Mustafa Yilham (Bixin) on the industrial Bitcoin miner perspective (EP.155)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Release Date: 12/07/2020
Weekly Roundup 08/01/25 (SEC’s Project Crypto, In-kind ETFs, White House report) (EP.651)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: The White House publishes their highly awaited crypto report SEC Chair Paul Atkins makes a landmark speech Stablecoin-focused L1s DAT mNAV premia are converging to 1 Figma IPO The SEC embraces tokenized securities, airdrops, token issuance, and DeFi In-kind create and redeem has been authorized for Bitcoin ETFs JPM deepens their partnership with Coinbase Roman Storm verdict is imminent Further reading: Blockworks’ Omid Malekan and Zach Pandl, White House, Paul Atkins, Nic Carter,
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Michael Bentley (Euler) on Euler's Comeback (EP.650)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Wyatt sits down with , the founder of . In this episode: Euler's founding story, infamous security incident, and comeback story How the team and protocol stayed together in the face of immense challenges The value of personal relationships in crypto despite a pseudonymous culture
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Weekly Roundup 07/25/25 (Tether’s GENIUS options, Defending Free Banks, Saylor’s Stretch) (EP.649)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Matt and Nic are back with another week of news and deals. In this episode: Defending “Free Banking” from the critics – and why stablecoins are unlike free banks The American Bankers Association doesn’t like new crypto charters Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announces the company’s plan to launch a new US-based stablecoin this year Strategy announced the plans for the fourth preferred stock offering this week, STRC, or "Stretch." Anchorage Digital, which does hold an OCC banking charter, is a new stablecoin issuance platform. The first stablecoin product will...
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Cyrus Shirazi (Haven) on Better Bookkeeping for Crypto Startups & Beyond (EP.648)
On The Brink with Castle Island
CEO of joins the show. In this episode: R&D tax credits and offering an attractive tax product to early stage companies What on-chain finance needs to fulfill becoming a better ledger for accounting What startups should look for in a tax & accounting partner
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Weekly Roundup 07/18/25 (GENIUS is Law, Clarity passes, narrow banking and GENIUS) (EP.647)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: The Coldplay concert incident It’s Crypto Week in Washington Talos acquires Coin Metrics Do you need an MTL to run a fantasy football league? GENIUS Act is law pending Trump’s signature Clarity Act passes the House ICO Fairshake raises $141m Grayscale is preparing for an IPO Adam Back’s Bitcoin access vehicle Polymarket beats the allegations Is GENIUS creating a narrow bank system? Governor Waller's comments on stablecoins and banks
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Nikhil Raghuveera (Predicate) on Policy Engines for Blockchains (EP.646)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Wyatt sits down with of to talk policy for blockchain applications. In this episode: How Predicate’s “rules for blockchain transactions” are making on-chain finance more scalable and secure Creating more compliant stablecoin transfer systems suitable to mass financial use cases The future of secure money movement How leading software and financial firms can integrate transaction policies in their workflows
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Weekly Roundup 07/11/25 (New BTC ATH, Crypto Week, Zelensky suit scandal) (EP.645)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Bitcoin hits a new ATH and no one is talking about it Grok goes haywire The White House posts chudjak Core Weave looks to buy Core Scientific Stablecoins are going to pay yield anyway Did Zelenskyy wear a suit? How should prediction markets be settled? ICO is coming up Hester Peirce issues a warning on tokenized securities Crypto Week in Congress is coming up Jonathan Gould has been confirmed as Comptroller of the Currency There are new public access vehicles Andreessen wants you to leave Delaware A fundamental...
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Zac Townsend (Meanwhile) on Bitcoin Life Insurance (EP.644)
On The Brink with Castle Island
, the founder and CEO of , joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Zac’s background and the path that led him to start Meanwhile. The mechanics of Bitcoin denominated life insurance. How Meanwhile generates Bitcoin yield. Zac’s views on the evolution of Bitcoin treasury companies. To learn more about Meanwhile visit
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Charles Hamel (Opera MiniPay) on Globalizing Dollar Access (EP.643)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Charles Hamel, Product Director at joins the show. In this episode: Stablecoin habits in emerging markets Prospects for local stablecoins What’s next on the stablecoin horizon
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Weekly Roundup 07/04/25 (Tokenized stocks, Crypto Week, BBB passes) (EP.642)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: EthCC troubles Robinhood has been shipping Figma owns BTC The House GOP has declared "crypto week" in July Circle and Ripple are applying for bank charters AI companies are buying Bitcoin miners Sharia finance The BBB passes America teeters towards default The Sohan Parekh fiasco How do tokenized stocks work? Another architect of OCP2.0 bites the dust Is AI going to usher in a socialist revolution? Ric Edelman wants you to buy crypto Franklin Templeton is worried about...
info_outlineMustafa Yilham, VP of global business development at Bixin, joins the show. Bixin is an early Asia-based Bitcoin miner; they operate a popular wallet app, and they run a Bitcoin-denominated quant fund of funds. We cover prevailing myths around industrial Bitcoin mining and the reality of sourcing energy at competitive prices for mining. In this episode:
- The story behind Bixin's Bitcoin-denominated quant fund
- How Bixin's fund of fund employs a Bitcoin benchmark
- Why Bixin as a firm is not market neutral and does not hedge their mining operation
- Whether miners have a procyclical or countercyclical effect on the price of Bitcoin
- Whether or not miners are fundamentally long Bitcoin
- The key considerations for finding a good source of electricity for mining
- Why Central Asia, Russia, and North America are promising locations for mining
- Why Mustafa expects more hashpower to end up in North America in the near term
- The factors leading Mustafa to expect less hashrate concentration in China in the future
- Whether the CBECI mining map is a reliable guide to where mining is located
- Miner attitudes to Iran and OFAC
- Current electricity prices required to competitively mine
- What sold out hardware means for the price of Bitcoin
- Was the hashrate drop earlier this year was due to the seasonal migration of hashpower in China?
- Bixin's approach to seasonal electricity costs
- Whether the withdrawal issues at Okex and Huobi prevented miners from selling and 'caused' the recent Bitcoin rally
- Mustafa's take on the "China controls Bitcoin" narrative
- Why Bitcoin mining is getting progressively more decentralized
- Why Bitcoin miners are positively disposed towards Bitcoin
- Whether Bixin plans to support Taproot
- Mustafa's view on who controls Bitcoin
- Mustafa's experiences in Turkey and why it is so popular there
- Why central asian and post-Soviet households like gold
Sponsor notes:
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