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.

Thoughts on Cryptocurrency Lending

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Ari Paul

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 | 5 Comments

Some high level thoughts on cryptocurrency governance

Posted on January 29, 2019 by Ari Paul

This essay is an overview of some high level concepts in cryptocurrency governance, followed by some specific examples. Governance: Control and Power Governance is the process by which the members of a community or organization make decisions.  More than any … Continue reading →

Posted in Cryptocurrency | 3 Comments

Early stage valuations fall to earth

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Ari Paul

I initially wrote the following as an internal memo to our team this morning, but thought it might be interesting to the broader crypto world. We’re seeing something play out in real time (but slow motion) that we’ve long expected.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Cryptocurrency | 15 Comments

Education – University of Chicago Alumni Event

Posted on May 20, 2018 by Ari Paul

BT Educationpdf

Posted in Cryptocurrency | 2 Comments