On The Brink with Castle Island

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  The Cointelegraph SNAFU  The NYAG sues Gemini, Genesis, and DCG  The FTX trial isn't going well for Sam  The latest with FTX clawbacks Elon files an amicus brief in a case against SEC Sen Warren's latest anti-crypto letter  Chainalysis debunks the WSJ's false narrative about crypto financing for Hamas Larry Fink supports Bitcoin now  We profile the Silk Road hacker Content mentioned in this episode:  Nic interview with Bermuda Premier David Burt Chainalysis, Correcting the Record: Inaccurate Methodologies for Estimating Cryptocurrency’s Role in Terrorism Financing CNBC, The secret life of Jimmy Zhong, who stole – and lost – more than $3 billion Sponsor notes:  Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK — Exploring Supply Transparency  In this joint report by Coin Metrics & Bitcoin Suisse, we explore token supply and ownership dynamics in digital asset markets

Nic travels to Bermuda to sit down with the Premier, Hon. E. David Burt to discuss digital asset policy and the emerging crypto ecosystem on the island. In this episode: The origins of the Digital Asset Regulation in Bermuda Catalysts that have led crypto firms to take Bermuda seriously as a domicile Premier Burt’s evangelization of Bermuda regulation on the crypto circuit Why Bermuda is a good place for a crypto firm to do business The “bermuda triangle” (government, industry, and regulator) How Bermuda straddles the risk of digital assets with the potential for innovation How the Premier aims to incorporate local residents into the tech industry here What the Premier is happy about regarding Bermuda’s regulatory strategy for digital assets Which sectors within the crypto space the Premier is focusing on at the moment How Bermuda is situated relative to other financial regulators Premier Burt’s view on regulatory passporting Thanks to Penrose Partners.

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Holland versus the Netherlands  The end of Pax Americana Ditching the 'stablecoin' term Why synthetic USD is not the next Luna Caroline Ellison testifies SBF wanted to be president How Teneo worked with Singapore to apprehend Su Zhu Will criminal charges ever be leveled against the 3AC principals? Lightning is getting more efficient  Content mentioned in the episode:  Nic and Martin join the Empire podcast Do we need a TARP 2.0?  Sponsor notes:  Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK — Q3 2023 Wrap-Up In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 228, we set out to analyze USDC's supply loss and its impact on Circle

Guy Young, the founder and CEO of Ethena, joins the show to talk crypto-backed stablecoins.  How Ethena began with an Arthur Hayes blog post The origins of synthetic stablecoins on Bitmex The difference between Hayes’ Nakadollar and the Ethena design Why synthetic stablecoins have failed in the past and how Ethena addresses this How staked ETH as the underlying collateral opens up a new design space How Ethena mitigates their exposure to exchanges with off-exchange custody Guy’s backstory and entrance into crypto Why the circumstances are favorable for the success of a synthetic stable today Why the short leg of the Ethena position has to rely on CeFi for now Where the yield from ETH positive funding ultimately comes from Limits to scale on Ethena on the short leg of the trade and ETH staking Guy’s explanation for where the yield from being long ETH comes from Correlation dynamics between the ETH yield and the funding rate Why it’s important that crypto yields are somewhat negatively correlated with tradfi y

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  OTB gets some critical feedback The boys cover Walter Isaacson’s Elon Musk biography Is Elon going to turn around the Twitter acquisition? Bourgeous capitalism We review Lewis’ Going Infinite SBF was tungsten pilled Su Zhu is jailed for contempt of court in Singapore Is FTX solvent again thanks to Anthropic? Does ETH futs ETFs mean that ETH isn’t a security? Bharat Ramamurti, one of the architects of OCP 2.0, leaves the White House The Economist covers the Bitcoin lab leak hypothesis Coinbase gets a license in Singapore Content mentioned in this episode: The Economist, Did bitcoin leak from an American spy lab? Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK — Q3 2023 Wrap-Up In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 227, we take a data-driven look at the most important events that impacted the digital assets industry from Q3 2023

Matt Hougan, the Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise Asset Management joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The SEC’s approval of Ethereum Futures ETFs Bitwise’s launch of AETH, The Bitwise Ethereum Strategy ETF and BTOP, the Bitwise Bitcoin and Ether Equal Weight Strategy ETF. The current state of play as it relates to Bitcoin spot ETF filings. The SEC’s approach and posture given the Grayscale court case. The current lay of the land in the institutional market as it relates to digital asset products. To learn more about Bitwise visit bitwiseinvestments.com  

David Phelps is the co-founder and CEO of jokerace and a prolific writer. He joins the podcast to discuss:  Why tokens are not optimal for effective governance  Alternative ways to incentivize users and distribute decision making power  How we solve for retaining users versus just attracting them  Composability and evolving from user generated content to user generated apps

Matt and Nic return for deals and news. In this episode:  Is AI going to cause unemployment for IB associates? Blockchain based sneakers Tungsten business cards What’s happening with OTB merch? Nic’s Vespa catastrophe Gensler’s HSFC hearing How Gensler is the Tonya Harding of crypto Made up airlines What’s going on with Huobi? FTX trial starts next week Content mentioned in this episode: Merch: onthebrink.shop Eric Hess, Bridging Policy and Practice: A Pragmatic Approach to Decentralized Finance, Risk, and Regulation Nic's Token 2049 talk

Matt and Nic return for news and deals. In this episode:  We recap the conferences  Nic's Columbia lecture snafu The Bitcoin security budget debate  One theory for what might provide Bitcoin with long term security FTX sues Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried Tether has resumed their lending operations Did SBF's parents make him do it?   HK is creating stablecoin legislation USA vs Singapore Content mentioned:  David Morris tweetstorm on SBF parents Evanston Capital, Investor Participation Trends in Blockchain VC Anatoly Yakovenko, Solana co-founder: ‘To keep the next great American founder in America, Congress must regulate crypto. But first lawmakers should learn how it works’ Sponsor notes:  Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK — A Glimpse into Coinbase through Coin Metrics’ Data In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 225, we highlight pivotal data underscoring Coinbase's current market position    

Henri Stern, CEO and co-founder of Privy, joins us to discuss: The contradictory functions that wallets serve Offering in-app non-custodial embedded wallets Balancing the trade offs of security versus convenient recovery How customers are customizing their embedded wallet experience The decision to build third party wallet connectors and embedded wallets    

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode.  We review Singapore and Token 2049 Singapore food reviews Is crypto pivoting to Asia? Singapore bans the 3ac boys from the Securities industry for 9 years The offshoring of dollar stablecoins Stablecoins are becoming interest bearing Fortress is hacked and acquired by Ripple SEC versus Stoner Cats Sentiment is turning against John Ray III We review Arthur Hayes’ party in Singapore How involved was Joe Bankman in FTX? Genesis is ceasing trading operations 19 hour flights Content mentioned in this episode: Nic’s Token 2049 Keynote (slides) Bloomberg, How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Elite Parents Enabled His Crypto Empire

Peter Johnson, co-head of Venture at Brevan Howard Digital, returns to the show to talk about his latest theses on stablecoins. In this episode:  The origins of Peter's interest in stables  We review Peter's prior stablecoin predictions  USDC versus USDT market share trends  Peter's main takeaways from the Relentless Rise paper Stablecoin usage on BSC and TRON  Peter's views on PYUSD The emergence of interest-bearing stablecoins  How synthetic USD stablecoins might work Stablecoin comparisons to the Eurodollar market We make some predictions  Further reading:  BH Digital, The Relentless Rise of Stablecoins  

Martin Carrica, cofounder of Mountain Protocol, joins us to discuss their launch of their USDM, permissionless interest-bearing stablecoin. In this episode:  Martin’s story and origins of his desire to create a stablecoin Obtaining a registered digital assets company in Bermuda Martin’s review of regulatory options worldwide and how they ended up in Bermuda How Bermuda has distinguished itself from other financial hubs in the Atlantic How reinsurance is like stablecoins What it takes to get licensed as a digital asset business in Bermuda How Mountain Protocol’s USDM stablecoin works How rebasing stablecoins work – and how they integrate in DeFi How USDM differs from on-chain T bills and other interest bearing stable products How USDM was able to achieve a permissionless structure How Mountain avoids US clients Why the market for stablecoins is mostly ex-US Stablecoins as a backend for emerging market fintechs Different exchange rates in Argentina How Argentine firms use Argentine ADR stocks to manage their c

Matt and Nic are back with another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Ryan Salame pleads guilty Our thoughts on the latest turn of the Bitcoin security budget debate What are the prospects for fees to develop on Bitcoin long term? Is blockcspace a race to the bottom? Visa adds merchant settlement tools for USDC on Solana The significance of Visa’s move toward merchant settlement with stablecoins CBOE files for spot Ether ETFs We reflect on El Salvador’s Bitcoin law The FASB moves to fair value accounting for Bitcoin Greenpeace files a comment letter on the GlobalX Bitcoin trust Are the ESG tides turning for Bitcoin mining? Has El Salvador's Bitcoin project been a failure?  Sponsor notes:  Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK — Evaluating the Market Quality of DeFi collateral In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 223, we explore predominant collateral types in DeFi lending protocols and evaluate their liquidity & volatility characteristics to determine their desirability as collateral

We sit down with Lee Bratcher, President and Founder of the Texas Blockchain Council. Lee is one of the primary architects of Texas' Proof of Reserve bill, now in effect. In this episode:  The origin of the TBC Why Lee is moving their Summit to Ft Worth Notable legislative successes by the TBC in Texas The importance of getting the UCC to recognize digital assets The importance of Bitcoin mining The origins of HB1666 Why PoR legislation benefited from the industry spontaneously adopting the standard How the TX PoR bill emerged as a compromise How Lee expects this to become model legislation in other states Comparing PoR to established financial statement audits The importance of frequency in Proof of Reserve The lack of accounting firms that are willing to supervise PoR How would PoR dealt with issues at Gox, Quadriga, FTX, or Prime Trust? How are companies operating in Texas reacting to the bill? Future legistlative directions The role of stablecoins in upholding the role of the dollar The lost authority o

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Tether is actually the most interventionist stablecoin when it comes to freezing Should we be bullish on PYUSD?  Why stablecoin data shows meaningful utility for public blockchains  Is the idea of a 'crypto generalist' dead?  The meaning of the SEC's loss in court to Grayscale Why the SEC was 'arbitrary and capricious' The SEC's blunder over their approval of Futs ETFs The SEC's possible options  Our guesses for how the SEC reacts to their loss The SEC delays other pending spot ETFs The SEC wins against Impact Theory  Why the case against Impact Theory could implicate a lot of other NFT projects  Uniswap wins a class action case  What does the SEC's case against Binance being under seal mean?  Content mentioned:  BH Digital, The Relentless Rise of Stablecoins WSJ, The SEC Strikes Out Again on Crypto With Grayscale Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK — Coin Convergence: Piecing Together Common Ownership Patterns Ac

Matt and Nic are back for more news and deals. In this episode:  The Bitcoin halving is coming up We review the Republican Presidential debate We review the state of New Jersey Coinbase takes a stake in Circle Hidden tensions between Coinbase and Circle BH Digital releases a stablecoin report USDC is challenged due to their inability to pay interest The DoJ charges the founders of Tornado Cash with AML and sanctions violations Did the Tornado Cash token hurt the founders’ case? The problem with chat apps creating their own tokens FTX is working with Galaxy to liquidate some crypto SBF isn’t happy with his prison meals Prime Trust was up to some shenanigans Content mentioned:  BH Digital, The Relentless Rise of Stablecoins Sponsor notes:  Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK — From East to West: the Global Pulse of Stablecoin Transactions In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 221, we provide a data-driven overview of halvings and their implications in anticipation for Bitcoin’s upcoming 4th halving

Darshan Vaidya, the founder of Credora joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The crypto credit markets, what went wrong in the last cycle and how the market functions today Thoughts on Real-World-Assets on chain Comparisons of risk management approaches in tradfi versus crypto markets How Credora is working with firms to protect customers from idiosyncratic risk The capital raising environment To learn more about Credora visit www.credora.io

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Geographic distribution for USDC v USDT Blockchains have become dollarized What’s the deal with Helium’s phone plan? SBF heads to jail We inaugurate a new member of the bad boys Dubai regulators fines OPNX What’s up with Argentina’s Libertarian presidential candidate? We need a new theme song for the SEC The Prometheum saga rumbles on What’s going on with Better Markets? Coinbase can now offer Bitcoin and ETH futures FTX and Genesis reach a settlement Content mentioned in this episode:  Brooke Masters in the FT, When Tackling Crypto, the SEC Should Be Wary of Overreach Kristin Smith in Coindesk, The FIT Act Is the Most Comprehensive Crypto Regulation Ever Voted on by Congress Sponsor notes:  Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK — From East to West: the Global Pulse of Stablecoin Transactions In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 220, we leverage seasonality analysis to reveal geographical trends in Stablecoin usage and volumes

Matt and Nic are back with more news and deals. In this episode:  Matt's op-ed in Coindesk SAB121 is still bad SEC scope creep We investigate PayPal's stablecoin  Why would PayPal want to issue a stablecoin?  What does PYUSD mean for Operation Choke Point for 2.0?  Why PYUSD is being launched on Ethereum Crypto as a flashpoint for state versus federal banking oversight The Fed's new crypto oversight program Banks still can't issue stablecoins in the US Ryan Salame reemerges What will become of Ryan Salame's restaurant empire?  SBF will indeed be prosecuted on campaign finance violations SBF's trial will not be televised LK-99 did NOT replicate   Content mentioned in this episode:  Matt in Coindesk, Congress, Not the SEC, Should Set U.S. Digital Asset Policy Zach Wong, A comprehensive explanation of SAB 121 and how it prevents safe crypto custody Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK: DeFi’s Double Edged Sword - Unpacking the Features & Risks of DeFi Lending  In our new special insight