On The Brink with Castle Island

Latest Episodes:

Peter Johnson (BH Digital) on the Relentless rise of Stablecoins (EP.451) Sep 13, 2023

Show notes

Peter Johnson, co-head of Venture at Brevan Howard Digital, returns to the show to talk about his latest theses on stablecoins. In this episode:

The origins of Peter's interest in stables
We review Peter's prior stablecoin predictions
USDC versus USDT market share trends
Peter's main takeaways from the Relentless Rise paper
Stablecoin usage on BSC and TRON
Peter's views on PYUSD
The emergence of interest-bearing stablecoins
How synthetic USD stablecoins might work
Stablecoin comparisons to the Eurodollar market
We make some predictions

Further reading on PoR:

Nic in Forbes, The crypto industry is embracing self regulation. It's time Washington gets on board
Texas HB1666
TBC, Texas 'Proof of Reserves' Bill

Weekly Roundup 09/01/23 (SEC loses vs Grayscale, Impact Theory implications) (EP.447) Aug 31, 2023

Show notes

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

Tether is actually the most interventionist stablecoin when it comes to freezing
Should we be bullish on PYUSD?
Why stablecoin data shows meaningful utility for public blockchains
Is the idea of a 'crypto generalist' dead?
The meaning of the SEC's loss in court to Grayscale
Why the SEC was 'arbitrary and capricious'
The SEC's blunder over their approval of Futs ETFs
The SEC's possible options
Our guesses for how the SEC reacts to their loss
The SEC delays other pending spot ETFs
The SEC wins against Impact Theory
Why the case against Impact Theory could implicate a lot of other NFT projects
Uniswap wins a class action case
What does the SEC's case against Binance being under seal mean?

Content mentioned:

BH Digital, The Relentless Rise of Stablecoins
WSJ, The SEC Strikes Out Again on Crypto With Grayscale

Sponsor notes:

Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK — Coin Convergence: Piecing Together Common Ownership Patterns Across Major Stablecoins
In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 222, we highlight trends in user behavior & common ownership across major stablecoins on Ethereum

Weekly Roundup 08/25/23 (Coinbase v Circle, Tornado Cash indictment, chat app tokens) (EP.446) Aug 25, 2023

Show notes

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

The Bitcoin halving is coming up
We review the Republican Presidential debate
We review the state of New Jersey
Coinbase takes a stake in Circle
Hidden tensions between Coinbase and Circle
BH Digital releases a stablecoin report
USDC is challenged due to their inability to pay interest
The DoJ charges the founders of Tornado Cash with AML and sanctions violations
Did the Tornado Cash token hurt the founders' case?
The problem with chat apps creating their own tokens
FTX is working with Galaxy to liquidate some crypto
SBF isn't happy with his prison meals
Prime Trust was up to some shenanigans

Content mentioned:

BH Digital, The Relentless Rise of Stablecoins

Sponsor notes:

Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK — From East to West: the Global Pulse of Stablecoin Transactions
In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 221, we provide a data-driven overview of halvings and their implications in anticipation for Bitcoin's upcoming 4th halving

Darshan Vaidya (Credora) on Risk Management and Credit Markets (EP.445) Aug 21, 2023

Show notes

Darshan Vaidya, the founder of Credora joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

The crypto credit markets, what went wrong in the last cycle and how the market functions today
Thoughts on Real-World-Assets on chain
Comparisons of risk management approaches in tradfi versus crypto markets
How Credora is working with firms to protect customers from idiosyncratic risk
The capital raising environment

To learn more about Credora visit www.credora.io

Weekly Roundup 08/18/23 (Stablecoins offshoring, Better Markets oddity, more Prometheum) (EP.444) Aug 18, 2023

Show notes

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

Geographic distribution for USDC v USDT
Blockchains have become dollarized
What's the deal with Helium's phone plan?
SBF heads to jail
We inaugurate a new member of the bad boys
Dubai regulators fines OPNX
What's up with Argentina's Libertarian presidential candidate?
We need a new theme song for the SEC
The Prometheum saga rumbles on
What's going on with Better Markets?
Coinbase can now offer Bitcoin and ETH futures
FTX and Genesis reach a settlement

Content mentioned in this episode:

Brooke Masters in the FT, When Tackling Crypto, the SEC Should Be Wary of Overreach
Kristin Smith in Coindesk, The FIT Act Is the Most Comprehensive Crypto Regulation Ever Voted on by Congress

Sponsor notes:

Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK — From East to West: the Global Pulse of Stablecoin Transactions
In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 220, we leverage seasonality analysis to reveal geographical trends in Stablecoin usage and volumes

Weekly Roundup 08/11/23 (PayPal's stablecoin, the Fed's oversight program, Ryan Salame emerges) (EP.443) Aug 11, 2023

Show notes

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

Matt's op-ed in Coindesk
SAB121 is still bad
SEC scope creep
We investigate PayPal's stablecoin
Why would PayPal want to issue a stablecoin?
What does PYUSD mean for Operation Choke Point for 2.0?
Why PYUSD is being launched on Ethereum
Crypto as a flashpoint for state versus federal banking oversight
The Fed's new crypto oversight program
Banks still can't issue stablecoins in the US
Ryan Salame reemerges
What will become of Ryan Salame's restaurant empire?
SBF will indeed be prosecuted on campaign finance violations
SBF's trial will not be televised
LK-99 did NOT replicate

Content mentioned in this episode:

Matt in Coindesk, Congress, Not the SEC, Should Set U.S. Digital Asset Policy
Zach Wong, A comprehensive explanation of SAB 121 and how it prevents safe crypto custody

Sponsor notes:

Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK: DeFi's Double Edged Sword - Unpacking the Features & Risks of DeFi Lending
In our new special insights report, we utilize a balance sheet like methodology to contextualize the health of DeFi lending protocols through the lens of two recent exploits on Aave and Curve Finance

Weekly Roundup 08/04/23 (SEC vs HEX, Base and BALD, Curve hacked) (EP.442) Aug 04, 2023

Show notes

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

Nic's early Do Kwon experience
Reflecting back on Terra/Luna
The SEC charges Richard Heart and HEX
Is the SEC's case against Richard Heart flimsy?
Does the SEC deserve praise for coming after HEX?
Kyle Davies thinks he's immune from prosecution because he gave up his US citizenship
Who's behind the BALD rugpull?
Implications of the Curve hack
We look at Tether's asset portfolio
Kenya suspends Worldcoin operations in the country
Is there an account firm choke point?
Ethereum future ETFs are filed
Judge Rakoff dissents from the Torres doctrine

Content mentioned:

CIV white paper on Cryptodollars

Sponsor notes:

STATE OF THE NETWORK: Decoding the Digital Dollar — Unraveling the Risks of Stablecoins
In our new special insights report, CM lays out the key fragilities of stablecoins and how on-chain and market data can help monitor these risks for the future of digital dollars to materialize

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

On The Brink with Castle Island

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected