John Hargrave, CEO of Media Shower and author of The Intelligent Crypto Investor, joins the show to unpack a radically calm, Buffett-inspired approach to crypto investing. From wiring money to Belarus to buy Bitcoin in 2013 to nearly losing his business in the 2018 crypto winter, John shares how hard-earned wisdom led him to a disciplined, diversified strategy that blends traditional assets with a carefully sized slice of high-quality crypto — and why this model has quietly outperformed traditional portfolios over the past several years.

John traces his origin story from early Bitcoin believer to battle-tested investor, recounting the moment he and his wife went "all in" on crypto during the 2017 bull run — and the brutal reality check that followed when the market collapsed. That near-death experience for his marketing business reshaped his philosophy around risk, leading him to embrace diversification over maximalism. The result: a framework that treats crypto not as a lottery ticket or ideological crusade, but as a serious asset class that earns its place alongside stocks and bonds.
At the core of John's book is a simple but contrarian portfolio model: a traditional 60/30-style mix of stocks and bonds, plus up to 10% allocated to high-quality crypto assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum. He argues this small slice has historically captured outsized upside while strictly limiting downside risk — even in worst-case scenarios. John also takes aim at financial advisors for being "a decade behind," suggesting everyday investors can now build and manage this strategy themselves with the right tools and long-term mindset.
Beyond numbers, John brings storytelling and big ideas into the mix, drawing inspiration from legendary investors like Warren Buffett, Ben Graham, and Bill Miller to apply value-investing principles to blockchain projects. He shares his bold conviction that crypto and AI represent unevenly distributed futures — and that a global digital currency is not a question of "if," but "when." The conversation closes on sci-fi, Asimov, and the long arc of technological change, framing crypto not just as an investment, but as a bet on the architecture of tomorrow's financial system.

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New Book - The Intelligent Crypto Investor

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Andy sits down with Dave Sutter, CEO and co-founder of OpenTrade, to unpack why stablecoins are rapidly becoming the most important financial primitive in crypto — and arguably the missing link between digital assets and traditional finance.

Dave traces his journey from building early Bitcoin wallets and launching one of the first dollar-backed stablecoins, through years working with major regulated institutions, to founding OpenTrade in 2023. His core thesis is simple but bold: stablecoins are no longer a niche crypto product — they are evolving into internet-native dollars used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide for real payments, savings, and cross-border commerce

The conversation dives deep into OpenTrade's role as institutional-grade "yield-as-a-service" infrastructure for stablecoins, enabling fintechs, neobanks, and platforms to embed yield directly into their apps without building complex financial plumbing themselves. Dave explains how OpenTrade allows users to earn yield across a wide spectrum — from ultra-safe U.S. Treasuries and money market funds, through higher-yield bonds and private credit, to delta-neutral crypto strategies and curated DeFi markets — all while keeping funds liquid and accessible. This shift, he argues, flips the old crypto narrative on its head: stablecoins are no longer just a parking spot between trades, but a competitive alternative to bank savings accounts that offer better yields with fully reserved, transparent structures.

Zooming out, Dave makes the case that stablecoins are not just a technological upgrade but a reinvention of money itself — permissionless digital cash that anyone with an internet connection can hold, move, and earn on. He points to growing regulatory clarity, adoption by giants like Visa, PayPal, and Stripe, and even banking lobby warnings about deposit flight as evidence of how disruptive this shift really is. His bold conviction: stablecoin market capitalization will exceed $10 trillion within the next decade. The episode wraps with rapid-fire hot takes on Bitcoin vs multi-chain futures, the convergence of DeFi and real-world finance, and a shared love of science fiction — fitting for a conversation about a financial future that, as Dave puts it, is already here but not evenly distributed.

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Andy sits down with Kanny Lee, CEO and co-founder of SecondSwap, to explore one of crypto's most under-discussed structural problems: liquidity for locked and vested tokens. With a background spanning two decades in Big Four forensic accounting and early institutional crypto OTC trading in Hong Kong, Kanny brings a rare blend of TradFi discipline and on-chain realism to the conversation.

Kanny explains why crypto's evolution now demands proper secondary market infrastructure—something traditional finance has always relied on, but Web3 has largely ignored. SecondSwap is building a decentralized, on-chain marketplace that allows locked token positions to be traded without breaking vesting schedules, inflating supply, or undermining token integrity. By operating directly at the smart-contract layer, SecondSwap enables partial exits, discounted entry for new investors, and real liquidity where none previously existed.

The discussion digs into "mid-life markets," token dump cycles, and the difference between superficial liquidity driven by short-term speculation versus sustainable liquidity built on conviction and patience. Kanny makes the case that healthy secondary markets could be a missing piece behind the stalled altcoin cycle—and that better liquidity design benefits founders, early investors, and new entrants alike.

The conversation wraps with rapid-fire hot takes on Bitcoin maximalism, real-world assets, AI, privacy chains, and whether another alt season is still possible.

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