Anton Katz and Ethan Feldman on Trading Infrastructure in Cryptoassets (EP.228)
Anton Katz and Ethan Feldman, the cofounders of Talos join the show. In this episode we discuss: Anton and Ethan’s path from roles at AQR and Broadway Technologies and into the world of cryptoassets The problem they are seeking to solve for market participants How the exchange and OTC liquidity landscape is evolving How custodians and exchanges […]
Weekly Roundup 07/16/21 (New mining data, Shapeshift decentralizes, are clay tablets proto blockchains?) (EP.230)
Nic and Matt are back for a sideways week. In this episode: BlockFi’s credit card comes out How mesopotamian clay tablets are blockchains Cambridge releases new data regarding bitcoin mining distribution Shapeshift decentralizes itself Can corporations successfully decentralize? Elizabeth Warren writes a letter to the SEC Larry Fink sees little demand for crypto Sponsor notes: […]
Weekly Roundup 07/09/21 (Circle is going public, SEC targets exchanges, the Bullish SPAC, good takes on stables from the Fed) (EP.229)
Nic and Matt are back. In this episode: Circle’s SPAC filing Circle’s evolution over the year The business model behind stablecoins Circle’s risk factor slides The SEC is targeting centralized exchanges for trading unregistered securities Senator Pat Toomey buys BTC and ETH Matt tries out the Blockfi credit card GBTC unlocks wrapping up this summer […]
Weekly Roundup 07/22/21 (The B Word, SpaceX owns Bitcoin, Stablecoins and Wildcats) (EP.231)
Nic and Matt are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: We debate the merits of the Merritt parkway We reflect on the B Word conference SpaceX owns Bitcoin We cover the Elonfolio Gensler covers tokens giving synthetic exposure to underlying securities Are stablecoins appropriately regulated? Can stablecoins learn from the […]
Michel Rauchs (Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance) on quantifying Bitcoin’s energy use (EP.232)
We welcome Michel Rauchs, research affiliate and longtime contributor to the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance which just released an update its Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index featuring new mining location data. Covered in this episode: Why Michel returned to the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance The evolution of the CCAF’s miner benchmarking efforts The original […]
Weekly Roundup 07/30/21 (Shadowy super coders, Goldman’s DeFi ETF, is TVL overrated?) (EP.233)
Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Warren’s shadowy super coders Was Digicash the first stablecoin? Is TVL overrated? Castle Island adds a new partner An anti crypto rider inserted into the Congress infrastructure bill Does taxation pay for government spending? Goldman applies for a ‘DeFi ETF’ Exxon […]
George Selgin (Cato Institute) on Stablecoins, Bitcoin, and Free Banking (EP.234)
George Selgin, director of the Center of Monetary Alternatives at the Cato Institute joins the show to discuss Bitcoin, Free Banking, and stablecoins. In this episode: Why George refers to Bitcoin as a synthetic commodity money Why George was excited by the possibility for synthetic commodity money What conditions would have to hold for Bitcoin […]
Weekly Roundup 08/06/21 (Infra Bill Chaos, Gensler’s Speech, BSV 51% attack) (EP.235)
Nic and Matt return for another week. In this episode: Gensler makes a landmark speech Gensler asks for a futures-based ETF Will the crypto taxation in the infrastructure bill be sufficient to pay for the new spending? What explains the 11th hour language in the infra bill? When does the Bitcoin lobby become a meaningful […]
Weekly Roundup 08/13/21 (More Infra Bill Chaos, an emerging Bitcoin Bloc, the crypto lobby shows up) (EP.236)
Nic and Matt return for more deals and news of the week. In this episode: Where we stand on the Senate infrastructure bill Is Bitcoin a bipartisan issue? What the prospects for the House to change the language in the infrastructure bill? The crypto lobby shows its teeth Why is Bitcoin rallying in the presence […]
Weekly Roundup 08/27/21 (Celeb NFT buys, Visa’s cryptopunk, Choke Point 2.0?) (EP.238)
Matt and Nic return for another week. In this episode: Nic sells an NFT to Von Miller OnlyFans and financial inclusion Visa buys a cryptopunk Do stablecoins have a future outside of the banking sector? The history of Choke Point and what it means today Our merch supply chain issues Tungsten talk Content mentioned Iain […]