On The Brink with Castle Island

Latest Episodes:

Manuel Godoy (Felix Pago) on disrupting the LatAm remittance market (EP.531) May 28, 2024

Show notes

Felix Pago CEO and Co-Founder Manuel Godoy joins us for an episode to share how Felix Pago is utilizing stablecoins to make remittances easier for immigrants.

Manuel's personal story including financial services pain points as an immigrant
Felix's founding story around the massive Latin American remittance market
The importance of trust for remittance businesses
The dominance of WhatsApp as an operating system across Latam
Utilizing stablecoins to move money faster and cheaper

Weekly Roundup 05/24/24 (ETH ETF, FIT21 Act, Anti CBDC bill) (EP.530) May 24, 2024

Show notes

Matt and Nic return for another wild week in crypto. In this episode:

Whip Emmer returns to OTB
Matt's animal problems
Congress passes the SAB121 overturn
Gruenberg offers his resignation and what it means for crypto
In a stunning overturn the SEC approves the ETH ETF
The significance of the FIT21 act
The anti-CBDC bill passes the House

Sponsor notes:

Decoding the Digital Dollar
In Coin Metrics' State of the Network issue 260, we assess the growth and usage patterns across Coin Metrics' suite of stablecoin coverage

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) on Crypto's Legislative Wins (EP.529) May 24, 2024

Show notes

Minnesota Representative and House Whip Tom Emmer joins the show once again to talk about the policy sea change in Washington and recent legislative successes. In this episode:

The House passes Emmer's anti-CBDC bill
Trump's embrace of crypto and what that means
Why some Democrats and the White House have changed their tone on crypto
Congress votes to repeal SAB121 in defiance of Biden's veto threat
Is the influence of the progressives in DC waning with regards to crypto?
Will Biden follow through on his SAB121 overturn veto threat?
FDIC chair Marty Gruenberg's planned resignation and what that means
Whip Emmer's thoughts on stablecoin legislation
The SEC's reversal on the Ethereum ETF
The importance of the FIT21 act and its prospects in the Senate
Whip Emmer's legislative expectations over the remainder of 2024

Whip Emmer's prior OTB episodes:

Weekly Roundup 05/17/24 (SAB121 repeal, Paul Ryan on stables, Bitcoin ETF 13Fs) (EP.528) May 17, 2024

Show notes

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

The Senate votes to repeal SAB121
Which Democrats defied Biden on SAB121?
Chuck Schumer breaks with Warren
Paul Ryan's pro-stablecoin comments on Bloomberg
CME is launching a spot crypto exchange
The State of Wisconsin owns over $100m of Bitcoin ETFs
Pump.fun exploited
MEV exploiters arrested by the DoJ
What's up with Roaring Kitty?

Content mentioned in this episode:

Matt Hougan, Who's Buying Bitcoin ETFs (According to 13F Filings)
David Morris, What President Biden's Crypto Politics Might Really Be About
Rep Mike Flood and Wiley Nickel, It's time to overturn SAB 121

Sponsor notes:

Bitcoin's Halving Aftermath
In Coin Metrics' State of the Network issue 259, we analyze the impact of Runes and miner revenues in Bitcoin's post-halving landscape

Weekly Roundup 05/10/24 (Biden threatens SAB121 veto, Trump embraces crypto, FDIC scandal deepens) (EP.527) May 10, 2024

Show notes

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

The SAB121 repeal bill passes the House with 21 Democrat votes
Biden threatens to veto SAB121 repeal
Trump endorses crypto
Is Gensler a liability for Biden?
A scandal deepens at the FDIC
Senator Warren defends the embattled FDIC chair
Robinhood gets a Wells Notice from the SEC
Is FTX really offering over 100% recovery to creditors?
We review the Ohio State commencement speech
Greyscale withdraws their Ethereum ETF application

Content mentioned in this episode:

Nic on Medium, Five Perspectives on Stablecoins
Wyatt on Medium, Monad & Stablecoins

Sponsor notes:

The Usage & Evolution of Decentralized Exchanges (DEX's)
In Coin Metrics' State of the Network issue 258, we explore activity across Ethereum decentralized exchanges (DEXs)

Will Peck on Digital Assets at WisdomTree (EP.526) May 06, 2024

Show notes

Will Peck, Head of Digital Assets at WisdomTree re-joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

WisdomTree's journey in digital assets and the firm's strategy in the area.
Views on the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States.
Will's views on tokenization and how the firm is approaching this category.
WisdomTree's New York Trust Charter and the opportunities that the license opens up.
The evolving stablecoin landscape.
Views on evolving regulatory landscape.

To learn more about WisdomTree visit their digital assets page.

Weekly Roundup 05/03/24 (CZ sentenced, Roger Ver arrested, Coinbase earnings) (EP.525) May 03, 2024

Show notes

Matt and Nic are back for more news and deals. In this episode:

Matt get's 2nd in Jeopardy at ETH Boston
We reminisce over Nic's 2020 holiday quiz
Ian Cain's Senate candidacy in MA
CZ get 4 months in prison
The significance of '4'
Did CZ deserve his sentence?
Roger Ver arrested for tax fraud
Tough week of outflows from the ETFs
The chilling effects of the DoJ Samourai case
Coinbase reports earnings

Content mentioned:

Nic's 2020 Bitcoin Esoterica Compendium

Sponsor notes:

Measuring Exchange Quality & 'Fake Volume'
Trusted Exchange Framework
In Coin Metrics' State of the Network issue 257, we delve into our framework to assess exchange quality in digital asset markets

Ian Cain on Running for U.S. Senate from Massachusetts (EP.524) Apr 29, 2024

Show notes

Ian Cain, republican candidate for U.S. Senate in the state of Massachusetts against Elizabeth Warren joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

Ian's personal background and path to politics.
How he became interested in emerging / blockchain technology.
Qubic Labs and fostering a startup ecosystem in Massachusetts.
The on-chain municipal bond project in Quincy, MA.
The key issues that MA voters care about.
Elizabeth Warren's posture on crypto and whether the "anti-crypto army" is a real thing or a political stunt.
Stablecoins
Digital asset market infrastructure and why it is important to prioritize this effort.
Ian's message for Massachusetts voters.

Links:

To support Ian Cain please visit www.cainforus.com
To learn more about Qubic Labs visit www.qubiclabs.com
Qubic's Impact Report
More on the Quincy Municipal Bond effort.

Weekly Roundup 04/26/25 (DEBTBox fallout, DoJ vs Samourai Wallet, IMF on Bitcoin flows) (EP.523) Apr 26, 2024

Show notes

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

CIV's new stablecoin survey
What happened with Runes?
Lawsuit against the SEC's dealer rule
New capital gains tax proposal
How would taxing unrealized gains work?
Two SEC lawyers leave in connection with the DEBT Box scandal
The founders of Samourai wallet are arrested and charged by the DoJ
Morgan Stanley close to permitting Bitcoin ETF to be solicited by their brokers
Hong Kong Bitcoin ETFs go live
Block is building Bitcoin mining hardware
Visa's stablecoin analytics dashboard
Bitcoin Sign Guy sells his sign
TikTok ban reactions
Choke Point 2.0 moves to fintechs

Content mentioned in this episode:

Sponsor notes:

Layer-1 Landscape
In Coin Metrics' State of the Network issue 256, we explore the diverse landscape of Layer-1 blockchains

Chris Harmse (BVNK) on Building Global Stablecoin Infrastructure (EP.522) Apr 24, 2024

Show notes

Chris Harmse, co-founder and VP of Revenue at BVNK joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

Chris' career and the path to founding BVNK.
The origin story of BVNK and how the company has evolved over time.
The key drivers behind the adoption of stablecoins.
Segmenting the stablecoin market.
Interest bearing stablecoins and the impact that this category will have on the overall market.
Tokenized money funds and the future of securities settlement.
How stablecoins will refactor the global FX market.
The regulatory landscape and how stablecoin adoption is evolving in various regions.

To learn more about BVNK visit their website.

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