People Fundamentals #4: Georges-Edouard Richon – French Rap & Quant Research in Crypto

Combine moving away from Paris to work in crypto, the Twitter pro league, French rap, and a healthy pinch of self-deprecating humor and what do you get? Nexo Quant Researcher, Georges-Edouard Richon! We know it was a toughie, so no worries if you didn’t get it, but definitely check out the interview. In addition to his multifaceted personality, Georges-Edouard provided us with quite a wealth of resources on crypto and Twitter channels to follow and concepts to consider if you’re working in the industry.

Georges-Edouard Richon – French Rap & Quant Research in Crypto

1) Who are you? Describe yourself in a few words.

My name is Georges-Edouard. Yes I know, a hyphenated first name is not that common. My father wanted to name me Georges and my mother wanted Edouard. In the end, they couldn’t decide…I am 24 years old, I am French (fortunately you can't hear my accent in writing), and for some extra texture: I studied mathematics and finance in Paris.

The years I spent studying added to my taste for new technologies and creation, and gave me the desire to work as a quant researcher. By the way, when I say I like creation, I'm not lying. I've already made several types of content on the internet related to my hobbies. Other than that, I've always wanted to live abroad, so my arrival at Nexo wasn't really by chance.

I’ll tell you about my passions in the following questions since here we had to describe ourselves in a few words and just explaining my name took half a page…

2) How would you describe your digital personality #Meta-Identity? (Ex. Internet Aficionado, Social Recluse, Digital Doggo Freak)?

This question is pretty funny. But to answer it more accurately, I decided to ask some people to tell me how they saw me through my image and behaviour on the internet.

One of them said that I was part of the "Twitter pro league". Apparently, I use this network too much. I’d say that’s because there are a lot of interesting sources and Twitter allows debates about the latest news.

Another said I was an "advanced content consumer". I asked him what that meant, he said he saw me regularly sharing documentaries or an article. Pretty cool, I'll take it.

After that, my little brother said I was a “boomer”. So I decided to stop asking people…

3) You have all the resources you need. What would you create?

Something I haven’t mentioned yet is that I am passionate about music. But not just any kind: French rap. Yes, I know, it's a very specific passion that foreigners don't usually share with me (which is understandable considering how hard the French language can be).

So if I had all the resources in the world, I think I would try to create events around rap – I'd like to try combining rap and cryptocurrencies. I have several ideas for:

• Concerts and parties
• Productions for new artists
• Using NFTs – they could be used as merchandise or with the artist's music directly.

In general, I would try to develop the French rap network by involving people from the scene who have much more skills and expertise than me. That way, I won't degrade the culture and we can create cool events together that everyone enjoys. Of course, this idea is only one among many others: ecology, new technologies, space conquest… Maybe I would even try to create a new city – the most optimal and best in the world settlement.

4) How did you get into crypto? What’s your Nexo story?

My story at Nexo is pretty simple. I had planned to travel for a while after my graduation. But as you may be aware, there was a little thing that came up at the same time: COVID. So the only travel I could do was between my room and my kitchen.

Since it wasn't possible to be a tourist at that time, rather than just wandering around my house, I wanted to start my career. Incidentally, this also allowed me to travel – two birds with one stone. So I applied as a quant researcher around the world, without any geographical restriction: South Africa, Singapore, anywhere. Then Nexo contacted me, I liked the tasks they were offering, and I liked the idea of working in a cutting-edge field like cryptos so I took the job. And that's where the story begins.

5) What is your biggest challenge?

The world is vast, there is always an idea to explore, a book to read, a culture to discover, a movement to understand, a stupid thing to test…it seems quite inconceivable to do nothing! I like to be focused on things to finish them neatly but once they're done, it's cool to move on. So, I would say that my biggest challenge is to constantly be dynamic in my life, and not feel bored.

6) What is your biggest failure?

I don’t think I have anything that I consider a “failure”.

7) How many hours do you sleep?

In France, there is a saying “The less you sleep, the stronger you are”. So I sleep about 8 hours a night. No kidding! I'm already strong enough, thank you. More seriously: I sleep the hours I need and sometimes I even wake up earlier to work out before going to work. That happens more than once every full moon, I swear.

If the wider public becomes more interested in knowing how long I sleep, I’m happy to make a YouTube video called "24 Hours in My Shoes", don't tempt me.

What’s in your crypto survival kit?

A lot of it is Twitter, so to avoid repeating myself later, I will try to limit myself to content other than Twitter. The advantage of speaking another language in addition to English is that you can compare sources and have twice the content. We have a lot of resources in French on cryptocurrencies, so I am obliged, a little by chauvinism I admit, to quote some of them.

• Hasheur – Probably the biggest influencer in cryptocurrencies in France, he manages to popularize complex topics without losing information.
• Journal du coin – The first French website for information on crypto.
• Cryptoast – Complex topics and interviews with many people in the field. I listen to them as a podcast on Spotify.
• Rekt.news – All the bad news in the crypto world. Let’s remember it’s just as important as the good news.
• The white papers – Reading an asset/chain’s white paper is probably the most important thing to do before investing in a coin. It highlights many technological aspects of the coin that you can then deepen your understanding of by watching videos or reading articles on the topic.
• Coin bureau – Complete videos and very interesting newsletters about cryptocurrencies.

In addition to the aforementioned content, let me just add that you can never have enough BTC…

9) What coin are you most curious about?

You mean besides ETH? Oh guys, we're talking about the second most important coin, which is going to go from PoW to PoS. Of course, I want to see the impact the merge will have (when I talk about impact, I also mean the impact on my personal portfolio…). What’s more, Vitalik has said that the network would be 55% finished after that. Imagine the second half of the story if the first half was as big and technical as this one.

Ah and yeah, obviously the other coin I want to see the evolution of is the NEXO Token. #nexotozemoon.

10) Who’s on your must-follow list on Twitter?

French rap accounts without any hesitation. It's important to keep up with the latest releases and especially the latest gossip… Oh wait, were you talking about cryptos? For that, I'd say Musk. Some would say it's because he's so influential that some of his tweets can have a big impact on the market, but I would say it's because of his memes…

To be honest, the French community is very active in cryptos so I would recommend:

• Le_Coin_Cafe – Good for technical analyses, looks at different projects and often has an interesting opinion. This channel makes the world of crypto very accessible.
• HimoraSlimane – Talks not only about crypto but also about stocks and other markets. He is very aware of what is going on and shares his short- and long-term results.
• Maxime__prigent – A true Twitter OG. Tends to share long explanatory threads about the state of the markets, which allows for more depth to the ideas he's putting forth, which is pretty cool.
• XFenaux – Very active on Twitter in addition to his podcasts and YouTube content.

A special mention goes out to CryptoPicsou and crypto_futur.

In English, I would recommend:

• VitalikButerin (I won't insult you by introducing him)
• Trader_XO
• abetrade
• 52kskew
• 4adybug
• WifeyAlpha
• mattomattik

11) Who are you outside of work?

Outside of work, I would say that I am a cheerful person who is open enough to do activities and discover things that I have never done before. Plus, I'm lucky enough to be working at a place that allows me to travel to a lot of places I've never been before, over 3000 kilometers away from where I'm from.

So that's pretty cool. Especially since I think I'm pretty open-minded, which allows me to understand people’s stores and experiences when I meet them and to find commonalities with them. And so when I'm traveling or when I’m in my city, it allows me to meet people and share interesting moments. Beyond meeting people, I really try to be interested in culture in general. This includes things like watching documentaries on geothermal energy or learning how to shoot in a shooting range.

Also, even if it's work-related, I'm constantly trying to keep up to date on the world of crypto, the different automatic trading techniques, and the evolution of what it means to be a quant researcher. So, if you pass by the Nexo HQ, text me. We’ll grab a drink (or several).

To me crypto and blockchain are… the future. Classic answer, right?

Next Week on People Fundamentals

We’re getting into the nitty-gritty of what it means to be on the Legal team of one of the crypto industry’s giants. Nexo’s Head of Legal, Bianca Veleva will take the People Fundamentals floor and tell you her story about taking the path less traveled and wrangling the ever-changing crypto regulatory landscape.