On The Brink with Castle Island

Andrew Steinwold, the founder of Sfermion, an investment fund focused on investing in themes surrounding the metaverse joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Andrew's journey in the cryptoasset industry and how we came to see the Metaverse as an investable theme How NFTs are a critical infrastructure component for the metaverse Views on the evolution of digital property rights How Andrew views investing in cryptocurrencies vs. NFTs vs. equity The companies that are best positioned to build the infrastructure for the metaverse To learn more about Andrew follow him on Twitter @AndrewSteinwold and subscribe to his newsletter, Zima Red. Today's episode is brought to you by: Aave: Aave is a decentralised, open source, and non-custodial protocol where users can deposits and borrow digital assets, and earn interest on those assets. Head over to aave.com to experience and learn more about DeFi. Copper: Copper is the global provider of blockchain infrastructure solutions for institutional investors who are actively trading digital assets. Head over to www.copper.co/clear-loop to learn more.

Matt and Nic return for news and deals of the week. In this episode: 43% capital gains taxes? Are decentralized storage networks reaching fruition Binance US hires ex-Comptroller Brian Brooks Matt's Turkey problem A Turkish exchange apparently exit scams Scott Minerd has a new target for Bitcoin Bernstein isn't worried about Bitcoin's energy consumption Ark Invest thinks Bitcoin is an incentive for renewables How much did Bitcoin hashrate really collapse? What did we learn from the Xinjiang shutdown? Why hashrate is hard to estimate Xinjiang is more renewable than you think Content mentioned in this episode: Alliance Bernstein, Is Bitcoin ESG Friendly for Equity Investors? Square and Ark Invest, Bitcoin is Key to an Abundant, Clean Energy Future [pdf] This episode supported by: Sovryn, DeFi on Bitcoin Eventus, global leader in trade surveillance, market risk and transaction monitoring solutions

Nick Neuman, the CEO of multisig software provider Casa, joins the show to discuss how to harden your Bitcoin custody setup. In this episode: Nick's own journey to Bitcoin and to becoming CEO of Casa Casa's design philosophy The merits of native multisig on Bitcoin Casa's decision to stay Bitcoin-only Nick's experience raising capital as a Bitcoin-only startup Is it easier to be a Bitcoin-only startup today? How complicated is multisig? Why Casa recommends the usage of multiple brands of hardware wallets Why self-custody matters Nick's vision for the future and how private keys will power the decentralized web Nick's responses to common criticisms of Casa The purpose of Casa's new subaccounts feature Sponsor notes: Copper is transforming how institutional investors engage with digital assets by developing award-winning custody and next-gen trading infrastructure. Headquartered in London, the firm is scaling rapidly across Asia and North America to bring its suite of products to a wider pool of institutional investors. To learn more visit copper.co or reach out on Twitter, @CopperHQ Aave is a decentralized, open source, and non-custodial protocol where users can deposits and borrow digital assets, and earn interest on those assets. Head over to aave.com to experience and learn more about DeFi.

Nic and Matt return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Nic's feud with the NYT How Lysenkoism fits in Issues with the contemporary press Coinbase does the biggest direct listing of all time Is COIN a trojan horse for Bitcoin? Coinbase mafia? The best thing about Coinbase being public Gary Gensler finally confirmed as SEC chairman Our thoughts on Hester Pierce's token safe harbor 2.0 How do you do disclosures in token land? The former CIA director points out that Bitcoin has less illicit usage then believed Content mentioned: SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce's Safe Harbor 2.0 Nic Carter, On Bitcoin, the Gray Lady Embraces Climate Lysenkoism This episode is brought to you by Sovryn, DeFi on Bitcoin.

Dmitry Tokarev, the cofounder and CEO of Copper joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Dmitry's path to crypto and the pain points that led him to starting Copper How Dmitry sees the competitive landscape and how legacy financial firms are reacting How MPC enables Copper to quickly add support for new blockchain platforms Views on what it's like to hire in a rapidly growing startup Outlook for settlement and custody services in the years to come To learn more about Copper and Clearloop visit: www.copper.co

The Block's Director of Research Larry Cermak and Research Analyst Mike Rogers join the show to talk through their latest report on stablecoins. In this episode: Why the Block chose to focus on stablecoins for this report Larry and Mike's opinion on why stablecoins are so disproportionately dollar-based China's influence in the Tether market The history of Tether and why it attained so much traction initially How you can determine the location of stablecoin users The Tetherification for offshore exchanges – and how it displaced Bitcoin as the reserve asset The influence of USDC in DeFi and whether it represents a systemic risk to the sector Dai's transition to non-native collateral types Mike and Larry's view of algorithmic stablecoins Why stablecoins are so divisive between economists and crypto entrepreneurs Why Tether's dominance is declining Where the NYAG settlement leaves Tether now What Larry makes of USDT on TRON stealing some market share from Ethereum Why investors are settling deals in stablecoin terms The prospects for Libra/Diem Mike and Larry's expectations for the next decade in stablecoins Related content: The Block's report on Stablecoins The OTB Crypto-dollarization series Sponsor notes: Copper is transforming how institutional investors engage with digital assets by developing award-winning custody and next-gen trading infrastructure. Headquartered in London, the firm is scaling rapidly across Asia and North America to bring its suite of products to a wider pool of institutional investors. To learn more visit copper.co or reach out on Twitter, @CopperHQ Aave is a decentralized, open source, and non-custodial protocol where users can deposits and borrow digital assets, and earn interest on those assets. Head over to aave.com to experience and learn more about DeFi.

Matt and Nic are back for deals and news of the week. In this episode: Nic 'debates' Steve Hanke Update on the FUD Dice Nic attempts to send a wire to Poland NYDIG raises more capital and adds more insurance companies to their roster Coinbase Q1 earnings are out Grayscale wants to roll GBTC into an ETF Tom Brady is launching an NFT platform Peter Thiel's comments on Bitcoin The DC/EP may come with expiration dates Content mentioned in the episode: Nic vs Steve Hanke debate This episode is brought to you by Sovryn, DeFi on Bitcoin.

Matthew Mežinskis, creator of the Crypto Voices Global Monetary Base project joins the show to discuss how Bitcoin stacks up against sovereign currencies. In this episode: The difference between base money and broad money Why Bitcoin should be compared to base money and not the broad money supply How exchanges are serving as proto free banks – and why they might end up becoming transparent fractional reserve institutions How free banking actually worked Why unrestricted banking activity tends to equilibrate with single digit reserve ratios How the Scottish free banking system was stable despite fractional reserve How Bitcoin improves upon gold in a free banking system The role of Proof of Reserve in a neo free banking system The bankruptcy of the Ayr Bank and what it tells us about the Scottish banking system Why 'free banking' in the US wasn't really free Bitcoin passes the Swiss Franc Where Bitcoin stacks up relative to all the major sovereign base monies Follow Matthew on Twitter and check out the Monetary Base project. Sponsor notes: Copper is transforming how institutional investors engage with digital assets by developing award-winning custody and next-gen trading infrastructure. Headquartered in London, the firm is scaling rapidly across Asia and North America to bring its suite of products to a wider pool of institutional investors. To learn more visit copper.co or reach out on Twitter, @CopperHQ Aave is a decentralized, open source, and non-custodial protocol where users can deposits and borrow digital assets, and earn interest on those assets. Head over to aave.com to experience and learn more about DeFi.

Jeth Soetoyo, the founder and CEO of Pintu, a cryptoasset brokerage based on Indonesia joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Jeth's path to the cryptoasset industry and his journey from Consensys to business school to founding Pintu Views on stablecoin adoption and how Jeth and team are approaching this with their Rupiah Token project The Indonesian market and how Pintu is approaching this market opportunity View on DeFi and how centralized infrastructure companies are positioned To learn more about Pintu visit www.pintu.co.id and follow Jeth @Jeth_Soetoyo This episode is brought to you by: Aave is a decentralized, open source, and non-custodial protocol where users can deposits and borrow digital assets, and earn interest on those assets. Head over to aave.com to experience and learn more about DeFi. Copper is transforming how institutional investors engage with digital assets by developing award-winning custody and next-gen trading infrastructure. Headquartered in London, the firm is scaling rapidly across Asia and North America to bring its suite of products to a wider pool of institutional investors. To learn more visit copper.co or reach out on Twitter, @CopperHQ

Nic and Matt return for news and deals of the week. In this episode: A crisis with our dice manufacturers Visa will enable USDC settlements on their payment network Paypal turns on Bitcoin payments for 29m merchants Are Paypal transactions actual Bitcoin expenditures? Sillvergate working with Fidelity to provide Bitcoin-backed loans SEC charges LBRY with securities law violations Are founders taking the wrong lessons from SEC inaction? Jay Clayton is now advising OneRiver on their digital asset strategy Tether publishes a new attestation The merit of real time attestations for stablecoins The CME launches a Bitcoin microfutures The Boston Fed will be open sourcing some of their CBDC code Will we ever get a retail CBDC in the USA? NFTs make it to SNL A new pasta shape just dropped Nic syncs his Umbel node Content mentioned in this episode: Nic on Medium, Noahbjectivity on Bitcoin Mining Nic on the Lex Fridman podcast NFT skit on SNL This episode is brought to you by Sovryn, DeFi on Bitcoin.