Sami Start

Proud to join @Transak's latest funding round, co-led by @IDGCapital's Young Guo (Midas List) & Tether, to expand stablecoin payments & scale into new markets. Founded by @SamiStart, Transak powers fiat-crypto transactions via bank transfers, cards, local payments & stablecoins.

It was awesome joining @BlocksterCom for this interview about Transak, Stablecoins, and blockchain technology going mainstream.

Blockchain and stablecoins are so hot right now.

🧠 Some quick thoughts from me on hiring, fundraising, and building in Web3 — thanks @tachyonxyz for kicking off the new Tachyon 10 series with this one 👇

@PaulRBerg Come to Miami

Not sure how and when but someday I'll become a US citizen 😎🇺🇸

We spoke with @SamiStart at ETH Denver about @Transak, a global fiat-to-crypto onramp that simplifies the process of buying crypto using local currencies. Their solution tackles the complex regulatory and compliance issues in 160 countries. #MediaPartnership

Ok. I give up. Klarna and me will embrace crypto! More to come Yes I know! This post will get a huge sigh and 2 views 😂 But it still feels historic. Last large fintech in the world to embrace it. Someone had to be last. And that’s a milestone as well of some sort… 🥳

Cool

@shacheng So down

@SamiStart next trip

Za on a cold night 🙌🏽

@elonmusk Can you open source your algorithm to boost/hide posts within X for transparency?

You can just say things

Here are some thoughts on our recent Transak Stream announcement.

Correction: Another issue is that MicroStrategy owns 2%+ of the circulating supply of Bitcoin (or perhaps larger if you discount lost/inaccessible Bitcoin). This means that people are not having control of their own keys, nor the ability to “withdraw” BTC.

MicroStrategy is extremely concerning for me. I'm a big fan of Bitcoin, but just not MicroStrategy. People invest in MicroStrategy because they want to invest in Bitcoin through a publicly traded stock (so a more familiar and traditional investment vehicle), and they also get leverage. They also have a charismatic leader (Michael Saylor), and people find it easier to invest in a person than in an algorithm/network. People talk about MicroStrategy's "Infinite Money Glitch" where they issue debt to buy more Bitcoin. This is a nice way of framing a very scary thing - this is not a glitch; it's just a ton of leverage, and it only works if the Bitcoin price goes up. Bitcoin is a great asset; however, so is real estate, and that didn't stop the subprime mortgage financial crisis of 2007. If the Bitcoin price severely dips, MicroStrategy could collapse. As we have seen with Terra Luna, FTX, and Three Arrows, the collapse of one major entity in the crypto industry can have devastating knock-on effects on others. It can break the industry's trust, causing a "crypto winter" for 2-3 years. And as the industry grows, the stakes get higher, and the collapse could be even worse. The market cap of Microstrategy is currently ~$100 Billion, as compared to the market cap of BTC, which is around $2 Trillion. Another issue is that MicroStrategy owns 2%+ of the circulating supply of Bitcoin (or perhaps larger if you discount lost/inaccessible Bitcoin). This is a centralization risk, which "doesn't matter" day-to-day until players come together and start censoring the network, and then it really matters. I have tried to think about MicroStrategy and whether I am wrong and I am missing something. In the past, I used to question myself in situations like this, especially when the entity/person that I sensed a red flag with was reputable and well-connected. However, I have been in this industry long enough to trust my instinct, and when I really can't get to the bottom of something, that's probably because there is no substance behind it, and it could be dangerous. That's the problem. The solution is to buy spot Bitcoin directly instead of MicroStrategy. I love this industry, and it's my bread and butter, so I want to protect it. In every bull cycle, there will be actors who wish to take advantage, whether out of pure malice or recklessness and negligence. Unless we speak up and stand up for what is right.

@west_v1 @Transak @EthMiami @AndreiETHMiami @jiri_kobelka @tweetclarita @Ray305Mundo @bradleyriss @sergiofly @NataliePropy @west_v1 dm you

@Transak @EthMiami @SamiStart @AndreiETHMiami @jiri_kobelka @tweetclarita @Ray305Mundo @bradleyriss @sergiofly @NataliePropy GM! Who can I contact about partnerships?

We had an incredible time at our #Web3 Mixer during Art Basel, co-hosted by Transak and @EthMiami 🏝️ The afternoon was all about insights, innovation, and building meaningful connections. Huge shoutout to the awesome panelists and guests who made it all happen. Here’s a glimpse of the moments we shared 📸

KYC is 100% required for platforms like Transak, and if we didn't do KYC, we would get a ton of fraud and money laundering. There is also a direct correlation between how good our KYC is and how much we lose from chargebacks. The problem is that the regulations for KYC are very slow-moving, as compared the innovation in the identity space. We could do a much better job if we could focus on the spirit of the law, rather than the letter of the law. E.g. I would love for us to start using more decentralized identity stuff, which would help a lot. But it doesn't count as KYC for the regulators since it is not a "reputable 3rd party source".

KYC is a form of mass psychosis where everyone thinks we're preventing bad actors from doing bad things but in fact we aren't

Blockchains that compromise on decentralisation to achieve better transaction speeds and lower fees are all well and good until the government steps in and censors them.

We'll be hosting an event for Art Basel this Saturday, 7th December, from 1-4 pm at our offices in Wynwood... See you there!

The unconstitutional targeting of crypto firms through ‘Operation Chokepoint 2.0’ affects Transak and every fiat on/off-ramp and crypto exchange in the USA—and beyond. By pressuring banks to restrict crypto, it stifles innovation, limits consumer access to blockchain solutions, and intentionally prevents transparency and anti-corruption efforts. Regulatory clarity and fairness are urgently needed to protect consumers and unblock growth in this revolutionary space.

Here is the Crypto Roadmap, released yesterday by the FCA for regulating crypto in the UK. Things have been tough for on-ramping to crypto in the UK since the FCA introduced the "PS23/6: Financial promotion rules for cryptoassets" in October 2023. One of the rules was a 24-hour cooling-off period between signing up on Transak and completing an order. While this has protected many from risky investments and scams, we have somewhat thrown out the baby with the bathwater. We are seeing blockchain technology being used for increasing real-world use cases such as payments and invoicing, where a more nuanced approach to regulation is required. It's great to see a roadmap for this being addressed. Within 5 years, all financial apps will use blockchain technology in some form, so crypto regulation will become equivalent to financial regulation.