On The Brink with Castle Island

Matt Hougan, the Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise Asset Management joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The SEC’s approval of Ethereum Futures ETFs Bitwise’s launch of AETH, The Bitwise Ethereum Strategy ETF and BTOP, the Bitwise Bitcoin and Ether Equal Weight Strategy ETF. The current state of play as it relates to Bitcoin spot ETF filings. The SEC’s approach and posture given the Grayscale court case. The current lay of the land in the institutional market as it relates to digital asset products. To learn more about Bitwise visit bitwiseinvestments.com  

David Phelps, co-founder and CEO of jokerace and a prolific writer, discusses alternative ways to incentivize users and distribute decision making power, the limitations of tokens for governance, and the power of co-creation in unlocking creativity. They also delve into the concept of being in a post-token world and the importance of personal contribution and involvement in co-creation.

AI causing unemployment for IB associates, blockchain-based sneakers, Nic's Vespa catastrophe, Gensler's HSFC hearing and controversy, made up airlines, FTX trial starting next week

Topics discussed include the Bitcoin security budget debate, Tether's resumption of lending operations, SBF's parents involvement, stablecoin legislation in HK, and a comparison of experiences in Singapore and New York.

Henri Stern, CEO and co-founder of Privy, joins us to discuss: The contradictory functions that wallets serve Offering in-app non-custodial embedded wallets Balancing the trade offs of security versus convenient recovery How customers are customizing their embedded wallet experience The decision to build third party wallet connectors and embedded wallets

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode.  We review Singapore and Token 2049 Singapore food reviews Is crypto pivoting to Asia? Singapore bans the 3ac boys from the Securities industry for 9 years The offshoring of dollar stablecoins Stablecoins are becoming interest bearing Fortress is hacked and acquired by Ripple SEC versus Stoner Cats Sentiment is turning against John Ray III We review Arthur Hayes’ party in Singapore How involved was Joe Bankman in FTX? Genesis is ceasing trading operations 19 hour flights Content mentioned in this episode: Nic’s Token 2049 Keynote (slides) Bloomberg, How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Elite Parents Enabled His Crypto Empire

Peter Johnson, Co-head of Venture at Brevan Howard Digital, discusses stablecoins, their rise, predictions, and the advantages of transacting in stable currencies. They explore the role of blockchains like Tron, the similarities between stablecoins and offshore US dollars, and the potential impact of CBDCs on stablecoins. They also discuss Tether's dominance and speculate on the potential runner-up to the US dollar.

Martin Carrica, cofounder of Mountain Protocol, discusses creating a permissionless interest-bearing stablecoin, regulatory options in Bermuda, reinsurance similarities to stablecoins, how USDM differs from on-chain T bills, USDM's permissionless structure, and the use of stablecoins in emerging market fintechs.

Matt and Nic are back with another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Ryan Salame pleads guilty Our thoughts on the latest turn of the Bitcoin security budget debate What are the prospects for fees to develop on Bitcoin long term? Is blockcspace a race to the bottom? Visa adds merchant settlement tools for USDC on Solana The significance of Visa’s move toward merchant settlement with stablecoins CBOE files for spot Ether ETFs We reflect on El Salvador’s Bitcoin law The FASB moves to fair value accounting for Bitcoin Greenpeace files a comment letter on the GlobalX Bitcoin trust Are the ESG tides turning for Bitcoin mining? Has El Salvador's Bitcoin project been a failure?  Sponsor notes:  Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK — Evaluating the Market Quality of DeFi collateral In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 223, we explore predominant collateral types in DeFi lending protocols and evaluate their liquidity & volatility characteristics to determine their desirability as collateral

We sit down with Lee Bratcher, President and Founder of the Texas Blockchain Council. Lee is one of the primary architects of Texas' Proof of Reserve bill, now in effect. In this episode:  The origin of the TBC Why Lee is moving their Summit to Ft Worth Notable legislative successes by the TBC in Texas The importance of getting the UCC to recognize digital assets The importance of Bitcoin mining The origins of HB1666 Why PoR legislation benefited from the industry spontaneously adopting the standard How the TX PoR bill emerged as a compromise How Lee expects this to become model legislation in other states Comparing PoR to established financial statement audits The importance of frequency in Proof of Reserve The lack of accounting firms that are willing to supervise PoR How would PoR dealt with issues at Gox, Quadriga, FTX, or Prime Trust? How are companies operating in Texas reacting to the bill? Future legistlative directions The role of stablecoins in upholding the role of the dollar The lost authority of the states in chartering banks Further reading on PoR:  Nic in Forbes, The crypto industry is embracing self regulation. It’s time Washington gets on board Texas HB1666 TBC, Texas 'Proof of Reserves' Bill