CoinDesk Podcast Network

The top stories and best shows in the blockchain world, delivered daily from the team at CoinDesk.

Latest Episodes:

NYSE's Owner Calls Hyperliquid Bigger Than NASDAQ | CoinDesk Daily May 29, 2026

Show notes

ICE CEO says Hyperliquid is "bigger than NASDAQ" by daily volume.

ICE CEO Jeffrey Sprecher said Hyperliquid is "bigger than NASDAQ" by daily volume, and disclosed his team has met its founders multiple times. The DeFi platform controls over 70% of the decentralized perp market and has been trading oil futures on weekends when traditional exchanges are closed. CoinDesk's Sam Ewen hosts "CoinDesk Daily."

This episode was hosted by Sam Ewen. “CoinDesk Daily” is produced by Jennifer Sanasie and edited by Victor Chen.

CFTC Not Ready for Crypto's Expansion, Expert Warns May 29, 2026

Show notes

CoinDesk's The Policy Protocol hosts Rebecca Rettig and Renato Mariotti dig into the New York Times investigation of the CFTC and Kalshi's latest lawsuit against Minnesota before sitting down with Aaron Klein, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Klein argues that independent financial regulators have been turned into "subsidiaries of the White House," warns that the CFTC is not structurally up to the jurisdiction CLARITY would hand it, and makes the case that the SEC and CFTC should be merged. He also unpacks lessons from Dodd-Frank and the savings-and-loan crisis. Plus, Rebecca and Renato debrief on the CFTC staffing debate and name House Agriculture Chairman GT Thompson and Ranking Member Angie Craig as their People of the Week for their bipartisan push to fill out the CFTC commission.

Timecodes:

00:00 Welcome to The Policy Protocol

00:43 All Roads Lead to the CFTC

01:22 Unpacking the NYT's CFTC Investigation

02:41 Pendulum Swing: Reading the NYT in Context

05:11 Why the CFTC Needs Funding and Personnel

06:52 Aaron Klein Joins the Show

07:30 The History of the CFTC and the Great Salad Oil Swindle

08:10 Independent Regulators as White House Subsidiaries

09:39 Dodd-Frank Lessons for the CLARITY Era

11:47 The Case for Merging the SEC and CFTC

13:21 PolyMarket, Soft on Financial Crime, and CZ/Binance

15:06 SEC-CFTC Office Sharing and the Value of MOUs

18:16 Renato and Rebecca Debrief on the CFTC's Future

21:45 Trump on Prediction Markets and Expanded Jurisdiction

22:30 People of the Week: GT Thompson and Angie Craig

24:26 Tribute to Ondo CEO Nathan Allman

25:01 Closing Thoughts and Sign-Off

Are Prediction Markets Killing Altcoins? | Scott Melker on Markets Outlook May 28, 2026

Show notes

Altcoins have lost the plot with Scott Melker.

In today's Markets Outlook, Scott Melker, Host of Wolf of All Streets, tells CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie why altcoins have lost the plot, what's really driving the weird market we're all feeling, and why Bitcoin is still the only bet he's making long-term. Plus: are prediction markets, tokenized equities, and "private Bitcoin" just hype?

Timecodes:

00:00 - Scott Melker Joins Markets Outlook

01:38 - Why Bitcoin Is Underrated

03:59 - Is Crypto Recreating the System It Was Built to Fight?

06:08 - Scott’s Bitcoin Origin Story

08:04 - Why This Market Feels Impossible to Read

10:07 - How Prediction Markets Killed the Altcoin Casino

13:33 - Teaching His Kids About Bitcoin and AI in a Complicated World

16:22 - AI Tokens and Zcash Outlook

18:33 - Zcash as Privacy Bitcoin: “It Makes Me Want to Puke”

19:46 - Scott's Bitcoin Price Outlook for the Rest of the Year

This episode was hosted by Jennifer Sanasie.

Google Engineer Busted for Insider Trading on Polymarket | CoinDesk Daily May 28, 2026

Show notes

A Google engineer arrested for allegedly insider trading on Polymarket.

A Google security engineer was arrested for allegedly using the company's internal search data to place winning bets on Polymarket prediction markets. Michele Spagnuolo transferred $3.8 million in USDC and personally cleared about $1.2 million before attempting to conceal the funds through a privacy mixer. CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie hosts "CoinDesk Daily."

This episode was hosted by Jennifer Sanasie. “CoinDesk Daily” is produced by Jennifer Sanasie and edited by Victor Chen.

Blockspace: Robinhood Opens AI Trading, IREN’s $1.6B GPU Buy, Hut 8 CEO Beacon Point Update May 28, 2026

Show notes

Robinhood now allows AI to trade for you, and IREN just purchased $1.6 billion worth of GPUs for AI workloads.

Welcome back to The Blockspace Podcast! Today, Asher Genoot, CEO of Hut 8 joins us to talk about the company’s $9.8 billion deal for its Beacon Point AI data center in Texas. For news, we cover Robinhood launching access for AI trading agents, IREN’s $1.6B Dell Blackwell purchase, hardware rollout, Core 42’s $500M financing, and Mara’s rising executive security expenses.

Check out our latest report, “What’s a Megawatt Worth?” where we quantify the trillion dollar opportunity for bitcoin miners venturing into the AI sector. Download here: https://megawattreport.com/

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates for all of our shows and content: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com

👉CleanSpark (Nasdaq: CLSK), a market-leading data center developer with a proven track record of success.

👉Luxor, Blockspace's preferred mining pool. Start hashing today with Luxor!

👉Lygos Finance, Borrow against your Bitcoin, without compromising on custody.

Trump Calls State Officials 'Scum' Over Prediction Markets | CoinDesk Daily May 27, 2026

Show notes

President Trump defends the CFTC's authority over prediction markets.

President Trump defended the CFTC's exclusive authority over prediction markets in a Truth Social post, calling state officials trying to regulate them "scum." His attack targeted Chris Christie, Letitia James, Tim Walz, and JB Pritzker — all of whom have moved against prediction market platforms in their states. CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie hosts "CoinDesk Daily."

This episode was hosted by Jennifer Sanasie. “CoinDesk Daily” is produced by Jennifer Sanasie and edited by Victor Chen.

Blockspace: Pope Leo Calls AI the Tower of Babel, China is Funding Anti-AI FUD, TeraWulf’s 1 GW KY Data Center May 27, 2026

Show notes

Pope Leo has likened AI to the Tower of Babel, and the Chinese government is funding the push against AI data centers in the US.

Welcome back to The Blockspace Podcast! For our top story today, Pope Leo’s latest encyclical – in which Leo likens AI to a modern, cyber Tower of Babel – gives us the Catholic Church’s official stance on AI. For interviews, Lygos Finance CEO Jay Patel touches on Strategy’s latest balance sheet clean up, and Sam Lyman of the Bitcoin Policy Institute joins us to talk about BPI’s new research on how China and other foreign actors are leveraging the media and dark money networks to astroturf opposition against AI data centers in the US. For other news, we break down TeraWulf’s plans for a 1 GW AI data center in Kentucky and Strategy’s repurchase of $1.5 billion in convertible notes and its latest BTC purchase.

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates for all of our shows and content: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com

👉CleanSpark (Nasdaq: CLSK), a market-leading data center developer with a proven track record of success.

👉Luxor, Blockspace's preferred mining pool. Start hashing today with Luxor!

👉Lygos Finance, Borrow against your Bitcoin, without compromising on custody.

Arthur Hayes Says Regulation is Irrelevant, Only Fiat Liquidity Moves Bitcoin May 26, 2026

Show notes

Arthur Hayes from Consensus Miami.

BitMEX co-founder and Maelstrom CIO Arthur Hayes took the Consensus Miami mainstage to make a provocative case: crypto regulation is irrelevant to Bitcoin's price performance. Hayes argues that fiat liquidity, not legislation, is the only variable that matters. He breaks down how money printing drove Bitcoin's historic gains, why the CLARITY Act won't move the needle, and where he thinks the crypto community should actually focus its political energy.

Timecodes:

0:00 - Why Arthur Hayes Doesn't Care About Crypto Regulation 02:09 - Bitcoin's Value Proposition: Technology + Fiat Liquidity 04:50 - Obama, QE, and the Birth of Bitcoin 7:48 - Janet Yellen's Reverse Repo and the 200% Bitcoin Rally08:50 - Transformation in Trump's Rhetoric Around Bitcoin 11:12 - Why Regulation Is Irrelevant to Bitcoin's Price 12:10 - The Fed Balance Sheet vs. Bitcoin: The Only Chart That Matters13:16 - The Case for Supporting Open Source Developers

Hyperliquid Takes on Polymarket With Native Event Markets | CoinDesk Daily May 26, 2026

Show notes

Hyperliquid has its prediction market now.

Hyperliquid is expanding its HIP-4 outcome contracts into real-world events like inflation data and Fed decisions, putting it in direct competition with Polymarket. The key difference: Hyperliquid handles dispute resolution in-house through its validators, rather than relying on an external oracle like Polymarket's UMA. CoinDesk's Sam Ewen hosts "CoinDesk Daily."

This episode was hosted by Sam Ewen. “CoinDesk Daily” is produced by Jennifer Sanasie and edited by Victor Chen.

Bitcoin ETFs Bleed $1B as Capital Rotates Into HYPE, SOL, XRP May 26, 2026

Show notes

On this episode of CoinDesk's Public Keys from the New York Stock Exchange, host Jennifer Sanasie unpacks a busy weekend — SpaceX's S-1 revealing 18,712 BTC on the balance sheet, Kevin Warsh's first full week as Fed Chair, and the SEC pushing back its innovation exemption for tokenized stocks. Bitwise Asset Management Head of Research Ryan Rasmussen joins to break down the bull and bear case for Hyperliquid, how Bitwise is differentiating BHYPE with in-house staking and 10% of management fees reinvested into HYPE, and why wealth managers are finally moving beyond BTC and ETH. Hyperliquid Strategies CEO David Schamis lays the foundation on how crypto margin trading works and why leverage amplifies timing risk. Plus, Calamos Global Head of ETFs Matt Kaufman explains how the firm's protected Bitcoin ETFs are pulling in fresh capital as spot Bitcoin funds bleed $1.26 billion in a single week.

This episode of Public Keys is brought to you by Kraken. For more: https://pro.kraken.com/

Timecodes:

00:00 Welcome to Public Keys

00:30 BTC Bounces as US-Iran Peace Talks Cool Oil Prices

01:00 SpaceX S-1 Reveals 18,712 BTC on the Balance Sheet

01:45 SEC Delays Tokenized Stocks Innovation Exemption

02:05 Kevin Warsh's First Week as Fed Chair Begins

02:30 HYPE ETFs Pull $72M, Bitwise's Ryan Rasmussen Joins

06:30 The Bull and Bear Case for Hyperliquid

11:30 Wealth Managers Move Beyond BTC and ETH

14:30 Margin Trading 101 With David Schamis

17:00 Crypto Margin vs. Equities and the Timing Trap