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Larry Cermak and Mike Rogers (The Block) on the Stablecoin Market (EP.205)

On The Brink with Castle Island

Release Date: 04/12/2021

Lorien Gabel (Figment) on the Latest Developments in the Staking Market (EP.579) show art Lorien Gabel (Figment) on the Latest Developments in the Staking Market (EP.579)

On The Brink with Castle Island

Lorien Gabel, the founder and CEO of joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The latest developments at Figment. Post-election impact on the general crypto markets and the staking category. How Figment is approaching the institutional staking market opportunity. Staking in the context of investment products. Evolving ecosystems like Eigen Layer, Babylon and Bitcoin Layers 2s. The stablecoin market. To learn more about Figment visit

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Weekly Roundup 11/28/24 (OFAC loses vs Tornado, Cantor owns some Tether, More OCP2.0, Who we’re thankful for) (EP.578) show art Weekly Roundup 11/28/24 (OFAC loses vs Tornado, Cantor owns some Tether, More OCP2.0, Who we’re thankful for) (EP.578)

On The Brink with Castle Island

Matt and Nic are back for another Thanksgiving episode of OTB. In this episode: Fire departments love thanksgiving Who we’re thankful for Eggnog is underrated Justin Sun puts $30m into World Liberty Financial Marc Andreessen appears on Joe Rogan and covers OCP 2.0 Why were non crypto tech peopled shocked by Choke Point revelations? Trump is looking to shift power from the SEC to the CFTC An appeals court rules that OFAC exceeded its authority by sanctioning Tornado Cash Cantor owns a 5% ownership stake in Tether that they acquired at a $12b valuation How prudent is the establishment of a...

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Weekly Roundup 11/22/24 (Bitcoin $100k?, Gensler Resigns, Nocoiner Rankings, Looking Back) (EP.577)  show art Weekly Roundup 11/22/24 (Bitcoin $100k?, Gensler Resigns, Nocoiner Rankings, Looking Back) (EP.577)

On The Brink with Castle Island

Matt and Nic return for another week in the markets. In this episode: How is the DOGE going to work? Bitcoin is heading to 100k Gary Gensler announces his resignation as SEC chair We look back at Gensler’s awful term 18 state AGs file a lawsuit against the SEC The SEC’s dealer rule is tossed by a judge Trump is mulling the creation of a crypto czar Microstrategy is trading at a massive premium The latest on OCP 2.0 FDIC Gruenberg chair testifies in the House and potentially perjures himself FTX cofounder Gary Wang given no time in prison Coinbase is delisting wBTC Trump nominates Lutnick...

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Aaron McDonald (Futureverse) on Metaverse Technologies (EP.576) show art Aaron McDonald (Futureverse) on Metaverse Technologies (EP.576)

On The Brink with Castle Island

Aaron McDonald, the founder of joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Aaron’s professional career and the path that led him to founding Futureverse. How he has built the company through a mix of organic growth and acquisitions. How blockchains and digital currency interact with Metaverse technologies. The future of virtual worlds and gaming technologies. The L1 and L2 blockchain ecosystem and how Futureverse has built their platform. To learn more about Futureverse visit their .  

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Weekly Roundup 11/15/24 (Congressional agenda, FTX vs Binance, Polymarket raid) (EP.575) show art Weekly Roundup 11/15/24 (Congressional agenda, FTX vs Binance, Polymarket raid) (EP.575)

On The Brink with Castle Island

Matt and Nic return for news and deals. In this episode:  Nic recaps his trip to Congress Vibes in Congress post election The likelihood for stablecoin and market structure bills What are the prospects for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve What’s happening in Devcon? 18 state AGs are suing Gensler and the SEC Gensler is hinting at retirement FTX sues Binance and CZ Sam Trabucco forfeits $70m in assets to the FTX estate Polymarket’s Shayne Coplan raided by the FBI Doodles partnership with McDonalds The verdict on Fairshake's efforts in the election  OCP developments and how Congress...

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David Low (Hata) on Crypto in Southeast Asia (EP.574) show art David Low (Hata) on Crypto in Southeast Asia (EP.574)

On The Brink with Castle Island

, CEO and cofounder of joins the show. In this episode,  In this episode, Wyatt and David discuss: Crypto adoption in Southeast Asia Regulatory attitudes Operating a centralized exchange Bitcoin interest vs other cryptoassets in the region

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Weekly Roundup 11/08/24 (Trump wins, crypto candidates win, Election implications) (EP.573) show art Weekly Roundup 11/08/24 (Trump wins, crypto candidates win, Election implications) (EP.573)

On The Brink with Castle Island

Nic and Matt are back with more news and deals. In this episode: Trump resoundingly wins the election A demographic realignment Polymarket versus the polls Podcasts and twitter versus the legacy media How did the pro-crypto candidates do? Trump promises to fire Gensler on day 1 How did the Fairshake PAC do? Review of key Senate races Will Trump execute on his crypto promises? Moreno defeats Brown in Ohio Will OCP2.0 finally end? What’s the deal with Trump’s Bitcoin reserve? How would the SEC change token issuance rules? How will Trump's election affect DeFi and cashflowing tokens? Why...

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Hadley Stern (Marinade) on Institutional Staking (EP.572) show art Hadley Stern (Marinade) on Institutional Staking (EP.572)

On The Brink with Castle Island

, the Chief Commercial Officer of joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Hadley’s career in the blockchain industry. The early days of researching and building blockchain products at Fidelity.   The landscape for banks in the United States as it relates to digital asset product development. The evolving regulatory landscape and the prospects of pro-innovation legislation. The staking landscape and how Marinade is going to market with its products and services. To learn more about Marinade visit    

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Weekly Roundup 11/01/24 (US Treasury on Stables, Polymarket volume, Singh Sentenced) (EP.571) show art Weekly Roundup 11/01/24 (US Treasury on Stables, Polymarket volume, Singh Sentenced) (EP.571)

On The Brink with Castle Island

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: We check in on the presidential odds State races to watch As part of their quarterly earnings release, Microstrategy  a plan to raise $42 billion in the next 3 years in order to buy more Bitcoin. The raise will be evenly split between equity offerings and sales of fixed-income securities. Coinbase  a future donation of $25 million to Fairshake to be used for the 2026 midterm elections. Nishad Singh, the former director of engineering for FTX,  prison time following his guilty...

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Pat Larsen (Zenledger) on Digital Asset Tax and Compliance (EP.570) show art Pat Larsen (Zenledger) on Digital Asset Tax and Compliance (EP.570)

On The Brink with Castle Island

Pat Larsen, the founder and CEO of joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The latest developments in the tax and compliance categories within digital assets. How asset managers and large financial institutions are increasingly adopting digital assets. The compliance obligations of financial services firms as it relates to digital asset trading. The venture capital landscape for digital asset startups. The use cases that are currently driving adoption in the blockchain industry. To learn more about Zenledger, visit

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More Episodes

The Block's Director of Research Larry Cermak and Research Analyst Mike Rogers join the show to talk through their latest report on stablecoins. In this episode: 

  • Why the Block chose to focus on stablecoins for this report
  • Larry and Mike's opinion on why stablecoins are so disproportionately dollar-based
  • China's influence in the Tether market
  • The history of Tether and why it attained so much traction initially
  • How you can determine the location of stablecoin users
  • The Tetherification for offshore exchanges – and how it displaced Bitcoin as the reserve asset
  • The influence of USDC in DeFi and whether it represents a systemic risk to the sector
  • Dai's transition to non-native collateral types
  • Mike and Larry's view of algorithmic stablecoins
  • Why stablecoins are so divisive between economists and crypto entrepreneurs
  • Why Tether's dominance is declining
  • Where the NYAG settlement leaves Tether now
  • What Larry makes of USDT on TRON stealing some market share from Ethereum
  • Why investors are settling deals in stablecoin terms
  • The prospects for Libra/Diem
  • Mike and Larry's expectations for the next decade in stablecoins

Related content: 

Sponsor notes:

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