On The Brink with Castle Island

Latest Episodes:

Matt Ahlborg (UsefulTulips.org) – Bitcoin as a Bridge Currency (EP.79) May 13, 2020

Show notes

Peer to peer marketplaces are a wealth of data on genuine demand for Bitcoin – but not in the way you might think. As it turns out, a large fraction of the volume in these markets relates to complex, multi-step trades designed to use Bitcoin as a bridge currency to move fiat-denominated remittances, especially into countries like Venezuela.

Matt Ahlborg, data scientist and creator of UsefulTulips.org, has done great work compiling this data and engaging with these traders to determine what exactly is happening on these opaque marketplaces, and what Bitcoin is being used for. In this episode we cover:

How Matt went from working in the Navy to pursuing a career in Bitcoin data science
Why p2p exchange volume is more reliable
What a massive blackout in Venezuela tells us about foreign exchange flows in Latin America
How exactly Bitcoin works as a bridge currency on p2p exchanges
The under-reported role of Chinese exporters in Venezuela on LocalBitcoins
Matt's investigation into how Argentine capital controls are driving p2p Bitcoin volumes
Why Bitcoin still dominates in p2p markets rather than stablecoins
Why p2p volumes are likely significantly larger than the reported numbers

Patrick Dugan (Tradelayer) – HyperCryptoDollarization (EP.78) May 11, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, we talk to Patrick Dugan, coiner of the term 'crypto-dollarization'. Patrick has a wealth of knowledge regarding stablecoins and the prospects for public blockchains to carry fiat-denominated value. Covered in this episode:

His formative experiences living under capital controls in Argentina
How Patrick's time in LatAm taught him about dollarization
Political drivers of the dollar's predominance in LATAM
How Patrick realized that crypto-dollarization would be important
Patrick's experiences working for the Omni Layer Foundation
Patrick's analysis of the earliest stablecoins like BitUSD, Nubits, and Tether (Omni)
Patrick's analysis of the stablecoin models which are most likely to succeed long-term
Likely geopolitical effects of crypto-dollarization

Weekly News Roundup 5/8/20 (Paul Tudor Jones, the stablecoin invasion, Cash App's Q1) (EP.77) May 08, 2020

Show notes

Matt and Nic review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include:

Renowned commodities investor Paul Tudor Jones announces his intent to trade Bitcoin and releases a Bitcoin thesis
NEAR protocol gets funded
Are fair launches dead?
The under-appreciated merit of PoW issuance
Libra's new CEO hire
Wyoming's Special-Purpose Depository Institution legislation
The privacy-auditability tradeoff in blockchains
Whether the growth of stablecoins threatens the security model of public blockchains
Thoughts on the imminent halving
Our guess of who the next high profile hedge fund investor will be to flip bullish on Bitcoin

Ganesh Viswanath-Natraj (Warwick) – What Keeps Stablecoins Stable? (EP.76) May 06, 2020

Show notes

The question of Tether's influence on crypto markets has long vexed practitioners and academics. In a widely-publicized 2018 paper, academics Griffin and Shams allege that Tether was being issued collusively, effectively increasing the price of Bitcoin beyond its natural level.

To learn how Tether behaves like a currency board, and to assess the veracity of the Griffin & Shams hypothesis in light of new data, we brought Ganesh Viswanath-Natraj on to the show. Ganesh is an Assistant Professor of Finance at Warwick Business School, covering international finance and macroeconomics, with a focus on foreign exchange derivatives, market microstructure and cryptocurrencies.

Find the full text of the paper here, and follow Ganesh's work on his personal website.

Marcos Veremis (Evanston Capital) on the Institutional Allocators Perspective on Cryptoassets (EP.75) May 04, 2020

Show notes

Marcos Veremis, Managing Director at Evanston Capital Management joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

Marcos' time at Cambridge Associates and how he came to lead cryptoasset research at the firm
His perspectives on the various investment theses that are gaining traction with institutional allocators
Fund structure, strategy and other crypto-fund considerations

To learn more about Evanston Capital Management visit their website

Weekly News Roundup 5/1/20 (SEC vc. SAFTs, Telegram, Ebang IPO) (EP.74) May 01, 2020

Show notes

Matt and Nic review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include:

Deals of the week
The SEC's court battle against the SAFT on two fronts
Ebang's IPO announcement
a16z Crypto's new fund
FTX's entry into the US
Telegram's new offer to investors
Brian Quintenz leaves the CFTC

Moiz Kohari (Manetu) on Building Software to Enable Data Privacy (EP.73) Apr 28, 2020

Show notes

Moiz Kohari, the co-founder and CEO of Manetu, a company building a Consumer Privacy Management (CPM) platform for enterprises to manage personally identifiable information (PII) joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

Moiz's recent experience contracting COVID-19
His motivation to start Manetu after holding high profile roles at State Street, London Stock Exchange and Novell
Data privacy and the challenges enterprises face complying with upcoming regulations
The state of blockchain and cryptoasset projects at large financial firms

Learn more about Manetu at www.manetu.com

Peter Johnson (Jump Capital) on Fintech Investing (EP.72) Apr 27, 2020

Show notes

Peter Johnson, Head of Fintech and Crypto Investing at Jump Capital joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

Peter's fintech thesis and the categories that he is most excited about
Jump Trading's crypto journey and how Jump Capital works with the core trading business
Cryptoasset market infrastructure and the categories that need to exist in order for this industry to thrive

Learn more about Jump Capital at www.jumpcap.com and follow Peter @TheChicagoVC

Weekly News Roundup 4/24/20 (RenTech trading Bitcoin, It's Time to Build, dForce) (EP.71) Apr 24, 2020

Show notes

Matt and Nic review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week's topics include:

Deals of the week
Our changing view of the halving
Renaissance Technologies' announcement that they have the capacity to trade Bitcoin
Our reaction to Mark Andreessen's "It's Time To Build"
The dForce hack
Ripple's lawsuit against Youtube
Nic's defense of Coors Light

Michael Sonnenshein on building a Crypto-Asset Management Franchise (EP.70) Apr 22, 2020

Show notes

Michael Sonnenshein, Managing Director at Grayscale Investments joins the show. In this episode we discuss:

Grayscale's record quarter, raising $503.7 million in Q1 2020
The pace of institutional adoption of passively managed crypto asset products
Thoughts on Libra, the halvening and other upcoming events in the cryptoasset industry

Learn more about Grayscale at Grayscale.co and follow them on Twitter @GrayscaleInvest

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