On The Brink with Castle Island

FTX's recovery for creditors, Bitcoin Season 2, Tether's Q4 performance, legislative developments on SAB121, Biden admin's request for info from Bitcoin miners, CSW v COPA case, Elizabeth Warren letter watch, SEC withdrawal of DebtBox case, and discussions on FTX tungsten cube, Genesis Digital Assets, anti-AI energy activism, and the appointment of a former JP Morgan executive at GSR

In this episode, the hosts discuss the rocky launch of ETFs with GBTC premium trade closing, Bitwise's real-time transparency for their ETF holdings, fraud in the metals market versus Bitcoin, and Nic's spat with Bloomberg. They also talk about the US selling $130m of BTC seized from the Silk Road, TFL declaring bankruptcy, and answer listener questions. Content mentioned includes Bloomberg and 20% stablecoin yields. The chapters cover financial events, reflections on their 500th episode, investments in the cryptocurrency industry, recent podcast interviews, opportunities for 24-year-olds in the crypto industry, the future of stablecoins, and excitement for hardware wallets.

Zach Abrams, CEO and Co-Founder of Bridge, discusses the explosion of stablecoin volume and how Bridge is building critical infrastructure. Topics covered include Zach's origin story, Bridge's core products and APIs, future issuance of stablecoins, global use cases for stablecoins, the evolution of the stablecoin market, and building a crypto company in a bear market.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, discusses various interesting topics such as the possibility of Satoshi Nakamoto returning and deleting all bitcoins, the concern of food inflation and its impact on consumers, and the potential need for Ethereum to fork. The podcast also covers litigation and regulatory updates in the crypto industry, the SEC versus Coinbase case, and recent M&A activity in the crypto asset management space.

Bitcoin ETFs are approved and start trading, with discussion on day 1 flows and long-term potentials. The SEC's mistakes and Gensler's questionable logic are highlighted. Prospects for an ETH ETF are explored. The impact of Bitcoin on traditional finance and Fidelity's involvement are discussed. The podcast also covers market structure, Tether's surge, fundraising rounds, correlation analysis in the Grayscale lawsuit, and arguments against Bitcoin ETF approval.

Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise Asset Management, discusses the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs and Bitwise's low-cost option. They also talk about their plan to donate profits, evolving market structure, and the potential for Ethereum ETFs.

Matthew LeMerle and Mitch Mechegian from Blockchain Coinvestors discuss their 2024 predictions including the growth of stablecoins, factors influencing the price of Bitcoin, the potential impact of ETF approval on the RIA channel, the regulatory landscape of the cryptocurrency industry, and the intersection of blockchain and artificial intelligence.

This week's podcast covers Matrixport's bearish ETF take, the DoJ dropping campaign finance charges against SBF, Goldman and JPM becoming authorized participants for the ETF, where fees will settle for major Bitcoin ETFs, Nic's vanity license plate story, and more

Nitya Subramanian, founder and CEO of Capsule, discusses outstanding challenges with web3 onboarding, how applications are integrating parts of the wallet experience, Capsule's help for developers to give end users key privileges, the importance of interoperability in crypto, how Capsule simplifies transaction signing, and how Capsule's infrastructure complements smart contract wallets.

Barry Silbert, a main character for Bitcoin miners, discusses the good year for Bitcoin miners and the potential approval of an ETH ETF. The hosts also share their 2024 predictions for stablecoins, Bitcoin, Ethereum, DeFi, NFTs, and adoption. They discuss the debate between Solana and Ethereum, the BSA's constitutionality, and the possibility of the 3AC boys being apprehended in 2024.