Matt and Nic are back for another Thanksgiving episode of OTB. In this episode:

• Fire departments love thanksgiving
• Who we’re thankful for
• Eggnog is underrated
• Justin Sun puts $30m into World Liberty Financial
• Marc Andreessen appears on Joe Rogan and covers OCP 2.0
• Why were non crypto tech peopled shocked by Choke Point revelations?
• Trump is looking to shift power from the SEC to the CFTC
• An appeals court rules that OFAC exceeded its authority by sanctioning Tornado Cash
• Cantor owns a 5% ownership stake in Tether that they acquired at a $12b valuation
• How prudent is the establishment of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
• Can the government pay down its debt with Bitcoin?
• Careful what you wish for on the strategic reserve

Sponsor notes:

• Coin Metrics: MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Mega Strategy: Analyzing MicroStrategy’s bitcoin holdings, acquisition strategy, and its role as a Bitcoin treasury company

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Matt and Nic return for another week in the markets. In this episode:

• How is the DOGE going to work?
• Bitcoin is heading to 100k
• Gary Gensler announces his resignation as SEC chair
• We look back at Gensler’s awful term
• 18 state AGs file a lawsuit against the SEC
• The SEC’s dealer rule is tossed by a judge
• Trump is mulling the creation of a crypto czar
• Microstrategy is trading at a massive premium
• The latest on OCP 2.0
• FDIC Gruenberg chair testifies in the House and potentially perjures himself
• FTX cofounder Gary Wang given no time in prison
• Coinbase is delisting wBTC
• Trump nominates Lutnick for Commerce Secretary
• Bitcoin Options launch on IBIT
• Shaq settles a lawsuit for his NFT touting
• Solana ETFs are filed
• Goldman is spinning out their digital assets platform
• We unveil our first nocoiner draft picks
• We reflect on Bitcoin’s progress after 10 years in the industry

Sponsor notes:

• Coin Metrics, A Data-Driven Update on Stablecoins: Analyzing growth in stablecoin supply, trading volumes, on-chain usage, and yield generation.

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Aaron McDonald, the founder of Futureverse joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

• Aaron’s professional career and the path that led him to founding Futureverse.
• How he has built the company through a mix of organic growth and acquisitions.
• How blockchains and digital currency interact with Metaverse technologies.
• The future of virtual worlds and gaming technologies.
• The L1 and L2 blockchain ecosystem and how Futureverse has built their platform.

To learn more about Futureverse visit their website.  

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Matt and Nic return for news and deals. In this episode: 

• Nic recaps his trip to Congress
• Vibes in Congress post election
• The likelihood for stablecoin and market structure bills
• What are the prospects for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
• What’s happening in Devcon?
• 18 state AGs are suing Gensler and the SEC
• Gensler is hinting at retirement
• FTX sues Binance and CZ
• Sam Trabucco forfeits $70m in assets to the FTX estate
• Polymarket’s Shayne Coplan raided by the FBI
• Doodles partnership with McDonalds
• The verdict on Fairshake’s efforts in the election 
• OCP developments and how Congress will tackle it
• We review Trump’s cabinet appointments so far 

Sponsor notes:

• Coin Metrics, The Election Bull Run From the Perspective of Options Markets: Analyzing options markets to contextualize the election bull-run that brought BTC prices to $85,000.

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David Low, CEO and cofounder of Hata joins the show. In this episode, 

In this episode, Wyatt and David discuss:

• Crypto adoption in Southeast Asia
• Regulatory attitudes
• Operating a centralized exchange
• Bitcoin interest vs other cryptoassets in the region

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Nic and Matt are back with more news and deals. In this episode:

• Trump resoundingly wins the election
• A demographic realignment
• Polymarket versus the polls
• Podcasts and twitter versus the legacy media
• How did the pro-crypto candidates do?
• Trump promises to fire Gensler on day 1
• How did the Fairshake PAC do?
• Review of key Senate races
• Will Trump execute on his crypto promises?
• Moreno defeats Brown in Ohio
• Will OCP2.0 finally end?
• What’s the deal with Trump’s Bitcoin reserve?
• How would the SEC change token issuance rules?
• How will Trump’s election affect DeFi and cashflowing tokens?
• Why Tether is a big winner from the election

Sponsor notes:

• Coin Metrics, Crypto Market & Polymarket Dynamics Heading Into Elections: In Coin Metrics’ State of the Network issue 284, we analyze Bitcoin’s (BTC) historical performance around prior elections and examine Polymarket data driven by 2024 elections.

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Hadley Stern, the Chief Commercial Officer of Marinade joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

• Hadley’s career in the blockchain industry.
• The early days of researching and building blockchain products at Fidelity.  
• The landscape for banks in the United States as it relates to digital asset product development.
• The evolving regulatory landscape and the prospects of pro-innovation legislation.
• The staking landscape and how Marinade is going to market with its products and services.

To learn more about Marinade visit www.marinade.finance

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Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode:

• We check in on the presidential odds
• State races to watch
• As part of their quarterly earnings release, Microstrategy announced a plan to raise $42 billion in the next 3 years in order to buy more Bitcoin. The raise will be evenly split between equity offerings and sales of fixed-income securities.
• Coinbase pledged a future donation of $25 million to Fairshake to be used for the 2026 midterm elections.
• Nishad Singh, the former director of engineering for FTX, avoided prison time following his guilty plea and cooperation in the investigation into the exchange’s collapse.
• Blackrock’s IBIT Bitcoin ETF saw $872 million of net inflows on Wednesday, which marked a new record for the fund since the launch in January.
• The US Treasury released a quarterly fiscal report this week that had a section dedicated to digital assets, noting stablecoins growth has caused “a modest increase in demand for short-dated treasuries.”
• The Bank for International Settlements announced they are no longer working on Project mBridge, a cross-border payment network for CBDCs backed by China, Hong Kong, UAE, Saudia Arabia, among others.

Content mentioned:

• Treasury Presentation to TBAC
• Fortune, Wash Trading on Polymarket
• Blockchain Association, Regulation by Enforcement

Sponsor notes:

• Polymarket and the Power of Collective Intelligence: In Coin Metrics’ State of the Network issue 283, we dive into how Polymarket’s prediction markets operate on Polygon and analyze data behind the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election
• Withum’s Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology Team specializes in crypto-assets, offering accounting, tax and advisory solutions to fortify trust in a dynamic industry. Contact them today to get started. – withum.com/crypto

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Pat Larsen, the founder and CEO of Zenledger joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

• The latest developments in the tax and compliance categories within digital assets.
• How asset managers and large financial institutions are increasingly adopting digital assets.
• The compliance obligations of financial services firms as it relates to digital asset trading.
• The venture capital landscape for digital asset startups.
• The use cases that are currently driving adoption in the blockchain industry.

To learn more about Zenledger, visit www.zenledger.io

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Matt and Nic are back for more news and deals. In this episode:

• The Polymarket whale is identified
• BTCUSD predictions for the election
• Election models versus prediction markets
• Stripe acquires Bridge for $1.1b
• Did the Bridge deal make sense for Stripe?
• Stablecoins as Fintech 3.0
• Nigeria frees Tigran Gambaryan
• Kraken is launching the Ink blockchain
• Buenos Aires is launching a blockchain-based identity solution
• Opera launches the minipay wallet
• A new paper from the Fed gives us new insight into the 2023 bank run
• Coinbase FOIAs the regulators behind OCP 2.0

Content mentioned in this episode:

• NY Fed, Tracing Bank Runs in Real Time

Sponsor notes:

• Introducing Exchange Flow Metrics: In Coin Metrics’ State of the Network issue 282, we introduce Coin Metrics’ new exchange flow metrics for BTC & ETH
• Withum’s Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology Team specializes in crypto-assets, offering accounting, tax and advisory solutions to fortify trust in a dynamic industry. Contact them today to get started. – withum.com/crypto

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Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode:

• Nic’s Dutch misadventures
• Federal versus State regulation of Stablecoins
• TD Bank filed $3b for money laundering
• Are stake rewards property or income?
• Italy hikes capital gains taxes on Bitcoin
• Is Polymarket manipulated?
• Has the first AI bot millionaire been minted?
• The World Liberty Financial tokensale flopped

Sponsor notes: 

• Withum’s Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology Team specializes in crypto-assets, offering accounting, tax and advisory solutions to fortify trust in a dynamic industry. Contact them today to get started. – withum.com/crypto

• An Overview of the Flow Blockchain: In Coin Metrics’ State of the Network issue 281, we provide an overview of the Flow Blockchain

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Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode:

• Are shipping regulations making the oceans hotter?
• Is Satoshi Peter Todd?
• Is the identity of Satoshi the best mystery of all time?
• The SEC comes after Cumberland
• Crypto.com sues the SEC
• World Liberty Financial is doing a tokensale
• Uniswap announces Unichain
• Is Polymarket manipulated?
• Ryan Salame appears on Tucker

Sponsor notes:

• Coin Metrics, State of the Network’s Q3 2024 Mining Data Special: In Coin Metrics’ State of the Network issue 280, we provide our quarterly update on Bitcoin mining.
• Withum’s Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology Team specializes in crypto-assets, offering accounting, tax and advisory solutions to fortify trust in a dynamic industry. Contact them today to get started. – withum.com/crypto

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Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode:

• Monad Madness
• CZ is released from jail
• Roman Storm’s motion to dismiss is denied
• Mango settles with the SEC
• Swift is piloting digital asset transactions
• Bitwise submits and S-1 for a Ripple ETF
• Visa announces their Tokenized Assets Platform
• Franklin moves to Aptos
• The SEC’s Gurbir Grewal steps down

Sponsor notes

• Coin Metrics, State of the Network’s Q3 2024 Wrap-Up: A data-driven overview of events shaping crypto markets in Q3–2024
• Withum’s Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology Team specializes in crypto-assets, offering accounting, tax and advisory solutions to fortify trust in a dynamic industry. Contact them today to get started. – withum.com/crypto

Check out this episode!

Stephen Novenstern, the founder of Kintsu joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

• Stephen’s path to the cryptocurrency industry and the vision for Kintsu, a liquid staking project in the Monad ecosystem.
• The history of DeFi and the LST category.
• Why Monad and views on the net new primitives that are enabled by this new layer one blockchain.
• The future of layer one blockchains.
• Central limit orderbooks in decentralized finance.

To learn more about Kintsu visit their website and follow the project on X.  

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Matt and Nic are back with another week of news and deals. In this episode:

• Gensler denies knowledge of Operation Choke Point 2.0
• We recap the Silvergate collapse
• Why did the MSM ignore the new Silvergate revelations?
• Trump’s fair banking access rule
• Looking back at the Signature closure
• Gensler appears in front of the House
• Caroline Ellison sentenced to 2 years in prison
• Options approved for Bitcoin ETFs
• SEC versus TUSD
• What’s going on with the port strike?
• Nic’s panda moon moon situation

Sponsor notes:

• Coin Metrics, Real World Assets (RWAs) & Tokenization Report. Exploring the RWA landscape, sectors and networks gaining adoption, regulatory implications and market opportunities.
• Withum’s Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology Team specializes in crypto-assets, offering accounting, tax and advisory solutions to fortify trust in a dynamic industry. Contact them today to get started. – withum.com/crypto

Content mentioned:

• Ross Stevens, Bitcoin’s Protection under the First Amendment

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Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode:

• Nic’s Singapore Zyn problem
• Nic’s Token 2049 keynote
• The Iggy Azalea Eric Wall debate
• Trump make an appearance at Pubkey in NYC
• World Liberty Financial continues to be insane
• SEC versus Flyfish club
• Are airdrops done for?
• Is JPM really the “largest user of blockchain”?
• Bhutan has a ton of Bitcoin
• Listening to podcasts with AI
• Interest rates fell
• The exploding pagers and what it means for crypto

Sponsor notes:

• Coin Metrics, The Crypto Universe Through the Lens of datonomy™
• Withum’s Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology Team specializes in crypto-assets, offering accounting, tax and advisory solutions to fortify trust in a dynamic industry. Contact them today to get started. – withum.com/crypto

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Alex Leishman, founder and CEO of River, joins us to talk about River’s Proof of Reserve initiative. In this episode: 

• River business update
• Building their own custodian
• Why Alex decided to do PoR now?
• River’s PoR mechanics
• Proof of Reserve versus traditional audit
• What kind of assurances PoR gives users
• How does River handle privacy for PoR?
• Responding to various PoR critiques
• Boxing
• What’s on the horizon for River

Content mentioned:

• Alex’s previous appearance on OTB
• River PoR on Github
• River PoR: river.com/reserves

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Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: 

• We review the Trump-Harris debate
• Matt’s new wildlife problems
• Nic’s birthday party
• Trump doubles down on World Liberty Financial
• The Castle Island stablecoins whitepaper is out!
• Our reactions to the emerging markets stablecoin report
• TZero gets approval to trade tokenized securities
• Coinbase’s cbBTC
• North Carolina bans CBDCs
• Something is happening to Friend Tech
• Circle is moving their HQ to NYC

Content mentioned:

• Castle Island, Visa, and BH Digital, Stablecoins: The Emerging Market Story

Sponsor notes:

• Withum’s Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology Team specializes in crypto-assets, offering accounting, tax and advisory solutions to fortify trust in a dynamic industry. Contact them today to get started. – withum.com/crypto
• Coin Metrics state of the network: A Primer on Blockchain Network Health: Exploring key metrics to gauge network health and centralization in PoW and PoS blockchains

Check out this episode!

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode:

• SEC fiscal year ending in September
• How to get accurate transfer volume figures for stablecoins
• How much volume do stablecoins really settle?
• Do SEC rules stop registered venture firms from voting in governance or staking?
• CFTC settles with Uniswap
• Robinhood settles with the California DoJ
• Choke Point 2.0 is still happening
• What’s the latest with World Liberty Financial?
• John Deaton wins his primary in MA
• What’s the deal with Polymarket versus the polls?

Sponsor notes:

• Withum’s Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology Team specializes in crypto-assets, offering accounting, tax and advisory solutions to fortify trust in a dynamic industry. Contact them today to get started. – withum.com/crypto
• Coin Metrics: An Update on Layer–1 Networks

Check out this episode!