We host Julien Niset , co-founder of Argent in this episode on account abstract and smart contract wallets. We cover: Building the first smart contract wallet on Ethereum Why smart contract wallets improve the non-custodial experience Standardizing contract wallet implementations on L1s retroactively and on L2s natively Comparing and contrasting contract wallets and MPC (multi-party computation) wallets Capabilities (social recovery, gas abstraction, transaction batching) unlocked by smart contr...
Jan 30, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 393
Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Is there a socially optimal level of vigilantism What's the deal with Modulo Capital? SBF's mother and brothers are now in the crosshairs Matt and Nic hash our VR vs AR Ted Cruz asks cafeterias in the Capitol to accept bitcoin Texas introduces Proof of Reserve legislation What's North Korea's endgame with all their hacked crypto? Tucker Carlson's theory that the airline outage was due to Bitcoin randomware Matt's Bell's Pal...
Jan 27, 2023•44 min•Ep. 392
Maneesh Gandhi and Michael Liddy of Evanston Capital join the show. In this episode we discuss: Evanston Capital's history and thoughts on the blockchain ecosystem Their views on the current market environment and how this crypto cycle compares to others The evolution of the crypto venture landscape and how Evanston Capital thinks about crypto venture structures Thoughts on the FTX collapse and its impact on the market How institutional limited partners are thinking about the crypto/blockchain e...
Jan 25, 2023•34 min•Ep. 391
Arch cofounders Dhruv Patel and Himanshu Sahay Arch coming out of stealth Key lessons learned from the crypto lending crisis Arch's differentiated offering within crypto and other alternative assets Leveraging crypto rails to build a lender of the future Using experience at top technology companies to build a superior consumer product Learn more at Archlending.com and on Twitter...
Jan 23, 2023•24 min•Ep. 390
Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: What's going on with our merch? Nic's pitch for pickleball What's the deal with the leaked GTX pitch deck? What happened at CoinFLEX? Our conspiracy about GTX What's the latest with the FTX crime family Will FTX or FTX.US be relaunched? SBF says FTX.US is still solvent DOJ takes down Bizlato Genesis is exploring a bankruptcy process Coinbase is pulling out of Japan What was the deal with NEM? What happened with Veritaseum C...
Jan 20, 2023•36 min•Ep. 389
Tony Scuderi , the founder of Imperii Partners joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The investment banking landscape for crypto/blockchain companies. How the fundraising environment is evolving in 2023. The impact of FTX on the broader market. How companies backed by FTX are taking action. The M&A landscape. Common pitfalls that founders make when selling their business. To learn more about Imperii Partners visit imperiipartners.com...
Jan 18, 2023•35 min•Ep. 388
Deribit Chief Commercial Officer Luuk Strijers joins the show to talk about their new Proof of Reserve rollout . In this episode: Why Deribit decided to do a PoR What were the considerations going into it? What made Deribit cautious about the procedure? Which PoRs did Deribit look at for inspiration? Has Deribit received client feedback from the procedure so far? How does Deribit demonstrate asset ownership? Unique among exchanges, Deribit was able to do a PoR for all of your assets, and on a da...
Jan 17, 2023•39 min•Ep. 387
Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: What's happening with Proof of Reserves? Will BTC and ETH have another fee crisis? Nishad Singh has met with the SDNY in a proffer session The SEC is investigating VC funds that invested in FTX FTX debtors and the Bahamas announced a cooperation agreement FTX announced that it has recovered over $5 billion in assets thus far Gemini and DCG continue to face off Cameron Winklevoss' letter to DCG Nexo is raided in Bulgaria for...
Jan 13, 2023•41 min•Ep. 386
Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: A call for on-chain archeology Nic's scuppered NYE plans More news from the FTX crime family Who is SBF's mystery bail benefactor? SBF pleads not guilty SBF is prohibited from moving further FTX/Alameda assets SBF had four meetings with White House staffers regarding pandemic preparedness New inductees into the Bad Boys club Nic's pickleball confession We revisit the 42 yard field goal challenge The Bahamas regulators wrang...
Jan 06, 2023•40 min•Ep. 385
Nic and Matt return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Galaxy acquires the Helios miner facility from Argo Consolidating in the miner space A new bad boy bursts onto the scene Avraham Eisenberg is arrested in Puerto Rico Should it be illegal to exploit defi contracts, even if you reach an agreement with the DAO? Craig Wright's case against Peter McCormack SBF is slated to enter a plea What's the deal with IEX and FTX? Nic's Michael Lewis conspiracy The FTX blockfolio acquisitio...
Dec 30, 2022•49 min•Ep. 384
Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Are stablecoins still a priority in DC? The rise of the FUDfluencer Sam agrees to be extradited Did the SDNY wait for Sam to be extradited to release Caroline's plea deal? Alameda was siphoning FTX funds from day 1 What's the deal with Modulo Capital? Is Gerald Cotten back from the dead? Does Flashboys need a new chapter? What is going on with IEX? How did Michael Lewis not figure out something was up at FTX? Sen. Pat Toome...
Dec 23, 2022•40 min•Ep. 383
Minnesota Representative and newly elected House Whip Tom Emmer joins the show for a discussion of the FTX fallout, the House hearings, the SEC's behavior throughout the process, and developments in the House looking ahead to 2023. Rep. Emmer's thoughts on the House hearing with John Ray How the FTX collapse was about a failure of centralization How the timing of the SBF arrest was not coincidental - and who had an incentive to stop SBF testifying Why the Bahamian authorities may not have wanted...
Dec 20, 2022•53 min•Ep. 382
Matt and Nic are back for another wild week of news and deals. In this episode: Is SBF currently interned in a top 5 prison on earth? SBF is finally arrested We enumerate the charges from the SEC, CFTC, and DOJ What kind of sentence could Sam be looking at here? The CFTC's interesting argument for standing over FTX SBF is charged is campaign finance violations Confirming that Alameda did have latency and other advantages trading on FTX SBF's parents face growing scrutiny What's the deal with Gen...
Dec 16, 2022•43 min•Ep. 381
Matt and Nic return for another episode of news and deals. In this episode: Brink Nation's surprising fan club in Bali We investigate FTX's leaked private equity portfolio FTX employees were raising LP money for funds from FTX Why was FTX acting as a fund of funds? What is modulo capital The Michael Lewis - IEX - FTX troika Why did FTX invest $1b+ in Genesis Digital Assets? SBF's possible incentive to invest heavily in a BTC miner How FTX's mining investment disadvantaged other BTC miners Who ha...
Dec 09, 2022•58 min•Ep. 380
John Palmer, the CEO of CBOE Digital joins the show. In this episode we discuss: John's career and the path that led him to CBOE Digital. The history of CBOE Digital, including the acquisition of ErisX and the company's recent funding round. CBOE Digital's product approach. The regulatory landscape in the United States and how CBOE is positioned vs. offshore unregulated venues. The impact of the FTX fraud on the broader market. Upcoming product and company plans. To learn more about CBOE Digital...
Dec 07, 2022•39 min•Ep. 379
In this episode, Ria is joined by Robert Miller, Steward at Flashbots, which is a research and development organization with the aim to reduce the negative externalities and risks posed by MEV, or maximal extractable value. We cover: The MEV supply chain and how it's evolved as Ethereum transitioned from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake The new challenges and risk vectors that have emerged as a result of the transition, notably around decentralization and censorship resistance The tools Flashbots...
Dec 05, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 378
Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Tether collapse scenarios The wrapped Bitcoin issue Ria and others are named Forbes 30 under 30 Sam is still not in jail Sam's hidden media strategy How Sam could be positioning himself for the case Was FTX really a case of negligence or was it fraud? Sam is muddying the waters Sam Trubucco is our bad boy of the week Should the US really annex the Bahamas? Members of CT are running around Nassau looking for Sam Should the...
Dec 01, 2022•48 min•Ep. 377
Mahesh Ramakrishnan of Escape Velocity joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Mahesh's career in traditional financial services and the path that led him to launching Escape Velocity. The decentralized wireless market and how it is likely to evolve. How tokenized protocols and USD stablecoins are likely to play a role in this evolution. How incumbents are positioned in this emerging category. Views on FTX and how that impacts the market more broadly. To learn more about Escape Velocity visi...
Nov 30, 2022•37 min•Ep. 376
Mike Belshe, co-founder and CEO of BitGo joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Mike's thoughts on FTX and the unfolding fraud case. His views on crypto market structure and how it is likely to evolve in the face of the FTX collapse. The regulatory landscape and the path forward for spot market regulation. Views on the MPC custody landscape and advances in zero knowledge cryptography. To learn more about BitGo visit bitgo.com...
Nov 28, 2022•38 min•Ep. 375
Matt and Nic return for a Thanksgiving episode of OTB. In this episode: Liz Warren writes her first good letter ever? SBF is striking a defiant tone Sam's new letter to employees Is the Alameda/FTX situation really that complicated? Sam's parents bought tens of millions worth of Bahamas property The Bahamas steps in and seizes some funds Should the US annex the Bahamas? Should the US use 'extraordinary rendition' on SBF? Is this the death of meme rounds of financings? Semafor reports on SBF with...
Nov 24, 2022•44 min•Ep. 374
Travis Scher, co-founder of North Island Ventures joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Travis' investing career including his tenure at DCG and his path to founded North Island Ventures. How Travis initially met SBF and his reasons for passing on the deal. Analysis of the bankruptcy process and the likely second order impacts. How this event will change the early crypto VC landscape. To learn more visit northisland.ventures and follow Travis on Twitter ....
Nov 21, 2022•32 min•Ep. 373
Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Matt's blog post, 'It's Time to Grow Up' The Alameda - FTX relationship was always sketchy Would FTX ever have been able to go public? Why don't we have decent disclosure for token emissions? How do we put this crisis to use? John Ray's Day 1 filing about the state of affairs at FTX So what in the hell happened to the client funds at FTX? Will funds donated to politicians be clawed back? What's wrong with utilitarianism? Ho...
Nov 18, 2022•44 min•Ep. 372
Garrett Weaver, the co-founder and CEO of Juke joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Garrett's career as an entertainment industry executive and the path that led him to starting Juke. How Hollywood intellectual property works and how blockchains can open up revenue opportunities for studios. The use cases for NFT technology and the innovation on the horizon in the industry. To learn more about Juke visit www.juke.io Read about Juke's launch...
Nov 17, 2022•33 min•Ep. 371
Nic and Matt return for one of the craziest weeks in crypto history. In this episode: Coin Metrics makes a key on-chain discovery regarding FTX's insolvency Will Castle Island buy the naming rights to the Miami Heat arena? What in the hell happened to FTX/Alameda? How big is the hole in FTX' balance sheet Was FTX/Alameda insolvent as early as Q2? How this is reminiscent of the Bitfinex/Tether transaction? What did CZ see that caused him to catalyze the attack on FTX? How did FTX pass an audit? W...
Nov 10, 2022•56 min•Ep. 370
Josh Schwartz and Dima Kogan, co-founders of Fordefi , join the show. In this episode we discuss: MPC custody: what it is, its academic roots and how MPC works. The tradeoffs and considerations that have led to the growth in popularity of MPC custody. Josh and Dima's backgrounds and the path that led them to founding Fordefi. The institutional custody landscape and some of the challenges that firms face when engaging with DeFi protcols. How Josh and Dima think about the security risks associated...
Nov 08, 2022•36 min•Ep. 369
Matt and Nic return for another week of deals and news. In this episode: Bitwise is moving into active management What's the deal with Uber on the blockchain? The boys review House of the Dragon The history of land-based blockchain bets Fidelity launches no-fee retail trading for trading BTC and ETH on their platform Matt reminisces on Fidelity's crypto journey Google announces blockchain node engine Nic's 2-year pending transaction on Venmo SBF continues to wrangle with CT Sam's debate with Eri...
Nov 04, 2022•51 min•Ep. 368
Jeff Park, an active Portfolio Manager at Bitwise joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The state of active crypto asset management. How Bitwise approaches the active management opportunity. The taxonomy of strategies that Jeff observes in the market. Perspectives on MEV and other crypto specific opportunities. The institutional LP landscape for active management vs. passive. To learn more about Bitwise visit bitwiseinvestments.com and see their announcement of new active strategies....
Nov 01, 2022•37 min•Ep. 367
CoreWeave 's Brian Venturo (CTO) and Brannin McBee (CSO) return to On The Brink for a discussion of their journey through the merge and beyond. In this episode: Are they relieved that the merge finally happened? Will there be some form of non-Bitcoin PoW in the future? Could Ethereum conceivably return to PoW? The effect of PoS on ETH's censor resistance What quantity of ETH miners shifted to other PoW chains and what portion went elsewhere? What is the best use of capital for former ETH miners ...
Oct 31, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 366
Matt and Nic are back for another week of deals and news. In this episode: Full time crypto haters What's the deal with the nocoiner think tank? Eric Wall and Udi vs Bitcoiners Did Bitcoin put all of its eggs in the LN basket? Scaling isn't LN versus big blocks any more Is there just one scaling solution for blockchains? What are the prospects for ZK Rollups on Bitcoin? Spam attacks on BSV and Zcash Bitcoin Miners are going bankrupt How did the Ethereum merge affect Bitcoin miners What's the dea...
Oct 28, 2022•40 min•Ep. 365
Mike Cahill , Director of the Pyth Data Association joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The origin of Pyth and how the project is addressing the 'Oracle Problem'. How Pyth works and how companies and protocols are using the product today. Mike's views on how equities on chain will evolve, and how Pyth is positioned in this market. The recent Mango Markets exploit and the future of on-chain market manipulations in DeFi. Pyth's network of partners and how the network is growing in 2022. To...
Oct 24, 2022•35 min•Ep. 364
