Today, I turn 50. It's a milestone that requires serious reflection—on the past, the future, and everything in between. I don’t have a long list of life lessons. But I’ve gathered a few guideposts that have served me well: *Cherish friendships and authentic people. Sacrifice for them. *Pursue excellence, not money. *Bragging is usually a mask for insecurity. *Learn to laugh at yourself—often, hard and before everyone else. *Work till you can't anymore. Then work harder. I haven’t gotten everything right. But I’ve done the best I could with what I had—and that’s something I can live with. Above all, I’m grateful. For the ideas I’ve explored. For the students I've taught. For the organizations and companies I’ve built. And most of all, for the people who’ve been part of the journey. Onward. (That's me in Miami! Yes, there are 49 candles missing)

Today, I turn 50. It's a milestone that requires serious reflection—on the past, the future, and everything in between. I don’t have a long list of life lessons. But I’ve gathered a few guideposts that have served me well: *Cherish friendships and authentic people. Sacrifice for them. *Pursue excellence, not money. *Bragging is usually a mask for insecurity. *Learn to laugh at yourself—often, hard and before everyone else. *Work till you can't anymore. Then work harder. I haven’t gotten everything right. But I’ve done the best I could with what I had—and that’s something I can live with. Above all, I’m grateful. For the ideas I’ve explored. For the students I've taught. For the organizations and companies I’ve built. And most of all, the people who’ve been part of the journey. Onward. (That's me in Miami! Yes, there are 49 candles missing)

Today, I turn 50. It's a milestone that requires serious reflection—on the past, the future, and everything in between. I don’t have a long list of life lessons. But I’ve gathered a few guideposts that have served me well: *Cherish friendships authentic people. Sacrifice for them. *Pursue excellence, not money. *Bragging is usually a mask for insecurity. *Learn to laugh at yourself—often, hard and before everyone else. *Work till you can't anymore. Then keep going. I haven’t gotten everything right. But I’ve done the best I could with what I had—and that’s something I can live with. Above all, I’m grateful. For the ideas I’ve explored. For the students I've taught. For the organizations and companies I’ve built. And most of all, the people who’ve been part of the journey. Onward. (That's me in Miami! Yes, there are 49 candles missing)

For the first time in a while compliance is actually kind of quirky, if not downright cool in crypto builds and infrastructure. (It's remarkable what happens when you have rules in place).

🚀Big step for on-chain compliance in Europe: I’m proud to share @Blupryntco has joined with @solana Attestation Service (SAS)—a powerful step forward for real-time, on-chain regulatory transparency. Alongside our Solana SAS integrations, we’ve launched the MiCA Checker on —the first FREE tool to help crypto projects get MiCA-ready, right now. 🧵

It's a pleasure to share my conversation at @fintechthinksdc with the great @HesterPeirce covering her thoughts and policy upshots from the SEC Crypto Task Force roundtables. And what's next.

From secure voting to land registries, blockchain offers tools to strengthen public services and combat corruption. Join us online Tuesday, June 17 at 2:00 p.m. EDT to hear from experts on practical use cases for the public good. RSVP:

Last week I made a pit stop at the Dubai Fintech Summit—and from the outset it was clear: Tokenization isn’t a concept anymore. It’s a playbook. Dubai isn’t testing the waters. It’s diving in headfirst—staking its claim as the global hub for tokenized finance. The value prop? Not just regulatory clarity or cool tech—but a convergence between market demand and technical architecture. Here’s the curveball: while the West hones in on tokenized stocks and bonds, real estate is the alpha use case in Dubai. High value, illiquid, universally in demand—and totally in sync with the region’s economic identity. Tokenizing property isn’t just practical. It’s personal. The big unlock? Trust. As RWAs go on-chain, trust doesn’t come from legal wrappers—it comes from real-time verification, bulletproof data, and systems that work seamlessly from front-end to finality. This isn’t DeFi forced into TradFi rails. This is rewriting the rails from scratch—powered by local economic drivers and momentum. And hypercharged with global ambition. And the lesson keeps repeating: Infra > Hype. If your tokenized product doesn’t run on user-friendly, secure, and interoperable rails? It’s dead on arrival. Institutional or retail, no one wants friction. Zooming out, the UAE is crafting something unusual: a multi-regulator ecosystem that invites innovation and competes for market share—and trust. The vision is big, and not without risk, but the groundwork is being laid. If tokenization is the next leap in global finance, Dubai may well be where it takes off.

Decentralization vs Institutions: Can Crypto Keep Its Edge? #CCDC #CryptoCapitol Tune into our next panel with @LindaJeng1 , @ChrisBrummerDr, and @justbrendax @N0th1n3

Had a wonderful dinner with crypto friends in DC, the night after the crypto ball. Thank you @arca @ChrisBrummerDr @RayoCapital @K_Laurence_ @HarryAlford3 @thatgerald @trustmachinesco @LeatherBTC @GraniteBTC @KevLeht @ShimonLazarov