This conversation with Hirander Misra, the CEO of GMEX Group was recorded in August 2022, before the collapse of FTX. We discuss the collapse of Cefi lenders like Celsius, Voyager, Babel, Vauld but the warnings, general principles and solutions that Hirander offers are still relevant today and could be applied to the FTX situation. Rather than giving up on crypto, Hirander suggests we move towards a new model of hybrid finance that combines the new technology with the established financial system.  

ABOUT THE GUEST 

Hirander Misra is CEO and co-founder of GMEX Group, a London-based company that offers consultancy, technology and operations expertise to exchanges and other markets. GMEX addresses end-to-end regulatory and contract environment needs for Issuance, Trading, Clearing and Settlement across exchanges and across all asset classes, including Traditional, Digital and Hybrid Assets. 

https://www.gmex-group.com/ 

ABOUT THE REALIZATION GROUP 

This video is produced in partnership with Financial Markets Insights by The Realization Group-  bringing together the best minds in the financial and capital markets industry to deliver high-quality thought-leadership content. 

https://www.therealizationgroup.com/insights/financial-markets-insights/ 

TIMESTAMPS 

00:00 Intro 00:26 Overview - not what it pretends to be 02:21 Looking back at bitcoin... and mount Gox 03:55 Operational failure vs Robust tech 05:10 Defi  07:09 The problem with the definitions 09:10 The plumbing challenges in the back 10:57 A lack of a common standard 12:49 The message in the Bitcoin origin block - and the repeat of 2008 15:19 Looking for yield 17:33 the backlash against banking - and the unbanked opportunity with crypto 19:30 Lower barrier to entry and risk practices 21:35 The fragmentation of regulation 23:01 Authorization vs Regulation 24:04 The importance of small print 27:51 Cognitive bias 28:51 Funding 30:21 Overinflated valuations 31:17 With valuation comes pressure 33:54 regulation and innovation 35:37 Testing the trustlessness of bitcoin 36:50 Institutions' role in defi 38:00 Tokenization 38:50 Custody 39:09 Two prices - two systems fro Bitcoin? 40:11 how do you regulate 41:20 Whitelist 41:45 Industry standards 43:12 how do you classify investors 45:03 Different risk appetites 47:04 Clear and transparent 48:12  industry initiative vs regulation 49:57 Education 51:06 Exchanges 53:46 The need for a seamless financial experience 55:19 coexistence of crypto and tradfi - Hybrid Finance