Blockchain Explained

Hosted by Wilson Center

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Mar 2025

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About the show

Welcome to Blockchain. Explain the podcast about opportunities, challenges and trends in blockchain technology. Whether you're a beginner or an expert, a developer, or just crypto curious, this podcast is for you. It features industry leaders and government officials discussing the world of distributed ledgers, cryptocurrencies and the metaverse. And now here are your hosts, Alan Rechtschaffen and Kelly Wicker.

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19 recent

March 27, 202525 min

Understanding the New Executive Order on Cryptocurrency and Financial Innovation

Within 72 hours of returning to the White House, President Donald Trump issued a landmark Executive Order aimed at reshaping US cryptocurrency policy and positioning America as a global leader in digital assets, blockchain innovation, and financial technology. Listen to a selection from a recent Digital Assets Forum briefing analyzing the order's impact, in which we explore what is changing and how this directive could influence US fiscal and monetary policy moving forward. For more, check out the entire briefing on our website to learn about the blockchain basics that underpin this technology and hear questions digging into the order's impact.

February 10, 202520 min

AI and Blockchain Drive Security and Efficiency

Join our co-hosts for a conversation with Michael Greenwald, AWS Global Head of Financial Innovation and Digital Assets, and Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer of Coinbase Global, to talk about the intersection of AI and blockchain. Michael and Paul cut through the buzz and hype to talk about how AI is actually driving better security, more efficient user onboarding, and better business practices for companies using digital assets. Listen now to hear more about how AI also makes it easier for people to use digital assets as a financial tool, adding healthy competition to the financial world and driving more innovation in both traditional finance and decentralized finance. For more from Michael and Paul on what's happening on the cutting edge, check out their October 2024 blog post on how these technologies combine.Link here: aws.amazon.com/blogs/industries/…th-generative-ai/

January 13, 202514 min

The Year for Crypto

Join co-hosts Alan Rechtschaffen and Kellee Wicker for a wrap-up of 2024 and a brief review of what's ahead in 2025, in an episode recorded just before the close of 2024. Hear more about our take on the renewed focus on monetary and fiscal policy implications of crypto in the new administration, which is putting up pro-crypto picks for key roles, and why we think this is the year we'll see wider adoption of blockchain for faster and more innovative financial technology.

November 25, 202425 min

Forecasting American Crypto Policy in 2025

Join our co-hosts for a conversation with Chris Giancarlo, former chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and reported candidate for "crypto czar" in the incoming Trump administration. Giancarlo, known as Crypto Dad after his plea to Congress in support of cryptocurrencies, shares a vision for using cryptocurrencies as anchors for the US dollar, drawing parallels to historical gold or oil standards. He also speculates as to what we could see from the new administration on establishing policy and a clearer regulatory environment for crypto and outlines potential reforms integrating digital assets into the fiat currency system. Tune in now to hear about the role of digital assets in maintaining the dollar's dominance in the global economy, and how an incoming crypto-friendly Congress has already shifted where companies plan to do business.

October 17, 202421 min

Blockchain and Bad Actors

Join our co-hosts for a conversation with Daniel Goldsmith, CEO of Heights Labs, on how forensic analytic labs like his help law enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels crack down on illicit uses of blockchain and cryptocurrency. Daniel talks about how mapping and tracing of these very transparent ecosystems can thwart even sophisticated bad actors who are setting up multiple accounts and automating their activity to cover up money laundering, scams, or other illicit uses. Tune in now to learn more about these labs help recover funds, identify scammers and thieves, and how the nature of blockchain inherently helps them tackle crime.

July 25, 202429 min

Evolving and Experimenting with New Financial Instruments

Join our co-hosts for a conversation with Kyle Hauptman, Vice Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration, on how blockchain and crypto represent an opportunity for financial institutions. We discuss how crypto presents an opportunity for income not sensitive to interest rates as well as a simplification of key processes like title transfers, and how the development of a path to access crypto via a trusted institution like a credit union could increase public interest in the tech. The vice chair also highlights the high impact the government can have in this space just by clarifying definitions or where regulations don't apply, short of developing guidance or regulations that will guide the use of blockchain for finance. Listen now for more on how evolving and experimenting with new technologies might keep traditional finance institutions from going the way of Blockbuster.

June 20, 202423 min

Handing Control to Creatives

Join us to hear from Ross Venokur, an artist, director, blockchain innovator, and the Chief Creative Officer of Driver Studios. Ross talks about his work to harness blockchain technology and NFTs to put creators back in the driver's seat, connecting fans to the artists they love and allowing them to support their work directly. He talks about some of the obstacles to crossing the bridge from web2 to web3, from difficult user interfaces to resistance to terms like NFT, and his vision for how that change could happen. Hear more from Ross about the promise of blockchain for creatives and his work with NFTs to empower creativity - including his 2021 project to "sell the Brooklyn Bridge" with Monty Python's John Cleese.

April 18, 202424 min

Bringing Cultural Institutions into the Digital Future

Our co-hosts are joined by Chris Cummings, Founder and CEO of Iconic Moments, to talk about how he uses blockchain and NFTs to help museums and cultural institutions reach more people in the digital age. Hear more from Chris about using NFTs to bring art to people, like their series of pieces featuring sections of Jackson Pollock's studio floor, and the role that NFTs can play in proving provenance and ownership. Iconic is also helping museums build digital twins, creating more valuable experiences through which people from around the world can engage directly with a museum's collection, even if they never set foot in the physical space. Listen now for more on how these digital tools allow museums to tap into new resources and audiences!

March 14, 202412 min

Peaks and Policy: A Current Events Chat

Co-hosts Kellee Wicker and Alan Rechtschaffen briefly discuss current events in blockchain, including the recent Bitcoin ETF and Ethereum's latest upgrades, and how they're affecting the conversation in Washington DC in this election year. Listen now for thoughts on how a bull market for crypto is driving new interest in the technology, and the continued obstacles presented by a lack of regulatory clarity.

February 21, 202430 min

Moving into Prime Time

Join our co-host for a wide-ranging conversation with Jared Ronis, digital assets analyst and advisor for SeedAI. In this episode, Jared talks about the power of using blockchain for verification, how it can close the gap on key AI problems, and why blockchain's time is now. For more, don't miss Jared breaking down the basics in our ongoing Blockchain Brief series, available online at https://www.wilsoncenter.org/collection/blockchain-briefs