Author Archives: Ari Paul

About Ari Paul

Ari Paul is co-founder and CIO of BlockTower Capital. He was previously a portfolio manager for the University of Chicago's $8 billion endowment, and a derivatives market maker and proprietary trader for Susquehanna International Group (SIG). Ari earned a BA in political science from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from the University of Chicago with concentrations in economics, entrepreneurship, strategic management, and econometrics & statistics. Ari is a CFA charterholder.

Comparing and Contrasting: DeFi vs ICOs

Posted on August 14, 2020

Decentralized Finance tokens have been leading this general crypto bull run in much the same way that ICOs were a focus of the 2016-2017 bull run. But is that where the analogy ends? Here’s a walkthrough of some similarities and … Continue reading →

Posted in Cryptocurrency | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

“Is it priced in?” – thoughts on valuing BTC and the upcoming Halving

Posted on December 23, 2019

Is the Bitcoin halving priced in?  If so, when did that happen?  Are all future bitcoin halvings priced in today?  I promise to come back to these questions, but first I’ll explore the idea of information and events being “priced … Continue reading →

Posted in Cryptocurrency | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Millennials and Crisis

Posted on October 22, 2019

(this is a repost of an essay I wrote in 2016, perhaps more relevant today.) Investors, This is going to be a very strange commentary, almost entirely sociological in nature. I think I’ve found a useful lens to explain a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cryptocurrency | 2 Comments

Thoughts on Cryptocurrency Lending

Posted on March 7, 2019

There’s two basic models, custodial and non-custodial. The vast majority of options are custodial, and that means a third party has your coins. This entails counterparty risk. What is a reasonable return to lend out your Bitcoin? Is 6% good? … Continue reading →

Posted in Cryptocurrency | Tagged | 2 Comments