How Uber’s Playbook Shaped Blockchain.com’s Growth Strategy With Lane Kasselman

Most people think disruption is about technology.In reality, it’s about winning inside chaos, regulation, and imperfect systems — before the rules catch up.In this episode of Ventures from the Valley, I sit down with Lane Kasselman, President of Blockchain.com and one of the earliest executives at Uber, to unpack what it truly takes to scale category-defining companies in the most regulated environments on earth.We talk candidly about how Uber forced regulation to follow adoption, how that mindset carried into Blockchain.com, and why the next crypto cycle will look fundamentally different from the last.This is not a conversation about hype.It’s a masterclass on building real companies that survive cycles, scrutiny, and scale.⸻In this episode, we cover: • Why Uber’s “win or lose” culture still defines category winners • How Blockchain.com scaled from 100 to 600 employees in under a year • What founders misunderstand about regulation in tech and crypto • Why emerging markets are driving real crypto adoption — not speculation • How stablecoins are already replacing fiat in parts of the global economy • Why the next crypto downturn won’t look like 2022 • How AI agents will quietly make crypto the backbone of global payments • The leadership shifts required to scale from startup to global platform • Why hiring true operators — not just insiders — changes everything • The single most important mistake founders make in regulated industries⸻❓ If regulation is inevitable, should founders fight it — or design their strategy around it from day one?