On The Brink with Castle Island

Matt and Nic return for more news and deals of the week. In this episode: Everything is selling off Is the US losing its status as global reserve? We announce our policy miniseries Sen. Lummis will reportedly propose a crypto bill Opensea raising $300m at a $13b valuation Illicit activity in 2021 was only 0.15% of total crypto volume The Boston Fed CBDC pilot program rumbles on Kazakhstan turns off the internet, and dims Bitcoin hashrate by 12% NY State reproposes their bill to ban mining in the state The National Credit Union Administration looks to ratify usage of crypto for its members The House Energy and Commerce committee will hold a hearing on PoW A group of environmentalist organizations sends a letter regarding PoW to congress Content mentioned: National Credit Union Administration, Relationships with Third Parties that Provide Services Related to Digital Assets Letter to Congress from environmentalist groups regarding PoW Sponsor notes: Corporations and institutions can allocate cash into Circle Yield to gain crypto lending exposure and earn superior returns compared to traditional markets. It's secured, overcollateralized and built on the leading dollar digital currency. Visit circle.com/yield to book a meeting

Luxor COO and CPO Ethan Vera and Guzman Pintos join the show to talk about their relaunched data product, Hashrate Index and other trends in mining. In this episode: The history of the firm Why Luxor created the hashrate index How Luxor gathers data on ASIC pricing and creates their time series charts ASIC pricing dynamics Are sell side analysts correctly pricing ASICs on the balance sheets of public miners? Why different efficiencies of miners have traded differently in the last 2 months How constraints on rack space affect the demand for older ASICs Why so many ASICs can't leave China Is there still residual black market mining in China? Kazakhstan's under-reported mining crackdown Are ASIC development cycles slowing? Are miners still front-running their clients with prop mining? Are Bitcoin miners trying to acquire Bitcoin or do they want to hedge their exposure Are derivatives becoming more popular among miners? The maturation of the Bitcoin mining derivatives market Why prior hashrate derivatives haven't worked Multiple based analysis for public miners Why there is a 'public market arbitrage' for miners Why incentives exist for public miners to be highly acquisitive Do miners care about long term fee budget? Sponsor notes: Compass Mining is the world's first and largest online marketplace for bitcoin mining hardware, hosting, and ASIC reselling. Start mining your own bitcoin by visiting compassmining.io

Nic and Matt return for the last episode of 2021. In this episode: Someone makes an unauthorized Nic NFT Microstrategy buys more BTC Blake Masters sells a political NFT Why do gamers and artists hate NFTs? We look back at our 2021 crystal ball predictions Best predictions of 2021 Our outlook for crypto policy in 2022 Our favorite OTB episodes of the year We look back at the Token Daily 2019 crystal ball predictions What it's like to be in crypto for an entire decade Midterm implications for the crypto industry Our favorite OTB episodes of 2021 Content mentioned: Tokendaily, 2021 Crystal Ball Sponsor notes: Corporations and institutions can allocate cash into Circle Yield to gain crypto lending exposure and earn superior returns compared to traditional markets. It's secured, overcollateralized and built on the leading dollar digital currency. Visit circle.com/yield to book a meeting Compass Mining is the world's first and largest online marketplace for bitcoin mining hardware, hosting, and ASIC reselling. Start mining your own bitcoin by visiting compassmining.io

Gabe Frank and Robert Masiello, the founders of Arcade, a financial services platform for NFTs join the show. In this episode we discuss: Gabe and Robert's origin stories in the crypto industry and the path that led them to founded Arcade The similarities in the market structures for bitcoin in the early years and NFTs today The role of MPC custody in the crypto markets How they think about the various L1 chains that will host NFTs The OTC trading landscape for NFTs Peer to peer vs. peer to pool NFT lending models How the lending market will evolve with great data / pricing functionality The product roadmap for Arcade over the next year To learn more about Arcade visit their website. Sponsor notes: This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto This episode supported by Public.com. Start investing with as little as $1 and get a free slice of stock up to $50 when you join Public.com today. Visit public.com/onthebrink to download the app and sign up.

Matt and Nic return for a festive Christmas eve roundup. In this episode: Reevaluating our intro song Jack Dorsey's web3 beef What's on our Christmas list Is PoW inherently high-fee? We steelman the Jack Dorsey and the pro web3 arguments Is there a paradox in web3? We advance a model of tapered token issuance for web3 The downsides of token issuance to early adopters Is Liz Warren right about corporate greed causing inflation? Radioshake releases a defi token Is Bitcoin ownership too concentrated? Bitcoin is dispersing while equities are concentrating Will there be a revolt among the staffers at the SEC? Content mentioned: Nic Carter and Lucas Nuzzi in Bitcoin Magazine, Bitcoin's Proof of Work is Well Worth its Fees Paul Vigna in WSJ, Bitcoin's 'One Percent' Controls Lion's Share of the Cryptocurrency's Wealth Sponsor notes: Corporations and institutions can allocate cash into Circle Yield to gain crypto lending exposure and earn superior returns compared to traditional markets. It's secured, overcollateralized and built on the leading dollar digital currency. Visit circle.com/yield to book a meeting This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto

Anders Larson, head of strategic finance at U.S. Bitcoin Corp, joins us to talk about how miners make decisions and allocate capital. In this episode: The Wharton class of 2018 Are Bitcoin miners clogging up the chip supply chain? Why Bitcoin miners are 'tier 2' customers at foundries The scale of US BTC operations in terms of hashrate Why US BTC has been so quiet historically How US BTC targets renewable energy Which renewables are easiest to find Is there any truth to the story of Bitcoin improving the economics of renewables? Why ASIC depreciation is slowing, and how that affects the viability of different energy sources The relationship between Bitcoin's carbon intensity and ASIC depreciation period Can ASICs last for 5 years? How does US BTC think about uptime on their units? Why lower uptime means that you have cheaper power due to demand response How US BTC thinks about hashrate growth and why they are more conservative than their competitors Why Chinese hashrate is not completely eliminated The state of affairs in Kazakhstan How Anders thinks about political risk in mining How policy logic informs selective mining bans and mining subsidies How Anders sees miners vertically integrating with energy firms How Anders thinks about proposed state bitcoin mining bans in places like NY Why mining bans in the West are often counterproductive The relationship between energy consumption and civilizational progress How Anders thinks about the energy cost debate Whether the CBECI hashrate distribution estimates are reliable Why the US having a large share of hashrate isn't something to be concerned about How mining could become a states rights issue Does US BTC project fee growth in their models? Sponsor notes: Compass Mining is the world's first and largest online marketplace for bitcoin mining hardware, hosting, and ASIC reselling. Start mining your own bitcoin by visiting compassmining.io This episode supported by Public.com. Start investing with as little as $1 and get a free slice of stock up to $50 when you join Public.com today. Visit public.com/onthebrink to download the app and sign up.

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: A glitch in the CoinMarketCap data feed causes disturbances in the crypto industry AscendEX is hacked last week to the tune of $77 million Coinbase urges the SEC to approve NYSE Arca's application to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into an exchange-traded fund Bitwise launches a blue-chip NFT fund A bipartisan group of Senators write a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen regarding the crypto provisions in the infra bill The Myanmar government in exile official adopts Tether, while the Junta government de-dollarizes Matt takes the giving pledge The Open Markets Institute spreads a lot of FUD Can the boys lift a 230 pound tungsten cube? Sponsor notes: This episode supported by Public.com. Start investing with as little as $1 and get a free slice of stock up to $50 when you join Public.com today. Visit public.com/onthebrink to download the app and sign up. Corporations and institutions can allocate cash into Circle Yield to gain crypto lending exposure and earn superior returns compared to traditional markets. It's secured, overcollateralized and built on the leading dollar digital currency. Visit circle.com/yield to book a meeting

Alex Wilson, co-founder and CEO of The Giving Block joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Alex's path in the blockchain space, from consulting to founding The Giving Block The landscape of charitable giving, and how the company is assisting charitable organizations The pain points that charities face when accepting donations Perspectives from the donor's perspective and why donating cryptocurrency is so compelling How the company came to launch its campaigns To learn more about The Giving Block visit their website or follow the company on Twitter. Sponsor notes: This episode supported by Public.com. Start investing with as little as $1 and get a free slice of stock up to $50 when you join Public.com today. Visit public.com/onthebrink to download the app and sign up. This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto

Matt and Nic return for deals and news of the week. In this episode: Are cubes a suitable holiday gift? Best crypto Xmas gifts Bitcoin purchases we regret The House Financial Services committee holds a hearing Our Congressional hearing MVP Brian Brooks' evolution SBF kicks off shoegate Takeaways from the House hearing EOS holders reject a payment to Block One Block One's weird pivot to Bitcoin Greyscale says 26% of American adults own Bitcoin Governance difficulties in Dfinity Will SWIFT survive American sanctions on Russia Impenetrable Sushiswap drama Those landfill Bitcoins are still lost Content mentioned: Brian Brooks' testimony before the House Financial Services Committee The Economist, The Explosion in Stablecoins Revives a Debate around 'Free Banking' WSJ, Crypto, NFTs and Tungsten Cubes: A Guide to Giving Cash in 2021 Sponsor notes: This episode supported by Public.com. Start investing with as little as $1 and get a free slice of stock up to $50 when you join Public.com today. Visit public.com/onthebrink to download the app and sign up. Corporations and institutions can allocate cash into Circle Yield to gain crypto lending exposure and earn superior returns compared to traditional markets. It's secured, overcollateralized and built on the leading dollar digital currency. Visit circle.com/yield to book a meeting

Matt Cutler, the founder and CEO of Blocknative joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Matt's entrepreneurial history and path to founding Blocknative How he came to see blockchain transaction data as a big opportunity for his company How blockchain mempools work and why they are important The types of customers that are monitoring blockchain network data and how this data is actionable Matt's views on blockchain scalability across L1s and Ethereum L2s What is on the horizon for Blocknative To learn more about Blocknative visit their website. Sponsor notes: This episode supported by Public.com. Start investing with as little as $1 and get a free slice of stock up to $50 when you join Public.com today. Visit public.com/onthebrink to download the app and sign up. This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto.

Matt and Nic return for deals and news. In this episode: Art Basel is now a crypto event Is the crypto industry culturally relevant? Jack Dorsey leaves Twitter Will Twitter become more censored Square renames itself Block Celcius CFO is arrested Fidelity launches a Bitcoin ETF in Canada David Marcus is leaving Facebook Regulatory projections from Cowen BadgerDAO hacked Content mentioned: Cowen's analysis of the regulatory headwinds in crypto Sponsor notes: This show supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions. For more information see coinbase.com/prime Corporations and institutions can allocate cash into Circle Yield to gain crypto lending exposure and earn superior returns compared to traditional markets. It's secured, overcollateralized and built on the leading dollar digital currency. Visit circle.com/yield to book a meeting

Galaxy Digital Mining Associate Brandon Bailey and Research Associate Karim Helmy join the show to cover a new accounting methodology for Bitcoin miners. In this episode: Galaxy's new miner margins accounting methodology Brandon and Karim origin stories in mining How the randomness-based miner fingerprinting works How Karim thinks about miner depreciation schedules Why the Bitcoin e-waste paper understates the expected lifetime of Bitcoin ASICs S9s are still a quarter of the Bitcoin network Why Karim and Brandon created the new accounting framework The differences between marginal, direct, and total cost of production for BTC miners Does the sell side capably cover Bitcoin miners? What you would expect to see for marginal and total cost of production for established Bitcoin miners Why miners focus on marginal cost rather than total in their storytelling Major bottlenecks preventing the addition of new hardware Why hashrate may not converge to price in the near term Why the chip shortage advantages incumbents in Bitcoin mining Why Kazakhstan is scaling back their Bitcoin mining Why mining manufacturers do not get priority access to the best foundry capacity Why established miners will be able to mine Bitcoin at favorable rates for the near and medium term Why of the accounting identities Galaxy would prioritize when evaluating public mining companies How Galaxy arrived at a 3 year depreciation period for the average mining unit What advice Brandon and Karim would give you public market analysts evaluating mining companies See the full write up and sample model here. Sponsor notes: This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto OurCrowd analyzes companies across the global private market, selecting those with the greatest growth potential, then brings them to you. Get started at OurCrowd.com/otb

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Coinbase acquires Breadwallet El Salvador's Bitcoin City Is El Salvador's Bitcoin Bond worth buying? New merch on the website Midwest tungsten releases a new shape Is India banning crypto again? Miners coming back online in China The OCC, FDIC, and Fed will release cryptoasset guidance in 2022 Saule Omarova's nomination to run the OCC has fallen through Jerome Powell will keep helming the Fed Elizabeth Warren blames inflation on Big Poultry ConstitutionDAO crashes and burns Insider trading doesn't just apply to securities Who we are thankful for Merch: onthebrink.shop Sponsor notes: This show supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions. For more information see coinbase.com/prime Corporations and institutions can allocate cash into Circle Yield to gain crypto lending exposure and earn superior returns compared to traditional markets. It's secured, overcollateralized and built on the leading dollar digital currency. Visit circle.com/yield to book a meeting

We sit down with James McGinniss, CEO and Cofounder of David Energy to talk about Bitcoin's role in the energy transition and how Bitcoin mining is a useful source of flexible load for increasingly renewable grids. In this episode: The fundamental change happening in the US grid today What distributed energy resources are and why they are important Why DERs are catching on in California Why bitcoin allows load to move to supply Why better metering improves the prospects for demand response How demand response works nationwide Why there's a fundamental tradeoff between uptime and power prices Why Bitcoin is the best demand response resource The prospects for other location agnostic load resources Do better batteries obsolete Bitcoin mining as a grid balancer? How David Energy is working with Bitcoin miners Why Bitcoin miners should trade mining uptime for cheaper power Are grid operators designing programs for bitcoin miners? Why there's a longer tail of energy assets that miners should take advantage of Sponsor notes: This episode supported by Public.com. Start investing with as little as $1 and get a free slice of stock up to $50 when you join Public.com today. Visit public.com/onthebrink to download the app and sign up. This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto.

Nic and Matt return for more news and deals of the week. In this episode: ConstitutionDAO Why you can't smelt tungsten Breaking down the Keep Innovation in America Act The SEC denies the Vaneck Bitcoin Trust Crypto.com buys the naming rights to the Lakers arena The US Marshalls are auctioning BTC seized from Bitconnect Is Gerald Cotten deceased? Load ze quantum FUD Is David Chaum right about Bitcoin's quantum FUD? What fraction of Bitcoins are quantum vulnerable? Can stablecoins be rendered run-proof? Sweden and Norway agitate against PoW Why banning Bitcoin mining can be counter productive What does the DAO do if they win the Constitution? Content mentioned in this episode: David Andolfatto, Run Proof Stablecoins Derek Hsue and Larry Sukernik, I Pledge Allegiance Sponsor notes: This show supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions. For more information see coinbase.com/prime Corporations and institutions can allocate cash into Circle Yield to gain crypto lending exposure and earn superior returns compared to traditional markets. It's secured, overcollateralized and built on the leading dollar digital currency. Visit circle.com/yield to book a meeting

Nic and Sean sit down with Kevin Anetsberger, General Manager at Midwest Tungsten, to cover their journey as a business and their entry into the crypto industry In this episode: The history of Midwest Tungsten How Midwest got its start making metal steam Industrial applications of tungsten Tungsten's physical properties and how that makes it suitable for industrial applications Military applications of tungsten Where Midwest Tungsten sits in the supply chain How Tungsten is actually refined and formed, given that it's impossible to smelt The upper limits to tungsten formed objects, and where the constraints derive from Why a 14 inch cube is actually the largest size Midwest can actually make How Kevin came to work in the tungsten industry Where is tungsten mined? Have the supply chain disruptions affected Midwest Tungsten How Midwest Tungsten resisted offshoring Why Midwest Tungsten began selling collectibles Who has bought the cubes historically Was this the largest spike in demand for the tungsten cubes ever? How the company came to accept Bitcoin and make the NFT Is Midwest Tungsten holding the Bitcoin they have earned in cube sales? Is tungsten safe to handle? Where Kevin falls on the cube vs sphere debate What is the optimal cube size? Why Midwest chose to sell the cube NFT Other metals that Kevin likes What about Osmium? Sponsor notes: This episode supported by Public.com. Start investing with as little as $1 and get a free slice of stock up to $50 when you join Public.com today. Visit public.com/onthebrink to download the app and sign up. This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto.

Matt and Nic return for news and deals of the week. In this episode: Circle launches an early stage venture fund SEC targets American CryptoFed DAO LLC The SEC references Nic's paper on DeFi risks Should DeFi teams be more aggressive in disclosing admin key risks? What would a DeFi disclosure regime look like? BlockFi files for a spot Bitcoin ETF Bitwise withdraws its futures-based ETF NYC mayor Eric Adams says NYC schools should teach about cryptocurrency Miami will airdrop BTC to residents Inflation prints at 6.2% annualized Why the 'supply chain' explanation for inflation obscures the underlying dynamics Is inflation really a supply chain issue? Real interest rates are as low as they were in the 1970s Why we have entered monetary repression Discord dithers on Web3 BrinkDAO Could tungsten rods in space improve on nuclear weapons? Content mentioned in this episode: SEC, Statement on DeFi Risks, Regulations, and Opportunities Michael Greenwald, The Digital Asset Olympics 21Shares, Q3 Report Nic Carter and Linda Jeng, DeFi Protocol Risks Sponsor notes: This show supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions. For more information see coinbase.com/prime Corporations and institutions can allocate cash into Circle Yield to gain crypto lending exposure and earn superior returns compared to traditional markets. It's secured, overcollateralized and built on the leading dollar digital currency. Visit circle.com/yield to book a meeting

Core Weave cofounder and CSO Brannin McBee joins the show to talk GPU mining and high performance computation. In this episode: Details on the Core Weave's latest fundraise Core Weave's hybrid data center model which combines Ethereum mining and generalized computation Transitioning from just crypto mining to the specialized compute market Why the hyperscale cloud providers aren't always suitable for firms with specialized computation needs The nature and size of Core Weave's GPU and CPU fleet How Core Weave services clients in VFX and rendering, machine learning, and blockchain Why Core Weave was able to build a generalizable computational fleet Why the demand for VFX/rendering-based compute is accelerating How film studios are going from capital intensive on-prem computation to outsourcing it to cloud providers How Core Weave is able to achieve a high utilization rate for their GPUs How Core Weave is working on open sourcing GPT-3 Why you can't access scale compute at conventional providers How Core Weave is managing Ethereum's transition to Proof of Stake When Brannin expects the final merge to occur How the market for GPU mining will change over time How NFTs are a new source of demand for large-scale compute Core Weave's attitude to Ethereum development Did Ethereum move away from some of its original principles? How proof of work was a strong distributive force during the early days of Ethereum Are miners less positively inclined towards the network now that their business model has an expiration date? Brannin's attitude towards MEV today Brannin's thoughts on Ethereum's security model as it moves towards PoS Does the abundance of capital make PoS more vulnerable than PoW? Why diseconomies of scale for electricity procurement protected PoW networks Why rendering PoW 'synthetic' in PoS makes it easier to pull off an attack How Core Weave pursues sustainability in their operations Sponsor notes: This episode supported by Public.com. Start investing with as little as $1 and get a free slice of stock up to $50 when you join Public.com today. Visit public.com/onthebrink to download the app and sign up. This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto.

Nic and Matt return for deals and news of the week. In this episode: The President's Working Group report on Stablecoins comes out Should stablecoins really require a bank charter? Would a red wave in the midterms be good for the crypto industry Two congressmen ask the SEC to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF The TungstenDAO buys the Midwest Tungsten 14 inch cube Where was the Neeraj kitchen photo taken Tarantino is auctioning off uncut scenes from Pulp Fiction as NFTs Miami Mayor Francis Suarez will take his salary in Bitcoin Tungsten's industrial uses Should you count native tokens as an asset on your balance sheet? Sponsor notes: This show supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions. For more information see coinbase.com/prime Corporations and institutions can allocate cash into Circle Yield to gain crypto lending exposure and earn superior returns compared to traditional markets. It's secured, overcollateralized and built on the leading dollar digital currency. Visit circle.com/yield to book a meeting

Nikos Andrikogiannopoulos. the founder of Metrika joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Nikos' journey to the blockchain industry and how we came to see the opportunity to found Metrika How Metrika thinks about monitoring public blockchains for reliability and downtime Perspectives on the common reasons that blockchains go down Nikos's perspective on the use cases that are driving blockchain adoption How Metrika prioritizes the blockchain networks that it covers To learn more about Metrika visit their website. Sponsor content: This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto. This show is supported by OurCrowd. Join the fastest growing venture capital investment community at OurCrowd.com/OTB

Matt and Nic return for another week of deals and news. In this episode: The SEC wants to regulate stablecoins El Salvador buys 420 BTC River launches a mining product Direxion wants to launch a short BTC ETF The FATF guidance isn't as bad as we thought it might be Facebook is now Meta Is 'the metaverse' going to stick around? We unretire China FUD Content mentioned: The NFT Tax Guide Coin Center, The long-awaited FATF crypto guidance is not as bad as it could have been, but still flawed Nic in Bitcoin Magazine with Shaun Connell, Miners Are the Optimal Buyers Sponsor notes This show supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions. For more information see coinbase.com/prime Corporations and institutions can allocate cash into Circle Yield to gain crypto lending exposure and earn superior returns compared to traditional markets. It's secured, overcollateralized and built on the leading dollar digital currency. Visit circle.com/yield to book a meeting

Ray Cline, Lancium CTO, and Shaun Connell, EVP Power at Lancium, join the show. We cover the changing Texas grid, several models for renewable based mining, and how miners can serve as a controllable load. In this episode: Personal backgrounds and crossing the threshold from energy to Bitcoin Origins of Lancium Features of Texas grid Why Texas is so suitable for renewables How Texas is the 'Saudi Arabia' of renewable generation Why renewables grew so fast in Texas Two reasons why prices reach negative prices Three models for mining Grid connected with new gen miners Renewable colocation with new gen miners Off grid renewable colocation with old gen miners How different ASIC vintages affect the power price you can tolerate for the units and what interruptibility they can deal with ERCOT's surplus renewable power How the Texas grid is splitting in half How Bitcoin is a 'premium customer' for energy assets Why miners depreciate their miners over 4-5 years, and not 1-2 years as Digiconomist claims Are energy producers aware of the importance of Bitcoin mining as an alternative energy buyer? Introduction to Demand Response What a Controllable Load Resource is and how Bitcoin miners uniquely satisfy the requirements History of Controllable Load in ERCOT Why controllable load is so useful to grid operators Why Bitcoin miners can be flexible load, and why other industrial consumers of energy cannot Why the economics of operating an interruptible load as a miner make sense Are other grid operators looking to build programs for BTC miners? Do Bitcoin miners decarbonize the Texas grid in the final analysis? Will Bitcoin mining improve the reliability of the grid? Sponsor notes: This episode supported by Public.com. Start investing with as little as $1 and get a free slice of stock up to $50 when you join Public.com today. Visit public.com/onthebrink to download the app and sign up. This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto.

Matt and Nic are back for a monster week of deals and news. In this episode: CBOE acquires ErisX FTX raises a monster round Worldcoin launches with their eyeball scanner The Proshares futures-based ETF goes live and sets a record Why are futures-based ETFs expensive? the Proshares ETF starts to max out its futures exposure What will be the fate of GBTC? Grayscale announces a $1b buyback of GBTC Hester Peirce delivers another great talk Tether settles with the CFTC The academia-press complex Diem launches a Novi stablecoin based on USDP Why stablecoins are a frontier in the battle over financial privacy Facebook leans hard into the metaverse Tungsten takes over Square makes ASICs Why you shouldn't eat your tungsten cube Will CMS intern be able to lift the 7 inch cube? Content mentioned in this episode Bloomberg, First Bitcoin ETF Is Already in Danger of Breaching a Limit on Futures Contracts Hester Peirce speech at the Texas Blockchain Summit, Lawless in Austin Sponsor notes This show supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions. For more information see coinbase.com/prime Corporations and institutions can allocate cash into Circle Yield to gain crypto lending exposure and earn superior returns compared to traditional markets. It's secured, overcollateralized and built on the leading dollar digital currency. Visit circle.com/yield to book a meeting

Tom Chippas, the CEO of ErisX and Chris Isaacson, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Cboe Global Markets join the show. In this episode we discuss: CBOE's acquisition of ErisX Details of the acquisition and the rationale for the deal CBOE's current and future plans in the digital assets industry The market structure implications for the broader digital assets ecosystem and why this combination provides for a catalyst for broader institutional adoption Views on the regulatory landscape and how CBOE and ErisX are approaching the market Future products that may be on the horizon Broader views on the spot market, and discussion of Matt Trudeau's, "The Next Leg of The Crypto Trade" The landscape for exchange traded digital asset products

We had the pleasure of hosting NFT collector, Gmoney, on the show. He is a former equities trader turned NFT collector, educator, and expert. In this episode, we unpack the community, stories, and experiences Gmoney has amassed during his time in the NFT space and discuss the following: Gmoney's "aha" moment about the massive supercycle taking place in digital goods The shift in ownership and value accrual from the hands of a few investors to everyone interacting with crypto networks Gmoney's first NFT experience that allowed him to use NFTs as collateral for, what was at the time, the largest on-chain loan The factors that Gmoney considers in evaluating and investing in NFTs (above all, community) and more This was an enlightening discussion that really opened our eyes to the impact NFTs will have on the industry. Sponsor notes This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto.

Nic and Matt are back for our 250th episode! We discuss: ETF chatter heats up Where the Tungsten memes come from Why tungsten is good Coinbase launches an NFT platform Ribbon airdrop controversy How DeFi airdrops are like the McDonalds monopoly game Does the token industry need a disclosure framework? Miami plans to pay employees in Bitcoin Stripe is getting back into crypto Jamie Dimon wants to know how it ends at 21 million China's hashrate goes to virtually 0 The USA is the center of hash We retire an old FUD Content mentioned: Jump Capital, Stablecoins: The Impending Rise of a Multi-Trillion Dollar Market Sponsor notes: This show supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions. For more information see coinbase.com/prime

Mark Coe, the founder and CIO of Intrinsic Edge Capital Management joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Mark's professional career and path to founding Intrinsic How he came to see blockchain/crypto as an investable category His personal journey on understanding the various blockchain thesis areas How he thinks about the taxonomy of publicly traded companies in the blockchain space How Intrinsic thinks about their research and investment process for long/short equity investing The comparisons of blockchain technology to the early days of the internet Sponsor notes This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto.

Nic and Matt are back for more deals and news. In this episode: Our podcast SNAFU Can you wear a suit with sneakers How to offset your Bitcoin emissions (without buying offsets) Soc Gen asks Maker for a loan Bloomberg's Tether bombshell Are stablecoins like money market funds? Sponsor notes: This show supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions. For more information see coinbase.com/prime This show also supported by OurCrowd. Join the fastest growing venture capital investment community at OurCrowd.com/OTB

Esteban Castaño, the cofounder and CEO of TRM Labs, joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The founding story of TRM Labs and the methodical approach the team took to finding product market fit Esteban's perspectives on the NFT landscape and the growth potential in this category How regulators and public sector clients are approaching blockchain forensics How TRM is engaging with crypto native businesses and traditional financial services firms Perspectives on building a remote first organization while maintaining a strong culture To learn more about TRM Labs visit www.trmlabs.com Sponsor notes This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto.

Matt and Nic return for another week. In this episode: Is fasting lindy? Ripple's 250m NFT fund Kraken reaches a $1.25m settlement with the CFTC Could Ripple win their case against the SEC? Wyoming gives a tax break to flare gas miners Coinbase adds direct deposits to their platform Should stablecoins be issued by banks? China is tapped out of their Bitcoin FUD Compound suffers an exploit Bitcoin miners look at nuclear Sponsor notes: This show supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions. For more information see coinbase.com/prime

In this episode, Chris Maurice, co-founder and CEO of pan-African crypto platform Yellow Card, joined us to talk about his background, the business, and the state of crypto adoption in Africa. The company's goal is to provide a seamless on and off ramp to anyone in Africa. We also discuss: Yellow Card's recently announced fundraise The diversity in culture, language, history, and economy across the 54 countries in the region and why Yellow Card is on a pan-African journey The popular use cases for crypto in the region, including as a savings and transaction tool for individuals and businesses The challenges Yellow Card faces in driving crypto adoption in the region and what the firm can do to address them The details about Yellow Card's recent raise and the future of the company Based on this conversation with Chris, it's clear that crypto provides fundamental utility beyond speculation in the region that rings true to the ethos on which this industry was built. Sponsor notes This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto.

Christian Dittmeier, cofounder and CEO of Evaluate Market joins the show. In this episode we discuss: How Christian and his cofounders Alex and Cody came to find themselves spending their free time analyzing NFTs The insight that led them to start Evaluate Market, a platform for discovering, search for, and evaluating NFTs Christian's perspective on the emerging taxonomy of NFTs and how Evaluate prioritizes the assets that it lists The projects and categories of NFTs that Christian is most excited about To learn more about Evaluate visit evaluate.market

Nic and Matt return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Latest on the infrastructure bill The latest on the platinum coin Zany things that financial regulators said this week Gensler continues to misrepresent the free banking era How bad was the wildcat banking era really? Why are financial regulators so interested in free banking? The SEC and CFTC are nearing the end of their fiscal year The prospects for 'pipe to crypto' Why miners are participating in 'demand response' programs Matt's 20-year-old cereal Twitter adds lightning tips and NFT authentication Binance is under CFTC investigation Biden's new OCC nominee is anti-bank, anti-crypto FASB takes comment on GAAP treatment of digital assets Content mentioned: George Selgin on antebellum Free Banking Sponsor notes: This show supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions. For more information see coinbase.com/prime This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto.

Matt and Nic return to recap a tumultuous week. In this episode: Matt's ongoing war against the turkeys Fidelity thinks the SEC should approve a spot ETF The Futures based Bitcoin ETFs are nearing approval The SEC stonewalling an ETF is a political choice The OpenSea insider scandal Elizabeth Warren's critiques of the industry get more and more specific and niche Do we event want to know which tokens are securities according to the SEC? Ripple is asking the SEC to compare them to Ethereum Solana goes down for 17h Our interaction with a blockchain fraudster The NYT doesn't understand cryptography Are Bitcoiners cosplayers? The Epic games v Apple case has implications for the crypto industry Content mentioned: Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin ETF presentation to the SEC on Sep. 8 Sponsor notes This show supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions. For more information see coinbase.com/prime

Matt and Nic are back for another week. In this episode: El Salvador's bitcoin launch Was the Chivo rollout really that bad? Bukele buys the dip Did El Salvador's bitcoin day cause a 20% selloff? McDonalds supports lightning in El Salvador SEC v Coinbase Introducing the Reves test Takeaways from the Miami Bitmain conference What is the NFL planning with NFTs? Oil majors are getting into bitcoin mining Is flare gas the future? Sponsor notes This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto. This show supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions. For more information see coinbase.com/prime

We welcome Alex Svanevik, CEO of Nansen.ai to On the Brink to provide color on Nansen's unique approach to on-chain data and analysis. We discuss: The evolution of Nansen from a wallet labelling tool to an end-to-end analytics platform How Nansen provides actionable insights from its analysis of individual addresses, transactions, and contracts Nansen's process to scale the collection of individual wallet level data over time Specific ways end-users are leveraging Nansen to make data-driven NFT investments And more broadly, the application of AI to the analysis of blockchain data You can learn more about the company and its offerings at Nansen.ai and the company's YouTube channel.

Nic and Matt are back for another week. Patriots choose Mac Jones Kanye releases Donda Two year anniversary of OTB The fate of the OTB lost episode Matt's peculiar NFT acquisition strategy What the hell is Loot Punks weren't the first NFTs Square is making a Bitcoin DEX The SEC sues Bitconnect Sponsor notes This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto.

Matt and Nic return for another week. In this episode: Nic sells an NFT to Von Miller OnlyFans and financial inclusion Visa buys a cryptopunk Do stablecoins have a future outside of the banking sector? The history of Choke Point and what it means today Our merch supply chain issues Tungsten talk Content mentioned Iain Murray's OTB appearance on Choke Point Nic in Coindesk, OnlyFans Shows How the Banking System Is Politicized Sponsor notes This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto.

Nic and Matt are back for news and deals. In this episode: Our current sentiment on the Senate infrastructure bill The controversial Flipside/Uniswap portfolio MIT's 2014 Bitcoin airdrop Chainalysis' new data on Bitcoin adoption shows that it's a developing markets phenomenon Is there a conflict between good stablecoins and a competitive market for stablecoins? Are lossmaking stablecoins anti-competitive? Gensler makes more noise about DeFi The problem with futures-based ETFs Content mentioned in this episode: Bitmex's new Proof of Reserve/Liability Nic in Bitcoin Magazine, The Bitcoin Energy Debate is a Modern Reprise of the Gold Resource Cost Debate Chainalysis, The 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index David Marcus on Medium, Good Stablecoins Sponsor notes This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto.

Nic and Matt return for more deals and news of the week. In this episode: Where we stand on the Senate infrastructure bill Is Bitcoin a bipartisan issue? What the prospects for the House to change the language in the infrastructure bill? The crypto lobby shows its teeth Why is Bitcoin rallying in the presence of this bill? What is Gensler cooking up for the crypto industry? The Economist publishes a pair of critical articles on Bitcoin Should stablecoins be regulated like banks What's Tether's leverage ratio? Is there a political Bitcoin bloc being formed? Sponsor notes: This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto. Eventus, the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Its award-winning trade surveillance platform is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry's leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. Find them at onthebrink.link/eventus

Nic and Matt return for another week. In this episode: Gensler makes a landmark speech Gensler asks for a futures-based ETF Will the crypto taxation in the infrastructure bill be sufficient to pay for the new spending? What explains the 11th hour language in the infra bill? When does the Bitcoin lobby become a meaningful voter bloc? BSV gets 51% attacked Sponsor notes: This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto. Eventus, the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Its award-winning trade surveillance platform is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry's leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. Find them at onthebrink.link/eventus

George Selgin, director of the Center of Monetary Alternatives at the Cato Institute joins the show to discuss Bitcoin, Free Banking, and stablecoins. In this episode: Why George refers to Bitcoin as a synthetic commodity money Why George was excited by the possibility for synthetic commodity money What conditions would have to hold for Bitcoin to be considered money Why money is a spectrum rather than binary Are stablecoins prone to bank runs? Is Tether's melange of underlying collateral sufficient? How should stablecoins be regulated? Why are regulators looking into stablecoins today? Comparing stablecoins to Money Market Mutual Funds Why money market funds broke the buck in 08 Are stablecoins as systemic as money market funds? George's objections to Gorton and Zhang's paper on free banking and stablecoins George's definition of free banking Was the 1830s-60s period in the U.S. a period of genuine free banking? The actual causes of bank failures in the pre-Civil War period Why 'unit banking' was so fragile What lessons can be taken from Canada's experience with free banking in that era Why the history of Free Banking is a red herring in the stablecoin debate George's recommendations for a primer on free banking George's reflections on Hal Finney's reference to his work Why bank failures are often the consequence of regulation Content mentioned in this episode: Selgin, Synthetic Commodity Money The Alt-M Blog Selgin, Money Free and Unfree White, Free Banking in Britain Selgin, The Theory of Free Banking Dowd, The Experience of Free Banking Gorton and Zhang, Taming Wildcat Stablecoins Sponsor notes: This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto.

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Warren's shadowy super coders Was Digicash the first stablecoin? Is TVL overrated? Castle Island adds a new partner An anti crypto rider inserted into the Congress infrastructure bill Does taxation pay for government spending? Goldman applies for a 'DeFi ETF' Exxon looking at flare gas? China's crackdown on big tech Sponsor notes: This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. To learn more, visit withum.com/crypto. Eventus, the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Its award-winning trade surveillance platform is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry's leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. Find them at onthebrink.link/eventus

We welcome Michel Rauchs, research affiliate and longtime contributor to the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance which just released an update its Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index featuring new mining location data. Covered in this episode: Why Michel returned to the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance The evolution of the CCAF's miner benchmarking efforts The original motivation for the Bitcoin Energy Index The relationship between the CCAF and Cambridge University How to estimate energy consumption from hashrate figures The meaning of the confidence interval in the electricity consumption figures How CCAF amassed the CBECI mining map Is the pool sample for the mining map representative? Methodological drawbacks with miner location assessment Why the CCAF is still reluctant to determine a carbon emissions figure for Bitcoin New evidence regarding the seasonal hashrate migration Is the Chinese crackdown going to lower the carbon intensity of the Bitcoin network? Is country-level granularity sufficient to determine the energy mix of mining? How the CCAF devised comparisons between the Bitcoin network and other consumers of energy Does Bitcoin get held to a different standard than other industries? Michel's experience talking to the press about Bitcoin energy consumption Has the narrative changed in the press at all? Michel's level of optimism regarding the decarbonization of Bitcoin mining This episode supported by: Eventus, the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Its award-winning trade surveillance platform is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry's leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. Find them at onthebrink.link/eventus

Nic and Matt are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: We debate the merits of the Merritt parkway We reflect on the B Word conference SpaceX owns Bitcoin We cover the Elonfolio Gensler covers tokens giving synthetic exposure to underlying securities Are stablecoins appropriately regulated? Can stablecoins learn from the free banking era in the 1830s? Is there a future for Ripple or Stellar as a bridge currency? What's next for US CBDCs? Content mentioned: Gary Gensler's speech Gerald Dwyer in AIER, What do Wildcat Banks tell us about Stablecoins? Sponsor notes: This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. Wherever your company is at, from pre-seed to IPO, we have tailored solutions just for you. To learn what our advisory, tax and audit services can do for you, visit withum.com/crypto.

Nic and Matt are back for a sideways week. In this episode: BlockFi's credit card comes out How mesopotamian clay tablets are blockchains Cambridge releases new data regarding bitcoin mining distribution Shapeshift decentralizes itself Can corporations successfully decentralize? Elizabeth Warren writes a letter to the SEC Larry Fink sees little demand for crypto Sponsor notes: This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. Wherever your company is at, from pre-seed to IPO, we have tailored solutions just for you. To learn what our advisory, tax and audit services can do for you, visit withum.com/crypto.

Nic and Matt are back. In this episode: Circle's SPAC filing Circle's evolution over the year The business model behind stablecoins Circle's risk factor slides The SEC is targeting centralized exchanges for trading unregistered securities Senator Pat Toomey buys BTC and ETH Matt tries out the Blockfi credit card GBTC unlocks wrapping up this summer Why are congresspeople allowed to trade financial assets? Warren grumbles about crypto markets once again Bullish exchange is SPACing Fed vice chair Randal Quarles has some good takes on stablecoins and CBCS Content mentioned in this episode: Randal Quarles' speech Circle's announcement on becoming a public company

Anton Katz and Ethan Feldman, the cofounders of Talos join the show. In this episode we discuss: Anton and Ethan's path from roles at AQR and Broadway Technologies and into the world of cryptoassets The problem they are seeking to solve for market participants How the exchange and OTC liquidity landscape is evolving How custodians and exchanges have evolved their offerings The challenges of capital efficiency in the cryptoasset markets What it was like to fundraise in a bear market What is ahead for Talos To learn more about Talos visit www.talos.com Sponsor notes: This episode is brought to you by Withum, a top 25 accounting firm with a cutting-edge Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology practice. Wherever your company is at, from pre-seed to IPO, we have tailored solutions just for you. To learn what our advisory, tax and audit services can do for you, visit withum.com/crypto.

Nic and Matt return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: A new twist in the turkey tale Why airdrops historically haven't work Sam Altman's eyeball-based cryptocurrency Brady partners up with FTX The FCA tangles with Binance Nic's paper on DeFi risks NYDIG deepens their bank partnerships Mexico's bitcoin rebuke Coinbase's aggressive new strategy The Bitcoin Mining Council shares Q2 data This episode supported by: Eventus, the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Its award-winning trade surveillance platform is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry's leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. Find them at onthebrink.link/eventus

Kinjal Shah of Blockchain Capital and Manasi Vora of Skynet Labs join us to discuss their recently launched investment DAO, KomorebiCollective. We discuss: 1) The motivation behind Komorebi and its mission to fund female and non-binary founders 2) The decision to structure the collective as a DAO 3) The cost, transparency, and speed benefits DAOs provide 4) What use cases DAOs are serving well today and could serve as they mature To learn more about Komorebi, you can visit their website and apply for funding. Sponsor notes: Aave is a decentralized, open source, and non-custodial protocol where users can deposits and borrow digital assets, and earn interest on those assets. Head over to aave.com to experience and learn more about DeFi.