Crypto has the highest 'talent density' since the internet's early days, says GSR CEO

Finance firms • December 23, 2022, 5:00AM EST

Episode 128 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro and GSR CEO Jakob Palmstierna.

Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to [email protected].

Founded in 2013, GSR is one of the oldest crypto market makers and is also an active venture investor.

In this episode of The Scoop, GSR CEO Jakob Palmstierna discusses how his firm is responding to the collapse of FTX and shares his forecast for what a crypto recovery might look like.

According to Palmstierna, GSR covered the losses of all of its customers who had funds stuck on FTX:

“We announced that customers of ours that had funds locked in FTX, we would reimburse them so they didn't have those losses, which is not ‘effective altruism,’ it's about creating some stability within the market and being here for the future.”

Although 2022 was filled with calamities for the crypto industry, Palmstierna says the underlying technology is continuing to develop:

“Everything that happened over 2022 has very little to nothing to do with the underlying technology of crypto. There are well-funded projects out there, there are really good builders — it's one of the biggest sections of talent density that we have seen since the early internet days.”

During this episode, Chaparro and Palmstierna also discuss:

How firms overlooked counterparty risk
The details behind Binance’s industry recovery fund
Liquidity conditions without Alameda in the order books

Disclaimer: Beginning in 2021, Michael McCaffrey, the former CEO and majority owner of The Block, took a series of loans from former FTX and Alameda founder Sam Bankman-Fried. McCaffrey resigned from the company in December 2022 after failing to disclose those transactions.

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn, Athletic Greens

About Tron
Founded in 2013, Huobi Global is one of the largest virtual asset exchanges in the world. Huobi Global serves millions of users across international markets. Since its establishment, Huobi Global has committed to providing first-class virtual asset investment services. Huobi Global's robust infrastructure, product innovation and capital strength provide a truly customer-centric and secure trading environment to help our international users to achieve their investment objectives. Please refer to Huobi's official website for more information: huobi.com.

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About Authors

Davis Quinton is the Director of Podcasts at The Block and runs our flagship podcast called The Scoop, hosted by Frank Chaparro. Since joining The Block as an 'intern' in early 2022, he has worked closely with leaders across departments to translate The Block's written content into engaging multimedia formats. He holds a degree in Social Research & Public Policy from New York University in Abu Dhabi and is based in Sydney, Australia.

Frank Chaparro is the Editor At Large at The Block. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. He runs his own podcast The Scoop and writes a biweekly eponymous newsletter. He leads special projects, including The Block's flagship podcast, The Scoop. Prior to The Block, he held roles at Business Insider, NPR, and Nasdaq. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].