Matt and Nic cover news and deals of the week. In this episode: 

• The CIV hat snafu
• Was synthetic USD on Bitmex the first stablecoin? 
• Remembering Mastercoin and seigniorage shares stablecoins 
• Does the Fed have a shadow third mandate? 
• We break down the Luna situation and why it was destined to fail 
• Why the subsidized yields on Anchor were the biggest mistake 
• Likely fallout from the Luna collapse 
• The Terra blockchain is halted 
• Do we actually need algorithmic stablecoins? 
• SBF acquires a stake in Robinhood 
• Is the Twitter sale to Elon under threat? 

Sponsor notes:

• Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter

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Jon Kol and Asa Oines, cofounders of Abacus join the show to talk about the state of the art in cross chain interoperability. In this episode: 

• Career trajectories and why Jon and Asa decided to start Abacus 
• The three eras of interoperability 
• Asset interoperability vs app based interoperability 
• Why asset interoperability might just be a transitional phase 
• Why asset interoperability is more about the creation of derivatives than true portability 
• Application parallelization or duplication versus native cross chain applications 
• Why duplicating applications across chain is inefficient 
• The advantages of building natively cross chain for developers
• How blockchains can be made to communicate with each other
• Key assumptions you need to rely on to trust that Abacus will work 
• How Abacus is distinguished from other interoperability protocols 
• Why speed matters in cross chain 
• How Abacus differs from Layer0 and Axelar 
• Which blockchains Abacus is linking together 

Learn more about Abacus 

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

• Matt’s takeaways from the Medici conference 
• The rapid growth of ZKPs
• We review Brink Nation posts on GM
• We look back at the history of the FUD dice 
• Are tungsten dice possible? 
• Big thunderstorm in Miami 
• Is the crypto industry sitting out the recession? 
• We consider the merits of virtual real estate 
• Does proximity matter in the metaverse? 
• Metaverse land rights and NIMBYism 
• The Bitcoin Mining Council letter to the EPA and what motivated it
• Ohio’s primary yields an entirely pro-crypto field 
• CBOE acquires ErisX
• Goldman takes out a Bitcoin-collateralized USD loan
• Jane Street dives into DeFi 
• The SEC doubles the size of its cyber unit 
• CA issues an EO on the crypto industry
• The Dept. of Labor criticizes Fidelity for their Bitcoin 401k product
• The IMF criticizes the Central African Republic’s adoption of Bitcoin 
• The divergence between public and private valuations in crypto and equities, and why they can’t always be arbitraged away

Content mentioned: 

• Prominent Bitcoiners’ letter to the EPA to respond to Rep. Huffman’s letter 

Sponsor notes:

• Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter

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TeraWulf cofounder and CEO Paul Prager joins us to talk about his experience building a vertically-integrated, zero carbon Bitcoin miner. In this installment of the mining miniseries we cover: 

• Paul’s career trajectory from coal trading to energy infrastructure to Bitcoin
• Beowulf’s deal with Marathon and their entry into Bitcoin
• How TeraWulf distinguishes itself from other Bitcoin miners
• Why TeraWulf has an explicit ESG focus
• Zero carbon and how that differs from ‘carbon neutral’
• The importance of being vertically integrated
• How Paul thinks about the halvings and how that affects their business
• TeraWulf’s facility in upstate NY
• Paul’s views on NY State’s approach to Bitcoin mining
• How the Bitcoin mining industry struggles with proactive messaging
• TeraWulf’s 300 MW nuclear-powered facility in Pennsylvania
• Why Bitcoin is synergistic with nuclear power
• The prospects for nuclear bitcoin mining
• TeraWulf’s zero-carbon approach and how that manages risk
• TeraWulf’s plans for growing their hashrate under management
• The characteristics that TeraWulf looks for in new sites
• Will Bitcoin miners develop better transparency around emissions data?
• Why mining is so useful for decarbonization through curtailment programs
• The convergence between the energy sector and Bitcoin mining
• Why vertical integration and zero carbon will prevail in Bitcoin mining long term
• Trends in consolidation Paul expects
• Why vertical integration allows you to manage your risk better than a hosting model
• What public market analysts should be doing when they evaluate miners

Follow Paul on Twitter and learn more about TeraWulf. 

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Adam Jackson, co-founder and CEO of Braintrust, a web3 talent network joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

• Marketplace business models and how web3 models will improve on web2 dynamics
• How Adam came to the insight to launch Braintrust and how the platform works
• The regulatory environment in the United States and how Adam sees web3 evolving over time
• Other marketplace categories where Adam sees opportunities for community owned networks
• Adam’s view on the venture landscape and how that has evolved over time.

To learn more about Braintrust visit usebraintrust.com and follow Adam on Twitter @AdamJacksonSF  

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Matt and Nic are back with news and deals of the week, joined by Dave Gray, Head of Workplace Retirement Offerings and Platforms at Fidelity Investments, who joins us to talk about Fidelity’s new Bitcoin 401(k) product. In this episode: 

• Are airdrops taxable?
• CheckTemplateVerify drama in Bitcoin
• Central African Republic apparently adopts Bitcoin as legal tender
• NY State Assembly passes a bill banning Bitcoin mining with fossil fuels
• Fidelity adds Bitcoin to 401ks
• Will deep deplatforming on the internet influence Twitter?
• Can you actually open source the Twitter algorithm?
• Is the Twitter purchase an indirect way for Musk to liquidate his Tesla position?

Learn more about Fidelity’s 401(k) plans here

Sponsor notes:

• Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter

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Longtime Bitcoiner Bruce Fenton re-joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

• Bruce’s career and the events that led him to discovering Bitcoin
• Bitcoin’s social layer and how Bruce has managed to stay close to the project through so many chapters of the journey
• His view on the tokenization of securities and why he is so optimistic on this technology
• Why Bruce decided to run for Senate and what issues he is fighting for
• Views on big tech, the future of the U.S. dollar and more
• His outlook for Bitcoin friendly regulation

See Bruce’s prior episode here.

To learn more about Bruce visit brucefenton.com and visit Bruce on Twitter @BruceFenton

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Pat Larsen, founder and CEO of crypto tax prep company ZenLedger, joins the show for a timely discussion on how investors should be thinking about taxes this tax season. In this episode: 

• The outlook for crypto taxes in 2022
• Tax accounting for specific transactions
• Clarifications and improvements to tax regulation

ZenLedger provides a platform that makes it easy for users to aggregate transactions across centralized and decentralized venues and measure their crypto tax impact. The team published a helpful guide on nft related taxes.

Check out this episode!

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

• The OTB music debate rages on
• Nic survives Covid
• Should we bring back dueling?
• Ancient altcoin dramas
• Coinbase launches NFTs
• Elon has financing to buy Twitter
• Product suggestions for Twitter
• The US sanctions Russian miners BitRiver
• Is Russia remonetizing gold?
• Australia gets a spot BTC ETF
• North Korean hackers are active in crypto

Sponsor notes: 

• Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter

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

• Mora et al rears its head again
• Chris Larsen and Greenpeace team up to try and eliminate PoW from Bitcoin 
• Who is the protagonist in the Ripple vs SEC lawsuit? 
• Rep. Stephen Lynch introduces the ECASH Act 
• Axie Infinity suffers a $625m hack  
• Is there any debate remaining about the utility of Bitcoin? 
• Circle selects BNY Mellon to custody their own assets 
• Grayscale mulls a lawsuit against the SEC over their continued ETF disapproval
• Can the government create a truly private CBDC?
• Rep. Tom Emmer and Sen. Ted Cruz look to ban CBDC creation 
• Is the SEC obliquely regulating AMM LPs out of existence? 
• When will Bitcoin be sovereign scale? 
• Seed stage bets on aspiring members of congress

Content mentioned:

• Martin Wolf in FT, A New World of Currency Disorder Looms
• Bloomberg, Ukraine’s Crypto Banker Describes how the War is Changing His Life
• Bloomberg, Crypto Miners in Texas Face Approval to Energize Hurdle

Sponsor notes: 

• Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Learn more at fireblocks.com
• Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter

Check out this episode!

Matt and Nic return for a post-conference episode. This week we cover: 

• The FDIC asks banks to go slow on crypto integrations
• Blackrock is studying cryptoassets and invests in USDC
• Blockchain.com partners with the Dallas Cowboys
• Virginia will allow state chartered banks to custody cryptocurrency
• Balaji’s decentralization inflation index winner is announced
• Why this current CPI print is misleading
• Blockstream Block and Tesla are mining Bitcoin with solar
• Celcius shuts down their retail-facing lending product in the US
• Is Peter Thiel wrong on Ethereum valuation?
• Will Elon be able to buy Twitter?
• Takeaways from Bitcoin 2022

Sponsor notes:

• Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Learn more at fireblocks.com
• Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter

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Socket Supply Co founder and CEO Paolo Fragomeni joins the show to discuss what web3 is and isn’t – and what it should be. In this episode: 

• Paolo’s start writing modem software and BBS in the pre-modern web days 
• What delineated web 1.0 from web 2.0
• The single request that really made web 2.0 possible 
• How today’s web is limited by incumbents 
• When did web 3.0 really emerge? What distinguishes it from 2.0? 
• Best definitions of web3? 
• State of the web in terms of centralization and prospects from here 
• How the internet has flip flopped between centralization and decentralization 
• What will push users towards web3? 
• Moxie’s comments on web3 and whether they have any merit 
• What Paolo is building at Socket Supply 
• Why p2p is so fundamental 
• How to get started with Socket Supply 

Read about Socket Supply in Coindesk and on their website. 

Intro/outro music: Ocarina #986 (used with permission) 

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Andrew Myers and Brock Petersen of Satoshi Energy join the show to cover how Bitcoin mining monetizes renewables. In this episode we cover: 

• Andrew and Brock’s origin story
• How Satoshi Energy develops sites and infrastructure for miners
• Is Satoshi Energy explicitly renewable focused?
• How mining with intermittent renewables can be economical
• How Bitcoin mining improves the economics of renewables
• The merits of the behind the meter approach
• How using Bitcoin as an offtake improves the economics of renewable generation assets
• The role of demand response as renewables account for more generation
• Does Bitcoin actually incentivize renewable generation?
• Is the future of Bitcoin mining vertically integrated?
• What does the interconnection queue tell us about the future of renewables?
• Book recommendations

Sponsor notes:

• Compass Mining is the world’s first and largest online marketplace for bitcoin mining hardware, hosting, and ASIC reselling. Start mining your own bitcoin by visiting compassmining.io

Check out this episode!

Ben Gagnon, the Chief Mining Officer at Bitfarms, joins the show. In this episode we cover:

• Bitfarms’ journey to the public markets in the US
• Ben’s early efforts in flared gas mining
• How immersion cooling could provide operational efficiencies 
• Bitfarms’ site selection methodology 
• How Bitfarms secures power originally built for now-departed industries 
• How Quebec overbuilt electrical infrastructure 
• The benefit of miners locating themselves in Quebec and scooping up stranded power 
• How Bitfarms took over a shuttered hockey stick factory 
• Why Bitfarms is so keen on stranded hydro 
• How Bitfarms curtails their power usage – and why curtailment makes sense 
• Finding excess power in Argentina and Paraguay 
• Does Bitfarms have a low carbon intensity mandate? 
• Why being pro-renewable is a good business decision 
• Why Bitfarms isn’t focusing on Texas right now 
• How Bitcoin is the most efficient way to monetize stranded energy assets
• Bitfarms’ criteria for compelling energy resources 
• The progress of the Bitcoin Mining Council and the bettering of transparency in the mining space 
• Where Ben sees room for improvement in the mining sector 
• The lack of standardization in reporting and valuation around mining firms 
• The flaws in Digiconomist’s estimates of Bitcoin’s energy consumption 
• Issues with academic claims that Bitcoin miners produce significant quantities of e-waste
• Why Bitcoin ASICs are more recyclable and have long lifespans 
• The academia and press to policy pipeline 

Content mentioned: 

• Ben in Bitcoin Magazine: We Need to Talk About the Not Science Behind Digiconomist
• Ben in Bitcoin Magazine: We Need to Talk About the Climate Problem in Bitcoin Mining

Sponsor notes:

• Compass Mining is the world’s first and largest online marketplace for bitcoin mining hardware, hosting, and ASIC reselling. Start mining your own bitcoin by visiting compassmining.io

Check out this episode!

Michael Sonnenshein and Craig Salm of Grayscale Investments join the show. In this episode we discuss:

• Grayscale’s filing to convert GBTC to an ETF and their advocacy campaign.
• The comment process (details at: www.grayscale.com/comment)
• Reactions to the Biden Executive Order.
• Grayscale’s product lineup and the future of active vs. passive crypto products.
• The metaverse, NFTs and other areas of interest for crypto asset managers.

To learn more about Grayscale visit www.grayscale.com

Check out this episode!

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

• Brink Nation is officially moving to GM.xyz
• Did blockchains 2.0 make fundamental scaling improvements?
• Is ESG over?
• Nic surrenders his eyeball sovereignty to Clear
• A secret trick to get through the Miami airport
• Bloomberg analysts think a spot ETF could be approved summer 2023… pending SEC developments
• Would the SEC have to gain control over crypto exchanges to approve an ETF?
• Florida will accept corporate taxes in BTC
• Terra is buying up to $10b in Bitcoin
• Will seigniorage shares stablecoins ever work?
• The USD is the unit of account for 99% of all stablecoins
• Are the Democrats fracturing along crypto lines?
• Russia mentions accepting Bitcoin for energy payments
• The NYT repeats the misleading per-transaction energy cost analysis

Sponsor notes:

• Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Learn more at fireblocks.com
• Subscribe to the Coin Metrics State of the Network newsletter

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Jon Birnbaum, COO of Domain Money, a new investment platform, joins the show. In this episode, we discuss:

• History and launch of Domain Money
• Jon’s path into fintech and then the digital asset industry
• Dimension of access to investing for the retail market
• Domain’s product offering across crypto and equities
• Developing new metrics to help consumers think through investing

Learn about Domain Money here.

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We host Matt Cutler, CEO and co-founder of Blocknative, in this episode to discuss the intricacies of block building and his thoughts on the future of MEV. We cover:

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Celestia Labs COO, Nick White, joins us on the show to kick off our modular blockchain mini-series. Celestia is the first modular blockchain network, which decouples consensus and data availability from execution and settlement. Celestia implements a novel design to unlock key properties such as scalability, interoperability, and sovereignty while preserving decentralization.

We cover:  

• Why scaling and decentralization have historically been at odds
• How Celestia creates a modular system to reimagine traditional monolithic blockchain architecture
• Leveraging data availability sampling to unlock scalability
• How Celestia intends to be the engine that powers sovereign communities

Learn more about Celestia here. 

Check out this episode!