On The Brink with Castle Island

In this episode, we sat down with Lili Infante, Founder and CEO of CAT Labs . Lili shared: Her experience spearheading the formation of the crypto taskforce at the DOJ How the crypto-enabled crime landscape has evolved and become more sophisticated Investigating cases where crypto is used and the unique challenges in establishing a chain of custody Products CAT Labs is building to more effectively...

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  The debt ceiling debate is resolved What happened to Paxos' / Paypal's stablecoin? Offshore dollar stablecoins are growing while onshore stablecoins are shrinking Stablecoin policy in the US is backfiring USD stables issued out of Hong Kong Tether reaches a new all time high The bad boys are back SBF's defense will reporte...

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Validators sign up to stake ETH post merge Will there be MEV on Bitcoin?  What's the deal with Worldcoin?  Is the wash sale tax loophole stalling the debt ceiling negotiations?  Have ordinals changed Bitcoin culture?  The Fed releases new data on crypto adoption in the U.S.  Paradigm adds AI to their mandate  Whip Tom Emmer...

Nic and Matt return for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Nic and Matt reminisce on the Bitcoin Miami conference Ripple wins a key victory over the SEC in the Hinman test Texas passes a proof of reserve bill The SEC alleges that Filecoin is a security  What's the deal with Worldcoin?  How biometrics and blockchain can help with AI  Regulating AI Tether is buying Bitcoin John Ray is...

Chris Ellis, Head of Strategic Initiatives at FactSet and Tim Rice, founder of Coin Metrics join the show. In this episode we discuss: The partnership between FactSet and Coin Metrics how the companies are jointly going to market. How FactSet thinks about partnerships and how digital assets has evolved as an area of focus at the company. The features and functionality that FactSet users are asking...

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  BRC20 PEPE versus ERC20 PEPE Is PEPE an alt right coin? What's driving up fees on Bitcoin? The relationship between HEX, XEN, and VPMX Bitcoin's circular firing squad The upside of high fees in Bitcoin Why the White House's DAME mining tax is counterproductive What is the $18b tax loophole the Biden admin thinks crypto inves...

Steven Walbroehl, the co-founder and CTO of Halborn joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Steven's crypto origin story and how he began tinkering with public blockchains. How Halborn's work differs across traditional financial services customers versus decentralized organization customers. Basic recommendations for companies entering the public blockchain ecosystem. Halborn's recent discover...

Matt and Nic are back with another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Updates on South Shore Bar Pie The CIV boys consider new sponsors Regional banks keep failing Is the turmoil in the bank sector deflationary or inflationary? How does the Fed end the banking crisis? McHenry's stablecoin bill Biden proposes a 30% tax on Bitcoin miners Why Biden's DAME tax is counterproductive RFK Jr's pro-...

Simon Forster and Duncan Trenholme of TP ICAP join the show. In this episode we discuss:  - TP ICAP's journey in the crypto / blockchain space.  - The market structure for institutional cryptoasset trading.  - The future of tokenization and the types of assets that are likely to be represented on chain.  - The regulatory landscape and how this will shape the pace of building in the industry.    To...

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  What's the deal with south shore bar pie? We review Consensus in Austin Nic's 2022 Coin Center dinner incident Nic's gas siphoning incident First Republic appears heading for collapse Why was First Republic given time to save itself but not Signature? Block partners with Yellowcard for cross-border African payments Open Exch...

Matt and Nic are back with another week of news and deals. In this episode:  We debate some curious new sponsors The Miami gas shortage Nic's impressions of NFT NYC We review Eric's Orb When do Harberger taxes work? CIV is hiring The SEC is suing Bittrex and alleges that Algorand and Dash are unregistered securities Gensler is skewered by Republican lawmakers in the House Financial Services hearin...

Dan Tapiero , the founder of 10T Holdings and 1 Round Table Partners joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The performance of Bitcoin as a macro asset over the past year. The current regulatory environment and how the USA is losing its lead versus other countries in the digital asset ecosystem. The prospect of U.S. companies going public in non-U.S. jurisdictions. How Dan and his team approa...

Eric Wall is a cryptocurrency researcher, analyst, critic, and investor. In this episode we sit down to discuss the creation and premise of his new project, the Orb .  What is the orb? How did the orb come about? How to bet on the human capital and reputational growth of individuals Why previous social tokens failed What does the orb entitle you to? Why the orb is not a security Harberger taxes an...

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Is Ethereum going through a 'bullish unlock'? Did the SEC decicion around staking help decentralize Ethereum? What is a commodity? We pitch futures for restaurant bookings The problem with 'phygitals' What's going on with DWF labs? Twitter users will be able to trade crypto through the app Is FedNow a CBDC? Does FedNow intro...

Dennison Bertram , the co-founder and CEO of Tally , returns to the show. In this episode we discuss: Dennison's career in the crypto industry from exchange founder to founding Tally. How to frame DAOs from a total addressable market perspective. What types of companies and industry categories would be better served as DAOs. Best practices in managing DAOs. The regulatory landscape for DAOs and ho...

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  What are the prospects for dealing with OCP 2.0? Creditors are considering relaunching FTX int'l The boundary between being a visionary and a scammer Nic's feud against NPR What's the deal with the bug eating meme? Are lobsters bugs? What happened to the tungsten cube NFTs? Singapore banks might be warming up to crypto Hong...

Lorien Gabel and Benjamin Thalman of Figment join the show. In this episode we discuss: The founding story of Figment and the focus of the firm. The evolution of proof of stake blockchains and how Figment helps their customers with staking. Ethereum, the Shanghai upgrade and the likely impacts of withdrawal functionality on the network. Views on the current regulatory environment and how that impa...

In this episode I sit down with David Thompson , managing partner at Cooper & Kirk. We cover the emergence of Operation Choke Point 2.0 and what recourse can be sought by the industry. In this episode:  Cooper & Kirk's track record and reputation The story of Choke Point 1.0 and how Cooper & Kirk helped end it How was OCP 1.0 resolved?  Why Cooper & Kirk wrote their recent white paper on OCP 2.0 D...

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals.  Cooper and Kirk's white paper on Operation Choke Point 2.0 How bank regulators put crypto-facing banks in a catch-22 SBF charged with bribing a Chinese official Is Sam funding his legal defense with funds purloined from FTX users? The CFTC charges Binance with operating an unlicensed derivatives exchange Binance execs haz no confidence in th...

Matt Hougan, the Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise Asset Management joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The banking crisis and Operation Chokepoint 2.0 The decisions facing the Fed and the second order impacts of Fed policy How the cryptocurrency industry has evolved post FTX Prospects for stablecoin and market structure regulation in the digital asset industry The bitcoin futures market...

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Matt's turkey trouble continues Nic's vespa problem Nic's latest Choke Point 2.0 article Did the government destroy Signature on purpose? Who is the main architect of Choke Point 2.0? Why was Signature closed when PacWest and First Republic were given time? The Catch-22 in NY banking law Who has recourse in the Signature sit...

Jamil and Nick, co-founders of Gamma.io , join us on the show to discuss: Lowering the barrier to inscribing NFTs on Bitcoin Why creators and collectors are excited about NFTs on Bitcoin Designing a trustless Ordinals marketplace that aligns with its unique culture The emerging collecting and trading culture on Bitcoin and it's key differences  

Nick Hansen is the cofounder and CEO of Luxor, a Bitcoin mining pool. He joins to talk to us about his excitement around ordinals and inscriptions, and how Luxor is thinking about the opportunity. The history of ordinals and how Luxor got started in the space How Luxor mined the first 4MB block in Bitcoin Luxor's decision to acquire Ordinalhub and their intentions with the project Risks Luxor incu...

Matt and Nic are back to cover a dramatic week in crypto. Galaxy Digital's Alex Thorn also joins to provide market color. In this episode:  Bitcoin's price action in response to the bank runs USDC recovers its peg FTX crime family news Signature bank is shut down somewhat arbitrarily What happened with Silvergate? Is Operation Choke Point 2.0 real? Blockchain Association FOIA's federal banking reg...

Matt and Nic are back for another tumultuous week of news and deals. In this episode:  Nic's Vespa crisis FTX crime family update Grayscale's oral arguments go well against the SEC in the GBTC case Binance. US wins the right to buy the Voyager assets in court NYAG sues Kucoin and alleges that ETH is a security Silvergate is undergoing an orderly wind-down of the bank Why did Silvergate really coll...