BlockFi is a New York City-based start-up cryptocurrency financial institution. It offers lots of crypto services to its customers, including lending U.S. dollars against bitcoin and other cryptocurrency as collateral, as well as accepting deposits of cryptocurrencies which pay interest to the depositor.
David Olsson is the Global Head of Distribution at BlockFi. Previously, he worked in the financial markets for two decades, managing teams at companies like Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse. On this episode of the CryptoMarketsWiki Podcast, Olsson sits down to talk about about how BlockFi is striving to become the global crypto bank of the future.
Topics:
00:20 – 00:38 – Intro
00:42 – 02:08 – How has BlockFi been adapting to the pandemic?
02:09 – 02:42 – Have there been any unexpected benefits to adopting the WFH model?
02:43 – 04:17 – How is BlockFi working towards its stated goal of improving global financial inclusivity?
04:18 – 05:21 – What were some of the biggest lessons learned from BlockFi adopting zero-commission trading?
05:22 – 09:02 – What are BlockFi’s current long-term goals when it comes to doing business with institutional organizations?
09:03 – 10:26 – What is it like doing business with institutional players?
10:27 – 12:11 – Why did BlockFi buy 24 million shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Investment Trust?
12:12 – 13:08 – What was it like registering a bitcoin-based investment product with the SEC?
13:09 – 15:48 – How would you explain BlockFi’s bitcoin rewards credit card in the simplest terms?
15:49 – 17:06 – How does the launch of the Visa BlockFi credit card tie into BlockFi’s long-term goals?
17:07 – 17:51 – Will the bitcoin rewards credit card be available to U.S. users only, or will customers in other markets have access to it?
17:52 – 19:04 – Has BlockFi had any other developments regarding its expansion into other markets?
19:05 – 19:42 – What are you looking forward to the most in 2021?
