ICO Radio

In this episode, Barry E James interviews Ben Brown,  Tax Partner at DLA Piper, on tax and ICOs - and how they shine a light on how very different an animal they are! So much so that, like the duck-billed platypus when it was discovered, they defy categorisation and force a complete re-think - for the UK’s HMRC and regulators around the world. People are generally very familiar with the tax treatment of traditional financing methods, including currencies, and with the way companies generally raise money, whether that’s through a Share issue or issuance of bonds - there’s a tax regime for those. In contrast, the whole cryptocurrency landscape has developed so fast that tax authorities across the globe are racing to catch up. The last major guidance from HMRC was in 2014 when it discussed how to deal with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, but there’s been little since - especially around ICOs. Indeed, transactions in crypto can be seen as so speculative that they’re akin to gambling, returns on which have tradition

Blockchain technology is unstoppably rolling out across just about every industry, not just (as some predicted) the world of financial services, but anywhere with a community of users. Blockchain is technology that cuts out the middleman. It creates trust - by making everything verifiable - between parties who don’t need to even know one another so expanding reach while slashing friction and cost. So any industry that can harness powerful attributes is ripe for disruption. What it does lack, however, as a new sector, is advisors and mentors to guide passionate and intelligent people through the process, avoiding the pitfalls, and ultimately launching a successful funding round - whether that’s an ICO or not.   After fifteen years working within financial services, increasingly with exciting fintech companies, Ophir Gertner co-founded invest.com four years ago to help retail clients manage their investment portfolios. And at the same time he became fascinated by the rise of blockchain and began researchin

Around 50% of all enquiries about cosmetic surgery come to nothing. Trust between practitioners and consumers in this field is, basically, broken. How could blockchain help rebuild trust is a question addressed by this week’s interviewee, Richard Crawford-Small? Because when people think about cosmetic surgery, they usually think about the negatives, the extreme cases, the Michael Jacksons. They wonder whether they can trust the online reviews, the ‘before and after’ photographs - are they real patients, have they been doctored? But there’s also really important work going on, that has made a real impact on people’s lives, their self-esteem and personal emotional well-being, safe and successful procedures being carried out by practitioners at the top of their game. And in an industry worth $50bn worldwide each year. Now, new ICO Cosmecoin has devised a way to bring reviews and rewards together in a mutually-beneficial way, encouraging those who have undergone surgery to adhere to their aftercare process, not

The tables are well and truly turned as Blockchain Radio's Pierre Bourque interviews Barry James about scams, bad ICOs, red flags and what we should do about them!   Also: How blockchain changes what is possible - in the digital realm and beyond.   Life at the leading edge, and why we are now with blockchain where we where with internet technology 20 years ago -  a game changer for us all, that's happening fast.   The Wild Wild West frontier of our time and how it works. Why it's really important to understand the difference between fraud and failure.   Plus the technologies that could make the most difference.

In this episode Barry interviews Rick O'Neill founder of leading agency Look Touch Feel and talks about what it takes to build, incentivize and grow a community in order to have a successful ICO - including the specialist skills needed.   While Nostrum's Quirze Salomo talks about how they are using the MEAL token to harness blockchain technology to expand a chain of restaurants across Europe.

Blockchain is outgrowing Fintech and expanding into other industry sectors. Via the latest Blockchain Masterclass event Barry James catches up with Jody Cleworth, founder of Marine Transport International and talks about watershed moments in their use of blockchain, quantum computing, frictionless trade in the Brexit environment and being 'blockchain agnostic'. Jody highlights the importance of communication and interoperability, a topic picked up by Barry’s second guest, Lucie Munier, legal and business advisor at Qadre. Lucie explains Qadre’s Token Generation Event (and why it was not an ICO) which raised £70m, and where she sees the future of blockchain going; the need to communicate between different platforms, and a move away from just crypto currencies.

In this episode we look at the myths, challenges and opportunities of the Blockchain technology. First there was data then there was information now there is value - it’s much more than just money. We look at why digital assets or token coins can be “incredibly powerful”. Why larger organisations are taking ICOs, tokens and digitalisation of assets more seriously, Why business could radically change and there is recognition now it will have a significant influence in lot of different business areas. Why the share price goes up if Blockchain is in the company title. Whether it’s genuine or artificial we don’t know, but there’s a recognition that there is greater value in a business that sees Blockchain as part of their underlying structure. “It’s all about trust, who trusts who and why?” So why smart contracts are the future". Recorded at a recent #TeamBlockchain Masterclass event at DLA Piper in London, host Barry E James, Gary Nuttall of #TeamBlockchain, Martin Bartlam who is joint Head of FinTech at DLA Pip

Traditional markets are failing millennials - and being leapfrogged. Seeing the ICO through the lens of an IPO doesn't work. T The VC Market is broken and being superseded. Conclusions drawn from last week's 2020Fintech conference which I discuss with keynote speakers and organiser Sydney Armani in this episode.    

The diversity of ICO, the tokens they create and the business sectors they seek to transform - and the global nature of this fast moving revolution continue to amaze. As host Barry James learned when he brought eight of the brightest and best ICOs from across Europe and the world together in a room overlooking St Paul's cathedral in London with dozens of high level investors from China. As the era of smart digital tokens and coins dawns and we create the Internet of value the possibilities and use cases for Blockchain continue to multiply But what of regulation? And when will regulators realise that Blockchains and the environments they enable provide not a threat but the best toolkit that any regulator could wish for? The possibility of smart regulation that could not only save billions a year and more in lost opportunities but better support innovation. See also Barry keynote as chair at 2020Fintech London.  

ICOs are an advanced form of crowdfunding - as JRR Willett, who invented them confirmed to me when I interviewed him back in episode 3.  So it's hardly surprising that the two are joining hands and in this week's episode I discuss how Thrinacia see this convergence and plan to use tokens and and blockchain technology to transform crowdfunding itself, making it less costly and more efficient!

In a recent speech Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said that crypto assets are not and cannot be money - but they must now be regulated and become a fully fledged part of the financial system nonetheless.  It turns out the European Banking Authority has a very different plan - and says otherwise and that over-regulation is a bad idea. Innovation should be supported and encouraged to flourish! The SEC says there's no such thing as a token which doesn't look like a security - and seeks to regulate everything in sight.  Meanwhile the Swiss regulator (not to mention the state of Wyoming) clearly recognises digital tokens based on blockchain technology can have a range of purposes and represent a range of things including services (or utilities) and assets. Central banks and regulators may all be used to being the authority, setting the rules for everyone else, but - in this globalised world they can't all be right! So who's view will win out? Well given that this is a darwinian battle the answer is simple

"Talent is evenly distributed but opportunity is not", and a vision to ensure good financial services are not just a utility, but something that every person is entitled to. In episode 8 of ICORadio's #BlockchainBytes Barry James interviews Maomao Hu (COO and co-founder) and Dickson Nsofor (CEO and co-founder) of Kora Network about their ICO and initiative for blockchain-powered financial inclusion - across Africa and the world; a pilot project empowering farmers in Nigeria; their tokens and ICO; and how to get involved. Including: In the pyramid of financial inclusion farmers have been badly  served, yet do the most work. Kora is enabling people who've never had access to proper banking to be able to receive and send payments swiftly and make payments remotely. “We believe that we can shrink the whole world into a small financial service village.” Ultimately goal: "To make financial services not just utility, but something that every person is entitled to.” “With Kora we are trying to say to the world that

Episode 7 of #BlockchainBytes for ICORadio Barry James interviews Jonny Fry, CEO of #TeamBlockchain, discussing how ICOs could completely transform business and marketing. Including: What would you do if your competitor came up with a £10 million marketing campaign from an ICO? Decentralize or be decentralized: why you should think about decentralizing or being decentralized in the future. People don’t need to understand how the technology works... but [how it] can be used to help them. The mature existing businesses, local authorities and central governments, wanting to use the principle, the concept, and the technology behind initial coin offerings to raise money How some token companies could become bigger than the quoted companies that have issued them The potential for conflicts between a shareholder of a business and a token holder How ICOs can speed up innovation and how Jonny expects to see more funds investing in cryptocurrencies The Venezuelan Petrocoin    

In episode 6 we have all latest from Nick Cowan, MD of the Gibraltar Stock Exchange and the new Gibraltar Blockchain Exchange; GBX. Discussing regulations, rock tokens and a recent record-breaking ICO. Plus why the USA is missing out, why regulators deserve sympathy and what it is that Jay Clayton and the SEC cannot see that's holding the USA back.

In Episode 5 of The ICO Radio Show, Barry answers questions posed by journalist and “curious novice” Michelle Rodger. Michelle and Barry cover: what a cryptocurrency is; where its value comes from; why cryptocurrency seems to be male-dominated; examples of blockchain in action; ICOs; regulation around the world and how blockchain technology will transform the economy.

In Episode 4 of The ICO Radio Show, host Barry James interviews Nick Cowan, managing director and founder of the Gibraltar Stock Exchange, about the Gibraltar Blockchain Exchange (GBX). Nick describes GBX’ mission to be a world-leading institutional-grade token sale platform and cryptocurrency exchange, and discusses The Rock Token (RKT).

In Episode 3 of The ICO Radio Show, host Barry James interviews the “father of the ICO,” J.R.Willett, a software developer. “JR” runs through his initial excitement about Bitcoin’s potential; his idea (and 2012 whitepaper) for building a protocol layer on top of Bitcoin and how the Omni Layer (an open-source, decentralized asset platform built on the Bitcoin blockchain) was developed; launching an ICO (initial coin offering); optimism and pessimism for cryptocurrencies; and what he’s especially interested in now.

In Episode 2 of The ICO Radio Show we answer some of the most frequently asked questions about cryptocurrencies and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). If you’re new to this world and what to learn more, it’s a great place to start; if you’re wondering about Barry’s motivations to share information – and launch this podcast – then he answers your questions here too.

From Bitcoin, Blockchain or distributed ledger technology to cryptocurrencies, tokens and initial coin offerings - it seems everyone involved has something to say - but can you really trust their advice? In this, the first episode of The ICO Radio Show host, author, speaker, transparency and clarity advocate and award winning software innovator, Barry James explains Blockchain, ICOradio and what it's all about.