Bennett Collen and Stephanie Howard (Endstate) on building a web3-native fashion brand (EP.346)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Release Date: 09/06/2022
Weekly Roundup 04/18/25 (Signature Postmortem, Mantra collapse, Powell on stablecoins) (EP.615)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Matt and Nic are back with another week of news and deals. In this episode: We recap Nic’s article on why Signature collapsed Crypto exchange OKX their plans to expand to the US Kraken that US equities are now supported on the exchange MANTRA, a layer 1 network focused on RWAs, saw the price of its native token 90% in a matter of hours Global Payments agreed to Worldpay, a payments processor, for $24 billion from FIS and private equity firm GTCR The US Department of Homeland Security has launched a into Anchorage,...
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Fred Hsu and Michael Ho (D3) on Creating Efficient Domain Name Markets (EP.614)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Wyatt sits down with Fred Hsu and Michael Ho of to talk domain markets. In this episode: The existing domain name industry and legacy systems An interoperable marketplace for domains New financial promitives around domains and RWAs
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Yuval Rooz and Eric Saraniecki (Digital Asset) on the Canton Network (EP.613)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Yuval Rooz and Eric Saraniecki, co-founders of Digital Asset join the show. In this episode we discuss: The origins of Digital Asset and the path to starting the firm. Views on privacy in the context of public blockchains. How enterprises and financial institutions are approaching tokenizing assets and leveraging blockchain technology. Examples of how on-chain privacy enables use cases in collateral management and stablecoin payments. The role of the Canton Network public blockchain for enabling institutional use cases. How Canton Network works from a design perspective. To learn...
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Weekly Roundup 04/11/25 (Tether’s new stablecoin, Signature, dedollarization, DoJ disbands crypto team) (EP.612)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Matt and Nic are back with another week of news and deals. In this episode: Is dedollarization happening? The SEC's Division of Corporate Finance released a "" The US Justice Department has its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement team The SEC releases new guidance on securities offerings in crypto markets FDIC Chair relaxes rules on crypto activities at banks Paul Atkins is confirmed The SEC has approved options trading for spot ETH ETFs Tether is exploring a US stablecoin Janover is doing a Microstrategy for SOL strategy Michelle Bowman is launching a review...
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Wyatt Lonergan and Juan Lopez (Vaneck Ventures) on Stablecoin Adoption and The Institutionalization of Crypto (EP.611)
On The Brink with Castle Island
and of join the show to talk stablecoins and institutionalization. In this episode, we cover: The landscape of stablecoin growth and activity A world with many stablecoins vs few stablecoins Winning/losing companies in the new stablecoin era Impact on the longer tail of altcoins
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Hoolie Tejwani (Coinbase) on The Evolution of Coinbase Ventures (EP.610)
On The Brink with Castle Island
, the head of Coinbase Ventures joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The history and rationale behind the launch of Coinbase Ventures. The evolution of the crypto venture category. Areas of focus for Coinbase Ventures. Stablecoins, Crypto/AI and consumer startup category. The regulatory landscape in the United States. Operation Chokepoint 2.0 and the impact on startups. The rise of the Coinbase Mafia. To learn more visit
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Weekly Roundup 04/03/25 (Circle S1, Tariffs, Galaxy settles, BitMEX pardons) (EP.609)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: What’s the deal with the tariffs? Are the tariffs 4D chess? STABLE Act advances from committee Galaxy settles with the NYAG for touting Luna Trump pardons the BitMEX founders Coinlist returns to the US FDUSD has a depeg amidst Justin Sun drama Fidelity launches a no-fee crypto IRA product Larry Fink is bullish bitcoin Content mentioned:
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Alexei Zamyatin (Build on Bitcoin) on True Rollups on Bitcoin (EP.608)
On The Brink with Castle Island
, the cofounder of (BOB), joins the show to talk about the state of the art in Bitcoin Rollups. In this episode: Can Bitcoin achieve parity with Ethereum rollups? How BitVM and BitVMv2 changed the game for Bitcoin rollups When will Bitcoin rollups be considered “Stage 1” Ethereum’s existential crisis Bitcoin fees in a rollup world The risk of L2s cannibalizing Bitcoin Will Bitcoin DeFi look different from Ethereum DeFi? Why Bitcoin deserves Rollups What soft forks is Alexei looking forward to? Does institutionalization ossify Bitcoin? BOB’s progress and roadmap for 2025 Learn...
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Weekly Roundup 03/28/25 (MiCA Stablecoins, Gamestop, Hyperliquid) (EP.607)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: We reflect on our podcast with Paolo Ardoino The EU’s MiCA rules make launching a stablecoin virtually impossible We explain the Ghiblification crazy OCC removes Reputation risk from bank supervision World Liberty Fi launches a stablecoin Hyperliquid suffers an exploit - are they decentralized? Fidelity is exploring the launch of a stablecoin ICE is looking to use USDC Coinbase is reportedly looking to acquire Deribit US Treasury lifts sanctions on Tornado Cash Sei is looking to buy 23andme
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Paolo Ardoino (Tether) on stablecoin bills, pursuing an audit, and getting to 400m users (EP.606)
On The Brink with Castle Island
, the CEO of Tether, rejoins the show for a timely discussion. In this episode: How is Paolo feeling about political trends in the US today? Tether is the 7th-largest buyer of USTs at the sovereign level Paolo’s decision to spend more time in the US What does Paolo make of the stablecoin bills in Congress? Does Tether want to eventually come onshore to the US? Tether is pursuing a Big 4 Audit The effect of Operation Choke Point 2.0 on Tether Tether is moving their HQ to El Salvador Paolo’s thoughts on stablecoins in MiCA How does Tether get to the figure of 400m global users of the...
info_outlineRia and Nic from Castle Island sit down with Stephanie Howard and Bennett Collen, cofounders of Endstate, a web3 footwear and fashion brand. We cover the merits of the redeem-and-retain NFT model and the vision for Endstate.
- Bennett’s prior crypto startup and how he decided to unite his passion for sneakers with web3
- How Bennett and Stephanie met and cofounded Endstate
- Stephanie’s career in sneaker design to date
- Why creators and athletes are jumping at the opportunity to issue merchandise-linked NFTs
- Why Bennett and Stephanie chose to launch a web3 native brand
- How redeem-and-retain NFTs allow manufacturers to reduce inventory risk
- Why fashion is getting more targeted and niche
- Why Endstate is able to release new iterations of their sneakers so quickly
- Endstate’s rationale for manufacturing in the US
- Endstate drops to date
- Endstate’s new drop with Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith
- How web3 brands should think about which metaverse to build for
- Endstate’s thinking around Solana vs Ethereum and the impact of gas fees
- How to link physical products with NFTs – from NFCs to QRs to visual scans
- What should we call physical NFTs?
- Aside from shoes, what merch is amenable to the Endstate model?
- What product sectors will be NFTed?
- How developed are authenticated third party marketplaces for physically linked NFTs?
- Physical-linked NFTs as a trojan horse to onboard mass markets into web3
- The future state of Endstate
- Other web3 drops Bennett and Stephanie enjoyed
- The future of entangled NFTs
Read more:
- Nic Carter on Medium: Redeem and Retain NFTs are the future of Luxury Goods
- Vogue Business: How the crypto bear market is resetting fashion’s Web3 strategy
Drops and more at endstate.io
Intro and outro music: Daniel Allan's Collage #344