Ep. 226: Jason Cozens - Financial Frontiers: Exploring Cryptocurrency and Gold

Welcome to a brand-new episode of 'Count Me In' where we break
down complex financial concepts into simple, understandable
terms. In this episode, we unravel the mysteries of
cryptocurrency and explore its volatile nature. We're joined by
Jason Cozens, the CEO and Founder of Glint, who shares his
insights into the current state of the market and explains why
cryptocurrencies have become such a significant player in the
global economy. Plus, we dive into the golden alternative,
exploring how gold has held its purchasing power over thousands
of years and how innovative technologies, like Glint, have made
gold a feasible medium of exchange. Whether you're a crypto
enthusiast or a gold advocate, this episode is packed with
valuable insights that will help you navigate the world of
alternative currencies.


Connect with Jason:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncozens/


Full Episode Transcript:


Adam:           
Hello and welcome to another episode of Count Me In. Today we're
diving headfirst into the complex and ever-evolving world of
cryptocurrencies. We're excited to have Jason Cozens with us. The
CEO and founder of Glint, a global fintech platform. 


 


He's an expert in cryptocurrencies and alternative currencies,
and he'll be sharing his extensive knowledge about the current
state of the market. Why cryptocurrencies exist, in the first
place, and their inherent risks. He'll also shed light on the
appeal of gold, as a stable, risk-off asset, and how it's been
modernized for everyday transaction with technologies like Glint.
So if you're curious about the state of cryptocurrencies, or the
power of gold, as an alternative, this episode is a treasure
trove of information. Let's dive in.


 


Jason, I just want to thank you so much for coming on the podcast
today. Really excited to have your expertise around
cryptocurrencies and alternative currencies, in the market. And
maybe we can start off by discussing cryptocurrencies and the
state of that market, as it stands right now. 


 


Jason:           
 Yes, sure, well, I mean, before we start looking
at exactly the state of the market, now. I think it's also
important to understand why the market even exists and, then,
just to touch on that for a second. Why do we even have crypto
currencies? 


 


My movement into alternative currencies started in 2008 like a
lot of people's journeys did for this. Where they realize that
banks are not risk-free deposits of funds. When you put your
money in the bank, it ceases to be yours. That money is put at
risk, and it is lent out, it's a liability of the bank. And
that's a problem for people and a problem for businesses that
have money, and want to be able to put it into those banks. And,
of course, we get all kinds of insurances from the FDIC et
cetera. 


 


But, at some point, they're going to change the rules, and
they've already passed legislation called bail-in rather than
bailout. Which means that when, next time, there's a banking
crisis, instead of the government's bailing out the banks. They
might say to, actually, "We're going to do bail-in this
time." 


 


Which means that if you've got a significant amount of money in
the bank, they swap that for shares in the bank. Which you may or
may not get back in a few years' time, and that's what they did
in Cyprus, they tried it. They've passed the legislation. So it's
something we've all got to be cognizant of. And, then, of course,
inflation, and very few commentators are talking about one of the
biggest drivers for inflation, of course, is money printing. And
inflation is now rip-roaring through the economy, it's affecting
individuals. It's affecting businesses.


 


I thought it was bad back in 2008, when governments are trying to
keep it at around 2%. Over my lifetime, the dollar has lost more
than 85% of its purchasing power, let's just think about that.
85% of its purchasing power, and that was before actually the
surge in inflation, I calculated that. 


 


And, so, there's a need or people have been looking for something
to hedge against systemic risks. They've been looking for
something to hedge against inflation. 


And, also, generally speaking, the financial system is getting
better at payments and cross-border payments. But, again, they're
looking for efficiencies with that, too. So that's why we're in
this space. 


 


Innovations around Bitcoin, model a lot on gold and other types
of cryptocurrencies now, like Ethereum and even stablecoins, of
what created what was a $3 trillion market. And, obviously, what
we've seen this year is that $3 trillion market completely
collapsed to below a trillion dollars. Which is a huge drop for
anybody involved in the cryptocurrency industry.


 


But, yes, one trillion is still better than the kick in the
teeth, and it's a significant industry, still, and I don't see it
going away. And there's been a huge amount of money invested in
that. But we all know it's been volatile. We've seen that
volatility on a weekly, sometimes, daily basis. We've seen huge
swings in the value of Bitcoin. For instance, it's gone down from
$65,000 down to, I think, we're currently at about $17,000,
something like that. And, again, that volatility is huge. 


 


But previous to that, of course, we saw huge gains. I mean, it
went from three or $4,000, over a few years up to $65,000. So you
can see the attraction and why people got involved in that. Hey,
it's this fantastic growth story, and we can handle the
volatility in the belief that that growth story is going to
continue forever. 


 


But, I think, what happened when Russia invaded Ukraine was
really telling. It was the time when we saw that, actually,
cryptocurrencies are definitely what I consider a risk on asset.
They're a speculative asset that may or may not work, may or may
not stand the test of time. There's lots of optimism around it
and, certainly, lots of ideas around how it can benefit society.
But it's very much still a risky asset, as opposed to say
something about other alternatives like gold, which are just
considered slightly more boring, but risk-off assets and
stuff. 


 


So when the Ukraine was invaded by Russia, then we saw the crypto
price plummet, and we saw the gold price go up, for instance. But
there's lots of advantages around this. Apart from even the
hedging against inflation and the hedging against the systemic
risk, and the payments technology, just generally speaking. 


 


The tech, the ability to program these currencies, is what's
exciting a lot of people, isn't it? So I definitely think that
crypto is here to stay. But we've all got to understand what it
is and understand its nature. 


 


Adam:           
Yes, we do have to understand what it is. Because you don't know
it, it doesn't seem as solid as something like holding money in
your hands. But then we all know that money doesn't have any
backing anymore. And, as you've already mentioned, the inflation
and the things with banks can be can be risky, as well. So as
organizations are looking at to getting into alternative
currencies, are there benefits that they can look at? You've
already mentioned a lot of risks, but there have got to be
benefits to getting into this. 


 


Jason:           
 Yes, ther...