From PayPal to Tether: William Quigley’s Journey in Fintech & Blockchain Innovation

Interviews with Leaders in Fintech & Web3

Summary
William Quigley, a long-time VC and entrepreneur, shares his journey from auditing failing financial institutions to becoming a venture capitalist and co-founding Tether and WAX. He discusses the challenges of investing in the early days of the internet and blockchain, and the creation of Tether as a stablecoin. Quigley also explains the roadmap for NFTs and the evolution of WAX as a platform for trading NFTs. The conversation covers various topics related to NFTs, blockchain, AI, and career advice. William Quigley discusses the limitations of Ethereum for consumer mass market transactions and the potential of NFTs beyond collectibles. He emphasizes the ability of NFTs to transfer something to someone at no cost and with certainty of authenticity. Quigley also explores the intersection of blockchain and AI, particularly in auditing smart contracts and enhancing trading strategies. He advises young people to gain foundational skills in an exceptional company before venturing into entrepreneurship and to observe untapped market opportunities.
Takeaways

• William Quigley has a background in auditing financial institutions and working at the Walt Disney Company before becoming a venture capitalist.
• He co-founded Tether, the world's first fiat-backed stablecoin, and WAX, a blockchain platform for trading NFTs.
• The early days of investing in the internet and blockchain were challenging, as there was limited interest and understanding in these technologies.
• Tether was created to provide stability in the volatile crypto market and enable easier trading between cryptocurrencies.
• WAX was developed to tokenize and trade non-fungible assets, such as video game virtual items and collectibles.
• The roadmap for NFTs includes expanding the use cases beyond profile pictures and collectibles, with potential applications in various industries. Ethereum is not designed for consumer mass market transactions, and NFTs have the potential to go beyond collectibles.
• NFTs enable the transfer of assets at no cost and with certainty of authenticity, revolutionizing the verification process.
• AI can be used to audit smart contracts and enhance trading strategies in the blockchain space.
• Young people should gain foundational skills in an exceptional company before pursuing entrepreneurship and should observe untapped market opportunities.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
03:44 Challenges of Investing in the Early Days of the Internet and Blockchain
14:12 The Creation of Tether
27:35 WAX: Tokenizing and Trading Non-Fungible Assets
32:18 The Roadmap for NFTs
39:14 The Intersection of Blockchain and AI: Auditing Smart Contracts
42:34 Enhancing Trading Strategies with AI in the Blockchain Space
46:42 Career Advice: Gaining Foundational Skills and Observing Market Opportunities
https://x.com/williamequigley
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Kapitler

1. From PayPal to Tether: William Quigley’s Journey in Fintech & Blockchain Innovation (00:00:00)

2. Introduction and Background (00:00:37)

3. Challenges of Investing in the Early Days of the Internet and Blockchain (00:03:00)

4. The Creation of Tether (00:12:18)

5. WAX: Tokenising and NFTs (00:27:05)

6. The Roadmap for NFTs (00:29:56)

7. The Intersection of Blockchain and AI: Auditing Smart Contracts (00:39:05)

8. Career Advice: Gaining Foundational Skills and Observing Market Opportunities (00:45:13)