On The Brink with Castle Island

Latest Episodes:

Tim Rice and Ben Celermajer (Coin Metrics) on a new measure of cryptoasset supply (EP.99) Jul 06, 2020

Show notes

Tim Rice, Coin Metrics CEO, and Ben Celermajer, index manager at Coin Metrics join the show to discuss a new supply measure for cryptoassets which takes into account their "free float." This is designed to take into account coins which are immobilized or illiquid, and brings a systematic approach to the issue inherited from traditional capital markets. In this episode:

Why Coin Metrics developed a "free float" measure of supply and why it's informative to investors
How CM borrowed from index weighting strategies in equity markets to devise a free methodology for cryptoassets
Why the highly auditable nature of cryptocurrencies allows for extremely informative assessments of supply
The lack of standards in how supply is assessed among existing data providers
Which assets saw the greatest reduction in supply due to the free float adjustment
How market capitalization in equities in indexes went through a historical transition from total supply to float-adjusted supply

For more on free float supply, see CM's introductory research piece on the topic.

Weekly News Roundup 07/02/20 (Zimbabwe re-dollarization, Bitcoin's GINI coefficient, more issues with 'market cap') (EP.98) Jul 03, 2020

Show notes

Matt and Nic cover the top stories of the week. In this episode:

The MPC custody debate
NYDIG raises $190m for a Bitcoin fund
Zimbabwe bans all mobile money services and contemplates redollarization
4% of the UK population owns cryptocurrency, according to the securities regulator
What a long-defunct exchange has to do with Bitcoin's GINI coefficient
Why the 'market cap' of BCH and BSV is significantly overstated
Why 'market cap' remains a problematic measure to compare cryptoassets
Ark Invest's rebuttal to Goldman
Nic gets a paper published in an antitrust law journal
The looming antitrust wave against big tech

Dave Balter on Leadership, Humility and the Startup Journey (EP.97) Jun 30, 2020

Show notes

Dave Balter, the cofounder and CEO of Flipside Crypto, a business intelligence company focused on public blockchains, joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

Dave's new book, The Humility Imperative, and the lessons he has learned from seven startups
His POV on leadership in an emerging market like cryptoassets/blockchain
Reflections on fundraising, remote working, personal relationships and more.

To learn more about Flipside Crypto visit their website and follow Dave @DaveBalter

Lyn Alden on debt, the dollar, and Bitcoin (EP.96) Jun 29, 2020

Show notes

We host Lyn Alden, equity research and investment strategist focusing on global macro and commodities, to talk about the debt overhang, the effect of the dollar as the reserve currency, QE, the likelihood of inflation, and the prospects for Bitcoin.

In this episode:

How the Bretton Woods system broke down and gave way to the Nixon shock
The genesis of the petrodollar system with Saudi Arabia
Alternatives to the dollar reserve that were mooted prior to Bretton Woods II
Why the dollar reserve system has begun to impose a cost on americans rather than being a net benefit
How the US became a debtor nation and what that means for the middle class
Why the US dollar can't find a natural equilibrium
The relationship between dollar strength and emerging markets
Why the US government is caught between remaining strategic power through dollar centrality versus re-onshoring supply chains
Can the world transition past a dollar standard?
Why global commodities being priced in a single currency is a historical aberration
Why calling QE simply an asset swap isn't a complete description
Why our monetary situation bears resemblance to the 1940s
The Fed's changing inflation target
Why QE in 2008-14 was largely noninflationary and why this time might be different
Lyn's view on Bitcoin and how it fits into her macro thesis
Lyn's major concerns about Bitcoin

Weekly News Roundup 6/26/20 (Paypal rumors, Telegram settles with the SEC, the Compound situation demystified) (EP.95) Jun 26, 2020

Show notes

Matt and Nic cover the top stories of the week. In this episode:

More Proof of Reserve chatter
OmiseGo's parent company raises $80m
Bitmex backs a new options exchange
Paypal plans to roll out crypto products
KPMG announces Chain Fusion
USDC goes multi-chain
We explain the COMP situation
Telegram finally settles with the SEC
Jay Clayton eyes the SNDY job
An explanation of Bitcoin as a synthetic commodity money
Our favorite and least favorite regional Fed branches
Why a US CBDC has troubling privacy implications
Our breakdown of the Compound situation

Pat Larsen on making taxes easy for cryptoassets (Ep.94) Jun 24, 2020

Show notes

Pat Larsen, cofounder and CEO of ZenLedger joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

Pat's entrepreneurial journey and the path that led him to start Zenledger
The current state of cryptoasset tax regulation
Perspectives on emerging consumer use cases and new applications for cryptoassets

To learn more about ZenLedger visit their website and to receive a 15% discount on your tax prep this year use the coupon code "Castle15"

Noah Buxton and Jeremy Nau (Armanino LLP) on Proof of Reserves: the view from the auditors (EP.93) Jun 22, 2020

Show notes

Noah Buxton, director and co-lead of Armanino's blockchain practice and Jeremy Nau, senior manager of the practice join the show. Armanino LLP is an accounting and audit firm that has developed proof of reserve tools for exchanges and custodians, as well as real time attestation tools for stablecoins. In this episode, we cover:

How Armanino came to engage with crypto financial companies
Why Proof of Reserve matters to the industry
How a modern Proof of Reserve process is mechanically carried out
Why exchanges are looking to adopt PoR today
Why the first round of PoR didn't stick
Why the Liability side is so tricky
Why involve an auditor in a PoR process
Whether PoR inherently requires an audit or accounting firm
Proof of Reserve as a way to avoid onerous regulation
Armanino's real time assurance tool for Trust Token

Weekly News Roundup 6/19/20 (River Financial, Microsoft ION launches, a new Bitcoin ETF approach) (EP.92) Jun 19, 2020

Show notes

Matt and Nic cover the top stories of the week. In this episode:

An update on our office plant
River Financial raises a seed round, and our thesis on Bitcoin financial institutions
Microsoft ION launches on mainnet
Private keys as private property
Wisdomtree's commodity ETF... feat. Bitcoin
Another ICO bites the dust
Former CFTC chairman Giancarlo says Ripple isn't a security
XRP... was it created or discovered?
What cryptodollars mean for utility tokens

David Nage (Arca) on how family offices are engaging with cryptoassets (EP.91) Jun 17, 2020

Show notes

David Nage, Principal and Head of Strategic Relations at Arca joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

David's experience in the family office channel and his path to the crypto industry
His upcoming FO256 family office virtual conference on June 24th
Podcasting and content creation as a complement to investing in the blockchain industry

To learn more about David check out his Base Layer podcast and follow him @DavidJNage

Ryan Rabaglia (OSL) – Cryptodollars: the view from Hong Kong (EP.90) Jun 15, 2020

Show notes

Ryan Rabaglia has had a colorful career trading forex, equity, and oil before making his way into the cryptocurrency markets. He's witnessed crypto develop from a niche, uninvestable curiosity to a liquid and financialized global asset. Now Managing Director and Global Head of Trading at OSL, one of the largest digital asset brokerages in the world, Ryan has a unique view of crypto markets. We invited Ryan on the show to talk his personal journey to crypto, how he established himself at a leading digital asset platform in Hong Kong, and of course his market color on the dollarization of crypto markets, and how Tether is understood and used in Asia. In this episode:

Ryan's journey from commodity trading to Bitcoin
Ryan's explanation for Tether's explosive growth since March
How funds play the Tether arbitrage game
The compression of margins in OTC desks
Where Tether's accumulated credibility derives from
Whether there is a perception that Tether would resist regulators if it came to a fight
Whether cryptodollars are forcing out BTC as reserve collateral
How March 12 was a catalyst for the growth of Tether
The growth of alternative use cases for Tether outside of inter-exchange settlement
Why traders prefer dollars, regardless of jurisdiction

Follow Ryan on Twitter.

About OSL: OSL is an Asia-based digital asset brokerage that provides a global counterpart network with a suite of institutional products and services. OSL's capabilities include industry-leading over-the-counter trading with access to large pools of liquidity, systematic RFQ, exchange and custody services for institutions and professional investors. OSL is part of BC Group, which is publicly traded in Hong Kong. Learn more about OSL at osl.com.

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