On The Brink with Castle Island

Matt and Nic return for news and deals. In this episode:  We recap the conferences  Nic's Columbia lecture snafu The Bitcoin security budget debate  One theory for what might provide Bitcoin with long term security FTX sues Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried Tether has resumed their lending operations Did SBF's parents make him do it?   HK is creating stablecoin legislation USA vs Singapore Content...

Henri Stern , CEO and co-founder of Privy , joins us to discuss: The contradictory functions that wallets serve Offering in-app non-custodial embedded wallets Balancing the trade offs of security versus convenient recovery How customers are customizing their embedded wallet experience The decision to build third party wallet connectors and embedded wallets    

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode.  We review Singapore and Token 2049 Singapore food reviews Is crypto pivoting to Asia? Singapore bans the 3ac boys from the Securities industry for 9 years The offshoring of dollar stablecoins Stablecoins are becoming interest bearing Fortress is hacked and acquired by Ripple SEC versus Stoner Cats Sentiment is turning agai...

Peter Johnson , co-head of Venture at Brevan Howard Digital, returns to the show to talk about his latest theses on stablecoins. In this episode:  The origins of Peter's interest in stables  We review Peter's prior stablecoin predictions  USDC versus USDT market share trends  Peter's main takeaways from the Relentless Rise paper Stablecoin usage on BSC and TRON  Peter's views on PYUSD The emergenc...

Martin Carrica , cofounder of Mountain Protocol , joins us to discuss their launch of their USDM, permissionless interest-bearing stablecoin. In this episode:  Martin's story and origins of his desire to create a stablecoin Obtaining a registered digital assets company in Bermuda Martin's review of regulatory options worldwide and how they ended up in Bermuda How Bermuda has distinguished itself f...

Matt and Nic are back with another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Ryan Salame pleads guilty Our thoughts on the latest turn of the Bitcoin security budget debate What are the prospects for fees to develop on Bitcoin long term? Is blockcspace a race to the bottom? Visa adds merchant settlement tools for USDC on Solana The significance of Visa's move toward merchant settlement with stable...

We sit down with Lee Bratcher , President and Founder of the Texas Blockchain Council . Lee is one of the primary architects of Texas' Proof of Reserve bill, now in effect. In this episode:  The origin of the TBC Why Lee is moving their Summit to Ft Worth Notable legislative successes by the TBC in Texas The importance of getting the UCC to recognize digital assets The importance of Bitcoin mining...

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Tether is actually the most interventionist stablecoin when it comes to freezing Should we be bullish on PYUSD?  Why stablecoin data shows meaningful utility for public blockchains  Is the idea of a 'crypto generalist' dead?  The meaning of the SEC's loss in court to Grayscale Why the SEC was 'arbitrary and capricious' The...

Matt and Nic are back for more news and deals. In this episode:  The Bitcoin halving is coming up We review the Republican Presidential debate We review the state of New Jersey Coinbase takes a stake in Circle Hidden tensions between Coinbase and Circle BH Digital releases a stablecoin report USDC is challenged due to their inability to pay interest The DoJ charges the founders of Tornado Cash wit...

Darshan Vaidya, the founder of Credora joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The crypto credit markets, what went wrong in the last cycle and how the market functions today Thoughts on Real-World-Assets on chain Comparisons of risk management approaches in tradfi versus crypto markets How Credora is working with firms to protect customers from idiosyncratic risk The capital raising environme...

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Geographic distribution for USDC v USDT Blockchains have become dollarized What's the deal with Helium's phone plan? SBF heads to jail We inaugurate a new member of the bad boys Dubai regulators fines OPNX What's up with Argentina's Libertarian presidential candidate? We need a new theme song for the SEC The Prometheum saga...

Matt and Nic are back with more news and deals. In this episode:  Matt's op-ed in Coindesk SAB121 is still bad SEC scope creep We investigate PayPal's stablecoin  Why would PayPal want to issue a stablecoin?  What does PYUSD mean for Operation Choke Point for 2.0?  Why PYUSD is being launched on Ethereum Crypto as a flashpoint for state versus federal banking oversight The Fed's new crypto oversig...

Matt and Nic are back for more deals and news. In this episode:  Nic's early Do Kwon experience Reflecting back on Terra/Luna  The SEC charges Richard Heart and HEX  Is the SEC's case against Richard Heart flimsy?  Does the SEC deserve praise for coming after HEX?  Kyle Davies thinks he's immune from prosecution because he gave up his US citizenship Who's behind the BALD rugpull?  Implications of...

Matt and Nic are back with another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Nic's issues editing the show Why Washington is attacking PoR  Why Big 4 audit firms aren't working on PoR  The Financial Innovation and Technology in the 21st Century bill (FIT) passes out of committee in the House  Six Democrats defect and support the bill The Stablecoin bill reaches an impasse because the White House ...

In this episode, we hosted Richard Meissner, CTO of Safe, to illuminate the state of adoption of smart contract wallets following the roll out of ERC-4337 (an effort to standardize account abstraction on Ethereum). Our conversation covers: The limitations of smart contract wallets in a multi-chain universe Account recovery and hybrid custody using traditional institutions Combining account abstrac...

Matt and Nic are back with more deals and news. In this episode:  Was XRP discovered or created? The saga of Otter 841 Matt's wildlife trouble More SAB121 chaos Rep Ritchie Torres sends Gensler a tough letter What is the Torres Doctrine? Terraform labs has a new CEO Our theories for why Nasdaq pulled the plug on their crypto custody business The IRS is auditing the crypto rich in PR We bring back...

Matt and Nic are back with a huge week in the markets. In this episode:  Ripple gets a key win in their summary judgment versus the SEC Implications for XRP holders Implications for exchanges and other tokens Prometheum's denials about their ties to the CCP don't hold water How Prometheum is a Potemkin platform Alex Machinsky has been arrested Arkham's tokensale and doxing snafu The Lummis Gillebr...

Amir Haleem , the founder of Nova Labs (formerly named Helium , Inc) joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The origin of Helium and the Helium network Amir's views on L1 blockchains and the path that the company took in evaluating building its own chain versus building on an existing L1. Decentralized Physical Infrastructure (DEPIN) and Decentralized Wireless (DEWI) as emerging categories de...

Matt and Nic are back for more deals and news. In this episode:  Matt's plover rivalry Matt's struggles against animals Taylor Swift actually did sign that partnership with FTX Are Eras tour tickets securities? Lightning in emerging markets Could we build the SR-71 today? How Ripple was 90% right about XRP being the bridge currency for remittances ETF applications hiccup More SAB121 issues Matt's...

Jose Lemus , CEO and cofounder at IBEX Mercado , joins the show to talk Lightning and its growing usage in emerging markets. In this episode: The origins of IBEX How IBEX clients are using LN in emerging markets How Lightning as a settlement layer for cross-border interbank payments Lightning as a bridge currency Why stablecoins make sense on Lightning Why EM firms have an affinity for Lightning I...

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  The problem with SEC SAB 121 Pickleball is driving up American healthcare costs Microstrategy buys some more Bitcoin Fidelity refiles their Wise Origin Bitcoin ETF Why the Prime Trust insolvency is so bad Will there be Prime Trust clawbacks? The SEC is slacking with their document retention policies How stablecoins are mirro...

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 G...

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 sel...

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...

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 Promet...