Unchained - Unconfirmed: Should NYC’s Pension Funds Invest in Crypto? This Comptroller Candidate Says Yes - Ep.235

Starting point is 00:00:03 Hi, everyone. Welcome to Unconfirmed. The show that reveals how the marquee names in crypto are reacting to the top headlines and get the insight scoop on what they see on the horizon. I'm your host, Laura Shin, a journalist with over two decades of experience. I started carving crypto over six years ago, and as a senior editor at Forbes, was the first mainstream media reporter to cover cryptocurrency full-time. The crypto.com app pays you up to 8.5% interest on your Bitcoin. Get $25 when you download the crypto.com app with code Laura. The link is in the description. NIR is an open source platform that accelerates the development of decentralized applications, overcoming high fees and slow speeds with its fast, scalable, low-cost, and climate-neutral blockchain protocol. Learn more at N-E-A-R-O-R-G. TASOS is smart money that's redefining what it means to hold an exchange value in a digitally-connected world. Discover how people are reimagining the world around you on TASOS.

Starting point is 00:01:01 Today's guest is Rashma Patel, candidate for New York City Controller. Welcome, Rashma. Hi, Laura. It's great to be here with you. Thank you for inviting me. You're running to become the Democratic candidate for New York City Controller. Crypto people may be familiar with controllers after Brian Brooks's tenure as a U.S. controller of the currency at the federal level last year.

Starting point is 00:01:21 But what does the New York City controller do? So the New York City controller is like the chief financial officer of New York City and also the chief auditor of New York City. The $250 billion pension fund, which is the fourth largest in the country, is managed by the New York City Comptroller. The city's $118 billion capital program is done through the Comptroller's office. And then the city has 55 agencies. And the Comptroller has oversight over them and audits each agency every four years. And the role of the Comptroller really is to hold the city accountable and serve as a check to the other areas.

Starting point is 00:01:58 there are city government, which is the mayor and the city council. And all contracting and all arbitration goes to the Comptroller's office. And you've proposed what you call a future-proof plan that centers around investments in blockchain businesses and crypto assets for the city. Why don't you tell us about that plan? So, you know, I think New York City, as we come out of this pandemic and the economic follow from, it really needs to be thinking ahead and what ways that we can bring new technologies to New York City and how we and city government can use it. And I really believe that blockchain is a tool that can really help city government in terms of transparency and accountability. And I also think it can help diversify the city's pension fund as we think

Starting point is 00:02:38 about long term, you know, hedge against inflation, how we prepare if there's a turn in the public markets and the S&P goes down. I think investing in crypto would be a really wise thing. And I also think that we need to have more favorable conditions so that we get blockchain companies to come and, you know, start business in New York City as we rethink what this new economy looks like. And so for part of that plan or proposal, you want to allocate 1% to 3% of the city's pension funds to crypto. Are there any special approvals that the city controller would need to do that? Or just in general, what would that process entail? Yeah. So the controller is the custodian of the pension funds, but they are trustees.

Starting point is 00:03:18 And the city has five different pension funds in the pension system. So we would need to get approval from the trustees to move forward on that plan. And there would be an investment committee that would be looking at the plan and making the best recommendations. You know, how do you invest which, you know, currencies, you know, I've proposed Bitcoin and Ethereum, but, you know, would be looking at all options and looking at what's the best way to move forward and how much you invest. And do you have a sense from speaking to some of those trustees, just how many are open to this idea? So I have had general conversations, people, you know, know, since I'm running for the office, I'm not the controller. I can't, you know, go and meet with

Starting point is 00:03:57 the trustees and stuff. So this is a plan that would need to be put forth once I was elected. And then they would really seriously have to take a look at it and move forward on it. And so I know you're saying that, you know, they would kind of study how to go about doing this. But what investment vehicles have you been thinking might be appropriate? Are you thinking that the city would directly invest in the assets themselves or into crypto VC funds or into, you know, certain investment vehicles similar to GBT or some of these other new ETFs that are out there. You know, what do you think would make the most sense? So I was looking at both investing directly into the currencies as well as ETFs. And with the idea that,

Starting point is 00:04:43 you know, you want to have a diversified portfolio and have exposure to different things. And I thought that it made sense to look at both of those. And also on the VC side, too, because you know, one of the pension funds in the U.S. who's already done that in Virginia, there's two pension funds who've invested in blockchain VCs. And they actually have up their investment this year because it's been going so well. And would you also look at investing in the stocks of some of these companies that have put Bitcoin on their balance sheets such as Tesla or micro-strategy or some of the others? Yes. And then in terms of managing those investments, how frequently would those be rebalanced? The city's investment, you know, there's a chief investment officer, the controller,

Starting point is 00:05:25 are looking at this on an ongoing basis and really looking at, you know, what market trends are, how we, you know, because it's about risk management, this is a long-term investment. And so you are looking at rebalancing. I would be looking at it all the time, you know, and you'd have quarterly updates. Okay. And so how did you become interested in crypto and blockchain technology and decide to incorporate into your platform? So my background is in finance. It's been in public finance, you know, which is different than, you know, blockchain technology. But, you know, I had worked in various banks for almost two decades and had experience in that.

Starting point is 00:06:02 And I had my clients were always state and local government. So that's how I got interested in how we make our city governments work better and this role of controller. And I had worked as a financial advisor to the controls office. It really got to know the nuts and both of the office and what kind of things that I feel like we need to fix in that office. And so that's what brought me to thinking about. okay, what are the problems that we have? What are the ways we need to think about this? And then that's been amplified as a result of everything that's happened in the past year, because New York have been doing well for, you know, most of the time that I've been working with the city.

Starting point is 00:06:32 And technology, I went to MIT. I've always been interested in technology. And since 2015, been going to events where people are talking about blockchain, how it can be used in the procurement process, following, you know, the crypto space. And so I thought that this should be an important thing that our city government should be looking and frankly, governments all around the country and around the world. And so you mentioned the procurement process. Part of that proposal that you put forward is to use blockchain technology in that. And that system is the way that the city awards and pays out government contracts for city projects.

Starting point is 00:07:10 So what is the problem with that existing system that you think blockchain technology can solve? Sure. So one of the main ways that the city interacts with constituents is through this contract. process because they outsource a lot of human services through nonprofits. And then they have contracts with small businesses, large businesses for supplies and other things, other work, construction work. There's all kinds of things that we contract out. There's almost 20,000 contracts annually with the city. And one of the problems, I've been board chair of a community development corporation that does pride a lot of these human services. And one of the pain points has been that the city will contract

Starting point is 00:07:45 with you. And the contracts take almost a year. Sometimes we've had three years waiting time before we get paid, which makes it really hard because you're providing these services, but you haven't gotten paid. And it makes it harder for small nonprofits. Those are serving communities that aren't that large, like a lot of ethnic communities and stuff. Those nonprofits are a really hard time managing their budgets, hiring staff because of this. And similarly, if you're a small business, if you're a woman-owned business that doesn't have as much capital, minority-owned business, it's harder for you to access some of these contracts if there's that much delay. And so that's the pain point that I felt and I've seen that across nonprofits and small businesses and wanted to solve.

Starting point is 00:08:23 And fundamentally, it's a matter of trust as well, right, in building this trust between constituents and the city. And I thought putting this on blockchain, because what happens is the Comptroller's office, the mayor's office of contracts, the different agencies that are contracting these services are all working on these contracts together. And the Comptroller's office is required to approve it in 30 days, but no one else is, right? And if we had a much more transparent, process where everyone could see where the movement is happening, including the person who's actually contracting with the city. It would make it much easier. It would also save a lot of time and it'd be much more efficient. And we can also see where the money's going too, right? Because you'd be

Starting point is 00:09:02 able to track that. And right now, everyone is keeping their own records. And blockchain would allow there to be one record that can't be changed that everyone can trust and work together. So in a moment, we're going to dive more into this proposal to use blockchain technology for the city's procurement system, but first a quick word from the sponsors who make this show possible. With over 10 million users, crypto.com is the easiest place to buy and sell over 90 cryptocurrencies. Grow your crypto with crypto.com earn, which pays up to 8.5% interest on your Bitcoin and 14% interest on your staple coins. When it's time to spend your crypto, nothing beats the crypto.com visa card, which pays you up to 8% back instantly and gives you 100% rebates for your new.

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Starting point is 00:10:16 led projects over the course of five years to power sustainable innovation through its ecosystem with fundraising opportunities and support for DAWS and DAPs to engage fans and reach new audiences. Come learn why NEAR is the infrastructure for innovation at N-EA.org. Back to my conversation with Rashma Patel. So I was just shocked when you mentioned that sometimes it takes three years for some of these contractors to get paid. hopefully that's with interest because that's just really crazy. Why does it take that long? So three years has been the extreme of one of the contracts that a nonprofit that I was involved

Starting point is 00:10:57 had, you know, but I would say on average it has been at least six months. It used to be even a year. They've improved a process slightly in some cases, right? And that happens because there are so many different areas of the city government that has to look at these contracts. and it just takes a long time to get it approved. And having not been at each of the agencies, I don't know why certain agencies take longer than others because it's not consistent across the 55 agencies. Some are quicker, some are slower.

Starting point is 00:11:26 It is one of those things where it seems to be a black box. The city has created something called Passport NYC, which has a database where you can try to track this, but it isn't accessible to all participants. And the idea with this blockchain proposal is that everyone would be able to go and access the information and know where in the process the contract is. And I'm assuming this would be a private blockchain or are you thinking of putting it on a public blockchain like Ethereum?

Starting point is 00:11:53 No, I was saying public blockchain like Ethereum. Oh, okay. Using, I guess, I'm sure there would be some kind of privacy for the city. Yes. Okay. And do you have, are there any particular, would it be like a decentralized app or would it be a Yeah, I'm not sure really what that looks like. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:12:15 So it would be on a public blockchain, but it would have security measures because you want to keep certain information secure. But the idea would be that there would be the transparency in where the contracts are in the process. And, you know, each individual involved, like the agency, the mayor's office, the controls office already has knowledge of who the parties are involved.

Starting point is 00:12:37 And each of those parties involved would be able to look at the ledger, see where things are along. the way. Okay. And yeah, have you discussed this with any particular companies who, you know, have talked about implementing this kind of thing? I've talked to other experts in the field about this, you know, but no one who was actually implemented for a city government or any government because I don't know anyone who's done in procurement for a government agency. Okay. And so, but this would be something that would be directly in the controller's scope of work. Okay. Yes, yes, because all the contracting is gone through the Comptroller's office.

Starting point is 00:13:11 Okay, so something I know that is a little bit outside, in fact, I think just plain outside, the controller's direct scope is this New York Bit license, which I know comes up a lot when New York politicians are discussing crypto. And as I'm sure you're well aware, many crypto businesses feel that the New York bit license is unfriendly to innovation. Do you think there's any way for the controller to bring weight to bear on influencing that regulation in some fashion? and if so, how would you like to see that changed?

Starting point is 00:13:43 Sure. And as you correctly point out, you know, it's the New York State Department of Financial Services that regulates the BIT license, but the control of New York City, especially given that a lot of the, you know, blockchain businesses would be centered in New York City really push the state to move on that. And, you know, it has been onerous for a lot of people, you know, it cost upwards of $100,000 or more to get a BIT license. So it's been limited to no more than like 20 firms have been able to access.

Starting point is 00:14:09 it. And a lot of lawyers end up making a lot of money off of it. And a lot of entrepreneurs, you know, can't innovate as a result. And the idea is that we want these businesses to stay in New York and not be going to other places. And I would strongly advocate for it. And the state did last summer, you know, start something called like a provisional bid license, as you probably know, right, where someone can work with an existing bid license company and be able to work in New York State. And so I think that they are moving in that direction. But, you know, there's more work that needs to be done. So as you just mentioned, there are a lot of cities around the country that are kind of vying to become the crypto capital of the U.S.

Starting point is 00:14:53 If not the world. Why do you think it's important for a city like New York to be welcoming to the crypto industry? And how would you plan to compete with other cities like Miami? They're also aiming for that title. So, you know, New York has always been the center of financials. services, right? And blockchain is financial technology. And I think that we can't lose our ground if this is going to be the industry of the future, right? And financial services declines and then financial technology and blockchain is going to be the way the future goes. So I think we need to

Starting point is 00:15:22 hold our center of financial services by investing in blockchain and being welcoming to blockchain companies. And if you think about, you know, sometime in the earlier mid-90s, right, you know, Silicon Valley really invested in technology in a way that New York didn't, right? And then about 15 years later, we were trying to track them to New York City through Silicon Alley, right? And then we have now, in the last 15 years, been like really pushing to try to get the technology firms to come to New York City, right? So we don't want to be behind. We want to be on the forefront. And we don't want it to be, you know, as you know, Miami has really been blockchain friendly and, you know, adopted all the policies that Wyoming had. And we don't want, we already

Starting point is 00:16:03 seen, I mean, I feel like this past year, a lot of New York was moving to Miami. And we would rather have them stay here and build businesses here. So New York is at a pivotal moment in its history. As you mentioned, it's coming out of the worst pandemic that we've seen in the last century. And it's really a pandemic that's hit dense cities like New York that rely on public transportation, especially hard. What role do you think crypto could play in that recovery? So I think one, as I said, you know, having the companies come to New York City because we're going to have to re-envision our economy. There's going to be a lot of firms that still allow

Starting point is 00:16:34 people to work remotely and we're going to have to think about what new companies that would want to come and be in New York City because the foot traffic that we get from people coming in and working is what supports all our restaurants and cafes and a lot of other things in New York City. And I also think that the technology behind crypto and blockchain can be useful in so many things. Like I talked about the procurement process, but we could be looking at it even in helping fix how the MTA works, you know, which is a state agency, not a city agency, but if we're going to think about transportation, all kinds of different types of things that I think that there's future potential for blockchain technology to help improve.

Starting point is 00:17:12 And can you elaborate on that? How would the MTA use blockchain technology to solve whatever problems you think it has? So, I mean, I think the problems, you know, in terms of managing, there's huge projects, right, that the MTA, all these capital projects that they undertake. And a lot of times, again, it goes back to transparency and trust with the projects, right? any MTA project that happens, there's usually people who think that the cost are too high. There's always time delays and how we can use blockchain to make the whole process efficient if we're going to have this happen, all the contracting, you know, do smart contracts

Starting point is 00:17:45 where people get paid when they hit certain milestones. And I think things like that will just hold people much more accountable. So the primary is June 22nd. What is on the docket for you and your campaign between now and then? Well, you know, lots of campaigning is outside meeting people finally because we have been in pandemic. So it's been all Zoom meetings. And there's also always, you know, American democracy is expensive. And if it was a startup, that was some, you know, people would be shocked by how much it costs to acquire a customer when you're, you know, acquiring a voter.

Starting point is 00:18:20 And so, you know, I'm fundraising all the time as well. And so it's out meeting voters, getting the word out. And it is out pushing ideas and it's out fundraising. And my website is Rashma 2021.com. And, you know, people have any suggestions on things that should be looking at. Want to know more. Please visit. And actually, one thing that I should have checked on your website before,

Starting point is 00:18:42 but neglected to do is are you accepting crypto donations? Because I know in past years, there have been other candidates for office who've made headlines by doing so. Yes. And I am not. And the reason I'm not is because New York City has very strict campaign finance laws. So it's not allowable, but it is something that I looked at in the beginning. And there are candidates who run for state office or there's a DA candidate right now running, which is not a city office is considered a state office that is accepting crypto.

Starting point is 00:19:09 Oh, interesting. Oh, okay. And just out of curiosity, I'm sure it's not like a specific ban on fundraising and crypto. Like, can you say what it is? Yeah. So, yeah. So, I mean, New York City's campaign finance board is perhaps one of the most, uh, most, uh, diligent campaign finance force, they really take a look at donations and they really regulate how donations are made. For instance, you know, the limits are up to $2,000. It's all. And you can't take money from corporations and PACs. You have to take it from individuals. And they also match donations from residents of New York City eight times. So any donation between $10 and $250 would get matched eight times by the New York City Campaign Finance Board. And the reason why they do that is to

Starting point is 00:19:54 make it possible for many more candidates and people who don't come from a lot of money and a lot of resources to be able to run for office. But because they do take that step in kind of democratizing the financing of campaigns, they also make it very strict, you know, rules about how you fundraise. Oh, interesting. And who you take money from. Okay. Okay. Yeah. You know, I have to admit, I kind of like that. In a city where it feels like the money reigns supreme all the time. Well, not all the time, but, you know, much of the time. Yeah. It's, it's, No, it's a model. It's a model in campaign finance around the country because on a national level, there's about 132 people who control our democracy in the United States because they're the people who give 60% of super PAC donations. Oh, oh. I thought you meant the politicians, but you mean the donors. That's fascinating. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, yeah, that's quite a statistic. All right. Well, thank you. Don't forget. Next up is the weekly news recap. Stick around.

Starting point is 00:20:57 round for this week in crypto after this short break. TASOS lets you easily exchange smart money throughout our digital world. A self-upgradable blockchain with a proven track record, TASOS seamlessly adopts tomorrow's innovations without network disruptions today. Because of this adaptability, engineers, conservationists, entrepreneurs, collectors, game developers, and artists from around the world are building, creating, and using TASOS every day. Discover how people are reimagining the world around you on TASOS.

Starting point is 00:21:27 Thanks for tuning in to this week's news recap. First headline, Bitcoin in your bank account. FinTech firm FIS is partnering with digital asset manager in NIDIG to bring about an industry first. Customers at hundreds of U.S. banks will be able to purchase, huddle, or sell Bitcoin directly within their bank account without having to go through an exchange, such as Coinbase, or a payment application like PayPal. NIDIG will handle custody and security. The program has already enrolled hundreds of smaller institutions. As reported by CNBC, NIDIG is in discussions with several of the larger banks in the U.S.

Starting point is 00:22:06 about bringing them into the program. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have already announced that they will offer Bitcoin funds to their high net worth clients, with JPMorgan repeatedly mulling a similar product. Perhaps the decision of smaller banks to try and front-run Bitcoin adoption for the everyday customer will pressure the larger institutions to follow suit for their retail customers. With such a plethora of ways to gain exposure to BTC, it is no wonder that Grayskills Bitcoin Trust seems to be struggling. Grayskills' parent company, Digital Currency Group, authorized the purchase of up to $750 million in GBT shares this week, uping its authorization by $500 million. GPDC has been trading at a discount for three months, meaning the market price of its shares is trading under its net asset value.

Starting point is 00:22:51 Next headline. In an effort to bring more privacy to Bitcoin, its taproot activation period begins. Regarding Bitcoin, the asset all this fuss is about, Bitcoin's taproot update has begun its three-month activation period. At Bitcoin DLC, put it rather succinctly on Twitter, writing, taproot is a soft fork of Bitcoin that improves Bitcoin's scripts, which will eventually increase privacy and help scalability, whilst also enabling more complex transactions. Miners who wish to adopt the update can signal support by adding a signal bit in blocks they mine. Bitcoin Magazine reports that nearly half of the network hash rate is currently supporting the update. If 90% of blocks mined during the next three months include the signal bit, the upgrade will be confirmed for November 2021. If all that major eyes glaze over, just told into this nugget, a benefit of taproot is that mixing coins and disguising transactions will be easier. potentially making the life of the blockchain and analytics companies who specialize in tracing

Starting point is 00:23:55 fraudulent transactions much harder. Next headline. Ether streaks past 3K. Ether hit another all-time high on Wednesday. The token reached $3,550 in the late afternoon, extending a rally that is over 350% in gains just this year. DeCrypt reports that Vitalik Boudarin, the 27-year-old co-founder of Ethereum, owns an an eth wallet worth more than $1 billion.

Starting point is 00:24:22 Boutteran initially disclosed his personal eth address in 2018 on Twitter, and the address has been watched closely ever since. The wallet currently contains a whopping 33,521 ether cementing Vitalik's place as a hodler. Perhaps lifted by Ethereum exuberance, Ethereum Classics native token ETC has skyrocketed in price as well, hitting a record high of about $150 on Wednesday. ETC is a child of the 2016 Dow Hard Fork and has been hacked three times since then, most likely due to the lower computational power backing the network compared to stalwarts like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Starting point is 00:25:02 X headline. Defi's Unicorn is live. In a blog post Wednesday morning, Uniswap, the largest decentralized exchange by trading volume, officially announced the launch of its version 3. Unvealed in March, V3 is expected to give users more control. over the liquidity they provide, along with better execution for traders. So far, the market seems to be giving the new update two thumbs up. In the first 24 hours since V3 went live, Uniswap accounted for 44% of all decentralized exchange volume on Ethereum. Uniswap V2 will remain functional as long as

Starting point is 00:25:36 Ethereum exists. However, the uniswap team expects much of the trading to migrate to V3 at some point. Next headline. Who let the Doge out? Doge coin hits 1619. cents on Tuesday. Yes, that really happened. The meme coin apparently is here to stay. Both E. Toro and Gemini announced the launch of Doge trading on their platforms. Galaxy Digital released a 22-page report on the token titled Dogecoin, the world's most honest shit coin that cites a genuine origin story, longevity, and a growing community as strong fundamentals supporting its rise. Dogecoin's market cap is currently the fourth largest in crypto sitting in around $80 billion. That being said, Alex Gladzine, chief strategy officer of the Human Rights Foundation, made a few salient points about Dogecoin that I found

Starting point is 00:26:28 particularly noteworthy for investors. Quote, Dogecoin is infinite. The system is on Tract to 14.4 million new Doge each day and 5.2 billion more Doge each year forever. Doge coin is not decentralized. notes are hard to run and there are at most a few hundred unique economic actors running them and probably way fewer. Dogecoin has had several insane pumps like this before, only to later fall in value by 90%. Next headline. Bitso, Coin Metrics, and Showtime announced funding rounds. Three fund races caught my eye this week. The Mexico-based crypto exchange, Bitso, wrapped up a $250 million funding round valuing the company at $2.2 billion, making it the first crypto unicorn in Latin America to date.

Starting point is 00:27:17 Tiger Global and Koto led the round. Coin Metrics, a cryptocurrency analytics firm and home to some of my favorite content, has raised $15 million, led by Goldman Sachs. NFT Social Network, Showtime, raised $7.6 million in funding from crypto investment firm Paradigm and DJ3LOW or Blow. Showtime is headed by Alex Mazmich, who previously tokenized himself last April, allowing Alex token holders to dictate his exercise and diet schedule. Next headline.

Starting point is 00:27:49 Crypto's first billion dollar deal. Mike Novagrats' Galaxy Digital is set to acquire Bicco, a digital asset infrastructure provider for $1.2 billion in cash in stock. The acquisition announced Wednesday will be the crypto industry's first $1 billion deal. The Bicco purchase could put Galaxy Digital in a strong position to serve institutions seeking access to crypto. Bicko has a strong resume itself. The company currently has $40 billion in assets under custody, serves over 150 exchanges and over 400 institutional customers, and processes 30 billion transactions monthly. Time for what we're calling quick bits. PayPal is exploring

Starting point is 00:28:30 the launch of a stable coin. The block reports the payment giant has spoken to at least one stablecoin protocol development firm, Avalapse. In an interview on CNBC's Squawk box, eBay's CEO Jamie Iononi hinted that the digital marketplace might accept crypto as payment in the future. He also teased the addition of an NFT platform. Charlie Munger, the 97-year-old vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, made clear his distaste for Bitcoin during Berkshire's annual meeting, saying, I think the whole damn development is disgusting and contrary to the interests of civilization. It was a big week for crypto funds. A16Z is looking to build out a $1 billion. crypto fund, its third, which could ultimately be double its last fund at $515 million.

Starting point is 00:29:18 Multi-coin Capital is launching a $100 million fund to invest in defy, NFTs, and Web 3 applications, focusing on the Solana blockchain. A federal court in California is authorizing the IRS to obtain the identities of any user who has traded $20,000 on cryptocurrency exchange Cracken, which disclosure is a former sponsor of my show. The DOJ is not alleging Cracken has engaged in any illegal activity. Instead, the IRS is focused on finding would-be tax dodgers. Coinbase's stock dropped considerably on Thursday, hitting $251 around midday. Coin is down 12% this week, perhaps struggling because of BTC, the crypto bell weather, which has stagnated in the mid-50K range while the rest of the market has thrived. Time for fun bits. Doge sitting pays. If you had an invest,

Starting point is 00:30:10 all three of your stimulus checks into Doge over the past year, you would now be sitting on top of $425,000 in fake internet dog money. With $425,000 in Doge, you could trade that in for 7.45 BTC, 128th, 26 season tickets to watch the Dallas Mavericks from the floor, or one Lamborghini eventador. For context on how well Doge has performed, Bitcoin is up 93% year-to-date, while ETH is up 350% Dogecoin's return is above 13,000% this year alone. Oh, and by the way, Elon Musk, the Doge father,

Starting point is 00:30:52 will be hosting Saturday Night Live this week, meaning that Dogecoin will most likely find a place in next week's news recap. Second fun bits. Maybe crypto isn't so fun. On this week's Unchained, the pod ended with Annabel Huang, partner at Amber Group, giving advice for women thinking about going into crypto,

Starting point is 00:31:09 saying, for the women out there who are thinking about this, it's not as crazy as you think. That's why I had to laugh at a recent thread posted by John Sue, marking director at Brightloom. That certainly pumps the brakes on romanticizing the crypto lifestyle and gives some insight on what actually goes on behind the scenes. I recommend the whole thread, but I'll end the show with my favorite lamentation regarding poor sleep cycles for crypto founders. John writes, Crypto never sleeps. And guess what?

Starting point is 00:31:36 That also means that you never sleep. Half your audience is in the West, the other half is in the East. Singapore time is almost entirely during sleeping hours in the U.S. Have fun with that. Perhaps going all in on crypto might be as crazy as drawn to picks, but, as I can attest, leaping into crypto is totally worth it. All right, thanks for tuning in. To learn more about Reishma and our campaign for New York City Comptroller,

Starting point is 00:32:00 be sure to check out the links in the show notes. Follow Unchained on Twitter at Unchained underscore pod, where you can find all sorts of content ranging from a weekly newslet to updates on my upcoming book and a whole lot more. Unconfirmed is produced by me, Laura Shin, with help from Anthony Yun, Mark Murdoch, and Daniel Ness. Thanks for listening.

Unchained - Unconfirmed: Should NYC’s Pension Funds Invest in Crypto? This Comptroller Candidate Says Yes - Ep.235

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