Building Blocks artwork

Building Blocks

15 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 13 ratings

Fintech, meet irreverence.

Information in tech and finance is so fragmented, trying to understand what’s going on and how the industry works is a brutally frustrating experience.

Building Blocks tackles this subject head on. This show is raw and irreverent. We are going to be taking on subjects that most are too afraid to discuss.

From the infrastructure that powers industries like the crypto space to personal and small business finance resources, building blocks is a foundational resource to understanding the rapidly changing world around us.

Sit down, strap in, and make sure to keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times. Welcome to Building Blocks… Are you ready for one hell of a ride?

Host - Kevin Lehtiniitty

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Episodes

Crypto Regulation with Hailey Lennon of Anderson Kill

April 23, 2021 17:49 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MB

How do you manage the changing regulations in the crypto space? Where is the line between tokens and securities and what's going to happen with Ripple and the SEC? With various regulators at both the state and federal levels, which framework is best for exchanges and other businesses? Hailey Lennon - Partner at Anderson Kill - and Kevin discuss the regulatory evolution of crypto in the US and Hailey's career in the space. Ranging from banks like Silvergate Bank to exchanges like Co...

Payments and Financial Infrastructure with Tom Pageler of Prime Trust

March 26, 2021 17:13 - 53 minutes - 49.6 MB

How does a Secret Service Agent get into the crypto space? How have payments evolved over the years? Can building with Prime Trust get you to market faster? Tom Pageler, CEO of Prime Trust, and Kevin Lehtiniitty discuss how the Secret Service started investigating electronic crimes, how the payments industry has evolved over the years, and how fintech companies can get to market quickly by leveraging the infrastructure at Prime Trust. Find out on this episode of Building Blocks. L...

Blockchain Basics - What is an ATS? With Saum Noursalehi CEO of tZERO

March 12, 2021 09:11 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MB

What is an ATS? How does tokenizing securities help us trade more efficiently? Kevin and Saum Noursalehi, CEO of tZERO discuss the ATS revolution and tokenizing securities on a blockchain. How does blockchain tech and smart contracts enable more efficient and programmatic trading of registered securities? What is the impact on markets of bringing settlement times from T+2 to T+0 and how does this impact what was happening with GameStop? How do ATS platforms like tZERO bring liquidi...

Blockchain Basics - What is DeFi? With Lisa Loud of Zytara

March 02, 2021 19:39 - 30 minutes - 28.3 MB

What is DeFi? What are liquidity pools? How can DeFi democratize finance? Kevin and Lisa Loud, Digital Currency Advisor at Zytara and formerly at ShapeShift, BitMEX, and PayPal discuss the DeFi (Decentralized Finance) revolution. How does blockchain tech and smart contracts enable you to earn a strong yield on your crypto assets? If you deposit your assets into Uniswap and get some tokens back, how do you actually know you have a claim on the liquidity pool? Find out on this episod...

Crypto Fraud & Compliance with Neal Reiter of Acuant

February 20, 2021 03:36 - 40 minutes - 37.1 MB

How rampant is fraud in the crypto space? What should you do when regulators knock on your door? How have crypto companies and the industry matured from a compliance perspective?  Neal Reiter, VP of Compliance Products at Acuant, and Kevin Lehtiniitty discuss the impact fraud has had on the crypto space, how the industry has evolved from a compliance perspective, what to look for in building compliance teams, and how to avoid loosing your shirt. Neal and Acuant have built some of cr...

Building Blocks - Is Miami Building the Crypto Mecca of the World? With Mayor Francis Suarez

February 09, 2021 18:28 - 26 minutes - 23.9 MB

How is Miami becoming the most crypto forward city in the country? What's driving Mayor Francis Suarez to embrace blockchain companies and technology? What is government's role in decentralized assets? Mayor Francis Suarez, Mayor of Miami, and Kevin Lehtiniitty discuss Miami's crypto initiatives, the Mayor himself, and governments role in decentralized assets. Miami has made a splash in the crypto scene turning itself into the most crypto forward city in the country. What's  driving...

Debt Supercycle & the Evolution of Crypto with Andrew Lawrence of Strike Protocols

February 05, 2021 19:52 - 40 minutes - 37.4 MB

Is the music ending on the debt supercycle? What are they keys to drive more institutional adoption of crypto assets? What are the implications of the increasing OCC guidance? Andrew Lawrence, CEO of Strike Protocols, and Kevin Lehtiniitty discuss the financial crisis, the debt supercycle, and crypto's evolution as an asset class. The cryptocurrency markets have evolved dramatically over the last 5-7 years but many institutional investments still think it's below their standards. Wh...

Blockchain Basics - Fundraising and Blockchain with Anne Connelly

February 03, 2021 01:45 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MB

Should non-profits consider accepting bitcoin for donations? Could crypto even be used to simplify non-profits? In this episode of Building Blocks, Kevin Lehtiniitty sits down with Anne Connelly - author of "Bitcoin and the Future of Fundraising" - and explores whether non-profits should think about accepting Bitcoin and how to approach the conversation internally. Anne shares her expertise in both on-profit operations and fundraising to forecast what the future could hold. Interes...

Operating a Global Crypto Exchange with Jason Lau of OKCoin

January 29, 2021 04:32 - 35 minutes - 32.4 MB

How do exchanges operate globally? What are the keys for a foreign exchange to break into the US market? Will tweeting at Jason get your token listed? Jason Lau - COO of OKCoin - and Kevin discuss global exchanges and Jason's decision to get into crypto. Ranging from managing changing regulations globally to the OKCoin listing process, Jason and Kevin pull back the curtain on one of the largest crypto exchanges. Learn More about OKCoin OKCoin.com https://twitter.com/OKCoin https://...

Blockchain Basics - What is a Wallet? With Michael Haley of Casa

January 26, 2021 05:35 - 34 minutes - 31.6 MB

What is a wallet? What does a public and private key pair mean? How do I actually own bitcoin? Michael Haley - Product at Casa - and Kevin discuss the basic fundamentals of a wallet. Ranging from third party custodians that custody crypto on behalf of people to self custody options, Michael and Kevin give a broad overview of the available options and what they mean. Learn more about Casa https://keys.casa/download Michael's twitter https://twitter.com/rhizo_michael Crypto book me...

North Korean Hackers & Securing Over $200B in Crypto with Michael Shaulov of Fireblocks

January 22, 2021 16:39 - 38 minutes - 35.6 MB

On this episode of Building Blocks, Kevin and Michael Shaulov - CEO of Fireblocks - discuss North Korea’s hacking agency the Lazarus group, crypto security, and how Israel is becoming a startup hotbed. Michael has spent his career in cybersecurity starting from his time in the Israeli Defense Force cybersecurity unit to founding Fireblocks and securing over $200B in crypto assets. Download this episode to learn more. Learn more about Fireblocks: https://www.fireblocks.com/ LinkedI...

Keys and Self Sovereignty with Nick Neuman

January 15, 2021 03:37 - 40 minutes - 36.8 MB

Nick Neuman and Kevin discuss the most awkward networking moment in crypto history that Nick didn't even know happened, the odds he'll start an only fans, and finally, the importance of sovereignty. As the CEO of Casa - one of the most popular ways to secure bitcoin while still retaining control of your keys - Nick dives into how to store bitcoin, how to keep control of bitcoin, and some basic fundamentals of bitcoin. Learn more about Casa  https://keys.casa https://blog.keys.casa...

Blockchain Basics - What is Bitcoin? With Yan Pritzker Author Inventing Bitcoin

January 08, 2021 17:22 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MB

Yan Pritzker of Swan Bitcoin walks us through the history of Bitcoin. Building Blocks subscribers get $10 of free Bitcoin as a welcome gift when you start stacking with Swan. https://www.swanbitcoin.com/BuildingBlocks/ Building Blocks subscribers also get a free copy of Yan's book, Inventing Bitcoin. https://event.swanbitcoin.com/freebook/ Follow along with us on social! https://www.youtube.com/channel/BuildingBlocksPodcast https://www.instagram.com/blocks_pocast https://www.t...

Meet the Host

January 05, 2021 22:09 - 6 minutes - 5.71 MB

Lets meet Kevin, and explore what Building Blocks has in store for this season and beyond! Stay tuned for exclusive interviews with guests that define the word 'irreverence'. New episodes every Friday, starting 1/8. Are you ready for one hell of a ride? Be sure to follow along! https://www.youtube.com/channel/BuildingBlocksPodcast https://www.instagram.com/blocks_pocast https://www.twitter.com/blocks_podcast https://Facebook.com/blockspodcast

Building Blocks Trailer

December 14, 2020 23:52 - 58 seconds - 962 KB

Coming January 2021. Are you ready for one hell of a ride?

Guests

Hailey Lennon
1 Episode

Twitter Mentions

@blocks_podcast 14 Episodes
@primetrustco 1 Episode
@okcoin 1 Episode
@noursalehi 1 Episode
@anne_connelly 1 Episode
@haileylennonbtc 1 Episode
@jasonklau 1 Episode
@fireblockshq 1 Episode
@francissuarez 1 Episode
@rhizo_michael 1 Episode
@tzero 1 Episode
@acuantcorp 1 Episode
@lisaisloud 1 Episode