Musings on Technology
A personal collection of notes, reflections, and essays on technology, finance, and building — written over the years as I made sense of the ideas shaping our industry.
2023 in Review: The Year of Convergence
AI exploded into the mainstream. BlackRock filed for a Bitcoin ETF. Tokenised Treasuries became DeFi's fastest-growing category. And the SEC went to war with the industry. 2023 was the year that AI, crypto, and traditional finance began converging — and the implications are just beginning to unfold.
SBF Found Guilty — Accountability Arrives
A jury convicted Sam Bankman-Fried on all seven counts in less than five hours. The verdict is a landmark: the most prominent figure in crypto's history will spend decades in prison. For the industry, it is both a reckoning and a turning point.
The AI Regulation Debate: Europe Leads Again
The EU AI Act is nearing final approval — the world's first comprehensive AI regulation. Like MiCA for crypto, Europe is setting the global standard. The framework's risk-based approach will shape how AI is developed and deployed worldwide. The parallels with crypto regulation are striking.
The SBF Trial and What It Means for Crypto
Sam Bankman-Fried's criminal trial has begun. The testimony is devastating — former colleagues describing systematic fraud, commingled funds, and a culture of deception. The trial is not just about one man. It is about the accountability structures that the crypto industry failed to build.
Institutional DeFi Is Quietly Arriving
While the SEC battles crypto exchanges, a parallel development is unfolding: traditional financial institutions are building on DeFi infrastructure. JPMorgan's Onyx, Aave Arc, and permissioned Uniswap pools are creating a new category — institutional DeFi — that may prove more consequential than the retail version.
AI Agents Will Need Crypto Rails
As AI systems become more autonomous — browsing the web, executing tasks, purchasing services — they will need the ability to transact. Traditional payment systems were not designed for machines. Crypto's programmable, permissionless infrastructure is the natural fit.
PayPal Launches PYUSD — Big Tech Stablecoins Arrive
PayPal has launched its own stablecoin — PYUSD — issued by Paxos and backed by dollar deposits and Treasury bills. A payment company with 430 million users now has its own dollar token. The stablecoin landscape just changed permanently.
Ripple Wins — And the SEC Loses Its Grip
Judge Torres ruled that XRP is not a security when sold on exchanges to retail buyers. The ruling is the first major judicial pushback against the SEC's expansive interpretation of securities law — and it has implications far beyond Ripple.
BlackRock Files for a Spot Bitcoin ETF — The Game Changes
BlackRock — the world's largest asset manager with $9 trillion under management — has filed for a spot Bitcoin ETF. BlackRock does not file applications it expects to lose. The implications for institutional adoption, market structure, and Bitcoin's trajectory are profound.
The SEC Sues Binance and Coinbase in the Same Week
The SEC filed lawsuits against both Binance and Coinbase within 24 hours — alleging that both exchanges operated as unregistered securities exchanges and that dozens of tokens are unregistered securities. The suits represent the most aggressive regulatory action in crypto history.