371: What Founders Still Get Wrong in Crypto with Guest speaker William Quigley from WAX + Tether

In this episode, I sit down with William Quigley, co-founder of WAX and co-founder of Tether. We go deep into what is actually happening in crypto right now. We talk about stablecoins, gaming, startup strategy, market cycles, and why founders need insight more than hype. William shares hard-earned lessons from building early crypto products and explains where real value may come from next.

This is a must-listen for founders, builders, and anyone trying to understand where Web3 is heading. We unpack why stablecoins matter, why most internal innovation fails, why altcoin speculation looks weaker this cycle, and what kinds of businesses still have a real shot at winning.

Key points

00:00 — Intro to the episode and why this conversation matters for founders

01:24 — William’s path into crypto through virtual item trading in gaming

04:23 — Why gaming platforms resist asset portability and user ownership

05:26 — Why blockchain gaming adoption has been slower than expected

07:26 — Prediction markets, speculation, and why they are still niche

10:31 — How Tether started and the problem stablecoins were built to solve

13:28 — Why Tether’s model worked and why algorithmic stablecoins failed

17:07 — The future of stablecoins and the three models William sees winning

20:30 — Will non-USD stablecoins grow over time?

23:35 — Why FX fees are massive and how stablecoins can reduce that pain

27:06 — What recent crypto events reveal about institutional vs retail interest

29:14 — Why this cycle feels different and why altcoin season never fully arrived

34:32 — Sam’s view on AI helping chains build actual apps, not just more infra

37:42 — Why most internal innovation fails without real market insight

44:28 — How to think about fear, greed, and crypto sentiment

46:38 — If William started again today, what kind of business would he build?

50:26 — Sam on AI, quantum computing, and selling tools in the next tech wave

54:22 — Why timing matters as much as the idea itself

56:09 — Institutional capital, long-term adoption, and what may come next

Disclaimer

Nothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research.

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