Frontrun with John Cook

EP21 aired on 6/7/24 📹Watch the podcast on youtube: Get full access to Frontrun at frontrun.substack.com/subscribe

EP20 aired 02/20/24 How does the #bitcoin ETF and upcoming halving impact #btc price? 📹Watch the podcast on youtube: Get full access to Frontrun at frontrun.substack.com/subscribe

🚀 In this podcast we review: * The fairytail of US dollar hyperinflation * Recessionary indicators * The underperformance of bull & bear technical indicators * SEC crypto misdirection * $PEPE meme coin mania * Layer 2 Alpha on arbitrum * Fair token launch * Housing inventory and demand 📚 Supporting content: Markets: * The de-dollarization fairy tail * LPL Weekly performance and recessionary indi...

🚀 In this podcast we review: * Coinbase launching its BASE platform on Optimism * Optimism tokenomics * GMX legos * Binance closes in Australia * Code is not law with GEL and dydx 📚 Supporting content: * Coinbase launches BASE #Ethereum layer2 * * Coinbase changing BASE sequencer revenue * Optimism profitability * GMX legos * Binance closes Australia derivatives trading platform * Code is not la...

🕵️ Crypto assets have been on a rip in 2023. Bitcoin is up 37% YTD, Ethereum is up 35%, and Solana is up 80%. Alt-coins like OP, LDO, MANA, and more have all experienced price appreciation greater than 100% in the 1st 30 days of 2023. Why? Is this time different? Are the technical indicators, charts, and averages right? 🚀 In this podcast we review: * Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Lido, and Optimism'...

🕵️ We review claims of Grayscale misconduct, conflicts of interest within its investment committee, failure to act in good faith to its stockholders, and claims of malfeasance against the backdrop of the 2023 DCG meltdown. 🚀 In this podcast we review: * A speed run of DCG's Genesis meltdown with Gemini and its relationship to Grayscale * Two separate legal proceedings against Grayscale's #bitcoin...

🤔 We explore the relationship between Gemini Exchange, its "Earn" program, Genesis Lending, and the role of Grayscale's Bitcoin & Ethereum trusts in what appears to be a perpetual leveraged merry-go-round. Note to listeners: In the intro, I stated “it’s the 3rd week of January 2022”, which was a mistake. It’s 2023! oh, how time flies . 🚀 In this podcast we review: * The complex relationship betw...

🔻 Top 3 topics of the week for 1/7/23 MakerDAO partners with BlockTower and Centrifuge to facilitate real-world asset investments | Optimism’s OP token upcoming unlocks and valuation | The GMI token didn’t make it - RIP! 🚀 In this podcast we review: * Real-world asset investments with MakerDAO’s leap into commercial real estate * Optimism OP token valuation & upcoming unlock * A post-mortem on t...

🔻 Is Ethereum’s largest liquid staking derivative Lido in trouble? Lido recently released its financial statements for the calendar year 2022, and it’s not positive. The DAO lost $100 million, its treasury dropped 70%, Lido investors and early employees have completed their vesting schedule, and the entire LDO token was pre-mined and pre-sold! 🚀 In this podcast we: * Make the bear case for Lido...

🔻 Are crypto VC funds really the smartest people in the room? How is it possible that the biggest and smartest brains in the crypto vc ecosystem posted the worst returns in 2022? All actively managed funds performed worse than bitcoin and Ethereum, already down ~60% ytd! 🚀 In this podcast we: * Outline how actively managed funds in the traditional equities space are unable to outperform their be...

🔻 Was SBF the smartest guy in the room? Was he playing 4d chess while everyone played checkers? Or was he just the fall guy on the backdrop of systemic fraud that permeates throughout the centralized crypto exchange ecosystem? SBF went on an “interview roadshow” over the month of December 2022, but the one interview that mattered: his testimony in front of the US Financial Services Committee, nev...

🚀 Join us for a crypto nightcap as we review the highlights of the day across the crypto and finance ecosystem for Monday, 12/12/22 ⚠️ Topics - 70% of NFTs are hosted on web2 rails, BTC miner bankruptcies continue, SBF is arrested in the Bahamas! 📹 Also available on youtube Cover art generated by DALL-E : “An Andy Warhol style painting of crypto enthusiasts reading a bitcoin book before bed” Get...

🚀 Join us for a crypto nightcap as we review the highlights of the day across the crypto and finance ecosystem for Saturday, 12/10/22. ⚠️ Topics - Lending Protocol Revenue, NFT metadata hack, The Block & FTX drama, staked Ethereum release date, Bitcoin’s capital reset 📹 Also available on youtube Cover art generated by DALL-E : “An Andy Warhol style painting of crypto enthusiasts reading a bitcoi...

🔻 How did hedge funds, brokers, and exchanges like 3AC, Genesis, and BlockFi trade Grayscale’s bitcoin trust? BlockFi had $1.7 billion of exposure to GBTC. Genesis had $5 billion of exposure. Based on the best available information at the time of this writing, it is my conclusion is that BlockFi, Alameda, FTX, Grayscale, Genesis, DCG, Gemini, and 3AC all operated in a close loop group of eight cr...

🚀 Join us for a crypto nightcap as we review the highlights of the day across the crypto and finance ecosystem for Wednesday, 12/7/22. ⚠️ Topics - S&P 500 2023 Forecasts, Constitution DAO 2.0, Bitcoin Bottom, Bitcoin capital reset, Ark Bitcoin report November 22 , Binance trading fees, Coinbase revenue, Vitalik, Apple’s crypto tax. 📹 Also available on youtube Cover art generated by DALL-E : “An...

🚀 Join us for a crypto nightcap as we review the highlights of the day across the crypto and finance ecosystem for Tuesday, 12/6/22. ⚠️ Topics - FTX ventures, Gemini, M11 Finance/Ortho Capital, Exchange profitability - SBF response & autism capital. 📹 Also available on youtube Cover art generated by DALL-E : “An Andy Warhol style painting of crypto enthusiasts reading a bitcoin book before bed”...

🔻 Are we in a recession? Answering this question reminds me of a childhood game Whac-a-mole. It’s an arcade game where players use a mallet to hit toy moles, which appear randomly , before returning back into their hole. Watching investment banks and government regulators create complex charts and research papers in an attempt to answer the question “are we in a recession?” is a disjointed, incon...

🔻 FTX literally created money from thin air. FTT is a pre-mined crypto token sold to early investors, pumped to retail bag holders, and used as collateral in exchange for US stablecoins. The downfall of the FTT token is that it lacks economic value . Zero revenue earned by FTX is paid to token holders. 🚀 In this podcast we cover the rise of FTX via the FTT token economics, the final capitulation...

🔻 Sam Bankman-Fried and his FTX empire : the advocate for regulatory oversight to safeguard the plebs, is now being accused of using depositor funds in “bespoke non-reported transactions between financial counterparties”. Did he fool you? Don’t feel bad. He also fooled Blackrock, Forbes, Bloomberg, Sequoia Capital, The City of Miami, Tom Brady, Giselle Bundchen, The Ontario Pension Fund and many...

🔻 The data is clear, start-ups will not make you rich. This is especially true for “founding team members” (pre-seed) and “early employees” (seed round, series A). In this multi-episode podcast, we cover founder risks - starting with dilution. 🚀 What’s more admirable than throwing caution to the wind in the pursuit of the entrepreneurial dream ? How many of us envision a future where we are our...

🔻 The persistent state of economic destruction catastrophized by six recessions over the past 40 years is a byproduct of a trust-based financial institution focused on preserving its legacy and lining its pockets at the expense of taxpayers. 🚀 If trust-based systems have failed, trustless systems are mankind’s beacon of hope. Trustless systems are technologies, policies, and solutions absent of...