On The Brink with Castle Island

In this episode, we talk to Patrick Dugan, coiner of the term 'crypto-dollarization'. Patrick has a wealth of knowledge regarding stablecoins and the prospects for public blockchains to carry fiat-denominated value. Covered in this episode: His formative experiences living under capital controls in Argentina How Patrick's time in LatAm taught him about dollarization Political drivers of the dollar's predominance in LATAM How Patrick realized that crypto-dollarization would be important Patrick's experiences working for the Omni Layer Foundation Patrick's analysis of the earliest stablecoins like BitUSD, Nubits, and Tether (Omni) Patrick's analysis of the stablecoin models which are most likely to succeed long-term Likely geopolitical effects of crypto-dollarization

Matt and Nic review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include: Renowned commodities investor Paul Tudor Jones announces his intent to trade Bitcoin and releases a Bitcoin thesis NEAR protocol gets funded Are fair launches dead? The under-appreciated merit of PoW issuance Libra's new CEO hire Wyoming's Special-Purpose Depository Institution legislation The privacy-auditability tradeoff in blockchains Whether the growth of stablecoins threatens the security model of public blockchains Thoughts on the imminent halving Our guess of who the next high profile hedge fund investor will be to flip bullish on Bitcoin

The question of Tether's influence on crypto markets has long vexed practitioners and academics. In a widely-publicized 2018 paper, academics Griffin and Shams allege that Tether was being issued collusively, effectively increasing the price of Bitcoin beyond its natural level. To learn how Tether behaves like a currency board, and to assess the veracity of the Griffin & Shams hypothesis in light of new data, we brought Ganesh Viswanath-Natraj on to the show. Ganesh is an Assistant Professor of Finance at Warwick Business School, covering international finance and macroeconomics, with a focus on foreign exchange derivatives, market microstructure and cryptocurrencies. Find the full text of the paper here, and follow Ganesh's work on his personal website.

Marcos Veremis, Managing Director at Evanston Capital Management joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Marcos' time at Cambridge Associates and how he came to lead cryptoasset research at the firm His perspectives on the various investment theses that are gaining traction with institutional allocators Fund structure, strategy and other crypto-fund considerations To learn more about Evanston Capital Management visit their website

Matt and Nic review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include: Deals of the week The SEC's court battle against the SAFT on two fronts Ebang's IPO announcement a16z Crypto's new fund FTX's entry into the US Telegram's new offer to investors Brian Quintenz leaves the CFTC

Moiz Kohari, the co-founder and CEO of Manetu, a company building a Consumer Privacy Management (CPM) platform for enterprises to manage personally identifiable information (PII) joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Moiz's recent experience contracting COVID-19 His motivation to start Manetu after holding high profile roles at State Street, London Stock Exchange and Novell Data privacy and the challenges enterprises face complying with upcoming regulations The state of blockchain and cryptoasset projects at large financial firms Learn more about Manetu at www.manetu.com

Peter Johnson, Head of Fintech and Crypto Investing at Jump Capital joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Peter's fintech thesis and the categories that he is most excited about Jump Trading's crypto journey and how Jump Capital works with the core trading business Cryptoasset market infrastructure and the categories that need to exist in order for this industry to thrive Learn more about Jump Capital at www.jumpcap.com and follow Peter @TheChicagoVC

Matt and Nic review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include: Deals of the week Our changing view of the halving Renaissance Technologies' announcement that they have the capacity to trade Bitcoin Our reaction to Mark Andreessen's "It's Time To Build" The dForce hack Ripple's lawsuit against Youtube Nic's defense of Coors Light

Michael Sonnenshein, Managing Director at Grayscale Investments joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Grayscale's record quarter, raising $503.7 million in Q1 2020 The pace of institutional adoption of passively managed crypto asset products Thoughts on Libra, the halvening and other upcoming events in the cryptoasset industry Learn more about Grayscale at Grayscale.co and follow them on Twitter @GrayscaleInvest

Sal Ternullo, Director and Cryptoasset Services Co-Lead at KPMG joins the show. In this episode we discuss: KPMG's cryptoasset practice and the types of engagements they are leading for large enterprises Sal's views on cryptoassets and security tokens including barriers to adoption for enterprises The outlook for M&A activity in this industry Learn more about KPMG's cryptoasset practice here.

Matt and Nic review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include: Deal activity More bailout angst A discussion of Libra's second iteration The lawsuit against the Maker Foundation Grayscale's monster Q1 Blogs we enjoyed reading this week

Bob Davis, the founder of Lycos and General Partner at Highland Capital Partners joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Bob's entrepreneurial journey, from taking Lycos from founding to IPO in 9 months, to an eventual $5.5 billion exit Perspectives on the venture industry and the impact of COVID-19 on the capital formation environment Comparisons of the blockchain industry to the early internet era General thoughts on Bitcoin's macro narrative and the evolution of the market infrastructure to support this asset Learn more about Highland Capital Partners at www.hcp.com

Brian Klein, trial attorney at Baker Marquart, joins the show. Brian has represented clients in the crypto industry since 2014 and has been involved in some of the most impactful cases in that time. In this episode: How he got his start at the San Jose bitcoin conference in 2013 Representing Erik Voorhees in a case relating to SatoshiDice Whether the SEC has provided sufficient clarity on the application of the Howey test to token issuance Brian's view on the Hinman guidance on the security to commodity transmutation Brian's take on the SAFT Brian's take on disclosure in the industry The little-known variables that affect sentencing outcomes in criminal cases Brian's experiencing representing Marcus Hutchins Why Brian allocates so much time and effort to pro bono cases

Matt and Nic review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include: Fidelity connecting to ErisX The sad fate of office plants Gold mining on asteroids More crypto dollarization The class action suits against Bitfinex, Block One, and others Retail vs institutional buying of Bitcoin The best articles published this week and much more

Tom Jessop, the President of Fidelity Digital Asset Services and Tom Chippas, the CEO of ErisX join the podcast. In this episode we discuss: - Today's announcement that Fidelity Digital Assets is now connecting to ErisX as a venue for procuring cryptoassets - General perspectives on how COVID-19 impacts blockchain companies - Fidelity and ErisX's respective roadmaps and plans for 2020 Learn more about ErisX at www.ErisX.com Learn more about Fidelity Digital Assets at www.fidelitydigitalassets.com

Alex Treece, the president and cofounder of Zabo, joins the show. How a background in private equity equipped him to think about crypto as a asset class Why Alex founded his startup, Zabo Why there are so few successful examples of utility tokens How tokens sit in the asset class taxonomy Why token value accretion is reliant on an informal contract with the issuer Distinctions between tokens that represent real world securities and natively accretive cash flow tokens which resemble securities Why he's thinks that blockbuster token sales are a thing of the past Revisiting his old prediction that Bitcoin would outperform in a recession

Matt and Nic review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include: Binance's acquisition of CoinMarketCap Factom's insolvency Telegram's latest setback in court Recent stablecoin growth Nic's piece on bailouts in Coindesk and much more news of the week

Adam Draper, co-founder of BoostVC, an accelerator and venture fund focused on Sci-Fi technologies joins the show. In this episode we discuss: - Adam's advice for portfolio companies navigating the current COVID 19 crisis - His thesis on Virtual Reality and what categories he is most excited about - His journey in crypto, from being an early investor in Coinbase to present - Book recommendations Learn more about Boost at Boost.vc and follow Adam on Twitter @adamdraper

Larry White, economics professor at George Mason University and senior fellow at the Cato Institute's Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, joins the show to discuss free banking, the history of dollarization, and the prospects for a crypto-native banking system. In this episode: - Why CBDCs might not be a good idea - The legacy of dollarization in Ecuador - How the Scottish free banking system worked - What would have to change for free banking to re-emerge today - The prospects for Bitcoin banks issuing notes – and one problem with the idea - The prospects for restoring a cash-like standard of privacy and autonomy in a digital context - The prospects for crypto-dollarization

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include: - Deals of the Week - Dislocations in the gold markets - The effects of the -16% difficulty adjustments in BTC - Thoughts on the stimulus package - Quarantine reading suggestions and much more news of the week

Jurrien Timmer, the Director of Global Macro at Fidelity Investments, joins the podcast. In this episode we discuss: - Jurrien's career trajectory and how he became the Director of Global Macro at Fidelity - His views on the current crisis in the context of other dislocations he has seen in his 25+ year career - Perspectives on the unprecedented interventions that we are seeing from the Federal government - The outlook for Gold, Bitcoin and other store of value assets - A best and worst case scenario for a recovery. Follow Jurrien: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jurrien-timmer-fidelity/ - https://twitter.com/TimmerFidelity

David Vorick, the founder of Nebulous and the blockchain Sia, joins the show to discuss Sia and its latest layer 2, Skynet. We also cover David's experience as an ASIC manufacturer, and what he learned about blockchain security models and the merits of ASICs versus GPUs. In this episode: How Sia is different from other decentralized storage platforms Different models for financing protocol development The story behind Nebulous' settlement with the SEC How Skynet represents the completion of the original vision for Sia David's experience manufacturing ASICs for Sia and Decred – and his clash with Bitmain David's proposal to launch new blockchains with 'protectionist' mining in place

Open Money Initiative founder Alejandro Machado joins the show to explain how Bitcoin is actually used in Venezuela, and how the country is dollarizing in real time. In this episode: How a power cut has been linked to a recent dollarization movement in Venezuela, and how dollar usage became decriminalized Whether dollarization has improved the prospects of everyday Venezuelans Why Maduro is actually in favor of partial dollarization How bitcoin allows you to import a system of credible property rights Why bitcoin still has a relatively low level of penetration in Venezuela Why stablecoins have not made a dent in Venezuela so far

Patrick South, VP of Development at the Chamber of Digital Commerce joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The mission of the Chamber of Digital Commerce and the policy initiatives that the organization is advocating for The line of demarcation between security and non-security tokens and a possible path forward for a safe harbor provision The potential impact of the travel rule and FATF guidelines Patrick's quarantine book and show recommendations

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include: - Market Commentary - Deals of the Week - Attestiv, Coase and other news - Quarantine Tips and much more news of the week

Nicos Vekiarides, the cofounder and CEO of Attestiv joins the show. Attestiv is a company that builds software to prove the authenticity of photos and videos using public blockchains to timestamp these records. In this podcast we discuss: - The benefits of public blockchains as public notary systems - Use cases for deep fake detection in the insurance industry - Tooling and user experience building on public blockchains Learn more about Attestiv at www.attestiv.com

Douglas Jackson, the founder of E-gold, arguably the first widely-used electronic medium of exchange, appears on the show. In this episode we discuss: - Douglas' motivations for starting E-gold - His disagreements with his cypherpunk contemporaries - Why private monetary issuers might be more responsible than public ones - The challenge of creating an open payments system which is also compliant - His critiques of stablecoins and native-unit cryptocurrencies

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include: - Market Turmoil - Market Infrastructure - Deals and much more news of the week

Jeremy Allaire, the co-founder and CEO of Circle joins the show. In this episode we discuss: - Jeremy's entrepreneurial journey and the original vision for Circle - The geopolitical impact of US Dollars on public blockchains - The goals of USDC - Circle Platform Services, a new product launching today - The regulatory environment globally for cryptoassets and much more

Matthew Le Merle, the co-founder and Managing Partner of Fifth Era, Keiretsu Capital and Blockchain Coinvestors joins the podcast. In this episode we discuss: - Matthew's career arc and how he came to understand the potential impact of blockchain technology - Building Blockchain Coinvestors, and the investment strategy of investing in blockchain venture capital funds - Predictions and analysis on institutional custody, stablecoins, Bitcoin adoption in emerging markets and more Learn more about Matthew and Blockchain Coinvestors at: https://www.blockchaincoinvestors.com/

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include: - Deals of the week - India's Supreme Court Ruling - South Korea regulation - OFAC issues - Treasury meeting with industry leaders and much more news of the week

Joseph Jacks of OSS Capital joins the show. In this episode we discuss: - What constitutes commercial open source, and how this differs from regular open source projects - the history of the open source software movement - why programmers contribute unpaid to open source projects - whether tokens are required to monetize open source OSS Capital: https://oss.capital/ The COSS Index: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17nKMpi_Dh5slCqzLSFBoWMxNvWiwt2R-t4e_l7LPLhU/edit#gid=0 Joseph's Twitter: https://twitter.com/asynchio

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include: - Deals of the week - SEC denies another Bitcoin ETF - SEC whacks Steven Seagal - Ripple Moneygram payments - Central Bank Digital Currency - Binance jurisdiction shopping and much more news of the week

Sunayna Tuteja, the Head of Digital Assets and DLT at TD Ameritrade, appears on the show. On this episode we discuss: - What guides TD's decision making in this asset class - How they think about blockchain/DLT versus Bitcoin - Crypto ideology versus crypto agnosticism - Her career trajectory to date - Lessons from being a pilot

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include: - Deals of the week - Enigma settles with the SEC - Fcoin lost user funds - Tim Draper bought 2.5% of Aragon - DeFi infrastructure - Neel Kashkari's thoughts on crypto and much more news of the week

Balaji Srinivasan is an angel investor and entrepreneur. He was formerly the CTO of Coinbase, a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, and the co-founder of Earn.com, Counsyl, Teleport and Coin Center. In this episode we discuss: - the 100x' crypto has delivered over traditional finance - how Balaji's views of what Bitcoin is good for have changed over time - the 'sovereign collective' versus the sovereign individual - whether Twitter is a functioning digital commonwealth and the prospects for Bluesky - why handles on social media might more closely resemble property than a platform - what Balaji is trying to achieve with nakamoto.com

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include: - BlockFi raise - Other deals - JPM spinout? - USDC and much more news of the week

Jake Chervinsky the General Counsel of Compound joins the podcast. In this episode we discuss: - The history of securities markets in the US - The Howey test in plain language - Whether commodities can transmute to securities, and vice versa - Why markets function best with regulation - The purpose of open finance - Being a bitcoiner at an ethereum-focused company

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include: - Deals of the week - U.S. Marshalls auction - ICE eyes Ebay - Crypto safe harbor? and much more news of the week

Alex Leishman, the cofounder and CEO of River Financial joins the show. In this episode we discuss: - Why Alex started River Financial - Why they are Bitcoin only - Why other exchanges were so quick to list tokens - The role of banks in Bitcoin - Practical issues with implementing Proof of Reserves To learn more about River Financial visit: www.river.com

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include: - Nic's Presidential Endorsement - Proof of Stake Tax Policy - Popper's NYT Article - Ripple IPO? - Super Bowl Picks and much more news of the week

Mike Moro, the CEO of Genesis Capital/Genesis Trading joins the show. In this episode we discuss: - Mike's pre-Bitcoin career and his path to Second Market and then Genesis - POV on Bitcoin ETF viability - The state of play for cryptoasset market infrastructure - Cryptoasset lending ...and much more

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include: - new SPAC for Blockchain Co's - DigixDAO treasury liquidation - Bitcoin Investment Trust is now an SEC reporting company - Bcash dev funding proposal and much more news of the week

Hunter Merghart, the Head of USA Operations for Bitstamp joins the show. In this episode we discuss: - Bitstamp's history and USA roadmap - Hunter's career path in trading and how he came to enter the cryptoasset market - Market infrastructure: where we are as an industry, and what needs to be built in order to support institutional adoption ...and much more

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include: - SEC Actions - Bitwise RIA report - Canada's Guidance on Exchanges - GBTC Q4 Report - Digital Dollar Think Tank and much more news of the week

Ryan Selkis, co-founder and CEO of Messari joins the show. In this episode we discuss: - Ryan's Bitcoin origin story, including his early days blogging under the Two-Bit-Idiot handle - His experience at DCG / CoinDesk - Messari's mission to bring transparency to investors and participants in the public blockchain ecosystem - His 2020 Crypto Theses including M&A predictions Learn more about Messari at: https://messari.io/

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include: - AMA predictions fallout - Deribit moves to Panama - Telegram blog post and much more news of the week

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures answer listener questions on a range of topics

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include: - Hedera Hashgraph Tokeneconomics Proposal - Iota goes down for 15 hours - Nic's Alternative Launch Blog Post - Crypto Banks and more

Dave Balter, co-founder and CEO of Flipside Crypto joins the show. In this episode we discuss: - Dave's entrepreneurial journey to starting Flipside Crypto, his seventh company - His perspective on the public blockchains that are attracting meaningful users - His stance that many of these so-called protocols are actually companies And much more. Learn more about Flipside Crypto at: https://flipsidecrypto.com/