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
Alan Lane (Silvergate) on banking the cryptoasset industry (EP.146)
November 09, 2020 11:00 - 42 minutes - 58.6 MBAlan Lane, the CEO of Silvergate Financial joins the show. In this episode we discuss: How Silvergate came to bank blockchain companies. The challenges and opportunities in providing services in this fast growing market. Silvergate Exchange Network – how this product is driving growth and solving customer pain points. Alan’s perspectives on stablecoins and how Silvergate plans to play in this area. Views on the long-term opportunities for digital asset custody and lending. To l...
Weekly Roundup 11/06/20 (Blockchain voting, a $1B Bitcoin forfeiture, election outcomes and inflation) (EP.145)
November 06, 2020 11:00 - 43 minutes - 59.5 MBMatt and Nic cover deals and the news of the week. In this episode: The latest on Matt's bike saga Possible election outcomes and the prospect for inflation How Kelly Loeffer's runoff election might affect Bitcoin Were prediction markets vindicated by the election? The government seizes $1b worth of Bitcoin Why the seized bitcoin is good news Our take on the big Blockchain Voting Debate Our explanation for why people are curious about blockchains for voting Longtime Bitcoin ...
Josh Cincinnati on the challenge of blockchain governance (EP.144)
November 02, 2020 11:00 - 1 hour - 109 MBJosh Cincinnati, former Executive Director of the Zcash Foundation, joins the show to talk about his tenure at that organization, and lessons he's taken from the experience. In this episode: The genesis of the Zcash Foundation Prior foundation mistakes that Josh sought to avoid The difference between governing a non-cryptocurrency FOSS project and an open source protocol with an explicit monetary element Why Josh chose to step down from the Zcash Foundation How the monetary distrib...
Weekly Roundup 10/30/20 (Iran stockpiling Bitcoin?, more bank charters, is Paypal a Bitcoin Sidechain?) (EP.143)
October 30, 2020 10:00 - 43 minutes - 59.8 MBMatt and Nic cover deals and news of the week. In this episode: Matt's bike is stolen in mysterious circumstances Our top takeaways from the Brian Brooks interview with Laura Shin The state of financial regulation in the US as it pertains to crypto Is the permissioned pseudonymity model of stablecoins sustainable? SoFi's application for a new bank charter approved Why lowering the barrier to entry for new bank charter approvals is so important is there any merit to personal tok...
Yoann Turpin (Wintermute) on launching a cryptoasset market making firm (EP. 142)
October 28, 2020 11:00 - 33 minutes - 23.4 MBYoann Turpin, cofounder of Wintermute Trading joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Yoann’s background in trading and how he made his way to trading cryptoassets His views on the evolving market structure for cryptoassets and where the industry is headed How important market makers are for new token launches The role of stablecoins and how these instruments are changing the landscape for traders Wintermute’s decision to raise capital from VCs and how they see themselves are a ...
Joel Revill (Two Ocean Trust) on building a Qualified Custodian in Wyoming (EP.141)
October 26, 2020 10:00 - 45 minutes - 62.9 MBJoel Revill is the cofounder and CEO of Two Ocean Trust, a Wyoming Chartered Trust Company offering wealth management services to high-net-worth individuals and family offices. Two Ocean Trust has recently received a no-action letter from the Wyoming Division of Banking stating the division’s determination that Two Ocean is a “qualified custodian” under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the SEC Custody Rule. This letter states the division’s determination that Two Ocean may provide ...
Weekly Roundup 10/23/20 (PayPal jumps in, the banks push back at the SPDI, are CBDCs inflationary?) (EP.140)
October 23, 2020 10:00 - 34 minutes - 47.7 MBMatt and Nic cover deals and news of the week. In this episode: PTJ's latest comments on Bitcoin How Bitcoin is akin to a cathedral Franklin Templeton invests in Curv PayPal launches a crypto offering Will PayPal open up its walled garden? The Kik story finally reaches a conclusion Coinbase publishes their first transparency report Paradigm's big bet Is CBDC going to be pro-inflationary? The bank lobby pushes back at the Wyoming SPDI Why this bull run is more sustainabl...
Bruce Fenton (Chainstone Labs) on the paradox of governance tokens (EP.139)
October 19, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 92.9 MBBruce Fenton, founder of the Satoshi Roundtable and Chainstone Labs, joins the show to talk security tokens and tokens-which-are-securities. In this episode: About Bruce's company Chainstone labs How the Bitcoin Roundtable is intertwined with Bitcoin history and the blocksize debate Coinbase's ongoing rapprochement with Bitcoiners Why longevity is so difficult in the crypto industry Are we living in the most historically aggressive period in terms of regulatory oversight into the in...
Weekly Roundup 10/16/20 (Does China control Bitcoin?, Filecoin launches, Heath Tarbert praises Ethereum) (EP.138)
October 16, 2020 10:00 - 37 minutes - 52 MBMatt and Nic cover deals and news of the week. In this episode: NYDIG emerges from stealth and announces a Bitcoin balance sheet position More companies add Bitcoin to their balance sheet Filecoin launches at a $200b implied fully diluted valuation Is the Filecoin SAFT different from the other SAFTs? Why token projects are strongly incentivized to be untransparent about their tokens CFTC chair Heath Tarbert praises Ethereum The relationship between securities and commodities ...
Kyle Samani (Multicoin Capital) on breakout applications for Web3 (EP.137)
October 12, 2020 10:00 - 56 minutes - 77.3 MBKyle Samani, cofounder and managing partner at Multicoin, joins the show to talk his current views on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and to give an update on web3 and how Multicoin is approaching the opportunity. In this episode: Kyle's current views on Ethereum, its positioning, and its prospects for filling out the roadmap Whether liquidity network effects for smart contract chains are insurmountable What it would take to reach global scale for public blockchains Kyle's changing view of Bitcoi...
Weekly Roundup 10/09/20 feat. Zachary Kelman (Square buys Bitcoin, effect of fees on DeFi, FinCEN files retrospective) (EP.136)
October 09, 2020 09:00 - 45 minutes - 62.3 MBMatt and Nic cover deals and news of the week. Repeat guest Zachary Kelman joins the show to give his view of the FinCEN files and how the crypto industry should interpret the revelations. In this episode: How fees affect DeFi liquidity and the price of ETH Braintrust raises $18m Bitnomial raises an $11m Series B Arthur Hayes and Sam Reed step down from their roles at 100x Despite everything, Bitmex is still operational BitMEX keeps processing withdrawals India's legislature tu...
Mitchell Nicholson (DACS Conduit) on leaving central banking for Bitcoin (EP.135)
October 07, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 98.8 MBMitchell Nicholson is the founder of DACS Conduit and formerly an economist at the Bank of Canada. Mitchell's views are his own and not those of the Bank of Canada. In this episode: His path to joining the Bank of Canada Why he chose to start his career in central banking Mitchell's work on the Band of Canada Bitcoin awareness surveys Why the Bank of Canada put resources to the Bitcoin awareness surveys Mitchell's masters thesis on Bitcoin How covering Bitcoin was part of Mitchel...
Mason Borda (Tokensoft) on the convergence of tokens and capital markets (EP.134)
October 05, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 86.5 MBMason Borda, CEO and cofounder of Tokensoft, joins the show. In this episode: Tokensoft's ERC-1404 standard Why put securities on chain? Commonalities between the spirit of securities laws and the values of crypto markets The possibility of making stock transactions into a real time phenomenon Transparency through registered security offerings versus on-chain cash flows and freely viewable contracts How on-chain tokens are transparent and where they should volunteer additional di...
Weekly Roundup 10/02/20 feat. Michael Moro (BitMEX goes down, Genesis launches custody, the SEC scores wins) (EP.133)
October 02, 2020 09:00 - 52 minutes - 72.3 MBNic and Matt cover a tumultuous week in the crypto markets. In this episode: We investigate the Dollar Milkshake Theory BitPanda raises $52m Genesis announces the official launch of their custody product Our breakdown of the BitMEX situation Where the BitMEX situation leaves the remaining offshore crypto exchanges The prospects for users who currently have funds on BitMEX How the BitMEX lawsuit potentially improves the prospects for a Bitcoin ETF Whether BitMEX was a source o...
Trent and Brock Elmore on Building Yam Finance (EP.132)
September 30, 2020 13:46 - 42 minutes - 29 MBTrent and Brock Elmore, two of the five creators of Yam Finance, a decentralized finance protocol, join the show. In this episode we discuss: The inspiration for starting Yam Finance The story behind the launch, the initial bug and the subsequent re-launch Contextualizing DeFi – what is a fad and what is enduring The future for Yam Finance and the long term sustainability of fair launch platforms To learn more about Yam Finance visit: https://yam.finance/
Chase Lochmiller (Crusoe Energy Systems) on turning stranded energy into Bitcoin (EP.131)
September 28, 2020 10:00 - 53 minutes - 36.6 MBChase Lochmiller, cofounder and CEO of Crusoe Energy Systems joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Crusoe’s approach to addressing the issue of natural gas flaring by monetizing stranded energy The process by which Crusoe turns this stranded energy into Bitcoin How Chase sees the compute use cases that can benefit from capturing stranded energy Chase’s career path from finance to crypto to founding Crusoe The impact that successfully climbing Mount Everest has had on his caree...
Weekly News Roundup 09/25/20 (Bank custody for stablecoins, two new congressional bills, "stablecoin" vs "cryptodollar") (EP.130)
September 25, 2020 10:00 - 42 minutes - 58.7 MBMatt and Nic return for deals and the news of the week. In this episode: The OCC clarifies that banks can custody dollars for stablecoin issuers Maker's flippening in collateral types, and what that means for the system Tether falls below 80% of stablecoin market share Two congressional bills propose to federally regulate crypto exchanges and tokens "Stablecoins" or "cryptodollars"? Cambridge AltFin releases their long-awaited cryptoasset benchmarking report The prospects for b...
Jeff Dorman (Arca) on asserting tokenholder rights (EP.129)
September 23, 2020 09:00 - 49 minutes - 67.9 MBJeff Dorman is the CIO at Arca, which is currently engaged in a fascinating standoff with Gnosis, a token project in which they have a position. Arca is asserting that Gnosis has delivered little value to tokenholders and has proposed that they perform a tender offer for GNO tokens with the assets held on their balance sheet (which exceed the capitalization of GNO). Covered in this episode: The original purpose of Gnosis as laid out in the whitepaper Why Gnosis only sold 5% of their to...
Tom Lombardi (3iQ) on the Crypto-Asset-Management Opportunity (EP.128)
September 21, 2020 09:30 - 47 minutes - 32.8 MBTom Lombardi, Managing Director at 3iQ Corp, joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Tom’s path from traditional finance to the cryptoasset industry The enterprise blockchain era: lessons learned and the second order effects of the hype cycle The state of institutional exchange infrastructure The crypto-asset-management segment and how 3iQ is positioned to capture this opportunity To learn more visit www.3iq.ca and follow Tom on Twitter @tomlombardi
Weekly News Roundup 09/18/20 (Why Wyoming's SPDI is so exciting, a shift in tone from the SEC, Microstrategy keeps stacking) (EP.127)
September 18, 2020 09:00 - 38 minutes - 53.4 MBMatt and Nic return to cover news of the week. In this episode: Our review of NFL week 1 Whether or not securities law topics come up at parties Why we're so excited about Kraken getting the Wyoming SPDI Why the SPDI being full reserve is so important – and why it eliminates certain regulators from the picture How Kraken's bank charter is reminiscent of a classic scene in There Will Be Blood Why Wyoming's SPDI is a long-awaited rebuke to Operation Choke Point Michael Saylor sta...
David Kinitsky and Marco Santori (Kraken) on obtaining the first Wyoming SPDI (EP.126)
September 16, 2020 14:29 - 45 minutes - 61.9 MBToday, Kraken Financial, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kraken, became the first financial institution to receive the Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) charter from the State of Wyoming. To celebrate this major milestone, David Kinitsky, CEO of Kraken Financial, and Marco Santori, Kraken CLO, joined us on the show. In this episode: Why Kraken decided to open an office in Wyoming and pursue the SPDI Why David and Marco chose to join Kraken and work on this project Kraken's jou...
Gabriel Shapiro (BSV Law) on compatibility between blockchains and the law (EP.125)
September 14, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 104 MBGabriel Shapiro, partner at BSV Law (no relationship to the coin), joins the show to chat securities law, tokenized securities, and the nature of industry regulation. In this episode: Gabriel's introduction to the crypto industry and Nick Szabo's influence Gabriel's view on what public blockchains are for, most fundamentally Why there is an inherent tension between blockchains and the law Can public blockchains be made compatible with the law, and to what extent? The best opportuni...
Weekly News Roundup 09/11/20 (Crypto penetration by country, DeFi moats and valuations, how DeFi reminds us of PoW launches) (EP.124)
September 11, 2020 09:00 - 48 minutes - 67 MBMatt and Nic return for deals and news of the week. In this episode: the NFL is BACK Matt's predictions for the Patriots season New data on countries where crypto penetration is highest Mastercard launches a CBDC testing platform USDC launches on Algorand Past is prologue for stablecoins moving chains DCG continues to grow into a juggernaut Our Sushiswap explainer Can DeFi projects maintain sustainable moats? What distinguishes DeFi tokens from ICOs? Why you can't apply...
Ruben Galindo (Airtm) on distributing USD to Venezuelan healthcare workers (EP.123)
September 09, 2020 09:00 - 54 minutes - 74.6 MBRuben Galindo, cofounder and CEO of Airtm, joins the show. Recently, Airtm has been in the news as it was reported that Juan Guaidó, Venezuela's would-be President, was using the app to coordinate the disbursement of funds seized from the Maduro regime to healthcare workers in Venezuela. In this episode: Why Ruben cofounded Airtm How Airtm creates local liquidity for dollars against any local currency How Airtm manages their reserve How Bitcoin and Ethereum intersect with AirUSD H...
Avichal Garg and Curtis Spencer (Electric Capital) on developer communities, raising institutional capital and more (EP.122)
September 07, 2020 12:46 - 1 hour - 43.8 MBAvichal Garg and Curtis Spencer, founding partners of Electric Capital, join the show. In this episode we discuss: Their path from entrepreneurship to starting Electric Capital The experience of raising a $110M fund II from institutional limited partners The current state of play for layer one smart contract platforms Framing decentralized finance for the non-crypto native The geopolitical chess match for the USA and China vis a vis cryptoasset regulation The outlook for privacy c...
Weekly News Roundup 09/04/20 (Armageddon II, Activist token investors, emergent effects of high fees) (EP.121)
September 04, 2020 09:00 - 39 minutes - 54.1 MBNic and Matt return with deals and news of the weak. In this episode: Nic and Matt happen to buy the same book Nic's article on why the US should embrace stablecoins and credibly neutral crypto-financial infrastructure Our theory on why NYDFS went after Tether Can the US successfully disrupt itself as the administrator of financial infrastructure? Coinbase IPO prospects Coinshares adds transparency to their Bitcoin ETN and the prospects for Proofs of Reserves How Proofs of Rese...
Kyle Davies (Three Arrows Capital) on finding value in DeFi (EP.120)
September 02, 2020 10:00 - 39 minutes - 27 MBKyle Davies, co-founder of Three Arrows Capital, joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Kyle’s perspectives on layer one blockchain protocols and how smart contract platforms are evolving The decentralized finance (DeFi) landscape, and where Kyle sees the biggest opportunities The blurring of the lines between centralized and decentralized finance platforms Learn more about Three Arrows Capital: https://www.threearrowscap.com/ Follow Kyle on Twitter @kyled116
Aditya Palepu and Frédéric Fortier (DerivaDEX) on aspiring to a fully decentralized exchange (EP.119)
August 31, 2020 10:00 - 52 minutes - 71.8 MBAditya Palepu and Frédéric Fortier, the cofounders of DerivaDEX, join the show to talk about DEXes and prospects for their future development, and to introduce their own project. In this episode: How Adi and Fred chose to build a Dex Why traders tend to love Dexes despite their shortcomings Dexes versus noncustodial exchanges Adi and Fred's Dex taxonomy and where they fit into that How Derivadex plans to decentralize the operation of their orderbook Are today's AMM-style Dexes su...
Weekly News Roundup 08/28/20 (Fidelity's Bitcoin fund, is whisky a SoV, do security tokens make sense?) (EP.118)
August 28, 2020 10:00 - 34 minutes - 47 MBNic and Matt cover news and deals of the week. In this episode: FTX acquires Blockfolio for $150m DCG announces a $100m investment in Foundry, a mining subsidiary Fidelity files with the SEC for a Bitcoin fund – and what this means for other asset managers Why large asset managers have not built products around Bitcoin just yet The INX situation explained Why security tokens might actually make sense The Boston Fed is evaluating 30 different blockchains for their digital dollar...
Zachary Kelman (Kelman Law) on the FATF, Bitcoin, and the International Order (EP.117)
August 26, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 98.5 MBZachary Kelman, managing partner at Kelman Law PLLC, joins the show to shed light on the FATF – it's origins and its current mandate – the travel rule, and what the industry can expect from these developments. Covered in this episode: Zach's prior career in bank compliance and how he decided to focus on Bitcoin How Zach noticed the blurring of lines between stopping crime and politics for bank AML Why overseas payments in the correspondent bank system are expensive What the Travel Rul...
Dick Bove (Odeon Capital) on the banking sector and the future of dollar dominance (EP.116)
August 24, 2020 11:00 - 51 minutes - 35.4 MBDick Bove, senior research analyst at Odeon Capital Group joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Dick’s 52 year career as a research analyst and his path to covering the banking sector The 2008 financial crisis, the measures that were taken, and how this has impacted the banking industry The future of dollar dominance and the rise of China on the geopolitical stage The role of cryptocurrency and the state of awareness in the institutional world Dick’s favorite books and his per...
Weekly News Roundup 08/21/20 (Another Bitcoiner in the Senate, Kraken pursues the Wyoming SPDI, autoponzis) (EP.115)
August 21, 2020 10:00 - 32 minutes - 44.5 MBNic and Matt cover deals and the news of the week. In this episode: Hawaii announces the Digital Currency Innovation Lab Wyoming's Senate nominee Cynthia Lummis is a Bitcoiner Why Bitcoin values are American values How Bitcoin is mutualistic with the US dollar Evidence that Tether is used for capital outflows from China Kraken creates Kraken Financial to pursue the SPDI in Wyoming Warren Buffett buys gold Our explanation of a new breed of ponzis Where DeFi is and is not com...
Zac Prince on growing BlockFi through a pandemic (EP. 114)
August 20, 2020 11:00 - 39 minutes - 54.3 MBZac Prince, CEO and Founder of crypto lender BlockFi, joins the show once again to talk their recent growth and milestones. Today, BlockFi announced a $50m Series C round of financing, capitalizing on their recent growth. We dive into the fundraise, BlockFi's eye-popping growth, and what is driving interest in the crypto lending space today. In this episode: Blockfi announces a $50m Series C fundraising round What it was like raising a Series C during covid BlockFi's insane traction an...
Kyle Powers (LibertyPay) on building remittances on Bitcoin (EP.113)
August 17, 2020 10:00 - 40 minutes - 56 MBKyle Powers is the cofounder and CEO of LibertyPay, a Boston business that powers remittances to Brazil and Mexico – settling on Bitcoin, rather than traditional financial rails. LibertyPay has settled nine figures worth of value in its history – and most users never know their transactions are settling via Bitcoin. In this episode: How LibertyX began with the cofounders standing beside a Bitcoin ATM in South Station in 2014 The origins of LibertyPay and how the cofounders realized that ...
Weekly News Roundup feat. Lucas Nuzzi 08/14/20 (Asteroid gold mining, Microstrategy, Ethereum's "supplygate") (EP.112)
August 14, 2020 19:38 - 57 minutes - 78.9 MBCoin Metrics network data product lead Lucas Nuzzi joins the show to help explain how to audit the supply of Ethereum – and other, even more challenging blockchains. Also covered in this episode: Does the Winklevoss gold asteroid mining talking point have any merit? Are the Winklevii being ironic or sincere The Boston Fed is hiring crypto engineers Why DeFi tokens remind us of PoW launches from 2014 Why we need a new taxonomy for autonomous fair launched DeFi tokens Why DeFi migh...
James Lovejoy on detecting and mitigating double-spends (EP.111)
August 10, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 108 MBJames Lovejoy, recent MEng MIT grad and former graduate researcher at the MIT Digital Currency Initiative, joins the show to talk about his masters thesis and associated project focusing on detecting double-spends in proof of work cryptocurrencies. Previously, little data was collected in a systematic way to detect double-spends and reorganizations across many cryptocurrencies. James' project sheds light on previously unknown security properties of PoW. In this episode: How James came to w...
Weekly News Roundup 08/07/20 (Microstrategy's Bitcoin position, Square's big Q2, ETC reorgs) (EP.110)
August 07, 2020 15:16 - 37 minutes - 51.5 MBNic and Matt cover deals and the news of the week. In this episode: Are we in a bull run or is fiat devaluating? Africa volumes growing on Paxful BCH contemplating redirecting block rewards to fund developers Electric Capital raises 110m Casa adds a direct buy bitcoin feature Dapper labs raises $12m with participation from multiple NBA players Matt's scoop about the Microstrategy Bitcoin position Grayscale files a form 10 for their Ethereum Investment Trust Whether Bitcoiner...
Ray Youssef (Paxful) on building the world's largest Bitcoin p2p market (EP.109)
August 05, 2020 09:00 - 52 minutes - 72.3 MBRay Youssef, founder and CEO of Paxful, joins the show to talk his journey with Paxful and his mission to bring Bitcoin to Africa. Paxful is a wholly bootstrapped startup that has recently taken the crown as the largest Bitcoin p2p marketplace in the world with $2.1B in annualized volume. Ray is from Egypt and has always sought to bring Bitcoin to Africa. Today, Africa is the 2nd most active region by volume on the platform (behind North America). In this episode: Why Bitcoin p2p is so popu...
How Canaccord Genuity is approaching the cryptoasset market (EP.108)
August 03, 2020 10:00 - 50 minutes - 34.9 MBMichael Graham and Pat McEvoy of Canaccord Genuity join the podcast to discuss how their firm has approached the blockchain/cryptoasset sector. In this episode we discuss: Michael’s perspective on blockchain/cryptoassets from his role as Head of Equity Research at the firm. We discuss how blockchain technology could alter the landscape of the dominant internet companies of our era Pat’s perspective on the maturation of cryptoassets and the increased participation of institutional particip...
Weekly News Roundup 07/31/20 Feat. John Collins of FS Vector (The OCC letter, Plustoken apprehended, Bitcoin's patronage system) (EP.107)
July 31, 2020 09:00 - 57 minutes - 79.5 MBMatt and Nic review the stories of the week, featuring John Collins, partner and cofounder of FS Vector, to cover the OCC letter and its implications. Covered in this episode: Our Plustoken conspiracy Nic's bird situation USDC raises $25m from DCG Avanti's dollar-coin Avit Why Pats players keep declaring their intention to sit out the season Bitcoin Suisse raises $48.6m Polkadot raises $43m What tokensales and desert real estate have in common FTX is building a DEX on Solana...
Jesse Walden (Variant) on the Crypto Ownership Economy (EP.106)
July 27, 2020 10:00 - 50 minutes - 34.8 MBJesse Walden, founder of Variant joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Jesse’s journey in the crypto industry, from founding Mediachain, to being an investor at A16Z, to founding Variant The crypto ownership economy and how Jesse sees the evolution of consumer software Crypto projects through the lens of contract theory Learn more and follow Jesse at www.variant.fund and follow him on Twitter @Jessewldn
Weekly News Roundup 07/24/20 (the bombshell OCC letter, the custodian gold rush, Ampleforth mania) (EP.105)
July 24, 2020 09:00 - 33 minutes - 45.5 MBMatt and Nic review the stories of the week. Covered in this episode: Why holding Bitcoin in banks isn't necessarily contrary to the nature of Bitcoin VALR, a South African exchange, raises $3.45m from 100x Group and others The OCC's bombshell letter saying that banks can custody cryptocurrency What this means for established crypto custodians Follow-up questions we have for the OCC Hester Pierce expresses her disappointment with the outcome of the Telegram case Standard Charter...
Sam Wyner and Sal Ternullo (KPMG) on making blockchain data intelligible for institutions (EP.104)
July 22, 2020 09:00 - 41 minutes - 56.6 MBSam Wyner and Sal Ternullo, cryptoasset services co-leads at KPMG, join the show to talk about KPMG's newly-released analytics capabilities dubbed Chain Fusion. Chain Fusion is a patent pending suite of advanced analytics capabilities built on leading cryptoasset data and infrastructure products, to streamline the ability for financial services companies, FinTechs, and organizations across industries to deliver institutional quality cryptoasset capabilities and services. In this episode: KP...
Nate Maddrey (Coin Metrics) on the rise of stablecoins (EP.103)
July 20, 2020 09:00 - 45 minutes - 62.1 MBNate Maddrey, senior research analyst at Coin Metrics, joins the show to discuss a recent report published by CM in collaboration with Bitstamp, The Rise of Stablecoins. We talk through the report and analyse some of the charts in depth. In this episode: Why the auditability of public blockchains is so useful for evaluating stablecoins Why fiat backed stablecoins have different price dynamics from 'native crypto collateral' backed ones How the arbitrage growth cycle works for fiat-back...
Weekly News Roundup 07/17/20 feat. Alex Treece (Twitter is hacked, social media property rights, fintech meets crypto) (EP.102)
July 17, 2020 10:00 - 47 minutes - 65.4 MBMatt and Nic review the stories of the week, featuring special guest Alex Treece, president and cofounder of Zabo. Alex joins the show to discuss his report covering the intersection of fintech and cryptocurrency. Also in this episode: We gripe about the SaaSification of the world and the loss of genuine ownership Whether the Bitcoin hero's journey requires a private blockchain digression The boys argue about the merit of soccer We talk Twitter hack scenarios Why the Twitter hacker...
Caitlin Long (Avanti Financial Group) on Bitcoin banks and the Wyoming SPDI (EP. 101)
July 13, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 98.2 MBCaitlin Long, founder and CEO of Avanti Financial Group, joins the show. Caitlin is a thinker and writer we admire a huge amount and she has done a monumental job with her advocacy for responsible custody practices among crypto depository institutions. She is one of the key architects of the Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution legislation which establishes a new form of crypto bank in Wyoming. In in no small part thanks to her efforts that Wyoming is the most progressive state in ...
Weekly News Roundup 07/10/20 (More cryptodollars, the FATF explained, Coinbase IPO rumblings) (EP.100)
July 10, 2020 09:00 - 35 minutes - 48.6 MBMatt and Nic cover the top stories of the week. In this episode: Nic's viral Tweet The Fed competes with crypto startups for talent TikTok influences the crypto markets Why supply metrics should be reexamined Why we wrote our cryptodollar whitepaper Chainalysis raises another round Coinbase IPO rumors USDC funds are frozen for the first time Can the stablecoin 'blacklist model' survive? Our FATF 101 and what their new guidance means for the industry What the 'travel ru...
Tim Rice and Ben Celermajer (Coin Metrics) on a new measure of cryptoasset supply (EP.99)
July 06, 2020 09:00 - 38 minutes - 52.4 MBTim Rice, Coin Metrics CEO, and Ben Celermajer, index manager at Coin Metrics join the show to discuss a new supply measure for cryptoassets which takes into account their "free float." This is designed to take into account coins which are immobilized or illiquid, and brings a systematic approach to the issue inherited from traditional capital markets. In this episode: Why Coin Metrics developed a "free float" measure of supply and why it's informative to investors How CM borrowed from i...
Weekly News Roundup 07/02/20 (Zimbabwe re-dollarization, Bitcoin's GINI coefficient, more issues with 'market cap') (EP.98)
July 03, 2020 10:00 - 40 minutes - 55.5 MBMatt and Nic cover the top stories of the week. In this episode: The MPC custody debate NYDIG raises $190m for a Bitcoin fund Zimbabwe bans all mobile money services and contemplates redollarization 4% of the UK population owns cryptocurrency, according to the securities regulator What a long-defunct exchange has to do with Bitcoin's GINI coefficient Why the 'market cap' of BCH and BSV is significantly overstated Why 'market cap' remains a problematic measure to compare cryptoa...
Dave Balter on Leadership, Humility and the Startup Journey (EP.97)
June 30, 2020 11:00 - 37 minutes - 26 MBDave Balter, the cofounder and CEO of Flipside Crypto, a business intelligence company focused on public blockchains, joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Dave’s new book, The Humility Imperative, and the lessons he has learned from seven startups His POV on leadership in an emerging market like cryptoassets/blockchain Reflections on fundraising, remote working, personal relationships and more. To learn more about Flipside Crypto visit their website and follow Dave @DaveBalter