On The Brink with Castle Island
548 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 272 ratingsHosts Matt Walsh and Nic Carter of Castle Island Ventures explore the political, ethical, and economic significance of Bitcoin and other public blockchains and talk to some of the leading experts in the industry. Learn more and stay up to date at CastleIsland.vc and follow on twitter @CastleIslandVC
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Episodes
Weekly Roundup 06/23/23 (FTX and K5 clawbacks, Prime Trust chaos, ETF frenzy) (EP.433)
June 23, 2023 10:00 - 39 minutes - 54.5 MBMatt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Bitcoin hits 30k Wyoming’s stable token developments The story behind FTX’s mammoth $500m outflow to K5 global Why was SBF spending hundreds of millions cozying up to talent agents? Do Kwon will spend 4 months in jail in Montenegro The Bitgo Prime Trust acquisition falls apart Deutche Bank applies for a crypto license in Germany EDX officially launches Blackrock files for their ETF and others follow ...
Chris Rothfuss on Wyoming’s Blockchain Strategy & the WY Stable Token (EP.432)
June 19, 2023 10:00 - 53 minutes - 73.8 MBWyoming state senator and Minority Floor Leader in the Wyoming Senate, Chris Rothfuss joins the show. We cover Wyoming’s crypto efforts to date to create a stable and secure digital asset ecosystem. In this episode: Senator’s Rothfuss’ pre-politics career and how he came to grapple with the crypto space Why Wyoming has an opportunity in digital asset policy The origins of Wyoming’s blockchain select committee How the NY Bitlicense inspired Wyoming’s efforts Why crypto policy isn’t p...
Weekly Roundup 06/16/23 (Prometheum madness, the Hinman emails, HK’s crypto banking play) (EP.431)
June 16, 2023 10:00 - 36 minutes - 49.9 MBMatt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Coin Metrics derives new estimates of Bitcoin’s electricity consumption Nic reviews his Lasik experience Matt takes Prometheum to task Is Prometheum a patsy for the SEC? Why is vaporware being elevated by the SEC and major exchanges being stymied? We digest the Hinman emails and what they mean for ETH and XRP What do the Hinman emails mean for the SEC’s The SEC attempts to make DeFi protocols register...
Weekly Roundup 06/09/23 (SEC v Coinbase and Binance, Market Structure bill, the curious case of Prometheum) (EP.430)
June 10, 2023 12:10 - 43 minutes - 60.1 MBMatt and Nic return for another week of deals and news. In this episode: Token disclosure practices Matt tries pickleball Sequoia is breaking up into parts Will Chinese and American capital markets be severed? What’s in the proposed House market structure bill? Coinbase sues Coinbase and Binance How does the SEC think BUSD is a security? The SEC approves Prometheum as a crypto broker dealer Prometheum’s CCP ties Did Gensler solicit Binance to advice them before he ran the ...
Lili Infante (CAT Labs) on Combating and Preventing Crypto Crime (EP.429)
June 05, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 83.7 MBIn this episode, we sat down with Lili Infante, Founder and CEO of CAT Labs. Lili shared: Her experience spearheading the formation of the crypto taskforce at the DOJ How the crypto-enabled crime landscape has evolved and become more sophisticated Investigating cases where crypto is used and the unique challenges in establishing a chain of custody Products CAT Labs is building to more effectively recover digital assets and protect against situations where assets are compromised in the...
Weekly Roundup 06/02/23 (Crypto-eurodollars, SBF's defense, debt ceiling debate) (EP.428)
June 02, 2023 10:00 - 32 minutes - 44.8 MBMatt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: The debt ceiling debate is resolved What happened to Paxos’ / Paypal’s stablecoin? Offshore dollar stablecoins are growing while onshore stablecoins are shrinking Stablecoin policy in the US is backfiring USD stables issued out of Hong Kong Tether reaches a new all time high The bad boys are back SBF’s defense will reportedly claim he got bad advice from Fenwick Farenheit wins the bid for the Celcius...
Weekly Roundup 05/26/23 (The real Greenidge story, MEV on Bitcoin, Fed data on adoption) (EP.427)
May 26, 2023 10:00 - 43 minutes - 60.3 MBMatt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Validators sign up to stake ETH post merge Will there be MEV on Bitcoin? What's the deal with Worldcoin? Is the wash sale tax loophole stalling the debt ceiling negotiations? Have ordinals changed Bitcoin culture? The Fed releases new data on crypto adoption in the U.S. Paradigm adds AI to their mandate Whip Tom Emmer and Rep Darren Soto introduce the Securities Clarity Act The NYT reports that p...
Weekly Roundup 05/19/23 (Texas PoR bill, the Hinman test revisited, what's up with Worldcoin?) (EP.426)
May 19, 2023 10:00 - 43 minutes - 59.8 MBNic and Matt return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Nic and Matt reminisce on the Bitcoin Miami conference Ripple wins a key victory over the SEC in the Hinman test Texas passes a proof of reserve bill The SEC alleges that Filecoin is a security What's the deal with Worldcoin? How biometrics and blockchain can help with AI Regulating AI Tether is buying Bitcoin John Ray is trying to claw back more funds Is Michael Lewis an innocent bystander in the...
FactSet + CoinMetrics on Institutional Crypto Data (EP.425)
May 17, 2023 15:20 - 41 minutes - 28.6 MBChris Ellis, Head of Strategic Initiatives at FactSet and Tim Rice, founder of Coin Metrics join the show. In this episode we discuss: The partnership between FactSet and Coin Metrics how the companies are jointly going to market. How FactSet thinks about partnerships and how digital assets has evolved as an area of focus at the company. The features and functionality that FactSet users are asking for as it relates to crypto/digital asset data. The future of asset tokenization and the...
Weekly Roundup 05/12/23 (BRC20 mania, are high fees good for Bitcoin, the Wyoming stable token) (EP.424)
May 12, 2023 10:00 - 43 minutes - 60.3 MBMatt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: BRC20 PEPE versus ERC20 PEPE Is PEPE an alt right coin? What’s driving up fees on Bitcoin? The relationship between HEX, XEN, and VPMX Bitcoin’s circular firing squad The upside of high fees in Bitcoin Why the White House’s DAME mining tax is counterproductive What is the $18b tax loophole the Biden admin thinks crypto investors are taking advantage of? What’s the deal with blue checks? The difficult...
Steven Walbroehl (Halborn) on Blockchain Cybersecurity (EP.423)
May 08, 2023 13:31 - 40 minutes - 27.8 MBSteven Walbroehl, the co-founder and CTO of Halborn joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Steven’s crypto origin story and how he began tinkering with public blockchains. How Halborn’s work differs across traditional financial services customers versus decentralized organization customers. Basic recommendations for companies entering the public blockchain ecosystem. Halborn’s recent discovery of a zero-day exploit impacting 280 public blockchains. Views on market manipulation...
Weekly Roundup 05/05/23 (Bank apocalypse, Biden’s miner tax, Bhutan’s crypto ambitions) (EP.422)
May 05, 2023 10:00 - 38 minutes - 52.2 MBMatt and Nic are back with another week of news and deals. In this episode: Updates on South Shore Bar Pie The CIV boys consider new sponsors Regional banks keep failing Is the turmoil in the bank sector deflationary or inflationary? How does the Fed end the banking crisis? McHenry’s stablecoin bill Biden proposes a 30% tax on Bitcoin miners Why Biden’s DAME tax is counterproductive RFK Jr’s pro-crypto takes Nic throws his hat in the ring for RFK Jr Gensler running for ...
Simon Forster and Duncan Trenholme (TP ICAP) on Crypto Market Structure (EP.421)
May 02, 2023 16:22 - 41 minutes - 28.7 MBSimon Forster and Duncan Trenholme of TP ICAP join the show. In this episode we discuss: - TP ICAP's journey in the crypto / blockchain space. - The market structure for institutional cryptoasset trading. - The future of tokenization and the types of assets that are likely to be represented on chain. - The regulatory landscape and how this will shape the pace of building in the industry. To learn more about TP ICAP and their strategy visit: www.tpicap.com/digitalassets
Weekly Roundup 04/28/23 (First Republic in trouble, Hong Kong embraces crypto, did crypto cause the banking crisis?) (EP.420)
April 28, 2023 10:00 - 42 minutes - 58.8 MBMatt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: What’s the deal with south shore bar pie? We review Consensus in Austin Nic’s 2022 Coin Center dinner incident Nic’s gas siphoning incident First Republic appears heading for collapse Why was First Republic given time to save itself but not Signature? Block partners with Yellowcard for cross-border African payments Open Exchange’s purported investors deny investing in the business Coinbase is setting u...
Weekly Roundup 04/21/23 (Harberger taxes, SEC v Bittrex, stablecoin hearing) (EP.419)
April 21, 2023 10:00 - 34 minutes - 46.8 MBMatt and Nic are back with another week of news and deals. In this episode: We debate some curious new sponsors The Miami gas shortage Nic’s impressions of NFT NYC We review Eric’s Orb When do Harberger taxes work? CIV is hiring The SEC is suing Bittrex and alleges that Algorand and Dash are unregistered securities Gensler is skewered by Republican lawmakers in the House Financial Services hearing Gensler refuses to answer whether Ethereum is a security We review the Hous...
Dan Tapiero on Growth Investing in 2023 (EP.418)
April 19, 2023 13:30 - 42 minutes - 29 MBDan Tapiero, the founder of 10T Holdings and 1 Round Table Partners joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The performance of Bitcoin as a macro asset over the past year. The current regulatory environment and how the USA is losing its lead versus other countries in the digital asset ecosystem. The prospect of U.S. companies going public in non-U.S. jurisdictions. How Dan and his team approach growth stage investing. The secondary market and how Dan thinks about building owners...
Eric Wall on Eric's Orb (EP.417)
April 17, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 104 MBEric Wall is a cryptocurrency researcher, analyst, critic, and investor. In this episode we sit down to discuss the creation and premise of his new project, the Orb. What is the orb? How did the orb come about? How to bet on the human capital and reputational growth of individuals Why previous social tokens failed What does the orb entitle you to? Why the orb is not a security Harberger taxes and their implementations so far How harberger taxes create better allocative effici...
Weekly Roundup 04/14/23 (ETH unstaking, FedNow vs CBDCs, NYT on mining, FTX 2.0 gets closer) (EP.416)
April 14, 2023 10:00 - 45 minutes - 62.6 MBMatt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Is Ethereum going through a ‘bullish unlock’? Did the SEC decicion around staking help decentralize Ethereum? What is a commodity? We pitch futures for restaurant bookings The problem with ‘phygitals’ What’s going on with DWF labs? Twitter users will be able to trade crypto through the app Is FedNow a CBDC? Does FedNow introduce risks to the banking system? A relaunch of FTX gets more likely How th...
Dennison Bertram (Tally) on the Future of DAOs (EP.415)
April 12, 2023 10:00 - 37 minutes - 25.6 MBDennison Bertram, the co-founder and CEO of Tally, returns to the show. In this episode we discuss: Dennison’s career in the crypto industry from exchange founder to founding Tally. How to frame DAOs from a total addressable market perspective. What types of companies and industry categories would be better served as DAOs. Best practices in managing DAOs. The regulatory landscape for DAOs and how state LLC regulations could factor into future legislation. How Tally works with lead...
Weekly Roundup 04/07/23 (OCP2.0 remedies, Treasury on DeFi, FTX.com relaunch?) (EP.414)
April 07, 2023 10:00 - 42 minutes - 58.2 MBMatt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: What are the prospects for dealing with OCP 2.0? Creditors are considering relaunching FTX int’l The boundary between being a visionary and a scammer Nic’s feud against NPR What’s the deal with the bug eating meme? Are lobsters bugs? What happened to the tungsten cube NFTs? Singapore banks might be warming up to crypto Hong Kong is red hot as a crypto zone A new paper alleges the Fed has overstepped ...
Lorien Gabel and Benjamin Thalman (Figment) on Staking and the Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade (EP.413)
April 05, 2023 16:33 - 36 minutes - 25.4 MBLorien Gabel and Benjamin Thalman of Figment join the show. In this episode we discuss: The founding story of Figment and the focus of the firm. The evolution of proof of stake blockchains and how Figment helps their customers with staking. Ethereum, the Shanghai upgrade and the likely impacts of withdrawal functionality on the network. Views on the current regulatory environment and how that impacts proof of stake participants. To learn more about Figment visit their website and fol...
David Thompson (Cooper & Kirk) on What Can be Done about Operation Choke Point 2.0 (EP.412)
April 03, 2023 10:00 - 40 minutes - 55.2 MBIn this episode I sit down with David Thompson, managing partner at Cooper & Kirk. We cover the emergence of Operation Choke Point 2.0 and what recourse can be sought by the industry. In this episode: Cooper & Kirk's track record and reputation The story of Choke Point 1.0 and how Cooper & Kirk helped end it How was OCP 1.0 resolved? Why Cooper & Kirk wrote their recent white paper on OCP 2.0 Differences between Choke Point 1.0 and 2.0 Inconsistencies in FDIC Chair Gruenberg's ...
Weekly Roundup 03/31/23 (CFTC v Binance, McHenry’s stablecoin bill, Gruenberg’s questionable testimony) (EP.411)
March 31, 2023 10:00 - 41 minutes - 57.4 MBMatt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. Cooper and Kirk’s white paper on Operation Choke Point 2.0 How bank regulators put crypto-facing banks in a catch-22 SBF charged with bribing a Chinese official Is Sam funding his legal defense with funds purloined from FTX users? The CFTC charges Binance with operating an unlicensed derivatives exchange Binance execs haz no confidence in their geofencing How did the CFTC get their hands on CZ’s Signal history The SEC sh...
Matt Hougan (Bitwise) on Crypto Market Narratives and the Launch of BITC (EP.410)
March 28, 2023 10:00 - 32 minutes - 22.4 MBMatt Hougan, the Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise Asset Management joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The banking crisis and Operation Chokepoint 2.0 The decisions facing the Fed and the second order impacts of Fed policy How the cryptocurrency industry has evolved post FTX Prospects for stablecoin and market structure regulation in the digital asset industry The bitcoin futures market The launch of the Bitwise Bitcoin Strategy Optimum Roll ETF (BITC) To learn more ab...
Weekly Roundup 03/24/23 (Do Kwon apprehended, SEC v Coinbase, bank crisis retrospective) (EP.409)
March 24, 2023 10:00 - 47 minutes - 65.2 MBMatt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Matt’s turkey trouble continues Nic’s vespa problem Nic’s latest Choke Point 2.0 article Did the government destroy Signature on purpose? Who is the main architect of Choke Point 2.0? Why was Signature closed when PacWest and First Republic were given time? The Catch-22 in NY banking law Who has recourse in the Signature situation? Why we won’t be going offshore The SEC announces charges against Just...
Jamil Dhanani & Nick Sainato (Gamma) on Building a Trustless Ordinals Marketplace (EP.408)
March 20, 2023 20:00 - 1 hour - 90 MBJamil and Nick, co-founders of Gamma.io, join us on the show to discuss: Lowering the barrier to inscribing NFTs on Bitcoin Why creators and collectors are excited about NFTs on Bitcoin Designing a trustless Ordinals marketplace that aligns with its unique culture The emerging collecting and trading culture on Bitcoin and it's key differences
Jamil Dhanani & Nick Sainato (Gamma) on Building a Trustless Ordinals Marketplace (EP.308)
March 20, 2023 20:00 - 1 hour - 90 MBJamil and Nick, co-founders of Gamma.io, join us on the show to discuss: Lowering the barrier to inscribing NFTs on Bitcoin Why creators and collectors are excited about NFTs on Bitcoin Designing a trustless Ordinals marketplace that aligns with its unique culture The emerging collecting and trading culture on Bitcoin and it's key differences
Nick Hansen (Luxor) on Ordinals, Blockspace, and Mining Pools (EP.407)
March 20, 2023 10:00 - 54 minutes - 75.2 MBNick Hansen is the cofounder and CEO of Luxor, a Bitcoin mining pool. He joins to talk to us about his excitement around ordinals and inscriptions, and how Luxor is thinking about the opportunity. The history of ordinals and how Luxor got started in the space How Luxor mined the first 4MB block in Bitcoin Luxor’s decision to acquire Ordinalhub and their intentions with the project Risks Luxor incurred by mining the first 4MB block Transaction standardness versus validity How ordin...
Weekly Roundup 03/17/23 feat. Alex Thorn (Bank crisis, Fed makes $2T available, Signature mysteries) (EP.406)
March 17, 2023 10:00 - 44 minutes - 61.1 MBMatt and Nic are back to cover a dramatic week in crypto. Galaxy Digital's Alex Thorn also joins to provide market color. In this episode: Bitcoin’s price action in response to the bank runs USDC recovers its peg FTX crime family news Signature bank is shut down somewhat arbitrarily What happened with Silvergate? Is Operation Choke Point 2.0 real? Blockchain Association FOIA’s federal banking regulators Are macro funds dipping their toes back into Bitcoin? Crypto Banks are ...
Weekly Roundup 03/10/23 (Silvergate wind-down, NYAG comes after ETH, more bank runs) (EP.405)
March 10, 2023 11:00 - 34 minutes - 46.7 MBMatt and Nic are back for another tumultuous week of news and deals. In this episode: Nic’s Vespa crisis FTX crime family update Grayscale’s oral arguments go well against the SEC in the GBTC case Binance.US wins the right to buy the Voyager assets in court NYAG sues Kucoin and alleges that ETH is a security Silvergate is undergoing an orderly wind-down of the bank Why did Silvergate really collapse? Why are regulators trying to precipitate bank runs? Structural issues expl...
Weekly Roundup 03/10/23 (Silvergate wind-down, NYAG comes after ETH, more bank runs) (EP.405)
March 10, 2023 11:00 - 34 minutes - 46.7 MBMatt and Nic are back for another tumultuous week of news and deals. In this episode: Nic’s Vespa crisis FTX crime family update Grayscale’s oral arguments go well against the SEC in the GBTC case Binance.US wins the right to buy the Voyager assets in court NYAG sues Kucoin and alleges that ETH is a security Silvergate is undergoing an orderly wind-down of the bank Why did Silvergate really collapse? Why are regulators trying to precipitate bank runs? Structural issues expl...
Rob Hamilton (AnchorWatch) on Ordinals and Miniscript (EP.404)
March 08, 2023 11:00 - 49 minutes - 34.2 MBRob Hamilton, the founder and CEO of AnchorWatch joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Rob’s career journey and path to finding Bitcoin. The origins of miniscript and how Rob started to build in this area. The potential applicability for miniscript to the custody market. The current state of bitcoin core development. Ordinals and how Rob started to get involved in this project. The future applicability of ordinals and inscriptions. Links: AnchorWatch, Rob’s Twitter.
Michael Gronager (Chainalysis) on Building a Blockchain Analytics Juggernaut (EP.403)
March 06, 2023 11:00 - 39 minutes - 26.8 MBChainalysis CEO and co-founder Michael Gronager joins us for an episode chronicling the rise of the blockchain analytics firm. In this episode: Michael’s origin story and how he went from helping build Kraken to founding Chainalysis Responding to early market pull from the public sector when building products Responding to criticism around privacy vs. anonymity Building the Crypto Adoption Index for content marketing around what is actually happening on the blockchain Perspectiv...
Weekly Roundup 03/03/23 (Silvergate in trouble, Oasis hacks back, Regulation by Blog Post) (EP.402)
March 03, 2023 11:00 - 31 minutes - 43.7 MBMatt and Nic are back for news and deals of the week. In this episode: Is Yuga Labs’ NFT collection on Bitcoin genuine? Will the environmentalist attacks on PoW move to other industries? FTX’ Nishad Singh pleads guilty Ramnik Aurora maxed out donations to George Santos Silvergate is in trouble Why concentration risk makes it difficult for smaller banks to bank crypto firms UK banks are curtailing their crypto exposures Oasis returns $140m stolen from Wormhole to Jump NY Mag...
Matt Cutler (Blocknative) on block building and the economics of MEV (EP.401)
February 27, 2023 14:57 - 1 hour - 89.4 MBWe host Matt Cutler, CEO and co-founder of Blocknative, in this episode to discuss the intricacies of block building and his thoughts on the future of MEV. We cover: The phenomenon of certain block builders subsidizing transactions The requirements for operating a competitive block builder Margins required for sustainable block building MEV redistribution and balancing interests of users vs. validators. You can follow Matt @mcutler on Twitter and learn more about Blocknative here.
Weekly Roundup 02/24/23 (SEC vs Terra, Stables as Securities, the CoinBASE L2) (Ep.400)
February 24, 2023 11:00 - 38 minutes - 53.5 MBMatt and Nic are back for the 400th episode of OTB! In this roundup: Nic’s Vespa story More on Ordinals Is embedding non-economic data in Bitcoin Satoshi’s vision? How Ordinals accelerates efficiency improvements in Bitcoin More FTX crime family news SBF is hit with four new criminal charges Augustin Cartens claims that crypto has lost the battle against fiat NYAG vs Coinex The SEC alleges that UST is a security - does this implicate other stables? What can Congress do ab...
Casey Rodarmor on Ordinals, Inscriptions, and Digital Property Rights (EP.399)
February 22, 2023 11:00 - 52 minutes - 72.2 MBBitcoin developer Casey Rodarmor joins us to talk ordinals, inscriptions, and digital collectibles on Bitcoin. In this episode: What is an ordinal? Why the name? The history of ordinals and inscriptions How does ordinal theory work exactly? How to participate in ordinals and do you need Ord The interaction between inscriptions and Bitcoin fees Should inscriptions be compressed? How should this happen? Why did Casey not use Counterparty? How Bitcoin is the most premium blockspa...
Ray Hindi & Jake Lynch (L1 Digital) on Crypto Funds, RWAs and DAOs (EP.398)
February 20, 2023 11:00 - 44 minutes - 30.9 MBRay Hindi and Jake Lynch of L1 Digital join the show. In this episode we discuss: L1 Digital’s origin story and early path into the crypto ecosystem. The firm’s approach to investing in managers and making direct investment. The evolution of crypto funds including views on structure, strategy, focus. The fundraising landscape – how pensions/larger pools of capital think about crypto investing. Views on the impact of FTX. Thoughts on the current regulatory landscape. Real World A...
Weekly Roundup 02/17/23 (BUSD Wells notice, Howey vs Reves, the SEC’s custody guidance) (EP.397)
February 17, 2023 11:00 - 40 minutes - 55.3 MBMatt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Is peak FUD in? Is this the ‘custody rule rally’? OTB is keeping the deals of the week House is probing the connections between FTX and the SEC SBF is banned from using a VPN Is SBF a secret sports fan? SBF’s bail cosigners are unmasked SBF VC investors are hit with a class action lawsuit SEC sends Paxos a Wells notice Circle dispells Wells notice rumors Is the SEC going after all stablecoins or ju...
Weekly Roundup 03/10/23 (Choke Point 2.0, staking in the crosshairs, ordinals take off) (EP.396)
February 10, 2023 11:00 - 48 minutes - 67 MBMatt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Kraken winds down their staking as a service product The SEC asks all staking as a service providers to register Does 3rd party staking pass all of the prongs of Howey? The FT’s article on the final days of FTX Did the FTX executives leave the labradoodles in the Bahamas? Ordinals are bringing NFT enthusiasts to Bitcoin Matt has had a tough week Kyle and Su launch OPNX So what’s the deal with the crypt...
Josh Benaron (Bundlr) on the Importance of Permanent Storage and Provenance (EP.395)
February 06, 2023 11:00 - 58 minutes - 80.5 MBIn this episode, we were joined by Josh Benaron, founder of Bundlr, a scaling protocol built on top of Arweave. Josh shares his views on: Censorship resistant and permanent storage The importance of provenance in attributing and distributing value Why Arweave's approach to decentralized storage is elegant How Bundlr addresses trade offs in Arweave and makes it more usable Follow Josh Benaron here. Learn more about Bundlr here.
Weekly Roundup 02/03/23 (Ordinals frenzy, Charlie Munger, Tether truthers are back) (EP.394)
February 03, 2023 13:43 - 53 minutes - 74.1 MBMatt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Nic’s Proof of Reserves for Policymakers Charlie Munger attacks crypto The academic Tether truthers are back We unveil a new bad boy New allegations about Celsius surface The problem with exchange tokens How do you retire a token? The paradox of issuing tokens via an offshore foundation SBF is allegedly tampering with witnesses Did Sam really believe in EA? We review Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto Were ...
Julien Niset (Argent) on Improving Self Custody with Account Abstraction (EP.393)
January 30, 2023 11:00 - 1 hour - 102 MBWe host Julien Niset, co-founder of Argent in this episode on account abstract and smart contract wallets. We cover: Building the first smart contract wallet on Ethereum Why smart contract wallets improve the non-custodial experience Standardizing contract wallet implementations on L1s retroactively and on L2s natively Comparing and contrasting contract wallets and MPC (multi-party computation) wallets Capabilities (social recovery, gas abstraction, transaction batching) unlocked by...
Weekly Roundup 01/27/23 (Modulo Capital, PoR legislation, Tungsten mounts a comeback ) (EP.392)
January 27, 2023 11:00 - 43 minutes - 60.1 MBMatt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Is there a socially optimal level of vigilantism What's the deal with Modulo Capital? SBF's mother and brothers are now in the crosshairs Matt and Nic hash our VR vs AR Ted Cruz asks cafeterias in the Capitol to accept bitcoin Texas introduces Proof of Reserve legislation What's North Korea's endgame with all their hacked crypto? Tucker Carlson's theory that the airline outage was due to Bitcoin rand...
Maneesh Gandhi & Michael Liddy (Evanston Capital) on The Institutional Allocator Landscape (EP.391)
January 25, 2023 11:00 - 34 minutes - 23.7 MBManeesh Gandhi and Michael Liddy of Evanston Capital join the show. In this episode we discuss: Evanston Capital’s history and thoughts on the blockchain ecosystem Their views on the current market environment and how this crypto cycle compares to others The evolution of the crypto venture landscape and how Evanston Capital thinks about crypto venture structures Thoughts on the FTX collapse and its impact on the market How institutional limited partners are thinking about the crypto...
Dhruv Patel and Himanshu Sahay (Arch) on Building a New Alternative Lender (EP.390)
January 23, 2023 11:00 - 23 minutes - 16.4 MBArch cofounders Dhruv Patel and Himanshu Sahay Arch coming out of stealth Key lessons learned from the crypto lending crisis Arch’s differentiated offering within crypto and other alternative assets Leveraging crypto rails to build a lender of the future Using experience at top technology companies to build a superior consumer product Learn more at Archlending.com and on Twitter
Weekly Roundup 01/20/23 (DOJ takes down Bitzlato, loyalty point inflation, FTX US still solvent?) (EP.389)
January 20, 2023 11:00 - 35 minutes - 48.9 MBMatt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: What’s going on with our merch? Nic’s pitch for pickleball What’s the deal with the leaked GTX pitch deck? What happened at CoinFLEX? Our conspiracy about GTX What’s the latest with the FTX crime family Will FTX or FTX.US be relaunched? SBF says FTX.US is still solvent DOJ takes down Bizlato Genesis is exploring a bankruptcy process Coinbase is pulling out of Japan What was the deal with NEM? W...
Tony Scuderi (Imperii) on Crypto Banking and Advisory (EP.388)
January 18, 2023 11:00 - 35 minutes - 24.3 MBTony Scuderi, the founder of Imperii Partners joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The investment banking landscape for crypto/blockchain companies. How the fundraising environment is evolving in 2023. The impact of FTX on the broader market. How companies backed by FTX are taking action. The M&A landscape. Common pitfalls that founders make when selling their business. To learn more about Imperii Partners visit imperiipartners.com
Luuk Strijers (Deribit) on a New Model for Proof of Reserves (EP.387)
January 17, 2023 11:00 - 39 minutes - 54 MBDeribit Chief Commercial Officer Luuk Strijers joins the show to talk about their new Proof of Reserve rollout. In this episode: Why Deribit decided to do a PoR What were the considerations going into it? What made Deribit cautious about the procedure? Which PoRs did Deribit look at for inspiration? Has Deribit received client feedback from the procedure so far? How does Deribit demonstrate asset ownership? Unique among exchanges, Deribit was able to do a PoR for all of your ass...
Weekly Roundup 01/13/23 (Nexo raided, crypto charity boxing, DCG vs Gemini II) (EP.386)
January 13, 2023 11:00 - 40 minutes - 55.7 MBMatt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: What’s happening with Proof of Reserves? Will BTC and ETH have another fee crisis? Nishad Singh has met with the SDNY in a proffer session The SEC is investigating VC funds that invested in FTX FTX debtors and the Bahamas announced a cooperation agreement FTX announced that it has recovered over $5 billion in assets thus far Gemini and DCG continue to face off Cameron Winklevoss’ letter to DCG Nexo is ...