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Around The Coin

Around The Coin

Stephen Sargeant and Mike Townsend 626 Episodes Oct 14, 2026

Around The Coin explores the evolving worlds of finance, fintech, and the future of money. Hosted by industry experts, it takes deep dives into payments, cryptocurrency, banking, and the disruptive innovations reshaping the global economy. The show offers insights into how technology is changing the way we handle and think about currency.

Episodes

What's Holding Back Canada's Fintech Industry? - Michelle Beyo | ATC #633
What's Holding Back Canada's Fintech Industry? - Michelle Beyo | ATC #633 Oct 14, 2026 4436 On the Around The Coin podcast, host Stephen Sargeant interviews fintech leader Michelle Beyo, CEO and Founder of Finavator, about why open banking, open finance, and open data have advanced globally while North America, particularly Canada, continues to lag behind due to a lack of consumer data rights, clear timelines, and mandated implementation. Beyo explains how consent-driven data sharing cou
When Bitcoin Mining Meets AI Compute - Emma Todd | ATC #632
When Bitcoin Mining Meets AI Compute - Emma Todd | ATC #632 Oct 7, 2026 3335 Host Stephen Sargeant introduces an in-person September 2025 Around The Coin podcast episode with Emma Todd, CEO/co-founder of MMH Technology and CEO of MMH Data Systems, an early Toronto crypto organizer who moved from traditional banking into crypto full time in 2016. Todd recounts her start at a Bitcoin conference, building events, learning pricing without mentors, and why early companies folde
When Crypto Policy Becomes Political - Amanda Wick | ATC #631
When Crypto Policy Becomes Political - Amanda Wick | ATC #631 Oct 1, 2026 5524 In this episode of Around The Coin, host Stephen Sargeant sits down with Amanda Wick, author of The Catalyst and Founder & CEO of the Association for Women in Cryptocurrency, for a wide-ranging conversation about the forces reshaping institutions, technology, and society.Amanda shares insights from her experience in financial crime, crypto, and public service, including her work on the January
How Stablecoins Move Money Across Borders - Wei Zhou | ATC #630
How Stablecoins Move Money Across Borders - Wei Zhou | ATC #630 Sep 23, 2026 2943 Host Stephen Sargeant welcomes Wei Zhou, CEO at Coins.ph, to discuss grassroots crypto and stablecoin adoption in the Philippines, why the country consistently ranks in Chainalysis’ global top 10, and how regulation since 2016–2017 enabled licensed exchanges and bank connectivity. Zhou explains Coins.ph’s dual licensing (VASP and EMI), its focus on remittances and payments, and how stablecoins can
From Trading Floors to Onchain Markets - Bart Smith | ATC #629
From Trading Floors to Onchain Markets - Bart Smith | ATC #629 Sep 16, 2026 2803 In this episode of Around The Coin, Stephen Sargeant speaks with Bart Smith, CEO of Avalanche Treasury Co., to discuss building a regulated digital asset treasury focused on the Avalanche ecosystem. Bart explains why a public treasury vehicle can give investors brokerage-account access to AVAX exposure, staking (over 90% staked), and potential upside from investing in Avalanche-native businesses.
What Crypto Investors Look for in Founders - George Christopher | ATC #628
What Crypto Investors Look for in Founders - George Christopher | ATC #628 Sep 9, 2026 3292 Host Stephen Sargeant welcomes George Christopher, Principal Investor at CoinFund (founded 2015), discussing how CoinFund invests from pre-seed through Series C+ across seed and venture funds in blockchain-focused companies. George shares his background in SaaS growth investing, argues the “SaaSpocalypse” mainly threatens horizontal workflow tools, and outlines defensible moats like proprietary da
Why KYC Isn’t Enough for Crypto Compliance - Charlene Cieslik | ATC #627
Why KYC Isn’t Enough for Crypto Compliance - Charlene Cieslik | ATC #627 Sep 2, 2026 2022 Live from Futurist, host Stephen Sargeant interviews Charlene Cieslik, an independent financial crime compliance consultant with 26 years in compliance (including early FINTRAC) and 10 years in crypto, about Canada’s crypto compliance landscape. Cieslik argues repeated misconduct by industry players has driven regulatory stagnation and poor laws, and says stablecoins should be treated as payments,
Why Banks Are Getting Into Crypto Lending -  Andrei Poliakov | ATC #626
Why Banks Are Getting Into Crypto Lending - Andrei Poliakov | ATC #626 Aug 26, 2026 1320 Live from Futurist, host Stephen Sargeant interviews Andrei Poliakov, founder and CEO of APX Lending. Poliakov explains why he built a highly regulated, compliant crypto-backed lending business after failures like Celsius, BlockFi, Voyager and FTX, offering loans in Canada and the US against Bitcoin and Ethereum up to 60% LTV with no rehypothecation, segregated insured cold-storage custody and on-
Rethinking Public Relations in the Age of AI - Nikita Sachdev | ATC #625
Rethinking Public Relations in the Age of AI - Nikita Sachdev | ATC #625 Aug 19, 2026 766 Live from Futurist, host Stephen Sargeant interviews Nikita Sachdev, owner of Luna PR, about how AI is reshaping public relations in crypto, Web3, and AI. Nikita explains that while AI makes content creation easy, distribution and winning attention are harder, making PR and credible placements more valuable, especially as search shifts from SEO to “GEO” (generative engine optimization) driven by A
The Next Era of Blockchain Finance - Patrick O'Kain | ATC #624
The Next Era of Blockchain Finance - Patrick O'Kain | ATC #624 Aug 13, 2026 3156 Host Stephen Sargeant welcomes Patrick O’Kain, partner at Borderless Capital, to discuss cybersecurity, crypto investigations, blockchain analytics, and how AI-driven agentic commerce and stablecoins will reshape payments and finance. O’Kane explains Borderless Capital’s infrastructure-focused investing, his background in counter-terrorism finance and DOJ crypto investigations, and why blockchain
Investing in AI and Blockchain Startups - Samiz Bayan | ATC #623
Investing in AI and Blockchain Startups - Samiz Bayan | ATC #623 Aug 5, 2026 3935 Host Stephen Sargeant interviews Samiz Bayan, partner at Draper Dragon, on the state of venture capital and the convergence of AI, blockchain, and tokenization. Bayan outlines Draper Dragon’s early-stage focus on infrastructure, its bridge between Silicon Valley and Asia via the Draper Network, and how that cross-border network supports founders with exchanges, liquidity, and distribution. He shar
Programmable Compliance for Onchain Finance - Nikhil Raghuveera | ATC #622
Programmable Compliance for Onchain Finance - Nikhil Raghuveera | ATC #622 Jul 29, 2026 3724 Host Stephen Sargeant interviews Nikhil Raghuveera, CEO and co-founder of Predicate, about building real-time, smart-contract-level policy enforcement for onchain finance. Nikhil explains his background in payments and policy, why data from blockchain analytics providers isn’t enough, and how Predicate provides sub-second, non-bypassable “notary”-style approvals for transactions and automated free

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