On The Brink with Castle Island

Nic and Matt return with a special Thanksgiving issue of OTB. In this episode:  How Castle Island VC was almost Brink VC The difference between financialized walled-garden gold and its Bitcoin equivalent How USDC is being used in Venezuela via AirTM How stablecoins are now tools of geopolitical power projection Vaneck lanches an ETN on the Deutsche Bourse Is GBTC the cause of the rally The OCC proposes fair access to banking services A few people and organizations that we're thankful for Chaincode Labs Bitcoin Optech Greg Schvey and Adam Ludwin Caitlin Long John Pfeffer Fidelity Digital Assets Coin Center Three Arrows and CMS Holdings Should thanksgiving turkey trots be cancelled? Content mentioned in this episode:  Jeremy Rubin's collegiate BTC sweater Adventures in Capitalism, Why this Reflexive Ponzi Scheme will Continue Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Proposed Rule Would Ensure Fair Access to Bank Services, Capital, and Credit Sponsor notes: Withum is a forward-thinking, technology-driven advisory and accounting firm committed to helping our clients be more profitable, efficient and productive in today’s complex business environment. Our Digital Currency group is proud to partner with members of the cryptocurrency community. Get to know us at withum.com/crypto.

John Newbery, Bitcoin Core developer and founder of Bitcoin Optech, announces an independent nonprofit organization to support Bitcoin development, Brink. Donate here. In this episode, we discuss the formation and mandate of Brink, as well as the developer funding context that we find ourselves in. Covered in the episode:  John Newbery's core developer story and how he came to found Brink Why John left Chaincode and struck out on his own Brink's mandate and foundational purpose Lessons learned from the Bitcoin Foundation The future of Bitcoin Optech The state of funding for Bitcoin development The accessibility of Bitcoin protocol development today Does the existence of financial incentives cannibalize the intrinsic motivation to work on open source? Why John works on Bitcoin Why ossification might be more remote than we expect Whether Bitcoin's developer funding model exposes it to corporate capture The political implications of Bitcoin having a sole reference implementation The importance of distinguishing the validation element of Bitcoin Core from the other components Is Bitcoin protocol dev meritocratic or technocratic? Why the structurelessness of Bitcoin core dev raises the barriers to entry Is Bitcoin protocol development adequately funded right now? Does developer funding equate to influence in the Bitcoin protocol development The dispersion of Bitcoin protocol development influence Content mentioned in this episode: Joseph Jacks on On The Brink Bitmex Research, Who Funds Bitcoin Development? Nic Carter in Coindesk, Bitcoin's Patronage System is an Unheralded Strength

Nic and Matt return for deals and news of the week. In this episode: Nic's appearance on Bloomberg TV Is Jay Clayton's departure good for the SEC? Our dark horse pick for SEC Chair Scaramucci's fund considers a Bitcoin position Is Binance decentralized? How are enterprise blockchains still going? How Bitcoin is akin to gold in the 1970s Bitcoin's changing narratives as a strength How our quiet rally isn't quiet How to interpret the BTC inflow into GBTC Why digital asset interest rates are structurally high   Sponsor notes: Withum is a forward-thinking, technology-driven advisory and accounting firm committed to helping our clients be more profitable, efficient and productive in today’s complex business environment. Our Digital Currency group is proud to partner with members of the cryptocurrency community. Get to know us at withum.com/crypto.   Sponsor notes: Withum is a forward-thinking, technology-driven advisory and accounting firm committed to helping our clients be more profitable, efficient and productive in today’s complex business environment. Our Digital Currency group is proud to partner with members of the cryptocurrency community. Get to know us at withum.com/crypto.

Parker Lewis, head of Business Development at Unchained Capital, and author of the Gradually then Suddenly series, joins the show. In this episode:  Parker's progress in our Bitcoin fantasy league Our views on how Bitcoin gives purpose Bitcoin's relationship to the prospects for fiscal spending How the virus may have been an excuse to extend the fragile credit system Why Covid-related spending is often framed in moral, rather than economic terms How Bitcoin eschews academic debates Unchained's mission and current product focus Why on-chain multisig is such a good blend of resilience and convenience What multisig enables in terms of bitcoin applications What credit in a Bitcoin economy looks like Bitcoin as a corporate treasury asset and how Unchained is building for that future Why Bitcoin custody is fundamentally hard Parker's feelings on avowed Bitcoiner Cynthia Lummis being elected to the Senate How Bitcoin aligns with American values Parker's favorite piece in his Gradually then Suddenly series

Nic and Matt return for news and deals of the week. In this episode:  Cred files for bankruptcy Why Bitcoin banking is uniquely robust Why we should not be discouraged by the occasional failure of Bitcoin banks The ECB looks to create a CBDC within 2-4 years Gary Gensler's influence on the Biden administration XRP's fate hangs in the balance Stephen Lynch's letter to Brian Brooks criticizing his stance on crypto Zelle's influence in Venezuela and the reality of crypto-dollarization Why crypto-dollarization is more sustainable than physical dollarization Our response to Ray Dalio's critiques of Bitcoin Why Bitcoin can't be 'Order 6102'ed' today Valid and less valid critiques of Bitcoin Content mentioned in this episode:  Nic Carter in Coindesk, The Case for Bitcoin Banking (Despite Cred’s Bankruptcy) Coindesk, US Representatives Rip OCC, Brooks for ‘Excessive Focus’ on Crypto Coindesk, Canada Tax Collector Seeks to Force Crypto Exchange Coinsquare to Fork Over Client Records Bloomberg, Zelle Has Turned Dollar-Starved Venezuela Into a Cashless Test Lab

Alan Lane, the CEO of Silvergate Financial joins the show. In this episode we discuss: How Silvergate came to bank blockchain companies. The challenges and opportunities in providing services in this fast growing market. Silvergate Exchange Network – how this product is driving growth and solving customer pain points. Alan’s perspectives on stablecoins and how Silvergate plans to play in this area. Views on the long-term opportunities for digital asset custody and lending.   To learn more about Silvergate visit their website.   Sponsor notes: Withum is a forward-thinking, technology-driven advisory and accounting firm committed to helping our clients be more profitable, efficient and productive in today’s complex business environment. Our Digital Currency group is proud to partner with members of the cryptocurrency community. Get to know us at withum.com/crypto.

Matt and Nic cover deals and the news of the week. In this episode: The latest on Matt's bike saga Possible election outcomes and the prospect for inflation How Kelly Loeffer's runoff election might affect Bitcoin Were prediction markets vindicated by the election? The government seizes $1b worth of Bitcoin Why the seized bitcoin is good news Our take on the big Blockchain Voting Debate Our explanation for why people are curious about blockchains for voting Longtime Bitcoin holder Cynthia Lummis joins the Senate Decentralized storage tech is reaching geopolitical levels of importance Why Bitcoin's demand in 2020 might be more enduring than the demand in 2017 Content mentioned in this episode:  Matthew Green on blockchain voting Benlog, Blockchain and Voting The USA v 1HQ3Go3ggs8pFnXuHVHRytPCq5fGG8Hbh Sponsor notes: Withum is a forward-thinking, technology-driven advisory and accounting firm committed to helping our clients be more profitable, efficient and productive in today's complex business environment. Our Digital Currency group is proud to partner with members of the cryptocurrency community. Get to know us at withum.com/crypto.

Josh Cincinnati, former Executive Director of the Zcash Foundation, joins the show to talk about his tenure at that organization, and lessons he's taken from the experience. In this episode:  The genesis of the Zcash Foundation Prior foundation mistakes that Josh sought to avoid The difference between governing a non-cryptocurrency FOSS project and an open source protocol with an explicit monetary element Why Josh chose to step down from the Zcash Foundation How the monetary distribution of Zcash was initially devised and how the founder's reward became a developer fund The dynamics around the trademark sharing in Zcash Trademarks as a last resort tool of power in blockchain governance How public blockchains are 'Marxist in their goals, Leninist in their implementations' How the mandate of the Zcash Foundation was broader than simply the Zcash ecosystem The current outlook for funding Zcash development The subtle change in the social contract underlying development funding Why poorly formalized social contracts risk opening up projects to capture How 'aid dependency' is relevant to blockchain governance Why blockchain insiders hide the true mechanisms of power Why coin votes might be more of the output of power rather than the input Josh's advice to a founder trying to devise funding for a novel cryptocurrency Why Rawls' Veil of Ignorance is so important in determining initial conditions for a monetary protocol What Josh is working on now The story behind PonzICO.win Why there is no good satire in the crypto industry Content mentioned in this episode: Angela Walch, Deconstructing 'Decentralization': Exploring the Core Claim of Crypto Systems James Prestwich, Zcash Dev Fund Opinions

Matt and Nic cover deals and news of the week. In this episode:  Matt's bike is stolen in mysterious circumstances Our top takeaways from the Brian Brooks interview with Laura Shin The state of financial regulation in the US as it pertains to crypto Is the permissioned pseudonymity model of stablecoins sustainable? SoFi's application for a new bank charter approved Why lowering the barrier to entry for new bank charter approvals is so important is there any merit to personal tokens? Avanti gets their SPDI charter approved Why Avanti's Avit stablecoin is so interesting What is the legal enforceability of stablecoin transactions? Accounting and tax questions with stablecoins Coin Metrics partners with KPMG Is the Iranian Central Bank accumulating Bitcoin? Why Iran adopting Bitcoin demonstrates its value proposition FTX offers equities – is it compliant? Is Paypal a Bitcoin Sidechain? Content mentioned in this episode:  Brian Brooks appears on Laura Shin's Unchained The Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance Bitcoin mining map Apolline Blandin on On The Brink

Yoann Turpin, cofounder of Wintermute Trading, discusses his background in trading, market structure for cryptoassets, importance of market makers for token launches, role of stablecoins, and Wintermute's decision to raise capital from VCs as a technology firm.