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On The Brink with Castle Island — Business
On The Brink with Castle Island

Hosts Matt Walsh and Nic Carter of Castle Island Ventures explore news and deals in the public blockchain space and talk to some of the leading experts in the industry. Learn more and stay up to date at CastleIsland.vc and follow on twitter @CastleIslandVC

Latest Episodes:

Wyatt Lonergan and Juan Lopez (Vaneck Ventures) on Stablecoin Adoption and The Institutionalization of Crypto (EP.611) Apr 09, 2025

Show notes

Wyatt Lonergan and Juan Lopez of Vaneck Ventures join the show to talk stablecoins and institutionalization. In this episode, we cover:

The landscape of stablecoin growth and activity
A world with many stablecoins vs few stablecoins
Winning/losing companies in the new stablecoin era
Impact on the longer tail of altcoins

Hoolie Tejwani (Coinbase) on The Evolution of Coinbase Ventures (EP.610) Apr 07, 2025

Show notes

Hoolie Tejwani, the head of Coinbase Ventures joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

The history and rationale behind the launch of Coinbase Ventures.
The evolution of the crypto venture category.
Areas of focus for Coinbase Ventures.
Stablecoins, Crypto/AI and consumer startup category.
The regulatory landscape in the United States.
Operation Chokepoint 2.0 and the impact on startups.
The rise of the Coinbase Mafia.

To learn more visit coinbase.com/ventures

Weekly Roundup 04/03/25 (Circle S1, Tariffs, Galaxy settles, BitMEX pardons) (EP.609) Apr 04, 2025

Show notes

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode:

What's the deal with the tariffs?
Are the tariffs 4D chess?
STABLE Act advances from committee
Galaxy settles with the NYAG for touting Luna
Trump pardons the BitMEX founders
Coinlist returns to the US
FDUSD has a depeg amidst Justin Sun drama
Fidelity launches a no-fee crypto IRA product
Larry Fink is bullish bitcoin

Content mentioned:

AI 2027, by Daniel Kokotajlo, Scott Alexander, Thomas Larsen, Eli Lifland, Romeo Dean

Alexei Zamyatin (Build on Bitcoin) on True Rollups on Bitcoin (EP.608) Apr 02, 2025

Show notes

Alexei Zamyatin, the cofounder of Build on Bitcoin (BOB), joins the show to talk about the state of the art in Bitcoin Rollups. In this episode:

Can Bitcoin achieve parity with Ethereum rollups?
How BitVM and BitVMv2 changed the game for Bitcoin rollups
When will Bitcoin rollups be considered "Stage 1"
Ethereum's existential crisis
Bitcoin fees in a rollup world
The risk of L2s cannibalizing Bitcoin
Will Bitcoin DeFi look different from Ethereum DeFi?
Why Bitcoin deserves Rollups
What soft forks is Alexei looking forward to?
Does institutionalization ossify Bitcoin?
BOB's progress and roadmap for 2025

Learn more about Build on Bitcoin

Try BOB: app.gobob.xyz

Weekly Roundup 03/28/25 (MiCA Stablecoins, Gamestop, Hyperliquid) (EP.607) Mar 28, 2025

Show notes

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode:

We reflect on our podcast with Paolo Ardoino
The EU's MiCA rules make launching a stablecoin virtually impossible
We explain the Ghiblification crazy
OCC removes Reputation risk from bank supervision
World Liberty Fi launches a stablecoin
Hyperliquid suffers an exploit - are they decentralized?
Fidelity is exploring the launch of a stablecoin
ICE is looking to use USDC
Coinbase is reportedly looking to acquire Deribit
US Treasury lifts sanctions on Tornado Cash
Sei is looking to buy 23andme

Paolo Ardoino (Tether) on stablecoin bills, pursuing an audit, and getting to 400m users (EP.606) Mar 26, 2025

Show notes

Paolo Ardoino, the CEO of Tether, rejoins the show for a timely discussion. In this episode:

How is Paolo feeling about political trends in the US today?
Tether is the 7th-largest buyer of USTs at the sovereign level
Paolo's decision to spend more time in the US
What does Paolo make of the stablecoin bills in Congress?
Does Tether want to eventually come onshore to the US?
Tether is pursuing a Big 4 Audit
The effect of Operation Choke Point 2.0 on Tether
Tether is moving their HQ to El Salvador
Paolo's thoughts on stablecoins in MiCA
How does Tether get to the figure of 400m global users of the stablecoin?
Tether's efforts to better understand their userbase and usage modes
Tether's methodology around balance sheet investing
Is Paolo concerned about crypto-dollarization?
Tether's relationship with Cantor now that Lutnick is Commerce Secretary
Is Paolo concerned about the emergence of interest-bearing stablecoins?

See also:

On The Brink ep.87: Paolo Ardoino (Bitfinex/Tether) – Managing the growth of Tether (June 2020)

Brian Foster on Coinbase's wholesale business (EP.605) Mar 24, 2025

Show notes

Brian Foster, the Global Head of Wholesale at Coinbase joins the show for his second appearance. In this episode we discuss:

A catch-up on the Wholesale business at Coinbase and the types of customers that are active in this market
How banks and broker-dealers are accelerating their efforts post-election
Perspectives on build vs. buy vs. partner decisions that are happening at banks after the repeal of SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin 121
Views on how banks will approach M&A
Coinbase's role in the digital asset ETF market
How Coinbase engages with government customers
Views on the Bitcoin strategic reserve

To learn more about Coinbase visit coinbase.com. Also follow Brian on X.

Weekly Roundup 03/21/25 (Trump addresses DAS, Kraken buys NinjaTrader, FIRM act advances) (EP.604) Mar 21, 2025

Show notes

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 says PoW mining is not a security
Tim Scott's debanking FIRM act advances from the Senate Banking Committee
We review Bessent's appearance on All In
What was the deal with the 'vibecession'

Weekly Roundup 03/14/25 (SBR is real, Trump and Binance, CZ pardon rumors) (EP.603) Mar 14, 2025

Show notes

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 for a sale of Binance equity?
Senate Banking votes to advance the Hagerty Stablecoin bill
The banks are against interest-bearing stablecoins
We recap the White House Crypto Summit
Banks want to do crypto

Jeff Park (Bitwise) on Digital Asset Alpha Strategies (EP.602) Mar 12, 2025

Show notes

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.

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