Flashnet CEO Ethan Marcus breaks down Bitcoin’s on‑chain trading, fee wars, stablecoin hurdles, and why Spark aims to outpace Lightning—all in under 35 minutes.
Flashnet CEO Ethan Marcus joins us to discuss Bitcoin’s scaling landscape, on‑chain spot markets, the challenges of stablecoins, and how Spark’s signing protocol offers a fast, cheap alternative to Lightning. He also shares candid lessons from a $300 k load test and his vision for Bitcoin‑native finance.
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Notes:
Coinbase charges ~70 bps per trade.
Spark handled $300 k in 9 min during beta.
Bitcoin spot volume ≈ $20‑30 trillion yr.
Lightning’s fee‑free stablecoin rollout deemed “disaster”.
Spark’s operator model uses threshold signatures.
Braille’s USD‑BTC stablecoin launches on Spark.
Timestamps:
00:00 Start
01:52 Is Flashnet crypto or fintech?
02:23 What is Spark?
03:25 Role of the Operator
05:06 Like a State Chain but different
06:50 Spark idea origins
08:54 Flashnet
11:08 Why not build on Lightning?
12:16 Hyperliquid
15:00 How does Spark fit into BTC scaling?
16:30 Why use a DEX?
18:38 Evolution of on-chain exchanges
20:35 Braille & stablecoins
21:58 RGB & other protocols
24:15 Park launch troubles
26:16 Degens lend a helping hand
28:08 Corporate chains
30:21 Single sequencer = server
32:09 Zero Day
33:08 Innovations in BTC
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