfinex.com</a>Special Guest: Paolo Ardoino.

#Ep. 78: Tech Scoop on Bitfinex and Tether from Stablecoins to Global Decentralised Liquidity 

This is another excellent episode from the Future Blockchain Summit which was part of GITEX in Dubai, one of the only in-person events that has taken place during COVID times. Our guests for this episode are Thamim Ahmed from UCL Center for Blockchain Technologies and Dotun Rominiyi from the emerging technology division at the London Stock Exchange. We talk about the rise of reasearch and development leading into emerging and new technologies to drive adoption in enterprise. We cover financial securities and tokenisation, how ideation leads to solid research and then real world products. We talk about how the London Stock Exchange moved from paper to digital and how it now is working towards a future that embraces next generation infrastructure and digital tranformation. If you are looking to understand more about how the London Stock Exchange and UCL view blockchain and cryptocurrency, then this episode is definitey for you. We want to give a shout out to our sponsor Blockfinex. Blockfinex is THE Global cryptocurrency exchange where you can trade your cryptos in seconds. With one of the fastest matching engines in the space, and high liquidity, you can trade your favourite cryptocurrencies quickly and seamlessly. Blockfinex offers one of the most competitive trading fees compared to industry leading competitors as well as a quick onboarding process for its users. You can find them at blockfinex.comSpecial Guests: Dotun Rominiyi and Thamim Ahmed.

This is another excellent episode from the Future Blockchain Summit which was part of GITEX in Dubai, one of the only in-person events that has taken place during COVID times. Our guests for this episode are Thamim Ahmed from UCL Center for Blockchain Technologies and Dotun Rominiyi from the emerging technology division at the London Stock Exchange. We talk about the rise of reasearch and development leading into emerging and new technologies to drive adoption in enterprise. We cover financial securities and tokenisation, how ideation leads to solid research and then real world products. We talk about how the London Stock Exchange moved from paper to digital and how it now is working towards a future that embraces next generation infrastructure and digital tranformation. If you are looking to understand more about how the London Stock Exchange and UCL view blockchain and cryptocurrency, then this episode is definitey for you. We want to give a shout out to our sponsor Blockfinex. Blockfinex is THE Global cryptocurrency exchange where you can trade your cryptos in seconds. With one of the fastest matching engines in the space, and high liquidity, you can trade your favourite cryptocurrencies quickly and seamlessly. Blockfinex offers one of the most competitive trading fees compared to industry leading competitors as well as a quick onboarding process for its users. You can find them at <a href="http://blockfinex.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">blockfinex.com</a>Special Guests: Dotun Rominiyi and Thamim Ahmed.

#Ep. 77: The rise of institutional adoption in crypto and blockchain

We're super excited to be recording this episode live at the Future Blockchain Summit which was part of Gitex 2020 in Dubai, one of the only in-person events that took place in this crazy 2020 year.  Our guest for this episode is Vesa, a Finnish artist who has had a unique journey following his interests throughout his life. After stumbling into art, and finding his hidden talents there, Vesa has helped to pioneer digital art which is now seeing tremendous growth in the crypto sphere. Vesa is unique in that he embraces both the physcial and digital forms of art, where his physcial copies go for a rate at 1 btc per piece (thats $19,200 at time of writing!) We really enjoyed this episode as we discuss the early forms of digital art, what the transition of art will look like from the physical to digital realm, how will digital art be used and look like in the context of NFT (non fungible tokens), VR and AR, and how people can get involved!  We want to give a shout out to our sponsor Blockfinex. Blockfinex is THE Global cryptocurrency exchange where you can trade your cryptos in seconds. With one of the fastest matching engines in the space, and high liquidity, you can trade your favourite cryptocurrencies quickly and seamlessly. Blockfinex offers one of the most competitive trading fees compared to industry leading competitors as well as a quick onboarding process for its users. You can find them at blockfinex.com Special Guest: Vesa.

We're super excited to be recording this episode live at the Future Blockchain Summit which was part of Gitex 2020 in Dubai, one of the only in-person events that took place in this crazy 2020 year. Our guest for this episode is Vesa, a Finnish artist who has had a unique journey following his interests throughout his life. After stumbling into art, and finding his hidden talents there, Vesa has helped to pioneer digital art which is now seeing tremendous growth in the crypto sphere. Vesa is unique in that he embraces both the physcial and digital forms of art, where his physcial copies go for a rate at 1 btc per piece (thats $19,200 at time of writing!) We really enjoyed this episode as we discuss the early forms of digital art, what the transition of art will look like from the physical to digital realm, how will digital art be used and look like in the context of NFT (non fungible tokens), VR and AR, and how people can get involved! We want to give a shout out to our sponsor Blockfinex. Blockfinex is THE Global cryptocurrency exchange where you can trade your cryptos in seconds. With one of the fastest matching engines in the space, and high liquidity, you can trade your favourite cryptocurrencies quickly and seamlessly. Blockfinex offers one of the most competitive trading fees compared to industry leading competitors as well as a quick onboarding process for its users. You can find them at <a href="http://blockfinex.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">blockfinex.com</a> Special Guest: Vesa.

#Ep. 76: The humble beginnings of crypto art and its meteoric rise 

In this episode we talk public relations and the blurring lines of promoting, community engagement and shilling. Our guests are Mohanned Halawani, founder of Crypto-PR.io and David Wachsman Founder and CEO of WACHSMAN. Both our guests are leaders in the Crypto and Blockchain space for communications. This was a great episode for us, both Ahmed and I really enjoyed challenging Mohanned and David to the perception and roles of PR in the industry. If you are looking to leverage PR and comms for your own project or want to know how agencies perceive the space then this episode is for you. We want to give a shout out to our sponsor Coinsapp, a global social payments application for cryptocurrencies based on the Dan blockchain ecosystem. It empowers the world to send money around the world in seconds. You can find coins app on google and Apple stores.  https://coins.app/Special Guests: David Wachsman and Mohanned Halawani.

In this episode we talk public relations and the blurring lines of promoting, community engagement and shilling. Our guests are Mohanned Halawani, founder of <a href="http://Crypto-PR.io" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Crypto-PR.io</a> and David Wachsman Founder and CEO of WACHSMAN. Both our guests are leaders in the Crypto and Blockchain space for communications. This was a great episode for us, both Ahmed and I really enjoyed challenging Mohanned and David to the perception and roles of PR in the industry. If you are looking to leverage PR and comms for your own project or want to know how agencies perceive the space then this episode is for you. We want to give a shout out to our sponsor Coinsapp, a global social payments application for cryptocurrencies based on the Dan blockchain ecosystem. It empowers the world to send money around the world in seconds. You can find coins app on google and Apple stores. <a href="https://coins.app/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://coins.app/</a>Special Guests: David Wachsman and Mohanned Halawani.

#Ep. 75: Crypto Communications - How PR can make or break projects

In this episode we have special guest Joe Lallouz, CEO and Co-founder of Bison Trails. In this talk, we deep dive into what running a remote company is like, the transition from physical to remote, how to maintain strong leadership virtually, and more importantly how to retain talent (and how to peacefully allow your good ones to leave if they have an entrepreneurial bug!) There were so many awesome nuggets shared by Joe in this episode even way before we talked about crypto!  On the crypto side, Joe dives into what Bison Trails are doing and how they are helping to achieve a robust infrastructure set up to ensure blockchains can be easily secured and anyone can easily set up and run a node! This core infrastructure is crucial to the development and uptake of blockchain networks, where we learn how Bison Trails are leading the pack in this area.  So many things and more in this episode of Encrypted! This is absolutely the episode for you if you are looking to know more about running a remote company, leading in a virtual world, a crypto entrepreneur or a project/fund/exchange needing core infrastructure services. We hope you enjoy the episode and many thanks again to our wonderful sponsor, CoinsApp! You can find out more at https://coins.app/Special Guest: Joe Lallouz.

In this episode we have special guest Joe Lallouz, CEO and Co-founder of Bison Trails. In this talk, we deep dive into what running a remote company is like, the transition from physical to remote, how to maintain strong leadership virtually, and more importantly how to retain talent (and how to peacefully allow your good ones to leave if they have an entrepreneurial bug!) There were so many awesome nuggets shared by Joe in this episode even way before we talked about crypto! On the crypto side, Joe dives into what Bison Trails are doing and how they are helping to achieve a robust infrastructure set up to ensure blockchains can be easily secured and anyone can easily set up and run a node! This core infrastructure is crucial to the development and uptake of blockchain networks, where we learn how Bison Trails are leading the pack in this area. So many things and more in this episode of Encrypted! This is absolutely the episode for you if you are looking to know more about running a remote company, leading in a virtual world, a crypto entrepreneur or a project/fund/exchange needing core infrastructure services. We hope you enjoy the episode and many thanks again to our wonderful sponsor, CoinsApp! You can find out more at <a href="https://coins.app/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://coins.app/</a>Special Guest: Joe Lallouz.

#Ep. 74: Build it and they will come - How one firm is designing chain infrastructure to enable you to scale 

Reg Tech

Todays episode is a great mix of enterprise scaling of tokenised securities and the blending with DeFi. We have the co-founders from Securrency, a leading blockchain and crypto technology platform helping transform the digital securities industry. Having started this journey long before ICOs/IEOs and many of form of security or utilities tokens starting gaining steam, John Hensel and Dan Doney began their journey to build their interoperable and very versatile financial supply chain infrastructure. With a big focus on compliance and meeting regulatory requirements they are leading the way in enabling cross chain, cross border and cross regulation movement. And with the growth in DeFi and CeFi they are well positioned to be ready for the future of digital finance across the globe. This is absolutely the episode for you if you are looking to know more about becoming friends with regulators and building long term visions for you blockchain and fintech business. We hope you enjoy the episode and many thanks again to our wonderful sponsor, CoinsApp! You can find out more at https://coins.app/Special Guests: Dan Doney and John Hensel.

Todays episode is a great mix of enterprise scaling of tokenised securities and the blending with DeFi. We have the co-founders from Securrency, a leading blockchain and crypto technology platform helping transform the digital securities industry. Having started this journey long before ICOs/IEOs and many of form of security or utilities tokens starting gaining steam, John Hensel and Dan Doney began their journey to build their interoperable and very versatile financial supply chain infrastructure. With a big focus on compliance and meeting regulatory requirements they are leading the way in enabling cross chain, cross border and cross regulation movement. And with the growth in DeFi and CeFi they are well positioned to be ready for the future of digital finance across the globe. This is absolutely the episode for you if you are looking to know more about becoming friends with regulators and building long term visions for you blockchain and fintech business. We hope you enjoy the episode and many thanks again to our wonderful sponsor, CoinsApp! You can find out more at <a href="https://coins.app/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://coins.app/</a>Special Guests: Dan Doney and John Hensel.

#Ep. 73: Blending Securities and Defi - Bringing reg tech into CEFI & DEFI 

Danny Oyekan

We're super excited to have Danny Oyekan on this episode today. He has been slowly and quietly building his own blockchain empire and ecosystem through a variety of ventures he is spearheading, one of which is CoinsApp, which is one of the sponsors of this show! In this episode, we hear more about CoinsApp and the incredible traction it recieved post launch, how they're disrupting the remittance industry and hearing the low down about blockchain and crypto in Africa.  We also discuss the Defi craze and when the crypto market will be maturing because quite frankly this Defi craze is showing that we are still some time away from any maturity.  We hope you enjoy the episode and many thanks again to our wonderful sponsor, CoinsApp! You can find out more at https://coins.app/Special Guest: Danny Oyekan.

We're super excited to have Danny Oyekan on this episode today. He has been slowly and quietly building his own blockchain empire and ecosystem through a variety of ventures he is spearheading, one of which is CoinsApp, which is one of the sponsors of this show! In this episode, we hear more about CoinsApp and the incredible traction it recieved post launch, how they're disrupting the remittance industry and hearing the low down about blockchain and crypto in Africa. We also discuss the Defi craze and when the crypto market will be maturing because quite frankly this Defi craze is showing that we are still some time away from any maturity. We hope you enjoy the episode and many thanks again to our wonderful sponsor, CoinsApp! You can find out more at <a href="https://coins.app/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://coins.app/</a>Special Guest: Danny Oyekan.

#Ep. 72: Connecting Africa to the World with Danny Oyekan

Interested in what is going on in the world of blockchain and crypto assets? Want to understand how the most pioneering entrepreneurs, enterprises and governments are creating the digital economies of the future? Involving a range of superb guests of likeminded innovators, enablers, investors, government officials, executives and more, Encrypted takes you on a journey to make sense of what is going on in the Wild West of cryptocurrencies, understand valid use cases of blockchain technology and how various industries could be impacted.Encrypted is Dubai based, and the first podcast dedicated to blockchain and crypto in the MENA region, so expect to hear interesting stories, and people from this side of the world.

Great podcast

Nice!

Interested in what is going on in the world of blockchain and crypto assets? Want to understand how the most pioneering entrepreneurs, enterprises and governments are creating the digital economies of the future? Involving a range of superb guests of likeminded innovators, enablers, investors, government officials, executives and more, Encrypted takes you on a journey to make sense of what is going on in the Wild West of cryptocurrencies, understand valid use cases of blockchain technology and how various industries could be impacted. Encrypted is Dubai based, and the first podcast dedicated to blockchain and crypto in the MENA region, so expect to hear interesting stories, and people from this side of the world.

Encrypted

Happy New Year all! Ahmed and Faisal sit together to open the 2019 year with 4 predictions and trends the duo expect to see in the new year. The first trend is of course the rise of Security Tokens/Digital Securities and Security Token Offerings/Digital Security offerings (yes the industry has yet to properly set key terms and definitions, and so they are being used interchangeably). They explain what they are, why they are important and what we expect to see in this space. The second trend is all about tech implementation. This revolves more around the simple fact that many big tech implementations such as Ethereum’s Casper, main nets of popular projects and the usability of layer 2 solutions are due to launch in 2019. This will showcase whether the complementary pieces that seeks to improve some of blockchain’s weaknesses will actually show some promise. It is a huge thing to look out for as the industry is depending on the tech advancements from these grand experiments.  The third is all about education and adoption. The duo believe there will be more education and adoption about the core tenets of the technology but also from the perceived benefits that this technology brings. Ahmed argues that we need to be comfortable as a society with fully automated and truly digital experiences before decentralisation seeks to take place. Lastly, the pair touch on regional developments and what to expect from the UAE in terms of country wide regulation and how self-regulation is happening at a governmental level.  All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word! AND We have our feedback form abiut Encrypted, please do not forget to support us and fill it in! Tell us your thoughts about the show! https://faisalalhawi.typeform.com/to/fxfOpk Sources: 2019: The Year Digital Securities Offerings Become the New ICOs Blockchain in 2019: Trends to watch

Happy New Year all! Ahmed and Faisal sit together to open the 2019 year with 4 predictions and trends the duo expect to see in the new year. The first trend is of course the rise of Security Tokens/Digital Securities and Security Token Offerings/Digital Security offerings (yes the industry has yet to properly set key terms and definitions, and so they are being used interchangeably). They explain what they are, why they are important and what we expect to see in this space. The second trend is all about tech implementation. This revolves more around the simple fact that many big tech implementations such as Ethereum’s Casper, main nets of popular projects and the usability of layer 2 solutions are due to launch in 2019. This will showcase whether the complementary pieces that seeks to improve some of blockchain’s weaknesses will actually show some promise. It is a huge thing to look out for as the industry is depending on the tech advancements from these grand experiments. The third is all about education and adoption. The duo believe there will be more education and adoption about the core tenets of the technology but also from the perceived benefits that this technology brings. Ahmed argues that we need to be comfortable as a society with fully automated and truly digital experiences before decentralisation seeks to take place. Lastly, the pair touch on regional developments and what to expect from the UAE in terms of country wide regulation and how self-regulation is happening at a governmental level. All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word! AND We have our feedback form abiut Encrypted, please do not forget to support us and fill it in! Tell us your thoughts about the show! <a href="https://faisalalhawi.typeform.com/to/fxfOpk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://faisalalhawi.typeform.com/to/fxfOpk</a> Sources: <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/2019-the-year-digital-securities-offerings-become-the-new-icos" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">2019: The Year Digital Securities Offerings Become the New ICOs</a> <a href="https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2018/10/blockchain-2019-4-trends-watch" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Blockchain in 2019: Trends to watch</a>

#Ep. 22: 4 Blockchain Trends and Observations for 2019

Hubertus Thonhauser

In this episode, Ahmed and Nic speak to Hubertus Thonhauser, Founding Partner of Enabling Future and a Board Member of the Tezos Foundation. Hubertus, who was part of the Tezos Foundation board transformation and is currently very active on Tezos operations, speaks to us about how he became involved in the project and gives a rundown on the early days of Tezos, its present status and also the future outlook. He shares why Tezos was initially created, how they completed a mega crowdsale and the key features that distinguish Tezos from the rest. We also touch on the issues that the Tezos Foundation faced following the fundraise and how the team acted accordingly. We also talk about the verticals in enterprise that Tezos will initially tackle which are: Digital Assets, Mobility and Gaming. And yes, Tezos are creating their own token security standard under the Digital Assets vertical, so do make sure to watch this space! Hubertus being an investor himself at Enabling Future, shares his investment experience in both the start-up sphere and blockchain/crypto sphere and what he typically looks out for in projects. All this and more on this episode of Encrypted. Please subscribe if you still haven’t and remember to rate and review the show!Special Guest: Hubertus Thonhauser .

In this episode, Ahmed and Nic speak to Hubertus Thonhauser, Founding Partner of Enabling Future and a Board Member of the Tezos Foundation. Hubertus, who was part of the Tezos Foundation board transformation and is currently very active on Tezos operations, speaks to us about how he became involved in the project and gives a rundown on the early days of Tezos, its present status and also the future outlook. He shares why Tezos was initially created, how they completed a mega crowdsale and the key features that distinguish Tezos from the rest. We also touch on the issues that the Tezos Foundation faced following the fundraise and how the team acted accordingly. We also talk about the verticals in enterprise that Tezos will initially tackle which are: Digital Assets, Mobility and Gaming. And yes, Tezos are creating their own token security standard under the Digital Assets vertical, so do make sure to watch this space! Hubertus being an investor himself at Enabling Future, shares his investment experience in both the start-up sphere and blockchain/crypto sphere and what he typically looks out for in projects. All this and more on this episode of Encrypted. Please subscribe if you still haven’t and remember to rate and review the show!Special Guest: Hubertus Thonhauser .

#Ep. 39: Tezos: Past, Present and Future. With Hubertus Thonhauser

Ahmed and Faisal sit down with the Tarik Mohammed. Firstly, Ahmed brings up the Wall Street Journal’s article of identifying that $90 million in suspected criminal proceeds that flowed through intermediaries such as Shapeshift over two years. The discussion goes into how Monero, and more specially how these private transactions work along with explaining concepts such as zero knowledge proofs and atomic swaps. Tarek lists the issues that the industry faces with these types of private cryptocurrencies and how these challenges can still remain with the rise of decentralised exchanges.  The conversation delves into whether or not cryptocurrencies are actually used for criminal purposes and Tarek explains the ‘know your flow of funds’ concept which has become a rising theme in the regulatory space and how it impacts exchange and OTC businesses going forward. They also explain how the Journal categorised potential addresses that were associated with criminal purposes.  Ahmed then moves onto the next topic which started as a debate on a WhatsApp group and was related to the next article covered. This article is regarding how an employee in a bank tried for many years to implement private blockchain solutions and concluded that he has lost faith in private blockchains. Faisal explains his view as someone who is helping to implement blockchain solutions at a governmental level.  The three talk about how current blockchain implementations worldwide seem to force a blockchain solution, rather than finding an alternative and better solution for a particular problem.  Tarek adds that data classifications and uniformity are critical in implementing blockchain solutions at an enterprise and government level and sees this as one of the biggest challenges.  The three explain the concept of central points of failure and how these risks are increased under private permissioned implementations. Faisal also compares the incremental innovations from the disruptive innovations under these different scenarios.  The next article they cover is about Zebpay, a large Indian cryptocurrency exchange, which has decided to stop its cryptocurrency exchange operations due to the central bank banning banks servicing cryptocurrency projects making it harder for them to continue their operations. Ahmed argues that emerging markets like India should be leading in this space and support the ecosystem. Tarek explains his experiences with emerging market regulators and how they have a wait and see approach regarding regulations and thus is harder for them to lead in a new nascent industry.  He goes on to discuss how different exchanges globally have different approaches to implementing their businesses, as some favour a more professional regulatory approach versus others who would launch services straight away without any regulation as a means to capture more market share. The bitcoin ATMs recently installed in Area 2071 in the Emirates Towers in Dubai also gets a shout out due to the Central Bank of the UAE only allowing registered customers to buy and sell up to 1000 AED ($200-300) worth of cryptos per day and Tarek argues this is a good first step for the local industry rather than indirectly banning innovation as with the case of the Central Bank of India.    All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word! Sources: How Dirty Money Disappears Into the Black Hole of Cryptocurrency How I Lost My Faith in Private Blockchains ‘Extremely Difficult’ Conditions: India’s Zebpay Shutters Crypto Exchange Over Central Bank BanSpecial Guest: Tarek Moahmmed.

Ahmed and Faisal sit down with the Tarik Mohammed. Firstly, Ahmed brings up the Wall Street Journal’s article of identifying that $90 million in suspected criminal proceeds that flowed through intermediaries such as Shapeshift over two years. The discussion goes into how Monero, and more specially how these private transactions work along with explaining concepts such as zero knowledge proofs and atomic swaps. Tarek lists the issues that the industry faces with these types of private cryptocurrencies and how these challenges can still remain with the rise of decentralised exchanges. The conversation delves into whether or not cryptocurrencies are actually used for criminal purposes and Tarek explains the ‘know your flow of funds’ concept which has become a rising theme in the regulatory space and how it impacts exchange and OTC businesses going forward. They also explain how the Journal categorised potential addresses that were associated with criminal purposes. Ahmed then moves onto the next topic which started as a debate on a WhatsApp group and was related to the next article covered. This article is regarding how an employee in a bank tried for many years to implement private blockchain solutions and concluded that he has lost faith in private blockchains. Faisal explains his view as someone who is helping to implement blockchain solutions at a governmental level. The three talk about how current blockchain implementations worldwide seem to force a blockchain solution, rather than finding an alternative and better solution for a particular problem. Tarek adds that data classifications and uniformity are critical in implementing blockchain solutions at an enterprise and government level and sees this as one of the biggest challenges. The three explain the concept of central points of failure and how these risks are increased under private permissioned implementations. Faisal also compares the incremental innovations from the disruptive innovations under these different scenarios. The next article they cover is about Zebpay, a large Indian cryptocurrency exchange, which has decided to stop its cryptocurrency exchange operations due to the central bank banning banks servicing cryptocurrency projects making it harder for them to continue their operations. Ahmed argues that emerging markets like India should be leading in this space and support the ecosystem. Tarek explains his experiences with emerging market regulators and how they have a wait and see approach regarding regulations and thus is harder for them to lead in a new nascent industry. He goes on to discuss how different exchanges globally have different approaches to implementing their businesses, as some favour a more professional regulatory approach versus others who would launch services straight away without any regulation as a means to capture more market share. The bitcoin ATMs recently installed in Area 2071 in the Emirates Towers in Dubai also gets a shout out due to the Central Bank of the UAE only allowing registered customers to buy and sell up to 1000 AED ($200-300) worth of cryptos per day and Tarek argues this is a good first step for the local industry rather than indirectly banning innovation as with the case of the Central Bank of India. All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word! Sources: <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-dirty-money-disappears-into-the-black-hole-of-cryptocurrency-1538149743?mod=searchresults&amp;page=1&amp;pos=4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">How Dirty Money Disappears Into the Black Hole of Cryptocurrency</a> <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/how-i-lost-my-faith-in-private-blockchains/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">How I Lost My Faith in Private Blockchains</a> <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/extremely-difficult-conditions-indias-zebpay-shutters-crypto-exchange-over-central-bank-ban" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">‘Extremely Difficult’ Conditions: India’s Zebpay Shutters Crypto Exchange Over Central Bank Ban</a>Special Guest: Tarek Moahmmed.

#Ep. 12: How is compliance shaping the blockchain and crypto industry?

In this episode, Ahmed and Nic speak with two amazing lawyers who are actively leveraging smart contracts for their current line and future line of work.  We have Mark Beer, President of the International Association for Court Administration and a lawyer turned tech entrepreneur Alessandro Palombo, CEO, and Co-founder of Jur joining us in episode 37 of Encrypted. We talk extensively about what smart contracts really are, the roles they play in the future in both codifying principles and contracting machines, and how billions of people can benefit from this! Yes, we also tackle the million dollar question: What will the roles of lawyers and law firms be in a smart contracting future world? We hope you enjoy. And don't forget to subscribe to our podcast and make sure to rate and review the podcast as well!Special Guests: Alessandro Palombo and Mark Beer.

In this episode, Ahmed and Nic speak with two amazing lawyers who are actively leveraging smart contracts for their current line and future line of work. We have Mark Beer, President of the International Association for Court Administration and a lawyer turned tech entrepreneur Alessandro Palombo, CEO, and Co-founder of Jur joining us in episode 37 of Encrypted. We talk extensively about what smart contracts really are, the roles they play in the future in both codifying principles and contracting machines, and how billions of people can benefit from this! Yes, we also tackle the million dollar question: What will the roles of lawyers and law firms be in a smart contracting future world? We hope you enjoy. And don't forget to subscribe to our podcast and make sure to rate and review the podcast as well!Special Guests: Alessandro Palombo and Mark Beer.

#Ep. 37: How are lawyers creating, building and using smart contracts?

Ahmed and Faisal are joined by Aly Madhavji, a Managing Partner at the Blockchain Founders Fund.  The episode starts off with Ahmed describing his experience at the Binance Fair in Singapore where he gives a few highlights and takeaways as well as a general landscape of the region.  Use cases and investments The show then dives deep into Aly’s background and what the Blockchain Founders Fund actually is and what it does in the industry. Having an investment arm, incubation arm as well as a consulting arm, Aly reminds us all as to why blockchain is beneficial and cites many cross-border use cases.  Ahmed asks what type of companies the fund has already invested in and what are they looking to invest in going forward. With an interesting and diverse portfolio, this episode brings to light the unsung no-hype projects that are solving real problems and making real use cases. 2019 focus: Finding transformative solutions and UN Impact report Aly also delves into their different focus points for 2019; one of which is contributing to the written publication of an Impact report for the United Nations. Having different stakeholders, in particular funds, contribute to social enterprise and social impact causes are crucial in moving the industry forward. Do make sure to listen in on what exactly this report is all about! Investment criteria and the Lemonade video! Faisal questions Aly on the Blockchain Founders Fund’s investment criteria and philosophy where he describes how their fund operates, their thoughts on tokens and the different brackets within their investment strategy. Listen in to how their fund tries to find the right balance between obtaining the highest ROI and making sure to have a social lens too. Let’s ban the term STO As Aly is an advisor to Polymath, he talks about his thoughts and concerns in regards with security tokens and security token offerings.  He highlights the fundamental fact that the underlying does not change; where a company, or a project is not more valuable because it’s done an STO.  They also talk about the benefits of STOs as well as the challenges of implementing an STO now, where they cite that implementing a security token could in fact add extra layers in the process rather than making it more efficient.  The three also touch on crowdfunding, the decreasing popularity of public fundraising and more on this exciting topic! As you can see, we talked about a lot of things and so all of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word! Source: Lemonade Video!Special Guest: Aly Madhavji 穆亚霖 .

Ahmed and Faisal are joined by Aly Madhavji, a Managing Partner at the Blockchain Founders Fund. The episode starts off with Ahmed describing his experience at the Binance Fair in Singapore where he gives a few highlights and takeaways as well as a general landscape of the region. Use cases and investments The show then dives deep into Aly’s background and what the Blockchain Founders Fund actually is and what it does in the industry. Having an investment arm, incubation arm as well as a consulting arm, Aly reminds us all as to why blockchain is beneficial and cites many cross-border use cases. Ahmed asks what type of companies the fund has already invested in and what are they looking to invest in going forward. With an interesting and diverse portfolio, this episode brings to light the unsung no-hype projects that are solving real problems and making real use cases. 2019 focus: Finding transformative solutions and UN Impact report Aly also delves into their different focus points for 2019; one of which is contributing to the written publication of an Impact report for the United Nations. Having different stakeholders, in particular funds, contribute to social enterprise and social impact causes are crucial in moving the industry forward. Do make sure to listen in on what exactly this report is all about! Investment criteria and the Lemonade video! Faisal questions Aly on the Blockchain Founders Fund’s investment criteria and philosophy where he describes how their fund operates, their thoughts on tokens and the different brackets within their investment strategy. Listen in to how their fund tries to find the right balance between obtaining the highest ROI and making sure to have a social lens too. Let’s ban the term STO As Aly is an advisor to Polymath, he talks about his thoughts and concerns in regards with security tokens and security token offerings. He highlights the fundamental fact that the underlying does not change; where a company, or a project is not more valuable because it’s done an STO. They also talk about the benefits of STOs as well as the challenges of implementing an STO now, where they cite that implementing a security token could in fact add extra layers in the process rather than making it more efficient. The three also touch on crowdfunding, the decreasing popularity of public fundraising and more on this exciting topic! As you can see, we talked about a lot of things and so all of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word! Source: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVZxjVJz4ds" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lemonade Video!</a>Special Guest: Aly Madhavji 穆亚霖 .

#Ep. 25: The balance between ROI and Social Impact: A conversation with the Blockchain Founders Fund

So our stats shows that 42% of our listeners are from the UAE. Well we have never met nor interacted with the majority of them, and so we decided to host our first meet-up.  This meet-up, however, is with a twist.  We did a live podcast to interact and engage with our community and the wider blockchain community in Dubai. We allowed the audience to pitch in their thoughts and questions at any point during the panel to allow for an interactive discussion.  The topics were also chosen by the community too! On the registration form, we allowed the attendees to pick three topics out of 5 we picked and the three that were chosen were:  Blockchain in the GCC State and future of adoption Blockchain start-up investments  This is our longest episode where we, as a community, discussed many different factors of our ecosystem and we hope you will enjoy this.  As always, please do not subscribe to our podcast. If you have, do not forget to rate and review the podcast!!Special Guests: Dr. Marwan Alzarouni  and Talal Tabbaa.

So our stats shows that 42% of our listeners are from the UAE. Well we have never met nor interacted with the majority of them, and so we decided to host our first meet-up. This meet-up, however, is with a twist. We did a live podcast to interact and engage with our community and the wider blockchain community in Dubai. We allowed the audience to pitch in their thoughts and questions at any point during the panel to allow for an interactive discussion. The topics were also chosen by the community too! On the registration form, we allowed the attendees to pick three topics out of 5 we picked and the three that were chosen were: <ol> <li>Blockchain in the GCC</li> <li>State and future of adoption</li> <li>Blockchain start-up investments</li> </ol> This is our longest episode where we, as a community, discussed many different factors of our ecosystem and we hope you will enjoy this. As always, please do not subscribe to our podcast. If you have, do not forget to rate and review the podcast!!Special Guests: Dr. Marwan Alzarouni and Talal Tabbaa.

#Ep. 32: Encrypted presents Decrypt Hour!

Ahmed has an exciting line up on this episode of Encrypted. First up, Ahmed interviews the CEO of the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority, Richard Teng. They talk about the 3-year-old financial free trade zone, Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM), and how it differs itself as a financial and fintech hub for the region. Richard explains the regulatory sandbox that was recently implemented at the ADGM, also known as the RegLab, and how it aims to facilitate innovation through providing a relaxed regulatory environment and a test bed for new fintech business models and start-ups.  Richard further explains the fintech bridges they have built with overseas regulatory sandboxes that are similar in nature with the aim of increasing fintech adoption globally and also helping to close the funding gap between investors and start-ups.  Delving into the blockchain and crypto landscape, Richard discusses how the ADGM are building a comprehensive framework for this new industry comprising of exchanges, ICOs, ETFs and more. Ahmed then enquires about how traditional capital from family offices and sovereign wealth funds will start to invest and take positions into this new asset class.  Next up, Ahmed is joined by Austin Alexander from the CEO’s office of Kraken and Dan Donny, the CEO of Securrency.  Ahmed gets straight into why both guests view the Abu Dhabi Global Markets as an attractive jurisdiction for blockchain and cryptocurrency companies. It is noteworthy that being able to go into great detail with forward thinking regulators is seen as a unique attribute when compared to other regulatory authorities across the world. The three then go into the evolution of institutional money flowing into crypto and discussing the potential of when Wall Street money sitting on the side-lines will actually help mature the markets. Dan addresses the challenges that need to be addressed before institutional money flows in.  The concept of self regulated organisations (SROs) are explored too as well as the feasibility of ETFs being potentially a minor factor in bringing in new capital and funds into this space. Ahmed opens up the discussions on security tokens and how important they will be moving forward as well as exploring their potential use cases in our guests’ respective businesses.  All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word!Special Guests: Austin Alexander, Dan Doney, and Richard Teng.

Ahmed has an exciting line up on this episode of Encrypted. First up, Ahmed interviews the CEO of the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority, Richard Teng. They talk about the 3-year-old financial free trade zone, Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM), and how it differs itself as a financial and fintech hub for the region. Richard explains the regulatory sandbox that was recently implemented at the ADGM, also known as the RegLab, and how it aims to facilitate innovation through providing a relaxed regulatory environment and a test bed for new fintech business models and start-ups. Richard further explains the fintech bridges they have built with overseas regulatory sandboxes that are similar in nature with the aim of increasing fintech adoption globally and also helping to close the funding gap between investors and start-ups. Delving into the blockchain and crypto landscape, Richard discusses how the ADGM are building a comprehensive framework for this new industry comprising of exchanges, ICOs, ETFs and more. Ahmed then enquires about how traditional capital from family offices and sovereign wealth funds will start to invest and take positions into this new asset class. Next up, Ahmed is joined by Austin Alexander from the CEO’s office of Kraken and Dan Donny, the CEO of Securrency. Ahmed gets straight into why both guests view the Abu Dhabi Global Markets as an attractive jurisdiction for blockchain and cryptocurrency companies. It is noteworthy that being able to go into great detail with forward thinking regulators is seen as a unique attribute when compared to other regulatory authorities across the world. The three then go into the evolution of institutional money flowing into crypto and discussing the potential of when Wall Street money sitting on the side-lines will actually help mature the markets. Dan addresses the challenges that need to be addressed before institutional money flows in. The concept of self regulated organisations (SROs) are explored too as well as the feasibility of ETFs being potentially a minor factor in bringing in new capital and funds into this space. Ahmed opens up the discussions on security tokens and how important they will be moving forward as well as exploring their potential use cases in our guests’ respective businesses. All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word!Special Guests: Austin Alexander, Dan Doney, and Richard Teng.

#Ep. 10: Institutionalising Crypto and a Fintech Special!

Ahmed is in San Francisco for his first ever visit! As well as attending the San Francisco Blockchain Week, Ahmed set some time to explore a bit of SF and also spent time interviewing one of the pioneers of blockchain technology in SF; Matthew Liu from Origin Protocol.  In this episode, the pair discuss:  Matt’s experience and key lessons as a product manager at Youtube in its early days  Matt’s ups and downs in entrepreneurship  What it takes to be a real entrepreneur  Why Origin is building a platform for decentralised marketplaces How incentivisation functions in Origin Real practical use cases Differences in the business models between open sourcing your tech (tokens) vs keeping it private (equity)  Culture and personality around delivering impact  They also discuss the race to digital supremacy between the U.S. and China! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word and hitting that subscribe button!Special Guest: Matthew Liu.

Ahmed is in San Francisco for his first ever visit! As well as attending the San Francisco Blockchain Week, Ahmed set some time to explore a bit of SF and also spent time interviewing one of the pioneers of blockchain technology in SF; Matthew Liu from Origin Protocol. In this episode, the pair discuss: <ul> <li>Matt’s experience and key lessons as a product manager at Youtube in its early days </li> <li>Matt’s ups and downs in entrepreneurship </li> <li>What it takes to be a real entrepreneur </li> <li>Why Origin is building a platform for decentralised marketplaces</li> <li>How incentivisation functions in Origin</li> <li>Real practical use cases</li> <li>Differences in the business models between open sourcing your tech (tokens) vs keeping it private (equity) </li> <li>Culture and personality around delivering impact</li> </ul> They also discuss the race to digital supremacy between the U.S. and China! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word and hitting that subscribe button!Special Guest: Matthew Liu.

#Ep. 57: How an early YouTube employee is competing against Uber and Airbnb!

Faisal sits down with Hans Christensen, VP of Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Centre, to talk all things blockchain and crypto.  Hans first introduces the pillars and model of DTEC and then explains how it aims to support the startup ecosystem when it comes to blockchain based projects. He also shares insights on a couple of blockchain use cases and projects that are undergoing and how Dtec aims to utilize this technology.  Then, Faisal and Hans discuss the news related to Coinbase discussing an crypto ETF in partnership with Blackrock and what this means to the investment domain.  Next, the story of Goldman Sachs swings on their crypto-focused arm is explored and how the news of that being abandoned heavily affected the market! Finally, the host and guest shed light on IBM’s announcement on their new payment product in partnership with Stellar and how this benefits the banking ecosystem by having more and more competition and the technology in general. All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word! Sources: Coinbase Considers Launching Crypto ETF with Help of Wall Street’s BlackRock  Goldman Sachs CFO: Recent Reports About Crypto Trading Desk Are ‘Fake News’ Manipulation Game on the Cryptocurrency Market – September 6 IBM Debuts Stellar-Powered 'Blockchain World Wire' Payments SystemSpecial Guest: Hans Christensen.

Faisal sits down with Hans Christensen, VP of Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Centre, to talk all things blockchain and crypto. Hans first introduces the pillars and model of DTEC and then explains how it aims to support the startup ecosystem when it comes to blockchain based projects. He also shares insights on a couple of blockchain use cases and projects that are undergoing and how Dtec aims to utilize this technology. Then, Faisal and Hans discuss the news related to Coinbase discussing an crypto ETF in partnership with Blackrock and what this means to the investment domain. Next, the story of Goldman Sachs swings on their crypto-focused arm is explored and how the news of that being abandoned heavily affected the market! Finally, the host and guest shed light on IBM’s announcement on their new payment product in partnership with Stellar and how this benefits the banking ecosystem by having more and more competition and the technology in general. All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word! Sources: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-considers-launching-crypto-etf-with-help-of-wall-streets-blackrock-say-sources" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Coinbase Considers Launching Crypto ETF with Help of Wall Street’s BlackRock </a> <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/goldman-sachs-cfo-recent-reports-about-crypto-trading-desk-are-fake-news" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goldman Sachs CFO: Recent Reports About Crypto Trading Desk Are ‘Fake News’</a> <a href="https://coinwrath.com/manipulation-game-on-the-cryptocurrency-market-september-6/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Manipulation Game on the Cryptocurrency Market – September 6</a> <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/ibm-debuts-stellar-powered-blockchain-world-wire-payments-system/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IBM Debuts Stellar-Powered 'Blockchain World Wire' Payments System</a>Special Guest: Hans Christensen.

#Ep. 09: Crypto Bloodbath and a DTEC Tour!

The world is at the at the forefront of the token revolution. With the invention of non-fungible tokens, we have seen a lot of innovations and developments to find solutions to complex real-world problems.   In the episode, Ahmed sits down with Aniket, and they discuss the current happenings in the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) world. The episode is centric towards explaining nonfungible tokens in a simple and easy to understand manner, highlighting the developments from the birth of NFTs till now.  They covered the applications of NFTs in gaming and other industries as well as current developments in the space around nonfungible tokens. They also shared some future trends and why NFTs can possibly be valuable in the future.  All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word!

The world is at the at the forefront of the token revolution. With the invention of non-fungible tokens, we have seen a lot of innovations and developments to find solutions to complex real-world problems. In the episode, Ahmed sits down with Aniket, and they discuss the current happenings in the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) world. The episode is centric towards explaining nonfungible tokens in a simple and easy to understand manner, highlighting the developments from the birth of NFTs till now. They covered the applications of NFTs in gaming and other industries as well as current developments in the space around nonfungible tokens. They also shared some future trends and why NFTs can possibly be valuable in the future. All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word!

#Ep. 17: Non-Fungible Tokens...WTF?!

Nic Watson and Ahmed Al Balaghi co-host todays episode, with guest Damu Winston, author of “I Don't Trust You, But Blockchain Will Help” Today we focus on distrust and what it means to live in a world of genuine, fake and fraudulent trust. In a world where every day you are surrounded by information that directs your decision making and purchasing habits, how can you be sure what you are basing your decisions on are real. There are so many factors that impact trust and how organisations, individuals and social groups are more than ever relying on fraudulent information to make decisions. Damu covers key technologies including blockchain that will enhance how genuine trust can replace fake trust and its impact on how we interact daily with each other, corporations and governments. Expect to walk away with:  A different opinion of what trust is How future technologies will impact even greater what is genuine and what is not Where you can get Damu’s free ebook Why distrust is more important to understand than trust How Alexa, Siri and other game changing voice tech will impact trust  And don’t forget to stick around for the whole episode as we have a few laughs about 6 year olds teaching enterprise technology decision makers about bitcoin. If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word and hitting that subscribe button!Special Guest: Damu Winston.

Nic Watson and Ahmed Al Balaghi co-host todays episode, with guest Damu Winston, author of “I Don't Trust You, But Blockchain Will Help” Today we focus on distrust and what it means to live in a world of genuine, fake and fraudulent trust. In a world where every day you are surrounded by information that directs your decision making and purchasing habits, how can you be sure what you are basing your decisions on are real. There are so many factors that impact trust and how organisations, individuals and social groups are more than ever relying on fraudulent information to make decisions. Damu covers key technologies including blockchain that will enhance how genuine trust can replace fake trust and its impact on how we interact daily with each other, corporations and governments. Expect to walk away with: <ul> <li>A different opinion of what trust is</li> <li>How future technologies will impact even greater what is genuine and what is not</li> <li>Where you can get Damu’s free ebook</li> <li>Why distrust is more important to understand than trust</li> <li>How Alexa, Siri and other game changing voice tech will impact trust</li> </ul> And don’t forget to stick around for the whole episode as we have a few laughs about 6 year olds teaching enterprise technology decision makers about bitcoin. If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word and hitting that subscribe button!Special Guest: Damu Winston.

#Ep. 55: THE (DIS)TRUST GENERATION: Genuine, Fake and Fraudulent

Today Ahmed is joined by Dr. Marwan Al-Zarouni who gives a low down on the Dubai Blockchain Centre and generally what Dubai is up to in the blockchain space.  They discuss: • His very interesting flippening moment (jargon for how someone got interested in bitcoin and blockchain) • Advice on how to the enter the industry  • Different applications utilised by blockchain and the Dubai Blockchain Strategy They also delve into how the Dubai Blockchain Center is helping Dubai become a global blockchain capital and how blockchain entrepreneurs can get support from the Center. Also, cryptocurrency regulation is a hot topic where they discuss how the UAE is fairing against the world, especially on the back of a new crypto OTC license that has recently been made available in the region allowing for regulated crypto OTC desks. All of the above and more will be on this episode of Encrypted Interviews! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other podcast platforms. And if you found it helpful or know someone who will, spread the knowledge and tell them to tune in! Additional resources: Dubai Blockchain Center Smart Dubai Blockchain Strategy Special Guest: Dr. Marwan Alzarouni .

Today Ahmed is joined by Dr. Marwan Al-Zarouni who gives a low down on the Dubai Blockchain Centre and generally what Dubai is up to in the blockchain space. They discuss: • His very interesting flippening moment (jargon for how someone got interested in bitcoin and blockchain) • Advice on how to the enter the industry • Different applications utilised by blockchain and the Dubai Blockchain Strategy They also delve into how the Dubai Blockchain Center is helping Dubai become a global blockchain capital and how blockchain entrepreneurs can get support from the Center. Also, cryptocurrency regulation is a hot topic where they discuss how the UAE is fairing against the world, especially on the back of a new crypto OTC license that has recently been made available in the region allowing for regulated crypto OTC desks. All of the above and more will be on this episode of Encrypted Interviews! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other podcast platforms. And if you found it helpful or know someone who will, spread the knowledge and tell them to tune in! Additional resources: <a href="http://blockchaincenter.ae/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dubai Blockchain Center</a> <a href="https://smartdubai.ae/en/Initiatives/Pages/DubaiBlockchainStrategy.aspx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Smart Dubai Blockchain Strategy </a>Special Guest: Dr. Marwan Alzarouni .

#Ep. 03: Encrypted Interviews - The development of the Dubai Blockchain Center with Dr. Marwan Al-Zarouni

Ahmed and Faisal sit down with Fares Ghandour, Partner at Wamda Capital which is a VC based in Dubai, to discuss the latest news, trends and the really interesting debates that circulate in the blockchain space.  Fares first introduces Wamda Capital and shares the investments they have made in the blockchain space as well as thoughts about regulation in the region and how regulation is being shaped by the blockchain start-ups they are investing in. The three then start of the discussion on this week’s news starting with Japan’s approach to tackle illicit crypto activities, and how as a developed market it is increasingly active in regulating this industry. They also touch on how crypto is becoming less and less used for illicit purposes as it actually makes it easier to get caught using crypto for fraud!  We discuss a wide range of topics from this piece; from bitcoin maximalism, to working with regulators, and to a new generation of regulated exchanges implementing pieces of software that allows to track the origin of funds of cryptocurrencies and tokens. In the next news article, Ahmed opens up the discussion about a crypto start up called Dfinity which just raised $102 million and what this means for investments going forward, particularly in a bear market.  Then we discuss the findings of one particular research showing that from the top 100 cryptocurrencies on coinmarketcap, only 36 projects have a working product with users. Fares shares a very interesting perspective from the VC angle and argues the importance of protocol development first before assessing working products.  Ahmed and Faisal also question the viability of the current VC model, and Fares shares how he thinks the VC model will change in the future.  All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word! Articles links: Japanese Police to Fund Crypto Criminal Tracking Tool Cryptocurrency Start-Up Dfinity Raises $102 Million to Build Internet Computer  Cryptocurrencies in the top 100 with working products Mount Gox bitcoin theft flow of funds- you can toggle your mouse to track where the bitcoins went after they were stolen Special Guest: Fares Ghandour.

Ahmed and Faisal sit down with Fares Ghandour, Partner at Wamda Capital which is a VC based in Dubai, to discuss the latest news, trends and the really interesting debates that circulate in the blockchain space. Fares first introduces Wamda Capital and shares the investments they have made in the blockchain space as well as thoughts about regulation in the region and how regulation is being shaped by the blockchain start-ups they are investing in. The three then start of the discussion on this week’s news starting with Japan’s approach to tackle illicit crypto activities, and how as a developed market it is increasingly active in regulating this industry. They also touch on how crypto is becoming less and less used for illicit purposes as it actually makes it easier to get caught using crypto for fraud! We discuss a wide range of topics from this piece; from bitcoin maximalism, to working with regulators, and to a new generation of regulated exchanges implementing pieces of software that allows to track the origin of funds of cryptocurrencies and tokens. In the next news article, Ahmed opens up the discussion about a crypto start up called Dfinity which just raised $102 million and what this means for investments going forward, particularly in a bear market. Then we discuss the findings of one particular research showing that from the top 100 cryptocurrencies on coinmarketcap, only 36 projects have a working product with users. Fares shares a very interesting perspective from the VC angle and argues the importance of protocol development first before assessing working products. Ahmed and Faisal also question the viability of the current VC model, and Fares shares how he thinks the VC model will change in the future. All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word! Articles links: <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/japanese-police-to-fund-crypto-criminal-tracking-tool/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Japanese Police to Fund Crypto Criminal Tracking Tool</a> <a href="https://www.ccn.com/cryptocurrency-startup-dfinity-raises-102-million-to-build-internet-computer/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cryptocurrency Start-Up Dfinity Raises $102 Million to Build Internet Computer </a> <a href="https://www.investinblockchain.com/top-cryptocurrencies-working-products/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cryptocurrencies in the top 100 with working products</a> <a href="https://blog.wizsec.jp/2017/07/breaking-open-mtgox-1.html?spref=tw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mount Gox bitcoin theft flow of funds- you can toggle your mouse to track where the bitcoins went after they were stolen </a>Special Guest: Fares Ghandour.

#Ep. 08: When VCs go eye to eye with Blockchain!

Binance

In this episode, Ahmed and Faisal touch on the SEC’s delay on deciding the way forward with a bitcoin ETF and the effects of that on the crypto market. The hosts discuss the response of this decision along with the view point of some domain leaders like Vitalil Buterin. The Binance decentralised demo is covered too along with how decentralised exchanges function and how they are actually governed. This is also contrasted with the other side of the spectrum with the Intercontinental Exchange recently reporting that they will be launching a new Digital Asset Exchange called Bakkt in November of this year! Finally, the hosts discuss Tezos’s research grant announcement as well as recent news on the Emerging Markets which also concerns exchanges! All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word! Articles links: SEC Postpones Decision on Bitcoin ETF Listing to September Binance Unveils Demo of New Decentralized Cryptocurrency Exchange Tezos Foundation to Issue Grants for Blockchain and Smart Contract Research

In this episode, Ahmed and Faisal touch on the SEC’s delay on deciding the way forward with a bitcoin ETF and the effects of that on the crypto market. The hosts discuss the response of this decision along with the view point of some domain leaders like Vitalil Buterin. The Binance decentralised demo is covered too along with how decentralised exchanges function and how they are actually governed. This is also contrasted with the other side of the spectrum with the Intercontinental Exchange recently reporting that they will be launching a new Digital Asset Exchange called Bakkt in November of this year! Finally, the hosts discuss Tezos’s research grant announcement as well as recent news on the Emerging Markets which also concerns exchanges! All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word! Articles links: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-07/sec-postpones-decision-on-vaneck-bitcoin-etf-to-september" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SEC Postpones Decision on Bitcoin ETF Listing to September</a> <a href="https://www.ccn.com/binance-unveils-demo-of-new-decentralized-cryptocurrency-exchange/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Binance Unveils Demo of New Decentralized Cryptocurrency Exchange</a> <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/tezos-foundation-to-issue-grants-for-blockchain-and-smart-contract-research" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tezos Foundation to Issue Grants for Blockchain and Smart Contract Research</a>

#Ep. 04: ICE be Centralising, Binance be Decentralising 

In this episode Ahmed and Aniket speak to Sandeep Nailwal, COO of Matic Network.  Matic Network is a Layer 2 scaling solution for decentralised blockchain networks. The hosts explore why Matic exists, how they’re implementing Layer 2 solutions and what the platform is all about.  Sandeep in a nutshell explains how important it is to solve the biggest problems in the space; scalability and UX.  The Challenges  Current blockchain networks have a big problem in scaling due to its decentralised nature and that for mass adoption current blockchain networks will not be able to service millions of users.  When it comes to UX and usability of blockchain’s the biggest problems lie in the technical nature of using blockchain. The ultimate goal is that when users interact, they wouldn’t know that they are really interacting with blockchain networks. From a developer standpoint, they are also providing easy tools for developers to develop applications on top of Matic which would allow scalability for Dapps and ultimately lower fees as well.   Layer 1 and Layer 2 Sandeep goes into the differences between Layer 1 and Layer 2 in blockchain networks and how they behave respectively.  Sandeep explains that Layer 1 is all about economic considerations where there is a trade-off between security and scalability which is commonly seen in networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The higher the security the lower the scalability and thus inherently slow. Ahmed quotes Vitalik’s Scalability trilemma where if you had scalabilty, decentralisation and security, you can only choose two of these three. Most, if not all Layer 1 blockchain networks, they choose decentralisation and security. In Layer 2, since you have Layer 1 to rely on which is security and decentralisation, then through cryptographic mechanisms you can get the same features on layer 2 as well as adding the scalability in layer 2 which is not included in layer 1.  Make sure to listen to the episode to hear how Matic network is building out this innovative Layer 2 solution they are creating.  Difference between Matic and others Matic’s solution is highly inspired by the Plasma implementation that was put forward by Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Poon. Plasma is one of the first layer 2 frameworks out there in the market.  Here Sandeep explains how they are implementing layer 2 differently from Plasma, briefly explaining how they are implementing an account-based system rather than the UTXO system which is used by Plasma. Make sure to tune in to find out more! Sandeep explains how Matic is different from competitors such as Loom Network and Skale.  He also goes into how they are improving developer experience since Matic is built on Ethereum, Ethereum developers are automatically Matic developers and thus it is easy to migrate to the layer 2 Matic is providing.  Crypto in India Aniket who has been researching the Indian blockchain space is curious to see how Matic are operating in India given they are an Indian team.  Sandeep explains the structure of Matic and where they are based and states that their research team is based in India. He also goes to talk about the current regulatory landscape of crypto in India and believes that India will not ban crypto.  The Matic token and tokenomics Ahmed asks about the token mechanism of Matic network and Sandeep answers that their token is a network token which is used to keep the network secure and to have the token in order to use the Matic network. Therefore, like most blockchain’s such as Bitocin and Ethereum and other protocol layers a native token is used for transaction fees. Additionally, Matic is a proof of stake system which requires a token to govern and secure the network thus a native asset is necessary to secure and incentivise network participants to keep honest, like how most blockchains currently are.  Thus, the token has two utilities: used for transaction fee and used for staking. Is Matic doing an ICO? Sandeep explains that they are looking to do an ICO and shares his plans on doing a large public sale on the back of recently completing a small private sale. They have an amazing announcement soon so do make sure to keep your eyes peeled. We hope you enjoy!!! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word!Special Guest: Sandeep nailwal.

In this episode Ahmed and Aniket speak to Sandeep Nailwal, COO of Matic Network. Matic Network is a Layer 2 scaling solution for decentralised blockchain networks. The hosts explore why Matic exists, how they’re implementing Layer 2 solutions and what the platform is all about. Sandeep in a nutshell explains how important it is to solve the biggest problems in the space; scalability and UX. The Challenges <ol> <li>Current blockchain networks have a big problem in scaling due to its decentralised nature and that for mass adoption current blockchain networks will not be able to service millions of users. </li> <li>When it comes to UX and usability of blockchain’s the biggest problems lie in the technical nature of using blockchain. The ultimate goal is that when users interact, they wouldn’t know that they are really interacting with blockchain networks. From a developer standpoint, they are also providing easy tools for developers to develop applications on top of Matic which would allow scalability for Dapps and ultimately lower fees as well. </li> </ol> Layer 1 and Layer 2 Sandeep goes into the differences between Layer 1 and Layer 2 in blockchain networks and how they behave respectively. Sandeep explains that Layer 1 is all about economic considerations where there is a trade-off between security and scalability which is commonly seen in networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The higher the security the lower the scalability and thus inherently slow. Ahmed quotes Vitalik’s Scalability trilemma where if you had scalabilty, decentralisation and security, you can only choose two of these three. Most, if not all Layer 1 blockchain networks, they choose decentralisation and security. In Layer 2, since you have Layer 1 to rely on which is security and decentralisation, then through cryptographic mechanisms you can get the same features on layer 2 as well as adding the scalability in layer 2 which is not included in layer 1. Make sure to listen to the episode to hear how Matic network is building out this innovative Layer 2 solution they are creating. Difference between Matic and others Matic’s solution is highly inspired by the Plasma implementation that was put forward by Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Poon. Plasma is one of the first layer 2 frameworks out there in the market. Here Sandeep explains how they are implementing layer 2 differently from Plasma, briefly explaining how they are implementing an account-based system rather than the UTXO system which is used by Plasma. Make sure to tune in to find out more! Sandeep explains how Matic is different from competitors such as Loom Network and Skale. He also goes into how they are improving developer experience since Matic is built on Ethereum, Ethereum developers are automatically Matic developers and thus it is easy to migrate to the layer 2 Matic is providing. Crypto in India Aniket who has been researching the Indian blockchain space is curious to see how Matic are operating in India given they are an Indian team. Sandeep explains the structure of Matic and where they are based and states that their research team is based in India. He also goes to talk about the current regulatory landscape of crypto in India and believes that India will not ban crypto. The Matic token and tokenomics Ahmed asks about the token mechanism of Matic network and Sandeep answers that their token is a network token which is used to keep the network secure and to have the token in order to use the Matic network. Therefore, like most blockchain’s such as Bitocin and Ethereum and other protocol layers a native token is used for transaction fees. Additionally, Matic is a proof of stake system which requires a token to govern and secure the network thus a native asset is necessary to secure and incentivise network participants to keep honest, like how most blockchains currently are. Thus, the token has two utilities: used for transaction fee and used for staking. Is Matic doing an ICO? Sandeep explains that they are looking to do an ICO and shares his plans on doing a large public sale on the back of recently completing a small private sale. They have an amazing announcement soon so do make sure to keep your eyes peeled. We hope you enjoy!!! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word!Special Guest: Sandeep nailwal.

#Ep. 31: How Matic Network is solving the biggest problems in Blockchain today?

Staking. Generalised Mining. Proof of stake. What are all these??? In this episode, Ahmed speaks to Tim Ogilvie, CEO of Staked which recently raised $4.5 million from investors such as Coinbase and Pantera to build a staking as a service platform for institutional investors.  We cover the difference between proof of work and proof of stake, different implementations of proof of stake (POS, DPOS etc), the roles of staking services/node operators, opportunities it presents, and related regulatory concerns.  We hope you enjoy!!! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word!Special Guest: Tim Ogilvie.

Staking. Generalised Mining. Proof of stake. What are all these??? In this episode, Ahmed speaks to Tim Ogilvie, CEO of Staked which recently raised $4.5 million from investors such as Coinbase and Pantera to build a staking as a service platform for institutional investors. We cover the difference between proof of work and proof of stake, different implementations of proof of stake (POS, DPOS etc), the roles of staking services/node operators, opportunities it presents, and related regulatory concerns. We hope you enjoy!!! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word!Special Guest: Tim Ogilvie.

#Ep. 36: What the Stake? All you need to know about Staking and PoS networks!

Mohammed Shael

In this episode of Encrypted Interviews, Ahmed sits down with the CEO of Strategic Affairs of the Department of Economic Development of Dubai.  They discuss: • How the Department’s current processes are inefficient  • How blockchain will help eliminate inefficiencies and why they need a blockchain  • Their successful pilot test with one free trade zone in Dubai Mohammed delves into their Department’s blockchain journey and their approach to actually solve problems currently faced by investors and businessmen coming into the UAE. As well as critically deconstructing the problem, Mohammed shared the grand plans for how their Department’s blockchain solution could not only be a solution used in the UAE but also shares their worldwide ambitions. The crux of the conversation is all about digital identity and Mohammed discusses their ideas and implementations for how digital IDs can soon become a reality in the UAE utilising digital signatures.  All of the above and more will be on this episode of Encrypted Interviews! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other podcast platforms. And if you found it helpful or know someone who will, spread the knowledge and tell them to tune in!Special Guest: Mohammed Shael Al Saadi.

In this episode of Encrypted Interviews, Ahmed sits down with the CEO of Strategic Affairs of the Department of Economic Development of Dubai. They discuss: • How the Department’s current processes are inefficient • How blockchain will help eliminate inefficiencies and why they need a blockchain • Their successful pilot test with one free trade zone in Dubai Mohammed delves into their Department’s blockchain journey and their approach to actually solve problems currently faced by investors and businessmen coming into the UAE. As well as critically deconstructing the problem, Mohammed shared the grand plans for how their Department’s blockchain solution could not only be a solution used in the UAE but also shares their worldwide ambitions. The crux of the conversation is all about digital identity and Mohammed discusses their ideas and implementations for how digital IDs can soon become a reality in the UAE utilising digital signatures. All of the above and more will be on this episode of Encrypted Interviews! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other podcast platforms. And if you found it helpful or know someone who will, spread the knowledge and tell them to tune in!Special Guest: Mohammed Shael Al Saadi.

#Ep. 06: Encrypted Interviews: How are Dubai Economy using blockchain technology? A Discussion with Mohammed Shael

Jibrel Network

In this episode, we speak to Talal Tabbaa, Co-founder and COO of Jibrel Network. Ahmed also welcomes a new guest host on the podcast, Nicholas Watson Managing Director of Naseba.  We cover examples of winning, implementing and managing digitization of sukuks (Islamic bonds) and fiat. We also take some time to answer the question...What does Enterprise really mean? as well as looking at how to tackle the Middle Eastern enteprise space, especially when it comes to blockchain! We hope you enjoy!!! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word!Special Guests: Nicholas Watson and Talal Tabbaa.

In this episode, we speak to Talal Tabbaa, Co-founder and COO of Jibrel Network. Ahmed also welcomes a new guest host on the podcast, Nicholas Watson Managing Director of Naseba. We cover examples of winning, implementing and managing digitization of sukuks (Islamic bonds) and fiat. We also take some time to answer the question...What does Enterprise really mean? as well as looking at how to tackle the Middle Eastern enteprise space, especially when it comes to blockchain! We hope you enjoy!!! If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word!Special Guests: Nicholas Watson and Talal Tabbaa.

#Ep. 35: Building enterprise blockchain adoption in the Middle East with Jibrel Network

After several requests by regular listeners, we get back to summarising interesting news that has happened in the last 7 days.  With Matt Hamilton and Gary Sheynkman as our guest news commentators. We discuss some unlikely stories, including you’re not a banana if you say you’re a banana and how this ties into stable coins and FinCEN, how China appears to be 'protecting' (cough cracking down cough) its crypto businesses and a quick catchup on where Telegram Open Network is heading with the SEC.Special Guests: Gary Sheynkman and Matt Hamilton.

After several requests by regular listeners, we get back to summarising interesting news that has happened in the last 7 days. With Matt Hamilton and Gary Sheynkman as our guest news commentators. We discuss some unlikely stories, including you’re not a banana if you say you’re a banana and how this ties into stable coins and FinCEN, how China appears to be 'protecting' (cough cracking down cough) its crypto businesses and a quick catchup on where Telegram Open Network is heading with the SEC.Special Guests: Gary Sheynkman and Matt Hamilton.

#Ep. 58: WEEKLY ROUND UP: China, New York, FINCEN, TON

Nic Watson and Ahmed Al Balaghi co-host todays episode with a Millennial angle, with guest star Erik Mendelson, a music executive with Grammy Award Winning artists under his belt. We discuss how the record industry is not paying it forwards to the artists and creative teams involved in music production and how blockchain through Tune Token and Cre8tor app will enable a fair share of earnings. Learn about:  Their journey to securing recognition in technology Gaining momentum with music industry executives Onboarding and recognising tomorrows future artists Using blockchain tech where it matters Why being completely decentralised is not a reality  We also have some fun with music industry stories that involve millennials, rock stars, chickens, tents, blockchain and “wasta”. If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word and hitting that subscribe button!Special Guest: Erik Mendelson.

Nic Watson and Ahmed Al Balaghi co-host todays episode with a Millennial angle, with guest star Erik Mendelson, a music executive with Grammy Award Winning artists under his belt. We discuss how the record industry is not paying it forwards to the artists and creative teams involved in music production and how blockchain through Tune Token and Cre8tor app will enable a fair share of earnings. Learn about: <ul> <li>Their journey to securing recognition in technology</li> <li>Gaining momentum with music industry executives</li> <li>Onboarding and recognising tomorrows future artists</li> <li>Using blockchain tech where it matters</li> <li>Why being completely decentralised is not a reality</li> </ul> We also have some fun with music industry stories that involve millennials, rock stars, chickens, tents, blockchain and “wasta”. If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word and hitting that subscribe button!Special Guest: Erik Mendelson.

#Ep. 56: Cre8ting a future of music artists

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