The CryptoNewsAudio Podcast

CryptoCurrencyWire’s latest audio production features Daniel Keller, Co-Founder of Flux, a decentralized Web3 cloud infrastructure comprised of user-operated, scalable and globally distributed computational nodes.

To begin the interview, Keller discussed why he believes Flux is the best kept secret in the blockchain space.

“Up to this point, blockchain has been mostly speculatory. People have come in with the premise of ‘number go up’, so the predominant amount of development dollars that came into the ecosystem was built around marketing, PR and creating this FOMO or frothiness that comes with blockchain. Flux wanted to be completely different from that,” Keller said. “We put no money into our marketing and PR for a very long time.”

“We made a very concerted effort to not create undue and unnecessary attention around the product. We wanted to build the product out and have a fully functional ecosystem prior to engaging people in retail, business and enterprise. That’s a little bit different than what everyone else has done… That really comes down from our community and all the way up to the co-founders and across the board. To us, if we build a product and we create this frothiness around it when the product doesn’t function like it’s supposed to, they’ll come one time but then won’t return. We want to make sure people come in and see real-world solutions – a lot of them – so that blockchain can truly scale appropriately.”

Keller next discussed how Flux compares to Amazon’s AWS service.

“If you’re developing your infrastructure and deploying it on AWS, you’re not decentralized. Flux is different, because we offer the same products and services, but we’ve created a peer-to-peer model, with Flux acting as an intermediate between the two… With Flux, you have people who have compute resources and people who need compute resources, and we connect them peer-to-peer so they can basically create a virtual marketplace for compute. That breaks down the oligarchy of the Amazons and Googles who have price-controlled compute resources and stifled innovation under the guise of providing a higher level of service… Flux products are ran globally. They’re basically unfettered. You can’t censor them. That’s exactly where we need to be overall.”

Join IBN’s Jonathan Keim and CrytoNewsAudio’s latest guest to learn more about the interesting things people are doing on Flux that they could never have done before.

To hear the entire episode please visit: https://www.CryptoCurrencyWire.com/CryptoNewsAudio

 

CryptoCurrencyWire’s latest audio production features Daniel Keller, Co-Founder of Flux, a decentralized Web3 cloud infrastructure comprised of user-operated, scalable and globally distributed computational nodes.

To begin the interview, Keller discussed why he believes Flux is the best kept secret in the blockchain space.

“Up to this point, blockchain has been mostly speculatory. People have come in with the premise of ‘number go up’, so the predominant amount of development dollars that came into the ecosystem was built around marketing, PR and creating this FOMO or frothiness that comes with blockchain. Flux wanted to be completely different from that,” Keller said. “We put no money into our marketing and PR for a very long time.”

“We made a very concerted effort to not create undue and unnecessary attention around the product. We wanted to build the product out and have a fully functional ecosystem prior to engaging people in retail, business and enterprise. That’s a little bit different than what everyone else has done… That really comes down from our community and all the way up to the co-founders and across the board. To us, if we build a product and we create this frothiness around it when the product doesn’t function like it’s supposed to, they’ll come one time but then won’t return. We want to make sure people come in and see real-world solutions – a lot of them – so that blockchain can truly scale appropriately.”

Keller next discussed how Flux compares to Amazon’s AWS service.

“If you’re developing your infrastructure and deploying it on AWS, you’re not decentralized. Flux is different, because we offer the same products and services, but we’ve created a peer-to-peer model, with Flux acting as an intermediate between the two… With Flux, you have people who have compute resources and people who need compute resources, and we connect them peer-to-peer so they can basically create a virtual marketplace for compute. That breaks down the oligarchy of the Amazons and Googles who have price-controlled compute resources and stifled innovation under the guise of providing a higher level of service… Flux products are ran globally. They’re basically unfettered. You can’t censor them. That’s exactly where we need to be overall.”

Join IBN’s Jonathan Keim and CrytoNewsAudio’s latest guest to learn more about the interesting things people are doing on Flux that they could never have done before.

To hear the entire episode please visit: https://www.CryptoCurrencyWire.com/CryptoNewsAudio

CryptoCurrencyWire’s latest production features Layne Lafrance, Co-Founder of Flow, a decentralized, public, layer-one blockchain designed for building Web3 experiences for mainstream users.

 

To begin the interview, Lafrance discussed her background and path leading up to her role as the Co-Founder of Flow.

 

“I was one of the co-founders of CryptoKitties in 2017. It was an incredible landmark moment for the Ethereum network – bringing it to a halt,” Lafrance stated. “Prior to endeavoring to build the future of consumer applications and web3, I spent some time working with a company called Heartisans in Hong Kong, building a blood pressure watch. Now, I get to spend my time thinking about how the world of web3 and technical innovation will elicit significant social, economic and technical change.”

 

She then discussed a pivotal moment in her career and how it has impacted her journey in the web3 space.

 

“The moment that I held closest to my heart, especially throughout the design and development of Flow, was one with Heartisans – completely unrelated to crypto,” she continued. “At that time, people were finding my personal phone number and calling me, begging me to release the blood pressure watch. They said, ‘I don’t care what it costs; please, just give us this product. It’s going to change my life.’ That became the new benchmark for what product/market fit looked like. If people aren’t calling you, begging you to get the product, then you don’t have product/market fit. That was a really important litmus test for me going forward, to be sure that what we were creating was going to deliver real benefits to real people.”

 

“The core of why web3 is going to change the way we interact with the internet is most related to the notion of dynamic identity. With the existing internet, your identity, preferences and the data associated with all of that is held by companies that give you access to it only when it is useful to them. With web3, we totally flip that on its head… From a consumer lens, web3 makes sure that your identity is owned by you instead of a corporation. The Flow account model lets users store important data in their accounts and port it to any experience they want. It’s not determined by the application that set up the account or any agent they interact with throughout the process; it’s determined entirely by the user… This is so important to the next era of the internet, from both a security standpoint and a user experience standpoint.”

CryptoCurrencyWire’s latest production features Layne Lafrance, Co-Founder of Flow, a decentralized, public, layer-one blockchain designed for building Web3 experiences for mainstream users. 

To begin the interview, Lafrance discussed her background and path leading up to her role as the Co-Founder of Flow.

“I was one of the co-founders of CryptoKitties in 2017. It was an incredible landmark moment for the Ethereum network – bringing it to a halt,” Lafrance stated. “Prior to endeavoring to build the future of consumer applications and web3, I spent some time working with a company called Heartisans in Hong Kong, building a blood pressure watch. Now, I get to spend my time thinking about how the world of web3 and technical innovation will elicit significant social, economic and technical change.”

She then discussed a pivotal moment in her career and how it has impacted her journey in the web3 space.

“The moment that I held closest to my heart, especially throughout the design and development of Flow, was one with Heartisans – completely unrelated to crypto,” she continued. “At that time, people were finding my personal phone number and calling me, begging me to release the blood pressure watch. They said, ‘I don’t care what it costs; please, just give us this product. It’s going to change my life.’ That became the new benchmark for what product/market fit looked like. If people aren’t calling you, begging you to get the product, then you don’t have product/market fit. That was a really important litmus test for me going forward, to be sure that what we were creating was going to deliver real benefits to real people.”

“The core of why web3 is going to change the way we interact with the internet is most related to the notion of dynamic identity. With the existing internet, your identity, preferences and the data associated with all of that is held by companies that give you access to it only when it is useful to them. With web3, we totally flip that on its head… From a consumer lens, web3 makes sure that your identity is owned by you instead of a corporation. The Flow account model lets users store important data in their accounts and port it to any experience they want. It’s not determined by the application that set up the account or any agent they interact with throughout the process; it’s determined entirely by the user… This is so important to the next era of the internet, from both a security standpoint and a user experience standpoint.”

CryptoCurrencyWire’s latest audio production features Keith Moore, CEO of corporate finance firm Boustead Securities, and Mark Elenowitz, Co-Founder of blockchain-powered securities exchange and trading app Upstream. 

To begin the interview, Elenowitz provided an introduction to Upstream and detailed some of the advantages it offers to retail traders. 

“We are really excited about our relationship with Boustead,” Elenowitz stated. “Boustead has been so instrumental in small cap capital raising and capital formation that they were a perfect candidate to partner with Upstream. Upstream is the only national securities exchange in the world that is powered by the ethereum blockchain. We’re an affiliate member of the World Federation of Exchanges. There are 250 members around the world, including New York, Nasdaq, Tokyo, London and Hong Kong. We’re the smallest, but our affiliate membership enables us to adhere to the highest standards of investor disclosures and protections.” 

“What’s unique about our marketplace is that we’re designed for the global audience to be able to come in and have access to issuers that trade on other primary markets around the world,” he continued. “As Americans, we take it for granted that it’s very easy to download an app and open an account. It’s very difficult for the rest of the world to place securities transactions and buy stock. We are a direct-to-consumer marketplace. Investors can connect directly to our exchange through an app with a credit card, cash, cryptocurrency or PayPal. There are no intermediaries or market makers, meaning that there is no ability to have market manipulations like layering or spoofing and, most importantly, there’s no ability to borrow or hypothecate, so there’s no ability to short sell.” 

 

CryptoCurrencyWire’s latest audio production features Keith Moore, CEO of corporate finance firm Boustead Securities, and Mark Elenowitz, Co-Founder of blockchain-powered securities exchange and trading app Upstream. 

To begin the interview, Elenowitz provided an introduction to Upstream and detailed some of the advantages it offers to retail traders. 

“We are really excited about our relationship with Boustead,” Elenowitz stated. “Boustead has been so instrumental in small cap capital raising and capital formation that they were a perfect candidate to partner with Upstream. Upstream is the only national securities exchange in the world that is powered by the ethereum blockchain. We’re an affiliate member of the World Federation of Exchanges. There are 250 members around the world, including New York, Nasdaq, Tokyo, London and Hong Kong. We’re the smallest, but our affiliate membership enables us to adhere to the highest standards of investor disclosures and protections.” 

“What’s unique about our marketplace is that we’re designed for the global audience to be able to come in and have access to issuers that trade on other primary markets around the world,” he continued. “As Americans, we take it for granted that it’s very easy to download an app and open an account. It’s very difficult for the rest of the world to place securities transactions and buy stock. We are a direct-to-consumer marketplace. Investors can connect directly to our exchange through an app with a credit card, cash, cryptocurrency or PayPal. There are no intermediaries or market makers, meaning that there is no ability to have market manipulations like layering or spoofing and, most importantly, there’s no ability to borrow or hypothecate, so there’s no ability to short sell.” 

 

CryptoCurrencyWire’s latest audio production features Evgen Verzun, Founder of Kaizen.Finance, the first automated cross-chain token launch platform for everything from token creation and distribution to listing security and management. 

To begin the interview, Verzun discussed the focus of his activities in crypto, including efforts to improve security for investors of all skill levels. 

“In the crypto space, we are starting with solving the most difficult problems, like eliminating cybersecurity risks and attacks, because the worst thing that you can experience in crypto is losing money due to theft,” Verzun said. “Crypto theft is a technology failure, and we’re here to bring advanced technology to the space. There are not a lot of professional players in the crypto space focusing on cybersecurity. That’s why our focus on crypto is very important.” 

 

CryptoCurrencyWire’s latest audio production features Evgen Verzun, Founder of Kaizen.Finance, the first automated cross-chain token launch platform for everything from token creation and distribution to listing security and management. 

To begin the interview, Verzun discussed the focus of his activities in crypto, including efforts to improve security for investors of all skill levels. 

“In the crypto space, we are starting with solving the most difficult problems, like eliminating cybersecurity risks and attacks, because the worst thing that you can experience in crypto is losing money due to theft,” Verzun said. “Crypto theft is a technology failure, and we’re here to bring advanced technology to the space. There are not a lot of professional players in the crypto space focusing on cybersecurity. That’s why our focus on crypto is very important.” 

 

CryptoCurrencyWire’s latest audio production features Michael Amar, Chairman of Paris Blockchain Week, one of the most influential global events in the blockchain industry where business leaders, investors, entrepreneurs and developers gather to share ideas and drive progress. 

To begin the interview, Amar discussed what is, in his opinion, the most exciting aspect of the cryptocurrency space. 

“Sometimes the user is at the center of the economic equation. There are sometimes challenges between the consumer, the shareholder and the employees. I think crypto can align these interests,” Amar said. “Sometimes you buy a t-shirt that costs $2 to produce, but they sell it to you for $200 because of a certain logo on it. Now, you’re advertising for the brand. I’m not sure that’s so fair. Is there a more fair way to have people contribute and get fair compensation for what they bring to the table? I think crypto can be that.” 

 

CryptoCurrencyWire’s latest audio production features Michael Amar, Chairman of Paris Blockchain Week, one of the most influential global events in the blockchain industry where business leaders, investors, entrepreneurs and developers gather to share ideas and drive progress. 

To begin the interview, Amar discussed what is, in his opinion, the most exciting aspect of the cryptocurrency space. 

“Sometimes the user is at the center of the economic equation. There are sometimes challenges between the consumer, the shareholder and the employees. I think crypto can align these interests,” Amar said. “Sometimes you buy a t-shirt that costs $2 to produce, but they sell it to you for $200 because of a certain logo on it. Now, you’re advertising for the brand. I’m not sure that’s so fair. Is there a more fair way to have people contribute and get fair compensation for what they bring to the table? I think crypto can be that.” 

 

CryptoCurrencyWire’s latest audio production features Charlie Lee, Creator of Litecoin and Director of the Litecoin Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on promoting the adoption, education and development of Litecoin. 

To begin the interview, Lee discussed the volatility of the cryptocurrency space since he founded Litecoin in 2011. 

“The whole crypto space has gone through many boom-and-bust cycles where bull markets and bear markets set the price. The price has gone crazy,” Lee said. “When I first got into bitcoin, it was at $30. It crashed to like $2, then it’s been up and down. Recently, we’ve crashed back down quite a bit since the high of almost $70,000. In terms of price, it’s been a crazy, wild ride.” 

Lee then addressed how Litecoin has maintained a strong position in the market as many other large market cap cryptocurrencies have fallen by the wayside. 

“One of the reasons [for Litecoin’s longevity] is its fair launch. There was no ICO. It was launched publicly. I had to mine or buy coins off of an exchange just like everyone else,” he explained. “Everyone had their chance to buy and mine Litecoin from the start. That really helped with the narrative that it’s just money for the people and not something to enrich a small group. A lot of the coins that have gone bust are those that had huge ICOs where the development teams took in hundreds of millions of dollars and didn’t do much with it. Since they already made their money, there’s no incentive to actually work on the project anymore, so a lot of those projects have died. 

“Litecoin has been pretty steady, without a lot of hype. The network has been up-and-running for 11 years-plus with zero downtime. That’s kind of unheard of in this space,” Lee continued. “People use it every day for small payments and buying stuff, so the adoption rate has just gone up over the last 11 years without much of a break – unlike the price, which has been a roller coaster ride. Adoption has just been increasing over time.” 

Join IBN’s Jonathan Keim and Charlie Lee, Creator of Litecoin, as they discuss Lee’s recent endeavors, including MWEB, a technology designed to add fungibility and privacy to Litecoin, and his work with Upstream, a revolutionary exchange for trading shares in IPOs, NFTs, crowdfunded companies, equities, SPACs and celebrity ventures. 

To hear the entire episode please visit: https://www.CryptoCurrencyWire.com/CryptoNewsAudio 

The latest audio production from CryptoCurrencyWire continues to reinforce IBN’s commitment to the expansion of its robust network of brands, client partners, followers and the growing IBN Podcast Series. For more than 15 years, IBN has leveraged this commitment to provide unparalleled distribution and corporate messaging solutions to 500+ public and private companies. 

To learn more about IBN’s achievements and milestones via a visual timeline, visit https://IBN.fm/TimeLine 

CryptoCurrencyWire’s latest audio production features Charlie Lee, Creator of Litecoin and Director of the Litecoin Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on promoting the adoption, education and development of Litecoin. 

To begin the interview, Lee discussed the volatility of the cryptocurrency space since he founded Litecoin in 2011. 

“The whole crypto space has gone through many boom-and-bust cycles where bull markets and bear markets set the price. The price has gone crazy,” Lee said. “When I first got into bitcoin, it was at $30. It crashed to like $2, then it’s been up and down. Recently, we’ve crashed back down quite a bit since the high of almost $70,000. In terms of price, it’s been a crazy, wild ride.” 

Lee then addressed how Litecoin has maintained a strong position in the market as many other large market cap cryptocurrencies have fallen by the wayside. 

“One of the reasons [for Litecoin’s longevity] is its fair launch. There was no ICO. It was launched publicly. I had to mine or buy coins off of an exchange just like everyone else,” he explained. “Everyone had their chance to buy and mine Litecoin from the start. That really helped with the narrative that it’s just money for the people and not something to enrich a small group. A lot of the coins that have gone bust are those that had huge ICOs where the development teams took in hundreds of millions of dollars and didn’t do much with it. Since they already made their money, there’s no incentive to actually work on the project anymore, so a lot of those projects have died. 

“Litecoin has been pretty steady, without a lot of hype. The network has been up-and-running for 11 years-plus with zero downtime. That’s kind of unheard of in this space,” Lee continued. “People use it every day for small payments and buying stuff, so the adoption rate has just gone up over the last 11 years without much of a break – unlike the price, which has been a roller coaster ride. Adoption has just been increasing over time.” 

Join IBN’s Jonathan Keim and Charlie Lee, Creator of Litecoin, as they discuss Lee’s recent endeavors, including MWEB, a technology designed to add fungibility and privacy to Litecoin, and his work with Upstream, a revolutionary exchange for trading shares in IPOs, NFTs, crowdfunded companies, equities, SPACs and celebrity ventures. 

To hear the entire episode please visit: https://www.CryptoCurrencyWire.com/CryptoNewsAudio 

The latest audio production from CryptoCurrencyWire continues to reinforce IBN’s commitment to the expansion of its robust network of brands, client partners, followers and the growing IBN Podcast Series. For more than 15 years, IBN has leveraged this commitment to provide unparalleled distribution and corporate messaging solutions to 500+ public and private companies. 

To learn more about IBN’s achievements and milestones via a visual timeline, visit https://IBN.fm/TimeLine 

 

 

CryptoCurrencyWire’s latest audio production features Mario Nawfal, co-founder of publicly listed NFT Technologies Inc., a leading technology company partnering with top-tier brands to accelerate their entry into the world of web3 through innovative technologies and unparalleled creativity.

 

To begin the interview, Nawfal discussed his entrepreneurial background in the cryptocurrency space.

 

“I got into crypto in 2017. I had a big e-commerce business at the time, and I had been watching bitcoin for a while. I should’ve owned a lot of them, but, long story short, I didn’t,” Nawfal said. “I launched IBC Group, which is now one of the largest incubators and media empires in the space. We started as a consulting firm, later became a marketing agency and then became an incubator in 2021.

 

“I used to be really big on Clubhouse, so a lot of people know my voice but don’t know how I look beyond that picture – I used to have the same picture everywhere. I saw the power of live [content] – even live audio… The reason for this power is the conversion rate. I would tell people on Clubhouse to take a selfie and send it to me via DM, and I would be flooded by hundreds and hundreds of photos. I realized the influence you have when you have people’s attention, and when it’s live, it’s just different… I started Twitter Spaces when it first launched… we had the biggest space back then in all of Twitter, and now it’s the biggest room in web3.”

 

Nawfal then turned his attention to the metaverse, providing insight into how he views the hot button topic.

 

“The metaverse is simply a digital representation of the physical world we live in today. That’s it,” he explained. “Imagine everything you do on a daily basis – making friends, signaling your identity, trying to make money, entertainment – and just replicate them in a digital world… Where the confusion happens is decentralization… We go on YouTube, TikTok or Instagram – they’re all central. The open metaverse is, for me, the real definition of the metaverse. It is essentially an open world where you can own things as well. That’s where people get confused… In the digital world you couldn’t own things, but now you can because of NFTs. This allows you to live a completely digital experience without having to depend on any central entities.”

 

Join IBN’s Jonathan Keim and Mario Nawfal, co-founder of NFT Technologies Inc., as they discuss the concept of owning virtual assets in the digital space and the potential of web3 to transform existing industries.

 

CryptoCurrencyWire’s latest audio production features Mario Nawfal, co-founder of publicly listed NFT Technologies Inc., a leading technology company partnering with top-tier brands to accelerate their entry into the world of web3 through innovative technologies and unparalleled creativity.

 

To begin the interview, Nawfal discussed his entrepreneurial background in the cryptocurrency space.

 

“I got into crypto in 2017. I had a big e-commerce business at the time, and I had been watching bitcoin for a while. I should’ve owned a lot of them, but, long story short, I didn’t,” Nawfal said. “I launched IBC Group, which is now one of the largest incubators and media empires in the space. We started as a consulting firm, later became a marketing agency and then became an incubator in 2021.

 

“I used to be really big on Clubhouse, so a lot of people know my voice but don’t know how I look beyond that picture – I used to have the same picture everywhere. I saw the power of live [content] – even live audio… The reason for this power is the conversion rate. I would tell people on Clubhouse to take a selfie and send it to me via DM, and I would be flooded by hundreds and hundreds of photos. I realized the influence you have when you have people’s attention, and when it’s live, it’s just different… I started Twitter Spaces when it first launched… we had the biggest space back then in all of Twitter, and now it’s the biggest room in web3.”

 

Nawfal then turned his attention to the metaverse, providing insight into how he views the hot button topic.

 

“The metaverse is simply a digital representation of the physical world we live in today. That’s it,” he explained. “Imagine everything you do on a daily basis – making friends, signaling your identity, trying to make money, entertainment – and just replicate them in a digital world… Where the confusion happens is decentralization… We go on YouTube, TikTok or Instagram – they’re all central. The open metaverse is, for me, the real definition of the metaverse. It is essentially an open world where you can own things as well. That’s where people get confused… In the digital world you couldn’t own things, but now you can because of NFTs. This allows you to live a completely digital experience without having to depend on any central entities.”

 

Join IBN’s Jonathan Keim and Mario Nawfal, co-founder of NFT Technologies Inc., as they discuss the concept of owning virtual assets in the digital space and the potential of web3 to transform existing industries.

 

CryptoCurrencyWire’s latest audio production features Mark Elenowitz, Co-Founder of Upstream, a revolutionary exchange and trading app for digital securities and NFTs. MERJ Exchange (MERJ) operates Upstream as a fully regulated and licensed integrated securities exchange, clearing system and depository for digital and non-digital securities. MERJ is an affiliate of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), recognized by HM Revenue and Customs UK, a full member of the Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) and a Qualifying Foreign Exchange for OTC Markets in the US. MERJ is also a member of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative.

 

To begin the interview, Elenowitz provided an introduction to Upstream and highlighted the transparency benefits it offers over more traditional exchanges.

 

Upstream is operated as part of MERJ Exchange, which is a fully regulated national securities exchange. “We’re the only exchange in the world that’s built using blockchain,” Elenowitz said. “We’re also an affiliate of the World Federation of Exchanges. This is a group that includes nearly every major stock exchange from around the world. We are combining the best available technology with the highest standards of traditional investor protections.”

 

“What makes us really exciting is that we’re powered by the blockchain. We’re an ethereum-based marketplace that allows investors to have an immutable and transparent experience where all transactions are out on the blockchain. Everyone has the opportunity to be able to see it, so there’s no gameplaying or manipulation, making it a much more level playing field for all participants.”

 

Elenowitz then provided some background on his journey to co-founding the company.

 

“My experience from the capital markets is what led to the creation of Upstream. As a U.S. investment banker, I helped create some of the methodology around Title IV of the JOBS Act. Our firm was able to create the methodology and the process to have Reg A+ trade on a National Securities Exchange,” he continued. “I worked with the New York Stock Exchange and created that path to make [Reg A] IPOs look, act, and feel like a traditional IPO and be able to trade on the NYSE and Nasdaq… That type of process – allowing individual investors to have access to equities and be able to then trade and have liquidity – is what inspired me to help create Upstream.

 

“I wanted to give issuers the opportunity to raise capital from investors around the world… and have a marketplace to facilitate secondary trading. One of the things about this type of asset is that investors now have the opportunity to buy them; but, in a crowdfunded situation, they really don’t have the opportunity to sell… We at Upstream now are able to facilitate that.”

 

Join IBN’s Jonathan Keim and Upstream’s Mark Elenowitz as they discuss the liquidity advantages Upstream offers global investors interested in trading across international markets.

 

To view disclaimers and the original announcement, visit:  https://ibn.fm/UpstreamPodcastAnnouncement

 

CryptoCurrencyWire’s latest audio production features Mark Elenowitz, Co-Founder of Upstream, a revolutionary exchange and trading app for digital securities and NFTs. MERJ Exchange (MERJ) operates Upstream as a fully regulated and licensed integrated securities exchange, clearing system and depository for digital and non-digital securities. MERJ is an affiliate of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), recognized by HM Revenue and Customs UK, a full member of the Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) and a Qualifying Foreign Exchange for OTC Markets in the US. MERJ is also a member of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative.

 

To begin the interview, Elenowitz provided an introduction to Upstream and highlighted the transparency benefits it offers over more traditional exchanges.

 

Upstream is operated as part of MERJ Exchange, which is a fully regulated national securities exchange. “We’re the only exchange in the world that’s built using blockchain,” Elenowitz said. “We’re also an affiliate of the World Federation of Exchanges. This is a group that includes nearly every major stock exchange from around the world. We are combining the best available technology with the highest standards of traditional investor protections.”

 

“What makes us really exciting is that we’re powered by the blockchain. We’re an ethereum-based marketplace that allows investors to have an immutable and transparent experience where all transactions are out on the blockchain. Everyone has the opportunity to be able to see it, so there’s no gameplaying or manipulation, making it a much more level playing field for all participants.”

 

Elenowitz then provided some background on his journey to co-founding the company.

 

“My experience from the capital markets is what led to the creation of Upstream. As a U.S. investment banker, I helped create some of the methodology around Title IV of the JOBS Act. Our firm was able to create the methodology and the process to have Reg A+ trade on a National Securities Exchange,” he continued. “I worked with the New York Stock Exchange and created that path to make [Reg A] IPOs look, act, and feel like a traditional IPO and be able to trade on the NYSE and Nasdaq… That type of process – allowing individual investors to have access to equities and be able to then trade and have liquidity – is what inspired me to help create Upstream.

 

“I wanted to give issuers the opportunity to raise capital from investors around the world… and have a marketplace to facilitate secondary trading. One of the things about this type of asset is that investors now have the opportunity to buy them; but, in a crowdfunded situation, they really don’t have the opportunity to sell… We at Upstream now are able to facilitate that.”

 

Join IBN’s Jonathan Keim and Upstream’s Mark Elenowitz as they discuss the liquidity advantages Upstream offers global investors interested in trading across international markets.

 

To view disclaimers and the original announcement, visit:  https://ibn.fm/UpstreamPodcastAnnouncement

 

CryptoCurrencyWire’s latest production features Jeff Lambert, Founder and CEO of TiiCKER, the world’s first intelligent software platform that engages, verifies and rewards retail shareholders.

 

To begin the interview, Lambert discussed TiiCKER and the role it plays for public companies looking to connect with retail investors.

 

“TiiCKER really came out of frustration. I’ve been doing investor relations for public companies for 25 years, and we could never… connect with individual investors. During that time, they’ve become a larger audience… It’s gone from 56 million Americans to 130 million Americans with their own brokerage accounts in the last five years,” Lambert said during the interview. “What we discovered is that if you create a platform to connect [companies with investors], companies really want to provide perks or shareholder rewards to their owners… That’s what TiiCKER does.”

 

“A year ago, there were six or seven public companies offering perks or rewards. Disney has a commemorative stock certificate; Carnival and Royal Caribbean give a discount on cruises. Perks have been around for a long time, but they were a very small percentage of public companies, because there was no way for them to verify [ownership],” he continued. “Now, there’s 40 public companies, thanks to TiiCKER, that offer some reward. Those could be a discount on wine from Willamette Valley Vineyards or a discount on food products from Real Good Foods… Ownership should have its privileges.”

 

Lambert then turned his attention to TiiCKER’s recent launch of Tii:MARK, the world’s first personal-brand NFT.

 

“The ‘Tii’ in TiiCKER has become, for us, a ubiquitous prefix… Instead of ‘NYSE’ or ‘NASDAQ’, we have used ‘Tii’ to put all public companies on an even playing field… As my member profile… I thought ‘what if we did ticker symbols’; that’d be a fun way to do it,” Lambert added. “It’s a unique brand that is a ticker symbol for you, one individual. We’re NFT-ing, on the ethereum blockchain, your own ticker symbol… You also get a digital animation. It’s connected to a store where you can buy one-of-one products that only you can have… and, ultimately, experiences and access to an event that we’re planning for next year… This is a way for you to get an NFT that is yours… and there is usability to it.”

 

Join IBN’s Jonathan Keim and Jeff Lambert, Founder and CEO of TiiCKER, as they discuss the long-term vision for Tii:MARK and plans for future drops.

 

To view the video edition, visit: https://ibn.fm/TiiCKERVideoInterview

CryptoCurrencyWire’s latest production features Jeff Lambert, Founder and CEO of TiiCKER, the world’s first intelligent software platform that engages, verifies and rewards retail shareholders.

 

To begin the interview, Lambert discussed TiiCKER and the role it plays for public companies looking to connect with retail investors.

 

“TiiCKER really came out of frustration. I’ve been doing investor relations for public companies for 25 years, and we could never… connect with individual investors. During that time, they’ve become a larger audience… It’s gone from 56 million Americans to 130 million Americans with their own brokerage accounts in the last five years,” Lambert said during the interview. “What we discovered is that if you create a platform to connect [companies with investors], companies really want to provide perks or shareholder rewards to their owners… That’s what TiiCKER does.”

 

“A year ago, there were six or seven public companies offering perks or rewards. Disney has a commemorative stock certificate; Carnival and Royal Caribbean give a discount on cruises. Perks have been around for a long time, but they were a very small percentage of public companies, because there was no way for them to verify [ownership],” he continued. “Now, there’s 40 public companies, thanks to TiiCKER, that offer some reward. Those could be a discount on wine from Willamette Valley Vineyards or a discount on food products from Real Good Foods… Ownership should have its privileges.”

 

Lambert then turned his attention to TiiCKER’s recent launch of Tii:MARK, the world’s first personal-brand NFT.

 

“The ‘Tii’ in TiiCKER has become, for us, a ubiquitous prefix… Instead of ‘NYSE’ or ‘NASDAQ’, we have used ‘Tii’ to put all public companies on an even playing field… As my member profile… I thought ‘what if we did ticker symbols’; that’d be a fun way to do it,” Lambert added. “It’s a unique brand that is a ticker symbol for you, one individual. We’re NFT-ing, on the ethereum blockchain, your own ticker symbol… You also get a digital animation. It’s connected to a store where you can buy one-of-one products that only you can have… and, ultimately, experiences and access to an event that we’re planning for next year… This is a way for you to get an NFT that is yours… and there is usability to it.”

 

Join IBN’s Jonathan Keim and Jeff Lambert, Founder and CEO of TiiCKER, as they discuss the long-term vision for Tii:MARK and plans for future drops.

CryptoCurrencyWire’s latest audio production features Shone Anstey, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of LQwD FinTech Corp. (TSX.V: LQWD) (OTCQB: LQWDF), a financial technology company focused on creating enterprise-grade infrastructure to drive bitcoin adoption.

To begin the interview, Anstey discussed his extensive background in tech and crypto leading up to his time with LQwD FinTech.

“I’ve been in tech for 25 years… I heard about crypto in 2011 and got involved in 2012, so I’ve been in the bitcoin area for quite some time,” he said. “In 2015, I co-founded a company called Blockchain Intelligence Group… We actually acquired a company called Netcoins.ca… It is now Canada’s first publicly traded crypto exchange that actually has a license from regulators as of a few weeks ago… I’m still there as a director and a large shareholder, but I’ve been involved in LQwD and the Lightning Network for the last two years. We’re working where I like to be – on stuff that’s cutting edge and about to become mainstream over the next few years. That’s the Lightning Network itself.”

Anstey then provided an overview of the Lightning Network and detailed how it could revolutionize bitcoin transactions and the entirety of the crypto space.

“The Lightning Network is a solution to scaling bitcoin,” he continued. “Bitcoin, which is the anchor cryptocurrency for the entire crypto market… is backed by millions of computers doing bitcoin mining, which helps secure the network and make it really safe with an immutable ledger. But it can only handle so many transactions with its current technology – about seven transactions a second. The Lightning Network steps in there and scales it to the next level.”

“The Lightning Network is a mesh-style network, very similar to how the internet functions. It’s made up of a series of nodes – computers and servers – and on those nodes you run open-source Lightning Network software,” he added. “That Lightning Network software creates payment channels to other companies running Lightning Network software… This whole mesh network happens around the world. There’re now 60,000 nodes and all kinds of payment channels that have been growing very, very quickly over the last number of years. This year alone it’s increased by about 182% since January… This whole interconnected mesh network… allows transactions to find a place very quickly with very low fees. It’s designed for massive volume… You’re seeing the uptick with countries like El Salvador taking on bitcoin as a national currency. The Lightning Network is one of the catalysts to make that happen.”

Join both Shone Anstey, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of LQwD FinTech Corp. (TSX.V: LQWD) (OTCQB: LQWDF), and Jonathan Keim, IBN’s Director of Communications, as they discuss the long-term applications and potential for crypto, the benefits of LQwD’s position as a publicly traded company and the company’s business model relating to bitcoin investing.

To hear the entire episode, please visit: https://www.CryptoCurrencyWire.com/CryptoNewsAudio

CryptoCurrencyWire’s latest audio production features Shone Anstey, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of LQwD FinTech Corp. (TSX.V: LQWD) (OTCQB: LQWDF), a financial technology company focused on creating enterprise-grade infrastructure to drive bitcoin adoption.

To begin the interview, Anstey discussed his extensive background in tech and crypto leading up to his time with LQwD FinTech.

“I’ve been in tech for 25 years… I heard about crypto in 2011 and got involved in 2012, so I’ve been in the bitcoin area for quite some time,” he said. “In 2015, I co-founded a company called Blockchain Intelligence Group… We actually acquired a company called Netcoins.ca… It is now Canada’s first publicly traded crypto exchange that actually has a license from regulators as of a few weeks ago… I’m still there as a director and a large shareholder, but I’ve been involved in LQwD and the Lightning Network for the last two years. We’re working where I like to be – on stuff that’s cutting edge and about to become mainstream over the next few years. That’s the Lightning Network itself.”

Anstey then provided an overview of the Lightning Network and detailed how it could revolutionize bitcoin transactions and the entirety of the crypto space.

“The Lightning Network is a solution to scaling bitcoin,” he continued. “Bitcoin, which is the anchor cryptocurrency for the entire crypto market… is backed by millions of computers doing bitcoin mining, which helps secure the network and make it really safe with an immutable ledger. But it can only handle so many transactions with its current technology – about seven transactions a second. The Lightning Network steps in there and scales it to the next level.”

“The Lightning Network is a mesh-style network, very similar to how the internet functions. It’s made up of a series of nodes – computers and servers – and on those nodes you run open-source Lightning Network software,” he added. “That Lightning Network software creates payment channels to other companies running Lightning Network software… This whole mesh network happens around the world. There’re now 60,000 nodes and all kinds of payment channels that have been growing very, very quickly over the last number of years. This year alone it’s increased by about 182% since January… This whole interconnected mesh network… allows transactions to find a place very quickly with very low fees. It’s designed for massive volume… You’re seeing the uptick with countries like El Salvador taking on bitcoin as a national currency. The Lightning Network is one of the catalysts to make that happen.”

Join both Shone Anstey, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of LQwD FinTech Corp. (TSX.V: LQWD) (OTCQB: LQWDF), and Jonathan Keim, IBN’s Director of Communications, as they discuss the long-term applications and potential for crypto, the benefits of LQwD’s position as a publicly traded company and the company’s business model relating to bitcoin investing.

To hear the entire episode, please visit: https://www.CryptoCurrencyWire.com/CryptoNewsAudio