Alexei Zamyatin, the cofounder of Build on Bitcoin (BOB), joins the show to talk about the state of the art in Bitcoin Rollups. In this episode: 

• Can Bitcoin achieve parity with Ethereum rollups?
• How BitVM and BitVMv2 changed the game for Bitcoin rollups
• When will Bitcoin rollups be considered “Stage 1”
• Ethereum’s existential crisis
• Bitcoin fees in a rollup world
• The risk of L2s cannibalizing Bitcoin
• Will Bitcoin DeFi look different from Ethereum DeFi?
• Why Bitcoin deserves Rollups
• What soft forks is Alexei looking forward to?
• Does institutionalization ossify Bitcoin?
• BOB’s progress and roadmap for 2025

Learn more about Build on Bitcoin 

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: 

• We reflect on our podcast with Paolo Ardoino
• The EU’s MiCA rules make launching a stablecoin virtually impossible
• We explain the Ghiblification crazy
• OCC removes Reputation risk from bank supervision
• World Liberty Fi launches a stablecoin
• Hyperliquid suffers an exploit - are they decentralized?
• Fidelity is exploring the launch of a stablecoin
• ICE is looking to use USDC
• Coinbase is reportedly looking to acquire Deribit
• US Treasury lifts sanctions on Tornado Cash
• Sei is looking to buy 23andme

Paolo Ardoino, the CEO of Tether, rejoins the show for a timely discussion. In this episode:

• How is Paolo feeling about political trends in the US today?
• Tether is the 7th-largest buyer of USTs at the sovereign level
• Paolo’s decision to spend more time in the US
• What does Paolo make of the stablecoin bills in Congress?
• Does Tether want to eventually come onshore to the US?
• Tether is pursuing a Big 4 Audit
• The effect of Operation Choke Point 2.0 on Tether
• Tether is moving their HQ to El Salvador
• Paolo’s thoughts on stablecoins in MiCA
• How does Tether get to the figure of 400m global users of the stablecoin?
• Tether’s efforts to better understand their userbase and usage modes
• Tether’s methodology around balance sheet investing
• Is Paolo concerned about crypto-dollarization?
• Tether’s relationship with Cantor now that Lutnick is Commerce Secretary
• Is Paolo concerned about the emergence of interest-bearing stablecoins?

See also:

• On The Brink ep.87: Paolo Ardoino (Bitfinex/Tether) – Managing the growth of Tether (June 2020)

Brian Foster, the Global Head of Wholesale at Coinbase joins the show for his second appearance. In this episode we discuss:

• A catch-up on the Wholesale business at Coinbase and the types of customers that are active in this market
• How banks and broker-dealers are accelerating their efforts post-election
• Perspectives on build vs. buy vs. partner decisions that are happening at banks after the repeal of SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin 121
• Views on how banks will approach M&A
• Coinbase’s role in the digital asset ETF market
• How Coinbase engages with government customers
• Views on the Bitcoin strategic reserve

To learn more about Coinbase visit coinbase.com. Also follow Brian on X.

Nic and Matt are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: 

• Trump speaks at DAS
• Is anyone in Washington talking about abolishing capital gains tax for crypto?
• Trump denounces OCP2.0
• TON raises a huge round
• Remember IOTA?
• We reminisce about Slock it and the DAO
• What happened to Ethereum Classic?
• Can you redeem PAXG for physical gold?
• Kraken acquires NinjaTrader for $1.5b
• The SEC says PoW mining is not a security
• Tim Scott’s debanking FIRM act advances from the Senate Banking Committee
• We review Bessent's appearance on All In 
• What was the deal with the 'vibecession'

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: 

• The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve exists
• Will the government buy additional Bitcoin?
• What does “cost neutral” mean?
• What’s the deal with our cheese reserve
• Have Bitcoiners lost their libertarian origins?
• The OCC reverses their anti-crypto guidance
• Sentiment in crypto is at all time lows
• Is CZ seeking a pardon deal in exchange for a sale of Binance equity?
• Senate Banking votes to advance the Hagerty Stablecoin bill
• The banks are against interest-bearing stablecoins
• We recap the White House Crypto Summit
• Banks want to do crypto 

Jeff Park, the Head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise Asset Management joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

• The latest developments at Bitwise, including the firm’s Alpha Strategy division.
• Yield strategies in the digital asset ecosystem.
• Stablecoins and how the idiosyncratic opportunities that active managers are pursuing.
• MicroStrategy
• Thoughts on market structure and digital asset policy.

To learn more about Bitwise visit their website.  You can also follow Jeff on X.

Brandon Mulvihill, the co-founder and CEO of Crossover Markets joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

• The shifting regulatory landscape in the USA and the impact that it is having on traditional financial institutions.
• How banks and broker-dealers are responding to regulatory progress.
• The battle for “Primary Market” in the United States.
• The future of market structure and the bifurcation of exchanges vs. brokerages.
• How Crossover is positioned in 2025.

To learn more about Crossover Markets visit their website.

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode:

• We debate the prudence of a BTC reserve
• A Strategic Reserve of just BTC or altcoins?
• How would a crypto reserve be “strategic”
• Should the US Government just seize BTC to build the reserve?
• Is there a “strategic” purpose to owning a gas token?
• SEC task force for crypto is starting roundtables
• SEC drops lawsuits against Kraken, Cumberland, and Yuga labs
• Tim Scott’s bill to eliminate reputational risk from bank regulation
• CME launches SOL futures
• An Argentine prosecutor is looking to seize $110m in the Libra case
• Tether and Circle are fighting in Washington
• SBF makes an appearance on Tucker 

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: 

• Figure Markets announced the launch of their YLDS stablecoin, which is the first yield-bearing stablecoin to be approved by and registered with the SEC
• Crypto exchange Bybit was hacked on Friday for an estimated $1.48 billion worth of ETH in the largest hack in the industry's history
• n the past week, the SEC dropped lawsuits and investigations related to Coinbase, Robinhood, OpenSea, Uniswap, Gemini, and MetaMask
• Microstrategy purchased an additional 20,356 BTC last week
• Crypto exchange OKX pled guilty and agreed to pay $504 million in penalties for anti-money laundering law violations
• U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has appointed Tyler Williams as an advisor on digital asset and blockchain policy
• During an interview with Bloomberg, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan stated that in light of the expected upcoming stablecoin legislation, he expects that Bank of America will "get into that business," and may even launch their own stablecoin

Content mentioned in this episode:

• Jameson Lopp, Jack Dorsey is not Satoshi Nakamoto
• DeFi Education Fund, Examining the burdens, costs, and failures of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), and the potentially disastrous implications of applying the BSA to DeFi.