Martin Carrica, cofounder of Mountain Protocol, joins us to discuss their launch of their USDM, permissionless interest-bearing stablecoin. In this episode: 

• Martin’s story and origins of his desire to create a stablecoin
• Obtaining a registered digital assets company in Bermuda
• Martin’s review of regulatory options worldwide and how they ended up in Bermuda
• How Bermuda has distinguished itself from other financial hubs in the Atlantic
• How reinsurance is like stablecoins
• What it takes to get licensed as a digital asset business in Bermuda
• How Mountain Protocol’s USDM stablecoin works
• How rebasing stablecoins work – and how they integrate in DeFi
• How USDM differs from on-chain T bills and other interest bearing stable products
• How USDM was able to achieve a permissionless structure
• How Mountain avoids US clients
• Why the market for stablecoins is mostly ex-US
• Stablecoins as a backend for emerging market fintechs
• Different exchange rates in Argentina
• How Argentine firms use Argentine ADR stocks to manage their corporate cash
• How street moneychangers on the street in Argentina work
• Milei and the prospects for dollarization in Argentina
• The importance of a stablecoin being issued out of a bankruptcy remote structure

Disclaimer:

• USDM and other Mountain Protocol products and services are not available for U.S. persons as well as other restrictied jurisctions. 
• For more information and disclosures on Mountain Protocol, please refer to the Terms and Conditions.

Check out this episode!

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

• Tether is actually the most interventionist stablecoin when it comes to freezing
• Should we be bullish on PYUSD? 
• Why stablecoin data shows meaningful utility for public blockchains 
• Is the idea of a ‘crypto generalist’ dead? 
• The meaning of the SEC’s loss in court to Grayscale
• Why the SEC was ‘arbitrary and capricious’
• The SEC’s blunder over their approval of Futs ETFs
• The SEC’s possible options 
• Our guesses for how the SEC reacts to their loss
• The SEC delays other pending spot ETFs
• The SEC wins against Impact Theory
•  Why the case against Impact Theory could implicate a lot of other NFT projects 
• Uniswap wins a class action case 
• What does the SEC’s case against Binance being under seal mean? 

Content mentioned: 

• BH Digital, The Relentless Rise of Stablecoins
• WSJ, The SEC Strikes Out Again on Crypto With Grayscale

Sponsor notes:

• Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK — Coin Convergence: Piecing Together Common Ownership Patterns Across Major Stablecoins
• In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 222, we highlight trends in user behavior & common ownership across major stablecoins on Ethereum

Check out this episode!

We sit down with Lee Bratcher, President and Founder of the Texas Blockchain Council. Lee is one of the primary architects of Texas’ Proof of Reserve bill, now in effect. In this episode: 

• The origin of the TBC
• Why Lee is moving their Summit to Ft Worth
• Notable legislative successes by the TBC in Texas
• The importance of getting the UCC to recognize digital assets
• The importance of Bitcoin mining
• The origins of HB1666
• Why PoR legislation benefited from the industry spontaneously adopting the standard
• How the TX PoR bill emerged as a compromise
• How Lee expects this to become model legislation in other states
• Comparing PoR to established financial statement audits
• The importance of frequency in Proof of Reserve
• The lack of accounting firms that are willing to supervise PoR
• How would PoR dealt with issues at Gox, Quadriga, FTX, or Prime Trust?
• How are companies operating in Texas reacting to the bill?
• Future legistlative directions
• The role of stablecoins in upholding the role of the dollar
• The lost authority of the states in chartering banks

Further reading on PoR: 

• Nic in Forbes, The crypto industry is embracing self regulation. It’s time Washington gets on board
• Texas HB1666
• TBC, Texas ‘Proof of Reserves’ Bill

Check out this episode!

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

• The Bitcoin halving is coming up
• We review the Republican Presidential debate
• We review the state of New Jersey
• Coinbase takes a stake in Circle
• Hidden tensions between Coinbase and Circle
• BH Digital releases a stablecoin report
• USDC is challenged due to their inability to pay interest
• The DoJ charges the founders of Tornado Cash with AML and sanctions violations
• Did the Tornado Cash token hurt the founders’ case?
• The problem with chat apps creating their own tokens
• FTX is working with Galaxy to liquidate some crypto
• SBF isn’t happy with his prison meals
• Prime Trust was up to some shenanigans

Content mentioned: 

• BH Digital, The Relentless Rise of Stablecoins

Sponsor notes: 

• Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK — From East to West: the Global Pulse of Stablecoin Transactions
• In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 221, we provide a data-driven overview of halvings and their implications in anticipation for Bitcoin’s upcoming 4th halving

Check out this episode!

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

• Geographic distribution for USDC v USDT
• Blockchains have become dollarized
• What’s the deal with Helium’s phone plan?
• SBF heads to jail
• We inaugurate a new member of the bad boys
• Dubai regulators fines OPNX
• What’s up with Argentina’s Libertarian presidential candidate?
• We need a new theme song for the SEC
• The Prometheum saga rumbles on
• What’s going on with Better Markets?
• Coinbase can now offer Bitcoin and ETH futures
• FTX and Genesis reach a settlement

Content mentioned in this episode: 

• Brooke Masters in the FT, When Tackling Crypto, the SEC Should Be Wary of Overreach
• Kristin Smith in Coindesk, The FIT Act Is the Most Comprehensive Crypto Regulation Ever Voted on by Congress

Sponsor notes: 

• Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK — From East to West: the Global Pulse of Stablecoin Transactions
• In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 220, we leverage seasonality analysis to reveal geographical trends in Stablecoin usage and volumes

Check out this episode!

Darshan Vaidya, the founder of Credora joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

• The crypto credit markets, what went wrong in the last cycle and how the market functions today
• Thoughts on Real-World-Assets on chain
• Comparisons of risk management approaches in tradfi versus crypto markets
• How Credora is working with firms to protect customers from idiosyncratic risk
• The capital raising environment

To learn more about Credora visit www.credora.io

Check out this episode!

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

• Matt’s op-ed in Coindesk
• SAB121 is still bad
• SEC scope creep
• We investigate PayPal’s stablecoin 
• Why would PayPal want to issue a stablecoin? 
• What does PYUSD mean for Operation Choke Point for 2.0? 
• Why PYUSD is being launched on Ethereum
• Crypto as a flashpoint for state versus federal banking oversight
• The Fed’s new crypto oversight program
• Banks still can’t issue stablecoins in the US
• Ryan Salame reemerges
• What will become of Ryan Salame’s restaurant empire? 
• SBF will indeed be prosecuted on campaign finance violations
• SBF’s trial will not be televised
• LK-99 did NOT replicate

Content mentioned in this episode: 

• Matt in Coindesk, Congress, Not the SEC, Should Set U.S. Digital Asset Policy
• Zach Wong, A comprehensive explanation of SAB 121 and how it prevents safe crypto custody

Check out this episode!

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

• Nic’s early Do Kwon experience
• Reflecting back on Terra/Luna 
• The SEC charges Richard Heart and HEX 
• Is the SEC’s case against Richard Heart flimsy? 
• Does the SEC deserve praise for coming after HEX? 
• Kyle Davies thinks he’s immune from prosecution because he gave up his US citizenship
• Who’s behind the BALD rugpull? 
• Implications of the Curve hack 
• We look at Tether’s asset portfolio 
• Kenya suspends Worldcoin operations in the country
• Is there an account firm choke point? 
• Ethereum future ETFs are filed
• Judge Rakoff dissents from the Torres doctrine 

Content mentioned: 

• CIV white paper on Cryptodollars

Sponsor notes: 

• STATE OF THE NETWORK: Decoding the Digital Dollar — Unraveling the Risks of Stablecoins
• In our new special insights report, CM lays out the key fragilities of stablecoins and how on-chain and market data can help monitor these risks for the future of digital dollars to materialize

Check out this episode!

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

• Matt’s plover rivalry
• Matt’s struggles against animals
• Taylor Swift actually did sign that partnership with FTX
• Are Eras tour tickets securities?
• Lightning in emerging markets
• Could we build the SR-71 today?
• How Ripple was 90% right about XRP being the bridge currency for remittances
• ETF applications hiccup
• More SAB121 issues
• Matt’s cigar snafu
• Why ETF seeding will be a source of buy pressure

Sponsor notes: 

• Coin Metrics’ State of the Network: Q2 2023 Wrap-Up
• In this issue of State of the Network, we provide a data-driven overview of the events that shaped digital asset ecosystem in Q2, 2023

Check out this episode!

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

• Nic’s issues editing the show
• Why Washington is attacking PoR 
• Why Big 4 audit firms aren’t working on PoR 
• The Financial Innovation and Technology in the 21st Century bill (FIT) passes out of committee in the House 
• Six Democrats defect and support the bill
• The Stablecoin bill reaches an impasse because the White House 
• Why stablecoins being limited to the banks is a paradox 
• The SEC settles with Quantstamp
• SBF gets a gag order because he released Caroline Ellison’s diaries 
• SBF did actually pay for his legal defense with stolen FTX customer money 
• The UK gets embroiled in a banking scandal due to Nigel Farage 
• We digest the room temperature ambient pressure superconductor news 
• Nic’s pickleball injury

Content mentioned: 

• Nic in Fortune, The crypto industry is embracing self regulation. It’s time Washington gets on board
   

• Kathleen Breitman in Fortune, Ben McKenzie needs a hug: The ‘OC’ star’s crypto book is an ill-informed flop
   

Sponsor notes: 

• Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK – From Orange Groves to Orange Gold 
• In this special edition of State of the Network, we are excited to share a new report that translates the legal language of securities framework for digital assets into objective, measurable criteria from “on-chain” data

Check out this episode!

Check out this episode!

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

• Was XRP discovered or created?
• The saga of Otter 841
• Matt’s wildlife trouble
• More SAB121 chaos
• Rep Ritchie Torres sends Gensler a tough letter
• What is the Torres Doctrine?
• Terraform labs has a new CEO
• Our theories for why Nasdaq pulled the plug on their crypto custody business
• The IRS is auditing the crypto rich in PR
• We bring back our triple threat segment

Content mentioned

• Matt’s thread on SAB121
• Bloomberg’s profile on Customers Bank
• We enjoyed the Fidelity Digital Assets Q2 Signals Report.
• BitMEX Research had a thoughtful article about Gary Gensler’s CFTC days
• Kathleen Breitman in Fortune, Ben McKenzie needs a Hug

Sponsor notes:

• Coin Metrics’ State of the Network: Currents Shift After SEC v. Ripple Summary Judgment
• In this issue of State of the Network, we provide a data-driven overview of digital asset markets after a milestone ruling in SEC v. Ripple case

Check out this episode!

Matt and Nic are back with a huge week in the markets. In this episode: 

• Ripple gets a key win in their summary judgment versus the SEC
• Implications for XRP holders
• Implications for exchanges and other tokens
• Prometheum’s denials about their ties to the CCP don’t hold water How Prometheum is a Potemkin platform
• Alex Machinsky has been arrested
• Arkham’s tokensale and doxing snafu
• The Lummis Gillebrand bill gets a facelift and incorporates PoR
• The prospects for the Lummis Gillebrand bill
• Updates on the piping plovers
• Why Threads isn’t going to make it

Sponsor notes: 

• Coin Metrics’ State of the Network: Spot On – From Trusts to Spot ETFs

• In this issue of State of the Network, we dive deeper into Grayscale’s trusts and discuss the evolution of the digital assets investment landscape with the anticipated arrival of spot ETF’s

•  

Check out this episode!

Amir Haleem, the founder of Nova Labs (formerly named Helium, Inc) joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

• The origin of Helium and the Helium network
• Amir’s views on L1 blockchains and the path that the company took in evaluating building its own chain versus building on an existing L1.
• Decentralized Physical Infrastructure (DEPIN) and Decentralized Wireless (DEWI) as emerging categories demonstrating real-world applicability of public blockchains.
• The various tokens in the Helium ecosystem and how they interact.
• MVNOs and how Helium Mobile is positioned.
• The regulatory landscape in the United States and how Helium has navigated these waters.

To learn more about Helium visit: helium.com/

Check out this episode!

Jose Lemus, CEO and cofounder at IBEX Mercado, joins the show to talk Lightning and its growing usage in emerging markets. In this episode:

• The origins of IBEX
• How IBEX clients are using LN in emerging markets
• How Lightning as a settlement layer for cross-border interbank payments
• Lightning as a bridge currency
• Why stablecoins make sense on Lightning
• Why EM firms have an affinity for Lightning
• IBEX’s partnership with Grupo Salinas and how they are introducing Lightning to Mexican households
• Lightning as an emerging remittance tool
• Why Mexico is a good fight for Lightning adoption
• Is Jose satisfied with Lightning’s maturity as a protocol
• How Bitcoin’s market cap is the ultimate bandwidth for Lightning
• Why Lightning reimagines the established batched payments model
• Jose’s answer to the biggest critique of Lightning at present

Further reading: 

• Learn more about IBEX
• IBEX’s partnership with Salinas Group

Check out this episode!

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

• The problem with SEC SAB 121
• Pickleball is driving up American healthcare costs
• Microstrategy buys some more Bitcoin
• Fidelity refiles their Wise Origin Bitcoin ETF
• Why the Prime Trust insolvency is so bad
• Will there be Prime Trust clawbacks?
• The SEC is slacking with their document retention policies
• How stablecoins are mirroring the development of eurodollars
• How Prometheum’s listing strategy might pose a risk to certain cryptoassets
• The UK law commission determines that digital assets are a new kind of “thing”

Content mentioned in this episode:

• SEC Staff Bulletin 121
• Odd Lots, Josh Younger on the Surprising Origins of Eurodollars and Petrodollars
• Laura Shin Podcast, Paradigm debates Prometheum
• The UK Law Commission: Final Report on Digital Assets

Sponsor notes: 

• Coin Metrics’ State of the Network: Bitcoin & the Rest 
• In this issue of State of the Network, we assess Bitcoin’s resurgence and gauge market sentiment amidst a rapidly evolving digital asset landscape marked by regulatory ambiguity and external macro events.

Check out this episode!

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

• The debt ceiling debate is resolved
• What happened to Paxos’ / Paypal’s stablecoin?
• Offshore dollar stablecoins are growing while onshore stablecoins are shrinking
• Stablecoin policy in the US is backfiring
• USD stables issued out of Hong Kong
• Tether reaches a new all time high
• The bad boys are back
• SBF’s defense will reportedly claim he got bad advice from Fenwick
• Farenheit wins the bid for the Celcius assets
• Why Celcius’ mining operation was a big red flag
• What does CZ mean by 4?

Sponsor notes: 

• Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK – Zooming Out: A datonomy update
• In this issue of Coin Metrics’ State of the Network, we leverage datonomy—a classification system for digital assets to zoom out and gauge the ecosystem and its underlying trends from a broader lens. Despite a slew of challenges over years, we explore how the market has shown resilience through an analysis of market returns, volatility and volumes across sectors.

Check out this episode!

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

• Bitcoin hits 30k
• Wyoming’s stable token developments
• The story behind FTX’s mammoth $500m outflow to K5 global
• Why was SBF spending hundreds of millions cozying up to talent agents?
• Do Kwon will spend 4 months in jail in Montenegro
• The Bitgo Prime Trust acquisition falls apart
• Deutche Bank applies for a crypto license in Germany
• EDX officially launches
• Blackrock files for their ETF and others follow
• Our theory for why Blackrock is filing now
• Is the SEC back-channeling to Blackrock?
• Was surveillance sharing really a blocker for other ETF applications?
• Does the notion of spot market surveillance even make sense for a global commodity?
• What’s the deal with the Bitcoin bathhouse in Brooklyn?

Sponsor notes: 

• Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK – The Signal & the Nonce, Re-imagined
• In this issue of State of the Network, we showcase a novel analysis that sheds light on Bitcoins energy consumption, efficiency and e-waste

Check out this episode!

Wyoming state senator and Minority Floor Leader in the Wyoming Senate, Chris Rothfuss joins the show. We cover Wyoming’s crypto efforts to date to create a stable and secure digital asset ecosystem. In this episode:

• Senator’s Rothfuss’ pre-politics career and how he came to grapple with the crypto space
• Why Wyoming has an opportunity in digital asset policy
• The origins of Wyoming’s blockchain select committee
• How the NY Bitlicense inspired Wyoming’s efforts
• Why crypto policy isn’t politically polarized in Wyoming
• Wyoming’s foundational move to recognize digital assets under the uniform commercial code
• The origin of the SPDI charter
• Is there a future for the SPDI given that the Fed is denying master accounts?
• How Wyoming’s SPDI emerged as a consequence of Chokepoint 1.0
• Is the Fed blocking state charters unconstitutional?
• Wyoming’s Stable Token Act and the prospects for that product
• How the WY Stable Token could be a huge windfall for Wyoming – and where the revenues would be directed
• How Wyoming is thinking about the permissionless qualities of the stable token 

Further reading: 

• More about Chris Rothfuss
• More on the Blockchain Select Committee
• The Wyoming Stable Token Act 

Check out this episode!

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

• Coin Metrics derives new estimates of Bitcoin’s electricity consumption
• Nic reviews his Lasik experience 
• Matt takes Prometheum to task
• Is Prometheum a patsy for the SEC?
• Why is vaporware being elevated by the SEC and major exchanges being stymied?
• We digest the Hinman emails and what they mean for ETH and XRP
• What do the Hinman emails mean for the SEC’s
• The SEC attempts to make DeFi protocols register as exchanges
• Blackrock is about to file a renewed application for a Bitcoin ETF
• Reps Davidson and Emmer’s SEC Stabilization Act
• Hong Kong is pressuring banks to service crypto firms
• Coindesk gets their hands on the NYAG’s Tether reports
• Abra is in trouble

Sponsor notes: 

• Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK – The Signal & the Nonce, Re-imagined
• In this issue of State of the Network, we showcase a novel analysis that sheds light on Bitcoins energy consumption, efficiency and e-waste

Check out this episode!