Interview Series: Greg Kidd
From Twitter to USBC: The Genius Inventor/Investor Take on Risk, Reinvention, and Riding Toward Fair Access
It’s not every day you get to sit down with someone who has had a front-row seat (and often, a hand on the handlebars) in shaping the future of finance, technology, and identity. Greg Kidd has worn more hats than most—early investor in household fintech names like Twitter, Square, Coinbase, and Ripple; Chief Risk Officer; founder; cyclist; and now CEO and Chairman of USBC.
What makes Greg stand out isn’t just his ability to spot the next big thing, but his commitment to fair access, inclusion, and building systems that empower people everywhere. His accessibility is also legendary. I vividly remember one of our lunches where he arrived still fully geared to ride his bicycle, shoes clicking on the floor of a fancy SF restaurant. He had taken a stumble on his way, tore his short and was clearly bruised. Yet, he didn’t want to be late so he arrives as he was. And that is Greg.
In true Kidd fashion, our conversation was part visionary, part playful, to the point, and entirely thought-provoking.
The Delivery Man (DM): Let’s start with the early days. When you were growing up, what was the first ‘Eureka!’ moment that set you on the path toward entrepreneurship or innovation?
Greg Kidd (GK): Seeing bike messengers make decisions rather than being told what to do after we suggested a business model that was bottom up rather than top down.
DM: You once took your first company public in the 1990s—what inspired you to go the IPO route at that stage in your life?
GK: We realized we could buy all our customers rather than servicing them as just a software vendor.
DM: Your academic triptych includes Brown, Yale, and Harvard Kennedy—do tell: did one of your degrees secretly train you in cunning startup strategies?
GK: Schools don’t help with startups per se. It’s everything but!
DM: Can you name an early personal or professional mentor who shaped your thinking—or perhaps taught you the secret handshake of angel investing?
GK: Max Levchin talking about his days at starting Paypal. He later had the wisdom to push the BNPL - Buy Now Pay Later model.
(DM Note: Max is also an avid cyclist. More of it later)
DM: Angel investing is notoriously a social sport—what was your earliest memorable networking moment that changed everything?
GK: Playing poker with the payments geeks.
(DM note: ’s note: This is how Greg got introduced to Ripple. Hearing about Bitcoin, it was the only company at the time accepting investments including his. He would also join the company as Chief Risk Officer as part of his commitment to the vision.)
DM: Now, about your career. You made ‘first money’ into Twitter, Square, Coinbase, Ripple, Solana, Brave, and Robinhood. I’m guessing you must be psychic—how on Earth did you spot these gems so early?
GK: Woody Allen – it’s 95% showing up. The rest was a bit like a Forrest Gump path.
DM: Hard Yaka is invested in portable identity, payments, marketplaces—what’s the unifying philosophy behind that mix?
GK: Fair access and inclusion – anything that promotes those principles and pushes the ball forward.
DM: As former Chief Risk Officer at Ripple, early angel investor, and CEO of Global iD—how do these hats inform each other?
GK: Blockchain + identity creates the killer (and legitimate/compliant) app.
DM: You even ran for Congress in 2024 in Nevada’s 2nd District—what caused you to jump into the political arena?
GK: Business and politics are merging. Elon (Musk) and Brian Armstrong both gleaned that.
DM: Now, let’s switch gear to today. After closing the $125 million acquisition of Know Labs on August 6, 2025, you rebranded the company as USBC and took the helm as CEO and Chairman. What was the moment you decided, ‘A programmable digital dollar? Jolly good!’?
GK: It’s been a decade long vision. While the blockchain is now fast and clear, we realized early on that you also needed to integrate it with top flight compliance rules (which others skirt by on).
DM: The USBC token is described as a U.S.‑dollar‑denominated, blockchain‑based deposit with identity built in and high‑yield rewards baked in. What practical problems do you think it solves—beyond making your crypto‑friendly cyclist friends smile?
GK: It’s the safest form of money. Unlike other forms of digital dollars, USBC comes with bank-grade consumer guard rails.
DM: You deployed a Bitcoin treasury strategy—1,000 BTC plus $15 million in cash—to de‑risk the balance sheet and jump‑start development of the USBC ecosystem. How does that strategy ride compared to the typical asset class ‘commute’?
GK: That’s just risk capital at the bank level.
DM: USBC is now publicly traded under its new ticker on NYSE American since August 15, 2025, with no action required by shareholders. What’s your north‑star goal for USBC over the next year—or, better yet, over the next bike‑century?
GK: Fair access for all. It’s about how we have to avoid the “avoid failure at any cost” attitude of the old guard. We are firemen – we run towards smoke. We want to manage risk, not avoid it.
DM: What’s your take on the GENIUS (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins) Act?
GK: Putting the US back in the lead rather than lagging behind.
DM: Allright, let’s conclude with our classic silly questions. If your life were a bike ride, which was it: smooth freeway cruise or wild downhill single track—or perhaps both?
GK: Flowy singletrack.
DM: What’s your favorite post-ride snack? Personally, I’m lobbying hard for croissants with Guinness—do you have something uniquely Kidd-esque?
GK: 7-Eleven spicy dog.
DM: Legend has it you once bicycled from Luxembourg to Slovenia—did you stop for a schnitzel, or was it all business (and biking lycra)?
GK: One week through Germany.
(DM Note to self: check sources :) However, trusted confidents did mention he also did ride through tibet a couple months later (even reaching Everest base camp)
DM: What’s your superhero cycling power? Drafting at lightning speed, chain-ring charm, or an uncanny ability to avoid potholes?
GK: Mixing it up in a sprint.
DM: If you had to pitch USBC while riding a tandem bike with, say, Max Levchin, also an avid cyclist—what’s your 10-second pitch while avoiding handlebars?
GK: Bank money for all, regardless of where you live
DM: A huge thank you to Greg for generously sharing his time, insights, and humor with The Delivery Man. From his “Eureka!” moments to his vision for a programmable digital dollar, Greg reminds us that innovation is best driven by curiosity, fairness, and just a bit of fun along the ride. We’re grateful for his perspective and look forward to watching where his exceptional journey—and his wheels—take him next.
✨I like “Fair access and inclusion” as philosophy for investment in early-stage startups!
This is proof that biking makes you smarter!