On The Brink with Castle Island

Matt and Nic are back for more deals and news. In this episode: Matt's plover rivalry Matt's struggles against animals Taylor Swift actually did sign that partnership with FTX Are Eras tour tickets securities? Lightning in emerging markets Could we build the SR-71 today? How Ripple was 90% right about XRP being the bridge currency for remittances ETF applications hiccup More SAB121 issues Matt's cigar snafu Why ETF seeding will be a source of buy pressure Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics' State of the Network: Q2 2023 Wrap-Up In this issue of State of the Network, we provide a data-driven overview of the events that shaped digital asset ecosystem in Q2, 2023

Jose Lemus, CEO and cofounder at IBEX Mercado, joins the show to talk Lightning and its growing usage in emerging markets. In this episode: The origins of IBEX How IBEX clients are using LN in emerging markets How Lightning as a settlement layer for cross-border interbank payments Lightning as a bridge currency Why stablecoins make sense on Lightning Why EM firms have an affinity for Lightning IBEX's partnership with Grupo Salinas and how they are introducing Lightning to Mexican households Lightning as an emerging remittance tool Why Mexico is a good fight for Lightning adoption Is Jose satisfied with Lightning's maturity as a protocol How Bitcoin's market cap is the ultimate bandwidth for Lightning Why Lightning reimagines the established batched payments model Jose's answer to the biggest critique of Lightning at present Further reading: Learn more about IBEX IBEX's partnership with Salinas Group

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: The problem with SEC SAB 121 Pickleball is driving up American healthcare costs Microstrategy buys some more Bitcoin Fidelity refiles their Wise Origin Bitcoin ETF Why the Prime Trust insolvency is so bad Will there be Prime Trust clawbacks? The SEC is slacking with their document retention policies How stablecoins are mirroring the development of eurodollars How Prometheum's listing strategy might pose a risk to certain cryptoassets The UK law commission determines that digital assets are a new kind of "thing" Content mentioned in this episode: SEC Staff Bulletin 121 Odd Lots, Josh Younger on the Surprising Origins of Eurodollars and Petrodollars Laura Shin Podcast, Paradigm debates Prometheum The UK Law Commission: Final Report on Digital Assets Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics' State of the Network: Bitcoin & the Rest In this issue of State of the Network, we assess Bitcoin's resurgence and gauge market sentiment amidst a rapidly evolving digital asset landscape marked by regulatory ambiguity and external macro events.

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Bitcoin hits 30k Wyoming's stable token developments The story behind FTX's mammoth $500m outflow to K5 global Why was SBF spending hundreds of millions cozying up to talent agents? Do Kwon will spend 4 months in jail in Montenegro The Bitgo Prime Trust acquisition falls apart Deutche Bank applies for a crypto license in Germany EDX officially launches Blackrock files for their ETF and others follow Our theory for why Blackrock is filing now Is the SEC back-channeling to Blackrock? Was surveillance sharing really a blocker for other ETF applications? Does the notion of spot market surveillance even make sense for a global commodity? What's the deal with the Bitcoin bathhouse in Brooklyn? Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK - The Signal & the Nonce, Re-imagined In this issue of State of the Network, we showcase a novel analysis that sheds light on Bitcoins energy consumption, efficiency and e-waste

Wyoming state senator and Minority Floor Leader in the Wyoming Senate, Chris Rothfuss joins the show. We cover Wyoming's crypto efforts to date to create a stable and secure digital asset ecosystem. In this episode: Senator's Rothfuss' pre-politics career and how he came to grapple with the crypto space Why Wyoming has an opportunity in digital asset policy The origins of Wyoming's blockchain select committee How the NY Bitlicense inspired Wyoming's efforts Why crypto policy isn't politically polarized in Wyoming Wyoming's foundational move to recognize digital assets under the uniform commercial code The origin of the SPDI charter Is there a future for the SPDI given that the Fed is denying master accounts? How Wyoming's SPDI emerged as a consequence of Chokepoint 1.0 Is the Fed blocking state charters unconstitutional? Wyoming's Stable Token Act and the prospects for that product How the WY Stable Token could be a huge windfall for Wyoming – and where the revenues would be directed How Wyoming is thinking about the permissionless qualities of the stable token Further reading: More about Chris Rothfuss More on the Blockchain Select Committee The Wyoming Stable Token Act

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Coin Metrics derives new estimates of Bitcoin's electricity consumption Nic reviews his Lasik experience Matt takes Prometheum to task Is Prometheum a patsy for the SEC? Why is vaporware being elevated by the SEC and major exchanges being stymied? We digest the Hinman emails and what they mean for ETH and XRP What do the Hinman emails mean for the SEC's The SEC attempts to make DeFi protocols register as exchanges Blackrock is about to file a renewed application for a Bitcoin ETF Reps Davidson and Emmer's SEC Stabilization Act Hong Kong is pressuring banks to service crypto firms Coindesk gets their hands on the NYAG's Tether reports Abra is in trouble Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK - The Signal & the Nonce, Re-imagined In this issue of State of the Network, we showcase a novel analysis that sheds light on Bitcoins energy consumption, efficiency and e-waste

Matt and Nic return for another week of deals and news. In this episode: Token disclosure practices Matt tries pickleball Sequoia is breaking up into parts Will Chinese and American capital markets be severed? What's in the proposed House market structure bill? Coinbase sues Coinbase and Binance How does the SEC think BUSD is a security? The SEC approves Prometheum as a crypto broker dealer Prometheum's CCP ties Did Gensler solicit Binance to advice them before he ran the SEC? What's going on with Prime Trust? Content mentioned: Tommy Tuberville in the WSJ, Crypto communism has a new meaning Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK - Token Unlocks & Free Float Supply Shocks in Digital Asset Markets In this issue of Coin Metrics' State of the Network, we analyze the impact of token unlocks and free float supply shocks through the lens of various unlock events to explore the behavior of participants under different market conditions

In this episode, we sat down with Lili Infante, Founder and CEO of CAT Labs. Lili shared: Her experience spearheading the formation of the crypto taskforce at the DOJ How the crypto-enabled crime landscape has evolved and become more sophisticated Investigating cases where crypto is used and the unique challenges in establishing a chain of custody Products CAT Labs is building to more effectively recover digital assets and protect against situations where assets are compromised in the first place Learn more about Cat Labs in Fortune and on their website.

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: The debt ceiling debate is resolved What happened to Paxos' / Paypal's stablecoin? Offshore dollar stablecoins are growing while onshore stablecoins are shrinking Stablecoin policy in the US is backfiring USD stables issued out of Hong Kong Tether reaches a new all time high The bad boys are back SBF's defense will reportedly claim he got bad advice from Fenwick Farenheit wins the bid for the Celcius assets Why Celcius' mining operation was a big red flag What does CZ mean by 4? Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK - Zooming Out: A datonomy update In this issue of Coin Metrics' State of the Network, we leverage datonomy—a classification system for digital assets to zoom out and gauge the ecosystem and its underlying trends from a broader lens. Despite a slew of challenges over years, we explore how the market has shown resilience through an analysis of market returns, volatility and volumes across sectors.

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Validators sign up to stake ETH post merge Will there be MEV on Bitcoin? What's the deal with Worldcoin? Is the wash sale tax loophole stalling the debt ceiling negotiations? Have ordinals changed Bitcoin culture? The Fed releases new data on crypto adoption in the U.S. Paradigm adds AI to their mandate Whip Tom Emmer and Rep Darren Soto introduce the Securities Clarity Act The NYT reports that prosecutors have a mountain of evidence against SBF Greenidge is vindicated regarding activist claims Ripple vs the SEC Content mentioned: The Federal Reserve, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2022 Coindesk, The Bitcoin Mining Debate Is Ignoring the People Most Affected Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK - A Claim in the Ether: Tracking the Soaring Demand for Ethereum Staking In this week's issue of State of the Network, we examine essential data and metrics highlighting the current state of the Ethereum staking ecosystem. The transition to Proof of Stake and the successful launch of the Shapella upgrade have bolstered confidence in the Ethereum ecosystem, but a variety of regulatory and technical risk factors still pose challenges.

Nic and Matt return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Nic and Matt reminisce on the Bitcoin Miami conference Ripple wins a key victory over the SEC in the Hinman test Texas passes a proof of reserve bill The SEC alleges that Filecoin is a security What's the deal with Worldcoin? How biometrics and blockchain can help with AI Regulating AI Tether is buying Bitcoin John Ray is trying to claw back more funds Is Michael Lewis an innocent bystander in the FTX situation? Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK - Market Liquidity Review The current market environment for digital assets is characterized by complexity, owing to the presence of regulatory uncertainty, an onslaught of exogenous macro events, and continued shifts in the preferred exchange venues among traders. In this edition of State of the Network, the Coin Metrics team zooms in on essential trading volume & market data trends to contextualize the current crypto market environment.

Chris Ellis, Head of Strategic Initiatives at FactSet and Tim Rice, founder of Coin Metrics join the show. In this episode we discuss: The partnership between FactSet and Coin Metrics how the companies are jointly going to market. How FactSet thinks about partnerships and how digital assets has evolved as an area of focus at the company. The features and functionality that FactSet users are asking for as it relates to crypto/digital asset data. The future of asset tokenization and the regulatory landscape in the United States. On-chain data and how Coin Metrics sees this category evolving. To learn more about the FactSet/Coin Metrics partnership visit: https://investor.factset.com/news-releases/news-release-details/factset-and-coin-metrics-collaborate-deliver-digital-assets-data To learn more about Coin Metrics visit www.coinmetrics.io

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: BRC20 PEPE versus ERC20 PEPE Is PEPE an alt right coin? What's driving up fees on Bitcoin? The relationship between HEX, XEN, and VPMX Bitcoin's circular firing squad The upside of high fees in Bitcoin Why the White House's DAME mining tax is counterproductive What is the $18b tax loophole the Biden admin thinks crypto investors are taking advantage of? What's the deal with blue checks? The difficulty of bootstrapping new social networks Bittrex is filing for bankruptcy in the US The Democratic messaging on the crypto hearing The US chamber of Congress files an amicus brief in the Coinbase v SEC case Texas passes a bill to support flare gas mining The Wyoming Stable Token gets closer to becoming a reality The US Chamber of Commerce amicus brief in the Coinbase v SEC case Can the US government afford these interest rates? Matt and Nic solve the debt crisis Content mentioned in this episode: Reuters, Cryptoverse: Digital coins lure inflation-weary Argentines and Turks Nic Carter in Coindesk, The White House's Bitcoin Mining Tax Undermines Itself Two Ocean Trust, Revisiting the Case for Bitcoin Nick Neumann at Casa, Hands Off our Self-Custody Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics State of the Network - Bidding on Bytes: A Bitcoin & Ethereum Fee Market Update In this week's report, the Coin Metrics team examines the underlying causes of the recent surge in transaction fees on Bitcoin and Ethereum and explore the implications of this development for the future.

Steven Walbroehl, the co-founder and CTO of Halborn joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Steven's crypto origin story and how he began tinkering with public blockchains. How Halborn's work differs across traditional financial services customers versus decentralized organization customers. Basic recommendations for companies entering the public blockchain ecosystem. Halborn's recent discovery of a zero-day exploit impacting 280 public blockchains. Views on market manipulation and game theory exploits. Halborn's Seraph digital notary product and how it is keeping DeFi protocols safe. To learn more about Halborn visit www.halborn.com

Matt and Nic are back with another week of news and deals. In this episode: Updates on South Shore Bar Pie The CIV boys consider new sponsors Regional banks keep failing Is the turmoil in the bank sector deflationary or inflationary? How does the Fed end the banking crisis? McHenry's stablecoin bill Biden proposes a 30% tax on Bitcoin miners Why Biden's DAME tax is counterproductive RFK Jr's pro-crypto takes Nic throws his hat in the ring for RFK Jr Gensler running for Senate in Maryland/ Where in the world are the FTX executives FTX attempts to claw back funds from Genesis FTX debtors stumble on Mysten Labs Is summary judgment in the Ripple SEC case almost due? Nate Chastain is found guilty of insider trading Poloniex settles with OFAC OpenX is reprimanded by Dubai for not registering Coinbase launches in Bermuda Bhutan has been mining Bitcoin since 2020 NYMAG spills the beans about Protego CIV is throwing a pickleball event at BTC Miami Content mentioned in this episode: Jen Wieczner in NYMAG, Is the Federal Government Trying to Kill Off Crypto? Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics State of the Network - MakerDAO's Dai Dilemma: As one of the longest-standing DeFi protocols, Maker has held strong as the maintainer of the decentralized stablecoin Dai. Still, the protocol faces headwinds, and MakerDAO stakeholders must make major decisions about governance and risk management.

Simon Forster and Duncan Trenholme of TP ICAP join the show. In this episode we discuss: - TP ICAP's journey in the crypto / blockchain space. - The market structure for institutional cryptoasset trading. - The future of tokenization and the types of assets that are likely to be represented on chain. - The regulatory landscape and how this will shape the pace of building in the industry. To learn more about TP ICAP and their strategy visit: www.tpicap.com/digitalassets

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: What's the deal with south shore bar pie? We review Consensus in Austin Nic's 2022 Coin Center dinner incident Nic's gas siphoning incident First Republic appears heading for collapse Why was First Republic given time to save itself but not Signature? Block partners with Yellowcard for cross-border African payments Open Exchange's purported investors deny investing in the business Coinbase is setting up operations in Bermuda Coinbase is suing the SEC for clarity Hong Kong embraces banking for crypto firms NYDFS Superintendent Harris denies that crypto caused the Signature collapse The Biden admin is backpedaling on whether crypto contributed to the banking crisis House Republicans probe financial regulators for info on de-banking of crypto The FBI has searched the home of FTX's Ryan Salame We reminisce on FTX' Crypto Bahamas conference Why is flare gas mining better than the alternative? Nic's music royalties situation Nic resolves his differences with the Bitcoin 2023 conference Content mentioned: The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Embracing new opportunities and accessing banking services Letter from Reps Hill, Huizenga, and McHenry to key financial regulators TVP, The Emerging Bitcoin-Native Venture Capital Landscape Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics presents State of the Network Foundations: Blockchain Addresses: This week's State of the Network kicked off the new Foundations series, which looks to present various technical aspects of blockchain technology in an approachable way. In the first report, Coin Metrics breaks down the concept of an 'address,' the fundamental unit of identity in the world of crypto.

Matt and Nic are back with another week of news and deals. In this episode: We debate some curious new sponsors The Miami gas shortage Nic's impressions of NFT NYC We review Eric's Orb When do Harberger taxes work? CIV is hiring The SEC is suing Bittrex and alleges that Algorand and Dash are unregistered securities Gensler is skewered by Republican lawmakers in the House Financial Services hearing Gensler refuses to answer whether Ethereum is a security We review the House hearing on stablecoins The McHenry Waters stablecoin bill appears to be dead Does FedNow make stablecoins obsolete? Should stablecoin issuance be limited to banks? A stablecoin catch-22 Hester Peirce dissents on the proposed SEC exchange rule Content mentioned: CIV is hiring Austin Campbell's written testimony to the House financial services committee Hester Peirce, Rendering Innovation Kaput: Statement on Amending the Definition of Exchange

Dan Tapiero, the founder of 10T Holdings and 1 Round Table Partners joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The performance of Bitcoin as a macro asset over the past year. The current regulatory environment and how the USA is losing its lead versus other countries in the digital asset ecosystem. The prospect of U.S. companies going public in non-U.S. jurisdictions. How Dan and his team approach growth stage investing. The secondary market and how Dan thinks about building ownership via secondary transactions. The LP landscape and how allocators are thinking about digital asset ecosystem managers. To learn more about Dan visit the 1RT website and follow Dan on Twitter

Eric Wall is a cryptocurrency researcher, analyst, critic, and investor. In this episode we sit down to discuss the creation and premise of his new project, the Orb. What is the orb? How did the orb come about? How to bet on the human capital and reputational growth of individuals Why previous social tokens failed What does the orb entitle you to? Why the orb is not a security Harberger taxes and their implementations so far How harberger taxes create better allocative efficiency Harberger taxes and domain names The problem with social tokens as a way to invest in people Why an obligation to a single holder is better than one to many holders Eric's feud with the Hex community and how the rb could solve this Possible orb failure modes Possible AI issues with the orb Why orb issuers have an incentive to provide value to holders The possible role of orbs in venture capital How the orb could disrupt expert networks How to parameterize the orb The significance of the orb animations Further reading: Orb.land

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Is Ethereum going through a 'bullish unlock'? Did the SEC decicion around staking help decentralize Ethereum? What is a commodity? We pitch futures for restaurant bookings The problem with 'phygitals' What's going on with DWF labs? Twitter users will be able to trade crypto through the app Is FedNow a CBDC? Does FedNow introduce risks to the banking system? A relaunch of FTX gets more likely How the DOJ caught the Silk Road hacker Could a CBDC emerge which is actually private? We roll out the Tap In or Tap Out segment Is France going to become a crypto haven? The NYT article on Bitcoin mining Did the NYT doctor pictures to make Bitcoin miners look more polluting than they are? CIV is hiring Sponsor notes: Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter: this week, Ethereum's Shanghai redemption

Dennison Bertram, the co-founder and CEO of Tally, returns to the show. In this episode we discuss: Dennison's career in the crypto industry from exchange founder to founding Tally. How to frame DAOs from a total addressable market perspective. What types of companies and industry categories would be better served as DAOs. Best practices in managing DAOs. The regulatory landscape for DAOs and how state LLC regulations could factor into future legislation. How Tally works with leading DAOs. To learn more about Tally visit their website and follow Dennison on Twitter. See also: On The Brink, Dennison Bertram and Raf Solari on Reforming DeFi Governance (March 2021)

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: What are the prospects for dealing with OCP 2.0? Creditors are considering relaunching FTX int'l The boundary between being a visionary and a scammer Nic's feud against NPR What's the deal with the bug eating meme? Are lobsters bugs? What happened to the tungsten cube NFTs? Singapore banks might be warming up to crypto Hong Kong is red hot as a crypto zone A new paper alleges the Fed has overstepped its discretionary authority The Case for Banning Crypto The US treasury report on DeFi protocols Apple embeds the Bitcoin whitepaper on all laptops Nic's UFC picks and Matt's golf picks Content mentioned in the episode: Julie Hill, From Cannabis to Crypto: Federal Reserve Discretion in Payments Politico, U.S. Diplomat to Washington: You're Becoming Obsolete in One Big Area of Tech Policy US Treasury, Illicit Finance Risk Assessment of Decentralized Finance Kathleen Breitman in Fortune, Ethereum, Arbitrum, and why L2 solutions are such a mess

Lorien Gabel and Benjamin Thalman of Figment join the show. In this episode we discuss: The founding story of Figment and the focus of the firm. The evolution of proof of stake blockchains and how Figment helps their customers with staking. Ethereum, the Shanghai upgrade and the likely impacts of withdrawal functionality on the network. Views on the current regulatory environment and how that impacts proof of stake participants. To learn more about Figment visit their website and follow Lorien and Benjamin on Twitter.

In this episode I sit down with David Thompson, managing partner at Cooper & Kirk. We cover the emergence of Operation Choke Point 2.0 and what recourse can be sought by the industry. In this episode: Cooper & Kirk's track record and reputation The story of Choke Point 1.0 and how Cooper & Kirk helped end it How was OCP 1.0 resolved? Why Cooper & Kirk wrote their recent white paper on OCP 2.0 Differences between Choke Point 1.0 and 2.0 Inconsistencies in FDIC Chair Gruenberg's Congressional testimony Why David thinks that a complaint on due process grounds might be the best option for affected firms Relevant constitutional protections How OCP 2.0 might resolve The fate of the SPDIs Possible violations of the Administrative Procedures Act by the Fed How SCOTUS might rule on this issue Further reading: Cooper & Kirk: Operation Choke Point 2.0: The Federal Bank Regulators Come For Crypto

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. Cooper and Kirk's white paper on Operation Choke Point 2.0 How bank regulators put crypto-facing banks in a catch-22 SBF charged with bribing a Chinese official Is Sam funding his legal defense with funds purloined from FTX users? The CFTC charges Binance with operating an unlicensed derivatives exchange Binance execs haz no confidence in their geofencing How did the CFTC get their hands on CZ's Signal history The SEC shuts down Beaxy Microstrategy buys another $150m worth of Bitcoin NASDAQ is aiming to launch their crypto custody platform in June What's the deal with McHenry's stablecoin bill? House Democrats would make issuing a stablecoin effectively illegal Elizabeth Warren is "building an anti-crypto army" Are DAOs unincorporated associations or general partnerships? Is the SPDI dead in the water? Did the FDIC Chair perjure himself in front of Congress this week? What's the deal with the SigNet sale? Is dedollarization happening? Content mentioned: Cooper & Kirk whitepaper on Operation Choke Point 2.0

Matt Hougan, the Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise Asset Management joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The banking crisis and Operation Chokepoint 2.0 The decisions facing the Fed and the second order impacts of Fed policy How the cryptocurrency industry has evolved post FTX Prospects for stablecoin and market structure regulation in the digital asset industry The bitcoin futures market The launch of the Bitwise Bitcoin Strategy Optimum Roll ETF (BITC) To learn more about Bitwise visit www.bitwiseinvestments.com and follow Matt on Twitter.

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Matt's turkey trouble continues Nic's vespa problem Nic's latest Choke Point 2.0 article Did the government destroy Signature on purpose? Who is the main architect of Choke Point 2.0? Why was Signature closed when PacWest and First Republic were given time? The Catch-22 in NY banking law Who has recourse in the Signature situation? Why we won't be going offshore The SEC announces charges against Justin Sun and celebrity endorsers The SEC sends Coinbase a Wells Notice FTX creditors recoup $460m from Modulo Capital Reps Emmer and Soto introduce the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act The White House report is hostile to crypto Matt's Hong Kong conspiracy theory Is the EU racing ahead of the US in terms of regulation? The XRP case is nearing summary judgment Bitwise announces their futures ETF $BITC We read some of our podcast reviews Content mentioned: Nic in Pirate Wires, Did The Government Start A Global Financial Crisis In An Attempt To Destroy Crypto?

Jamil and Nick, co-founders of Gamma.io, join us on the show to discuss: Lowering the barrier to inscribing NFTs on Bitcoin Why creators and collectors are excited about NFTs on Bitcoin Designing a trustless Ordinals marketplace that aligns with its unique culture The emerging collecting and trading culture on Bitcoin and it's key differences

Nick Hansen is the cofounder and CEO of Luxor, a Bitcoin mining pool. He joins to talk to us about his excitement around ordinals and inscriptions, and how Luxor is thinking about the opportunity. The history of ordinals and how Luxor got started in the space How Luxor mined the first 4MB block in Bitcoin Luxor's decision to acquire Ordinalhub and their intentions with the project Risks Luxor incurred by mining the first 4MB block Transaction standardness versus validity How ordinals increase the overall quantity of Bitcoin blockspace The risks of out of band fees to Bitcoin Does Bitcoin already have MEV? How does the block reward decay make reorgs more likely? Where Luxor sees opportunity in ordinals Have inscriptions had a material impact on miner rewards? The effect of inscriptions on fees Transacting with PSBTs versus standard NFT marketplaces Nick's confidence in the long-term persistence of Bitcoin state Why it's virtually impossible to purge state in Bitcoin Are ordinals and inscriptions a violation of the implied Bitcoin social contract? Have inscriptions inadvertently ossified Bitcoin at the protocol level?

Matt and Nic are back to cover a dramatic week in crypto. Galaxy Digital's Alex Thorn also joins to provide market color. In this episode: Bitcoin's price action in response to the bank runs USDC recovers its peg FTX crime family news Signature bank is shut down somewhat arbitrarily What happened with Silvergate? Is Operation Choke Point 2.0 real? Blockchain Association FOIA's federal banking regulators Are macro funds dipping their toes back into Bitcoin? Crypto Banks are gutted Was Signature solvent when it was shut down? Will Signet be sold off in the Signature auction? What was the importance of SEN and Signet? First Republic secures $30b in deposits What happened with Silvergate and the FHLB? Galaxy Digital's head of research Alex Thorn joins the show Arbitrum announces their airdrop

Matt and Nic are back for another tumultuous week of news and deals. In this episode: Nic's Vespa crisis FTX crime family update Grayscale's oral arguments go well against the SEC in the GBTC case Binance.US wins the right to buy the Voyager assets in court NYAG sues Kucoin and alleges that ETH is a security Silvergate is undergoing an orderly wind-down of the bank Why did Silvergate really collapse? Why are regulators trying to precipitate bank runs? Structural issues explaining why Silvergate's deposits were so correlated SVB experiences a bank run Are the Silvergate and SVB difficulties warning sights that the Fed's rate regime can't last? Content mentioned: How Banks Fail, by Austin Campbell

Matt and Nic are back for another tumultuous week of news and deals. In this episode: Nic's Vespa crisis FTX crime family update Grayscale's oral arguments go well against the SEC in the GBTC case Binance.US wins the right to buy the Voyager assets in court NYAG sues Kucoin and alleges that ETH is a security Silvergate is undergoing an orderly wind-down of the bank Why did Silvergate really collapse? Why are regulators trying to precipitate bank runs? Structural issues explaining why Silvergate's deposits were so correlated SVB experiences a bank run Are the Silvergate and SVB difficulties warning sights that the Fed's rate regime can't last? Content mentioned: How Banks Fail, by Austin Campbell

Rob Hamilton, the founder and CEO of AnchorWatch joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Rob's career journey and path to finding Bitcoin. The origins of miniscript and how Rob started to build in this area. The potential applicability for miniscript to the custody market. The current state of bitcoin core development. Ordinals and how Rob started to get involved in this project. The future applicability of ordinals and inscriptions. Links: AnchorWatch, Rob's Twitter.

Chainalysis CEO and co-founder Michael Gronager joins us for an episode chronicling the rise of the blockchain analytics firm. In this episode: Michael's origin story and how he went from helping build Kraken to founding Chainalysis Responding to early market pull from the public sector when building products Responding to criticism around privacy vs. anonymity Building the Crypto Adoption Index for content marketing around what is actually happening on the blockchain Perspective on how long it can take to change an industry online Content mentioned: Public Key (Podcast) Global Crypto Adoption Index Chainalysis Content / Blog

Matt and Nic are back for news and deals of the week. In this episode: Is Yuga Labs' NFT collection on Bitcoin genuine? Will the environmentalist attacks on PoW move to other industries? FTX' Nishad Singh pleads guilty Ramnik Aurora maxed out donations to George Santos Silvergate is in trouble Why concentration risk makes it difficult for smaller banks to bank crypto firms UK banks are curtailing their crypto exposures Oasis returns $140m stolen from Wormhole to Jump NY Mag's piece on Arthur Hayes Gensler continues to make vague threats against the crypto space Gensler's regulation by blog post Greyscale's case against the SEC is moving to oral arguments Can Bitcoin just change the code and move to PoS?

We host Matt Cutler, CEO and co-founder of Blocknative, in this episode to discuss the intricacies of block building and his thoughts on the future of MEV. We cover: The phenomenon of certain block builders subsidizing transactions The requirements for operating a competitive block builder Margins required for sustainable block building MEV redistribution and balancing interests of users vs. validators. You can follow Matt @mcutler on Twitter and learn more about Blocknative here.

Matt and Nic are back for the 400th episode of OTB! In this roundup: Nic's Vespa story More on Ordinals Is embedding non-economic data in Bitcoin Satoshi's vision? How Ordinals accelerates efficiency improvements in Bitcoin More FTX crime family news SBF is hit with four new criminal charges Augustin Cartens claims that crypto has lost the battle against fiat NYAG vs Coinex The SEC alleges that UST is a security - does this implicate other stables? What can Congress do about Choke Point 2.0 or SEC overreach Rep. Emmer introduces an anti-CBDC bill Matt's baseball card collection Silvergate is the most shorted stock right now The SEC blocks Binance.US' purchase of Voyager assets

Bitcoin developer Casey Rodarmor joins us to talk ordinals, inscriptions, and digital collectibles on Bitcoin. In this episode: What is an ordinal? Why the name? The history of ordinals and inscriptions How does ordinal theory work exactly? How to participate in ordinals and do you need Ord The interaction between inscriptions and Bitcoin fees Should inscriptions be compressed? How should this happen? Why did Casey not use Counterparty? How Bitcoin is the most premium blockspace for NFTs Inscribed content property rights on Bitcoin versus Ethereum Will Bitcoin state just be pruned? Who will store inscription data? How bitcoin data availability might be improving over time How ordinals affect Bitcoin's security budget Why NFT traders are looking at Bitcoin for the first time Where the inscription 400kb limit comes from 'Ripping a 4 megger' Is Casey concerned about out of band transactions Do ordinals actually increase the possible efficiency of operating a full node? The primary bottlenecks in running Bitcoin Core and how inscriptions affect that Will ordinals catalyze more pruning in Bitcoin Core? Might ordinals make rollups more likely on Bitcoin? Do inscriptions dilute Bitcoin's primary purpose as a monetary system? Transporting other NFTs to Bitcoin with teleburns What Casey is most excited about with ordinals Further reading: Ordinals.com Rodarmor.com Casey's twitter

Ray Hindi and Jake Lynch of L1 Digital join the show. In this episode we discuss: L1 Digital's origin story and early path into the crypto ecosystem. The firm's approach to investing in managers and making direct investment. The evolution of crypto funds including views on structure, strategy, focus. The fundraising landscape – how pensions/larger pools of capital think about crypto investing. Views on the impact of FTX. Thoughts on the current regulatory landscape. Real World Assets (RWAs) and how L1D is exploring this thematic area. DAOs and how this framework is evolving. To learn more about L1 Digital visit L1.Digital.

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Is peak FUD in? Is this the 'custody rule rally'? OTB is keeping the deals of the week House is probing the connections between FTX and the SEC SBF is banned from using a VPN Is SBF a secret sports fan? SBF's bail cosigners are unmasked SBF VC investors are hit with a class action lawsuit SEC sends Paxos a Wells notice Circle dispells Wells notice rumors Is the SEC going after all stablecoins or just BUSD? What does Reves say about stablecoins being securities? Tether is the beneficiary of the crackdowns in the US Can US regulators really go after Tether? How Paypal deposits are like stablecoins What's in the SEC's custody rules? Changes to market structure if the SEC's custody rules go through Binance suggests that they are ready to settle up with US regulators

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Kraken winds down their staking as a service product The SEC asks all staking as a service providers to register Does 3rd party staking pass all of the prongs of Howey? The FT's article on the final days of FTX Did the FTX executives leave the labradoodles in the Bahamas? Ordinals are bringing NFT enthusiasts to Bitcoin Matt has had a tough week Kyle and Su launch OPNX So what's the deal with the crypto-focused Chokepoint 2.0? Major crypto-facing banks are cutting back their crypto practice What will be the fate of the Wyoming SPDIs? The boys review Bad Boys We discuss Colombia's hippo problem DCG reaches a provisional agreement with creditors Our Storybook Brawl conspiracy Content mentioned: Nic in Pirate Wires, Operation Choke Point 2.0 Is Underway, And Crypto Is In Its Crosshairs Sponsor notes: Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter

In this episode, we were joined by Josh Benaron, founder of Bundlr, a scaling protocol built on top of Arweave. Josh shares his views on: Censorship resistant and permanent storage The importance of provenance in attributing and distributing value Why Arweave's approach to decentralized storage is elegant How Bundlr addresses trade offs in Arweave and makes it more usable Follow Josh Benaron here. Learn more about Bundlr here.

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Nic's Proof of Reserves for Policymakers Charlie Munger attacks crypto The academic Tether truthers are back We unveil a new bad boy New allegations about Celsius surface The problem with exchange tokens How do you retire a token? The paradox of issuing tokens via an offshore foundation SBF is allegedly tampering with witnesses Did Sam really believe in EA? We review Mel Gibson's Apocalypto Were the Maya really that bad? What on earth is going on with Ordinals? Are Bitcoin NFTs a DOS attack? A conflict of visions in Bitcoin reemerges Matt keeps tearing his shirts VC dress codes Content mentioned in this episode: Ark Invest Big Ideas 2023 Report Coin Metrics' report on MEV Dennis Porteaux, Illegitimate Bitcoin Transactions Nic Carter, Proof of Reserves for Policymakers

We host Julien Niset, co-founder of Argent in this episode on account abstract and smart contract wallets. We cover: Building the first smart contract wallet on Ethereum Why smart contract wallets improve the non-custodial experience Standardizing contract wallet implementations on L1s retroactively and on L2s natively Comparing and contrasting contract wallets and MPC (multi-party computation) wallets Capabilities (social recovery, gas abstraction, transaction batching) unlocked by smart contract wallets Follow Julien Niset here. Learn more about Argent here.

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Is there a socially optimal level of vigilantism What's the deal with Modulo Capital? SBF's mother and brothers are now in the crosshairs Matt and Nic hash our VR vs AR Ted Cruz asks cafeterias in the Capitol to accept bitcoin Texas introduces Proof of Reserve legislation What's North Korea's endgame with all their hacked crypto? Tucker Carlson's theory that the airline outage was due to Bitcoin randomware Matt's Bell's Palsy story Roger Ver owes Genesis $20m Tungsten cubes are making a comeback Our Super Bowl picks Content mentioned in this episode: Fidelity Digital Assets, "2023 Look Ahead: Refocusing and Building on Digital Assets' Core Principles." Galaxy Digital mining, "Surviving the Perfect Storm – 2022 End of Year Mining Report" Former Senator Phil Gramm and current SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce in the WSJ, "The SEC Seeks to Supplant the Market. Its mandate doesn't include telling CEOs how to run their companies and investors how to invest" Texas Bill HB-1666 NYDFS new virtual currency guidance for custodial institutions

Maneesh Gandhi and Michael Liddy of Evanston Capital join the show. In this episode we discuss: Evanston Capital's history and thoughts on the blockchain ecosystem Their views on the current market environment and how this crypto cycle compares to others The evolution of the crypto venture landscape and how Evanston Capital thinks about crypto venture structures Thoughts on the FTX collapse and its impact on the market How institutional limited partners are thinking about the crypto/blockchain ecosystem Potential areas of opportunity in the current market environment To learn more about Evanston Capital visit www.evanstoncap.com

Arch cofounders Dhruv Patel and Himanshu Sahay Arch coming out of stealth Key lessons learned from the crypto lending crisis Arch's differentiated offering within crypto and other alternative assets Leveraging crypto rails to build a lender of the future Using experience at top technology companies to build a superior consumer product Learn more at Archlending.com and on Twitter

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: What's going on with our merch? Nic's pitch for pickleball What's the deal with the leaked GTX pitch deck? What happened at CoinFLEX? Our conspiracy about GTX What's the latest with the FTX crime family Will FTX or FTX.US be relaunched? SBF says FTX.US is still solvent DOJ takes down Bizlato Genesis is exploring a bankruptcy process Coinbase is pulling out of Japan What was the deal with NEM? What happened with Veritaseum Corporate loyalty programs are getting debased Peter Thiel liquidates his BTC Sponsor notes: Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter

Tony Scuderi, the founder of Imperii Partners joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The investment banking landscape for crypto/blockchain companies. How the fundraising environment is evolving in 2023. The impact of FTX on the broader market. How companies backed by FTX are taking action. The M&A landscape. Common pitfalls that founders make when selling their business. To learn more about Imperii Partners visit imperiipartners.com