Angus Berwick

You've got one of the most powerful officials in the United Arab Emirates who has put a huge amount of money into a company run by the president's family.

And you've got the world's biggest crypto company, which isn't even allowed to operate in the United States because of its criminal conviction that has been boosting world liberty.

It's known as Abu Dhabi Finance Week.

The week normally kicks off with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

People within that subculture were all there, swigging champagne and watching the F1 cars tear past.

There was a DJ on there.

If you've got money to spend and you rent the superyacht and you park it alongside the track and then you invite all your friends and customers to come and first to watch the race and then you kind of party into the evening.

This is where crypto heavyweights and policymakers in that space fly in for a couple of days.

You know, obviously there's the appeal of trying to score meetings with these deep-pocketed Emirati investors.

You had Eric Trump, Steve Witkoff, who by that time had been appointed President Trump's special envoy for the Middle East.

It was this incredible intersection of the biggest names in crypto and the incoming presidents in a circle.

It was not considered a very serious project.

I don't think people really thought that it would be a serious competitor in the industry.

the whales, this kind of crypto term for like guys that have a lot of crypto wealth.

If you scored a whale ticket, then you had access to the whale only room, which was a kind of sectioned off part of the conference where all the big dogs would go and hang out.

You had CZ making one of his first conference appearances since his release from jail.

He was the emperor of the cryptoverse to suddenly be put into a prison jumpsuit.

CZ's always been this industry mogul.

And I think his jail sentence knocked him down a few pegs.

And I think CZ, he is, you know, whatever you think of him, he is most certainly a fighter.