David Kinitsky and Marco Santori (Kraken) on obtaining the first Wyoming SPDI (EP.126)
Today, Kraken Financial, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kraken, became the first financial institution to receive the Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) charter from the State of Wyoming. To celebrate this major milestone, David Kinitsky, CEO of Kraken Financial, and Marco Santori, Kraken CLO, joined us on the show. In this episode: Why Kraken decided to […]
Weekly News Roundup 09/18/20 (Why Wyoming’s SPDI is so exciting, a shift in tone from the SEC, Microstrategy keeps stacking) (EP.127)
Matt and Nic return to cover news of the week. In this episode: Our review of NFL week 1 Whether or not securities law topics come up at parties Why we’re so excited about Kraken getting the Wyoming SPDI Why the SPDI being full reserve is so important – and why it eliminates certain regulators […]
Kyle Davies (Three Arrows Capital) on finding value in DeFi (EP.120)
Kyle Davies, co-founder of Three Arrows Capital, joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Kyle’s perspectives on layer one blockchain protocols and how smart contract platforms are evolving The decentralized finance (DeFi) landscape, and where Kyle sees the biggest opportunities The blurring of the lines between centralized and decentralized finance platforms Learn more about […]
Tom Lombardi (3iQ) on the Crypto-Asset-Management Opportunity (EP.128)
Tom Lombardi, Managing Director at 3iQ Corp, joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Tom’s path from traditional finance to the cryptoasset industry The enterprise blockchain era: lessons learned and the second order effects of the hype cycle The state of institutional exchange infrastructure The crypto-asset-management segment and how 3iQ is positioned to capture […]
Jeff Dorman (Arca) on asserting tokenholder rights (EP.129)
Jeff Dorman is the CIO at Arca, which is currently engaged in a fascinating standoff with Gnosis, a token project in which they have a position. Arca is asserting that Gnosis has delivered little value to tokenholders and has proposed that they perform a tender offer for GNO tokens with the assets held on their […]
Weekly News Roundup 09/25/20 (Bank custody for stablecoins, two new congressional bills, “stablecoin” vs “cryptodollar”) (EP.130)
Matt and Nic return for deals and the news of the week. In this episode: The OCC clarifies that banks can custody dollars for stablecoin issuers Maker’s flippening in collateral types, and what that means for the system Tether falls below 80% of stablecoin market share Two congressional bills propose to federally regulate crypto exchanges […]
Weekly Roundup 10/02/20 feat. Michael Moro (BitMEX goes down, Genesis launches custody, the SEC scores wins) (EP.133)
Nic and Matt cover a tumultuous week in the crypto markets. In this episode: We investigate the Dollar Milkshake Theory BitPanda raises $52m Genesis announces the official launch of their custody product Our breakdown of the BitMEX situation Where the BitMEX situation leaves the remaining offshore crypto exchanges The prospects for users who currently have […]
Chase Lochmiller (Crusoe Energy Systems) on turning stranded energy into Bitcoin (EP.131)
Chase Lochmiller, cofounder and CEO of Crusoe Energy Systems joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Crusoe’s approach to addressing the issue of natural gas flaring by monetizing stranded energy The process by which Crusoe turns this stranded energy into Bitcoin How Chase sees the compute use cases that can benefit from capturing stranded […]
Trent and Brock Elmore on Building Yam Finance (EP.132)
Trent and Brock Elmore, two of the five creators of Yam Finance, a decentralized finance protocol, join the show. In this episode we discuss: The inspiration for starting Yam Finance The story behind the launch, the initial bug and the subsequent re-launch Contextualizing DeFi – what is a fad and what is enduring The future […]
Mitchell Nicholson (DACS Conduit) on leaving central banking for Bitcoin (EP.135)
Mitchell Nicholson is the founder of DACS Conduit and formerly an economist at the Bank of Canada. Mitchell’s views are his own and not those of the Bank of Canada. In this episode: His path to joining the Bank of Canada Why he chose to start his career in central banking Mitchell’s work on the […]