#78 Championing Crypto: Coinbase’s UK Country Director, Elke Karskens

The Tech Leaders Podcast

Do you feel like the world of Crypto is a bit… cryptic?

Well, fear not, as Elke Karskens, UK Country Director at Coinbase, joins Gareth on this week’s episode to delve into this ‘digital alternative to Wall Street’ and discuss her role in one of the biggest businesses in the space.

Growing up in Amsterdam, Elke was raised to focus on the importance of the greater good, which ultimately guided her career path to join numerous tech giants and play a vital role in their worldwide influence. Professing that she still ‘bleeds blue’ to this day, Elke tells all about her 12 years at Facebook and how the innovation she experienced there spurred her on to join the ground-breaking world of cryptocurrency.

This episode is jam-packed with aspirational advice on how to become a tech leader whilst setting boundaries and rejecting the ‘disease to please’, as Elke maintains that the secret to success is prioritising the things that matter most.

Time stamps

• What does good leadership mean to Elke? (02:02)
• Joining the TomTom trailblazers (08:14)
• Scaling-up Skype (10:12)
• Elke’s stand-out career milestones (14:30)
• The Cambridge Analytica scandal (17:08)
• Joining Coinbase (19:23)
• How defi can change finance (23:38)
• The FTX collapse (27:45)
• Elke’s secret to success (33:10)
• Is Coinbase going to utilise AI? (39:28)
• Advice to her 21-year-old self (40:38)