Wyatt sits down with Fred Hsu and Michael Ho of D3 to talk domain markets. In this episode:

• The existing domain name industry and legacy systems
• An interoperable marketplace for domains
• New financial promitives around domains and RWAs

More about D3

Yuval Rooz and Eric Saraniecki, co-founders of Digital Asset join the show. In this episode we discuss:

• The origins of Digital Asset and the path to starting the firm.
• Views on privacy in the context of public blockchains.
• How enterprises and financial institutions are approaching tokenizing assets and leveraging blockchain technology.
• Examples of how on-chain privacy enables use cases in collateral management and stablecoin payments.
• The role of the Canton Network public blockchain for enabling institutional use cases.
• How Canton Network works from a design perspective.

To learn more:

• Digital Asset Website
• Canton Network

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

• Is dedollarization happening?
• The SEC's Division of Corporate Finance released a "Statement on Stablecoins"
• The US Justice Department has disbanded its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement team
• The SEC releases new guidance on securities offerings in crypto markets
• FDIC Chair relaxes rules on crypto activities at banks
• Paul Atkins is confirmed
• The SEC has approved options trading for spot ETH ETFs
• Tether is exploring a US stablecoin
• Janover is doing a Microstrategy for SOL strategy
• Michelle Bowman is launching a review of the Fed's failures in 2023 around the banking crisis
• What happened to Signature?
• Matt's critter situation

Content mentioned:

SEC, Offerings and Registrations of Securities in the Crypto Asset Markets

Wyatt Lonergan and Juan Lopez of Vaneck Ventures join the show to talk stablecoins and institutionalization. In this episode, we cover:

• The landscape of stablecoin growth and activity
• A world with many stablecoins vs few stablecoins
• Winning/losing companies in the new stablecoin era
• Impact on the longer tail of altcoins

Hoolie Tejwani, the head of Coinbase Ventures joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

• The history and rationale behind the launch of Coinbase Ventures.
• The evolution of the crypto venture category.
• Areas of focus for Coinbase Ventures.
• Stablecoins, Crypto/AI and consumer startup category.
• The regulatory landscape in the United States.
• Operation Chokepoint 2.0 and the impact on startups.
• The rise of the Coinbase Mafia.

To learn more visit coinbase.com/ventures

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

• What's the deal with the tariffs?
• Are the tariffs 4D chess?
• STABLE Act advances from committee
• Galaxy settles with the NYAG for touting Luna
• Trump pardons the BitMEX founders
• Coinlist returns to the US
• FDUSD has a depeg amidst Justin Sun drama
• Fidelity launches a no-fee crypto IRA product
• Larry Fink is bullish bitcoin

Content mentioned:

• AI 2027, by Daniel Kokotajlo, Scott Alexander, Thomas Larsen, Eli Lifland, Romeo Dean

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

Try BOB: app.gobob.xyz

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.