On The Brink with Castle Island Weekly Roundup 01/23/26 (CLARITY stalls, Iran's USDT reserves, Is Web3 Social over?) (EP.697)
20 snips
Jan 23, 2026 This week covers the brewing winter storm's potential impact on Bitcoin mining. The sale of Farcaster sparks heated debates on the future of Web3 social. BitGo's IPO is discussed alongside a new tokenized securities platform from the NYSE. Concerns over quantum risk lead to changes in investment strategies, with Jefferies dropping Bitcoin. Iran's alleged $500M reserves in USDT raise eyebrows, while political drama unfolds as Trump sues JPMorgan. Insights into these topics keep listeners engaged and informed!
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Farcaster's Rise And Exit
- Farcaster's founders took a big swing building a decentralized social platform and raised large venture capital rounds.
- The product ultimately didn't break out and the protocol/infrastructure was acquired by Nainar after winding down.
Web3 Social's Problems Still Matter
- The core problems Web3 social tried to solve—ownership of handles, moderation choice, and open algorithms—remain real and growing.
- Nic Carter and Matt Walsh expect the category to re-emerge despite many failed attempts so far.
Wedge And First Users Matter
- Social products need a strong wedge or differentiated use case to overcome cold-start and social-graph problems.
- Early user composition shapes platform tenor and limits who will join next.