On The Brink with Castle Island

Matt and Nic are back for more deals and news. In this episode:  Nic's early Do Kwon experience Reflecting back on Terra/Luna  The SEC charges Richard Heart and HEX  Is the SEC's case against Richard Heart flimsy?  Does the SEC deserve praise for coming after HEX?  Kyle Davies thinks he's immune from prosecution because he gave up his US citizenship Who's behind the BALD rugpull?  Implications of the Curve hack  We look at Tether's asset portfolio  Kenya suspends Worldcoin operations in the country Is there an account firm choke point?  Ethereum future ETFs are filed Judge Rakoff dissents from the Torres doctrine  Content mentioned:  CIV white paper on Cryptodollars Sponsor notes:  STATE OF THE NETWORK: Decoding the Digital Dollar — Unraveling the Risks of Stablecoins In our new special insights report, CM lays out the key fragilities of stablecoins and how on-chain and market data can help monitor these risks for the future of digital dollars to materialize

Matt and Nic are back with another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Nic's issues editing the show Why Washington is attacking PoR  Why Big 4 audit firms aren't working on PoR  The Financial Innovation and Technology in the 21st Century bill (FIT) passes out of committee in the House  Six Democrats defect and support the bill The Stablecoin bill reaches an impasse because the White House  Why stablecoins being limited to the banks is a paradox  The SEC settles with Quantstamp SBF gets a gag order because he released Caroline Ellison's diaries  SBF did actually pay for his legal defense with stolen FTX customer money  The UK gets embroiled in a banking scandal due to Nigel Farage  We digest the room temperature ambient pressure superconductor news  Nic's pickleball injury   Content mentioned:  Nic in Fortune, The crypto industry is embracing self regulation. It’s time Washington gets on board   Kathleen Breitman in Fortune, Ben McKenzie needs a hug: The ‘OC’ star’s crypto book is an ill-informed flop   Sponsor notes:  Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK - From Orange Groves to Orange Gold  In this special edition of State of the Network, we are excited to share a new report that translates the legal language of securities framework for digital assets into objective, measurable criteria from “on-chain” data  

In this episode, we hosted Richard Meissner, CTO of Safe, to illuminate the state of adoption of smart contract wallets following the roll out of ERC-4337 (an effort to standardize account abstraction on Ethereum). Our conversation covers: The limitations of smart contract wallets in a multi-chain universe Account recovery and hybrid custody using traditional institutions Combining account abstraction with intents and AI Worldcoin's use of Safes and adoption of smart contract accounts Find additional content by Safe on account abstraction here.

Matt and Nic are back with more deals and news. In this episode:  Was XRP discovered or created? The saga of Otter 841 Matt’s wildlife trouble More SAB121 chaos Rep Ritchie Torres sends Gensler a tough letter What is the Torres Doctrine? Terraform labs has a new CEO Our theories for why Nasdaq pulled the plug on their crypto custody business The IRS is auditing the crypto rich in PR We bring back our triple threat segment Content mentioned Matt’s thread on SAB121 Bloomberg’s profile on Customers Bank We enjoyed the Fidelity Digital Assets Q2 Signals Report. BitMEX Research had a thoughtful article about Gary Gensler's CFTC days Kathleen Breitman in Fortune, Ben McKenzie needs a Hug Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics’ State of the Network: Currents Shift After SEC v. Ripple Summary Judgment In this issue of State of the Network, we provide a data-driven overview of digital asset markets after a milestone ruling in SEC v. Ripple case

Matt and Nic are back with a huge week in the markets. In this episode:  Ripple gets a key win in their summary judgment versus the SEC Implications for XRP holders Implications for exchanges and other tokens Prometheum’s denials about their ties to the CCP don’t hold water How Prometheum is a Potemkin platform Alex Machinsky has been arrested Arkham’s tokensale and doxing snafu The Lummis Gillebrand bill gets a facelift and incorporates PoR The prospects for the Lummis Gillebrand bill Updates on the piping plovers Why Threads isn’t going to make it Sponsor notes:  Coin Metrics’ State of the Network: Spot On - From Trusts to Spot ETFs In this issue of State of the Network, we dive deeper into Grayscale’s trusts and discuss the evolution of the digital assets investment landscape with the anticipated arrival of spot ETF’s  

Amir Haleem, the founder of Nova Labs (formerly named Helium, Inc) joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The origin of Helium and the Helium network Amir’s views on L1 blockchains and the path that the company took in evaluating building its own chain versus building on an existing L1. Decentralized Physical Infrastructure (DEPIN) and Decentralized Wireless (DEWI) as emerging categories demonstrating real-world applicability of public blockchains. The various tokens in the Helium ecosystem and how they interact. MVNOs and how Helium Mobile is positioned. The regulatory landscape in the United States and how Helium has navigated these waters. To learn more about Helium visit: helium.com/

Matt and Nic are back for more deals and news. In this episode:  Matt’s plover rivalry Matt’s struggles against animals Taylor Swift actually did sign that partnership with FTX Are Eras tour tickets securities? Lightning in emerging markets Could we build the SR-71 today? How Ripple was 90% right about XRP being the bridge currency for remittances ETF applications hiccup More SAB121 issues Matt’s cigar snafu Why ETF seeding will be a source of buy pressure Sponsor notes:  Coin Metrics’ State of the Network: Q2 2023 Wrap-Up In this issue of State of the Network, we provide a data-driven overview of the events that shaped digital asset ecosystem in Q2, 2023

Jose Lemus, CEO and cofounder at IBEX Mercado, joins the show to talk Lightning and its growing usage in emerging markets. In this episode: The origins of IBEX How IBEX clients are using LN in emerging markets How Lightning as a settlement layer for cross-border interbank payments Lightning as a bridge currency Why stablecoins make sense on Lightning Why EM firms have an affinity for Lightning IBEX’s partnership with Grupo Salinas and how they are introducing Lightning to Mexican households Lightning as an emerging remittance tool Why Mexico is a good fight for Lightning adoption Is Jose satisfied with Lightning’s maturity as a protocol How Bitcoin’s market cap is the ultimate bandwidth for Lightning Why Lightning reimagines the established batched payments model Jose’s answer to the biggest critique of Lightning at present Further reading:  Learn more about IBEX IBEX’s partnership with Salinas Group

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  The problem with SEC SAB 121 Pickleball is driving up American healthcare costs Microstrategy buys some more Bitcoin Fidelity refiles their Wise Origin Bitcoin ETF Why the Prime Trust insolvency is so bad Will there be Prime Trust clawbacks? The SEC is slacking with their document retention policies How stablecoins are mirroring the development of eurodollars How Prometheum’s listing strategy might pose a risk to certain cryptoassets The UK law commission determines that digital assets are a new kind of “thing” Content mentioned in this episode: SEC Staff Bulletin 121 Odd Lots, Josh Younger on the Surprising Origins of Eurodollars and Petrodollars Laura Shin Podcast, Paradigm debates Prometheum The UK Law Commission: Final Report on Digital Assets Sponsor notes:  Coin Metrics’ State of the Network: Bitcoin & the Rest  In this issue of State of the Network, we assess Bitcoin’s resurgence and gauge market sentiment amidst a rapidly evolving digital asset landscape marked by regulatory ambiguity and external macro events.

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Bitcoin hits 30k Wyoming’s stable token developments The story behind FTX’s mammoth $500m outflow to K5 global Why was SBF spending hundreds of millions cozying up to talent agents? Do Kwon will spend 4 months in jail in Montenegro The Bitgo Prime Trust acquisition falls apart Deutche Bank applies for a crypto license in Germany EDX officially launches Blackrock files for their ETF and others follow Our theory for why Blackrock is filing now Is the SEC back-channeling to Blackrock? Was surveillance sharing really a blocker for other ETF applications? Does the notion of spot market surveillance even make sense for a global commodity? What’s the deal with the Bitcoin bathhouse in Brooklyn? Sponsor notes:  Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK - The Signal & the Nonce, Re-imagined In this issue of State of the Network, we showcase a novel analysis that sheds light on Bitcoins energy consumption, efficiency and e-waste