Beyond the Code

Yitzy Hammer
  • 5.0 (3)
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • UPDATED BIMONTHLY

Welcome to Beyond the Code, the podcast where we dive into the legal, regulatory, and ethical issues surrounding emerging technologies. Each week, we bring you in-depth conversations with industry experts, discussing the latest advancements in technology and their implications on society and the legal system. From artificial intelligence to blockchain, we'll be exploring all the hot topics in the field. Your host, Yitzy Hammer, a lawyer and tech enthusiast, is joined by a diverse group of experts, providing valuable insight into the complex and ever-evolving world of technology.

  1. E94: Itai Kanot: How BeeHero Is Using AI to Save Bees and Reinvent Agriculture

    APR 27

    E94: Itai Kanot: How BeeHero Is Using AI to Save Bees and Reinvent Agriculture

    In this episode, Yitzy sits down with Itai Kanot, CGO and Co-Founder of BeeHero, the company using IoT sensors, AI, and machine learning to monitor beehives and deliver precision pollination at global scale.  Itai grew up in southern Israel as the son of the country’s largest beekeeper. What started as a childhood surrounded by hives, honey, and long days on the farm eventually became BeeHero: an agtech company tackling one of the least appreciated but most important systems in the global food supply. They discuss why bees are far more than honey producers, how pollination underpins a huge share of modern agriculture, and what most people still do not understand about the “superorganism” inside a hive. Itai also shares the origin story of BeeHero, how the company evolved from precision beekeeping to pollination-as-a-service, and why selling into agriculture requires much more than good software. They also get into colony collapse, varroa mites, why beekeeping is under real pressure, and what BeeHero is building next. Topics covered: Why bees are one of nature’s most extraordinary creaturesThe role of pollination in global food productionItai’s upbringing in a commercial beekeeping family;How BeeHero was born at Reichman University;The shift from serving beekeepers to serving growers;What “precision pollination” actually means;Why agtech is a trust business, not just a software business;The challenges facing bees, including varroa mites and rising colony losses;Building a global company while raising a family far from home;

    1h 14m
  2. Building “Compliant Privacy” for Crypto: Avishay Yanai’s Founder Story

    APR 20

    Building “Compliant Privacy” for Crypto: Avishay Yanai’s Founder Story

    After a six-week hiatus spent between reserve duty and bomb shelters, Beyond the Code is back with Avishay Yanai, co-founder and CEO of Soda Labs. In this episode, Yitzy sits down with one of Israel’s top cryptography minds to unpack the founder journey from academia and VMware to building a startup at the frontier of blockchain privacy. They discuss why most on-chain privacy tools are either fully transparent or regulatorily radioactive, and how Soda Labs is trying to build something different: privacy that institutions can actually use. Avishay explains the technical and commercial thinking behind “compliant privacy,” why they passed on the crowded MPC wallet space, and what it really feels like to go from researcher to startup CEO.

    56 min
  3. E92: From Lawyer to Founder: Scott Thiel’s Tokinvest Journey

    MAR 16

    E92: From Lawyer to Founder: Scott Thiel’s Tokinvest Journey

    In this episode of Beyond the Code, Yitzy Hammer sits down with Scott Thiel, CEO and founder of Tokinvest, to explore how real-world asset tokenization is moving from hype to reality. Scott shares his path from award-winning lawyer and legal innovator to startup founder building regulated on-chain investment products in Dubai. He reflects on his years at DLA Piper, his early fascination with the intersection of law and technology, his exposure to China’s fast-moving tech ecosystem, and how that journey ultimately led him into blockchain, Hedera, and the world of tokenization. The conversation dives deep into Tokinvest’s mission to make high-value assets more accessible through fractional ownership, from racehorses and art to commodities and real estate. Scott explains why regulation has been the missing piece for RWAs, how Dubai’s VARA framework created the right environment for innovation, and why Tokinvest’s latest approved real estate product marks a major step forward for retail access to tokenized finance. They also discuss the hard realities of building in crypto, what it takes to bring compliant products to market, why not every asset should be tokenized, and what the next wave of adoption could look like as RWAs finally begin to scale.

    55 min
  4. E91: Erin West on the Global Scamdemic

    MAR 9

    E91: Erin West on the Global Scamdemic

    Erin West returns to Beyond the Code to unpack the terrifying scale of today’s global scam economy. A former prosecutor and founder of Operation Shamrock, Erin explains how organized criminal networks built massive scam compounds across Southeast Asia, how human trafficking fuels these operations, and why scams like pig butchering, fake investment platforms, and extortion schemes are affecting far more people than most of us realize. We also talk about victim support, crypto tracing, Bitcoin ATMs, public awareness, and why this crisis is as much about loneliness and trust as it is about technology and crime. A powerful conversation about one of the most urgent and underappreciated threats of the digital age. Also, make sure to check out Erin’s podcast, Stolen.

    41 min
  5. Crypto Compliance’s Content King: Stephen Sargeant on Investigations, LinkedIn, and Building Airdropd

    FEB 23

    Crypto Compliance’s Content King: Stephen Sargeant on Investigations, LinkedIn, and Building Airdropd

    Stephen Sargeant (Airdropd) breaks down what crypto compliance actually looks like from the inside: five years at Bitfinex handling investigations and law enforcement requests, why the compliance community is tighter (and more welcoming) than people assume, and how a single 20-minute video to Chainalysis turned into producing their podcast, Public Key. We also get practical on content: why “AI slop” is making real creators stand out, why LinkedIn is a “value piggy bank,” and what crypto Twitter natives get wrong when they try to port their influence over. Plus: surviving trolls, building narrative in a chaotic industry, and how early-stage founders can approach compliance without killing the business.

    1h 5m
  6. E89: eToro CEO Yoni Assia on 2008 Survival, Ethereum’s Origins, and the AI Trading Future

    FEB 16

    E89: eToro CEO Yoni Assia on 2008 Survival, Ethereum’s Origins, and the AI Trading Future

    I sat down with Yoni Assia, co-founder & CEO of eToro, for a wide-ranging conversation that spans Bitcoin’s earliest days, eToro’s journey through the 2008 crisis, and why Yoni thinks AI agents will soon trade more than humans. We talk about Yoni’s early path into tech, his first startup (and the tough realities of unit economics), and how eToro evolved from a trading product into a mass-market platform powered by social investing and CopyTrader. Yoni also shares the inside story of his early crypto conviction - board fights, Mt. Gox, Colored Coins, and his reaction to the Ethereum whitepaper - plus thoughts on NFTs, UBI via GoodDollar (and who's still using it - someone! shocking!) , prediction markets, geopolitics, and whether quantum computing is a real Bitcoin risk (it is, and it isn't - Yoni spells it out real clearly, probably yet another Yoni prophesy).

    1h 15m
  7. E88: Crypto Lawyer to Market Maker Exec: Daniel Lo on MAS Licensing, Compliance & AI Workflows

    FEB 15

    E88: Crypto Lawyer to Market Maker Exec: Daniel Lo on MAS Licensing, Compliance & AI Workflows

    Crypto lawyer-turned-operator Daniel Lo shares an “alternative legal career” journey, sharing how he wen from M&A in Calgary to Managing Director, GM and CLO at Acheron Trading in Singapore. He explains what it’s wearing both the legal and management hat, breaks down how a market maker supports token projects (from white-glove designated market making to execution/OTC), and what it takes to get regulated in 2026’s tougher environment. Daniel also dives into why he co-founded LDU (Legal Disruption Unit) to help startups and crypto teams move beyond the traditional billable-hour model (much like we do at DLT Law) - especially around licensing, compliance, and regulator engagement. Finally, he shares practical AI workflows for legal/compliance teams (including how to turn regulator guidance into a checklist-based gap analysis), and gives an Asia-focused regulatory outlook on Singapore vs Hong Kong, plus what to watch in South Korea as institutional participation opens up. Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn.

    28 min
  8. E87: AttentionFi Explained: Betting on Taylor Swift, Trump & Elon (Trendle CEO Philipp Tsagolov)

    FEB 4

    E87: AttentionFi Explained: Betting on Taylor Swift, Trump & Elon (Trendle CEO Philipp Tsagolov)

    Prediction markets are booming - but Philipp Tsagolov, CEO & co-founder of Trendle, believes the next frontier is attention. In this episode, we talk about “AttentionFi”: markets that let you trade whether a person or topic will gain or lose mindshare online, using an attention index built from signals across X/Twitter, YouTube, and Reddit. We also get into why meme coins were an early, chaotic form of attention trading, why perps-style mechanics fit attention better than binary markets, and what Trendle is building next as it moves from closed beta toward a broader launch.

    35 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Welcome to Beyond the Code, the podcast where we dive into the legal, regulatory, and ethical issues surrounding emerging technologies. Each week, we bring you in-depth conversations with industry experts, discussing the latest advancements in technology and their implications on society and the legal system. From artificial intelligence to blockchain, we'll be exploring all the hot topics in the field. Your host, Yitzy Hammer, a lawyer and tech enthusiast, is joined by a diverse group of experts, providing valuable insight into the complex and ever-evolving world of technology.

Information

  • Creator
    Yitzy Hammer
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    89
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Yitzy Hammer
  • Show Website
    Beyond the Code