FCAT Crypto Brief™

Parth kicks off the episode examining the Ethereum Attestation Service. Then, hosts dive into a conversation on how crypto exchanges earn revenue and how they may seek to diversify their revenue streams using L2 solutions. Finally, Jack gives us a look at the macro environment and discusses the widespread optimism around a potential Bitcoin ETP approval.

 
Episode Topics:

[0:00] Intro

[2:45] What Parth Tried This Week: Ethereum Attestation Service

[9:15] Crypto Exchange Business

[14:10] Business of L2s

[21:15] Are the bulls back? Macro Update

[25:00] Inching Closer to a Bitcoin spot ETP Approval?

Stay connected with us beyond the podcast by following FCAT on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, where we share additional insights and updates on all things emerging tech.

Whether you're crypto-curious or have a crypto foundation, Fidelity may have your next career opportunity. EXPLORE NOW.

Please remember: this podcast is solely for informational and educational purposes and is not investment, tax, legal or insurance advice. Digital assets are speculative and highly volatile and you should conduct thorough research before you invest. To learn more, visit: fcatalyst.com FMR LLC. © 2023 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.

Parth kicked off the conversation sharing CryptoMiso.com, a tool that rates blockchains based on developer activity. Hosts then provide a recap of Sam Bankman-Fried's trial and discuss its implications for the crypto industry. Finally, they dive into the latest developments on Solana, highlighting the significance of the Firedancer testnet launch for the blockchain's scalability, performance, and overall ecosystem.

Episode Topics:

[0:00] Intro

[4:45] What Parth Tried This Week: CryptoMiso

[7:30] SBF Found Guilty, What now?

[17:00] Solana Testnet of Firedancer Goes Live

Stay connected with us beyond the podcast by following FCAT on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, where we share additional insights and updates on all things emerging tech.

Whether you're crypto-curious or have a crypto foundation, Fidelity may have your next career opportunity. EXPLORE NOW.

Please remember: this podcast is solely for informational and educational purposes and is not investment, tax, legal or insurance advice. Digital assets are speculative and highly volatile and you should conduct thorough research before you invest. To learn more, visit: fcatalyst.com FMR LLC. © 2023 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.

Parth kicks of this episode sharing his experience with building a Compound liquidation bot. Then, the hosts dive into a conversation about restaking on EigenLayer after Ether.Fi rolled out their liquid staking token. Finally, they wrap up talking about DTCC’s recent acquisition of Securrency.

Episode Topics:

[0:00] Intro

[3:10] What Parth Tried This Week - Building a Compound Liquidation Bot

[10:10] Liquid staking vs restaking – What is it? How does it work? Why would people do it?

[26:05 DTCC’s Acquisition of Securrency

Stay connected with us beyond the podcast by following FCAT on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, where we share additional insights and updates on all things emerging tech.

Whether you're crypto-curious or have a crypto foundation, Fidelity may have your next career opportunity. EXPLORE NOW.

Please remember: this podcast is solely for informational and educational purposes and is not investment, tax, legal or insurance advice. Digital assets are speculative and highly volatile and you should conduct thorough research before you invest. To learn more, visit: fcatalyst.com FMR LLC. © 2023 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.

This week, we welcome Nic Carter, founding partner of Castle Island Ventures and Fidelity alum to the podcast. Nic shares his story of an almost decade-long of journey in crypto, reflects what is now considered to be a prescient take on stablecoins, and shares what makes him optimistic about the future of crypto.

Nic is a general partner at Castle Island Ventures and the cofounder of blockchain data company Coin Metrics. Previously, he was a crypto-asset analyst at Fidelity. He holds an MA Finance from the University of Edinburgh and a BA in Philosophy from the University of St. Andrews.

Episode Topics:

[0:00] Intro

[2:30] Catalyst to becoming a crypto enthusiast

[4:30] Nic on stablecoins: past, present & future

[19:30] Could offshore stablecoins be used to generate income?

[51:45] What excites Nic about the future of crypto

Stay connected with us beyond the podcast by following FCAT on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, where we share additional insights and updates on all things emerging tech.

Whether you're crypto-curious or have a crypto foundation, Fidelity may have your next career opportunity. EXPLORE NOW.

Please remember: this podcast is solely for informational and educational purposes and is not investment, tax, legal or insurance advice. Digital assets are speculative and highly volatile and you should conduct thorough research before you invest. To learn more, visit: fcatalyst.com FMR LLC. © 2023 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.

Hosts dive into the benefits and challenges of real world asset tokenization and discuss tokenization platforms, including the recent introduction of JPMorgan’s Oynx Blockchain. Plus, hear about potential changes in demand in DeFi and new innovations out of Goldfinch.

Episode Topics:

[0:00] Intro

[3:45] What Parth Tried This Week: Soma Finance

[10:45] JPMorgan Introduces Tokenization Platform

[25:30] Demand in DeFi

[30:20] On-chain Credit History

Stay connected with us beyond the podcast by following FCAT on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, where we share additional insights and updates on all things emerging tech.

Whether you're crypto-curious or have a crypto foundation, Fidelity may have your next career opportunity. EXPLORE NOW.

Please remember: this podcast is solely for informational and educational purposes and is not investment, tax, legal or insurance advice. Digital assets are speculative and highly volatile and you should conduct thorough research before you invest. To learn more, visit: fcatalyst.com FMR LLC. © 2023 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.

Steven Goldfeder, CEO and co-founder of Offchain Labs, sits down with host Parth to discuss the birth of Arbitrum and his transition from cryptographer to CEO. They take a technical deep dive into Layer 2 (L2) rollups, their importance in blockchain scaling, and the differences between optimistic and ZK rollups. Steven highlights the challenges of achieving scalability while preserving security and decentralization and offers insights for choosing the right L2 solution in the complex blockchain landscape.

About Steven:
Steven Goldfeder is the CEO and co-founder of Offchain Labs, the initial developer of Arbitrum. Steven received his doctorate from Princeton University and is a published author of multiple research papers on blockchain science, crypto technologies, smart contracts, and more. Steven co-founded Offchain Labs in 2013.

0:00 Intro 

2:39 Stephen’s Crypto Catalyst 

9:15 Transition from Cryptographer to CEO 

13:15 Rollups and Why They Matter 

22:00 Differences Between ZK and Optimistic Rollups 

29:30 Considerations When Choosing an L2 

35:00 Optimism for Optimistic Rollups 

Stay connected with us beyond the podcast by following FCAT on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, where we share additional insights and updates on all things emerging tech.

Whether you're crypto-curious or have a crypto foundation, Fidelity may have your next career opportunity. EXPLORE NOW.

Please remember: this podcast is solely for informational and educational purposes and is not investment, tax, legal or insurance advice. Digital assets are speculative and highly volatile and you should conduct thorough research before you invest. To learn more, visit: fcatalyst.com FMR LLC. © 2023 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.

Jack, Parth, and Ryan discuss a new open-source application that aims to turn old phones into hard wallets. They then touch on MetaMask’s new, in-beta, community feature “Snaps.” They conclude by speaking on news of Tether’s most recent financial attestation.

Episode Topics:

0:00 Intro

2:51 What Parth Tried Last Week, Air Gap

10:37 Metamask’s new capability

21:00 Tether attestation news

Stay connected with us beyond the podcast by following FCAT on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, where we share additional insights and updates on all things emerging tech.

Whether you're crypto-curious or have a crypto foundation, Fidelity may have your next career opportunity. EXPLORE NOW.

Please remember: this podcast is solely for informational and educational purposes and is not investment, tax, legal or insurance advice. Digital assets are speculative and highly volatile and you should conduct thorough research before you invest. To learn more, visit: fcatalyst.com FMR LLC. © 2023 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.

Jack, Jason, and Ryan talk about attending the Future Proof conference. They then discuss the news of FTX gaining approval to liquidate some of their assets. The hosts then touch on the news of Deutsche Bank partnering with a crypto custodian. Finally, they speak on Coinbase integrating the Lightning Network, and share their thoughts on the Lightning Network as it stands today. 

Episode Topics:

0:00 Intro

6:39 FTX’s liquidation update

15:11 Deutsche announces digital custody partnership

23:47 Coinbase’s integration of the Lightning Network

Stay connected with us beyond the podcast by following FCAT on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, where we share additional insights and updates on all things emerging tech.

Whether you're crypto-curious or have a crypto foundation, Fidelity may have your next career opportunity. EXPLORE NOW.

Please remember: this podcast is solely for informational and educational purposes and is not investment, tax, legal or insurance advice. Digital assets are speculative and highly volatile and you should conduct thorough research before you invest. To learn more, visit: fcatalyst.com FMR LLC. © 2023 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.

This week Ryan and Parth speak about a blockchain explorer that aims to improve the user experience when scrubbing blockchains –– and while throwing in a hint of AI. Then the two hosts touch on Visa’s announcement to start utilizing USDC to help with settling payments. Finally, the two discuss a new update to Metamask that allows for users to transition from crypto to cash easier.

0:00 Intro

5:25 What Parth tried last week: LoreScan

10:18 Visa to start leveraging stablecoin technology

18:11 The state of stablecoins

28:20 Metamask’s new sell feature

30:32 New FASB rules

Stay connected with us beyond the podcast by following FCAT on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, where we share additional insights and updates on all things emerging tech.

Whether you're crypto-curious or have a crypto foundation, Fidelity may have your next career opportunity. EXPLORE NOW.

Please remember: this podcast is solely for informational and educational purposes and is not investment, tax, legal or insurance advice. Digital assets are speculative and highly volatile and you should conduct thorough research before you invest. To learn more, visit: fcatalyst.com FMR LLC. © 2023 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.

Jack, Jason, and Parth speak on a new tokenized social media platform. They then touch on the news surrounding Tornado Cash and MakerDAO –– and the technical and philosophical questions that come from it.

Topics

0:00 Intro

2:22 What we tried last week

8:29 Tornado Cash

17:30 MakerDAO’s endgame plan

Stay connected with us beyond the podcast by following FCAT on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, where we share additional insights and updates on all things emerging tech.

Whether you're crypto-curious or have a crypto foundation, Fidelity may have your next career opportunity. EXPLORE NOW.

Please remember: this podcast is solely for informational and educational purposes and is not investment, tax, legal or insurance advice. Digital assets are speculative and highly volatile and you should conduct thorough research before you invest. To learn more, visit: fcatalyst.com FMR LLC. © 2023 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.