On The Brink with Castle Island

Latest Episodes:

Kim Grauer (Chainalysis) on the Geography of Crypto Adoption (EP. 481) Dec 06, 2023

Show notes

Kim Grauer, director of research at Chainalysis, joins the show to talk about their 2023 Geography of Crypto Adoption report. In this episode:

The difficulty of ascertaining reliable illicit finance data for crypto
Why Chainalysis started publishing the Geography of Crypto report
Why emerging markets dominate in terms of crypto adoption
How Chainalysis devised their methodology
What the variables in their index mean
Potential sources of error or noise in the data
How Chainalysis overlays internet traffic data with blockchain data to determine usage on a country by country basis
Top countries on the index and changes from prior years
Evidence for cryptodollarization
What variables correlate with crypto adoption globally
Countries with positive year/year growth in crypto adoption

Content mentioned in this episode:

Ruud Smets and Marc de Kloe (Theta Capital) on Blockchain Fund of Funds (EP.480) Dec 04, 2023

Show notes

Ruud Smets and Marc de Kloe of Theta Capital join the show. In this episode we discuss:

Theta's initial foray into the world of blockchain focused venture funds and hedge funds.
The process of educating institutional limited partners on this emerging technology.
How the Theta team segments the investable opportunities in the blockchain industry.
Views on fund capacity and securing allocations in promising managers.
Views on co-investment opportunities and how Theta has approached these opportunities.
Promising trends for 2024.
The Legends4Legends conference and plans with the event going forward.

To learn more about Theta Capital visit thetacapital.com

Weekly Roundup 12/01/23 (SEC v Binance, Treasury letter to Congress) (EP.479) Dec 01, 2023

Show notes

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

Content mentioned in this episode:

Sponsor notes:

Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK—Dollar-Cost Averaging Portfolio
In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 235, we delve into the dollar-cost averaging strategy in the digital asset market, emphasizing the need for informed investment choices

Vivek Ramaswamy on his crypto platform, stablecoins, and Choke Point 2.0 (EP.478) Nov 27, 2023

Show notes

Vivek Ramaswamy is a Republican candidate for President in 2024. In this episode we sit down to dig into his crypto policy proposals:

Further resources:

Weekly Roundup 11/23/23 (OpenAI drama, Binance settlement, Milei wins) (EP.477) Nov 23, 2023

Show notes

Matt and Nic return for a Thanksgiving episode. In this edition:

Sponsor notes:

Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK— Checking On-Chain Indicators for Green Shoots in the Digital Assets Market
In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 234 we present a selection of indicators that offer us insights against the backdrop of a recent surge in valuations within the digital assets ecosystem.