On The Brink with Castle Island

For another episode of the mining miniseries, Nic sits down with Blake King, power markets engineer at Galaxy Digital, for his second OTB appearance. In this episode:  Blake reacts to the White House OSTP report on crypto mining Does mining actually reduce the incentive for utilities to build additional transmission? How transmission building decisions get made How are ERCOT planners taking the price of Bitcoin into account? The merits of proactive transmission construction Why the existence of strong property rights makes transmission much harder to build Can Bitcoin be understood as the electrification of gold? Is there really 17-25 GW worth of Bitcoin miners in the process of connecting to the Texas grid? How should we think about interconnection and load queues Why would ERCOT exaggerate the planned scale of Bitcoin mining in Texas? Do miners using renewables “not count” because they displace other consumers of renewable energy? Why Blake expects the $/MWh revenue for Bitcoin to continue to trend down ov

Matt and Nic are back for another week of deals and news. In this episode:  What is XEN and why is it driving up ETH fees? Bittrex settles with OFAC SEC is investigating Yuga labs Mango and Binance Smart Chain are hacked The FASB settles on fair value accounting for cryptoassets Warren writes a letter to Texas about mining Coin Center is suing OFAC Sponsor notes: Talos powers institutional access to the entire digital assets ecosystem via a single-point of entry. Connect directly to your preferred prime brokers, lenders, investors, custodians, exchanges, OTC desks and more, or meet them on Talos. Get started at Talos.com Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter 

Rob Behnke, co-founder and CEO of Halborn joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Rob’s career journey in the cryptocurrency industry and the insights that led him to founding Halborn. The 2017 ICO era and the security issues that plagued many projects. How Halborn approaches engagements with DeFi ecosystem participants. How centralized financial services companies are engaging with DeFi and how these firms think about cybersecurity. How Rob and his co-founder Steven Walbroehl approached their Series A fundraising process. Halborn’s new suite of software products. To learn more about Halborn visit halborn.com and follow Rob on Twitter

In this episode, Ria sits down with Jon Charbonneau from Delphi Digital to discuss layers of potential censorship on Ethereum post merge and proposed solutions. We dive into: The supply chain of block production The importance of proposer builder separation Options for avoiding de facto censorship by builders The road to scaling Ethereum via danksharding Comparing approaches to data availability Further reading:  Jon on Substack, Censorship, What Do? Follow Jon on Substack and on Twitter Cover image meme credit: Jon on Twitter

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Kim Kardashian settles with the SEC Gensler’s promotional campaign ruffles feathers at the SEC Was the SEC indirectly throwing shade at Jake Paul with their video? Is Gensler cracking down on crypto as part of a bid for Treasury secretary? Can the industry outlast the SEC? CBOE signs on to Pyth Hamilton Lane is tokenizing three funds GoldenTree invests in Sushi Should DAOs pursue an LLC wrapper? Maker is buying Treasuries and IG debt Should stablecoins pass along interest from treasuries to tokenholders? Celsius executives cashed out prior to bankruptcy Starry Night NFTs are on the move Ark Invest partners to put their active strategies on the Eaglebrook platform Sponsor notes: Talos powers institutional access to the entire digital assets ecosystem via a single-point of entry. Connect directly to your preferred prime brokers, lenders, investors, custodians, exchanges, OTC desks and more, or meet them on Talos. Get started at Talo

Vivek Raman, Head of Proof of Stake at BitOoda joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Vivek’s career journey from traditional financial services to the world of public blockchains. Views on the impact of Ethereum’s transition to proof of stake, including his perspective on the new financial products on the horizon. The path of CeFi as it relates to DeFi and where Vivek sees overlap. How BitOoda is working with bitcoin miners to manage risk. The smart contract platform category and how Vivek stays current on the latest developments in the industry. To learn more about BitOoda visit their website. Follow Vivek on Twitter.

Alexandra DaCosta (CEO) and David Yi (Chief Commercial Officer) join the show to talk about Aspen Creek Digital Corp.'s fundraise and their model for additive renewable mining. In this episode: What was it like raising for a mining firm in this environment David and Alexandra’s backgrounds and how the came to cofound ACDC Why ACDC is pursuing a ‘power first’ model and what that means ACDC’s wind, solar, and battery approach to energy Why ACDC focuses on additional, new renewable generation How mining behind the meter with renewable sources actually works Why intermittency of wind and solar is not a dealbreaker for Bitcoin miners The merits of going behind the meter for a Bitcoin miner The importance of the Inflation Reduction Act for renewables Industries are becoming more location agnostic overall Are Bitcoin miners doing a sufficiently good job of disclosures around their energy mix? What is the feasibility of batteries at grid scale? Are Bitcoin miners interfering with the market signal indicating where t

Matt and Nic return for news and deals of the week. In this episode: What caused the Pound Sterling to sell off? Deglobalization picks up Stirrings of a sovereign debt crisis emerge Explaining Deribit’s insider-led down round Can the market recover before Do Kwon, Machinsky, and 3AC are dealt with? Celcius’ Machinsky steps down Brett Harrison leaves FTX US 7 states issue C&Ds against Nexo The CFTC goes after Ooki DAO and DAO members The CFTC serves Ooki through a chatbox and a forum post How voting in a DAO can cause you to incur personal liability Why putting a DAO in a ‘legal wrapper’ might make sense The Fed will not pursue a digital dollar (for now) The ‘convenience yield’ of holding a CFTC OTB Bingo Would it be good for Bitcoin to be flippened? Sponsor notes: Talos powers institutional access to the entire digital assets ecosystem via a single-point of entry. Connect directly to your preferred prime brokers, lenders, investors, custodians, exchanges, OTC desks and more, or meet them on Talos. Get

Sergey Gorbunov, co-founder of Axelar joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Sergey’s path to founding Axelar His views on blockchain interoperability and the design decisions of Axelar The different approaches to interoperability that are being attempted in the industry Views on DeFi composability and the role of privacy on public blockchains The L1/L2 landscape and how Axelar is positioned To learn more about Axelar visit axelar.network/    

In this episode, Christine Kim from Galaxy Research joins us to discuss the Ethereum Merge and prospects for future protocol development:  Reactions to the merge and network changes that flew under the radar Finding a focus area in core protocol development on Ethereum EIPs (Ethereum Improvement Proposals) on the near-term horizon Threats to decentralization and censorship resistance and potential solutions Intro and outro music: Daniel Allan’s Collage #344

Nic and Matt sit down for a special live recording of OTB in front of an audience at the Boston Blockchain Week. In this episode:  Ian Balina is dinged by the SEC for Sparkster The SEC’s weird argument for standing over all of Ethereum Is XRP a prediction market on Ripple’s case against the SEC Wintermute is hacked for $160m via a bad vanity generator Several Senators file an amicus brief to support Custodia’s lawsuit against the Fed What the Congressional crypto agenda should look like Europe finalizes their MiCA regulation Europe discourages Dollar stablecoin usage in the EU Exchanges and token issuers in the EU will have to make disclosures Jesse Powell steps down from Kraken NASDAQ is launching a crypto custody business Helium strikes a deal with T Mobile Audience Q&A Sponsor notes: Talos powers institutional access to the entire digital assets ecosystem via a single-point of entry. Connect directly to your preferred prime brokers, lenders, investors, custodians, exchanges, OTC desks and more, or

Steven Goldfeder is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Offchain Labs, the team building Arbitrum. In this episode we discuss:  Steven's academic background, and his work at Princeton University.  BlockSci, an early blockchain forensics/search product that Steven co-founded.  The evolution of MPC custody and the exciting developments in that category.  The Flash Boys 2.0 paper and the current state of MEV.  Steven's views on the evolution of L1 smart contract platforms and how L2 scaling is shaping up.  The design choices and considerations that went into the choice of optimistic vs. zero-knowledge rollups on Arbitrum.  The future of ZK systems on blockchains.    To learn more about Arbitrum and follow Steven visit www.offchainlabs.com

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  The Merge takes place without incident Will the Merge silence Ethereum critics on the left? Will the ESG narrative around crypto get louder? FTX takes a stake in Skybridge Castle Island is not an island If you make an NFT of a diamond and destroy the diamond, do you still have a diamond? CME launches Ether options Starbucks launches an NFT loyalty platform Tungsten cubes are selling off South Korea issues an arrest warrant for Do Kwon The thin line between visionary and scammer What Terra teaches us about why disclosures matter in capital markets Huobi delists privacy coins Can you take delivery of Tornado Cash-dusted Ether? Coinbase launches their Crypto Action Network Matt and Nic evaluate the ratings members of Congress are getting from Coinbase Chainalysis releases their 2022 global crypto adoption index Hodlnaut’s CSW case begins The NSA Bitcoin lab leak hypothesis OTB goes live! Mentioned in this episode: Jake Chervinsky's thre

Dan Mottice, CEO and Co-Founder of Ansible Labs, joins the show to talk about a new payment gateway for web3. Dan’s personal background and how he ended up in financial services The Visa Network, Visa Direct Payouts and Visa Crypto Ansible Labs’ raise and what’s ahead Off-ramps and why they matter North stars in fintech The consumer experience in a b2b sales cycle Navigating turbulent markets and how to build to win Learn more about Ansible here.   

Bankless' David Hoffman joins Matt and Nic for a special episode to cover Ethereum's highly-anticipated Merge. In this episode:  How David came to Ethereum and the Bankless origin story The story behind the Bankless DAO Whether David would ever consider focusing on other blockchains What could cause David to abandon Ethereum The Coinbase OFAC filtering debate Why proposer-builder separation might make validator-driven censorship harder Filtering transactions at the pool layer versus undertaking a ‘Treasury Activated Soft Fork’ Under what conditions would social slashing of major validators make sense? How embedded is the social slashing consensus into Ethereum’s social fabric? The significance of the new supply dynamics stemming from the Merge Is the unlock something to worry about? Is there a ‘crowding out’ effect from staked Ether becoming a risk free rate? Does MEV pose a concentration risk post Merge? Are MEV-driven yields for stakers perverse? Is MEV an inescapable feature of richly stateful blockchains

Matt and Nic return for news and deals of the week. In this episode:  Nic's shoe problem Web3 merch for OTB? The White House releases a report on crypto asset energy usage Why the US should encourage mining within its borders  Coinbase is funding a lawsuit against OFAC  Binance is converting USDC into BUSD on their platform  Poolin is having liquidity problems Russia considers crypto for cross border payments  The US Government recovers $30m from the Axie hack Gensler keeps firing barbs Nic doesn't buy the supply shock thesis around the Merge Will ETH have another high fee era?  What could an ETH carry trade look like?  Content mentioned:  The White House, Climate and Energy Implications of Crypto-Assets in the United States Gary Gensler speech at the SEC, Kennedy and Crypto Sponsor notes: Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter and read their Mapping out the Merge report  

Ria and Nic from Castle Island sit down with Stephanie Howard and Bennett Collen, cofounders of Endstate, a web3 footwear and fashion brand. We cover the merits of the redeem-and-retain NFT model and the vision for Endstate. Bennett’s prior crypto startup and how he decided to unite his passion for sneakers with web3 How Bennett and Stephanie met and cofounded Endstate Stephanie’s career in sneaker design to date  Why creators and athletes are jumping at the opportunity to issue merchandise-linked NFTs Why Bennett and Stephanie chose to launch a web3 native brand How redeem-and-retain NFTs allow manufacturers to reduce inventory risk Why fashion is getting more targeted and niche Why Endstate is able to release new iterations of their sneakers so quickly Endstate’s rationale for manufacturing in the US Endstate drops to date Endstate’s new drop with Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith How web3 brands should think about which metaverse to build for Endstate’s thinking around Solana vs Ethereum and the impact o

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  What happens to the GPUs post merge? Will the gamers finally get cheap GPUs back? Is the merge like superbowl sunday or Y2K? Does the success of the merge undo a long-term Bitcoin talking point? Are NFTs going to cc0 screwing over their users? DC sues Michael Saylor and Microstrategy for allegedly skipping taxes in DC The SEC questions whether the certain assets in Grayscale trusts are securities What’s going on with the Roche Freedman/ Ava Labs/ Cryptoleaks situation? Is Roche just David Boies 2.0? The Biden executive order reports are due next week Rune of Maker muses about turning Dai into a free floating unit of account Will Maker be able to survive real world assets as collateral? Did Moonbirds rugpull their buyers with IP issues? Kyle Waters from Coin Metrics joins to talk about the Merge Is the distribution of stakers on Ethereum something to be worried about? What’s going to happen to ETH issuance post merge? How to forecast po

Obi Nwosu, CEO and Founder of Fedi joins the show to cover a new model for shared Bitcoin custody in Fedimint. In this episode:  Obi’s experience with Coinfloor and how that informed his views on custody Why third party custody with Proof of Reserves isn’t sufficient Why ‘credible centralized’ custody shouldn’t be the default Why state level attacks on custodians are ramping up Obi’s early prediction that Nigeria would be the heartland of Bitcoin adoption Why messaging apps are actually the most popular p2p exchanges worldwide The history and origins of Chaumian Mints How the enabling pieces of Fedimint all came together over time The relationship between federated custody and microfinance How Fedimint is analogous to Free Banking Does Fedimint satisfy Hal Finney’s vision for Bitcoin banks? How Fedimint compares to first party custody How Obi expects regulators to react to Fedimint Learn more about Fedi and Fedimint.

Matt and Nic return for news and deals of the week. In this episode:  Matt’s prior radio career The boys consider reinvesting in the podcast How to avoid audience capture We puzzle over metaverse advertising How do you value metaverse real estate? Rep. Tom Emmer writes a letter to OFAC questioning their sanctioning of Tornado Cash Tether and BUSD (Paxos) don’t blacklist Tornado Cash addresses The FDIC reprimands crypto companies Web3 hoodies Best podcast listening speeds Are security tokens and real world assets back? No new 3ac shenanigans Tadge Dryja leaves MIT DCI for David Marcus’ Lightspark New findings on OFAC censoring Bitcoin Mining pools Tether has a new auditor Can a firm with outstanding tokens be acquired or go public? Gensler’s weird op-ed Sponsor notes: Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter