WEBVTT - Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend - September 17th, 2021 0:00:01.040 --> 0:00:05.440 This is Bloomberg Business Week Inside from the reporters and 0:00:05.600 --> 0:00:09.200 editors who bring you America's most trusted business magazine, plus 0:00:09.240 --> 0:00:13.160 global business finance and tech news as it happened. Bloomberg 0:00:13.240 --> 0:00:16.759 Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim 0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:21.320 Stinevin on Bloomberg Radio. Hello, and welcome to the weekend 0:00:21.400 --> 0:00:24.480 edition of Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Tim Stannavat. Carol Masser 0:00:24.760 --> 0:00:27.120 is off this week. Coming up on the show, We're 0:00:27.120 --> 0:00:30.280 going to hear from venture capitalist Kai Fu Lee, chairman 0:00:30.280 --> 0:00:34.000 and CEO of Signovation Ventures on his new fiction book, 0:00:34.120 --> 0:00:38.440 A Ten Visions for Our Future. We're also gonna take 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:40.879 a look at what impact an infrastructure bill could have 0:00:41.000 --> 0:00:45.080 on cryptocurrencies, plus how Peter Teal games tech, Trump and 0:00:45.120 --> 0:00:48.159 the i R s to make billions all tax free. 0:00:48.479 --> 0:00:51.080 It's this week's cover story. All of that to come, 0:00:51.120 --> 0:00:54.080 but we begin with Bloomberg Business Week's annual ranking of 0:00:54.240 --> 0:00:59.520 best business Schools. It's the Best B Schools one and two, 0:01:00.040 --> 0:01:02.200 and perhaps not a surprise that the one that comes 0:01:02.200 --> 0:01:04.880 out on top. Katie Greifeld and I spoke with the 0:01:04.959 --> 0:01:08.360 editor of Bloomberg Business Week, Joel Weber, also Bloomberg's managing 0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:11.200 editor for diversity. Do we do a drum roll, Joel? 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:18.040 Why not roll Stanford? Stanford? Repeat? Uh? Not a Stanford 0:01:18.120 --> 0:01:20.000 not coming as a surprise to anyone who follows business 0:01:20.000 --> 0:01:22.720 schools closely, I think well, and and it has been 0:01:22.880 --> 0:01:24.800 one that, um, we've had them at the top before, 0:01:24.840 --> 0:01:27.120 they've been knocked off the top of four. Um, but 0:01:27.200 --> 0:01:30.920 they are back on top. Another one that has been 0:01:31.120 --> 0:01:33.920 kind of a sleeper and has and has repeatedly shown 0:01:34.000 --> 0:01:37.800 up in our rankings as Dartmouth's Tuck that came in 0:01:37.920 --> 0:01:41.520 number two, and then Harvard at number three to around 0:01:41.560 --> 0:01:45.200 out the top three. Uh. Business Week has long been 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:48.840 known for its business school ranking thirty plus years that 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:53.000 we've been been doing this. Um, so we and I 0:01:53.040 --> 0:01:56.040 think the thing that we've really uh doubled down on 0:01:56.120 --> 0:01:59.720 and and UH props to Caleb Solomon, who has been 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:01.640 one of the main architects of this is we've really 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:05.000 like leaned into the data and the surveys, We talked 0:02:05.000 --> 0:02:11.160 to hundreds and hundreds of students and let that inform 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:13.720 so much of what ends up being part of the ranks. 0:02:13.760 --> 0:02:16.120 Alumni to alumni is a huge part of it. And 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:20.320 then this year, which is I think really exciting and 0:02:20.320 --> 0:02:23.040 and I can happily share the mic care is that 0:02:23.080 --> 0:02:25.799 we've look, we're always looking for ways that we can 0:02:25.960 --> 0:02:31.359 make this ranking be more full throated even and this 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:34.360 is an example of it. We've added a significant amount 0:02:34.520 --> 0:02:39.160 of diversity into that. Uh. So, so, Jeff, let's bring 0:02:39.200 --> 0:02:42.880 you in how did you uh, how did you grapple 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:44.720 with that in all the articles and stuff that you 0:02:44.800 --> 0:02:49.400 got to write in in uh accompanying the ranking. Well, 0:02:49.400 --> 0:02:51.359 it's kind of interesting. There's sort of two things going 0:02:51.400 --> 0:02:53.600 on at the at the top level, sort of the 0:02:53.600 --> 0:02:57.880 macro look. The schools are surprisingly not diverse. Um, I 0:02:57.919 --> 0:03:00.560 guess we're not. Surprisingly they kind of mimical you see 0:03:00.600 --> 0:03:03.040 in the C suite in terms of when you look 0:03:03.080 --> 0:03:06.000 at college overall and graduate school overall, it tends to 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:09.200 be sixty forty women to men, and when you look 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:11.520 at the school it's flipped where women are still in 0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:14.760 the minority and with gender, I mean, with with race 0:03:14.800 --> 0:03:19.639 and ethnicity. You still see the applicants lagging where they 0:03:19.639 --> 0:03:21.720 should would be in the population based on where they're 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:24.079 in the schools, which is that's more of a universal 0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:28.520 truth across all education. But it was interesting kind of 0:03:28.560 --> 0:03:31.240 look at what's working and how different the rankings are 0:03:31.240 --> 0:03:33.400 when you compare the best schools for diversity to the 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:36.640 best schools in the ranking. Your top three schools were 0:03:36.680 --> 0:03:38.520 not in the top ten of the ranking that I 0:03:38.560 --> 0:03:40.920 was writing about. They were, however, in the top twenty. 0:03:41.640 --> 0:03:44.600 So Jeff. When it comes to diversity, for the universities 0:03:44.640 --> 0:03:48.040 that aren't doing so well in terms of the diversity 0:03:48.040 --> 0:03:50.760 of their student bodies, do they seem concerned about it? 0:03:50.800 --> 0:03:54.800 Are their efforts underway at these universities and colleges to 0:03:55.480 --> 0:03:58.600 improve on their diversity measures? Yeah, I mean we I 0:03:58.640 --> 0:04:00.720 actually went out of my way to view the last 0:04:00.720 --> 0:04:05.240 place school um Uyu. And you know, even they're just 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:08.400 in this their last sort of round of employee reviews. 0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:10.400 Every employee at the BIS school has to say what 0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:14.080 did you do in the last year to improve diversity 0:04:14.160 --> 0:04:15.680 and what are you going to do in the in 0:04:15.720 --> 0:04:17.840 the next year. And they have a checklist of all 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:19.880 the kinds of things they consider, like three pages of 0:04:19.920 --> 0:04:22.240 things they could be doing depending on their job in 0:04:22.480 --> 0:04:26.719 various aspects of the university, recognizing that they can't just say, 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:29.000 you know, that's something that's not our thing. Or whatever 0:04:29.080 --> 0:04:33.480 nobody says, just as nobody says in corporate America, diversity 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:36.560 is not really our priority. It's it's clearly top of minds, 0:04:36.600 --> 0:04:39.640 particularly in the last year and a half. Jeff, you're 0:04:39.680 --> 0:04:42.920 managing diversity reporter. We've gotten to talk to you a 0:04:42.920 --> 0:04:45.320 lot here on Bloomberg Business Week Radio and Bloomberg Quick 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:47.640 Take about the way that the C suite is or 0:04:47.760 --> 0:04:51.160 is not diversifying, the way that diversity efforts are are 0:04:51.200 --> 0:04:54.719 not working at America's publicly traded companies. Who's doing a 0:04:54.720 --> 0:04:58.240 better job US companies are US business schools when it 0:04:58.240 --> 0:05:01.280 comes to the big US companies versus Big U S 0:05:01.360 --> 0:05:04.680 NBA programs. Definitely big US companies, But I think the 0:05:04.760 --> 0:05:07.320 pressure is differently at different I mean the big the 0:05:07.640 --> 0:05:11.599 top one companies in the SUP you know, can't hide 0:05:12.080 --> 0:05:15.760 UM and they're under like really direct pressure to do 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:18.800 something different, and they're the top one D companies and 0:05:18.800 --> 0:05:21.080 people want to work there. It's it's an easier sell. 0:05:21.760 --> 0:05:25.560 Where I think there's some issues in the way that 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:29.160 enrollment works and how people come into colleges um into 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:32.880 business school that kind of restrict the pipeline and to 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:36.800 some degree is maybe even more challenging, unfortunately in in 0:05:37.279 --> 0:05:40.159 the NBA world than it is in the corporate world. 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:41.960 But but I would like to say one of the 0:05:42.000 --> 0:05:44.240 things I found really interesting that is a really big 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:46.680 opportunity that corporate Americas should be looking at is a 0:05:46.680 --> 0:05:49.200 lot of these programs are like a hundred students are less. 0:05:49.720 --> 0:05:51.360 And in US, if you have a program that has 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:54.479 a hundred students or less and it comes anywhere near 0:05:54.600 --> 0:05:58.560 reflecting the diversity of America, this is a great laboratory 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:03.120 for even much jority executives to learn about what the 0:06:03.160 --> 0:06:06.960 future holds for for for business. So you should really 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:09.600 be looking at the graduates from these smaller schools who 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:12.360 are in diverse programs as as maybe somebody who's kind 0:06:12.400 --> 0:06:14.560 of been there, done that, where if you get to 0:06:14.560 --> 0:06:16.400 one of the big schools with a thousand students, you 0:06:16.440 --> 0:06:18.320 can still kind of stick to your own. That's a 0:06:18.360 --> 0:06:21.000 Bloomberg's Jeff Green and Joel Webber, the editor of Bloomberg 0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:23.760 Business Week. Coming up, we're gonna look at crypto banking 0:06:23.920 --> 0:06:26.839 with the CEO of Vast Bank. You're listening to Bloomberg 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:40.240 Business Week. This is Bloomberg. This is Bloomberg Business Week 0:06:40.320 --> 0:06:44.160 with Carol Messer and Bloomberg Quick Takes. Tim Spinovik from 0:06:44.240 --> 0:06:49.320 Bloomberg Radio, Walmart and a press release distributor are investigating 0:06:49.360 --> 0:06:52.880 a hoax tying the retailer to a supposed cryptocurrency deal 0:06:53.160 --> 0:06:56.600 after an announcement later determined to be false that caused 0:06:56.600 --> 0:06:59.159 a surge in light coin. For more on this and 0:06:59.240 --> 0:07:02.840 all things do Currencies, I, along with Bloomberg's Creedy Gupta, 0:07:03.080 --> 0:07:06.680 spoke with Brad Scrivener, the CEO of Vast Bank. It's 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:10.239 the first bank in the country to offer crypto banking. Brad, 0:07:10.640 --> 0:07:12.840 what went through your mind earlier this week when when 0:07:12.840 --> 0:07:14.920 you saw those headlines? You know, when you see things 0:07:15.000 --> 0:07:18.280 like that, you know that crypto has certainly arrived, right, 0:07:18.440 --> 0:07:20.680 I mean for it to pop up on the headlines 0:07:20.840 --> 0:07:23.960 like that, and uh, you know, where we are a 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:27.440 national bank, we're highly regulated, We're going to do the 0:07:28.160 --> 0:07:33.120 right things and uh, you know for us, I feel 0:07:33.120 --> 0:07:37.280 good to be positioned where we are, uh and knowing that, 0:07:37.400 --> 0:07:39.080 like I said, we're going to do the right things 0:07:39.480 --> 0:07:41.520 when it comes to the crypto markets. But I do, 0:07:41.640 --> 0:07:45.680 Brad wonder if it you know, there's this fight for legimnacy. 0:07:45.760 --> 0:07:48.080 I think when it comes to the crypto community, and 0:07:48.080 --> 0:07:49.880 correct me if I'm wrong, but it certainly seems like 0:07:49.920 --> 0:07:52.240 that that fight is continuing, and I'm wondering if if 0:07:52.240 --> 0:07:54.640 this type of thing sets that that that fight for 0:07:54.720 --> 0:07:58.160 legitimacy back. I think you're hitting on a really key 0:07:58.240 --> 0:08:02.160 point here, and some the research shows this right there. 0:08:02.240 --> 0:08:06.000 There are those crypto curious out there, there are those 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:09.880 institutions out there, and what they're looking for is some certainty. 0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:13.400 They're looking for the things that here in the United 0:08:13.440 --> 0:08:17.680 States that we have, which is, you know, a a 0:08:17.800 --> 0:08:22.240 legal way to participate in these types of things. So 0:08:22.760 --> 0:08:25.200 that's why as a national bank, I think this is 0:08:25.240 --> 0:08:29.320 a really good thing. Those folks that are crypto curious, 0:08:29.360 --> 0:08:32.560 they would like to participate, but they're just not going 0:08:32.600 --> 0:08:35.880 to go out there and opening up an account with 0:08:36.480 --> 0:08:39.280 someone that that they may not know. Uh. You know, 0:08:39.360 --> 0:08:44.360 we've been around for thirty nine years, highly regulated from 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:47.360 the Office of the Controller of the Currency, and I 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:49.920 think it's things like that that are going to give 0:08:50.600 --> 0:08:55.280 institutions and individuals greater confidence to be able to come 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:58.120 into the market to the extent that they want to. Well, 0:08:58.160 --> 0:09:00.240 that's interesting that you mentioned that there is is this 0:09:00.320 --> 0:09:03.360 kind of desire for for people to use this more broadly. 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:05.560 But what's it going to take to get that kind 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:08.800 of normalcy that perhaps the dollar, the gold, that other 0:09:08.880 --> 0:09:12.280 other currencies really have here at a time when you 0:09:12.320 --> 0:09:17.120 do actually have some major companies PayPal, Venmo, um Tesla 0:09:17.320 --> 0:09:20.080 that have come out and actually supported the currency. Overstock 0:09:20.160 --> 0:09:22.120 is another one, So how what is it going to take? 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:25.120 Who do you need the bit from? Judging from the 0:09:25.160 --> 0:09:29.040 reaction that we've had since our announcement, you know, as 0:09:29.080 --> 0:09:32.000 the first national bank to to come out with this 0:09:32.120 --> 0:09:36.600 capability to purchase directly from your account, okay up to 0:09:36.679 --> 0:09:40.319 eight current cryptocurrencies. So I think folks are out there 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:44.320 looking for certainty, and we had people contacting us saying, hey, 0:09:44.520 --> 0:09:49.520 we want to participate, but we were waiting for a 0:09:49.640 --> 0:09:55.560 national bank to get involved because there's this expectation that, um, 0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:59.960 we are highly regulated. We do have people that are 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:04.480 that are reviewing us regularly, uh and in terms of 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:07.360 our our regulators. So I think this is a really 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:10.040 really good first step. And when the O c C 0:10:10.320 --> 0:10:13.679 came out with the interpretive letter that said that this 0:10:13.960 --> 0:10:19.680 was an acceptable activity, meaning custody of a of a 0:10:19.880 --> 0:10:24.199 crypto assets. You know, that was a really good first step, 0:10:24.320 --> 0:10:26.960 and I think it's good for our country to bring 0:10:26.960 --> 0:10:32.240 this into a regulated banner and people will have greater confidence. Probab. 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:34.960 Let me follow that up with asking about the bank specifically. 0:10:35.000 --> 0:10:38.319 How exposed is the bank specifically to crypto as opposed 0:10:38.320 --> 0:10:41.840 to as opposed to simply through your clients. Well, when 0:10:41.880 --> 0:10:45.040 you say exposed to crypto, we do not bring on 0:10:45.200 --> 0:10:49.120 crypto assets directly onto our balance chiefs, so there would 0:10:49.160 --> 0:10:53.760 be no exposure, uh, in terms of safety and soundness 0:10:53.800 --> 0:10:56.560 like that. You know, I've used this analogy before. Think 0:10:56.600 --> 0:10:59.960 about you know, what's going on like a safety part 0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:02.840 a box, right, everybody's familiar with that inside of your 0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:05.760 your bank. Well, that's the equivalent of like the digital wallet, 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:11.360 and those digital currencies inside of that safety deposit box 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:15.880 are yours, just like if you are storing you know, 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:18.680 jewelry or whatever the case may be inside of a 0:11:18.679 --> 0:11:22.079 safety deposit box. So the value of that going up 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:26.400 and down, that is the customer's responsibility to understand those pieces. 0:11:26.640 --> 0:11:30.800 But the bank directly is not exposed to that volatility. 0:11:31.000 --> 0:11:35.040 The bank has been around since so it's not new, 0:11:35.080 --> 0:11:37.160 even though many people listening right now, probably haven't heard 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:39.200 of it because it is a local bank. I'm wondering, 0:11:39.240 --> 0:11:41.559 as the CEO of the company, how you're thinking about 0:11:41.600 --> 0:11:46.280 turning this bank's local profile into a national profile as 0:11:46.400 --> 0:11:50.760 you adopt cryptocurrency. Yeah. So we're a family owned bank 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:54.200 like they've been around thirty nine years. And at the 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:57.200 end of the day, we know customer preferences have continued 0:11:57.240 --> 0:12:01.720 to change. Technology has changed rapidly, so we knew we 0:12:01.760 --> 0:12:05.240 needed to be able to remain relevant to those ever 0:12:05.360 --> 0:12:10.599 changing customer needs. And uh we may had a partnership 0:12:10.640 --> 0:12:13.839 that we put in place starting in with S A P. 0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:17.280 So we came the first bank in the country to 0:12:17.360 --> 0:12:21.040 do the S A P banking services starting them and 0:12:21.080 --> 0:12:24.120 then in when Mr Brooks in the O c C 0:12:24.360 --> 0:12:28.600 made the announcement that under our charter, national banks could 0:12:28.679 --> 0:12:33.440 custody crypto assets, we were positioned with a technology stack 0:12:33.720 --> 0:12:37.679 that enabled us to pivot and then be able to 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:40.880 bring forward to the custody of these digital assets. I'm 0:12:40.920 --> 0:12:43.839 wondering right now, what portion of your bank is made 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:46.600 up of people doing you know, quote un traditional banking 0:12:46.679 --> 0:12:51.120 not involving cryptocurrencies, versus people who do crypto banking yeah, 0:12:51.200 --> 0:12:54.560 so we've had a really strong update. We are in 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:58.199 all fifty states, uh in terms of the digital assets 0:12:58.200 --> 0:13:01.959 side with the bank, also in the in the territories 0:13:02.320 --> 0:13:06.800 Puerto Rico, Guam, and d C. And we've only been 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:09.960 at us for two weeks, so we feel really good 0:13:10.000 --> 0:13:15.720 about that now. Obviously, from a revenue standpoint, the traditional 0:13:15.760 --> 0:13:20.640 bank still dominates that side of the revenue stream, but 0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:23.800 we're very pleased with the folks that have come on. 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:26.079 And you know it's in the app stores right now, 0:13:26.200 --> 0:13:29.560 so app Store, Google Play, you can go downloaded and 0:13:29.760 --> 0:13:32.240 basically within five minutes to be ready to go. Where 0:13:32.240 --> 0:13:34.760 are you seeing the interest coming from? Geographically here in 0:13:34.800 --> 0:13:37.160 the U S? Where are most people signing up from? 0:13:37.200 --> 0:13:43.319 You know, we're California, New York, UM, Texas, Oklahoma, clearly 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:48.040 that's our backyard and Florida would be the top five 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:51.079 from memory right now, we've got a real time recording 0:13:51.120 --> 0:13:53.880 system that shows us as you know. In fact, if 0:13:53.920 --> 0:13:55.720 you guys wanted to sign up right now, I could 0:13:55.760 --> 0:13:59.000 see it as you as you came on. What's cryptocurrencies 0:13:59.000 --> 0:14:01.280 are you seeing as the most popular in your accounts? 0:14:01.559 --> 0:14:06.559 Bitcoin has been the top one, Ethereum and then Cardono. 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:09.760 I believe I heard like coin earlier was the you know, 0:14:09.800 --> 0:14:13.760 the Walmart announcement. That's that's one of them as well, right, 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:15.720 the one that what didn't end up being we should 0:14:15.760 --> 0:14:19.200 note it wasn't a real announcement. Yeah, that's the fake 0:14:19.240 --> 0:14:24.680 announce Yeah, thank you. Right. Yeah. So file coin, orchid 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:27.920 algorand in bitcoin cash, those are the I think I 0:14:28.280 --> 0:14:30.760 named the eight. That was Brad Scrivener, the CEO of 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:33.600 vast Bank. Still ahead on Bloomberg Business Week, we stay 0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:35.800 in the crypto space and look at how the infrastructure 0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:44.440 bill could impact digital currencies. This is Bloomberg broadcasting from 0:14:44.440 --> 0:14:47.440 the financial capital of the world, Bloomberg you live in 0:14:47.480 --> 0:14:51.560 Frio in New York, to Washington, d C. Bloomberg to 0:14:51.680 --> 0:14:55.320 Boston Bloomberg one oh six one, does San Francisco, Bloomberg 0:14:55.400 --> 0:14:58.760 nine sixty to the country Sirius XM Chado one nine ten, 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:02.040 and around the globe the Bloomberg Business app and Bloomberg 0:15:02.120 --> 0:15:07.320 Radio dot Com. This is Bloomberg Business Week. One way 0:15:07.360 --> 0:15:09.520 that lawmaker is proposed to pay for the one trillion 0:15:09.520 --> 0:15:12.400 dollar infrastructure bill that the Senator approved last month is 0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:16.560 by imposing tax reporting requirements for cryptocurrency brokers the same 0:15:16.560 --> 0:15:19.640 way stockbrokers report its customer sales to the I r S. 0:15:20.000 --> 0:15:22.000 It could open the way for tighter regulation in the 0:15:22.000 --> 0:15:25.040 crypto space. It's something that the Biden administration is moving toward, 0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:28.720 as it also pushes for tax compliance for more I 0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:31.800 along with a Bloomberg Quicktake. In Bloomberg News process at 0:15:31.800 --> 0:15:35.520 reporter Katie Greifeld spoke with Danelle Dixon. She's the CEO 0:15:35.640 --> 0:15:39.800 and executive director at Stellar Development Foundation. Danelle, this was 0:15:39.840 --> 0:15:43.920 a contentious part of the infrastructure bill. What's your takeaway here, Yeah, 0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:47.120 it certainly became so it was really fun for us 0:15:47.200 --> 0:15:49.560 to see the influence that we could have from the 0:15:49.600 --> 0:15:52.120 block pain and crypto space. Uh, and for us just 0:15:52.200 --> 0:15:55.240 to really engage with policymakers. But in the end, I 0:15:55.240 --> 0:15:58.040 mean the languages with the languages, so it didn't change, 0:15:58.600 --> 0:16:00.800 but it was really fun to be to engage and 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:04.240 to to try to really create that educational opportunity I 0:16:04.360 --> 0:16:08.240 run with these policy makers. And so, Donnell, this bill, 0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:10.960 I know it was roundly criticized by the crypto industry 0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:14.240 for being too broad. Can so can you walk us 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:18.680 through exactly what was the language that got crypto advocates 0:16:18.760 --> 0:16:21.240 so upset. I mean, what was the biggest point of 0:16:21.280 --> 0:16:24.080 contention there. Yeah, so I think it was the definition 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:27.400 of broker. So that was defined as any person who, 0:16:27.480 --> 0:16:32.120 for consideration, is responsible for regulator regularly providing any service 0:16:32.480 --> 0:16:36.160 effectuating transfers of digital assets on behalf of another person. 0:16:36.680 --> 0:16:39.200 And so the argument and the concern was that there 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:42.080 are many players in the space that run for example, 0:16:42.160 --> 0:16:47.280 validators that just validate transactions on working on blockchains, but 0:16:47.360 --> 0:16:50.600 they don't actually have access to any information that traditional 0:16:50.640 --> 0:16:53.320 brokers would and they don't act as brokers. So there 0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:56.120 was just concerned that this was very very broad language 0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:59.320 with technology that's very new and maybe not widely understood. 0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:02.680 If you could write the regulation or write the legislation, 0:17:02.720 --> 0:17:04.840 what would you wanted to say. It's a great question. 0:17:04.920 --> 0:17:08.240 I think that the regulation itself should just have exclusions 0:17:08.280 --> 0:17:10.199 in it at the very least, to talk about they 0:17:10.200 --> 0:17:13.320 would think about blockchain more itself as infrastructure, and think 0:17:13.359 --> 0:17:17.359 about these providers that are allowing and helping these transactions 0:17:17.359 --> 0:17:20.480 just to progress that they actually are excluded from the bill, 0:17:20.520 --> 0:17:23.720 for example, like validators and folks who run notes. There 0:17:23.760 --> 0:17:26.280 was language that was proposed that we were comfortable with 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:29.960 and that we actually you know that that it didn't 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:32.480 ultimately make it through um, but it would really just 0:17:32.520 --> 0:17:35.359 be excluding and making clear that it's not actually trying 0:17:35.400 --> 0:17:38.199 to go after these true infrastructure providers that are just 0:17:38.280 --> 0:17:41.800 helping blockchain to operate. And so we've seen some efforts 0:17:41.920 --> 0:17:45.560 to try to change the language. Last month, there actually 0:17:45.600 --> 0:17:48.560 was an amendment that would change the reporting rules, but 0:17:48.640 --> 0:17:51.639 that was blocked by the Senate. So I'm curious what's 0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:54.280 the path forward from here. Well, I think that this 0:17:54.359 --> 0:17:57.359 actually created a really great opportunity for us because it 0:17:57.440 --> 0:17:59.960 showed that, first of all, there is this large constitution 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:02.760 and see that policy makers are willing to engage with 0:18:02.800 --> 0:18:05.680 and listen to. And I think that the pass forward 0:18:05.840 --> 0:18:09.159 is to create those open dialogues before you get to 0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:12.000 the language of the bill. I think that it's crucial 0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:15.399 to engage with lawmakers to discuss the use cases and 0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:19.280 the roles for different participants, and that's bringing industry experts 0:18:19.280 --> 0:18:22.120 and policymakers together. And so that's what we're really focused 0:18:22.160 --> 0:18:24.639 on doing. Now. Which policymakers can you single out for 0:18:24.720 --> 0:18:27.480 us that that really seemed to get it well? I 0:18:27.520 --> 0:18:29.640 think that there are many I can't single out any 0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:31.920 particular prob Like, you know, we actually had some that 0:18:32.000 --> 0:18:34.439 supportive language that we wanted to bring to the table. 0:18:35.080 --> 0:18:38.120 But most importantly, I think it's that when you actually 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:41.600 understand how the technology operates and what we're trying to 0:18:41.640 --> 0:18:44.280 do here, I think that you know, you'll understand that 0:18:44.320 --> 0:18:46.960 the definition of broker doesn't and shouldn't cover some of 0:18:46.960 --> 0:18:49.080 these players that don't have access to that type of 0:18:49.080 --> 0:18:52.320 information and frankly, have no relationships to any of the 0:18:52.359 --> 0:18:55.440 participants who are making these transactions. So I think it's 0:18:55.480 --> 0:18:58.720 really all of the senators and the members of how 0:18:58.800 --> 0:19:00.639 the House that we need to really engaged with, but 0:19:00.680 --> 0:19:03.520 it's also the regulatory agencies that we're really focused on 0:19:03.760 --> 0:19:06.359 participating with and engaging with. I think some of them 0:19:06.720 --> 0:19:09.840 understand what the technology does, but they don't have a 0:19:09.920 --> 0:19:11.960 knowledge of what the use cases can do and what 0:19:12.040 --> 0:19:13.639 it can and the value that that can bring to 0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:16.399 their constituents. So it's a lot of work for us 0:19:16.440 --> 0:19:18.600 to do in the US, but I think it's actually 0:19:18.640 --> 0:19:21.080 really good work. And I think that you know, once 0:19:21.160 --> 0:19:24.840 we demonstrate that excluding their own constituents from this really 0:19:24.920 --> 0:19:28.280 useful and valuable services that are offered through blockchain. They're 0:19:28.280 --> 0:19:29.600 going to want to be a part of it in there, 0:19:29.600 --> 0:19:30.919 and we're going to be able to help them to 0:19:30.960 --> 0:19:33.680 get there. And so Daniell's stepping back a little bit. 0:19:33.680 --> 0:19:36.560 It definitely feels over the past few months that regulators 0:19:36.560 --> 0:19:39.760 have started to circle crypto, whether it's the US Congress 0:19:39.800 --> 0:19:42.560 with the Infrastructure bill or just the SEC this week 0:19:42.960 --> 0:19:46.280 cracking down on coin Base and really investigating their proposed 0:19:46.359 --> 0:19:49.639 lending product. I'm curious, what do you think is on 0:19:49.720 --> 0:19:52.280 the radar next? And we have just about thirty seconds here. 0:19:52.680 --> 0:19:55.240 A lot of focus right now is on the decentralized 0:19:55.280 --> 0:19:57.800 finance space, and so I think that we're going to 0:19:57.880 --> 0:19:59.960 see we just have to provide a lot more education 0:20:00.040 --> 0:20:03.119 and around that. I want us to be able to 0:20:03.160 --> 0:20:07.280 demonstrate the value of this technology neutral opportunities that we 0:20:07.359 --> 0:20:09.879 have and that's made in the open and valuable to everyone. 0:20:10.000 --> 0:20:11.639 I think we need to focus on a lot of 0:20:11.640 --> 0:20:14.200 different areas, but that's I think that the next target space. 0:20:14.240 --> 0:20:17.560 That's Denial Dixon, the CEO of Stellar Development Foundation. You're 0:20:17.560 --> 0:20:20.280 listening to Bloomberg Business Week and coming up next, you 0:20:20.320 --> 0:20:22.840 may know Kai Fu Lee as the chairman, CEO and 0:20:22.880 --> 0:20:26.200 founder of the VC firm Signovation Adventures. But he's also 0:20:26.240 --> 0:20:28.720 an author of fiction. He's gonna tell you all about 0:20:28.720 --> 0:20:41.159 his new book A This is Bloomberg. You're listening to 0:20:41.240 --> 0:20:45.120 Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg Quick Takes 0:20:45.240 --> 0:20:49.960 Tim Stinovich from Bloomberg Radio. Kai fou Lee has spent 0:20:50.040 --> 0:20:53.600 nearly forty years at the forefront of artificial intelligence. He's 0:20:53.640 --> 0:20:56.880 the chairman, CEO, and co founder of Signovation Ventures. It's 0:20:56.880 --> 0:20:59.439 a venture capital firm with about two point five billion 0:20:59.480 --> 0:21:02.600 dollars in assets. It focuses on AI, healthcare, and other 0:21:02.680 --> 0:21:05.760 high tech and has made more than three hundred investments. 0:21:06.320 --> 0:21:08.840 It's one of the first Chinese VC firms to have 0:21:08.840 --> 0:21:11.199 a presence in the US, and he's also the co 0:21:11.359 --> 0:21:14.600 chair of the Artificial Intelligence Council at the World Economic Forum. 0:21:14.800 --> 0:21:17.239 He's the former president of Google China and before that 0:21:17.400 --> 0:21:20.639 was an executive at Microsoft and at Apple. His newest 0:21:20.640 --> 0:21:25.639 book is AI Ten Visions for Our Future, and unlike 0:21:25.640 --> 0:21:29.280 his last book, it's a work of fiction. He and 0:21:29.280 --> 0:21:32.320 his co author, the sci fi novelist chen Cho fen 0:21:32.920 --> 0:21:35.680 Right ten stories. They're all set twenty years from now 0:21:35.880 --> 0:21:38.760 in ten forty one. Now, these stories illustrate a world 0:21:38.840 --> 0:21:42.639 that's layered with artificial intelligence. They cover themes like AI 0:21:42.680 --> 0:21:46.840 displacing workers, deep bakes, and how AI will reimagine education. 0:21:47.200 --> 0:21:50.640 Of course, also imagines what could go wrong. Kai Fu 0:21:50.680 --> 0:21:53.159 Lei joins us now from Beijing. Kai Fu, great to 0:21:53.240 --> 0:21:55.520 chat with you. Thanks so much for taking the time. 0:21:56.040 --> 0:21:58.439 Why are these stories? Why is sci fi? Why is 0:21:58.480 --> 0:22:01.440 it the best way to communicate what you envision AI 0:22:01.520 --> 0:22:04.720 doing to society in twenty years. AI is such an 0:22:04.760 --> 0:22:09.120 important technology, perhaps the most important in the history of mankind, 0:22:09.720 --> 0:22:14.520 and yet it's sometimes viewed as rocket science, very hard 0:22:14.560 --> 0:22:17.240 to understand. So I wanted to see if there's a 0:22:17.280 --> 0:22:20.960 way to make it accessible to people and that it's 0:22:21.000 --> 0:22:24.720 actually not only understandable, but also fun to read. That's 0:22:24.760 --> 0:22:28.560 why I found a science fiction writer to work with me. 0:22:28.960 --> 0:22:31.920