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Ari Paul

CIO & Founder, Blocktower Capital

Search every verified Ari Paul interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Ari Paul, CIO and co-founder of BlockTower Capital, has been discussing the state of the crypto market cycle, regulatory challenges, and the tokenization of real-world assets. In a November 2023 appearance, Paul described the current market as being in "something like the third inning of a bull market," characterized by early-stage recovery with low volumes and weak product-market fit. He stated that his firm has tokenized approximately $1.4 billion in assets, including T-bills and asset-backed credit securities, but noted that many of these tokens are not yet transferable due to regulatory hurdles. Paul described Tether as "basically a hedge fund" that takes active credit risk, arguing that its structure is the "worst possible credit hedge fund structure" while noting it has over $40 billion in assets due to regulatory barriers that have made it difficult for compliant on-chain credit products to pay out yield. Paul has also commented on the regulatory landscape, distinguishing between civil SEC actions and criminal DOJ enforcement, particularly around AML/KYC compliance. He stated that upcoming U.S. elections could result in a "regime change for the SEC Administration." In earlier appearances, Paul discussed the Gartner hype cycle in relation to the metaverse and DeFi, arguing that both are "very real" and will "change the world" but face a "three to seven year very, very tough rebuilding slog" before products are ready for mainstream use. He has also expressed a view that the current macro environment resembles the 1970s, with rising inflation, volatility, and geopolitical risk, and has advocated for a "barbell approach" to investing that includes hard assets like gold and Bitcoin alongside cash-flowing businesses.

Recent appearances

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