Michael Sonnenshein, managing director of Grayscale Investments, talks about the strong growth in investment in its products, with inflows in Q2 totaling more than $900 million, bringing assets under management to over $5 billion. He discusses how Grayscale:
  saw more than $900 million in investment in Q2, up from $500 million in Q1
 why the macro environment is causing investors to focus on crypto
 why investors are expressing growing interest in the Grayscale Ethereum Trust
 how 80% of Grayscale investors have exposure to more than one asset
 which types of investors are coming in
 what developments within the crypto space are also leading to the increased inflows into Grayscale products
 Grayscale's filing of a Form 10 for the Grayscale Ethereum Trust, which will enable it to become an SEC-reporting company
 why it is doing so for the Ethereum Trust as opposed to Ethereum Classic
 how the Grayscale Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin Trusts will soon by publicly trading
 what metrics they use to determine whether to bring a digital asset to market
 who are attracted to the Grayscale Digital Large Cap fund (GLDC)
 how Grayscale grew to have $5 billion in assets under management
   
 Thank you to our sponsors! 
 Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com
 Nexo:  https://www.nexo.io
  
 Episode links: 
 Michael Sonnenshein: https://twitter.com/Sonnenshein
  
 Grayscale: https://grayscale.co
  
 Grayscale's filing of the Form 10 for the Ethereum Investment Trust:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeldelcastillo/2020/08/06/valuable-sec-data-on-20-institutional-bitcoin-investors-could-soon-disappear/#27352c561de2
  
 Links from news recap:
 https://unchainedpodcast.com/a-99-drop-in-value/

$5 Billion in AUM: Why Growth at Grayscale Exploded in the Last Quarter - Ep.137

Events in crypto take place at warp speed. This weekly crypto podcast reveals how the marquee names in crypto are reacting to the week’s top headlines. With host Laura Shin, the guests also discuss what they’re thinking about these days and reveal what they believe is on the horizon in crypto. Disclosure: I'm a nocoiner.

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Technology

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We're Moving to Unchained. Follow Us There!

Lea Thompson, aka Girl Gone Crypto, talks about what goes into producing her popular “The Crypto Minute” vlog, what initially got her into crypto, and her recent decision to quit her day job and go full time crypto. In this episode we discuss:
  what “The Crypto Minute” is all about, and all the crypto video content she produces (2:37)
 how Lea comes up with creative content such as wearing a whale costume to portray Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor (5:04)
 how long it actually takes to create “The Crypto Minute” (6:36)
 what goes into producing “The Crypto Minute” and which family member is behind the camera (7:05)
 the biggest challenges Lea faces when creating her videos and how she decides which stories make the final cut (8:56)
 Lea’s favorite bloopers including, but not limited to, rug pulls, sushi, an Amazon money printer, and a few fake $100 bills (10:28)
 how Girl Gone Crypto fell down the crypto rabbit hole and why her ukulele skills were instrumental to her crypto journey (12:54)
 the time when JK Rowling tweeted about Bitcoin, resulting in Lea’s viral “A Muggle’s Guide to Bitcoin” video (17:31)
 what type of crypto content works best on different social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok  (20:00)
 when Girl Gone Crypto stopped being a hobby and how it is going now that Lea is full-time crypto (21:46)
 how Lea is trying to educate people about crypto in a simple and approachable way… one ninja suit at time (22:34)
 Crypto News Recap (26:12)
   
 Thank you to our sponsors!
 Crypto.com: https://bit.ly/3jzkTAD
 Download the Crypto.com app here: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/laurashinpodcasttesla
 The Sun Exchange: http://thesunexchange.com/unconfirmed
  
 Episode links:
 Lea Thompson: https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto
 Her YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GirlGoneCrypto
 Her TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@girlgone_crypto?source=h5_m
 Lea's personal website: https://www.lealovescrypto.com/
  
 Video Examples
 2020 Year in Review… News Vlog Style:  https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto/status/1344384717466914817?s=20 
 A Muggle’s Guide to Bitcoin:  https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto/status/1261445010832015361?s=20
 Hardware Wallets Explained:  https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto/status/1329580439820849153?s=20
  
 Miscellaneous Information
 Fair Use: https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html
 Money Printer:  https://www.amazon.com/Printing-Machine-Magician-Close-Up-Accessories/dp/B07XRBDCL8
  
 Link to the Crypto News Recap:
 https://unchainedpodcast.com/a-300k-btc-by-eoy/

Girl Gone Crypto: How These Wildly Entertaining Crypto Videos Get Made - Ep.165

Michael Moro, CEO of Genesis Global, discusses Tesla’s purchase of $1.5 billion in bitcoin and Genesis’s new unit: Genesis Treasury. He also talks about how demand has shaped Genesis’ bitcoin and crypto offerings over the years, which events have acted as catalysts for institutional demand, and what Genesis is expecting in 2021. In this episode Michael covers:
  The significance of Tesla allocating $1.5 billion to BTC (1:08)
   How Tesla’s purchase is a result of the evolution of the asset class and why this is just the beginning
  
 How Genesis got its start as a regulated BTC trading desk in 2013 (2:56)
 What new products and services Genesis has launched since 2018 to meet institutional demand (6:11)
 How Genesis came to launch Genesis Treasury and what this unit does (8:00)
   Understanding the idea of bitcoin as a corporate treasury asset and how the stock market is rewarding companies for getting into crypto
  
 What the catalysts were in creating corporate demand for bitcoin and where corporate demand for bitcoin is coming from (10:52)
 How corporate interest in bitcoin correlated with Microstrategy’s Bitcoin for Corporations event (13:16)
   Why institutions have been interested in Bitcoin as collateral, and why that narrative is new
  
 How the conversation with institutions interested in buying bitcoin would be different in a bear market (16:00)
 How GAAP accounting rules affect the quarterly earnings reports of publicly traded companies that hold bitcoin (19:03 )
 His projections for how 2021 in crypto will play out (21:44)
   
 Thank you to our sponsors!
 Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
 The Sun Exchange: http://thesunexchange.com/unconfirmed
  
 Episode links:
 Michael Moro: https://twitter.com/michaelmoro  
 Genesis: https://genesis.global/ 
 Genesis Treasury: https://genesistrading.com/treasury/
  
 Recent institutional purchasing news:
  Tesla’s BTC purchase:  https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/02/08/bitcoin-surges-above-43000-to-a-record-after-elon-musks-tesla-buys-1point5-billion.html

 Twitter’s CFO considers Bitcoin:  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/94459/twitter-cfo-bitcoin-btc-balance-sheet-comments 
 Microstrategy’s Bitcoin for Corporations event:  https://www.microstrategy.com/en/bitcoin/videos/bitcoin-macro-strategy 
 Michael Saylor’s Unchained interview:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-michael-saylor-on-the-best-way-for-companies-to-buy-bitcoin/

 Companies holding bitcoin: https://bitcointreasuries.org/ 
  Genesis information:
  Michael Moro’s presentation at Microstrategy’s event:  https://www.microstrategy.com/en/bitcoin/videos/genesis 
 Genesis Global background:  https://f.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/6024551/About%20-%20Genesis%20Global/About%20Genesis%20Global%20-%20Full%20Overview.pdf 
 Prime Brokerage Services:  https://f.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/6024551/About%20-%20Genesis%20Prime/About%20Genesis%20Prime%20-%20Full%20Overview.pdf 
 Q4 market observations:  https://f.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/6024551/About%20-%20Genesis%20Prime/About%20Genesis%20Prime%20-%20Full%20Overview.pdf 
  Miscellaneous:
  Crypto and GAAP accounting :  https://www.forbes.com/sites/shehanchandrasekera/2020/05/21/how-are-cryptocurrencies-classified-in-gaap-financials/?sh=40ed4f9865b2 
 Coin Metrics report on institutional investing:  https://coinmetrics.substack.com/p/coin-metrics-state-of-the-network-330 
   
 Link to the Crypto News Recap:
 https://unchainedpodcast.com/41-trillion-in-aum/

Michael Moro on Tesla's BTC Buy and the New Genesis Treasury - Ep.164

Mira Christanto, research analyst at Messari, recently wrote a comprehensive report on the crypto scene in Asia. In this episode, she covers cultural differences in crypto trading between East and West, plus gives us the latest on the diverse regulatory landscape within this large region. Some topics covered in this show include:
  why Asia is an important geography in crypto
 why Asia dominates the crypto futures trading markets
 why DeFi fits better with Western culture, and centralized services are more respected in the East
 the state of regulation across the region
 what makes crypto regulation in Hong Kong unique
 how the Chinese are approaching regulation, and how bitcoin is exchanged there
 how Japan's crypto industry differs from that of other companies and why penetration is still somewhat low
 why and how Korea is distinct from other crypto trading cultures
 why Singapore's regulatory framework for crypto is the most sophisticated
 what's happening in Southeast Asia and India 
 the status of crypto mining in China — and why the Western view of it is quite different from what it's like on the ground
   
 Thank you to our sponsors!
 Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
 Sun Exchange: http://sunexchange.com/unconfirmed
  
 Episode links:
 Mira Christanto: https://twitter.com/asiahodl
 Messari: https://messari.io
  
 Messari's Asia Crypto Landscape report: https://messari.io/asia-crypto-landscape
  
 Link to the Crypto News Recap:
 https://unchainedpodcast.com/25-billion-in-institutional-bitcoin-by-eoy/

Why Asia Is So Important to Crypto - Ep.163

Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO and founder of FTX, describes what happened between the Subreddit Wall Street Bets and hedge funds around the stock of GameStop this week. In this episode, he covers:
  what happened with the stock of video game retailer GameStop this week
 what that says about how to value a stock
 how the traditional financial establishment reacted
 how the events in GameStop this week are similar to the way crypto markets operate
 how a crypto financial system could affect the ability of investors to do what the hedge funds did with GameStop — shorting more shares of the stock than actually exist
 what led to FTX listing for tokenized versions of GameStop, Blackberry, AMC and Nokia, as well as a tokenized index fund of Wall Street Bets stocks
 how the tokenized stocks and index work on the back end
 why Robinhood restricted customers from purchasing shares in GameStop on Thursday
 what the inspiration was for FTX
   
 Thank you to our sponsors!
 Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
 The Sun Exchange: http://sunexchange.com
  
 Episode links:
 Sam Bankman-Fried: https://twitter.com/SBF_Alameda
 FTX: https://ftx.com
  
 Roundups of what happened with Gamestop: 
 NYT:  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/27/business/gamestop-wall-street-bets.html
 Vox:  https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22249458/gamestop-stock-wallstreetbets-reddit-citron
 Early Wired story:  https://www.wired.com/story/gamestop-stock-wall-street-bets-short-squeeze/
 NYT analysis:  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/technology/gamestop-stock.html
  
 Sam on what can determine an asset’s price:  https://twitter.com/SBF_Alameda/status/1354790766313234432?s=20
  
 Chamath Palihapitiya on CNBC discussing Gamestop — defending individual investors:  https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/27/chamath-palihapitiya-closes-gamestop-position-but-defends-individual-investors-right-to.html
 Videos:  https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/01/27/investor-chamath-palihapitiya-the-gamestop-story-is-pushback-against-wall-street-establishment.html
  https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/01/27/billionaire-investor-chamath-palihapitiya-on-gamestop-surge-and-rise-of-retail-investors.html
  
 Gamestop price gyrations:  https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/28/gamestop-reverses-losses-and-surges-another-30percent-in-the-premarket-to-450-as-mania-continues.html 
  
 How many shares of GME are shorted: https://isthesqueezesquoze.com
  
 FTX lists GME for tokenized spot and futures trading:  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/92756/ftx-lists-gme-stock-for-tokenized-spot-futures-trading
  
 FTX’s Wall Street Bets tokenized index fund:  https://twitter.com/SBF_Alameda/status/1354790817060143114?s=20
  
 Robinhood customers only being able to sell, not buy GME when Robinhood’s revenue biggest revenue source is sending order flow to hedge funds:  https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/28/robinhood-interactive-brokers-restrict-trading-in-gamestop-s.html
  
 Matt Levine of Bloomberg on GameStop:  https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-28/knowing-when-to-sell-gamestop-stock-at-the-top-is-impossible?sref=m9L277rN
  
 Link to the Crypto News Recap:
  https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-gamestop-is-like-crypto/

$5 Billion in AUM: Why Growth at Grayscale Exploded in the Last Quarter - Ep.137

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