♪ let's take a look at where we stand in financial markets. >> today, we will be talking about a lot of old ground. back to the good old days. doing deals.

we will be talking about all of them. we have the queen of blank check deals. why this is the way she likes to take fintech companies public. we are looking at another area of fintech. we are talking to the founder about his goals. it feels like a utopian dream. we are hoping to hear from a lawmaker who has been an outspoken advocate of crypto. calling for regulations. joe: remember those? there was a time when we were talking about them nonstop. they have maybe gone down a

little bit in volume. but there are still a lot of specs -- spacs happening. there is still a lot of activity in this space. joining us is our guest. a prolific investor. taking several companies public. what is it about this vehicle that you find so appealing? >> i think it permits a lot of flexibility. the opportunity to understand the needs of a company and structure transactions around it. it allows a company that has come to an inflection weight --

point to be able to share with investors. what the company might look like a couple of years out. there are a lot of real conversations and analysis. and commitment. to understand the company. romaine: the idea that this will continue. maybe not at the frenzied pace we have seen. but this is a legitimate way to come to market. we will continue to see this for years to calm alongside the big ipo's. >> i think we have grafted a third leg to the stool. from a public to a private company.

direct listings and ipo's would be the other two favorites. this vehicle does not fit every company. just as an ipo or a direct does not. i think we will see the normalization, the authorization, and the appropriate use of the spac vehicle for a long time to come. caroline: you have been prolific taking companies public. also looking at platform pioneers. can you give the sense of a fintech business that does not fit this model? how do you hone in on the target you want to acquire? >> first we look at the

underlying business. both macro and vectors of the market. having been the operator and founder of a business, i have rate appreciation for where those businesses might fit in what is a total ecosystem. is management ready? are they strong? are they able to guide through difficulties? the pandemic provided us with a petri dish for evaluating management. there are many times tweak or strain -- change strategy.

we know a lot about management. we are looking at good companies that might have a great idea. joe: the theory is there only so many companies that have a great idea. there is a lot of money out there. how would you characterize witnessing wishes your work from many other blank checks that are out there currently that might be competing against you? what do you bring to the table? what should and investor think about when they are thinking about why they should invest in one of your spacs. >> i think one of the distinguishing characteristics that has emerged in the last couple of months has been

sponsors. it wants to be a magic moment. an understanding of management. these should be more valuable. i think those are distinguishing characteristics. the investor should be looking at them. caroline: thank you.

that is the company she has most recently taken public. romaine: we continue to keep an eye on the covid crisis. the u.s. may require foreign visitors to be vaccinated. they can try to keep this health crisis at bay. joe: coming up, as more investors turn to these platforms, we speak to our guest about the growth. that is next. ♪

♪ joe: these platforms are seeing tremendous growth. joining us now is the cofounder. the holy grail is something that is stable but also connected to a bank. that is what your platform attempts to do. what is the basic structure of it? >> you have this decentralized

platform. it gets universal access to anyone in the world. it generates the coin. it is used all over the world. joe: we are showing some data on here. we talk about it being in circulation. what dollar figure are you at right now? >> last time i checked it was around five or 6 billion in circulation.

you can actually follow it in real time. that is the magic of it. this is one of the really popular ones. caroline: stable coins have become part of the lexicon of the federal reserve. and lawmakers as well. are you having these conversations with lawmakers worldwide? >> four years we have been --

for years we have been convinced that the future of the five -- defi is providing the guidance. i'm excited we are seeing the political will to wring this conversation forward. we have been telling regulators all over the world years. this conversation seems to be focused on stable coins. it is all interconnected. if you look at the landscape, 99% of them are u.s.-based. this is the process of dollarization playing out. joe: we seem to have lost our guest. we can see if we can get him back.

his point about the role of stable coins being central to defi, it seems like everybody is taking notice of this. they are trading largely on this network. obviously everyone sees these as having potential. i am curious, how many of those can exist? without being too disruptive? anyone? joe: i don't know. it is interesting that he mentioned one of the big ones. it is like turtles all the way down. caroline: we will see. romaine: i like your analogies. it gets a little complicated and in the weeds. we will hear from a senator on the future of to and why she thinks crypto is a great store

of value. this is bloomberg. ♪

♪ joe: the regulation of crypto remaining center stage. senator elizabeth warren spoke earlier about it. >> people are going to be out there trading, there needs to be a cop on the beat.

it is the small traders to get cheated. that is what always worries me. joe: earlier i spoke to a republican from wyoming to discuss the future of crypto. >> i am very confident that bitcoin and others are correctly identified as being commodities. they can be bundled into a security. that is why it is great to work with the fcc -- the sec to figure out when this happens. he will be helpful in sculpting legislation that helps make those distinctions. joe: why do you believe this is

an important area to be writing for and creating space for this industry to flourish in the u.s.? >> i believe that bitcoin has a great store of value. it is an alternative to fiat currencies, including the u.s. dollar. i like it is a diversifier and a store of value. i like it for people who are extremely poor and un-banked. a great example is what happens in el salvador they declared bitcoin to be legal tender. they did it because people sending money home to a relative

were paying fees associated with using western union. that money is carried in a way that subjected to that by a heavy-handed criminal element in el salvador. these people who are on banked canned transact with no fee and in much more safety. it is good for people who are extremely poor. and it is a good diversifier. i think it has some characteristics that will make it catch on even more for people to be safe. joe: a lot of people aware that cash will go away. we will have to use a corporate network. that we are at the whim of corporation that get to send money.

how much do you think that is important for u.s. laws to have that? >> i think it is really important. that is one of the concerns we have. that it will be used by the chinese communist party to spy on people. if someone in china were to make a donation to a church or some unapproved activity. they are able to crack on that. if that is the only type of currency they have, they need to make that exchange. it is very important that we respect privacy. and nongovernment involvement.

and still allow the innervation with the respect to the traditional fiat economy. there are ways to do that that can put packed the ability to collect taxes. but allows it to be exchanged without the heavy hand of government on every transaction and how people are using their money. joe: that was my interview. staying with politics, the new york state credit chairman saying the governor is refusing to resign. we have the latest. it appears that governor cuomo has virtually zero support at any level area but only he can make the decision to leave. >> that is correct.

cannot find people who are still staunch supporters of the governor right now. there was a flash poll taken last night of new york registered voters and 63% of them said the governor should resign. the governor seems to have spent his day hold up in the executive mansion in albany. there was some discussion of having a press conference. but that has not come to bear. the president suggested he should step down. the democratic party did not want to have to go through and -- a prolonged impeachment process. he was not making headway. romaine: what will the process

look like if we do go down that road of it each meant -- impeachment? >> it looks a lot like federal impeachment. we heard yesterday from the speaker of the new york assembly that said they had lost confidence in the governor. it seems like this could be a process that if the legislature is able to move quickly, they do have a hearing scheduled on monday area they could start moving as quickly as a couple of days from now. caroline: thank you for hopping on the phone so quickly. that does it for us. joe: have a great evening. romaine: this is bloomberg. ♪