Weekly Roundup 06/21/24 (Certik v Kraken, Trump’s memecoin, Paul Ryan op-ed) (EP.538)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Release Date: 06/21/2024
Weekly Roundup 09/26/24 (Chokepoint 2.0 updates, Gensler’s House hearing, Ellison sentenced) (EP.564)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Matt and Nic are back with another week of news and deals. In this episode: Gensler denies knowledge of Operation Choke Point 2.0 We recap the Silvergate collapse Why did the MSM ignore the new Silvergate revelations? Trump’s fair banking access rule Looking back at the Signature closure Gensler appears in front of the House Caroline Ellison sentenced to 2 years in prison Options approved for Bitcoin ETFs SEC versus TUSD What’s going on with the port strike? Nic’s panda moon moon situation Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics, . Exploring the RWA landscape, sectors and networks...
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Weekly Roundup 09/20/24 (Trump at Pubkey, Token 2049 review, RIP Airdrops) (EP.563)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Nic’s Singapore Zyn problem Nic’s Token 2049 keynote The Iggy Azalea Eric Wall debate Trump make an appearance at Pubkey in NYC World Liberty Financial continues to be insane SEC versus Flyfish club Are airdrops done for? Is JPM really the “largest user of blockchain”? Bhutan has a ton of Bitcoin Listening to podcasts with AI Interest rates fell The exploding pagers and what it means for crypto Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics, Withum’s Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology Team specializes in...
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Alex Leishman (River Financial) on Launching Proof of Reserves (EP. 562)
On The Brink with Castle Island
, founder and CEO of , joins us to talk about River's Proof of Reserve initiative. In this episode: River business update Building their own custodian Why Alex decided to do PoR now? River’s PoR mechanics Proof of Reserve versus traditional audit What kind of assurances PoR gives users How does River handle privacy for PoR? Responding to various PoR critiques Boxing What’s on the horizon for River Content mentioned: Alex’s River River PoR:
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Weekly Roundup 09/13/24 (Trump-Harris debate, World Liberty Fi, Stablecoins in EM) (EP.560)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: We review the Trump-Harris debate Matt’s new wildlife problems Nic’s birthday party Trump doubles down on World Liberty Financial The Castle Island stablecoins whitepaper is out! Our reactions to the emerging markets stablecoin report TZero gets approval to trade tokenized securities Coinbase’s cbBTC North Carolina bans CBDCs Something is happening to Friend Tech Circle is moving their HQ to NYC Content mentioned: Castle Island, Visa, and BH Digital, Sponsor notes: Withum’s Digital Currency and...
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Weekly Roundup 09/05/24 (WorldLibertyFinancial, Galois settles with the SEC, XRP’s stablecoin) (EP.559)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: SEC fiscal year ending in September How to get accurate transfer volume figures for stablecoins How much volume do stablecoins really settle? Do SEC rules stop registered venture firms from voting in governance or staking? CFTC settles with Uniswap Robinhood settles with the California DoJ Choke Point 2.0 is still happening What’s the latest with World Liberty Financial? John Deaton wins his primary in MA What’s the deal with Polymarket versus the polls? Sponsor notes: Withum’s Digital Currency and Blockchain...
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Dan Burke (Nirvana Labs) on Purpose Built Infrastructure for Web3 (EP.558)
On The Brink with Castle Island
, CEO of , joins the show. In the episode we discuss: Dan’s background and journey into the crypto space The role of nodes in a blockchain network and the complexities of running one independently Challenges with existing node infrastructure providers as companies in the space scale Nirvana’s product offerings including managed nodes and web3 cloud and the benefits of leveraging bare metal servers Dan’s long term view on how the node operation landscape evolves
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Mark Eckerle on Digital Assets at Withum (EP.557)
On The Brink with Castle Island
, Partner at joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Mark’s journey into the digital asset/blockchain industry. Withum’s history in digital assets and how the firm came to prioritize working with clients in this category. The rise of stablecoins and the impact that these assets are having on corporate accounting and operations. How startups should evaluate tax, audit and advisory services in the digital assets context. Where Withum is seeing the most engagement in the digital assets industry. To learn more about Withum visit
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Weekly Roundup 08/30/24 (Durov arrested, Trump’s DeFi thing, the EU vs Tech Companies) (EP. 556)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Has cryptodollarization occured? Tigran Gambaryan is still detained in Nigeria Durov of Telegram was detained in France Should major tech companies leave the EU? The SEC settles with Abra Sony is launching an ETH L2 The mythical Harris reset VCs for Harris support Harris Trump’s weird World Liberty Financial DeFi thing is looking ominous Sponsor notes: Withum’s Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology Team specializes in crypto-assets, offering accounting, tax and advisory solutions to fortify trust in a...
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Scott Fletcher (Intersection GP) on Executive Search in the Digital Asset Industry (EP.555)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Scott Fletcher, founder of joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Scott’s professional background and the events that led him to launching Intersection Growth Partners. The Intersection Growth Partners business model and how they also became investors in a number of their clients’ businesses. The current state of the Executive Search market for digital asset/blockchain companies. How the best founders run structured recruiting and interview processes. What job candidates should be thinking about when evaluating digital asset / blockchain roles. The categories of roles that are the...
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Weekly Roundup 08/23/24 (SALT Wyoming, Bozo of the Week, Fairshake drama) (EP.554)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: SALT Wyoming review Nic’s next fight How Bitcoin miners have a procyclical effect on the Bitcoin price Hunting Hill is launching a credit fund seeded by Kraken Wyoming is launching a stable token in Q1 of 2025 The SEC rejects CBOE’s filings for SOL ETFs Is Gensler actually being slated to run Treasury under Harris? Tether is launching a UAE Dirham stablecoin Our upcoming Emerging Markets Stablecoin Report Our Bozo of the Week Babylon is launching Ron Conway defects from Fairshake PAC Chuck Schumer is evolving...
info_outlineMatt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode:
- Certik goes from white hat to black hat regarding a Kraken exploit
- Bozo of the week
- The DJT memecoin scandal and Martin Shkreli
- What’s the deal with Barron Trump and the DJT memecoin?
- Should we welcome celebrity memecoins?
- Should bankers have been more supportive of crypto over SAB121?
- Paul Ryan’s stablecoin op-ed in the WSJ
Sponsor notes:
- Floating on Thin Air
- In Coin Metrics' State of the Network issue 264, we dive into the different factors of a project’s tokenomics and its effects on token valuation and on-chain activity.