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

• Quantum risk again
• Are banks filled with spooks?
• The trouble with Taproot addresses
• Microstrategy's dollar reserve
• Kalshi is going on chain
• Prediction market predicaments
• Are insiders monetizing Google search information on Polymarket?
• Are prediction markets insider trading machines by definition?
• DAT activist fights
• Vanguard adds Bitcoin ETFs
• House Financial Services Committee releases their final report on OCP2.0
• What's going on with leverage in crypto?
• Are AI agents going to start stealing crypto?
• Is Eliezer Yudkowski to be trusted?
• AI is going to usher in the golden age of fraud

Stepan, founder of Squads, sits down with Wyatt on today's episode. In this discussion:

• Squads' evolution from a DeFi-facing product to servicing a broader range of companies' asset treasury needs.
• What are the pain points of local small-medium businesses?
• What is driving the gradual global movement from local currencies into USD stablecoins?
• The appetite for safe yield across user types.
• Other traditional digital banking players and how they are evolving with technology.
• How the stablecoin trend impacts governments.
• What happens to local banks?

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

• Old fashioned crime is back
• Quantum risk to Bitcoin
• More outcry in Washington over the Democratic edits to market structure
• CZ gets a presidential pardon 
• Federal Reserve announces a payments charter 

Matt and Nic are back after a week off. In this episode:

• Southern District of New York grants Coinbase's appeal in their case against the SEC
• The Governor of the Czech national bank is considering Bitcoin in their reserves
• Do Kwon is extradited to the US
• E-trade is launching crypto trading
• The FDIC is forced by a court to further un-redact documents Coinbase asked for in a FOIA request
• We cover the FDIC's Pause Letters

Content mentioned in this episode: 

• Fidelity Digital Assets, 2025 Look Ahead
• Bitwise, Benchmark Survey of Financial Advisor Attitudes Toward Crypto Assets
• Nick Anthony, Fair Access to Banking

Dana Syracuse and Josh Boehm of Paul Hastings LLP join the show. In this episode we discuss:

• The common legal and regulatory considerations that are encountered by companies in the digital asset industry.
• Common pitfalls that entrepreneurs in this ecosystem should avoid.
• The state of the stablecoin industry and the regulatory considerations in this category.
• Potential changes ahead in 2025 on how digital assets are regulated in the United States.

To learn more about Paul Hastings and their fintech and digital asset practices visit www.paulhastings.com

Matt and Nic are back for an end of year episode. In this episode: 

• Tether invests $775m in Rumble 
• Who are the Rumble shareholders in Trump's admin? 
• Microstrategy seeks approval for more Bitcoin buying
• We review the quantum risk to Bitcoin
• Matt and Nic's predictions for 2025 

Sponsor notes: 

• Coin Metrics, State of the Network's 2024 Year in Review
• In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 291, we revisit major stories that shaped the digital asset industry in 2024 with a data-driven lens

Janusz and Red from Bitcoin Layers join the show. In this episode: 

• Innovation on Bitcoin, previously and now
• Technology vs consumer adoption
• The future of BTC use cases

More about Bitcoin Layers

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

• Nic comes out against the SBR on Bloomberg
• More Prometheum nonsense
• MicroStrategy acquired an additional 15,350 BTC for roughly $1.5 billion, bringing the company's total holdings to 439,000 BTC. Microstrategy was also added to the Nasdaq 100  this week, which will lead to the stock's inclusion in several large ETFs including Invesco's QQQ.
• Anchorage Digital has received New York BitLicense approval, enabling them to offer digital asset custody and trading services to more customers in the state such as RIAs and other institutional asset managers.
• The US Senate scrapped a vote to renominate SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw in response to immense backlash from the crypto community, led by Coinbase-backed non-profit Stand With Crypto, for Commissioner Crenshaw's treatment of the digital asset industry.
• A Texas state representative, Giovanni Capriglione, introduced a bill for the state to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve.
• Riot Platforms, the publicly traded Bitcoin miner, acquired 667 BTC this week for $67.4 million to add to their balance sheet, bringing their total holdings to 17,429 BTC.
• The NFT collection CyberKongz announced they had received a Wells Notice from the SEC.
• A California judge sided with Coinbase in a suit brought by BiT Global over the exchange's delisting of wBTC. Coinbase had recently moved to remove the asset, a tokenized version of BTC tradeable on Ethereum-based networks, following BiT Global, a custodian closely affiliated with Tron founder Justin Sun, assuming custody services for wBTC.

Sponsor notes: 

• Coin Metrics, State of the Network's Q4 2024 Mining Data Special
• A quarterly update on Bitcoin mining in Q4 2024

Wyatt sits down with Reforge VC's Alex Lin. In this episode:

• Alex's interdisciplinary road into crypto
• Innovation in blockchain infrastructure
• Crypto-powered consumer applications

Learn more about Reforge, a blockchain and frontier tech investment firm.

Rodrigo Seira, Special Counsel at Cooley and Ron Hammond, Director of Government Relations at The Blockchain Association join the show. In this episode we discuss:

• The 2024 election and the impact of the crypto vote.
• Executive branch actions to keep an eye on in 2025.
• Potential SEC related actions that would impact the digital asset market.
• The future of Staff Accounting Bulletin 121.
• Where digital asset legislation fits into the 2025 legislative priorities.
• Stablecoin legislation.
• Market structure legislation.

To learn more about Cooley visit:

www.cooley.com

To learn more about The Blockchain Association visit:

www.theblockchainassociation.org

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

• French Hill wins the nomination to chair the House Financial Services Committee
• Riot Platforms, a bitcoin mining company, announced the intention to raise $500 million via a convertible note offering. The proceeds will be used to acquire additional bitcoins, and for general corporate purposes.
• MicroStrategy acquired another 21,550 bitcoin for roughly $2.1 billion.
• Circle and Binance announced a partnership with the goal of expanding the reach of Circle's USDC stablecoin across Binance's trading, saving, and payments platforms. Additionally, Binance plans to adopt USDC as part of the company's corporate treasury.

• Coincheck, the second largest crypto exchange in Japan, went public via SPAC, joining Coinbase as the only other crypto exchange listed on Nasdaq.
• The total stablecoin market cap eclipsed $200 billion this week, a record high following a 13% increase in supply in the past month.
• Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin gained approval from New York's Department of Financial Services, a key step in the company's plan to launch the tokenized dollar by year-end.
• Google announced a new quantum computing chip, though the specs are still many orders of magnitude away from threatening the encryption levels of Bitcoin and other crypto protocols.

Sponsor notes: 

• Coin Metrics State of the Network: Where in the World is Crypto Trading?
• Exploring the Kimchi premium, regional exchange activity, and crypto seasonality

Matthew Le Merle and Mitch Mechigian of Blockchain Coinvestors return to the show. In this episode we run through the Blockchain Coinvestors 2025 Predictions for the digital asset industry.

To learn more about Blockchain Coinvestors visit their website.

To view the full Blockchain Coinvestors 2025 Predictions webinar visit this link.

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

• Bitcoin finally hits $100k
• Our reflections on 100k BTC
• Declaring victory
• Machinsky pleads guilty
• Rep French Hill pledges to investigate Operation Choke Point
• Trump nominates Paul Atkins for SEC Chair
• Hawk Tuah memecoin fiasco

Sponsor notes:

• Coin Metrics State of the Network: Understanding Staking Yields and Economics on Ethereum & Solana
• Contextualizing staking yields, inflation, and network economics on Ethereum & Solana

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

• We dissect the market structure behind the flash crash last week
• What happened with Binance and Ethena?
• Palmer Luckey's de novo bank Erebor gets an OCC charter
• Paxos' fat finger
• The US government has seized $15b in funds tied to pig butchering scams

Lorien Gabel, the founder and CEO of Figment joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

• The latest developments at Figment.
• Post-election impact on the general crypto markets and the staking category.
• How Figment is approaching the institutional staking market opportunity.
• Staking in the context of investment products.
• Evolving ecosystems like Eigen Layer, Babylon and Bitcoin Layers 2s.
• The stablecoin market.

To learn more about Figment visit www.figment.io

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

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.

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.  

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

Wyatt sits down with Pbj, the founder of Perpl, a prominent perpetuals exchange on the imminently launching Monad blockchain. In this episode:

• How large are perp exchanges in the crypto market?
• Why perps are attractive to crypto users and traders
• Hyperliquid's success
• What assets would people trade on Perpl vs Hyperliquid?
• What makes Monad unique
• Perps for other asset classes?
• Reasons to be excited

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

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

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

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

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.  

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

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

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

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

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

Dave Balter, the co-founder and CEO of Flipside Crypto joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

• How Flipside has shifted its product to fully harness the power of LLMs for analyzing public blockchain networks.
• Building a product organization in the age of A.I.
• Perspectives on the evolving landscape of layer one and layer two blockchains.
• How the role of a data analyst will evolve in the coming years.
• Where Flipside is focusing its efforts within the blockchain data/analytics segment.

To learn more about Flipside visit flipsidecrypto.xyz and follow the company on X.

Dan Burke, CEO of Nirvana Labs, joins the show. In the episode we discuss:

• Dan's background and journey into the crypto space
• The role of nodes in a blockchain network and the complexities of running one independently
• Challenges with existing node infrastructure providers as companies in the space scale
• Nirvana's product offerings including managed nodes and web3 cloud and the benefits of leveraging bare metal servers
• Dan's long term view on how the node operation landscape evolves

Mark Eckerle, Partner at Withum joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

• Mark's journey into the digital asset/blockchain industry.
• Withum's history in digital assets and how the firm came to prioritize working with clients in this category.
• The rise of stablecoins and the impact that these assets are having on corporate accounting and operations.
• How startups should evaluate tax, audit and advisory services in the digital assets context.
• Where Withum is seeing the most engagement in the digital assets industry.

To learn more about Withum visit www.withum.com/crypto

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

• Has cryptodollarization occured?
• Tigran Gambaryan is still detained in Nigeria
• Durov of Telegram was detained in France
• Should major tech companies leave the EU?
• The SEC settles with Abra
• Sony is launching an ETH L2
• The mythical Harris reset
• VCs for Harris support Harris
• Trump's weird World Liberty Financial DeFi thing is looking ominous

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 Stablecoin Dashboard; State of Stablecoins: Sector Expansion & A Changing Interest Rate Environment

Scott Fletcher, founder of Intersection Growth Partners joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

• Scott's professional background and the events that led him to launching Intersection Growth Partners.
• The Intersection Growth Partners business model and how they also became investors in a number of their clients' businesses.
• The current state of the Executive Search market for digital asset/blockchain companies.
• How the best founders run structured recruiting and interview processes.
• What job candidates should be thinking about when evaluating digital asset / blockchain roles.
• The categories of roles that are the most in demand in today's environment.
• The impact of legislation on the future of the industry.

To learn more about Intersection Growth Partners, visit their website.

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

• SALT Wyoming review
• Nic's next fight 
• How Bitcoin miners have a procyclical effect on the Bitcoin price
• Hunting Hill is launching a credit fund seeded by Kraken
• Wyoming is launching a stable token in Q1 of 2025
• The SEC rejects CBOE's filings for SOL ETFs
• Is Gensler actually being slated to run Treasury under Harris?
• Tether is launching a UAE Dirham stablecoin
• Our upcoming Emerging Markets Stablecoin Report
• Our Bozo of the Week
• Babylon is launching
• Ron Conway defects from Fairshake PAC
• Chuck Schumer is evolving on crypto
• Would a CBDC actually be private for users?

Sponsor notes: 

• Unwrapping Wrapped Assets & wBTC: In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 273, we understand wrapped bitcoin's (wBTC) custody transition, BitGo's business model and usage of WBTC in DeFi
• 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

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

• Fairshake is getting active in Senate Races
• What's going on with the Harris pivot?
• Chuck Schumer promises crypto legislation by end of year
• What's happening with WBTC?
• The SEC is subpoenaing VC funds over Uniswap
• Don Jr is launching a crypto project
• Will CBDCs destroy the stablecoin sector?
• Will stablecoins have to KYC all holders?

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
• Futures Falter, Funding Flips: In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 272, we explore the robustness of decentralized systems and the stability of synthetic financial products within the crypto ecosystem.

Michael Bentley, Co-Founder & CEO of Euler joins the show to talk about crypto lending and the launch of Euler v2. In this episode: 

• The evolution of lending/borrowing in crypto/defi
• Euler's history and the upcoming launch of Euler v2
• How crypto allows for market discovery of financial primitives
• Building programmable finance around blue chip and long tail assets alike

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

• What happened with the rate-based turmoil in Japan?
• VP Harris announces Tim Walz as her VP pick
• Ripple settles with the SEC for $125m
• Is Jump quitting crypto? (again)
• Are Plustoken ETH on the move?
• Does the Harris reset with crypto have legs?
• Does Trump's promise to end Choke Point have legs?
• Adeyemo for treasury secretary?
• The Fed issues an enforcement action against Customers Bank, one of the most active pro-crypto banks
• Our Olympics recap
• Nic's airsoft misadventures
• Austin Campbell's thread on Customer's bank

Sponsor notes:

• An Update on Crypto Markets & Coinbase Q2 2024 Earnings: In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 271, we provide an update on crypto markets amid the unfolding global market sell-off and break down Coinbase's Q2 2024 earnings.
• 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

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

• We react to Trump's speech on Bitcoin in Nashville
• Is Bitcoin a proxy for Trump's electoral chances?
• Will there be a "crypto reset" from the Harris campaign?
• Lummis' Bitcoin Act
• The US government moves some Bitcoin
• Should the US government hold on to the coins from the Bitfinex hack?
• Is the new Bitcoin law civil asset forfeiture?
• Tether's big Q2
• Where are the Tether Truthers?
• Howard Lutnick's claim about SBF and Tether
• Bitclout founder Nader Al Naji is charged by the SEC and SDNY
• California DMV partners up with the Avalanche network

Content mentioned:

• Adams, Ibert, and Liao, What Drives Crypto Asset Prices?

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

• The Story of Ethereum Staking So Far: In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 270, we uncover Ethereum's staking ecosystem, from "The Merge" to "Shapella", the rise of LSTs and beyond.

Luke Hoersten, the founder and CEO of Bitnomial joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

• Luke's background and the path that led him to start Bitnomial.
• An overview of Bitnomial and the products that the firm has launched to date.
• Perspectives on the market participants that are engaging in the digital asset derivatives market today.
• The future of digital asset market structure in the United States.
• The regulatory landscape and what is potentially ahead for the industry.
• How Bitnomial's licensing strategy is unlocking new product opportunities.

To learn more about Bitnomial visit their website.

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

• Will stablecoins drive deposit flight from the banks?
• Is FDIC insurance obsolete?
• Can CBDCs provide real privacy?
• ICE invests in Polymarket
• North Dakota is looking to issue their own "rough rider" stablecoin, joining Wyoming
• Luxembourg buys bitcoin out of their sovereign wealth fund
• Is the quantum bubble creating risks for Bitcoin?
• The "Salomon brothers" OP_RETURN dusting attack on old Bitcoins
• Reg NMS for blockchains?
• Katie Porter has a new drama
• Congress is still working on the market structure bill
• Shutdown update

Content mentioned in this episode:

• Nic on Substack, Yes, we really do want to trust crypto interests with the future of money
• Galaxy Research, The Great Bitcoin Dusting: A 'Salomon Brothers' Client Tries to Claim Dormant Wallets

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

• Nic recaps his Karate fight
• The Bitcoin Nashville conference
• Kamala's crypto posture
• A new pension fund is buying Bitcoin
• Did we get a soft landing?

Content mentioned:

• BVNK, The decade of digital dollars

Sponsor notes:

• The Launch of Ether ETFs
• In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 269, we look into ETH ETF fees, Grayscale funds and demand & supply dynamics heading into Ether ETF Launch

Representative French Hill (R-AR) join the show. In this episode we discuss:

• Representative Hill's perspective on the blockchain/digital asset ecosystem and why he initially became interested in this technology.
• The status of SAB 121 repeal.
• FIT 21 and the future of market structure clarity in the United States.
• The prospects of stablecoin legislation and the issues that are being discussed in Congress.
• Tigran Gambaryan's unlawful detainment in Nigeria.

To learn more about Representative Hill's efforts please visit his website.

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

• Nate Silver joins Polymarket
• JD Vance is Trump's VP nominee
• Ethereum ETFs get the final go ahead
• Should crypto users be single issue voters?
• JD Vance's crypto platform
• Does a Trump Vance admin imply a devaluation of the dollar?
• JD Vance and seed oils
• State Street is exploring their own stablecoin
• Possible SAB121 carveouts
• Germany is done selling their Bitcoin
• The CSW story is finally over
• Jamie Dimon for Treasury secretary?
• Trump is due to speak at Bitcoin Nashville
• Update on how voting works in Congress
• Was Trabs a whistleblower?

Sponsor notes:

• Charting the Course to Mt. Gox Repayments
• In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 268, we trace Mt. Gox's journey, analyzing BTC wallet flows and liquidity in the wake of Mt. Gox repayments.