Welcome to a new era! In this milestone episode of The Edge of Show, previously known as Edge of NFT, co-hosts January Jones, Josh Kriger, and Richard Carthon unveil the show’s exciting rebrand after 400 episodes. As the Web3, blockchain, and crypto landscapes evolve, so does the focus of the podcast, embracing the full spectrum of cutting-edge technology.
The rebrand represents a pivotal shift from NFTs as a standalone topic to a broader exploration of emerging tech like AI, DeFi, Bitcoin ecosystems, gaming, and token economies. With 400 episodes under their belt, the team reflects on their journey, from covering Bored Ape Yacht Club to groundbreaking advancements like Bitcoin DeFi and hybrid token models.
Through engaging interviews, live event coverage, and insightful commentary, The Edge of Show continues to deliver in-depth conversations that educate and inspire Web3 enthusiasts worldwide. As Josh emphasizes, “Curiosity is relentless. We just want the ability to be as curious as we actually are.”
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Key Topics Covered:
- The Edge of Technology Rebrand: Why the shift from “Edge of NFT” to a broader tech focus.
- Expanding the Narrative: Coverage of blockchain, AI, Bitcoin DeFi, gaming, and token economics.
- Celebrating Milestones: 400 episodes of Web3 innovation, from NFTLA to Outer Edge Riyadh.
- Live Event Insights: Highlights from global blockchain and tech events in 2024.
- Predictions for 2025: Bullish market trends, the rise of Bitcoin DeFi, and AI advancements.
What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let us know in the comments on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@edgeofnft/
Episode Highlights:
- Josh Kriger: “NFTs have evolved into a broader conversation—gaming, DeFi, hybrid tokens—all part of the edge.”
- Richard Carthon: “We’re on the edge of it all, from Web3 to Bitcoin ecosystems and more.”
- January Jones: “I’ve been impressed with your ability to break down complex blockchain technology for all audiences.”
- Josh Kriger: “Curiosity drives us—covering all aspects of the industry keeps the conversation alive and engaging.”
- Richard Carthon: “2025 is going to be bonkers. The first six months will be a wild ride for crypto.”
For the full transcript, see further below.
People and Resources Mentioned:
- Bored Ape Yacht Club
- Trevor Jones
- Charlie Hugh (BitLayer)
- Julian Holguin (Doodles)
- JD Seraphine (Rainmaker)
- Eric Pulier (Vatom House)
- Sandbox
- Outer Edge Riyadh
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Transcription:
January Jones: Welcome to this very special rebrand episode of the show. I'm your host, January Jones, and today we're celebrating a major milestone in our journey. If you've been following us, you know we've been diving deep into Web3, blockchain, NFTs, and everything at the forefront of digital innovation. But today, we're turning the page and stepping into a bold new identity. Welcome to the Edge of Show. And I'm not doing this alone, of course. Joining me to discuss this exciting evolution are my incredible co-hosts and thought leaders in the Web3 space, Josh Krieger and Richard Carthon.
Josh Kriger: Hey, listeners and viewers, yes, we are so excited. This rebrand has been brewing for a while, and it feels like the perfect next step for us.
Richard Carthon: Absolutely, Joss. The shift really reflects where this space is heading and the direction of our conversations that have been naturally evolving in this direction. In fact, I think I'm just going to show you. It is super official, as you can see on the hat. When you see us around at all the conferences, you will now begin to see this.
Josh Kriger: Yes, and I will be wearing a hat too, but apparently shipping to Austin is faster than shipping to LA, so you guys will see me rocking our awesome new Edge of Show hat soon.
January Jones: All right, well, let's get into the question then. Why the rebrand?
Josh Kriger: Yes, this has been something that, as I mentioned, has been under consideration for a long time. We love to talk about NFTs. The show started about the same time as the Bored Ape Yacht Club. It was definitely NBA Top Shots that got us pumped and curious about this new side of the industry and spurred the whole show. As the industry has evolved, NFTs have become part of a broader conversation. They are tied to DeFi projects. They're tied to hybrid token economies. And they're parts of gaming and entertainment projects, but they're not the be all end all. They're part of the conversation. And so we wanted to make sure that our show was reflective of all the types of conversations we want to have in the space and have the freedom to talk about those things. And like we've done over the last year, this shouldn't be a major surprise for our current listeners who have seen us delve into the Bitcoin ecosystem or nulls. wallet infrastructure and layer one and layer two technology, because all of it really does have a role in the narrative around the edge. Where is the edge going? And certainly AI as well. So for us, this is a natural evolution of the conversations we've had for the last, gosh, 399 episodes. It's really exciting to be here with episode 400. Richard, what are your thoughts?
Richard Carthon: It's been really awesome to join the company now two years. So this is my two year anniversary since being with the edge of company. And as Josh said, although initially very focused in the NFT space, we've really evolved and start to cover all things Web3. especially over the last year. And, you know, a lot of times when we go out and about and a lot of people that's already in our ecosystem knows that we cover everything. But they're also when they, you know, look at our hats be like, Oh, so you guys are doing stuff in NFTs? We're like, yes, and, and, you know, we continue the conversation. So this just allows for more alignment, it makes things way more straightforward and clear that we cover everything. And it's not like a lot is changing as far as like, who we're covering what we're talking about. It just makes things a lot clearer for those who are new to space and there's a lot of newbies as the markets picking up as we head into 2025.
January Jones: Yeah, I'm, I'm one of those people. And I think what I've enjoyed participating on this show is that there's a level of depth for everybody, whatever their interest is in web three, if it's more just trying to wrap your head around it, or really diving deep into the technology, the interviews you guys do on site, like at DEF CON, you know, people are really showcasing very complicated things. And I've always been impressed with your guys's ability to help break that down. So these engineers can actually explain what they're doing.
Josh Kriger: Yeah, we enjoy covering all aspects of the industry and getting technical once in a while. I mean, it's about edutainment. And at the end of the day, knowledge is power. We've tried to keep our conversations high-level and sophisticated in the sense of really elevating the true builders and creators in the industry, whether artists or founders or venture capitalists, to have a long-term conviction on the power of the full spectrum of technology. you know, conversations about where NFTs are going versus DeFi versus Ordinals versus, you know, the Bitcoin ecosystem, because I think that healthy conversation leads to, you know, better informed audience members, which is really what this is all about. It's about our audience and what are their needs and so far, they've been really receptive to this broader conversations. We've been testing the waters for a while now and sort of expanding the conversations on the show. And, you know, these shows that are not necessarily about NFTs get, you know, just as much interest and engagement as our NFT content. And, in fact, you know, I think this the show started as a sort of journey of curiosity, us personally, we have, and Richard has been doing content, he did over 300 episodes of his previous show before joining our team. And ultimately, curiosity is unrelentless, it stops nowhere, right. And so we just want the ability to be as curious as we actually are.
January Jones: Well, 400 shows as of today, and we're moving into 2025. Richard, what's ahead for this year?
Richard Carthon : Yeah, we have a lot going on. So one of the main reasons that we just shifted to the edge of shows that we want to be the edge of all technology, right? So we have our AI show, we're still going to be doing AI, it's just going to be under, you know, edge of AI, we're still going to have web three, we'll do, you know, edge of web three, we'll get into specifics like potentially Bitcoin and other subtopics, like we're on the edge of it all. Right. So this just opens up the canvas for us to get really, really niche in a lot of different areas of Web3 and to be able to speak to all these different things. So, of course, we're going to keep doing our content. We're doing our interviews. We're going to keep doing these shows with you, January, as it's really awesome to talk about the hot topics that are going on. A lot of in-person events. Last year, we did a lot of traveling. I imagine we're going to do even more this year with the bull market that is impending right now. You're already busy prepping for some events that are coming up. Josh is getting ready to go overseas next week. So a lot of good things on the way between the content that we're doing online, in-person interviews, still putting on some really awesome events while at some of these different events and I think with this rebrand, what people can expect is kind of like freshness around all the things that we've already been doing, just amplified in a way that more audience will be able to find us, reach us, and interact with what we're doing. And it's way more direct. Again, as soon as you see the hat, as soon as you see the brand, you immediately understand that we're on the edge of technology.
Josh Kriger: Absolutely. Just to add to that point, I think the edge of technology moves really quickly now, especially with AI. And we've seen the narratives shift in the blockchain industry faster than ever over the last year, and we expect that to accelerate. So this ability to do special edition episodes on whatever the current important thing for everyone to know about is really cool. So we can talk about the edge of gaming, the edge of Bitcoin, the edge of Arnolds, and probably some topics that we don't even know today because this industry is changing so quickly. But we want to be able to cover them and want to be able to give our audience the latest and greatest information. So I think this shift gives us the nibbleness, the agility that we've been looking for. So we're really excited.
January Jones: Well, do you want to talk about some of your favorite moments? I mean, From what I've done to like dig into the archives, I've been working on clipping shows for social media and it is just so rich, all the contents, all the episodes. And you really touch on all parts of the industry through the shows and also the events like you mentioned. Do you guys want to share some of maybe your favorite moments from 2024?
Josh Kriger: Sure, I'll start with an interview that I had one-on-one with a very inspirational and unique individual in our space, and that's Trevor Jones. He's a really famous artist. He's had a lot of success, both in the physical art world and also the digital art world. And at the heart of it, he's curious, like us, and it was curiosity that drove him towards you know, non-fungible tokens and experimenting. And he's blended the traditional techniques of modern art and led to some really groundbreaking projects like, of course, Bitcoin Angel NFT. And he's also had some fun with events, right? He's done these legendary castle parties and the next one's going to be in Lisbon. And he's done it all over the world, including his own castle. So that was a special show because he doesn't do a lot of long form interviews. You know, it wasn't Joe Rogan or Lex Friedman style five hours, but it was a pretty deep conversation about sort of his DNA and what drives him. And what was cool about that is I then saw him IRL. He was exhibiting some of his work at Bitcoin Nashville just a few weeks later. You know, we gave each other a hug. It was a really bonding experience. I love doing interview co-hosting with with Richard and panels and those types of things but but every once in a while having that one-on-one deep dive is really special so that one comes to mind for me and highly recommend everyone check out that show with Trevor Jones
Richard Carthon: Yeah, absolutely. I got a couple that I'm a spin off and just spend a little bit of time on each. So I want to shout out bit layer. You know, one of our earlier shows this year was with Charlie Hugh, who's one of the co founders of bit layer. And it's been amazing to just see the journey that they've had. They've gone from being truly just a startup that is like really evolving the Bitcoin Layer 2 ecosystem to being a household name in the Web3 space as it relates to the Bitcoin ecosystem. They've had multiple fundraisers at this point. They have greatly increased their platform and have an ecosystem that other people are building on top of. And they're already doing awesome things. And we've got to look out for an event that we're doing with them at Denver coming up called Bitcoin Next. It's going to be epic. But like, Again, Charlie, you've been crushing the game. Really, really awesome to talk with you and just to see, you know, how swift and how quick you move with getting a lot of stuff done. And then two others I just want to shout out quickly. We had a really, really awesome conversation with Doodles. And that was with Julian. And he's the CEO of Doodles. And like, it was just really cool to hear his take on the future of visual collectibles. and just seeing how they are evolving, what it means to bring NFTs into everyday life and to continue to increase their brand as they're growing over time and images here in his marketing brain and how he thinks about what they're doing and bringing it to everyday life, I thought was a really awesome conversation and it stuck with me. And the final one I want to shout out is just Rainmaker. We've had a couple conversations with the CEO, JD Seraphine from Rainmaker and what they're doing between blending AI modeling and then doing a token economy on top of it and being able to help with like creating data centers and everything else with it. It's just a really cool way of seeing that intersection of AI and blockchain. So those were three that stuck out to me.
January Jones: Well, many of those were in our format here, our virtual format, but you all have been out on the road, like you mentioned, and there's been so many people you've talked to at live shows. What are some of those projects and people that stand out from 2024?
Josh Kriger: Yeah, live shows are just so much fun and so different from being in the studio. They both have their pros, I guess, and unique aspects. But I really enjoy the live shows because you get that direct eye contact. You feel the energy of the guests. So we've done a lot of different live shows, sometimes studio audiences, sometimes just, you know, in a media room. A few that come to mind this year is we did a really cool one at the Vatom House in Venice with actually one of the original inventors of the NFT or the smart NFT, Eric Pollier, talking about a new concept of an NFFT, which really says a lot about where this industry is going with the hybrid sort of use of NFTs and sort of traditional fungible tokens, right? So that was a really cool show. We did the unveiling there with the live audience. It was in a barn. There was a fire. Of course, some tacos. You can't have an event in Venezuela without some tacos. So that was a good time. We also did a live show at the new Sandbox office in LA. That was really cool as well. We got to interview the America CEO of Sandbox, Nikola, and learn about his goals for this region and what they're doing over there. Also had a chance to sort of talk with David Bianchi and what he's doing in the world of entertainment. And that had a great audience of sort of entertainment leaders. And it was cool to sort of, you know, help debut and welcome people to this new office, this new hub of innovation in L.A. L.A. is on my mind. I think there's been plenty of other live content as well. Richard, what comes to mind for you?
Richard Carthon: Yeah, so we have been to a lot of places over the last year. Some of the ones that stick out to me, we did Outer Ridge Riyadh this year, and it was my first time in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, and got to host a panel during that event that we host out there, which was a lot of fun. We also have gone to places like Korea, where we help to moderate a couple of different events out there. I am a big gamer, so I've been on a couple of different gaming panels, which has been great to talk to some industry leaders and just hearing their approach to how they're building on, you know, bringing blockchain gaming to the greater audience of just not people who are already in Web3, but who are just gamers. So yeah, being able to go to these events, moderate these panels, have the energy of being at these events. I love it. And also having the audience there to then ask questions. And then they always want to come up and talk to the different speakers, sometimes talk to us. I just, I really like the energy of those, you know, live panels.
January Jones: Well, you mentioned the first event for Outer Edge Riyadh. Tell me a little bit more about that. How was that a first for this company?
Josh Kriger: Yeah, so Autorise Riyadh really started as an idea around where can we go that, you know, no one has gone before in a meaningful way to cover what's happening in emerging tech and build new bridges. with Animoca Brands, of course, one of our investors who has sort of announced a significant sort of partnership with Neom and then also with Cast, two incredibly important organizations in that region. And we got together and decided to host Outer Edge Riyadh, which is really an extension of the concept behind Outer Edge LA, originally NFTLA. And it was pretty special to see everyone come together globally for that occasion. It was right after Token 2049 Dubai. We had about 800 attendees, including venture capitalists, founders, government officials, And, you know, I didn't know this was gonna happen, but I got a chance to be interviewed by CNN and Arab News featured us on the third page. So really exciting to get that type of international press coverage and to build bridges in a new region and have, you know, the types of conversations that we have on the show and that we've had in other regions with an audience that's very curious and interested in doing a lot in Web3. So it was also cool to educate the global audience on what's happening in Saudi Arabia that they may not have been aware of.
January Jones: And of course, we are the edge of companies. So there's been lots of opportunities to catch breaking news, whether it's events or through these conversations that we have long form with people. What are some of those moments?
Richard Carthon: Yeah, so we had a lot of breaking news moments. Of course, through this show, you've been able to be a large part of it. And for our audience that are consistent with being on the show, you hear the breaking news all the time. But some of the memorable ones for me, I'll just kind of start with Coin Network. I had a really good conversation with CEO Al Morris. And, you know, He was beginning to talk about how they're leveraging computer and phones compute power to generate passive income and contributing to their model of internet and how they're getting ready to do their big launch coming up, I believe this month so that was very exciting and I think As more and more of these different types of projects are getting ready to surface, you're going to meet ones with really good infrastructure. And I think it was awesome how I was able to explain their infrastructure, how they set these up, and why I think they're poised to have some success. How about you, Josh, what was something you remember?
Josh Kriger: Yeah, and let me just say, like, we originally had Koi on our show in the year we started, which was 2021. So we've been following their journey for a long time, and it goes to show we really are at the edge and trying to break the edge. Another one that we got to cover very early on in its journey, and Very grateful that we had a chance to buy some of these Mochaverse NFTs at The Mint is Mochaverse. So we actually featured Tyler Durden, the sort of lead of Mochaverse. He eventually doxed himself as well at one of our events or on our show, I can't remember. But he's the co-founder of Mochaverse and has done a lot of different things and put all of his passion and heart into building this team to create a real membership ecosystem tied to gaming and the whole Animoca Brands portfolio that no one ever seen before. It's really a demonstration of the full power NF T's combined with tokens, that hybrid theme that we've been talking about, and really why we want to rename the show the edge of shows to cover all of that. But we did a number of different shows with that team and early days sort of unpacking what they were doing and why they were doing. And, you know, to see where they're at today. I mean, Not financial advice. The NFTs are still trading above 3E, which is awesome. There's a nice airdrop for everyone that had those NFTs. And they're just building a whole launchpad ecosystem now around gaming and all the different partners that they've built. It just goes on and on and on. So it's really cool to cover the early days of Mochaverse. So January, it's been so awesome to have you on the show and in 2024 and to celebrate this 400th episode with you. We've been sharing our favorite moments and it's been great to have you as a co-host on on Edge Hot Topics covering the latest and greatest news. What's your experience been like being a co-host on the Edge?
January Jones: Well, one, I got to keep up with you guys, because you seem to know a little bit about everything. So I have to do a lot more homework. But what I've enjoyed is bringing on the journalists to Hot Topics, having them talk about their articles, you know, there's a lot that goes into actual news and preparing news. So we did a couple shows with Coindesk, we've had Crypto Potato on, we've had Mpost. And I think getting those people around the table to share insights and feedback on hot topics has been the most exciting part for me. Well, moving forward, what are your guys's predictions for 2025? What's going to be happening on the edge?
Richard Carthon: So, yeah, I'll start one of my hot takes. And maybe it's not a hot take. I think it's going to be a bullish year. I think this is going to be one of the best years that the crypto market has seen in a long time. People keep talking about what is a super cycle. I think the moment has come for that to happen. You have a lot of projects that got investments in 2021 all the way through last year that haven't launched. And so that means there's a lot of projects that have been waiting for the right moment to come to market. This is basically that time. So I think things over the next six months are going to get crazy. And then after those six months, I think they even continue to get crazier or we finally see that pullback. But I think over these next six months, the first half of 2025, it's going to be absolutely bonkers in a good way for everyone that is involved.
Josh Kriger: Yeah, it's hard to not feel that way when you're sort of in the conversations we're in right now and know what all these different projects are cooking. Obviously, AI has taken a stronger narrative just over the last few weeks. Again, I think AI is back in the conversation in a more demonstrative way, right? There was sort of this idea of how do we blend AI and blockchain together? It's been an outstanding question for a little bit of time. And now we're seeing this agent economy sort of emerge, right, with projects like virtuals, where you're able to sort of have agents you know, take over your social media or or basically run autonomously. You know, sometimes they've been gifted NFTs and they're having, you know, live conversations. So it's a whole new realm of of an aging economy and what that brings. I'm not entirely sure. I know it's going to be fun. And who knows? We will be doing some more interviews with AI personalities this year, we did actually, this is another highlight on the edge of AI is our other host Ron interviewed, you know, the second generation humanoid Rhea. So, you know, I think there's gonna be more of that type of craziness this upcoming year. I also see, you know, this rise of Bitcoin DeFi. We talked about BitLayer a little bit earlier. I think that conversation is just getting started. As Bitcoin goes up, it feels more precious to people and they want to hold it, but they want to do things with it. And so Bitcoin DeFi becomes the next thing. Will everyone get comfortable with the idea of sort of yield generation on Bitcoin and sort of sharing access? I think the jury's out, but certainly some will. And there's always an adoption curve here and these sorts of things. I also see you know, a redo of gaming. I think there's been a lot of exciting games released this year. And, you know, again, people have excess income. They need to figure out what to do with it. Certainly, they can buy meme coins, but they're going to get bored of that and they're going to go into the more advanced projects that are involved in the gaming economy and DeFi and whatnot. So I think those will be interesting things for us to cover in 2025.
January Jones: Thank you for having me host the show and interview you guys. It's been 400 episodes as of this one, and I'm learning so much being on this show and experiencing our weekly hot topics, all the interviews you guys do from your live events. And I know this year is going to be really booked.
Josh Kriger: Absolutely. It's been an absolute blast. I can't believe we're at 400 episodes and it's going to be so much fun on the flip side of Edge of Show in 2025.
Richard Carthon: Yeah, it's going to be an exciting year. It's been fun speaking with you both on this. I'm excited to host even more of these shows with you guys. Keep breaking the news and keep bringing on awesome guests. So cheers to the year and I'll see you at the next one.
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