Podcast: Crypto in Crisis

In this Willkie Compliance Concourse podcast, Martin Weinstein, Chair of Willkie’s Compliance, Investigations and Enforcement practice, asks whether the crash of FTX marks the beginning of a nuclear winter for the crypto ecosystem.  Panelists Christopher Giancarlo, Justin Browder, and Kristy Littman, answer with a resounding “No!” 

Chris Giancarlo, “Crypto Dad,” is senior counsel and co-head of Willkie’s Digital Works practice in New York.  Previously, Chris served as Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.  He co-founded the Digital Dollar Project, and serves as its executive chairman.

Justin Browder is a Washington, D.C. partner in Willkie’s Asset Management department, and Co-Chair of the Willkie Digital Works team, the firm’s blockchain and crypto asset practice.

Kristy Littman is a partner in the Litigation Department in Willkie’s Washington, D.C. office.  She is co-head of the firm’s Digital Works team, and a member of the Securities Litigation and Practice group.  Kristy previously served as chief of the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit in the Division of Enforcement of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Together, they discuss the lessons that have emerged from the current crisis, the future of regulation and enforcement, and the meaning of key concepts such as decentralized finance (“DeFi”), code-based transaction protocols, distributed ledger technology, high-powered decentralized computing, stable coins, non-fungible tokens (“NFT”s) linked to real and personal property, Layer 1 blockchains, and decentralized autonomous organizations (“DAO”s).