CoinDesk Podcast Network

Jonathan Jachym, Chief Policy Officer at Payward, the parent company of Kraken, discusses the CFTC’s plan to regulate spot crypto markets without Congress. He explains Payward’s push to bring Hyperliquid to the U.S. and help banks enter blockchain markets. The conversation also explores AI threats to wallet security, political uncertainty, and Samsung’s USDC partnership reaching 82 million Galaxy users.

Iranian tanker attacks send oil, Treasury yields, and the dollar higher while Bitcoin slides toward $84,000, putting the $83,000 level in focus. Pudgy Penguins parent Igloo plans to shut down its Abstract layer 2 network after major funding losses. Government-linked wallets also move more than $100 million, as forfeited Bitcoin remains earmarked for a strategic reserve.

Matthew Prince, Cloudflare co-founder and CEO, explores an internet transformed by AI agents. He discusses why bots are overtaking human traffic, how agents could upend advertising and small businesses, and the need for micropayments and faster stablecoin rails. They also examine global inequality, cybersecurity, decentralization, and whether AI might restore online privacy.

Tyler Spalding, President of the Acronym Foundation and a leader behind Anvil Protocol, discusses the launch of Anvil’s SDK and its push to bring DeFi into everyday business tools. They explore letter-of-credit use cases, Anvil’s $5 million token round led by Founders Fund, governance, Bullish’s integration, and the future of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and tokenized real-world assets as on-chain collateral.

Steve Vanourny, Grayscale’s Head of Index and a specialist in digital asset products, explains why unstaked Ethereum ETFs may be leaving returns on the table. He discusses staking economics, fund performance, liquidity and operational risks, plus Grayscale’s scale advantages. He also previews income strategies and the growing connection between crypto infrastructure and AI compute.

The CFTC proposes new rules for leveraged crypto trading and a fresh exchange category, while spot markets remain largely under state oversight. Treasury withdraws planned reporting requirements for self-hosted wallets and a crypto mixer proposal. Sanctions also target a network accused of funneling more than $2 million to Hamas through cryptocurrency.

OKX and the NYSE’s parent company plan a 24/7 venue for tokenized U.S. stocks, launching with more than 60 companies. The discussion also covers Ether’s strong third-quarter performance amid thin liquidity and a Zcash testnet upgrade designed to accelerate transaction processing.

Former House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry discusses the stalled CLARITY Act and whether a post-midterm lame-duck window could revive crypto market-structure legislation. He also tackles accountability for AI trading agents, custody rules, prediction-market regulation, and the SEC’s shifting leadership. The conversation follows major UK and U.S. crypto-policy developments.

Nik Kunkel, founder of Chronicle, builds blockchain infrastructure for verifiable asset data. He explores a report finding over $12 billion in tokenized assets lacking transparency, the five standards needed for trust, and how cryptographic proof can verify backing in real time. The conversation also examines DeFi’s data bottleneck, institutional tokenization, and the future of regulation.

OpenAI, Google, Meta and other AI giants agree to voluntary third-party safety audits in a White House-backed pact, amid concerns over AI-assisted crypto exploits. Crypto firms’ $8 million lobbying push fails to advance market structure legislation. New CFTC proposals could reshape prediction markets by treating event contracts as swaps and limiting state gambling restrictions.