On The Brink with Castle Island

Matt and Nic return for a Thanksgiving episode. In this edition:  Fidelity files for an ETH spot ETF The SEC sues Kraken Javier Milei wins – and prospects for dollarization Stablecoins versus dollar liabilities in emerging markets Prediction markets do well in the Argentine election We digest the OpenAI scandal and reflect on corporate governance Do we need a new McCarthyism directed at effective altruists? CZ settles with the DoJ and the CFTC over BSA and OFAC violations Binance appears to be solvent thanks to their Proof of Reserve Where the Binance settlement leaves the industry Tether supply hits $88b Bhutan is mining bitcoin Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK— Checking On-Chain Indicators for Green Shoots in the Digital Assets Market In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 234 we present a selection of indicators that offer us insights against the backdrop of a recent surge in valuations within the digital assets ecosystem.

We sit down with Mike Cahill, CEO of Douro labs, to talk Pyth’s retroactive airdrop and launch. In this episode: A brief history of Pyth What was the problem with legacy oracles before Pyth How is Pyth is technically differentiated from other oracles The importance of introducing confidence intervals into prices How does Pyth achieves cross chain data delivery Disintermediation in the oracle market Major proof points that convinced Mike that Pyth could work Pyth’s traction on various chains Which blockchains Pyth does particularly well on Mike addresses the ‘collusion FUD’? Why Pyth oracles are not like LIBOR How the Pyth retrospective airdrop works What’s happening with Pyth governance on a go forward basis? Further reading:  Pyth, How the Retrospective Airdrop works On The Brink ep. 364, Solving The Oracle Problem

Matt and Nic are back with another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Tail risks with the Bitcoin ETF Are SBF’s parents off the hook? The FDIC is embroiled in scandal Should Marty Gruenberg step down? Tokenized bank deposits versus stablecoins What’s wrong with the third party doctrine SAB121 under pressure Content mentioned in this episode: Fidelity Digital Assets, Understanding Proof of Work The WSJ, Strip Clubs, Lewd Photos and a Boozy Hotel: The Toxic Atmosphere at Bank Regulator FDIC Whip Emmer Letter to Treasury regarding Hamas crypto financing Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK—November Rally Reaches New Corners of the Digital Asset Market In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 233, we delve into the primary beneficiaries of the recent market rally and explore diverse avenues channelling this momentum

The boys join forces with Alex Thorn of Galaxy Brains for a special live episode at the Pubkey bar in NYC. In this episode:  Galaxy's Beimnet Abebe joins for market color Bloomberg's James Seyffart opinions on Bitcoin ETF prospects  The WSJ/Hamas affair Audience Q&A  With special thanks to the Galaxy team for organizing and Thomas Pacchia for hosting

Anthony DeMartino, the co-founder and CEO of Trident Digital joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Anthony’s background in the banking industry and his path to founding Trident Digital. Digital asset lending markets and how Trident is innovating in this category. Trident’s US Treasury product and how he is going to market. The state of the U.S. banking system and the status of the FDIC insurance fund. The potential impact of Commercial Real Estate on the banking sector. Chokepoint 2.0 and the regulatory landscape in the USA. To learn more about Trident Digital visit their website.

Matt and Nic return for another episode of news and deals. In this episode:  WSJ bounty updates Will Euro stablecoins take off? SBI and Standard Chartered start a crypto infrastructure fund SEC opens talks with Grayscale over the GBTC conversion Kraken is exploring the creation of an L2 SEC staff can’t own crypto FTX 2.0 prospects CME OI flippens Binance Nouriel Roubini is launching a token Sponsor notes:  Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK — Ethereum Staking through the Lens of Lido  In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 232, we dive into Lido—the largest player within the staking economy—and understand the state of its liquid staking token (stETH), governance token (LDO) and underlying node-operator composition.

Adam Guren, the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Hunting Hill joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Adam’s career journey and the path that led him to found Hunting Hill in his late 20s. How he discovered cryptocurrency and the initial digital asset products that he traded. The initial market structure for trading closed end digital asset products and the challenges that it presented. Views on the prospects of a Bitcoin ETF and the impact that it will have on the market when approved. The prospects of a spot ETH ETF. An overview of Hunting Hill today, including a deep dive on Hunting Hill Digital. The opportunities for distressed investors in today’s market. Hunting Hill’s efforts with Versifi and Base Layer Ventures. To learn more about Hunting Hill visit their website.

Devin Walsh, executive director of the Uniswap Foundation, discusses setting up the foundation, the role in growing the Uniswap ecosystem, and supporting developers and researchers. They explore the evolution of the grants program, the benefits and challenges of a public foundation, and the importance of sustainable business models for building on open-source public goods.

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: What happened to mimblewimble Where Nic’s bounty program stands What’s the deal with Binance’s proof of reserve? The SEC takes down Safemoon Hester Pierce criticizes the SEC’s approach to LBRY Did the SEC violate the administrative procedures act by issuing SAB121? The SEC comes from Paypal How will MSTR fare post Bitcoin ETF? Did Do Kwon commit fraud or did he really believe in UST? We would like to buy the FTX tungsten cube Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK — Unpacking the Forces Behind the Market Rally In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 231, we focus on both spot and derivatives markets to explore forces driving the recent market rally

Brandon Mulvihill the co-founder and CEO of Crossover Markets joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Brandon’s career in the FX industry and the path to founding Crossover Markets ECNs and how this market structure came to evolve in the FX market The opportunity to bring ECNs to the digital asset market The CrossX platform and how this product is impacting the digital asset trading landscape Crossover’s partnership with Hidden Road in launching Route 28 The evolution of the digital asset market structure and how non-custodial trading is evolving The regulatory landscape and the jurisdictional decisions that went into establishing Crossover Markets To learn more about Crossover Markets visit their website and follow the company on X.