On The Brink with Castle Island

Alex Leishman, founder and CEO of River, 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 previous appearance on OTB River PoR on Github River PoR: river.com/reserves

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, Stablecoins: The Emerging Market Story 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 dynamic industry. Contact them today to get started. - withum.com/crypto Coin Metrics state of the network: A Primer on Blockchain Network Health: Exploring key metrics to gauge network health and centralization in PoW and PoS blockchains

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 Technology Team specializes in crypto-assets, offering accounting, tax and advisory solutions to fortify trust in a dynamic industry. Contact them today to get started. - withum.com/crypto Coin Metrics: An Update on Layer–1 Networks

Dan Burke, CEO of Nirvana Labs, 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

Mark Eckerle, Partner at Withum 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 www.withum.com/crypto  

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 dynamic industry. Contact them today to get started. - withum.com/crypto Coin Metrics Stablecoin Dashboard; State of Stablecoins: Sector Expansion & A Changing Interest Rate Environment

Scott Fletcher, founder of Intersection Growth Partners 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 most in demand in today’s environment. The impact of legislation on the future of the industry. To learn more about Intersection Growth Partners, visit their website.

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 on crypto Would a CBDC actually be private for users? Sponsor notes:  Unwrapping Wrapped Assets & wBTC: In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 273, we understand wrapped bitcoin’s (wBTC) custody transition, BitGo’s business model and usage of WBTC in DeFi Withum’s Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology Team specializes in crypto-assets, offering accounting, tax and advisory solutions to fortify trust in a dynamic industry. Contact them today to get started. - withum.com/crypto

Matt and Nic return for another week of news and deals. In this episode: Fairshake is getting active in Senate Races What’s going on with the Harris pivot? Chuck Schumer promises crypto legislation by end of year What’s happening with WBTC? The SEC is subpoenaing VC funds over Uniswap Don Jr is launching a crypto project Will CBDCs destroy the stablecoin sector? Will stablecoins have to KYC all holders? 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 dynamic industry. Contact them today to get started. - withum.com/crypto Futures Falter, Funding Flips: In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 272, we explore the robustness of decentralized systems and the stability of synthetic financial products within the crypto ecosystem.

Michael Bentley, Co-Founder & CEO of Euler joins the show to talk about crypto lending and the launch of Euler v2. In this episode:  The evolution of lending/borrowing in crypto/defi Euler's history and the upcoming launch of Euler v2 How crypto allows for market discovery of financial primitives Building programmable finance around blue chip and long tail assets alike