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. To learn more about Bitwise visit their website . You can also follow Jeff on X ....
Mar 12, 2025•42 min•Ep. 602
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 exchanges vs. brokerages. How Crossover is positioned in 2025. To learn more about Crossover Markets...
Mar 10, 2025•40 min•Ep. 601
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 Kraken, Cumberland, and Yuga labs Tim Scott's bill to eliminate reputational risk from bank regulation CM...
Mar 07, 2025•35 min•Ep. 600
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 lawsuits and investigations related to Coinbase, Robinhood, OpenSea, Uniswap, Gemini, and MetaMask Microstrat...
Feb 28, 2025•36 min•Ep. 599
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?
Feb 21, 2025•31 min•Ep. 598
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 Waters rolls out a draft stablecoin bill Is there a run on gold vaults underway? Tungsten is rallying...
Feb 14, 2025•29 min•Ep. 597
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 of token disclosures Tokenization and how a regulatory framework could emerge in this category Advic...
Feb 13, 2025•30 min•Ep. 596
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 prospects of a stablecoin bill and the Global Dollar Network stablecoin consortium. Anchorage's Porto Walle...
Feb 11, 2025•35 min•Ep. 595
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 SEC releases their list of priorities for the Crypto Task Force Hagerty releases the GENIUS Act on Sta...
Feb 07, 2025•36 min•Ep. 594
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 chairman of the board at Silvergate How Silvergate grew to become the premier crypto-focused bank with ...
Feb 05, 2025•47 min•Ep. 593
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 are we on DeSci? Is tokenization finally going to happen? X is adding payments to the platform with Visa T...
Jan 31, 2025•35 min•Ep. 592
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 Reserve, but a stockpile instead Larry Fink calls for 600-700k BTC Mark Uyeda, announces the formation of a new...
Jan 24, 2025•40 min•Ep. 591
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 a Strategic Reserve?...
Jan 17, 2025•29 min•Ep. 590
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 the FDIC's Pause Letters Content mentioned in this episode: Fidelity Digital Assets, 2025 Look Ahead B...
Jan 10, 2025•39 min•Ep. 589
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 digital assets are regulated in the United States. To learn more about Paul Hastings and their finte...
Jan 09, 2025•39 min•Ep. 588
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, we revisit major stories that shaped the digital asset industry in 2024 with a data-driven lens...
Dec 27, 2024•38 min•Ep. 587
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
Dec 25, 2024•31 min•Ep. 286
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 including Invesco's QQQ. Anchorage Digital has received New York BitLicense approval, enabling them to offe...
Dec 20, 2024•44 min•Ep. 585
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.
Dec 18, 2024•32 min•Ep. 584
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 digital asset legislation fits into the 2025 legislative priorities. Stablecoin legislation. Market struct...
Dec 16, 2024•40 min•Ep. 583
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 another 21,550 bitcoin for roughly $2.1 billion. Circle and Binance announced a partnership with the goal ...
Dec 13, 2024•25 min•Ep. 582
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 ....
Dec 09, 2024•52 min•Ep. 581
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 Ethereum & Solana Contextualizing staking yields, inflation, and network economics on Ethereum &...
Dec 06, 2024•35 min•Ep. 580
Lorien Gabel, the founder and CEO of Figment joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The latest developments at Figment. Post-election impact on the general crypto markets and the staking category. How Figment is approaching the institutional staking market opportunity. Staking in the context of investment products. Evolving ecosystems like Eigen Layer, Babylon and Bitcoin Layers 2s. The stablecoin market. To learn more about Figment visit www.figment.io...
Dec 03, 2024•31 min•Ep. 579
Matt and Nic are back for another Thanksgiving episode of OTB. In this episode: Fire departments love thanksgiving Who we're thankful for Eggnog is underrated Justin Sun puts $30m into World Liberty Financial Marc Andreessen appears on Joe Rogan and covers OCP 2.0 Why were non crypto tech peopled shocked by Choke Point revelations? Trump is looking to shift power from the SEC to the CFTC An appeals court rules that OFAC exceeded its authority by sanctioning Tornado Cash Cantor owns a 5% ownershi...
Nov 28, 2024•34 min•Ep. 578
Matt and Nic return for another week in the markets. In this episode: How is the DOGE going to work? Bitcoin is heading to 100k Gary Gensler announces his resignation as SEC chair We look back at Gensler's awful term 18 state AGs file a lawsuit against the SEC The SEC's dealer rule is tossed by a judge Trump is mulling the creation of a crypto czar Microstrategy is trading at a massive premium The latest on OCP 2.0 FDIC Gruenberg chair testifies in the House and potentially perjures himself FTX ...
Nov 22, 2024•43 min•Ep. 577
Aaron McDonald, the founder of Futureverse joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Aaron's professional career and the path that led him to founding Futureverse. How he has built the company through a mix of organic growth and acquisitions. How blockchains and digital currency interact with Metaverse technologies. The future of virtual worlds and gaming technologies. The L1 and L2 blockchain ecosystem and how Futureverse has built their platform. To learn more about Futureverse visit their w...
Nov 21, 2024•30 min•Ep. 576
Matt and Nic return for news and deals. In this episode: Nic recaps his trip to Congress Vibes in Congress post election The likelihood for stablecoin and market structure bills What are the prospects for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve What's happening in Devcon? 18 state AGs are suing Gensler and the SEC Gensler is hinting at retirement FTX sues Binance and CZ Sam Trabucco forfeits $70m in assets to the FTX estate Polymarket's Shayne Coplan raided by the FBI Doodles partnership with McDonalds Th...
Nov 15, 2024•43 min•Ep. 575
David Low , CEO and cofounder of Hata joins the show. In this episode, In this episode, Wyatt and David discuss: Crypto adoption in Southeast Asia Regulatory attitudes Operating a centralized exchange Bitcoin interest vs other cryptoassets in the region
Nov 13, 2024•24 min•Ep. 574
Nic and Matt are back with more news and deals. In this episode: Trump resoundingly wins the election A demographic realignment Polymarket versus the polls Podcasts and twitter versus the legacy media How did the pro-crypto candidates do? Trump promises to fire Gensler on day 1 How did the Fairshake PAC do? Review of key Senate races Will Trump execute on his crypto promises? Moreno defeats Brown in Ohio Will OCP2.0 finally end? What's the deal with Trump's Bitcoin reserve? How would the SEC cha...
Nov 08, 2024•48 min•Ep. 573