Michael Feldman is Quantitative Researcher at Tantra Labs. Michael is first and foremost a scientist, and ultimately, he joined Tantra Labs because of the emphasis our team places on a quantitative, science-based approach to generating BTC alpha. Also when Michael heard that bitcoin was going to the moon, the astrophysicist in him got curious… Long before Michael found Bitcoin though, and quite some time before he became an gravitational physicist who studied the infinite marvel and beauty of the universe… Michael had a childhood, “a very awkward childhood.” During that very awkward childhood, he grew up in a place also known for its infinite marvel and beauty… New Jersey. And yet, despite all the natural beauty to be found in his home state… Michael somehow stayed inside and spent the majority of his adolescent free time playing video games. In particular, Michael excelled at Halo, perfecting both his “shit-talking” and alien-killing skills. All that time playing space-related video games definitely paid off though. And yes, maybe hard work and a natural aptitude for science and mathematics also played a part, but all of that time spent playing Halo would eventually lead Michael to Cornell University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in applied & engineering physics and “Really learned how to think.” Following his bachelor’s degree, Michael went on to receive his master of science degree in financial mathematics from King’s College London. And yet the stars called to him… In 2014 Michael took up a research position with the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). There he worked on gravity science for NASA Juno, effectively apprenticing to John D. Anderson to learn how JPL uses radio communications with robotic spacecrafts to conduct gravity science throughout the Solar System. Today, Michael continues his research for SwRI while also pursuing his own entrepreneurial ventures in the aerospace sector, but with an MS in Financial Mathematics under his belt, he couldn’t help but be intrigued by the promise of cryptocurrency. Like many folks, Michael “Started off in shitcoins, and fell down the Bitcoin rabbit hole with the help of friends.” When Michael isn’t working on complex financial or gravitational models, you can often find him hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains with his wol — dog, Maximus or reading. His favorite books include Taleb’s The Black Swan, as well as The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas S. Kuhn. Unfortunately Michael’s reading is often interrupted by Maximus who has no appreciation for fine literature, only squirrels and belly rubs.