On The Brink with Castle Island

Nic and Matt are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Trump speaks at DAS Is anyone in Washington talking about abolishing capital gains tax for crypto? Trump denounces OCP2.0 TON raises a huge round Remember IOTA? We reminisce about Slock it and the DAO What happened to Ethereum Classic? Can you redeem PAXG for physical gold? Kraken acquires NinjaTrader for $1.5b The SEC say...

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve exists Will the government buy additional Bitcoin? What does "cost neutral" mean? What's the deal with our cheese reserve Have Bitcoiners lost their libertarian origins? The OCC reverses their anti-crypto guidance Sentiment in crypto is at all time lows Is CZ seeking a pardon deal in exchange...

Jeff Park, the Head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise Asset Management joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The latest developments at Bitwise, including the firm's Alpha Strategy division. Yield strategies in the digital asset ecosystem. Stablecoins and how the idiosyncratic opportunities that active managers are pursuing. MicroStrategy Thoughts on market structure and digital asset policy. T...

Brandon Mulvihill, the co-founder and CEO of Crossover Markets joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The shifting regulatory landscape in the USA and the impact that it is having on traditional financial institutions. How banks and broker-dealers are responding to regulatory progress. The battle for "Primary Market" in the United States. The future of market structure and the bifurcation of...

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: We debate the prudence of a BTC reserve A Strategic Reserve of just BTC or altcoins? How would a crypto reserve be "strategic" Should the US Government just seize BTC to build the reserve? Is there a "strategic" purpose to owning a gas token? SEC task force for crypto is starting roundtables SEC drops lawsuits against Krake...

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Figure Markets  announced the launch of their YLDS stablecoin, which is the first yield-bearing stablecoin to be approved by and registered with the SEC Crypto exchange Bybit was hacked on Friday for an estimated $1.48 billion worth of ETH in the largest hack in the industry's history n the past week, the SEC dropped lawsuit...

Matt and Nic are back with another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Milei launches and immediately abandons the Libra memecoin Is the memecoin sector dead? What is the future of Solana post memecoin fallout? Hagerty's GENIUS act gains bipartisan support Why securities laws exist What laws apply to memecoins? What's going on with physical gold?

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Our episode with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce The SEC and Binance are pausing their litigation Brian Quintenz nominated for CFTC Jonathan Gould nominated for OCC Central African Republic launches a memecoin Is Vitalik crashing out? CBOE wants to add staking to their ETH ETF We reflect on the Tigran Gambaryan story Rep Wat...

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The past several years of digital asset policy at the SEC Different ways that regulators have the potential to stymie technical innovation through policy SAB 121 The impact on the SEC's policies on capital formation in the digital asset industry The role of Congress, specifically with regards to market structure The future...

Nathan McCauley , the co-founder and CEO of Anchorage joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The history of Anchorage and the evolution of the company from a product and regulatory perspective. Operation Chokepoint 2.0 and the debanking of digital asset startups. How banks are approaching the digital asset custody ecosystem and the sub-custody market. The evolution of stablecoins, the prospec...

Matt and Nic are back for more news and deals. In this episode:  Matt and Nic's ski adventure Berachain launches Mike Lempres of Silvergate finally speaks What we learned in the Senate debanking hearing The FDIC releases 790 pages of new documents related to the pause letters The FDIC is reprimanded by a judge in the Coinbase case Senator Lummis reveals a Fed memo that may be proof of OCP2.0 The S...

Former Chairman of Silvergate Bank Mike Lempres joins us for a discussion of Silvergate, the crypto-focused bank that was forced into liquidation in early 2023 following a bank run. This are the first on the record comments from any Silvergate executive following the voluntary liquidation announced in March 2023. In this episode: Mike's background at the DoJ, at Coinbase, and how he came to be cha...

Matt and Nic are back with another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Should we revisit Basel rules on Bitcoin?  Jay Powell evolves on banks serving crypto  Are banks going to offer crypto custody post SAB121?  Gensler joins MIT Sloan Should crypto firms boycott MIT?  The Senate will hold a hearing on debanking next week  Choke Point 2.0 is getting caught up in conservative debanking  Where...

The episode where we logged on and won forever. Probably the biggest week in crypto history...  In this episode:  Ross Ulbricht is granted a full pardon  Did Ross Ulbricht deserve a life sentence? SAB121 is finally gone  Why SAB121 was bad Crypto ball review Trump launches a memecoin Trump is inaugurated OCP2.0 is over  CBDCs are banned We review Trump's Executive Order No Strategic Bitcoin Reserv...

Matt and Nic are back for more news and deals. In this episode: Lummis instructs FDIC staff to not destroy evidence of Chokepoint Did the FDIC call Nic poor? Coinbase wins a partial victory against the SEC Canary Capital files for a Litecoin ETF Tether is moving to El Salvador and building an HQ there Atlanta Fed gets stablecoins The case for non-USD stablecoins Is there a case for other assets in...

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 th...

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...

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,...

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 incl...

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 digita...

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 anothe...

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 Eth...