Katie Haun on the Dark Web, Gangs, Investigating Bitcoin, and The New Magic of “Nifties” (NFTs) | Brought to you by Four Sigmatic (http://foursigmatic.com/tim), Eight Sleep’s Pod Pro Cover (http://eightsleep.com/Tim), LinkedIn Jobs (http://linkedin.com/tim). Show Notes: https://tim.blog/2021/02/18/katie-haun/#more-54741 Katie Haun (@katie_haun) is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. Previously, she spent a decade as a federal prosecutor with the US Department of Justice, where she focused on fraud, cybercrime, and corporate crime, alongside agencies including the SEC, FBI, and Treasury. She created the government’s first cryptocurrency task force and led investigations into the Mt. Gox hack and the corrupt agents on the Silk Road task force. While serving as a federal prosecutor with the US Department of Justice, she also prosecuted RICO murders, organized crime, public corruption, gangs, and money laundering. She held senior positions at Justice Department headquarters in both the National Security Division and attorney general’s office, where her portfolio included antitrust, tax, and national security. Katie has testified before both houses of Congress on the intersection of technology and regulation. Katie serves on the board of Coinbase, where she chairs its audit and risk committees, and HackerOne. She also advises numerous technology companies and has invested in a range of companies from seed to Series C stage. She teaches a class on cryptocurrencies at Stanford Business School and previously taught cybercrime at Stanford Law School. Katie clerked for US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy and is an honors graduate of Stanford Law School. She is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Please enjoy! SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/1dSzTkW LINK TO ALL SHOW TRANSCRIPTS: https://tim.blog/2018/09/20/all-transcripts-from-the-tim-ferriss-show/ About Tim Ferriss: Tim Ferriss is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has exceeded 500 million downloads and been selected for “Best of Apple Podcasts” three years running. Connect with Tim Ferriss: Sign up for "5-Bullet Friday" (Tim's email newsletter): https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-1/ Visit the Tim Ferriss PODCAST: https://tim.blog/podcast/ Visit the Tim Ferriss BLOG: https://tim.blog/ Follow Tim Ferriss on TWITTER: https://twitter.com/tferriss/ Follow Tim Ferriss on INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/timferriss/ Like Tim Ferriss on FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/ Intro [00:00] How blockchain technology both powered the Silk Road darknet market and dropped the breadcrumbs that led to its downfall [06:45] What is blockchain technology? [16:57] How did Katie get the tip that there were corrupt agents profiting from the investigation? [21:23] What does the job of a federal prosecutor entail? [24:30] As a federal prosecutor, Katie never lost a case. To what does she attribute this perfect record? [26:00] What made “fearless and egoless” Assistant US Attorney Wil Frentzen such a good mentor? [32:15] The time Katie and Wil made sure Google wasn’t above the law [35:58] How is the RICO Act used to take down organized crime? [38:55] How Katie stayed level-headed when risks to personal safety were of valid concern? [41:40] Was there ever an instance when Katie genuinely feared for her life as a federal prosecutor? [47:34] What were Katie's first impressions of Bitcoin? [48:37] From navigating the mistrust of early players to joining the Coinbase board of directors [51:57] Why there needs to be ongoing dialogue between governments and crypto developers [56:31] On working with skeptics [58:24] What are NFTs (non-fungible tokens), and how do they work? [1:01:16] What developments does Katie expect to see in crypto or blockchain over the next 3–5 years? [1:08:05] What governmental regulation could look like [1:15:07] Will the US fall behind other countries in embracing digital currencies? [1:21:03] How might Bitcoin volatility decrease to the point where larger institutional investors would allow it into their portfolios as they do gold? [1:29:50] What frontiers have been the most challenging for Katie? [1:32:58] What’s the story behind Katie’s pivot from government prosecutor to joining the board of a cryptocurrency company and working with venture capital? [1:38:42] Is Katie a child whisperer? [1:45:27] Favorite books [1:53:00] Katie’s ask of the audience: explore crypto (and suggested resources to get started). [1:57:55] Parting thoughts [2:04:13]