Ben Ward & Steven Pack (RockSolid) on DeFi Vaults (EP.671)

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  Will stablecoins drive deposit flight from the banks? Is FDIC insurance obsolete? Can CBDCs provide real privacy? ICE invests in Polymarket North Dakota is looking to issue their own “rough rider” stablecoin, joining Wyoming Luxembourg buys bitcoin out of their sovereign wealth fund Is the quantum bubble creating risks for Bitcoin? The "Salomon brothers" OP_RETURN dusting attack on old Bitcoins Reg NMS for blockchains? Katie Porter has a new drama Congress is still working on the market structure bill Shutdown update Content mentioned in this episode: Nic on Substack, Yes, we really do want to trust crypto interests with the future of money Galaxy Research, The Great Bitcoin Dusting: A ‘Salomon Brothers’ Client Tries to Claim Dormant Wallets

Pelle Braendgaard, the co-founder and CEO of Notabene joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Pelle’s background and path to co-founding Notabene. The travel rule and how institutions achieve compliance for blockchain transactions. The launch of Notabene Flow, the first open stablecoin payments platform enabling pull payments for businesses. Views on the evolving market structure for stablecoin payments The state of digital identity. To learn more about Notabene visit notabene.id and follow the company on X.

Mike Cagney, the founder of Figure joins the show. In this episode we discuss: The process of taking Figure public in September 2025. The market structure for tokenized securities. Perspectives on the key issues being debated in the context of The Clarity Act. Reg NMS considerations for blockchain assets. The impact of stablecoins on the banking sector. The original thesis of Figure and the attractiveness of the HELOC market. The Provenance Blockchain Competition versus legacy financial services firms. To learn more about Figure visit figure.com. Follow Mike on X. Follow Figure on X.

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: AI bailed out the mining companies AI people deal with the same energy use claims We reflect on the life of Jane Goodall DoubleZero gets a no-action letter from the SEC Will Tether and Circle lose market share? Who could challenge the Big Two stablecoins? Do optimists always win? Some DATs are troubled Is Kalshi starting to take over? Stripe announces Open Issuance The US Government is shut down Content mentioned: Nic on Substack, The Stablecoin Duopoly is Ending  

Wyatt sits down with Ben Ward and Steven Pack of RockSolid. In this episode: What are DeFi vaults? What is RockSolid? Lido vs Rocket Pool Creating effective unified efforts in decentralized communities A look at the wider landscape of DeFi yield How do you measure protocol success? Strengthening the broader Ethereum ecosystem

Mark Coe, the Founder and CIO of Intrinsic Edge Capital Management joins the show. In this episode we discuss: Mark’s background and path that led him to founding Intrinsic Edge Capital Management. The Intrinsic Edge Digital Infrastructure Fund, a fund that was launched four years ago to focus on companies in the digital asset ecosystem. Perspectives on the mining industry and the impact of AI/LLMs on this sector of the industry. Views on the types of businesses that will enter the public markets in the coming years. The future of prime brokerage and how service providers will evolve. To learn more about Intrinsic Edge visit intrinsicedge.com or email them at [email protected]  

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  We review the Coin Center dinner Tether is going out to raise at $500b Cloudflare wants to launch a stablecoin for agentic payments and launches the 402 protocol Circle is thinking about reversible transactions BitGo files for an S1 Strive acquires Semler Scientific The SEC is looking into 200 DATs for insider trading 9 major European banks are looking to launch a MiCA stablecoin The Bank Policy Institute thinks stablecoins threaten banks Senate Finance Cmte is looking at crypto taxes  Naver is looking to acquire Upbit

Wyatt sits down with Felipe Montealegre and Noah Goldberg of Theia Capital, a fund investing actively in liquid crypto tokens with strong fundamentals. In this episode: What drives crypto market valuations? Fundamentals or supply of capital? The imbalance between venture vs hedge fund activity in crypto markets Navigating a market where assets become liquid early in their lifecycle Talent in the crypto industry What makes exceptional founders and team members? Using LLMs in investing and general workflow Future themes Theia is excited about

Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode:  The SEC approves generic listing standards for cryptoassets Gensler loses a year’s worth of text messages BoE wants to limit stablecoin exposure to £20k Tether launches USAT Coinbase is exploring a Base token Binance nears the end of DoJ compliance monitoring Galaxy is launching a tokenized money market fund PayPal launches PayPal links

Walt joins the podcast to discuss the current state of Bitcoin and what is investable in and around the Bitcoin ecosystem. In this episode: Austrian economics and Bitcoin Bitcoin's strengths and limitations when it comes to innovation and durability The modern role of decentralization and trust Whether nation-states will fully adopt BTC The role of Bitcoin in network states Owning BTC and other cryptoassets directly vs in equity wrappers Assessing the monetary value of cryptoassets BTC for payments?