The U.S. crypto scene is finally waking up.

After years of regulatory uncertainty and innovation flight, the winds are shifting. Charlie Shrem sits down with Jesse Darnell, former Marine and founder of ADVXNCE Protocol, fresh off Token2049 in Singapore, to talk about why global builders are suddenly turning their eyes back to America.

They dive into:

What Token2049 reveals about the real direction of crypto in Asia

How the U.S. is quietly reopening for crypto innovation — from Wyoming to D.C.

The rise of “AI + Blockchain” startups and why VCs are finally paying attention again

What it means to build a company that’s both community-driven and battle-tested

Lessons from the Marines on leadership, pain, and moving fast in chaos

Why meme coins and serious protocols actually depend on each other

It’s a grounded, hopeful conversation about where the next wave of building will happen — and what it’ll take to win.

Jesse Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jemappellejesse

Thank you for listening to The Charlie Shrem Show. For more free content and access to over 400 episodes, visit www.CharlieShrem.com.

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“Quantum computing is taking the laws of nature — light, heat, entanglement — and turning them into a new kind of computer. When that happens, the way we think about Bitcoin’s security will have to change forever.” — Charlie Shrem

This week on The Charlie Shrem Show, we go deep into the strangest frontier yet: the intersection of Bitcoin, cryptography, and quantum computing.

Charlie sits down with Olivier Roussy Newton, OG Bitcoiner and CEO of BTQ Technologies (NASDAQ: BTQ) — a company building at the edge where photons meet blockchains. From his early exposure to D-Wave’s first quantum computers in Canada to raising capital from Chinese state funds (and getting blocked by the CIA’s venture arm), Olivier’s story tracks the entire rise of the post-quantum security industry.

Together, Charlie and Olivier unpack what it really means when we say “the end of ECDSA,” why the U.S. government plans to deprecate Bitcoin’s signature standard by 2035, and how quantum systems could make traditional mining obsolete.

They explore how the analog world of nature — light, gravity, superconductors — can replace brute-force hashing, how “Boson sampling” could one day stand in for SHA-256, and why the biggest breakthroughs in computing may come from mimicking God’s own architecture.

Plus, Charlie shares insights from a recent dinner with Dr. Adam Back and his own stealth research into quantum-mining convergence. This episode isn’t just about crypto’s future — it’s about the future of computation itself.

From Node.js startups to quantum cryptography

What happens when the CIA’s VC fund blocks your deal

Why the U.S. and China’s quantum race matters for Bitcoin

The birth of post-quantum cryptography and NIST’s standards

How quantum encryption could replace proof-of-work

Why consensus itself might become irrelevant

How AI’s mainstream boom paves the way for quantum adoption

The analog vs. digital computing paradigm shift

Thank you for listening to The Charlie Shrem Show. For more free content and access to over 400 episodes, visit www.CharlieShrem.com.

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What happens when you take the discipline of an Oxford-trained surgeon and apply it to crypto? You get Nic Roberts-Huntley, founder of Concrete and Glow, two of the fastest-growing DeFi protocols.

In this episode, Nic and Charlie dive deep into the frameworks, philosophies, and practical decisions that turn ideas into billion-dollar realities. From early mornings at 4:30 AM to late-night calls across continents, Nic’s journey shows how rigor, kindness, and a surgeon’s precision can reshape digital finance.

Frameworks that scale: How lessons from medicine and private equity apply to building DeFi products.

Concrete & Glow explained: Institutional-grade yield tools and Solana’s first “margin-first” liquidity engine.

Funding playbook: Why the best founders raise on milestones, not desperation.

AI + blockchain: Are we building better AI with crypto, or crypto that powers better AI?

Team building: The human capital edge — why your first hires define your destiny.

Investor relations: Managing Polychain, VanEck, Tribe Capital, and more on your cap table without losing your sanity.

Tokenization’s future: From side letters to employee incentives, why tokens are the new equity.

Morning routines matter: How Nic structures his 4:30 AM wake-ups, workouts, and workdays to stay sharp.

The acquisition story: How Jet Protocol became Glow, and why consolidation is a sign of DeFi’s maturity.

“**Never raise capital because you need the money. Only raise it because you deserve it.**” — Nic Roberts-Huntley

The dangers of “vibe coding” in Solidity and how to protect users from liquidation risks.

Why DeFi protocols live or die by trust — rugged users rarely return.

How Glow is pioneering liquid restaking ($glowSOL) on Solana.

The inside story of raising $17M+ and building with backers like Polychain, VanEck, and Portal Ventures.

Nic Roberts-Huntley is the founder of Blueprint Finance, the company behind Concrete and Glow. A former Oxford surgeon (MD, MBA) turned Point72 investor, Nic has built a reputation for bridging worlds — from the operating room to private equity to DeFi infrastructure.

Concrete: Tokenized DeFi-native asset management and yield optimization on Ethereum (now with $650M+ TVL).

Glow: Margin-first liquidity engine and liquid restaking on Solana, acquired from Jet Protocol.

DeFi, Concrete, Glow Finance, Solana, Ethereum, Yield Farming, Tokenization, Restaking, Venture Capital, Polychain, VanEck, Tribe Capital, Crypto Investing, AI + Blockchain, Startups

Thank you for listening to The Charlie Shrem Show. For more free content and access to over 400 episodes, visit www.CharlieShrem.com.