My guest this week is Preston Byrne. Preston is vocal critic of crazy prices and projects in the world cryptocurrencies. His background is in the legal world and also as a founder and former COO of Monax, which made the first open-source permissioned blockchain client.
As Preston says, he is a “blockchain without bitcoin” guy, who believes that this crypto mania will end in some sort of apocalypse for token holders and ICO issuers .
We tackle several issues, from his broad skepticism of crypto assets, to the potential regulatory reaction from major governments, to types of coins like stable coins, which Preston views as analogous to perpetual motion machines. 
Please enjoy our conversation and for any crypto investors out there, let me know if this conversation affects your opinion of the investing prospects for cryptocurrencies. 
Hash Power is presented by Fidelity Investments
 
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag
 
Links Referenced
Bitcoin white paper
The Bear Case for Crypto
Hash Power series
Zero Hedge
Preston tweet on Reverse network effect
 
Show Notes
2:12 - (First Question) –Ponzi scheme vs pyramid scheme vs Nakimoto scheme 
5:29 – Why there are regulatory challenges to cryptocurrency
            5:33 – The Bear Case for Crypto 
9:59 – Who are the most influential people supporting this and how are they swaying the regulatory minefield on this issue
            10:28 – Hash Power series 
13:23 – Looking into the idea of a digital asset and the difference between blockchain and the token itself 
16:09 – What about the idea that cryptocurrency’s only feature is that it’s censorship resistant 
18:39 – Why cryptocurrencies become less usable the more successful they are
            18:59 – Zero Hedge 
21:04 – Why can’t we rely on offchain solutions to solve the scaling issue 
22:29 – The idea of bubbles and what happens next in this one           
25:41 – What are the incentives to build technology to support cryptocurrencies 
29:23 – Explaining Ripple 
31:21 – What would precipitate a massive reversal in the inflated valuations of cryptocurrencies 
34:52 – Understanding reverse network effects
            34:36 – Preston tweet on Reverse network effect
37:45 – The principles behind Stablecoin
42:20 – What has been the greatest lesson that Preston has learned about blockchain he wish he knew when he first got started
44:05 – How embedded will blockchain be by 2024/2025
45:12 – ICO’s, why Preston is not a fan and if there are any positives to them
50:20 – What are the conditions under which these things will be viewed legally.
54:00 – Preston’s history owning cryptocurrencies
55:35 – What has Preston most excited in the space
59:02 – Utility settlement coin
1:00:36 – Why the fascination with marmots
1:02:10 – What to reference before getting started with cryptocurrencies
1:04:03 – Understanding supply chains in block chain
1:07:14 – Some smart people on block chain to follow
1:08:24 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Preston
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. 
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag