Beyond the Code

In this episode of Beyond the Code, Yitzy Hammer sits down with Scott Thiel, CEO and founder of Tokinvest, to explore how real-world asset tokenization is moving from hype to reality.
Scott shares his path from award-winning lawyer and legal innovator to startup founder building regulated on-chain investment products in Dubai. He reflects on his years at DLA Piper, his early fascination with the intersection of law and technology, his exposure to China’s fast-moving tech ecosystem, and how that journey ultimately led him into blockchain, Hedera, and the world of tokenization.
The conversation dives deep into Tokinvest’s mission to make high-value assets more accessible through fractional ownership, from racehorses and art to commodities and real estate. Scott explains why regulation has been the missing piece for RWAs, how Dubai’s VARA framework created the right environment for innovation, and why Tokinvest’s latest approved real estate product marks a major step forward for retail access to tokenized finance.
They also discuss the hard realities of building in crypto, what it takes to bring compliant products to market, why not every asset should be tokenized, and what the next wave of adoption could look like as RWAs finally begin to scale.

Erin West returns to Beyond the Code to unpack the terrifying scale of today’s global scam economy.
A former prosecutor and founder of Operation Shamrock, Erin explains how organized criminal networks built massive scam compounds across Southeast Asia, how human trafficking fuels these operations, and why scams like pig butchering, fake investment platforms, and extortion schemes are affecting far more people than most of us realize.
We also talk about victim support, crypto tracing, Bitcoin ATMs, public awareness, and why this crisis is as much about loneliness and trust as it is about technology and crime.
A powerful conversation about one of the most urgent and underappreciated threats of the digital age.
Also, make sure to check out Erin’s podcast, Stolen.

Stephen Sargeant (Airdropd) breaks down what crypto compliance actually looks like from the inside: five years at Bitfinex handling investigations and law enforcement requests, why the compliance community is tighter (and more welcoming) than people assume, and how a single 20-minute video to Chainalysis turned into producing their podcast, Public Key.
We also get practical on content: why “AI slop” is making real creators stand out, why LinkedIn is a “value piggy bank,” and what crypto Twitter natives get wrong when they try to port their influence over. Plus: surviving trolls, building narrative in a chaotic industry, and how early-stage founders can approach compliance without killing the business.

I sat down with Yoni Assia, co-founder & CEO of eToro, for a wide-ranging conversation that spans Bitcoin’s earliest days, eToro’s journey through the 2008 crisis, and why Yoni thinks AI agents will soon trade more than humans.
We talk about Yoni’s early path into tech, his first startup (and the tough realities of unit economics), and how eToro evolved from a trading product into a mass-market platform powered by social investing and CopyTrader. Yoni also shares the inside story of his early crypto conviction - board fights, Mt. Gox, Colored Coins, and his reaction to the Ethereum whitepaper - plus thoughts on NFTs, UBI via GoodDollar (and who's still using it - someone! shocking!) , prediction markets, geopolitics, and whether quantum computing is a real Bitcoin risk (it is, and it isn't - Yoni spells it out real clearly, probably yet another Yoni prophesy).

Crypto lawyer-turned-operator Daniel Lo shares an “alternative legal career” journey, sharing how he wen from M&A in Calgary to Managing Director, GM and CLO at Acheron Trading in Singapore. He explains what it’s wearing both the legal and management hat, breaks down how a market maker supports token projects (from white-glove designated market making to execution/OTC), and what it takes to get regulated in 2026’s tougher environment.
Daniel also dives into why he co-founded LDU (Legal Disruption Unit) to help startups and crypto teams move beyond the traditional billable-hour model (much like we do at DLT Law) - especially around licensing, compliance, and regulator engagement.
Finally, he shares practical AI workflows for legal/compliance teams (including how to turn regulator guidance into a checklist-based gap analysis), and gives an Asia-focused regulatory outlook on Singapore vs Hong Kong, plus what to watch in South Korea as institutional participation opens up.
Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn.