Erik Voorhees, CEO of the American crypto exchange ShapeShift, participated in the DeFi convention, Permissionless.

Voorhees focused on the permissionless nature of crypto. He pointed out that everything started with the invention of Bitcoin (BTC) 15 years ago.

He explained that permissionless digital money was created thanks to the cryptocurrency industry. When a person makes a transaction like paying with a credit card, he needs permission from a financial institution or bank. However, crypto transactions represent a much higher level of financial freedom.

The crypto founder talked about the state’s role and defined them as a group of strangers. Later on, he added that the state steels consumers’ income through the use of taxes. He added that the crypto industry is building a new economic defense based on a different structure using permissionless money as the critical point.

Finally, he questioned the role of regulators, giving one example of the SEC led by Gary Gensler and the definition of tokens as securities.

Permissionless is hosted and organized by the media outlet Blockwords. The event occurred between Sept. 11 and 13 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, TX.

The event had the attendance of more than 7,000 crypto enthusiasts across the United States and worldwide. Different leaders and well-known names from the crypto industry participated in the event, such as Ethereum (ETH) founder Vitalik Buterin, Solana (SOL) co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, and OKX president Hong Fang, among others.