Daniel Roberts (Iris Energy) on Sustainable Bitcoin Mining (EP.278)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Release Date: 01/20/2022
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_outlineIn this latest installment of the mining miniseries, Iris Energy cofounder and co-CEO Daniel Roberts joins us to talk through their approach to mining. In this episode:
- How Dan came to work in mining
- Backgrounds of the Iris executive team
- Which thinkers influenced Dan in his Bitcoin journey
- Why Iris focuses on sustainable energy and on only entering energy markets where they will not drive prices up for households
- How Iris chooses geographies to operate
- How Iris found abundant underutilized power in British Columbia
- Why Iris’ entry to British Columbia actually drives down energy prices for regular households
- Why Bitcoin mining has better location agnosticism than aluminum smelting or hydrogen production
- How Bitcoin miners are more flexible loads than other datacenters
- How Iris is geographically diversified in Canada, Texas, and Australia, and why geographic diversification is so important
- How flexibility from Bitcoin mining replaces peaker plants burning fossil fuels
- Why the oversupply of power is an issue for many power markets
- Are Western miners being sufficiently responsible in finding low carbon energy sources
- How Dan thinks about political risk at the state level
- Can the world accommodate Bitcoin’s power consumption growth if the price goes up tenfold?
- What plateauing efficiency gains for ASICs means for Iris
- Why Iris doesn’t see itself as a pseudo Bitcoin ETF and does not seek to hold Bitcoin on its balance sheet
Sponsor notes:
- Compass Mining is the world's first and largest online marketplace for bitcoin mining hardware, hosting, and ASIC reselling. Start mining your own bitcoin by visiting compassmining.io