On The Brink with Castle Island

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

• Nic recaps his Karate fight
• The Bitcoin Nashville conference
• Kamala’s crypto posture
• A new pension fund is buying Bitcoin
• Did we get a soft landing?

Content mentioned:

• BVNK, The decade of digital dollars

Sponsor notes:

• The Launch of Ether ETFs
• In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 269, we look into ETH ETF fees, Grayscale funds and demand & supply dynamics heading into Ether ETF Launch

Representative French Hill (R-AR) join the show. In this episode we discuss:

• Representative Hill’s perspective on the blockchain/digital asset ecosystem and why he initially became interested in this technology.
• The status of SAB 121 repeal.
• FIT 21 and the future of market structure clarity in the United States.
• The prospects of stablecoin legislation and the issues that are being discussed in Congress.
• Tigran Gambaryan’s unlawful detainment in Nigeria.

To learn more about Representative Hill’s efforts please visit his website.

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

• Nate Silver joins Polymarket
• JD Vance is Trump’s VP nominee
• Ethereum ETFs get the final go ahead
• Should crypto users be single issue voters?
• JD Vance’s crypto platform
• Does a Trump Vance admin imply a devaluation of the dollar?
• JD Vance and seed oils
• State Street is exploring their own stablecoin
• Possible SAB121 carveouts
• Germany is done selling their Bitcoin
• The CSW story is finally over
• Jamie Dimon for Treasury secretary?
• Trump is due to speak at Bitcoin Nashville
• Update on how voting works in Congress
• Was Trabs a whistleblower?

Sponsor notes:

• Charting the Course to Mt. Gox Repayments
• In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 268, we trace Mt. Gox's journey, analyzing BTC wallet flows and liquidity in the wake of Mt. Gox repayments.

Chris Duffus, Founder & CEO of Fonbnk joins Wyatt in this episode. We cover: 

• Stablecoin and crypto usage in emerging markets
• Popular and high-potential platforms in these markets
• Alternative forms of onramping and moving money
• Airtime as a form of digital value storage

More on Fonbnk

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

• Germany is still selling Bitcoin
• ETHcc chaos in Brussels
• Trump is speaking at Bitcoin Nashville
• The SAB121 overturn veto override did not pass
• The Republican party includes crypto in their official platform
• Polychain Eclipse drama
• Uniswap versus the SEC over their exchange act
• The SEC drops its investigation into Paxos
• Ro Khanna's crypto summit
• Euros and Copa America developments

Sponsor notes:

• State of the Network’s Q2 2024 Wrap-Up
• In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 267, we take a data-driven look at the most important events that impacted the digital assets industry in Q2 2024.

Adam Levine, Head of Corporate Development and Partnerships at Fireblocks joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

• The history of Fireblocks and the evolution of MPC custody.
• The recent announcement of the Fireblocks Global Custodian Partner Program and the initial partners.
• The current state of tokenization and how Fireblocks is playing in that market.
• Stablecoins and how Fireblocks engages in this market segment.
• Views on the regulatory landscape.

To learn more about Fireblocks visit their website and learn about their Global Custodian Partner Program.

Leo Zhang, founder of Alkimiya, joins the show to talk about their Bitcoin fee exposure product. In this episode: 

• The evolution of Alkimiya
• Alkimiya’s current product approach
• Why solving Bitcoin transaction fee volatility matters
• How blockspace compares to conventional commodities
• What kind of market participants would want to long or short Bitcoin transaction fees?
• Avoiding manipulation in blockspace markets
• The decision to build on Base
• Reminiscing on the Ethereum gas token
• Building a fee product for Bitcoin as opposed to any other L1
• Leo’s long term views on Bitcoin fees
• Bitcoin season 2 and the cultural shift in Bitcoin
• Moderating views from maximalism to being a Bitcoin moderate
• The effect of Bitcoin L2s on fees
• Runes as a catalyst for Bitcoin fees
• The fee-transaction count feedback loop

About Alkimiya:

Alkimiya is a blockspace markets protocol that just released a novel mechanism for users to trade on Bitcoin transaction fees. Previously, users had no option but to accept fluctuating transaction fees. With Alkimiya, they can now profit from or hedge against these drastic swings.

Further reading: 

• • Infrastructure for Synthetic Blockspace

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

• Will Biden step down?
• The importance of prediction markets in elections
• Can you insider trade on prediction markets?
• What does the SCOTUS repeal of Chevron mean for crypto?
• SEC sues Consensys
• Stripe and Coinbase partnership
• Circle achieves MiCA compliance for USDC and EURC
• Will Euro stables ever be popular?
• Silvergate settles with the SEC, SF Fed, and California
• Why the Silvergate story remains a huge scandal
• Polkadot’s strange spending habits
• Bozo of the week
• Blackrock puts IBIT in their global allocation fund
• Matt’s SEC-fu
• The SEC’s new website
• Stoner Cats in retrospect

Sponsor notes:

• State of the Network’s Q2 2024 Mining Data Special
• In Coin Metrics' State of the Network issue 266, we provide our quarterly update on Bitcoin mining

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

• Nic’s vehicular issues
• BTC mining FUD is now AI fud
• Abra settles with state regulators over lack of MTLs
• State Street and Galaxy Digital partner up
• US reps visit imprisoned Binance exec in Nigeria
• Vaneck files for a Solana ETF
• Coinbase is suing the FDIC and the SEC
• Germany is selling Bitcoin
• SCOTUS further limits the SEC’s power

Sponsor notes: 

• Mastering Crypto Derivatives
• In Coin Metrics' State of the Network issue 265, we dive into the landscape of derivatives in traditional financial and cryptoasset markets, examining their types, applications and underlying data

Adam Healy, the co-founder and CEO of Station 70 joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

• Adam’s career and path that led him to enter the digital assets industry as a CSO and eventually co-founder of Station 70.
• The evolution of digital asset custody from a technology perspective.
• The evolution of MPC as an infrastructure technology.
• The threat vectors that CSOs must confront in managing a custodial business.
• Cybersecurity best practices.
• The inception of Station 70 and the state of private key backups in the digital asset industry.
• How market structure is likely to evolve with more banks and broker-dealers getting active in the space.

To learn more about Station 70 visit their website.