--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I spent my whole career thinking about…" description: "\"I spent my whole career thinking about risk, markets, infrastructure, and regulation. I had seen the financial crisis unfold, and I had seen the credit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/blythe-masters-19003_ahead_i-spent-my-whole-career-thinking-about-r_2341382.png" --- # I spent my whole career thinking about risk, markets… ![“I spent my whole career thinking about risk, markets, infrastructure, and regulation. I had seen the financial crisis unfold, and I had seen the credit derivatives market get operationally ahead of itself, which resulted in systemic risk counterparty exposures. I began to believe that distributed…” quote by Blythe Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/blythe-masters-19003_ahead_i-spent-my-whole-career-thinking-about-r_2341382.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/blythe-masters-19003_ahead_i-spent-my-whole-career-thinking-about-r_2341382.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/blythe-masters-19003_ahead_i-spent-my-whole-career-thinking-about-r_2341382.png) > “I spent my whole career thinking about risk, markets, infrastructure, and regulation. I had seen the financial crisis unfold, and I had seen the credit derivatives market get operationally ahead of itself, which resulted in systemic risk counterparty exposures. I began to believe that distributed ledgers had the capability to tackle that problem.” [Blythe Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-masters/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker recounts experience with systemic financial risk and sees distributed ledger technology as a solution to improve transparency and reduce systemic exposure. **In simple terms:** Distributed ledgers can help manage systemic financial risk. Key Takeaway Explore blockchain for risk mitigation. Themes finance technology risk management Mood analytical forward‑looking Type financial technological When to use this quote - regulatory reform - financial infrastructure - risk assessment Key Concepts blockchain distributed ledger technology Questions to Reflect On - How can blockchain be integrated safely? - What regulatory changes are needed? A Different Perspective Implementation challenges and regulatory uncertainty remain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ahead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ahead/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Counterparty Exposures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counterparty-exposures-5103599/) [Credit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/credit/) [Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Distributed Ledgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distributed-ledgers-692642/) [Financial crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/financial-crisis/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Risk Counterparty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk-counterparty-5103598/) [Systemic Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/systemic-risk-374394/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinking Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-risk-2542841/) ## Related quotes > [I had seen the financial crisis unfold, and I had seen the credit derivatives market get operationally ahead of itself, which resulted in systemic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/i-had-seen-the-financial-crisis-unfold-and-i-had-seen-the-credit/) [Blythe Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-masters/) > [We have already seen some instances of systemic risk in recent times in the Asian financial crisis. But what sparked off the Asian financial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/we-have-already-seen-some-instances-of-systemic-risk-in-recent-times/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [Distributed ledgers are inherently harder to attack because instead of a single database, there are multiple shared copies of the same database, so a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-walport/distributed-ledgers-are-inherently-harder-to-attack-because-instead/) [Mark Walport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-walport/) > [maturity meant thinking about risk long before you pondered the reward, and that success and happiness in life were as much about avoiding mistakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/maturity-meant-thinking-about-risk-long-before-you-pondered-the/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“When thinking about risk, rather than making things unnecessarily complicated, there are really two main things you should want to know about an investment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-greenblatt/when-thinking-about-risk-rather-than-making-things-unnecessarily/) [Joel Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-greenblatt/) > [Unfortunately, tools that transfer risk can also increase systemic risk if major counterparties fail to manage their own risk exposures properly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/unfortunately-tools-that-transfer-risk-can-also-increase-systemic/) [Blythe Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-masters/) > [The Obama administration's plan is to have the Federal Reserve regulate banks that might pose a 'systemic risk' if they were to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/the-obama-administration-s-plan-is-to-have-the-federal-reserve/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [A single agency responsible for systemic risk would be accountable in a way that no regulator was in the run-up to the 2008 crisis.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/a-single-agency-responsible-for-systemic-risk-would-be-accountable-in/) [Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/) > [“To enable lending to proceed when the IMF’s sustainability criteria were not met, its bureaucrats designed the “systemic risk waiver.” It was a model…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/to-enable-lending-to-proceed-when-the-imf-s-sustainability-criteria/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [In the future, financial firms of any type whose failure would pose a systemic risk must accept especially close regulatory scrutiny of their risk-taking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/in-the-future-financial-firms-of-any-type-whose-failure-would-pose-a/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [My preference is for the Federal Reserve to be the systemic risk regulator, because the responsibility for identifying and limiting potential problems is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/my-preference-is-for-the-federal-reserve-to-be-the-systemic-risk/) [Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/) > [As boom- and bust-prone as high finance always has been and remains, the greatest systemic risk to our economy is not Wall Street. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blankley/as-boom-and-bust-prone-as-high-finance-always-has-been-and-remains/) [Tony Blankley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blankley/) > [The overwhelming majority of new mortgages are issued with government backing in a highly concentrated securitization market. That leaves us with both potential taxpayer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-powell/the-overwhelming-majority-of-new-mortgages-are-issued-with-government/) [Jerome Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-powell/) > [When it comes to policies of central bankers, the biggest systemic risk we have... are those policies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santelli/when-it-comes-to-policies-of-central-bankers-the-biggest-systemic/) [Rick Santelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santelli/) > [We now have power under the Dodd-Frank legislation to break up banks. And I've said I will use that power if they pose a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-now-have-power-under-the-dodd-frank-legislation-to-break-up-banks/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) ## More by Blythe Masters > [Digital Asset has a revolutionary technology platform that eliminates the counterparty risk and lack of transparency that has hindered mainstream adoption of cryptographic technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/digital-asset-has-a-revolutionary-technology-platform-that-eliminates/) [Blythe Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-masters/) > [Our view is that sensitive, contractual, market-moving, private data should be kept private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/our-view-is-that-sensitive-contractual-market-moving-private-data/) [Blythe Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-masters/) > [I've always been motivated to innovate where the implications are significant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/i-ve-always-been-motivated-to-innovate-where-the-implications-are/) [Blythe Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-masters/) > [I think the most important thing to understand about credit derivatives and their use at JPMorgan is they served a number of different purposes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/i-think-the-most-important-thing-to-understand-about-credit/) [Blythe Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-masters/) > [Digital Asset has a revolutionary technology platform that eliminates the counterparty risk and lack of transparency that has hindered mainstream adoption of cryptographic technology.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/digital-asset-has-a-revolutionary-technology-platform-that-eliminates-2/) [Blythe Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-masters/) > [A credit derivative, at its core, is actually a very simple concept... The simplest way to think of a credit derivative is it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/a-credit-derivative-at-its-core-is-actually-a-very-simple-concept-the/) [Blythe Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-masters/) > [The Hyperledger Project is gaining traction on a daily basis, displaying how vital this effort is in advancing distributed ledger technology. Uniting the industry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/the-hyperledger-project-is-gaining-traction-on-a-daily-basis/) [Blythe Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-masters/) > [I have a quantitative background, but really, derivatives appealed to me because they require so much creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/i-have-a-quantitative-background-but-really-derivatives-appealed-to/) [Blythe Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-masters/) > [Distributed ledger technology is fashionable. In fact, if you could wear it, you'd put Ralph Lauren out of business, at least in my case.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/distributed-ledger-technology-is-fashionable-in-fact-if-you-could/) [Blythe Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-masters/) > [We all want a non-fragmented solution, but the utopian version of a single blockchain to rule them all is undesirable and impractical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/we-all-want-a-non-fragmented-solution-but-the-utopian-version-of-a/) [Blythe Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-masters/) > [Just being able to trade financial commodities is a serious limitation because financial commodities represent only a tiny fraction of the reality of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/just-being-able-to-trade-financial-commodities-is-a-serious/) [Blythe Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-masters/) > [When asked to explain this space, I often ask people to forget pretty much everything you've heard about blockchains, crypto-currencies, and bitcoin, and instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/when-asked-to-explain-this-space-i-often-ask-people-to-forget-pretty/) [Blythe Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-masters/) > [You have to abide by the regulations that the regulators insist on. This is not a philosophical divide - it's a fact of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/you-have-to-abide-by-the-regulations-that-the-regulators-insist-on/) [Blythe Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-masters/) > [Unfortunately, tools that transfer risk can also increase systemic risk if major counterparties fail to manage their own risk exposures properly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/unfortunately-tools-that-transfer-risk-can-also-increase-systemic/) [Blythe Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-masters/) > [Blockchain technology, or distributed ledger technology, is just a way of using the modern sciences of encryption to enable entities to share a common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/blockchain-technology-or-distributed-ledger-technology-is-just-a-way/) [Blythe Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-masters/) [Explore all 33 Blythe Masters quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-masters/) ## More Ahead quotes > [Anybody who thinks that they should lead the country should go ahead and put their hat in the ring. I am not among them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-schatz/anybody-who-thinks-that-they-should-lead-the-country-should-go-ahead/) [Brian Schatz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-schatz/) > [If I have a problem with somebody, I go ahead and say what's on my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-hulkenberg/if-i-have-a-problem-with-somebody-i-go-ahead-and-say-what-s-on-my-mind/) [Nico Hulkenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-hulkenberg/) > [I once invested in a risky business. Quite a few people warned me not to do so, but I still went ahead and invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautam-rode/i-once-invested-in-a-risky-business-quite-a-few-people-warned-me-not/) [Gautam Rode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautam-rode/) > [“What lies behind us is nothing compared to what lies within us and ahead of us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-covey/what-lies-behind-us-is-nothing-compared-to-what-lies-within-us-and/) [Stephen R. Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-covey/) > [In Life, We May Never Get The Same Opportunity Again, But There's Always Something Better Ahead...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/in-life-we-may-never-get-the-same-opportunity-again-but-there-s/) [Pacifiersucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pacifiersucker/) > [Makeup is only fun if it's occasional and capricious - just like it's a treat to have an empty day ahead, but it wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-coren-mitchell/makeup-is-only-fun-if-it-s-occasional-and-capricious-just-like-it-s-a/) [Victoria Coren Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-coren-mitchell/) > [There is no such thing as disposable time if you want to stay ahead of the game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-no-such-thing-as-disposable-time-if-you-want-to-stay-ahead/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm the kind of guy who comes home and checks scores for everything. I'm a sports fan in general, so I pretty much keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chadwick-boseman/i-m-the-kind-of-guy-who-comes-home-and-checks-scores-for-everything-i/) [Chadwick Boseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chadwick-boseman/) > [People are flying you places in business class. Everyone wants to take pictures of you and find out information about you. It's a freak-out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yolandi-visser/people-are-flying-you-places-in-business-class-everyone-wants-to-take/) [Yolandi Visser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yolandi-visser/) > [I wasn't putting my all into it and I was still managing to score goals, and that gave me something to dream about, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gray/i-wasn-t-putting-my-all-into-it-and-i-was-still-managing-to-score/) [Andre Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gray/) > [There's no limit to what you can accomplish, but there's always someone one step ahead of you, so it's a constant uphill battle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-mary-stewart/there-s-no-limit-to-what-you-can-accomplish-but-there-s-always/) [Catherine Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-mary-stewart/) > [I was never bothered about my position in the industry. If I had believed in it, I wouldn't have allowed anyone to get ahead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharmendra/i-was-never-bothered-about-my-position-in-the-industry-if-i-had/) [Dharmendra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dharmendra/) > [I don't want to look too far ahead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jofra-archer/i-don-t-want-to-look-too-far-ahead/) [Jofra Archer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jofra-archer/) > [“one who takes the first step always remains one step ahead”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabi-shaheen/one-who-takes-the-first-step-always-remains-one-step-ahead/) [Rabi Shaheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabi-shaheen/) > [I am not interested to sing in Bollywood. I sing for only those actors whom I admire. I sing free of cost for them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-honey-singh/i-am-not-interested-to-sing-in-bollywood-i-sing-for-only-those-actors/) [Yo Yo Honey Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-honey-singh/) [Browse all 1,773 Ahead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ahead/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I spent my whole career thinking about risk, markets, infrastructure, and regulation. I had seen the financial crisis unfold, and I had seen the credit derivatives market get operationally ahead of itself, which resulted in systemic risk counterparty exposures. I began to believe that distributed ledgers had the capability to tackle that problem.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Blythe Masters" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/i-spent-my-whole-career-thinking-about-risk-markets-infrastructure/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ahead" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/i-spent-my-whole-career-thinking-about-risk-markets-infrastructure/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/blythe-masters-19003_ahead_i-spent-my-whole-career-thinking-about-r_2341382.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/blythe-masters-19003_ahead_i-spent-my-whole-career-thinking-about-r_2341382.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/blythe-masters-19003_ahead_i-spent-my-whole-career-thinking-about-r_2341382.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I spent my whole career thinking about risk, markets, infrastructure, and regulation. I had seen the…” — Blythe Masters", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Blythe Masters", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-masters/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I spent my whole career thinking...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/i-spent-my-whole-career-thinking-about-risk-markets-infrastructure/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-masters/i-spent-my-whole-career-thinking-about-risk-markets-infrastructure/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```