Beyond the Code

In Episode 86, Yitzy Hammer interviews Ran Neuner (aka “Crypto Man Ran”), co-founder of Crypto Banter, to unpack the real story behind the brand: the childhood hustle that revealed his entrepreneurial wiring, the obsessive “must-win” mindset he calls constructive paranoia, and the hard-earned lessons from building a company to a reported $150M sale—then later watching $130M evaporate in days during the LUNA collapse.
Ran walks through how he went from fired stockbroker to founder of Africa’s largest sales & marketing agency, why linear businesses eventually frustrated him, and how a Harvard network-effects framework helped him see crypto as networks + commodities - and why that matters for the future of markets. He also shares how CNBC Crypto Trader started (and why it became a pipeline to the biggest names in crypto), how Crypto Banter unexpectedly exploded on YouTube, and how he learned to handle public criticism when you’re “the face” during volatile cycles.
Finally, Ran gives his early-2026 take on crypto - why he expects a major “catch-up trade,” what would make him question the thesis, and how to think about investing when narratives break.
What you’ll learn
The psychology of high performance: obsession, OCD loops, and “winning against yourself”

Building, losing, and rebuilding: dot-com crash parallels + LUNA lessons

Why networks dominate (Metcalfe’s Law + Barabási) and how that maps to crypto

Behind the scenes of launching the world’s first televised crypto show on CNBC (2017)

Scaling Crypto Banter, monetization, and dealing with hate comments at scale

Ran’s framework for 2026: commodities, tech, AI agents, and crypto’s role

Chapters (approx.)
00:01 – Intro: who is Ran Neuner?

02:30 – “Winning” obsession + constructive paranoia

13:20 – Israel → South Africa + early entrepreneurship

16:15 – The stockbroker story (and getting fired)

21:40 – Dot-com crash, insolvency, and the J-curve

28:45 – Building Africa’s largest marketing agency + $150M sale

32:40 – Harvard, network effects, and why crypto clicked

39:50 – CNBC Crypto Trader: the first televised crypto show (2017)

46:00 – The coffee shop YouTube era → Crypto Banter explosion

49:45 – LUNA: “I lost $130M in four days”

55:20 – Monetizing Banter + rebuilding
01:01:15 – 2026 outlook: catch-up trade vs thesis check

This episode is with Anna George, co-founder & CEO of CowSwap / Cow Protocol (originally built inside Gnosis, spun out in 2022). What’s wild is Anna spent about a decade in humanitarian/UN work before getting pulled into crypto in 2017 - partly because she wanted impact, and partly because UN bureaucracy will make anyone want to run away and build something.
We talk about the real CowSwap origin story: the early DEX experiments that didn’t work (including six-hour auctions… lol), the liquidity chicken-and-egg problem, and how CowSwap finally hit product-market fit with intent-based trading, MEV protection, and “you only pay gas if the trade actually executes.”
We also cover where they’re going next: cross-chain swaps that don’t feel like bridging hell, deeper DeFi integrations (including Aave), and a bigger push to make crypto UX not terrible.

In this episode of Beyond the Code, Yitzy sits down with David Alexander “Alex” Scheer, founder and CEO of zkMe, a zero-knowledge identity network that lets users prove who they are - and meet KYC/AML requirements - without exposing their personal data.
zkMe builds identity oracles that turn existing credentials (passports, bank accounts, credit scores, tax records and more) into reusable, privacy-preserving proofs using zero-knowledge technology.
Alex shares how a career that started in mechanical engineering and aerospace, moved through automotive supply-chain consulting and software, and eventually led him to Shanghai, MiCA, and the decision to jump head-first into decentralized identity. We dig into why MiCA’s early drafts convinced him that Web3 would need a decentralized identity primitive to survive, and how zkMe is now serving millions of verified users while staying fully privacy-first and compliant.
Together we unpack what zero-knowledge proofs actually are (in human language), why Alex thinks ZK is more foundational than blockchains themselves, and how zk-based KYC can both meet FATF-level requirements and keep users pseudonymous until regulators really have grounds to pierce the veil. We explore the tension between regulators who are increasingly open to ZK approaches and compliance officers who’ve done things the same way for 40 years, as well as how stablecoins, self-custodial wallets and secondary markets are forcing a rethink of identity and risk.
From open banking ZK credentials and under-collateralized lending, to AI agents, the “machine economy,” and the business model behind decentralized compliance, Alex explains where zkMe is growing next and why he sees ZK identity as an anti-cyclical bet on crypto’s regulated future.

In this episode of Beyond the Code, Yitzy sits down with Danielle Tichner, founder of W Source, a deep-tech venture builder operating at the intersection of infrastructure, crypto, and global commercialization. Danielle shares her journey from a red-headed, left-handed, dyslexic kid trying to “fit in” to becoming a top negotiator at Philips Electronics and then building her own firm that helps complex technologies actually reach real markets.
We dive into what “deep tech” really means, how W Source evolved from cross-border hardware advisory into software, crypto and full-blown venture building, and why Danielle only wants to work on hard, complex problems. From decentralized vault infrastructure like Lagoon to the emerging world of Bitcoin layer-2s (RGB, OP_CAT and more), she breaks down what she’s excited about, how she evaluates teams and tech, and why most projects underestimate go-to-market far more than they underestimate code.
The conversation also detours into negotiation as an art of “perceived win-win,” cultural nuance in Asia and beyond, how to actually get value out of crypto conferences, and closes with Danielle turning the mic on Yitzy to ask whether our future will be governed by regulators or by code.
Find Danielle on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielletichner/
X: https://x.com/danielletichner

EY’s Global Blockchain Leader Paul Brody joins Yitzy on Beyond the Code to peel back the curtain on how big companies really operate (“chaos on the inside”), why public blockchains beat private networks, and what it takes to ship serious enterprise workflows on Ethereum. 
We trace Paul’s zig-zagging path—Nigeria during a coup, Apple’s textbook S&OP, a Samsung prototype with a young Vitalik—to EY’s privacy stack (Nightfall/Starlight) and his “pragmatic ETH-maxi” thesis. Also: the lore behind EY’s most coveted swag.

Paul on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pbrody/

Paul on X: https://x.com/pbrody 

Book — Ethereum for Business (in Plain English): https://www.amazon.com/Ethereum-Business-Plain-English-Generate-Management/dp/1954892101
Buenos Aires event:⁠ https://luma.com/kylnbzb8

EY Blockchain (Nightfall/Starlight code): github.com/eyblockchain ・ blockchain.ey.com

Timestamps:

00:00 EY boxer-shorts 😄

07:06 Paul’s backstory: Africa studies → Nigeria mobile → first trip to Israel

10:49 The coup, payroll, and a Swissair IOU

13:35 “Chaos on the inside”: Samsung & big-company reality

21:33 Apple’s S&OP masterclass (sales/marketing/supply chain in lockstep)

33:48 Bitcoin → Ethereum: CES 2015 prototype with Vitalik; the light-bulb moment

37:43 EY Blockchain: services + software; why zero-knowledge privacy mattered

45:36 OpsChain, tokenizing “stuff,” notarization, contract manager; Xbox case study

51:15 “Pragmatic ETH-maxi”: why standardization and network effects matter

54:37 Enterprise Ethereum Alliance: becoming chair; back to public-chain roots

56:50 ETH as an asset; closing notes & where to follow Paul