This week on The Encrypted Economy, my guest is Matt Hougan, the CIO of Bitwise Asset Management. Bitwise was founded in 2017 and brought investors the first cryptocurrency index fund. Now they are one of the key players in the push for a Bitcoin ETF, and as of last week they became the provider of the first index based DeFi fund. Matt and Bitwise are leading the charge on rule-based exposure to the digital asset space, and he is a valuable voice to have to walk us through it all. We cover a wide range of topics and, as a bonus, this episode contains an extra section that Matt and I recorded after our original taping focused entirely on Bitwise’s new DeFi Index. It is a loaded episode of The Encrypted Economy that you will not want to miss!  

Topics Covered  

• Matt’s Background 
• The Battle and Structure for a Bitcoin ETF  
• Distinguishing DeFi and its Risks  
• Crypto’s Intersection with Traditional Finance  
• The SEC’s Perspective on Bitcoin  
•  The Promise of Ethereum  
•  Additional Resources on Crypto and Blockchain  
•  The Shifting Perspectives of Financial Advisors on Crypto  
•  What is Worrying in Crypto?  
•  BONUS CONTENT: Bitwise’sDeFi Index Fund 

Resource List  

• Matt’s LinkedIn  
• Bitwise Website  
• The Bitwise DeFi Fund  
• Cathie Wood on Bitcoin ETF  
• Cryptocurrency Forks  
• IOS 14.4 Security Bugs  
• Fidelity’s Comment  Letter  
• Aave Safety Module  
• Our Episode with Joel Revill   
• 2nd SEC Winklevoss ETF Rejection Order  
• Biwise ETF SEC Rejection Order  
• Wilshire Phoenix ETF SEC Rejection Order  
• Bitcoin vs Ethereum  
• Why Ethereum has Value – Matt on Forbes  
• Stone Ridge Holdings 2020 Shareholder Letter  
• Matt’s CFA Institute Guide to Crypto  
• Nic Carter on the Grant Williams Podcast  
• Bitwise Benchmark Financial Advisor Survey