On The Brink with Castle Island

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

Deribit Chief Commercial Officer Luuk Strijers joins the show to talk about their new Proof of Reserve rollout. In this episode: Why Deribit decided to do a PoR What were the considerations going into it? What made Deribit cautious about the procedure? Which PoRs did Deribit look at for inspiration? Has Deribit received client feedback from the procedure so far? How does Deribit demonstrate asset ownership? Unique among exchanges, Deribit was able to do a PoR for all of your assets, and on a daily basis. How did they manage this? Why Deribit chose to release the full list of liabilities How does Deribit achieve end user privacy given the full liability dump? What data, if any, is leaked by the attestation? Did you look at audit firms in terms of supervising the PoR? Why did you go the auditless approach? Does Luuk anticipate moving to ZK proofs for liabilities eventually? How can PoR be improved? Related episodes: OTB 180, The Auditor view of PoR OTB 212, The Proof of Reserve Restoration OTB 283, Jeremy Welch (Kraken) on Contemporary Proofs of Reserve Related content: Nic Carter on Medium, The Status of Proof of Reserve as of Year End 2022

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: What's happening with Proof of Reserves? Will BTC and ETH have another fee crisis? Nishad Singh has met with the SDNY in a proffer session The SEC is investigating VC funds that invested in FTX FTX debtors and the Bahamas announced a cooperation agreement FTX announced that it has recovered over $5 billion in assets thus far Gemini and DCG continue to face off Cameron Winklevoss' letter to DCG Nexo is raided in Bulgaria for alleged money laundering Robinhood is dropping support for Bitcoin SV DCG is under investigation from the SEC Mike Novogratz wants to punch disgraced crypto titans in the face Crypto charity boxing We review Ace Ventura: Pet Detective SBF starts a Substack Japanese retail sours on crypto Should there be more charity boxing in crypto? The state of crypto podcast sponsors Content mentioned in this episode: Ria on Mirror, Reviving Trust in Crypto Coinbase, 2023 Crypto Market Outlook Sponsor notes: Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: A call for on-chain archeology Nic's scuppered NYE plans More news from the FTX crime family Who is SBF's mystery bail benefactor? SBF pleads not guilty SBF is prohibited from moving further FTX/Alameda assets SBF had four meetings with White House staffers regarding pandemic preparedness New inductees into the Bad Boys club Nic's pickleball confession We revisit the 42 yard field goal challenge The Bahamas regulators wrangle with Jon Ray regarding FTX assets The SEC steps in to stop the voyager deal The House fails to elect a speaker NYDFS fines Coinbase $50m for deficient compliance DCG and Gemini's wrangle India's new crypto framework What's happening with the institutionalization of crypto? Content mentioned in this episode: Sean Judge on Medium, Reasons to remain bullish after a year in crypto hell Sponsor notes: Talos powers institutional access to the entire digital assets ecosystem via a single-point of entry. Connect directly to your preferred prime brokers, lenders, investors, custodians, exchanges, OTC desks and more, or meet them on Talos. Get started at Talos.com Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter

Nic and Matt return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Galaxy acquires the Helios miner facility from Argo Consolidating in the miner space A new bad boy bursts onto the scene Avraham Eisenberg is arrested in Puerto Rico Should it be illegal to exploit defi contracts, even if you reach an agreement with the DAO? Craig Wright's case against Peter McCormack SBF is slated to enter a plea What's the deal with IEX and FTX? Nic's Michael Lewis conspiracy The FTX blockfolio acquisition was mostly financed with FTT The cold snap causes Bitcoin hashrate to decline around 40% in a week Exchanges are unbundling custody and order matching Our predictions for 2023 Sponsor notes: Talos powers institutional access to the entire digital assets ecosystem via a single-point of entry. Connect directly to your preferred prime brokers, lenders, investors, custodians, exchanges, OTC desks and more, or meet them on Talos. Get started at Talos.com Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Are stablecoins still a priority in DC? The rise of the FUDfluencer Sam agrees to be extradited Did the SDNY wait for Sam to be extradited to release Caroline's plea deal? Alameda was siphoning FTX funds from day 1 What's the deal with Modulo Capital? Is Gerald Cotten back from the dead? Does Flashboys need a new chapter? What is going on with IEX? How did Michael Lewis not figure out something was up at FTX? Sen. Pat Toomey's stablecoin legislation Core Scientific files for bankruptcy Why the mining shakeout might lead to consolidation The Fed's stablecoin blog Visa's autopayments for non-custodial wallets Stablecoins are having a great year Where are the remaining FTX execs? Content mentioned: Coinbase, Regulating Crypto: How we move forward as an industry from here Visa, Auto Payments for Self-Custodial Wallets Sponsor notes: Talos powers institutional access to the entire digital assets ecosystem via a single-point of entry. Connect directly to your preferred prime brokers, lenders, investors, custodians, exchanges, OTC desks and more, or meet them on Talos. Get started at Talos.com Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter

Minnesota Representative and newly elected House Whip Tom Emmer joins the show for a discussion of the FTX fallout, the House hearings, the SEC's behavior throughout the process, and developments in the House looking ahead to 2023. Rep. Emmer's thoughts on the House hearing with John Ray How the FTX collapse was about a failure of centralization How the timing of the SBF arrest was not coincidental - and who had an incentive to stop SBF testifying Why the Bahamian authorities may not have wanted SBF to testify The meaning of Rep. Emmer's march letter to Gensler and the SEC Chairman Gensler's role in the FTX scandal Has Gensler been concealing his calendar from the public? Gensler's poor track record over the crypto crisis Oddly close links between SEC Chair Gensler, FTX, and subsidiary exchange IEX House Republicans will gain the subpoena authority in the next legislative session and what they will do with it What are some of Emmer's responsibilities in his new role as Majority Whip? The importance of Rep. McHenry taking charge of the House financial services committee What are the prospects for stablecoin legislation? McHenry's likely crypto agenda for the new session Rep. Emmer's commitment to financial privacy Senator Warren's draft legislation and risks to the crypto ecosystem The importance of Rep. Emmer's Securities Clarity Act Modernizing a securities regulation regime for crypto How are Rep. Emmer's colleagues reacting to the FTX crisis The role of journalists in assessing the FTX situation Content mentioned in the episode Rep. Emmer & colleagues original March '22 letter to SEC Chair Gensler Rep. Emmer's annotations of the March letter in response to Gensler's criticisms

Matt and Nic are back for another wild week of news and deals. In this episode: Is SBF currently interned in a top 5 prison on earth? SBF is finally arrested We enumerate the charges from the SEC, CFTC, and DOJ What kind of sentence could Sam be looking at here? The CFTC's interesting argument for standing over FTX SBF is charged is campaign finance violations Confirming that Alameda did have latency and other advantages trading on FTX SBF's parents face growing scrutiny What's the deal with Gensler's calendar? Gensler comes under more scrunity for his FTX/IEX meetings Mr. John Ray is a new star of CT We have a new possible category for bad boys McCaffrey resigns from The Block after revealing loans from SBF Elizabeth Warren proposed a hostile anti-crypto bill Do Kwon is reportedly in Serbia The DOJ is reportedly split over charging Binance What's the deal with the Binance 'bank run'? Sponsor notes: Talos powers institutional access to the entire digital assets ecosystem via a single-point of entry. Connect directly to your preferred prime brokers, lenders, investors, custodians, exchanges, OTC desks and more, or meet them on Talos. Get started at Talos.com Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter

Matt and Nic return for another episode of news and deals. In this episode: Brink Nation's surprising fan club in Bali We investigate FTX's leaked private equity portfolio FTX employees were raising LP money for funds from FTX Why was FTX acting as a fund of funds? What is modulo capital The Michael Lewis - IEX - FTX troika Why did FTX invest $1b+ in Genesis Digital Assets? SBF's possible incentive to invest heavily in a BTC miner How FTX's mining investment disadvantaged other BTC miners Who has the size to buy up FTX's private equity portfolio? Sam and Caroline secure high powered attorneys The Boston Globe's Caroline Ellison article We correct the record on BlockFi Restating the core issues with 3AC Democrats are criticizing Gensler for his inaction on FTX What's the deal with Sam's subpoena? What's the deal with the Coindesk most influential Does PoS make Ethereum a security? What's the deal with the Castle Island merch store? Sponsor notes: Talos powers institutional access to the entire digital assets ecosystem via a single-point of entry. Connect directly to your preferred prime brokers, lenders, investors, custodians, exchanges, OTC desks and more, or meet them on Talos. Get started at Talos.com Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter

John Palmer, the CEO of CBOE Digital joins the show. In this episode we discuss: John's career and the path that led him to CBOE Digital. The history of CBOE Digital, including the acquisition of ErisX and the company's recent funding round. CBOE Digital's product approach. The regulatory landscape in the United States and how CBOE is positioned vs. offshore unregulated venues. The impact of the FTX fraud on the broader market. Upcoming product and company plans. To learn more about CBOE Digital visit CBOEDigital.com

In this episode, Ria is joined by Robert Miller, Steward at Flashbots, which is a research and development organization with the aim to reduce the negative externalities and risks posed by MEV, or maximal extractable value. We cover: The MEV supply chain and how it's evolved as Ethereum transitioned from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake The new challenges and risk vectors that have emerged as a result of the transition, notably around decentralization and censorship resistance The tools Flashbots has proposed and implemented in response, such as Flashbots Auction, MEV Geth, MEV Boost, and the open sourcing of these tools to foster a competitive market The risk posed by exclusive order flow and cross domain MEV in centralizing block building The latest endeavor of the organization to decentralize block building using a new network - SUAVE (the single unifying auction for value expression) Research mentioned: Order flow, auctions and centralisation - Quintus Flashbots – The Good, Bad and the Ugly of MEV

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Tether collapse scenarios The wrapped Bitcoin issue Ria and others are named Forbes 30 under 30 Sam is still not in jail Sam's hidden media strategy How Sam could be positioning himself for the case Was FTX really a case of negligence or was it fraud? Sam is muddying the waters Sam Trubucco is our bad boy of the week Should the US really annex the Bahamas? Members of CT are running around Nassau looking for Sam Should the US be pressuring the Bahamas for more action here? Beto returns his FTX donation The CFTC met with FTX 10 times The SEC's culpability in the FTX scandal The Farmington Bank acquisition scandal Did Sam Trubucco and Caroline really not know about the malfeasance? SBF is throwing his former colleagues under the bus Kyle Davies' embarassing attempted comeback What's the fate of the charity boxing match? Casa rolls out support for Ethereum Binance rolls out a Proof of Reserve - but it has issues Content mentioned: NYMAG, Interview with SBF Sponsor notes: Talos powers institutional access to the entire digital assets ecosystem via a single-point of entry. Connect directly to your preferred prime brokers, lenders, investors, custodians, exchanges, OTC desks and more, or meet them on Talos. Get started at Talos.com Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter

Mahesh Ramakrishnan of Escape Velocity joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Mahesh's career in traditional financial services and the path that led him to launching Escape Velocity. The decentralized wireless market and how it is likely to evolve. How tokenized protocols and USD stablecoins are likely to play a role in this evolution. How incumbents are positioned in this emerging category. Views on FTX and how that impacts the market more broadly. To learn more about Escape Velocity visit www.EV3.xyz.

Mike Belshe, co-founder and CEO of BitGo joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Mike's thoughts on FTX and the unfolding fraud case. His views on crypto market structure and how it is likely to evolve in the face of the FTX collapse. The regulatory landscape and the path forward for spot market regulation. Views on the MPC custody landscape and advances in zero knowledge cryptography. To learn more about BitGo visit bitgo.com

Matt and Nic return for a Thanksgiving episode of OTB. In this episode: Liz Warren writes her first good letter ever? SBF is striking a defiant tone Sam's new letter to employees Is the Alameda/FTX situation really that complicated? Sam's parents bought tens of millions worth of Bahamas property The Bahamas steps in and seizes some funds Should the US annex the Bahamas? Should the US use 'extraordinary rendition' on SBF? Is this the death of meme rounds of financings? Semafor reports on SBF without disclosing that he was an investor Was FTX 'just a classic bank run'? Why don't journalists understand that the FTX situation was fraud? Where are the Bahamas prosecutors in all this? Further contagion in the crypto lending market What is to become of DCG? Could Grayscale use Reg M to do GBTC redemptions? NY Governor Kathy Hochul finally signs a moratorium on Bitcoin mining OkX launches a Proof of Reserve Who are we thankful for? Sponsor notes: Talos powers institutional access to the entire digital assets ecosystem via a single-point of entry. Connect directly to your preferred prime brokers, lenders, investors, custodians, exchanges, OTC desks and more, or meet them on Talos. Get started at Talos.com Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter

Travis Scher, co-founder of North Island Ventures joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Travis' investing career including his tenure at DCG and his path to founded North Island Ventures. How Travis initially met SBF and his reasons for passing on the deal. Analysis of the bankruptcy process and the likely second order impacts. How this event will change the early crypto VC landscape. To learn more visit northisland.ventures and follow Travis on Twitter.

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Matt's blog post, 'It's Time to Grow Up' The Alameda - FTX relationship was always sketchy Would FTX ever have been able to go public? Why don't we have decent disclosure for token emissions? How do we put this crisis to use? John Ray's Day 1 filing about the state of affairs at FTX So what in the hell happened to the client funds at FTX? Will funds donated to politicians be clawed back? What's wrong with utilitarianism? How effective altruism is like Stalinism One theory on how Alameda lost money on Luna Some lending firms kicked out Alameda after the summer credit crisis Is Serum forking out coins which are due to FTX creditors? Why has the DOJ been so passive so far? We introduce some new bad boys Su Zhu and Kyle are trying to redeem themselves Do Kyle and Su have a new venture underway? Rep. Tom Emmer is elected as the GOP Whip in the House Will the Republican led House subpoena Gensler? Content mentioned in this episode: Matt Walsh in Medium, It's Time to Grow Up FTX CEO John Ray's Day 1 filing Sponsor notes: Talos powers institutional access to the entire digital assets ecosystem via a single-point of entry. Connect directly to your preferred prime brokers, lenders, investors, custodians, exchanges, OTC desks and more, or meet them on Talos. Get started at Talos.com Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter