Beyond Cosmoverse

Roberto Cassa

Beyond Cosmoverse is the executive dialogue series by Cosmoverse, the institutional digital asset summit. Hosted by Roberto Cassa, Marketing Director at Cosmoverse, each episode brings together practitioners from finance, regulation, and digital asset infrastructure. Learn more at cosmoverse.org.

  1. Jul 1

    Distribution Beats Product | Charles d'Haussy, dYdX

    Charles d'Haussy spent 20 years in Hong Kong building a company, leading FinTech for the Hong Kong government at Invest Hong Kong, co-organizing Hong Kong FinTech Week, and helping build the first iterations of Project mBridge with BIS and ConsenSys. He then moved to Dubai, wrote Arabian Crypto documenting the rise of the UAE's digital asset ecosystem, and now leads the dYdX Foundation as CEO. In this episode, he maps the full arc, from Hong Kong to the UAE, from ConsenSys to DeFi, and from the early days of blockchain advocacy to a moment where institutions are building in earnest. Arabian Crypto by Charles d'Haussy: arabiancrypto.xyz Beyond Cosmoverse is the Executive Dialogue Series by Cosmoverse, the institutional digital asset summit. Hosted by Roberto Cassa, Marketing Director at Cosmoverse, each episode brings together practitioners from finance, regulation, and digital asset infrastructure. Learn more at cosmoverse.org. Chapters (00:00) 2026 a challenging year (01:04) Intro (02:09) 20 years in Hong Kong (06:56) From ConsenSys to dYdX (09:15) Block Kong, writing the history of Hong Kong's crypto ecosystem (12:30) The UAE, why Charles moved and what he found (15:30) Arabian Crypto, documenting the rise of a crypto-native jurisdiction (17:54) ADGM vs VARA, UAE's regulatory models (22:32) Hong Kong vs UAE (24:50) The CFTC approval of regulated perps, what it means for DeFi (29:06) The state of DeFi in 2026 (32:31) Is it institutions or technology reshaping capital markets? (36:04) App chains vs public permissionless chains (39:10) Distribution beats product

    Distribution Beats Product | Charles d'Haussy, dYdX
  2. Jun 17

    Tokenizing Private Markets in Hong Kong | Florian M. Spiegl, EVIDENT

    Florian Spiegel trained as a forester in the Austrian mountains before becoming the founder and CEO of EVIDENT, one of Hong Kong's most advanced tokenized private markets platforms. In this episode, he traces that path, from reading the Bitcoin whitepaper as a PhD student in Vienna to building a licensed platform that runs 100% of its volume on blockchain rails, and serving on the SFC's FinTech Advisory Group as Hong Kong shaped one of the world's most advanced digital asset frameworks. Beyond Cosmoverse is the Executive Dialogue Series by Cosmoverse, the institutional digital asset summit. Hosted by Roberto Cassa, Marketing Director at Cosmoverse, each episode brings together practitioners from finance, regulation, and digital asset infrastructure. Learn more at cosmoverse.org. Timestamps: (00:00) Tokenization is not a product(00:31) Introduction(02:12) From Austrian forester to capital markets(05:02) The shift to blockchain(06:43) Why Hong Kong(09:28) Digital assets vs tokenized securities(12:40) Why private markets lack a system of record(15:27) From a stock business to a flow business(19:29) The five-stage deal lifecycle, reimagined(23:07) Why EVIDENT doesn't talk about tokenization(24:04) Pre-IPO investing in the US and China(27:27) Regulatory clarity and the path to institutional adoption(28:29) Project Ensemble TX, EVIDENT alongside BlackRock and HSBC(31:57) What comes next: scale, identity, and AI agents(37:02) Closing

    Tokenizing Private Markets in Hong Kong | Florian M. Spiegl, EVIDENT
  3. Jun 3

    MiCA and the Euro Stablecoin Challenge | Erwin Voloder, Blockchain for Europe

    Euro-denominated stablecoins account for less than 1% of global stablecoin volume. For the world's second largest currency that is a structural problem. Erwin Voloder, Director for Research and Strategy at Blockchain for Europe and co-author of the "Reforming MiCA for Euro Stablecoins" report with former ECB Director Dr. Ulrich Bindseil, joins the show as the European Commission's MiCA consultation is open. He breaks down what MiCA got right, what is holding euro stablecoins back, and what concrete reforms could change the trajectory, from remuneration to reserve requirements to multi-issuance. Read and download the "Reforming MiCA for Euro Stablecoins" report here: https://www.blockchain4europe.eu/policywork/reforming-mica-for-euro-stablecoins/ Beyond Cosmoverse is the Executive Dialogue Series by Cosmoverse, the institutional digital asset summit. Hosted by Roberto Cassa, Marketing Director at Cosmoverse, each episode brings together practitioners from finance, regulation, and digital asset infrastructure. Learn more at cosmoverse.org Timestamps: (00:00) MiCA reform and what comes next(00:40) Introduction(01:24) From the ECB and European Commission to blockchain advocacy(05:07) Why the private sector moves faster(07:23) The 1% problem, euro stablecoins and dollar dominance(08:38) Why dollar stablecoins had a head start(14:19) Tether, Circle, and the MiCA compliance gap(15:41) The MiCA consultation, what is actually being reviewed(19:53) Europe vs US vs Hong Kong, three approaches to stablecoins(21:29) Is Europe being aggressive enough?(23:29) Sovereignty vs autarchy(25:45) The MiCA Reform Report, what Erwin and Dr. Bindseil proposed(29:22) Removing the 30-60% bank deposit floor(31:15) Reserve framework, central bank facilities, and multi-issuance(34:06) AI agents and the case for fractionalized micropayments(38:10) Qivalis, the crypto transaction tax, and mixed signals from Europe(39:07) The realistic MiCA reform roadmap(42:15) Closing

    MiCA and the Euro Stablecoin Challenge | Erwin Voloder, Blockchain for Europe
  4. Apr 29

    Inside Vodafone's Bet on the Machine Economy | David Palmer, Pairpoint

    Vodafone has 187 million connected devices. David Palmer, Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of Pairpoint by Vodafone, has spent 25 years building the infrastructure underneath them—from 3G and 4G to enterprise blockchain, and now a live platform that gives IoT devices a cryptographic identity anchored in the SIM card. In this episode, he walks through what it actually takes to build production-grade machine payment infrastructure inside one of the world's largest telecoms companies, and why the convergence of AI agents, autonomous vehicles, and the Economy of Things is no longer a vision—it's an engineering problem. Topics covered: how Vodafone started exploring blockchain in 2017 and why IoT was the use case that stuck; the SIM card as a hardware security layer for machine identity; why 3.3 billion devices are projected to transact by 2030; the Mastercard and JPMorgan integrations and how the payment stack works; why 115 billion AI agents by 2030 will stress every authentication system we have; phone number identity as a scalable trust layer for agentic commerce; autonomous vehicles with their own P&Ls; and why the next wave of economic growth will follow AI infrastructure, not cheap labor. Beyond Cosmoverse is the Executive Dialogue Series by Cosmoverse, the institutional digital asset summit. Hosted by Roberto Cassa, Marketing Director at Cosmoverse, each episode brings together practitioners from finance, regulation, and digital asset infrastructure. Learn more at cosmoverse.org. Timestamps (00:00) Introduction (01:40) Vodafone started exploring blockchain in 2017 (04:22) Pairpoint (06:12) Vodafone, Sumitomo, and the route to market (08:13) SIM card as a machine identity layer (12:04) Autonomous vehicles, liability, and digital identity (14:04) 3.3 billion devices transacting by 2030 (15:31) AI agents as the new user base (17:54) The biggest friction in building this product (21:12) Mastercard and JPMorgan, how the payment stack works (23:38) 115 billion AI agents by 2030 (28:43) Sovereign AI and machines with their own P&Ls (32:39) Hong Kong, APAC, and the regulatory race (36:02) Humans and AI, the optimistic case (39:40) Advice for operators navigating AI (41:28) Closing

    Inside Vodafone's Bet on the Machine Economy | David Palmer, Pairpoint
  5. Apr 21

    Surviving Crypto | Michael (Cryptocito), Cosmoverse & Stakecito

    In this special episode of Beyond Cosmoverse, Michael Cito (known as CryptoCito), the founder of Cosmoverse and co-founder of Stakecito traces the full arc: from Crypto Mondays in Shanghai to building one of the longest-running conferences in the digital asset space, and what it actually takes to survive in this industry. Topics covered: how a tweet asking "what is Cosmos?" changed the course of his career, building community before building a company, the institutional shift Cosmoverse navigated before most conferences saw it coming, why Hong Kong matters for the future of digital assets, running three interconnected companies simultaneously, the lessons learned the hard way on trust and co-founders, and what keeps him going after nearly a decade in the space. Beyond Cosmoverse is the Executive Dialogue Series by Cosmoverse, the institutional digital asset summit. Hosted by Roberto Cassa, Marketing Director at Cosmoverse, each episode brings together practitioners from finance, regulation, and digital asset infrastructure. Learn more at cosmoverse.org. Timestamps (00:00) Institutional bull run (00:20) Introduction (01:03) How Michael discovered Bitcoin (02:08) Why he stayed (03:57) Shanghai, Crypto Mondays, and the early community (08:33) The tweet that led to Cosmos (11:05) From community builder to founder (12:44) The first Cosmoverse (15:01) OG values meet institutional adoption (17:38) The institutional shift (20:50) Hong Kong and the APAC opportunity (22:06) Digital euro, stablecoins, and the future of money (25:51) Cosmoverse Connect Hong Kong (28:05) Running media, events, and validator infrastructure simultaneously (31:04) Navigating public criticism and trust (33:26) Advice for the next generation entering crypto (35:36) What keeps him going (38:00) Closing

    Surviving Crypto | Michael (Cryptocito), Cosmoverse & Stakecito
  6. Apr 15

    The Economy of Things | Peter Busch, Bosch

    Bosch started exploring distributed ledger technology in 2015, before the retail wave, before the ICO boom, before most enterprises had even heard the term. In this episode, Peter Busch, Global Product Owner DLT at Bosch and Co-Founder of the Fetch.ai Foundation, walks through what it actually took to build the case for decentralized infrastructure inside one of the world's largest engineering companies, and where that journey has led. Topics covered: the Economy of Things and what it means in practice, autonomous vehicles authenticating to city infrastructure, why decentralized identity matters more than centralized alternatives, AI agents and the trust layer they require, data sovereignty as a competitive advantage in Europe, the Fetch ai Foundation, and why the combination of decentralized trust and AI agents is the defining technology architecture of this moment. Beyond Cosmoverse is the Executive Dialogue Series by Cosmoverse, the institutional digital asset summit. Hosted by Roberto Cassa, Marketing Director at Cosmoverse, each episode brings together practitioners from finance, regulation, and digital asset infrastructure. Learn more at cosmoverse.org. Timestamps: (00:00) Decentralized trust meets AI agents (00:40) Introduction (01:37) Peter's journey, from JP Morgan to Bosch (04:29) Why enterprises move slower than expected (07:56) The Economy of Things explained (13:15) Autonomous vehicles and machine identity (16:04) Beyond mobility, Bosch's broader portfolio (17:35) Do users actually care about trust? (21:52) The Fetch.ai Foundation and agent ecosystems (25:03) Sovereign AI and trusted agents (29:37) Trust architecture in 2026 (33:39) Web3 meets enterprise, the transformation (38:41) Advice for the younger generation (42:30) Closing

    The Economy of Things | Peter Busch, Bosch

About

Beyond Cosmoverse is the executive dialogue series by Cosmoverse, the institutional digital asset summit. Hosted by Roberto Cassa, Marketing Director at Cosmoverse, each episode brings together practitioners from finance, regulation, and digital asset infrastructure. Learn more at cosmoverse.org.