Syed, Midnight President — $200M Spent, Zero VCs, and Why Anonymity Isn't Privacy

Fahmi Syed runs the Midnight Foundation, custodian of a fourth-generation privacy-first blockchain backed by Charles Hoskinson. Roughly $200 million spent. Zero VC funding. One of the biggest airdrops in crypto history.Jamie Redman sits down with Fahmi at Consensus 2026 for the full breakdown: programmable privacy, selective disclosure, the dual-token Night/Dust model, why Zcash and Monero keep getting delisted, why agentic AI desperately needs a proof layer, and what "Web 2.5" actually means.We cover:- The bank-account-number anecdote that defines rational privacy- Why transparent blockchains can't carry institutions across the bridge- Midnight's private-permissions model between Monero and JPMorgan- The dual-token Night/Dust design and predictable corporate costs- One of crypto's biggest airdrops — no VCs, no insider allocations- March 2026 mainnet and the 100+ builders in pre-prod- The 2008 TradFi trading floor that shaped his self-custody viewsFilmed at Consensus 2026.Host: Jamie Redman