The Crypto Tape

Rob Hadick, General Partner at Dragonfly, joins Frank Chaparro to dissect why 2025 was one of the most value-destructive years in crypto history despite all the regulatory wins. They discuss the "why token?" era, the death of the middle in crypto VC, and how traditional investors are returning to the space with more discipline.

This conversation provides a blunt analysis of crypto’s current standing within the overall market. This inflection point is a new challenge for founders and investors alike to navigate.

Sal Gilbertie has spent 17 years navigating the ETF approval process. As CEO of Teucrium, he built his reputation launching agricultural commodity products before filing one of the first Bitcoin ETF applications. When his firm launched XXRP, a double-leveraged XRP fund, it hit $550 million in AUM within 12 weeks.

In this episode, Sal walks Frank Chaparro through how leveraged products actually work, why traditional finance is quietly adopting blockchain for settlement infrastructure, and what happens when regulatory clarity finally gives institutions the green light to build on-chain.

This conversation bridges two worlds that are finally converging. If you want to understand how ETFs get built, why timing is everything, and what happens when banks start settling trades on blockchain rails, this one's essential.

Lord James Wharton joins Frank Chaparro to discuss how crypto policy actually gets made in the UK. Lord James Wharton served as MP for Stockton South and later as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State before joining the House of Lords. He previously chaired the board of the UK's higher education regulator, giving him direct experience with how regulatory thinking works in practice.

This conversation covers:

• Why regulators are risk-averse by design and how that shapes crypto policy

• How independent regulatory bodies operate beyond democratic control

• What needs to change for the UK to become a genuine crypto hub

• Political volatility and Reform UK's potential impact on crypto policy

This episode offers a rare look inside the machinery of government from someone willing to be honest about its limitations.

VanEck’s Head of Digital Assets Research Matt Sigel  joins Frank Chaparro to discuss Bitcoin's Q4 correction, why miners are structural sellers, where value is actually accruing, and what could keep crypto range-bound through 2026.

This episode provides a helpful breakdown to the true fundamentals driving crypto’s current price action.

Anton Katz, co-founder and CEO of Talos, joins Frank Chaparro to discuss the institutional infrastructure that's quietly transforming crypto markets.

In this conversation, Anton and Frank cover:

• Asset managers moving into the industry

• Multi-asset trading in practice with real portfolios blending crypto, equities, and FX

• Major banks positioning to launch lending infrastructure

If you want to understand where crypto markets are actually headed, this conversation is required listening.

Robert Leshner, co- founder of Superstate and creator of Compound, joins Frank Chaparro to discuss why institutional interest in tokenization hasn't translated to token prices, how stablecoins changed everything, and where real-world assets are actually headed.

In this conversation, Robert and Frank cover:

• Why 99% of crypto markets are driven by momentum and flows, not fundamentals

• How stablecoins reaching $100-200 billion created a tipping point for institutions

• Why we're heading toward 200+ multi-billion dollar stablecoins coexisting

• How streaming yield by the second changes the game for crypto-native capital

• Why every major Wall Street institution now has teams focused on crypto

This episode reveals a tension at the heart of crypto right now: institutional momentum is real, the infrastructure is being built, and none of it has translated into price action yet. Robert's explanation for why that is, and where it's headed, reframes how to think about value creation in this market.

Tom Warner from Double Zero joins Frank Chaparro to explain why blockchain protocols are being held back by the public internet and what it takes to build a private network specifically for crypto traffic.

Tom and Frank discuss:

• Why the internet treats financial transactions like casual web browsing
• The coordination problem tokens solve for global infrastructure
• How validator location creates geographic centralization
• Why predictability matters more than raw speed for institutional adoption
• Features that exist in private networks but not on the public internet

This conversation dives into understanding the infrastructure layer most people don't think about and why fixing it might matter more than optimizing any single protocol.

Fundstrat’s Tom Lee joins Frank Chaparro to dissect why crypto markets feel darker than fundamentals suggest, even as stablecoins, RWAs, and institutional adoption continue growing.

Tom and Frank discuss:

• Federal Reserve policy uncertainty and its impact on crypto

• Why most DATs will fail and what that means for the asset class

• Ethereum's Layer-2 strategy and value accrual

• Static vs. dynamic thinking in crypto tokenomics

• Why experts from the last cycle often miss the next one

This conversation is about separating noise from signal, understanding what's actually moving markets, and recognizing when fear is overwhelming fundamentals.

Frank Chaparro sits down with Chris Perkins, the President of CoinFund, to learn about his unique perspective on how crypto markets have evolved through crisis. 

In this episode, Frank and Chris discuss:

• Why US futures markets are crypto's most critical missing infrastructure

• The five-element framework for evaluating Digital Asset Treasuries

• The regulatory mistakes of the previous administration and what's changing now

• Why traditional banks face existential risk by staying on the sidelines

• What basis trading will unlock for institutional capital

Chris doesn't sugarcoat the challenges or oversell the timeline. His message to traditional finance is direct: adapt or face obsolescence. Tune in for the full conversation.

Frank Chaparro sits down with Kevin McCordic, the Director of Growth at Monad Foundation, to dive into building what might become crypto’s most developed ecosystem prior to mainnet launch.

In this episode, Frank and Kevin discuss:

• Monad's ambitions to process 10,000 transactions per second 

• The dark forest of crypto capital markets

• Why the best founders spend years obsessed with ideas no one else believes in

• The crypto industry in a regulated future

Tune in to hear Kevin’s take on navigating uncharted waters to fuel Monad’s growth.