Weekly Roundup 06/02/23 (Crypto-eurodollars, SBF’s defense, debt ceiling debate) (EP.428)

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.

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Weekly Roundup 06/23/23 (FTX and K5 clawbacks, Prime Trust chaos, ETF frenzy) (EP.433)

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: 

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Chris Rothfuss on Wyoming’s Blockchain Strategy & the WY Stable Token (EP.432)

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: 

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Weekly Roundup 06/16/23 (Prometheum madness, the Hinman emails, HK’s crypto banking play) (EP.431)

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: 

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Weekly Roundup 06/09/23 (SEC v Coinbase and Binance, Market Structure bill, the curious case of Prometheum) (EP.430)

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

  • Token disclosure practices
  • Matt tries pickleball
  • Sequoia is breaking up into parts
  • Will Chinese and American capital markets be severed?
  • What’s in the proposed House market structure bill?
  • Coinbase sues Coinbase and Binance
  • How does the SEC think BUSD is a security?
  • The SEC approves Prometheum as a crypto broker dealer
  • Prometheum’s CCP ties
  • Did Gensler solicit Binance to advice them before he ran the SEC?
  • What’s going on with Prime Trust?

Content mentioned:

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Lili Infante (CAT Labs) on Combating and Preventing Crypto Crime (EP.429)

In this episode, we sat down with Lili Infante, Founder and CEO of CAT Labs. Lili shared:

  • Her experience spearheading the formation of the crypto taskforce at the DOJ
  • How the crypto-enabled crime landscape has evolved and become more sophisticated
  • Investigating cases where crypto is used and the unique challenges in establishing a chain of custody
  • Products CAT Labs is building to more effectively recover digital assets and protect against situations where assets are compromised in the first place

Learn more about Cat Labs in Fortune and on their website.

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Weekly Roundup 05/26/23 (The real Greenidge story, MEV on Bitcoin, Fed data on adoption) (EP.427)

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

  • Validators sign up to stake ETH post merge
  • Will there be MEV on Bitcoin? 
  • What’s the deal with Worldcoin? 
  • Is the wash sale tax loophole stalling the debt ceiling negotiations? 
  • Have ordinals changed Bitcoin culture? 
  • The Fed releases new data on crypto adoption in the U.S. 
  • Paradigm adds AI to their mandate 
  • Whip Tom Emmer and Rep Darren Soto introduce the Securities Clarity Act
  • The NYT reports that prosecutors have a mountain of evidence against SBF
  • Greenidge is vindicated regarding activist claims 
  • Ripple vs the SEC

Content mentioned: 

Sponsor notes: 

  • Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK A Claim in the Ether: Tracking the Soaring Demand for Ethereum Staking
  • In this week’s issue of State of the Network, we examine essential data and metrics highlighting the current state of the Ethereum staking ecosystem. The transition to Proof of Stake and the successful launch of the Shapella upgrade have bolstered confidence in the Ethereum ecosystem, but a variety of regulatory and technical risk factors still pose challenges.

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Weekly Roundup 05/19/23 (Texas PoR bill, the Hinman test revisited, what’s up with Worldcoin?) (EP.426)

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

  • Nic and Matt reminisce on the Bitcoin Miami conference
  • Ripple wins a key victory over the SEC in the Hinman test
  • Texas passes a proof of reserve bill
  • The SEC alleges that Filecoin is a security 
  • What’s the deal with Worldcoin? 
  • How biometrics and blockchain can help with AI 
  • Regulating AI
  • Tether is buying Bitcoin
  • John Ray is trying to claw back more funds
  • Is Michael Lewis an innocent bystander in the FTX situation?

Sponsor notes: 

  • Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK – Market Liquidity Review
  • The current market environment for digital assets is characterized by complexity, owing to the presence of regulatory uncertainty, an onslaught of exogenous macro events, and continued shifts in the preferred exchange venues among traders. In this edition of State of the Network, the Coin Metrics team zooms in on essential trading volume & market data trends to contextualize the current crypto market environment.

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FactSet + CoinMetrics on Institutional Crypto Data (EP.425)

Chris Ellis, Head of Strategic Initiatives at FactSet and Tim Rice, founder of Coin Metrics join the show. In this episode we discuss:

  • The partnership between FactSet and Coin Metrics how the companies are jointly going to market.
  • How FactSet thinks about partnerships and how digital assets has evolved as an area of focus at the company.
  • The features and functionality that FactSet users are asking for as it relates to crypto/digital asset data.
  • The future of asset tokenization and the regulatory landscape in the United States.
  • On-chain data and how Coin Metrics sees this category evolving.

To learn more about the FactSet/Coin Metrics partnership visit:

https://investor.factset.com/news-releases/news-release-details/factset-and-coin-metrics-collaborate-deliver-digital-assets-data

To learn more about Coin Metrics visit www.coinmetrics.io

 

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Steven Walbroehl (Halborn) on Blockchain Cybersecurity (EP.423)

Steven Walbroehl, the co-founder and CTO of Halborn joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

  • Steven’s crypto origin story and how he began tinkering with public blockchains.
  • How Halborn’s work differs across traditional financial services customers versus decentralized organization customers.
  • Basic recommendations for companies entering the public blockchain ecosystem.
  • Halborn’s recent discovery of a zero-day exploit impacting 280 public blockchains.
  • Views on market manipulation and game theory exploits.
  • Halborn’s Seraph digital notary product and how it is keeping DeFi protocols safe.

To learn more about Halborn visit www.halborn.com

 

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Weekly Roundup 05/12/23 (BRC20 mania, are high fees good for Bitcoin, the Wyoming stable token) (EP.424)

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

  • BRC20 PEPE versus ERC20 PEPE
  • Is PEPE an alt right coin?
  • What’s driving up fees on Bitcoin?
  • The relationship between HEX, XEN, and VPMX
  • Bitcoin’s circular firing squad
  • The upside of high fees in Bitcoin
  • Why the White House’s DAME mining tax is counterproductive
  • What is the $18b tax loophole the Biden admin thinks crypto investors are taking advantage of?
  • What’s the deal with blue checks?
  • The difficulty of bootstrapping new social networks
  • Bittrex is filing for bankruptcy in the US
  • The Democratic messaging on the crypto hearing
  • The US chamber of Congress files an amicus brief in the Coinbase v SEC case
  • Texas passes a bill to support flare gas mining
  • The Wyoming Stable Token gets closer to becoming a reality
  • The US Chamber of Commerce amicus brief in the Coinbase v SEC case
  • Can the US government afford these interest rates? 
  • Matt and Nic solve the debt crisis

Content mentioned in this episode:

Sponsor notes:

  • Coin Metrics State of the Network – Bidding on Bytes: A Bitcoin & Ethereum Fee Market Update
  • In this week’s report, the Coin Metrics team examines the underlying causes of the recent surge in transaction fees on Bitcoin and Ethereum and explore the implications of this development for the future.

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Simon Forster and Duncan Trenholme (TP ICAP) on Crypto Market Structure (EP.421)

Simon Forster and Duncan Trenholme of TP ICAP join the show. In this episode we discuss: 

– TP ICAP’s journey in the crypto / blockchain space. 
– The market structure for institutional cryptoasset trading. 
– The future of tokenization and the types of assets that are likely to be represented on chain. 
– The regulatory landscape and how this will shape the pace of building in the industry. 
 
To learn more about TP ICAP and their strategy visit: 

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Weekly Roundup 05/05/23 (Bank apocalypse, Biden’s miner tax, Bhutan’s crypto ambitions) (EP.422)

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

  • Updates on South Shore Bar Pie
  • The CIV boys consider new sponsors
  • Regional banks keep failing
  • Is the turmoil in the bank sector deflationary or inflationary?
  • How does the Fed end the banking crisis?
  • McHenry’s stablecoin bill
  • Biden proposes a 30% tax on Bitcoin miners
  • Why Biden’s DAME tax is counterproductive
  • RFK Jr’s pro-crypto takes
  • Nic throws his hat in the ring for RFK Jr
  • Gensler running for Senate in Maryland/
  • Where in the world are the FTX executives
  • FTX attempts to claw back funds from Genesis
  • FTX debtors stumble on Mysten Labs
  • Is summary judgment in the Ripple SEC case almost due?
  • Nate Chastain is found guilty of insider trading
  • Poloniex settles with OFAC
  • OpenX is reprimanded by Dubai for not registering
  • Coinbase launches in Bermuda
  • Bhutan has been mining Bitcoin since 2020
  • NYMAG spills the beans about Protego
  • CIV is throwing a pickleball event at BTC Miami

Content mentioned in this episode: 

Sponsor notes: 

  • Coin Metrics State of the Network – MakerDAO’s Dai Dilemma: As one of the longest-standing DeFi protocols, Maker has held strong as the maintainer of the decentralized stablecoin Dai. Still, the protocol faces headwinds, and MakerDAO stakeholders must make major decisions about governance and risk management.

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Weekly Roundup 04/28/23 (First Republic in trouble, Hong Kong embraces crypto, did crypto cause the banking crisis?) (EP.420)

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

What’s the deal with south shore bar pie?

  • We review Consensus in Austin
  • Nic’s 2022 Coin Center dinner incident
  • Nic’s gas siphoning incident
  • First Republic appears heading for collapse
  • Why was First Republic given time to save itself but not Signature?
  • Block partners with Yellowcard for cross-border African payments
  • Open Exchange’s purported investors deny investing in the business
  • Coinbase is setting up operations in Bermuda
  • Coinbase is suing the SEC for clarity
  • Hong Kong embraces banking for crypto firms
  • NYDFS Superintendent Harris denies that crypto caused the Signature collapse
  • The Biden admin is backpedaling on whether crypto contributed to the banking crisis
  • House Republicans probe financial regulators for info on de-banking of crypto
  • The FBI has searched the home of FTX’s Ryan Salame
  • We reminisce on FTX’ Crypto Bahamas conference
  • Why is flare gas mining better than the alternative?
  • Nic’s music royalties situation
  • Nic resolves his differences with the Bitcoin 2023 conference

Content mentioned: 

Sponsor notes: 

  • Coin Metrics presents State of the Network Foundations: Blockchain Addresses: This week’s State of the Network kicked off the new Foundations series, which looks to present various technical aspects of blockchain technology in an approachable way. In the first report, Coin Metrics breaks down the concept of an ‘address,’ the fundamental unit of identity in the world of crypto.

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Weekly Roundup 04/21/23 (Harberger taxes, SEC v Bittrex, stablecoin hearing) (EP.419)

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

  • We debate some curious new sponsors
  • The Miami gas shortage
  • Nic’s impressions of NFT NYC
  • We review Eric’s Orb
  • When do Harberger taxes work?
  • CIV is hiring
  • The SEC is suing Bittrex and alleges that Algorand and Dash are unregistered securities
  • Gensler is skewered by Republican lawmakers in the House Financial Services hearing
  • Gensler refuses to answer whether Ethereum is a security
  • We review the House hearing on stablecoins
  • The McHenry Waters stablecoin bill appears to be dead
  • Does FedNow make stablecoins obsolete?
  • Should stablecoin issuance be limited to banks?
  • A stablecoin catch-22
  • Hester Peirce dissents on the proposed SEC exchange rule

Content mentioned:

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Dan Tapiero on Growth Investing in 2023 (EP.418)

Dan Tapiero, the founder of 10T Holdings and 1 Round Table Partners joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

  • The performance of Bitcoin as a macro asset over the past year.
  • The current regulatory environment and how the USA is losing its lead versus other countries in the digital asset ecosystem.
  • The prospect of U.S. companies going public in non-U.S. jurisdictions.
  • How Dan and his team approach growth stage investing.
  • The secondary market and how Dan thinks about building ownership via secondary transactions.
  • The LP landscape and how allocators are thinking about digital asset ecosystem managers.

To learn more about Dan visit the 1RT website and follow Dan on Twitter

 

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Weekly Roundup 02/24/23 (SEC vs Terra, Stables as Securities, the CoinBASE L2) (Ep.400)

Matt and Nic are back for the 400th episode of OTB! In this roundup: 

  • Nic’s Vespa story
  • More on Ordinals
  • Is embedding non-economic data in Bitcoin Satoshi’s vision?
  • How Ordinals accelerates efficiency improvements in Bitcoin
  • More FTX crime family news
  • SBF is hit with four new criminal charges
  • Augustin Cartens claims that crypto has lost the battle against fiat
  • NYAG vs Coinex
  • The SEC alleges that UST is a security – does this implicate other stables?
  • What can Congress do about Choke Point 2.0 or SEC overreach
  • Rep. Emmer introduces an anti-CBDC bill
  • Matt’s baseball card collection
  • Silvergate is the most shorted stock right now
  • The SEC blocks Binance.US‘ purchase of Voyager assets

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Casey Rodarmor on Ordinals, Inscriptions, and Digital Property Rights (EP.399)

Bitcoin developer Casey Rodarmor joins us to talk ordinals, inscriptions, and digital collectibles on Bitcoin. In this episode:

  • What is an ordinal? Why the name?
  • The history of ordinals and inscriptions
  • How does ordinal theory work exactly?
  • How to participate in ordinals and do you need Ord
  • The interaction between inscriptions and Bitcoin fees
  • Should inscriptions be compressed? How should this happen?
  • Why did Casey not use Counterparty?
  • How Bitcoin is the most premium blockspace for NFTs
  • Inscribed content property rights on Bitcoin versus Ethereum
  • Will Bitcoin state just be pruned?
  • Who will store inscription data?
  • How bitcoin data availability might be improving over time
  • How ordinals affect Bitcoin’s security budget
  • Why NFT traders are looking at Bitcoin for the first time
  • Where the inscription 400kb limit comes from
  • ‘Ripping a 4 megger’
  • Is Casey concerned about out of band transactions
  • Do ordinals actually increase the possible efficiency of operating a full node?
  • The primary bottlenecks in running Bitcoin Core and how inscriptions affect that
  • Will ordinals catalyze more pruning in Bitcoin Core?
  • Might ordinals make rollups more likely on Bitcoin?
  • Do inscriptions dilute Bitcoin’s primary purpose as a monetary system?
  • Transporting other NFTs to Bitcoin with teleburns
  • What Casey is most excited about with ordinals

Further reading: 

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Ray Hindi & Jake Lynch (L1 Digital) on Crypto Funds, RWAs and DAOs (EP.398)

Ray Hindi and Jake Lynch of L1 Digital join the show. In this episode we discuss:

  • L1 Digital’s origin story and early path into the crypto ecosystem.
  • The firm’s approach to investing in managers and making direct investment.
  • The evolution of crypto funds including views on structure, strategy, focus.
  • The fundraising landscape – how pensions/larger pools of capital think about crypto investing.
  • Views on the impact of FTX.
  • Thoughts on the current regulatory landscape.
  • Real World Assets (RWAs) and how L1D is exploring this thematic area.
  • DAOs and how this framework is evolving.

To learn more about L1 Digital visit L1.Digital.

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Weekly Roundup 02/17/23 (BUSD Wells notice, Howey vs Reves, the SEC’s custody guidance) (EP.397)

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

  • Is peak FUD in?
  • Is this the ‘custody rule rally’?
  • OTB is keeping the deals of the week
  • House is probing the connections between FTX and the SEC
  • SBF is banned from using a VPN
  • Is SBF a secret sports fan?
  • SBF’s bail cosigners are unmasked
  • SBF VC investors are hit with a class action lawsuit
  • SEC sends Paxos a Wells notice
  • Circle dispells Wells notice rumors
  • Is the SEC going after all stablecoins or just BUSD?
  • What does Reves say about stablecoins being securities?
  • Tether is the beneficiary of the crackdowns in the US
  • Can US regulators really go after Tether?
  • How Paypal deposits are like stablecoins
  • What’s in the SEC’s custody rules?
  • Changes to market structure if the SEC’s custody rules go through
  • Binance suggests that they are ready to settle up with US regulators

Check out this episode!