On The Brink with Castle Island

Latest Episodes:

Weekly Roundup 07/28/23 (Market Structure bill advances, stablecoin catch-22, debanking in the UK) (EP.441) Jul 28, 2023

Show notes

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

Nic's issues editing the show
Why Washington is attacking PoR
Why Big 4 audit firms aren't working on PoR
The Financial Innovation and Technology in the 21st Century bill (FIT) passes out of committee in the House
Six Democrats defect and support the bill
The Stablecoin bill reaches an impasse because the White House
Why stablecoins being limited to the banks is a paradox
The SEC settles with Quantstamp
SBF gets a gag order because he released Caroline Ellison's diaries
SBF did actually pay for his legal defense with stolen FTX customer money
The UK gets embroiled in a banking scandal due to Nigel Farage
We digest the room temperature ambient pressure superconductor news
Nic's pickleball injury

Content mentioned:

Nic in Fortune, The crypto industry is embracing self regulation. It's time Washington gets on board
Kathleen Breitman in Fortune, Ben McKenzie needs a hug: The 'OC' star's crypto book is an ill-informed flop

Sponsor notes:

Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK - From Orange Groves to Orange Gold
In this special edition of State of the Network, we are excited to share a new report that translates the legal language of securities framework for digital assets into objective, measurable criteria from "on-chain" data

Richard Meissner (Safe) on Account Abstraction Adoption and Barriers (EP.440) Jul 26, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, we hosted Richard Meissner, CTO of Safe, to illuminate the state of adoption of smart contract wallets following the roll out of ERC-4337 (an effort to standardize account abstraction on Ethereum). Our conversation covers:

The limitations of smart contract wallets in a multi-chain universe

Account recovery and hybrid custody using traditional institutions

Combining account abstraction with intents and AI

Worldcoin's use of Safes and adoption of smart contract accounts

Find additional content by Safe on account abstraction here.

Weekly Roundup 07/21/23 (Nasdaq reconsiders custody, the Torres doctrine) (EP.439) Jul 21, 2023

Show notes

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

Was XRP discovered or created?
The saga of Otter 841
Matt's wildlife trouble
More SAB121 chaos
Rep Ritchie Torres sends Gensler a tough letter
What is the Torres Doctrine?
Terraform labs has a new CEO
Our theories for why Nasdaq pulled the plug on their crypto custody business
The IRS is auditing the crypto rich in PR
We bring back our triple threat segment

Content mentioned

Matt's thread on SAB121
Bloomberg's profile on Customers Bank
We enjoyed the Fidelity Digital Assets Q2 Signals Report.
BitMEX Research had a thoughtful article about Gary Gensler's CFTC days
Kathleen Breitman in Fortune, Ben McKenzie needs a Hug

Sponsor notes:

Coin Metrics' State of the Network: Currents Shift After SEC v. Ripple Summary Judgment
In this issue of State of the Network, we provide a data-driven overview of digital asset markets after a milestone ruling in SEC v. Ripple case

Weekly Roundup 07/14/23 (Ripple gets a W, Machinsky arrested, PoR in federal legislation) (EP.438) Jul 14, 2023

Show notes

Matt and Nic are back with a huge week in the markets. In this episode:

Ripple gets a key win in their summary judgment versus the SEC
Implications for XRP holders
Implications for exchanges and other tokens
Prometheum's denials about their ties to the CCP don't hold water How Prometheum is a Potemkin platform
Alex Machinsky has been arrested
Arkham's tokensale and doxing snafu
The Lummis Gillebrand bill gets a facelift and incorporates PoR
The prospects for the Lummis Gillebrand bill
Updates on the piping plovers
Why Threads isn't going to make it

Sponsor notes:

Coin Metrics' State of the Network: Spot On - From Trusts to Spot ETFs
In this issue of State of the Network, we dive deeper into Grayscale's trusts and discuss the evolution of the digital assets investment landscape with the anticipated arrival of spot ETF's

Amir Haleem (Nova Labs) on Helium, DEPIN, and DeWi (EP.437) Jul 10, 2023

Show notes

Amir Haleem, the founder of Nova Labs (formerly named Helium, Inc) joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

The origin of Helium and the Helium network
Amir's views on L1 blockchains and the path that the company took in evaluating building its own chain versus building on an existing L1.
Decentralized Physical Infrastructure (DEPIN) and Decentralized Wireless (DEWI) as emerging categories demonstrating real-world applicability of public blockchains.
The various tokens in the Helium ecosystem and how they interact.
MVNOs and how Helium Mobile is positioned.
The regulatory landscape in the United States and how Helium has navigated these waters.

To learn more about Helium visit: helium.com/

Weekly Roundup 07/07/23 (Taylor Swift's FTX secret, XRP vs glazed donuts, ETF seeding) (EP.436) Jul 07, 2023

Show notes

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

Matt's plover rivalry
Matt's struggles against animals
Taylor Swift actually did sign that partnership with FTX
Are Eras tour tickets securities?
Lightning in emerging markets
Could we build the SR-71 today?
How Ripple was 90% right about XRP being the bridge currency for remittances
ETF applications hiccup
More SAB121 issues
Matt's cigar snafu
Why ETF seeding will be a source of buy pressure

Sponsor notes:

Coin Metrics' State of the Network: Q2 2023 Wrap-Up
In this issue of State of the Network, we provide a data-driven overview of the events that shaped digital asset ecosystem in Q2, 2023

Jose Lemus (IBEX Mercado) on Lightning adoption in Emerging Markets (EP.435) Jul 03, 2023

Show notes

Jose Lemus, CEO and cofounder at IBEX Mercado, joins the show to talk Lightning and its growing usage in emerging markets. In this episode:

The origins of IBEX
How IBEX clients are using LN in emerging markets
How Lightning as a settlement layer for cross-border interbank payments
Lightning as a bridge currency
Why stablecoins make sense on Lightning
Why EM firms have an affinity for Lightning
IBEX's partnership with Grupo Salinas and how they are introducing Lightning to Mexican households
Lightning as an emerging remittance tool
Why Mexico is a good fight for Lightning adoption
Is Jose satisfied with Lightning's maturity as a protocol
How Bitcoin's market cap is the ultimate bandwidth for Lightning
Why Lightning reimagines the established batched payments model
Jose's answer to the biggest critique of Lightning at present

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