Crypto Options Unplugged

In this week’s Crypto Options Unplugged , Imran Lakha and David Brickell are joined by Andrew Theodosiou, Director of Sales at Talos, to discuss how institutional adoption is accelerating and why digital asset infrastructure is rapidly converging with traditional finance. Andrew explains how banks, hedge funds, ETF providers, and trading firms are moving beyond simply offering crypto exposure and...

In this week’s Crypto Options Unplugged, Imran Lakha and David Brickell break down the latest macro developments following the Federal Reserve meeting, examining why markets may have overreacted to the Fed’s seemingly hawkish stance and what falling oil prices, declining inflation expectations, and shifting real yields could mean for Bitcoin and risk assets. The discussion explores the rotation ta...

In this week’s Crypto Options Unplugged, Imran Lakha and David Brickell sit down with Andrew Melville, Head of Research at Block Scholes, to explore one of the most important shifts happening in crypto today: the acceleration of institutional adoption and the emergence of prediction markets as a new financial primitive. Andrew shares how Block Scholes has become a leading provider of crypto deriva...

In this week’s Crypto Options Unplugged, Imran and David are joined by Jonathan Issan, Co-Head of Crypto Trading at Marex, for an institutional deep dive into how crypto markets have evolved from a retail-driven ecosystem into a mature asset class attracting hedge funds, pension funds, banks, and global asset managers. Jonathan shares his journey from equity derivatives and high-frequency trading...

In this week’s Crypto Options Unplugged , Imran and David are joined by Jamie Knowles, Head of Capital Markets at Smarter Web, for a deep dive into one of the biggest emerging themes in crypto: Bitcoin treasury companies and the financial engineering now driving corporate Bitcoin accumulation. Jamie explains how Smarter Web evolved from a traditional web design and digital marketing company into t...

In this week’s Crypto Options Unplugged, Imran and David are joined by special guest Andreja Cobeljic, Head of Derivatives at Amina Bank, for a wide-ranging discussion on crypto market structure, institutional flows, macro regime shifts, and why crypto still feels stuck despite a structurally bullish long-term backdrop. Andrea shares his journey from JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs proprietary trading...

In this episode of Crypto Options Unplugged, Imran and David break down the macro forces driving crypto markets before diving into a deep conversation with Max Gokhman, Head of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Assets at Franklin Templeton. The team explores how geopolitical tensions, elevated oil prices, inflation expectations, bond market volatility, and central bank policy uncertainty are tig...

Imran and David explore the recent "slow grind higher" of Bitcoin as it digests overhead supply, contrasting crypto’s low volatility with the explosive, retail-driven gamma frenzy currently fueling AI and semiconductor stocks. They argue that despite "sticky" price levels, a highly supportive macro environment marked by surging bank repo liquidity, declining bond volatility, an...

In this episode of Crypto Options Unplugged , Imran Lakha (Options Insight) and David Brickell (FRNT) are joined by James Brownlee, CEO of T-0 Network, to discuss the massive shift in how money moves across borders. We kick off with a look at Bitcoin’s "grindy" price action as it targets the $85,000 level, exploring why institutional inflows and negative real yields are fuelling this out...

In this episode, Imran Lakha  (Options Insight) and David Brickell (FRNT) dissect a "grindy" market where crypto seems to be falling asleep while equities and semiconductors go parabolic. We explore the growing decoupling between Bitcoin and the resurgent tech sector, diving deep into the massive supply overhead at the $80k level and the "yield hunting" trend dominating the opt...

In this episode, James Harris, CEO of Tesseract joins Imran and David  to discuss the current state of the Defi market. James talks of his transition from a TradFi background at banks like Citigroup and Salomon Brothers to building regulated crypto infrastructure since 2017. Harris provides a technical breakdown of a recent DeFi exploit involving Kelp DAO and Aave, explaining how the attacker spoo...

In this week's episode Imran (Options Insight)and David (FRNT) catch up with a one-to-one conversation. They delve into the recent happenings in crypto and macro that are driving the latest wave of optimism which has taken equity market back to the highs. After months of range trading they question if this is finally the upside break we have been waiting for and Imran explains how he's pla...

Jasper De Maere, OTC trader at Wintermute, joins Imran and Dave. He moved from traditional sales & trading and equity research at Morgan Stanley into crypto research at Outlier Ventures before joining Wintermute’s OTC desk. He flags options volumes surging 5x year-over-year on the desk, driven mainly by yield-generating strategies such as covered calls and cash-secured puts from long holders,...

Crypto navigating post-Trump honeymoon blues and geopolitical noise (Iran conflict, oil volatility). Stephane Ouellette (CEO, FRNT Financial) returns for a frank discussion on 2025's "disappointing" bull market dynamics. DAT wave sucked capital from real operating businesses into speculative shells (many now trading below MNAV, struggling to deliver). Industry top-heavy: incumbents (...

Crypto holding steady amid ongoing Middle East tensions (US-Iran conflict ~3 weeks in, oil volatility high, equities pressured — BTC ~70K range resilient, no major flush). Guest Eamonn Gashier (Founder, Block Scholes) joins Imran & David: ex-TradFi trader (16 years in investment banks/hedge funds) who dove into crypto in 2017, left banking in 2021. Block Scholes evolved from options vol analyt...

In this episode, Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise Asset Management, joins Imran Lakha and David Brickell (FRNT) to map out the institutional landscape of 2026. Hougan breaks down why he believes a $1,000,000 Bitcoin price is a matter of simple math, provided it captures just 17% of an expanding global store-of-value market. We also dive into the "Leapfrog" theory of Digital Asset Treasuries,...

Crypto has held up surprisingly well as macro and geopolitical tensions continue to rise. While traditional risk assets have struggled, Bitcoin is still holding around the $70K range and volatility is starting to return to the market. This week, Imran sits down with Maxime Seiler, co-founder of STS Digital, one of the leading market makers in the crypto options space. They talk about why crypto ha...

Crypto shows resilience amid escalating Middle East conflict: US strikes on Iran trigger weekend drop, kinetic war fears push oil +20%, stocks were hammered — yet BTC holds ~67K range (no sub-60K flush), ETH stable. Liquidations appear exhausted; no major sellers left? Or head-fake before next leg? Guest Jason Urban (Co-Head Digital Assets, Galaxy Digital) joins Imran & David: background from...

Episode 100 special! Guest Geoffrey Kendrick (Global Head of Digital Assets Research, Standard Chartered) joins Imran & David for milestone chat: BTC short-term capitulation risk to ~$50K (tech/AI rotation, macro slowdown), but strong rebound to $100K end-2026; long-term $500K by 2030 via portfolio optimization (BTC/gold mix, global access unlocks). ETH $4K end-2026, $40K 2030; Solana $135 end...

This week Imran and David host guest Sid Powell (Maple Finance co-Founder) to discuss the disconnect between crypto prices and the growth in activity and positive trajectory in the space regarding infrastructure build and regulatory clarity. Topics discussed include: Borrowing demand shifted from basis trade compression to reserve/OTC/yield strategies; inflows post-crash ($150M stablecoins) show y...

Crypto finally broke lower last week, smashing through long-term supports triggering cascading liquidations, massive unwinds, and multi-year extreme put skew/vol explosion (front-end puts hit -30 vol skew, implieds ~100). Panic pricing peaked, and spot had sharp retrace (BTC back ~67K range) suggests worst may be over — potential retest of 74K as resistance before real bottom forms (without vol bl...

Crypto & precious metals crack lower over the weekend as markets digest Kevin Warsh's nomination as Fed Chair (replacing Powell in May) — seen as hawkish on balance sheet reduction (smaller Fed footprint, less QE dependency, favoring productive credit over asset inflation), sparking knee-jerk risk-off despite his dovish lean on rates. Put skew explodes (front-end protection demand surges, call...

Gold Parabolic, Crypto Still Stuck – Why The Disconnect? Text: Crypto remains frustratingly range-bound (85–95K zone) despite gold/silver parabolic moves and macro liquidity tailwinds. Geopolitical noise easing (Greenland tariffs looking like classic Trump deal-making fade), but US government shutdown risk looms this weekend — could delay key crypto bills. BTC/ETH testing major supports (98K Fib +...

Markets give back last week’s gains as Trump reignites tariff threats — this time targeting the EU over Greenland access (rare earths + strategic Arctic control). BTC/ETH chop back to low end of the range, vol stays subdued (no major spike), but put skew ticks higher as call buying fades. Macro backdrop remains supportive (soft CPI, ongoing Fed liquidity drip, SLR tweaks), but Japan’s bond/yen pre...

Can Crypto wake up in 2026: risk appetite returns, big Dec 26 expiry overhang gone, and BTC/ETH finally looks to move higher while gold/stocks are already at new highs. But vol stays crushed — BTC still the “least loved” major asset despite the macro tailwinds (Fed’s ongoing “not-QE QE” T-bill buys + Fannie/Freddie MBS purchases + SLR tweaks = serious liquidity juice). Guest Reqir Van Damir (ex-Ga...