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.

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

• Milei launches and immediately abandons the Libra memecoin
• Is the memecoin sector dead?
• What is the future of Solana post memecoin fallout?
• Hagerty’s GENIUS act gains bipartisan support
• Why securities laws exist
• What laws apply to memecoins?
• What’s going on with physical gold?

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

• Our episode with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce
• The SEC and Binance are pausing their litigation
• Brian Quintenz nominated for CFTC
• Jonathan Gould nominated for OCC
• Central African Republic launches a memecoin
• Is Vitalik crashing out?
• CBOE wants to add staking to their ETH ETF
• We reflect on the Tigran Gambaryan story
• Rep Waters rolls out a draft stablecoin bill
• Is there a run on gold vaults underway?
• Tungsten is rallying

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

• The past several years of digital asset policy at the SEC
• Different ways that regulators have the potential to stymie technical innovation through policy
• SAB 121
• The impact on the SEC’s policies on capital formation in the digital asset industry
• The role of Congress, specifically with regards to market structure
• The future of token disclosures
• Tokenization and how a regulatory framework could emerge in this category
• Advice to founders

You can follow Commissioner Peirce on X.

Nathan McCauley, the co-founder and CEO of Anchorage joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

• The history of Anchorage and the evolution of the company from a product and regulatory perspective.
• Operation Chokepoint 2.0 and the debanking of digital asset startups.
• How banks are approaching the digital asset custody ecosystem and the sub-custody market.
• The evolution of stablecoins, the prospects of a stablecoin bill and the Global Dollar Network stablecoin consortium.
• Anchorage’s Porto Wallet and Atlas products and the role they are playing with institutional customers.

To learn more about Anchorage visit www.anchorage.com

Matt and Nic are back for more news and deals. In this episode: 

• Matt and Nic’s ski adventure
• Berachain launches
• Mike Lempres of Silvergate finally speaks
• What we learned in the Senate debanking hearing
• The FDIC releases 790 pages of new documents related to the pause letters
• The FDIC is reprimanded by a judge in the Coinbase case
• Senator Lummis reveals a Fed memo that may be proof of OCP2.0
• The SEC releases their list of priorities for the Crypto Task Force
• Hagerty releases the GENIUS Act on Stablecoins
• Czech Republic waives capital gains on Bitcoins held for 3 years
• Microstrategy is now just Strategy
• Truth.fi is releasing a Bitcoin product
• Ethereum’s existential crisis

Former Chairman of Silvergate Bank Mike Lempres joins us for a discussion of Silvergate, the crypto-focused bank that was forced into liquidation in early 2023 following a bank run. This are the first on the record comments from any Silvergate executive following the voluntary liquidation announced in March 2023. In this episode:

• Mike’s background at the DoJ, at Coinbase, and how he came to be chairman of the board at Silvergate
• How Silvergate grew to become the premier crypto-focused bank with $14b in deposits
• Why the Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN) was so useful to the crypto space
• How Silvergate suffered a bank run and ultimate liquidation following the FTX collapse
• How Silvergate survived a 70% bank run
• Regulatory shifts in 2023
• What led the decision to voluntarily liquidate
• What has happened at Silvergate since the announcement of the liquidation?
• The effect of Elizabeth Warren’s letters and short seller behavior on the collapse
• Could Silvergate have survived and thrived?
• Should bank regulators be allowed to ringfence entire industries?
• Silvergate’s relationship with Alameda/FTX - and could they have detected the fraud?
• Was Silvergate a victim of FTX
• How the Signature case adds to the suspicion - were regulators sending a message?
• What was the issue with SEN monitoring?
• Silvergate’s settlements with the Fed, the SEC, and the CA DFP
• How Silvergate was rugpulled by the government with regards to Diem
• The Fed’s recent evolution on the topic of banks serving crypto
• Mike’s outlook on crypto banking and the domestic crypto industry
• Why Signature and Silvergate executives are limited in what they can say publicly
• The problem with “confidential supervisory information”
• Why we may not get a “smoking gun memo” from the regulators on Choke Point 2.0
• What changes would Mike make to bank regulation in the US?
• Lingering misconceptions about Silvergate
• Do Silvergate shareholders have a legal case against the government?

Further reading:

• Nic Carter in Piratewires, Operation Choke Point 2.0 Is Underway, And Crypto Is In Its Crosshairs 
• Nic Carter in Piratewires, Did The Government Start A Global Financial Crisis In An Attempt To Destroy Crypto?
• Nic Carter in Piratewires,  Inside the Biden Admin’s Plot to Destroy Silvergate and Debank Crypto for Good