BITCOIN SEASON 2: How To Beat Coinbase On-chain w/ Flashnet’s Ethan Marcus

Sep 10, 2025

Ethan Marcus, CEO of Flashnet, dives into the future of Bitcoin trading, discussing on-chain advantages and fee wars with Coinbase. He reveals Flashnet's innovative Spark protocol, designed to beat Lightning by offering faster and cheaper transactions. The talk covers the challenges surrounding stablecoins, particularly the USDBitcoin, and shares insights from a $300k load test that showcased Spark's potential. Marcus envisions a more integrated Bitcoin-native financial ecosystem, emphasizing the evolution of on-chain exchanges.

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INSIGHT

Spark Is A Native Signing Layer

Spark delegates on-chain ownership via a signing protocol without new opcodes or consensus changes.
It enables fast, cheap Bitcoin transfers and tokens using improved trust mechanics.

ADVICE

Use Operators To Coordinate Key Tweaks

Use operators to coordinate key tweaking and delegated ownership when using Spark.
Ensure operators delete prior keys so depositors cannot unilaterally spend funds.

INSIGHT

Threshold Operators Reduce Single-Point Trust

Spark uses a threshold set of operators and nested FROST so operators alone cannot steal funds.
Only a majority colluding with malicious intent can double-spend, and mitigations exist.

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