The Scoop - SoundSage

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Li Jin is the co-founder and a general partner at the VC firm Variant and has written extensively about the benefits of web3 social platforms for creators. Stani Kulechov is the creator of Aave (one of the largest decentralized finance protocols) and has been key to the development of the web3 social network platform, Lens Protocol. In this episode, Li and Kulechov examine the problems with the existing social media landscape and explain the opportunities that exist for new web3 social media attempts such as Lens Protocol. As Jin explains, one of the key benefits of web3 social is that "every element of the business model is totally in the creator's control." Outline: 01:15 - Existing Social Media Landscape 08:18 - Opportunities for Web3 Social 12:35 - 'Socioeconomic Graph' 14:20 - Lens Protocol 17:44 - Financialization of Social Media 25:30 - Monetization on X (Twitter) 31:00 - Community Ownership 34:46 - 'Liquid Citizen' 38:26 - Investing in Web3 Social 40:09 - Tokens & Web3 Social 45:17 - Lens Protocol v2

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Kristin Smith is the CEO of Blockchain Association — one of the top crypto policy advocacy groups in the U.S. In this episode, Smith unpacks the intricacies of the pending market structure bill set to make its way through Congress this fall, highlighting its potential to bring crypto regulatory clarity in the U.S. once and for all. According to Smith, the bill could be what's needed to bring in greater institutional participation and mainstream adoption: "It's something that we think that if it were to move forward, would give a lot of confidence to institutional investors, to traditional tech companies and other players to enter this space because they know there is a clear and workable regulatory framework in place."

Outline: 00:40 - Current State of Crypto in DC 05:00 - Token Taxonomy Act (2018) 07:24 - 2023 Congressional Crypto Outlook 09:02 - Stablecoin Legislation 13:20 - Market Structure Legislation 16:24 - XRP Ruling 24:46 - Treasury Department & Crypto 28:07 - Anti-Crypto Congressional Sentiment 29:48 - Aliens 31:55 - 2024 Presidential Candidates & Crypto

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Rebecca Rettig serves as the Chief Legal and Policy Officer at Polygon Labs. In this episode, Rettig offers a comprehensive analysis of the SEC's ongoing legal proceedings against Coinbase and Ripple, including instances where the Court seems to be challenging the SEC's authority. Rettig explains, "I think what both the Ripple and the Coinbase motion for judgment on the pleadings is really trying to say is, 'We got to bring it back to the law. This may look like something, but it doesn't look like anything you've seen before.' So we can't import these other ideas where an investment contract means there's some implied contract." Additionally, she touches on the Court's perspective regarding the SEC's prior actions towards Coinbase: "The judge that [the Coinbase case] is in front of expressed a lot of skepticism about the case because she said to the SEC, 'Didn't you guys let this one go through and allow them to IPO?'" During this episode Chaparro and Rettig also discuss:

Regulatory frameworks for digital assets outside the U.S.

The Value Prop and how blockchain is being used for good

Why this has been a "bullish" bear market

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Francis Suarez is the Mayor of the City of Miami and a Republican candidate for the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election. In this episode, Suarez explains how he stands out from the field of candidates and shares his plans to "encourage generational innovation" in the crypto industry if elected President. Outline: 1:04 - The Campaign Trail 2:25 - From Miami Mayor to Presidential Hopeful 5:50 - Campaign Headwinds 8:43 - “How Can I Help?” 13:22 - Conflict of Interest Allegations 16:28 - Republican Candidates 19:04 - Presidential Priorities 21:41 - Fiscal Policy 23:53 - Partisan Crypto Support

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Aubrey Strobel is the host of The Aubservation and the producer of "Lekker Feeling: A Bitcoin Ekasi Story." In this episode, Strobel explains how the combination of bitcoin and surfing is transforming a South African community and gives a behind the scenes look at the filmmaking process. Outline: 1:33 - Film Background 4:38 - Bitcoin in Africa 7:07 - Bitcoin Ekasi 9:18 - Merchant BTC Adoption 11:09 - Bitcoin vs. Banking in South Africa 13:15 - Lekker Feeling Highlights 16:20 - Surfing & Bitcoin 17:58 - Filmmaking 18:27 - Global Perceptions of Bitcoin 22:19 - Bitcoin Culture 24:20 - Crypto Fundraising Difficulties 27:48 - What’s Next? 29:23 - Building on Bitcoin

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Mastercard EVP Raj Dhamodharan manages Mastercard's blockchain and digital asset strategy. In this episode, Dhamodharan unpacks Mastercard's vision for a future in which value can be transferred seamlessly between public and private blockchains, and explains how CBDCs and tokenized bank deposits could revolutionize global payments. Outline: 1:00 Mastercard's Multi Token Network 6:00 MTN Applications 10:13 KYC & Crypto Credential 12:46 Public/Private Transactions 14:09 Tokenized Bank Deposits 21:20 The Multichain Future 24:25 Central Bank Digital Currencies 29:16 Closing Thoughts

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Andre Cronje is the Director of the Fantom Foundation and Michael Kong is the CEO of the Fantom Foundation — the lead development team behind the Fantom Layer 1 blockchain. In this episode, Cronje and Kong break down the sequence of events that led Chinese authorities to detain the Multichain CEO and seemingly take control of its network, and how Fantom developers are exploring optimistic rollups to connect to Ethereum.

Outline: 00:35 - China's Multichain Crackdown 03:10 - Multichain Rumors & Speculation 08:21 - Fantom x Multichain 14:08 - $65M Frozen USDC + USDT 17:56 - Chinese Government or Hacker? 20:12 - Crypto's Trust Problem 27:47 - Multichain's Impact on Fantom's Ecosystem 33:45 - Active Investigation 35:38 - Fantom as an Ethereum Layer-2? 38:29 - Layer-2s vs. Bridges 46:45 - Andre Cronje's Role at the Fantom Foundation 47:35 - Closing Thoughts

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Laura Vidiella serves as the head of business development and strategy for a company that is currently operating under stealth. In this episode, Vidiella takes a deep dive into the intricate world of crypto's options market and breaks down the present dynamics, unraveling complex market behavior that might hint at the existence of a 'ghost' whale. Although crypto spot volumes have been in decline, the volume in the options market has remaining consistent according to The Block's data dashboard.

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Alex Blania is the co-founder of Worldcoin and CEO of Tools for Humanity — Worldcoin's lead development company. In this episode, Blania discusses decentralized orb production, Worldcoin's token launch and what comes next for the Worldcoin project. Outline: 01:01 - Why an Orb? 04:52 - Worldcoin & Quantum Resistance 05:44 - What's Next for Worldcoin 07:44 - Worldcoin's Core Product 13:21 - Is Worldcoin Cypherpunk? 16:41 - Decentralizing Orb Production 18:37 - Worldcoin Orb Manufacturing 20:23 - $WLD Token Launch 22:33 - Token Launch Criticisms 27:30 - AI Will Change the Internet 30:18 - Worldcoin and the Metaverse 31:40 - Closing Thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Mika Honkasalo is a DeFi researcher and the creator of Access Protocol. In this episode, Honkasalo provides analysis on whether or not the $BALD memecoin saga could have ties to Alameda Research, and how a handshake deal prevented a near on-chain catastrophe in the DeFi lending market. Outline: 01:16 - $BALD debacle on Base 04:51 - $BALD deployer's ties to Alameda 08:14 - What's next for Coinbase's Base 09:16 - Crypto rugpulls 10:39 - Leetswap exploit 11:37 - Curve DeFi leverage 14:38 - Viper exploit 15:44 - OTC Curve buyers 17:37 - What's next for Curve? 19:06 - What's next for DeFi? 21:35 - Closing thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Alok Vasudev is the co-founder of Standard Crypto, a VC firm that has been investing across various blockchain verticals since 2019. In this episode, Vasudev explains why he believes the crypto industry is in a better position now than ever before, and how to spot the best opportunities during bear markets. Outline: 00:12 - Are we back? 02:23 - Crypto market maturity 06:41 - Alpha 09:45 - Crypto's application layer 14:25 - Web3 social 18:50 - Blockchain gaming 25:00 - Standard Crypto's thesis 26:13 - Tech advancements 31:10 - Higher lows 34:53 - Closing thoughts

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This episode of The Scoop was recorded live from the Ethereum Community Conference in Paris with Marek Olszewski, Chief Technology officer for cLabs — the core development team behind the Celo platform. In this episode, Olszewski unpacks cLabs recent proposal to transition Celo to an Eth Layer 2, and explains why he thinks one day "hundreds if not thousands of chains will all be rolling up to Ethereum."

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This episode of The Scoop was recorded with Jesse Pollak, the creator Coinbase's Base network, live from the Ethereum Community Conference in Paris. Outline: 00:44 Crypto 'builder energy' 03:09 The L1 trade 05:07 Coinbase's Ethereum Layer 2 06:45 Maturing beyond speculation 11:03 Technical obstacles to building 15:16 ZK vs. OP scaling solutions

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This episode of The Scoop was recorded with Wildcat protocol creator Laurence Day live from the Ethereum Community Conference in Paris. Outline: 00:10 Intro 03:03 Laurence & law school 04:53 Wildcat protocol 09:29 Balancing proprietary data and transparency 12:31 Collapsed crypto lenders 14:55 EthCC Paris 16:52 Wormhole hack 20:01 Grey hat hackers 24:22 Closing thoughts

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Brian Quintenz is the Global Head of Policy at a16z crypto and a former commissioner at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In this episode, Quintenz explains how the SEC's failure to issue updated guidance for the crypto industry has created a legislative opportunity for clarity. According to Quintenz, "Congress needs to show the way by creating the framework that the SEC is refusing to contemplate." Outline: 0:36 Policy & regulation overview 2:43 Securities v. commodities 06:37 Registered securities 11:58 Special Purpose Broker-Dealers 14:49 a16z’s policy uutlook 18:34 Ponzi schemes 21:31 CeFi regulation 27:16 Lummis x Gillibrand’s crypto bill 30:30 Token decentralization 32:32 Legislative hurdles

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Moritz Baier-Lentz is a partner and head of gaming at Lightspeed, and Sam Harrison is the managing partner of Faction. In this episode, Baier-Lentz and Harrison unpack their thesis behind investing in the nascent Web3 gaming industry. While Web3 gaming has yet to reach mainstream appeal, Baier-Lentz and Harrison believe that a combination of technological advancements and veteran game developers embracing blockchain rails will help facilitate breakout Web3 games in the near future. Outline: 1:13 Web3 VC Update 4:41 Lightspeed + Faction 8:46 Market Cycles 14:04 Web3 vs. Web2 Gaming 20:40 Gaming Metrics for VC 23:38 Tokenomics & Gaming 33:50 AI & Gaming 38:41 Closing Thoughts

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Professor J.W. Verret teaches corporate and securities law and financial accounting at George Mason Law School. In this episode, Verret analyzes the recent verdict on Ripple's XRP token which concludes that "Ripple’s Programmatic Sales of XRP did not constitute the offer and sale of investment contracts." In addition to providing a degree of regulatory clarity for crypto assets, Verret also argues that the court's decision in the XRP case will greatly improve Coinbase's chances in their court case against the SEC. Outline: 1:05 - XRP Court Verdict 6:00 - Coinbase Re-listing XRP 7:15 - Coinbase vs. SEC 9:55 - Will the SEC Settle? 12:08 - Appellate Court 13:04 - New SEC Chair 14:06 - Unregistered Securities 15:00 - Major Questions Doctrine 16:22 - Crypto Legislation 17:00 - Partisan Politics 20:40 - Spot Bitcoin ETF 22:05 - Closing Thoughts

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Carlos Domingo is the founder and CEO of Securitize — a compliance platform for trading security tokens or digital securities on the blockchain used by the likes of KKR and Hamilton Lane. In this episode, Domingo explains how blockchain technology can be used to unlock broader access to alternative investments and how regulatory clarity in the U.S. could help trillions of dollars of real world assets be tokenized on-chain. Outline: 1:17 - About Securitize 2:32 - Market Evolution 7:22 - Tokenization 8:07 - Transfer Agent License 9:58 - Broker Dealers 12:00 - Prometheum 13:04 - Special Purpose Broker Dealer 16:38 - Alternative Trading Systems 19:05 - Second Order Effects of Regulation 21:30 - Tokenization of Real World Assets 28:02 - What’s Next for Securitize 31:32 - Closing Thoughts

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Mike Belshe is the co-founder and CEO of BitGo — a leading digital asset custody and security platform. In this episode, Belshe shares his thoughts on last year's collapse of the crypto credit market and explains what it will take to restore confidence in the sector. Outline: 0:52 - Market musings 3:12 - Crypto conspiracies 5:54 - Business at BitGo 8:39 - Crypto prime brokerage 14:24 - Lending market cooldown 15:55 - Crypto’s opaque transparency 21:22 - Crypto market recovery 32:47 - BitGo x Galaxy Digital

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Michael Saylor is the Executive Chairman of MicroStrategy. Since 2020, MicroStrategy has amassed an eye-catching bitcoin reserve, making it one of the largest corporate holders of bitcoin in the world. Critics have been vocal, but Saylor and his company have stood firm in their belief and commitment. In this episode, Saylor explains why bitcoin's performance over the last two years relative to other asset classes is indicative of relative strength, and gives his opinion on recent bitcoin developments including the flurry of ETF applications as well as the Ordinals/BRC-20 debate.

Outline: 1:59 - Inflation & Bitcoin 8:29 - MicroStrategy's leverage 9:12 - Bitcoin's volatility regime 13:48 - Technocrats 15:19 - Bitcoin legitimization 19:34 - Bitcoin Maximalism 25:31 - Saylor on Ordinals 28:39 - Unregistered securities 30:20 - Crypto crackdown conspiracies 34:38 - Spot Bitcoin ETF 39:54 - Bitcoin dominance 51:50 - Work/life balance 53:30 - MicroStrategy's miscalculation 55:09 - Thermodynamically sound economic energy

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors PayPal and CleanSpark. About PayPal Make your crypto move with PayPal. Get started today at PayPal.com/crypto About CleanSpark CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

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David Marcus is a renowned entrepreneur and executive in the tech industry known for his leadership roles at PayPal and Meta. In this episode, Marcus unpacks how his latest venture, Lightspark, is helping transform Bitcoin's Lightning Network into a real-time global settlement layer for the internet. Lightspark raised about $173 million last year at a valuation of almost $1 billion at the time, as reported by The Block.

Outline: 2:33 - David Marcus' Bitcoin journey 5:29 - Lightspark & Bitcoin 9:50 - Lightspark adoption 12:37 - Regulatory tailwinds for bitcoin 16:33 - Merchant payment innovation 23:25 - Lightspark’s partnerships 26:26 - SEN/SIGNET replacement 28:47 - Lessons learned from libra 40:21 - What’s next for Lightspark 43:43 - Closing thoughts

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James Seyffart is an ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. In this episode, Seyffart analyzes BlackRock's recently announced spot bitcoin ETF application and the impact it would have on the crypto market if approved. While bitcoin futures ETFs exist, Seyffart says that BlackRock's spot bitcoin ETF application is the "holy grail of bitcoin exposure in the TradFi markets." In the wake of BlackRock's filling, Wisdom Tree, Invesco, and Valkyrie also put their hats back in the race for a spot bitcoin ETF.

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Previously on The Scoop, Professor J.W. Verret explained how the ‘major questions doctrine’ could put an end to SEC Chair Gensler’s regulation by enforcement. In this episode, Verret continues his analysis of the SEC's recent enforcement actions against Coinbase and Binance, and examines the ways in which U.S. regulation of the crypto industry might be able to strike a balance between innovation and consumer protection.

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Professor J.W. Verret teaches corporate and securities law and financial accounting at George Mason Law School. From May 2018 to March 2022, Professor Verret served as an Advisory Committee Member to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission where he represented the interests of investors in making recommendations to SEC Chair Gensler and other Commissioners. In part one of this two part interview, Verret explains how a principle of administrative law in the United States known as the 'major questions doctrine' could challenge the SEC's use of the Howey Test to determine if an asset is a security under federal law. According to Verret, the major questions doctrine is a way for the court to check the power of independent agencies: "If Congress has not given you specific authority to regulate a thing as an agency and you're seeking to regulate it, if it involves a major question of national, economic or political importance, then you need to get authorization from Congress before you do anything." The major questions doctrine will likely not be discussed until the SEC's lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance.US reach the appellate courts, says Verret, "but it's one of the things that looms over these cases, without a doubt."

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Robert Alcorn is the CEO of decentralized credit marketplace, Clearpool. In this episode, Alcorn examines the state of the crypto credit market in the wake of a tumultuous 2022 for crypto lenders, and explains what is needed for the sector to mature.

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Adam Cochran has over a decade of experience in the crypto industry and is the Managing Partner of Cinneamhain Ventures. In this episode, Cochran examines how recent enforcement actions by the US Securities and Exchange Commission is driving crypto innovation outside of the United States. "This is an absolute fumble for the U.S. government and U.S. industry at large," he told The Block's Frank Chaparro Outline of the discussion: 2:12 - Crypto and Congress 4:30 - SEC Enforcement Actions 7:16 - Coinbase & Binance 9:17 - Impact on DeFi 11:08 - Innovation Outside the U.S. 15:57 - Impact on Venture Landscape 17:10 - Decentralization & DAOs 19:52 - Is Solana a Security? 23:36 - Market Update 27:55 - Hidden Binance Risk?

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Dr. Lisa Cameron is a UK Member of Parliament and is the Chairperson of the Crypto and Digital Assets All-Party Parliamentary Group. Ian Taylor is a Board Advisor to CryptoUK — the trade association for the UK's crypto industry. In this episode, Dr. Cameron and Taylor share how the UK is taking steps to become a global hub for crypto and web3. According to Dr. Cameron, the crypto industry could play an important part of the UK's economy in the years to come: "I can see the potential of the technology for the future of of people's livelihoods in the UK and I want to make sure that we harness the skills here as well and that we have the correct opportunities for young people moving forward into the workforce." During this conversation, Chaparro, Cameron, and Taylor also discuss:

How the UK's regulatory approach compares to the U.S.'s

UK consumer protection in the wake of FTX

Bipartisan support for crypto in the UK

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Paul Grewal is the Chief Legal Officer of Coinbase — the crypto exchange that recently found itself in the crosshairs of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In this episode, Grewal shares Coinbase's perspective on the SEC's recent enforcement actions, and gives a behind-the-scenes look at the efforts Coinbase has made over the years to comply with regulators. Outline of the discussion: 1:48 - Coinbase Tried to Work with the SEC 🕊 6:23 - The SEC & Alternative Investments 🧑‍⚖️ 9:06 - SEC vs. Coinbase 🧐 12:30 - SEC vs. Binance 😬 13:58 - Business as Usual 💪 17:20 - Congress & Crypto 🇺🇸 21:24 - Institutional Reaction 🐋 24:09 - Coinbase International 🌐 25:48 - Change in Administration 4️⃣7️⃣ 27:31 - SEC Stubbornness or Coinbase Naivety? ⚔️ 31:16 - Coinbase Wallet x Lawsuit 🤷 32:49 - The Crux of the Case 🌰

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In 2020, Cowen Digital formed to allow institutional customers of the investment bank Cowen to trade digital assets. The digital arm has been growing steadily in its eight months of existence, despite the onset of crypto winter.In this episode of The Scoop, Cowen Digital managing director and head Drew Forman explains how the crypto industry can rebuild in the wake of FTX’s meltdown, as well as what it will take to repair trust in the space among institutional investors.According to Forman, many of Cowen’s institutional clients are “getting the pipes ready” to take part in crypto’s next wave. But regulatory clarity is still needed before large, sophisticated institutions get involved. Forman explains:“I welcome a set of rules ahead of time that we all look to abide by — and hopefully that allows the big institutional investors with the trillion dollar balance sheets to start allocating to the space.”The SEC and DOJ are currently examining FTX’s case, and the CFTC chair’s is set to appear before the Senate Agriculture Committee on December 1 to testify on the exchange’s collapse.Episode 120 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro, and Drew Forman, Managing Partner and Head of Cowen Digital.Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, LednAbout TronFounded in 2013, Huobi Global is one of the largest virtual asset exchanges in the world. Huobi Global serves millions of users across international markets. Since its establishment, Huobi Global has committed to providing first class virtual asset investment services. Huobi Global's robust infrastructure, product innovation and capital strength provides a truly customer-centric and secure trading environment to help our international users to achieve their investment objectives. Please refer to Huobi's official website for more information: huobi.com.About LednLedn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.io

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As the crypto market struggles to gain its footing in the wake of FTX’s demise, sweeping layoffs have thinned the ranks of many companies. In this episode of The Scoop, Rob Paone, founder and CEO of crypto recruiting firm Proof of Talent, shares his perspective on how the crypto hiring landscape has changed during the bear market. According to Paone, the current dynamic between job seekers and prospective employers is much more balanced than it was last year: “It's not 100% a company market right now… but it is a lot more equal than six to twelve months ago — it was a totally candidate-driven market of individuals naming their price and going wherever they wanted with multiple offers.” Paone says that candidates with technical skills should still be able to find plenty of opportunities: “The easiest transition for a lot of people is technical roles — there is a huge demand still for engineering talent…the non-technical roles can get a little bit more challenging.” Episode 119 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro, and Rob Paone, Founder and CEO of Proof of Talent. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn About Tron Founded in 2013, Huobi Global is one of the largest virtual asset exchanges in the world. Huobi Global serves millions of users across international markets. Since its establishment, Huobi Global has committed to providing first-class virtual asset investment services. Huobi Global's robust infrastructure, product innovation and capital strength provides a truly customer-centric and secure trading environment to help our international users to achieve their investment objectives. Please refer to Huobi's official website for more information: huobi.com. About Ledn Ledn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.io

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In the fourth installment of The Scoop’s continued coverage of FTX's demise, host Frank Chaparro examines the legal underpinnings of FTX’s bankruptcy and restructuring process with Dan Besikof, a partner at the law firm Loeb & Loeb, and Mark Shapiro, Chair of the Financial Restructuring Group and a partner at the law firm of Shearman & Sterling. In 2008, Shapiro served as the Head of Restructuring for Lehman Brothers, where he guided the sale of the firm's U.S. assets in chapter 11. According to Besikof, FTX’s fiduciary will likely attempt to bring money back into the estate through lawsuits: “One of the things that they're going to look at is where did money go out where value didn't come back, and to the extent money went out and value didn't come back, that's a natural target for a fraudulent conveyance lawsuit or a fraudulent transfer lawsuit.” FTX has notified a federal judge it wants BitGo to custody its $740 million worth of digital assets. While the exact situation of FTX’s finances is still uncertain, Shapiro says the sheer amount of money lost by FTX users is likely to prompt regulators to take a more proactive approach going forward: “Now that it's become so public and so much money has been lost, I think the paternalistic side of the government is going to take over and try to do something about protecting investors.” Episode 118 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro, Dan Besikof, a Partner at Loeb & Loeb, and Mark Shapiro, a Partner at Shearman & Sterling. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn About Tron Founded in 2013, Huobi Global is one of the largest virtual asset exchanges in the world. Huobi Global serves millions of users across international markets. Since its establishment, Huobi Global has committed to providing first class virtual asset investment services. Huobi Global's robust infrastructure, product innovation and capital strength provides a truly customer-centric and secure trading environment to help our international users to achieve their investment objectives. Please refer to Huobi's official website for more information: huobi.com.

About Ledn Ledn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.io

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Web3 investment firm CoinFund recently launched a $300 million fund targeting early-stage crypto and web3 startups. In this episode of The Scoop, CoinFund Managing Partner David Pakman shares how this fund fits into CoinFund’s broader investment thesis for crypto and web3, including why the fund is specifically targeting early-stage startups. The new fund is intended for new crypto startups already showing signs of success. As Pakman explains, “We saw a lot of seed-stage companies graduating to have real progress and we wanted to invest in that stage too, so we raised a fund purposefully to invest at the Series A, maybe Series B stage of crypto projects that are showing some traction.” While CoinFund is also looking to raise an additional $250 million fund specifically for seed-stage investments, Pakman says the early-stage investments typically see the most value creation: “A company is showing a little bit of progress, they may be showing some evidence of product market fit, and they're going to raise — not growth capital yet — but, you know, ten to fifteen million dollars… the steepest part of the value creation can happen just after that moment.” Episode 117 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro and CoinFund Managing Partner David Pakman. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn About Tron Founded in 2013, Huobi Global is one of the largest virtual asset exchanges in the world. Huobi Global serves millions of users across international markets. Since its establishment, Huobi Global has committed to providing first class virtual asset investment services. Huobi Global's robust infrastructure, product innovation and capital strength provides a truly customer-centric and secure trading environment to help our international users to achieve their investment objectives. Please refer to Huobi's official website for more information: huobi.com. About Ledn Ledn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.io

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Aptos, a new Layer 1 blockchain originating from the Facebook blockchain initiative Libra (later renamed 'Diem'), recently launched its mainnet. The architecture behind Aptos was designed to serve millions of people at scale and uses the Move programming language originally intended for Libra. In this episode of The Scoop, Aptos Co-Founders Mohammed Shaikh and Avery Ching explain why they believe Aptos empowers developers to build faster, more secure applications, and why applications built on Aptos will help onboard millions of users into web3. According to Ching, experiences built on Aptos will look and feel more like what users are accustomed to on existing Web2 platforms: “When we think about what's going to onboard people into web3 from web2, one thing that people are used to in web2 is extremely good latency for their products … being able to see those same kinds of experiences in web3 through the Aptos network is something that will be very powerful.” In addition to user experience, the Move language offers developers a Rust-based alternative to Solana — something some teams who were developing on Solana are currently exploring. While vulnerabilities in smart contracts have cost DeFi projects billions of dollars, the Aptos co-founders claim the Move language allows for fewer vulnerabilities. As Shaikh explains, “Making sure that engineers or product managers who are excited about a use case aren't thwarted by having to deal with smart contract complexity and worry about auditability — that’s really meaningful to us.” Episode 116 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Kevin Peng, and Aptos Co-Founders Avery Ching and Mohammed Shaikh. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn About Tron Founded in 2013, Huobi Global is one of the largest virtual asset exchanges in the world. Huobi Global serves millions of users across international markets. Since its establishment, Huobi Global has committed to providing first class virtual asset investment services. Huobi Global's robust infrastructure, product innovation and capital strength provides a truly customer-centric and secure trading environment to help our international users to achieve their investment objectives. Please refer to Huobi's official website for more information: huobi.com.

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In this venture capital-focused segment of The Scoop, CoinShare Chief Strategy Officer Meltem Demirors and Aglaé Ventures Managing Partner Vanessa Grellet explain which crypto verticals are oversaturated, and examine how market dynamics have changed since last year. Although the crypto industry has experienced many boom-and-bust cycles before, Demirors says “2021 will be one of the worst years for crypto venture returns.” Demirors explains that one of the reasons for this is a mismatch in block space supply and demand that was created during the proliferation of competing Layer 1 blockchains last year: “We're seeing that now with all of these overfunded L1s — there's just more block space than there is demand for block space.”Instead of mimicking existing successful projects, Grellet suggests that up-and-coming crypto projects should identify how they plan to differentiate themselves early on: “The question is, if you are a new platform coming into space or a new marketplace, what is distinctive that you bring that will allow for the end user to come to your platform rather than going to the existing incumbents?” Episode 115 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro, CoinShares CSO Meltem Demirors, and Aglaé Ventures' Managing Partner Vanessa Grellet. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn, Athletic Greens About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |

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Part one of this two-part special on Nouriel Roubini’s new book, Megathreats, examines how the economy is facing a combination of interconnected phenomena that Roubini believes will result in a severe economic crisis. Roubini discusses some alternative assets that could gain prominence in the event of a global financial meltdown and explains why he prefers gold over bitcoin in such a situation, among other topics in his book Megathreats: Ten Dangerous Trends That Imperil Our Future, And How to Survive Them. According to Roubini, the "weaponization" of the U.S. dollar is making it less attractive as a reserve currency: “We have weaponized the dollar as a tool of national security and foreign policy… If I owe you a billion it is my problem; if I owe you a trillion it is your problem because we could default on those treasuries eventually if there is a conflict…” Similar to USD, Roubini believes other common reserve currencies such as the euro, yen, pound, and Swiss franc can be similarly weaponized, leaving gold as the only widely held reserve currency that remains a viable option: “What's the only other asset that is a liquid asset that can be a reserve currency? … What's the only one that cannot be seized if there are sanctions? It’s gold — as long as you keep it in your own vault.” Although ardent bitcoin proponents claim BTC has similar properties, Roubini is dismissive of the largest cryptocurrency’s potential to be used legitimately in global commerce. “Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies — we know they are not currencies,” Roubini says, “They are not a unit of account, nobody's pricing anything in Bitcoin, they're not scalable means of payment.” Episode 110 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Roubini Macro Associates Chairman and CEO, Nouriel Roubini. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn, Athletic Greens About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |

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Nouriel Roubini, the economist and professor who forecasted the housing collapse of 2008, is back with a new prediction for the global economy. In his new book, Megathreats: Ten Dangerous Trends That Imperil Our Future, And How to Survive Them, Roubini examines a series of interconnected phenomena that he believes could lead to disaster if left unchecked. In the first part of this two-part macro special of The Scoop, Roubini lays out the thesis for his new book and explains why he believes the world is on course for the most adverse macroeconomic conditions of the last century. Key to Roubini’s new theory is the idea that since the threats our society is facing are all interconnected, their combined effects will be far-reaching: “Unfortunately, there are severe ‘megathreats’ that imperil not only our jobs, our income, our savings, our wealth, but they imperil the planet, and even peace and prosperity.” As an example of how these threats are related, Nouriel explains how if the economy were to enter stagflation, it would be combined with an unprecedented amount of debt: “We're going to face not only inflation, not only recession, not only stagflation, but a stagflationary debt crisis — what I call in the book, ‘the mother of all debt crises,’ — because the level of private and public debt as a share of GDP is at an all-time high.” Episode 113 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Roubini Macro Associates Chairman and CEO, Nouriel Roubini. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |

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In this breaking news episode of The Scoop, we continue our coverage of FTX’s demise with Jim Greco, a general partner at F9 Research, and Douglas Colkitt, founder of Crocodile Labs. According to Greco, many market participants knew about the relationship between Alameda and FTX. Still, few thought former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried would risk jeopardizing the success of his exchange: “Most professionals knew of the Alameda connection, but we all thought that this exchange is so valuable — it's worth $32 billion — why would he do something that would destroy the equity value in this exchange?” said Greco. Not only did Bankman-Fried end up destroying the value of his exchange, but it’s now apparent that he did so in an effort to prop up Alameda’s unsuccessful trading operation, said Greco. Colkitt added that recent events have shattered the perception that Alameda was one of the top performing firms in the space: “Nobody really expected FTX to run out of money because they thought Alameda must be making so much money, but it's really quite the opposite — they just seemed so incompetent that even with all these advantages they were losing money,” said Colkitt.? Episode 112 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro, F9 Research General Partner Jim Greco, and Crocodile Labs Founder Douglas Colkitt. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |

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Cosmos contributors recently released a new whitepaper that proposes major upgrades to the Cosmos Hub, the central blockchain of the Cosmos ecosystem. A community vote to determine whether or not the proposed changes are integrated into the Hub concludes on Monday, Nov. 14th. In this episode of The Scoop, Cosmos Co-Founder and Interchain Foundation President Ethan Buchman explains what will change if Atom 2.0 passes, as well as how these changes fit into his overall vision for how Cosmos’s app-chain architecture will continue to evolve. According to Buchman, key to Atom 2.0 is the introduction of a security model which will allow new application-specific blockchains to bootstrap security by utilizing the Cosmos Hub’s existing validator set: “The kind of change that's coming to the Hub specifically will allow new application-specific blockchains to launch that use the same validator set as the Cosmos Hub and use the same stake that already exists on the Cosmos Hub.” Not only will the proposed changes to Cosmos Hub make it easier and more secure for projects to launch their own chains, but Buchman anticipates it will increase the amount of development activity on the Hub itself: “This for the first time, opens the door to a sort of more active development environment and development velocity in and around the Cosmos Hub, whereas in the past, the Cosmos Hub was very slow to evolve.”

Episode 111 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Cosmos Co-Founder and CEO of Informal Systems Ethan Buchman. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord | About Ledn Ledn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.io

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In part one of The Scoop’s coverage of the on-going controversy surrounding FTX and Alameda, Framework Venture co-founder Vance Spence suggested that FTX must have a very large hole in their balance sheet to be forced to turn to their biggest competitor for a buyout. We now know that FTX likely has upwards of an $8 billion hole in its balance sheet, which CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is attempting to fill through fundraising efforts. In part two of this breaking news episode of The Scoop, Evgeny Gaevoy, Founder and CEO of crypto market-making firm Wintermute, and Ki Jung Ju, Co-Founder and CEO of crypto data provider CryptoQuant, examine FTX's demise with Framework Ventures Co-founder Vance Spencer. They discuss the relationship between FTX and Alameda, as well as what comes next for the crypto industry when the dust finally settles. According to Ju, whose company CryptoQuant specializes in analyzing on-chain data, there have been many substantial transfers between FTX and Alameda: “Digging into their wallets, FTX and Alameda's wallets, and there are many significant flows between those entities… I think there are many untransparent or shady deals between FTX and Alameda…” While the full extent of the relationship between FTX and Alameda remains unknown for now, Gaevoy also says that the connection between the two companies was improper: “It turned out that there was this massive moral hazard — there were way more connection points than should have been morally possible, and it ended with a spectacular, spectacular blowup.”

Episode 110 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro, Wintermute Founder and CEO Evgeny Gaevoy, and CryptoQuant Co-founder and CEO Ki Jung Ju. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |

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In response to the unexpected collapse of FTX, billions of dollars in crypto have been flowing out of exchanges over the past 24 hours as market participants rush to self-custody their funds. In this breaking news edition of The Scoop, Frank Chaparro and Framework Ventures Co-Founder Vance Spencer analyze the factors that contributed to FTX’s rapid downfall, as well as speculate on the comingled relationship between Alameda and FTX. According to Spencer, a Coindesk report on Alameda’s balance sheet published on November 2nd was a critical turning point in the saga. “What I was expecting a giga-brain firm like Alameda to have on their balance sheet was sovereign bonds offset by equity positions offset by other hedges, but it was just kind of like a retail crypto portfolio,” says Spencer. The prices of tokens associated with FTX and Alameda have plummeted, particularly FTX’s native FTT token, which is down over 80% in the last two days. Since FTX is backed by some of the biggest funds in the world including SoftBank and Tiger Global, Spencer suggests the fact that Binance appears to be FTX’s only option points to the likelihood that the reality of FTX’s book must be very severe: “For you to go to your biggest rival who is actively trying to kill you and sell to them implies to me that the other people weren't biting and that [Binance] was kind of the only option… What this makes me think is that the hole is either very large, or there's something else on the balance sheet which caused other people to pass.” Episode 109 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Framework Ventures Co-Founder Vance Spencer. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |

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Crypto-native venture firm eGirl Capital is a syndicate of pseudonymous individuals who invest in early-stage web3 projects, and provide colorful market commentary on Twitter. In this special segment of The Scoop, Frank Chaparro is joined by The Block’s VP of Research, Larry Cermak, and eGirl Capital’s Co-Founder, Hedgehog, to discuss how this crypto bear market compares to previous cycles, and to explain how investors can spend this drawdown building an edge for the next bull market. According to Hedgehog, who is primarily a directional trader, crypto market conditions are suffering because there is less credit in the system. “Less credit leads to less liquidity and less volume,” says Hedgehog, “It's really a wasteland out there for us at the moment.” As data from The Block shows, daily crypto exchange volume is close to half of what it was at the start of the year–although have ticked up in recent days. During this period of reduced market activity, Cermak says it is important not only to be patient, but also to stay engaged: “A lot of people stay patient, but actually stop paying attention day-to-day. Those people that actually stay engaged… are in the best position for the next cycle, and they're also the ones that will be able to the most accurately predict when activity starts picking up again.”

Episode 108 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Larry Cermak and eGirl Capital Co-Founder, Hedgehog. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn, Athletic Greens About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |

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Full-service crypto platform Abra announced plans in September to establish the first fully regulated bank for digital assets in the U.S. Abra Bank is expected to go live in early 2023 and it will enable U.S. citizens to deposit their digital assets in a U.S.-regulated manner similar to traditional banking. In this episode of The Scoop, Abra Co-Founder and CEO Bill Barhydt explains the advantage crypto banks have over traditional banks and how Abra Bank will enable fully regulated, interest-bearing accounts in the U.S. Whereas traditional banking services are available only during specific hours, Abra Bank will allow customers to interact with their assets at any point in time. “We fundamentally believe in this mantra of ‘not your keys, not your crypto.’ The irony of that in running a bank is not lost on me, but the point is that we are 100% committed to saying, ‘Okay, if it's your stuff and you want to move it to a Trezor or Ledger on Sunday at 2 a.m., please do it right now’” said Barhydt. In addition to giving customers full control over their assets at any point in time, the fact that Abra Bank will be a U.S. state-charted institution means that it will be able to provide interest-bearing accounts. According to Barhydt, “Abra Boost, which is going to be our new offering for paying interest going forward, will be for accredited users, and then the goal is to make it available to retail once the bank fully launches.” Episode 107 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Abra Co-Founder & CEO, Bill Barhydt. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord | About Ledn Ledn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.io

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Earlier this year, Binance.US became the first U.S.-based exchange to cut bitcoin trading fees to zero. Since the announcement, Binance.US has consistently ranked in the top three of North America-based exchanges by volume, according to data from The Block. In this episode of The Scoop, Binance.US CEO Brian Shroder examines how Binance.US is attempting to distinguish itself from the competition, including the impact cutting bitcoin trading fees had on bringing in new business. According to Shroder, the decision to cut bitcoin trading fees revolved around wanting to make the bitcoin purchasing experience as consumer friendly as possible: “Our goal was to be able to say very concretely that if you buy bitcoin on any other exchange, you are paying substantially more — without question.” In addition to appealing to retail investors, cutting bitcoin trading fees also brought in a record amount of new institutional business. As Shroder explains, “Being able to go to institutions and almost literally have a pitch which is: ‘You have a fiduciary responsibility to your investor-base to use Binance.US because it is free … ’ After the announcement, we had our best month ever in terms of institutional signups.” Episode 106 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Binance.US President & CEO Brian Shroder. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Tron, Ledn About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord | About Ledn Ledn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.io

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A project called ‘HomeCoin’ is tapping into the trillion dollar real estate industry with a mortgage-backed stablecoin called $HOME. In this episode of The Scoop, HomeCoin Founder Karl Jacob unpacks the mechanics behind HomeCoin’s mortgage-backed stablecoin, and shares why he believes the best way to move the real estate industry on-chain is incrementally over time. According to Jacobs, $HOME is over-collateralized by mortgages and yield is paid to holders of $HOME from payments made on those mortgages: ”Unlike other stablecoins, where the return is fueled by marketing dollars and a whole bunch of other things and things going to the moon, these are actually real payments from real people on houses that exist in the real world.” While Jacob sees room for HomeCoin to expand to other types of loans such as car loans or loans against commercial equipment, he doesn’t think tokenizing actual real estate is an effective strategy: “The reality is we've got a $13 trillion industry that isn't on-chain, and how can we move to a world where part of it is on-chain and slowly eat that world, versus trying to swallow it whole — which is basically what those guys are trying to do.” Episode 105 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded at SALT NY 2022 with The Block's Frank Chaparro, HomeCoin Co-Founder Karl Jacob. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Tron, Ledn About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord | About Ledn Ledn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.io

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Volt Capital announced in May the launch of its second fund — with backing from the likes of Andreessen Howoritz's Chris Dixon and Marc Andreessen — and despite the ongoing bear market for digital assets, founder Soona Amhaz says there's an opportunity to invest in a new wave of entrepreneurs. Following the launch of a wide range of marketplaces tied to non-fungible tokens and decentralized finance, Amhaz said she is setting her sights on projects and companies that solve the problems facing such organizations, including the breaches and security issues that hang over the space like a cloud. "A trend I'm seeing is second order thinking to primitives that were finally established," Amhaz noted. "So one anecdote of this is just being able to move NFTs between buyers and sellers: having marketplaces established was a huge win for the space this most recent cycle. But now we're already seeing a wave of founders who are building with this second order thinking of, 'Okay, now that NFTs are here and now that we have NFT marketplaces, how are we preventing fraud? How are we thinking about security? How are we thinking about content moderation?'" Indeed, Volt's strategy reflects a shift among venture capitalists in the market more generally, who are now focusing on infrastructure plays rather than token deals. "You're now building where there is demand," she said. "If you look at where the center of gravity is right now for crypto, because retail has largely evaporated… the center of gravity really and the attention and the spotlight are on other founders who are building crypto startups, they're on builders that need developer tools to enhance the DX or developer experience."

Episode 104 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded at Circle's Converge in San Francisco with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Volt Capital Managing Partner Soona Amhaz. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord | About Ledn Ledn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.io

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In a market known for mantras such as "irresponsibly long," Joe McCann has been taking a more prudent approach to crypto venture capital investing. The former head of systematic and algorithmic trading at Passport Capital launched his latest venture, Asymmetric, in the spring of last year and started deploying capital this past summer in the wake of the Three Arrows Capital meltdown. On this episode of The Scoop, McCann explained that his firm's approach to venture capital investing in crypto means it will take money off the table and hedge its exposure. "The liquid nature of crypto, especially at the early stage, is actually a feature, not a bug of crypto, but you actually need to know how to manage a liquid portfolio," McCann said. "So if you have 150 vol asset in your portfolio, you may want to manage that, right?" Indeed, McCann said traditional venture investors don't have experience with the necessary trading tools — such as derivatives and other financial contracts — to hedge risk in liquid assets, which cryptocurrencies inherently are relative to early-stage startup equity. This difference is a major impediment to VCs operating in crypto, according to McCann. "There is a fragile reputation that a lot of folks in the industry may have concerned with, 'hey, I'm going to invest in this startup and we're in it for the long haul, and we're not going to ever take profits or sell the token,'" McCann said. "The problem with that is that's great for traditional venture capital, where typically you don't have a liquidity event for 10 to 12 years ... with crypto, we know that it becomes liquid in months. So the way that you manage a traditional venture capital portfolio isn't relevant anymore — you're actually managing a liquid portfolio."

Episode 103 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded at Converge in San Francisco with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Asymmetric Founder and CEO/CIO Joe McCann. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord | About Ledn Ledn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.io

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In September, North Island Ventures launched a new $125 million fund to invest in emerging crypto and Web3 companies. In this episode of The Scoop, North Island Ventures Managing Partner Travis Scher unpacks the thesis behind the new fund and explains his firm’s vision for how the crypto industry will evolve over the next couple of decades. According to Scher, the tribalism that currently pits enthusiasts of competing blockchains against each other will fade over time: “I do not think there will be one blockchain to rule them all. I think that when we look back in ten years, we will think that the tribal battles among branded blockchains that we see playing out at conferences like this were really quite silly.” One corner of the market North Island is focusing on in particular is the Cosmos ecosystem, as Cosmos’ interoperable network of blockchains aligns with North Island’s long-term view of the crypto market. As Scher explains, North Island envisions crypto evolving into a seamless network of blockchains: “When we set our thesis in 2020, we said, ‘We believe, in its end state, crypto is an interoperable network of networks that facilitates the seamless exchange of value and data all across the world.”

Episode 102 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded at Messari Mainnet 2022 with The Block's Frank Chaparro and North Island Ventures Managing Partner Travis Scher. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord | About Ledn Ledn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.io

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Back in July, controversy broke out amongst Bitcoiners when Nic Carter — a long-time bitcoin proponent and Founding Partner of Castle Island Ventures — announced that his firm invested in a Web3 authentication company. Even though Castle Island recently launched a $250 million fund explicitly for Web3 investments, Carter’s announcement was met with staunch criticism from some members of the Bitcoin community. In this episode of The Scoop, Nic Carter and host Frank Chaparro discuss some of the philosophical underpinnings of the crypto space, including the similarities between Bitcoin maximalism and religious dogma. Although Carter himself is a vocal supporter of Bitcoin, he does not elevate it to anything beyond a monetary innovation — this, Carter says, is what separates him from the more zealous members of the community: “The one part of the community I distance myself from is the part that confuses bitcoin with religious doctrine. I think religion is religion, money is money, and they're pretty distinct, and they should stay distinct. The day after the controversy broke out on Twitter, Carter addressed the situation in a Medium article titled, ‘Setting the record straight; or: a eulogy for Bitcoin maximalism.’ In it, he writes: "I am not pessimistic on Bitcoin. I’m just interested in the world as it actually is, instead of the world of utopias and pleasant delusions."

Episode 101 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded at Converge22 with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Castle Island Ventures Founding Partner Nic Carter. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |

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After a tumultuous first half of the year, the crypto lending market is maturing, according to Ledn Co-Founder and CSO Mauricio Di Bartolomeo. In this episode of The Scoop, Bartolomeo shares his insider perspective on the state of crypto lending, including what types of lending he believes involves the least amount of risk. According to Bartolomeo, the liquidity crisis following the collapse of Three Arrows Capital earlier this year has the surviving lenders thinking more seriously about risk management: “Right now there is a huge focus on risk management — everybody is tightening up their covenants, everybody is trying to ensure that this doesn't happen again — and I think that has brought the space to a more balanced equilibrium.” Out of the various sources of demand for crypto loans, Bartolomeo believes delta-neutral market makers provide some of the best opportunities, given such market making strategies do not rely on the market moving in a particular direction: “The entities that performed the best typically were these high-quality market makers that take non-directional positions… that is the type of activity that we think is best suited to minimize risk.” One sign of increasing market maker activity, Bartolomeo explains, is the tightening of average spread on exchanges: “Today what you are seeing is that the average spread in most exchanges is getting tighter and tighter and tighter and tighter, and I think this is an expression of how many market makers are now coming in to narrow those gaps.” Episode 100 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Ledn Co-Founder and CSO Mauricio Di Bartolomeo. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |

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BlockTower yesterday unveiled a new $150 million fund, which has been operating in stealth since December of last year. BlockTower also announced a new venture arm, which complements the firm’s long-biased flagship fund, market-neutral fund and credit strategies. In this episode of The Scoop, Thomas Klocanas, BlockTower general partner and the new head of ventures, explains how BlockTower’s new venture fund synergizes with the firm’s existing strategies, and how this is advantageous for early-stage crypto projects. According to Klocanas, BlockTower’s four strategies collectively have more utility than a single specialized fund could have on its own: "If you're a DeFi protocol at seed stage, one of the first things you're calling your investors to solve for following your seed round is how do you bootstrap liquidity?… The benefit within BlockTower, our market-neutral fund, that's a big part of their mandate, that's a big part of how they generate yields — so there are obvious synergies where we can pipe that in.” Given this interoperability between the different facets of the business, Klocanas believes his new fund is more aptly referred to as a "strategic" fund: “We're not just a venture fund, we’re a ‘strategic.’ When folks say ‘strategic,’ they typically think of Coinbase’s investment arm or Gemini’s investment arm, but really I think that category is a little wider, and BlockTower is strategic in that we have multiple funds and strategies that can not just be an investor, but a user of your platform.” For Klocanas, of all the crypto industry's subsectors, “the highest conviction theme right now is definitely credit.” Given the amount of re-hypothecation in crypto that was exposed earlier this year, Klocanas believes there are clear advantages to decentralized lending: “There is a benefit to lending through a smart contract in that in the pecking order, if you're lending with something that has claims on collateral with code, you're going to get paid. Episode 99 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and BlockTower General Partner & Head of Venture, Thomas Klocanas. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |

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In August, it was reported that asset management firm Brevan Howard raised over $1 billion to invest in the crypto industry. In this episode of The Scoop, Bevan Howard’s Co-Heads of Ventures Peter Johnson and Colleen Sullivan break down their investment thesis and explain what segments of the crypto market they believe are seeing the most interest from existing brands. While traditional financial institutions are slowly moving their way into the crypto ecosystem, Sullivan points out that many traditional brands have already fully entered crypto via NFTs, metaverse experiences, and gaming: “Look at Goldman, JPMorgan, Citi, they're all involved in crypto to a certain extent — not to the degree we would have thought — but the institutions that are here are the Gucci's, the Nike's, the Tiffany's, the Dolce and Gabbana, Balmain, Balenciaga.” Blockchain gaming is one subset of the crypto market that Brevan Howard has recently been allocating to; just last week the firm co-led a $40 million Series A for Web3 gaming startup Horizon Blockchain Games. Outside of gaming, the digital asset opportunities Brevan Howard is looking to invest in relate to practical use cases. As Johnson explains, “What we're really excited about right now is moving beyond just speculative trading and where are the real world use cases that we're seeing crypto start to gain adoption.”

Episode 98 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Brevan Howard Co-Heads of Ventures Peter Johnson and Colleen Sullivan. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |

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The cameras have been rolling over at Coinbase, CEO Brian Armstrong revealed last Friday, when he announced the release of Coin: A Founder’s Story — a feature-length film over three years in the making. In this episode of The Scoop, Brian Armstrong sits down with host Frank Chaparro to share his thoughts on Coinbase’s new film, including his take on how some of the thornier moments of Coinbase’s history are portrayed. As Armstrong explains, he decided to produce the $2 million film because he wanted to “demystify” the ups and downs of taking a company public: “I decided to make this film because I wanted to tell the story of what it really is like to create a tech company — all the way from being on your laptop and writing the first few lines of code, to going and becoming a public company.” The film candidly portrays highlights, such as the moments before Coinbase’s public listing, as well as controversies, such as Armstrong declining to answer a question about the BLM movement at a company all-hands meeting, as well as Coinbase’s controversial acquisition of Neutrino — a market intelligence firm with members linked to selling spyware to countries like Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Venezuela. Ten-time Emmy-award-winning producer Greg Kohs had full creative control over Coin, and Armstrong himself “didn't have the ability to change anything.” With that being said, Armstrong thinks Kohs accurately represented Coinbase’s story, and he’s happy with how it turned out: “He did show people who disagree with us, people who thought that we had made mistakes, but I actually thought it was a very fair take — and so I'm happy with how it turned out.” Episode 97 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |

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In July, Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs partnered with Improbable — a British company building a network of virtual worlds — to bring to life Yuga’s metaverse project known as ‘Otherside.’ In this episode of The Scoop, Improbable’s Founders CEO Herman Narula and Chief Product Officer Rob Whitehead explain how they believe the metaverse creates value, and why developing entirely new experiences is crucial for success. According to Narula, nothing 'metaverse' related will be able to retain value without authentic engagement: “I think what we're always forgetting is it doesn't matter if we're talking about the price of land, the price of an avatar skin, the price of any digital asset; if there's no underlying usage, if there's no underlying people actually doing something because it's fun and fulfilling, none of that can hold value.” Instead of simply trying to recreate the physical world in digital form, Narula thinks metaverse experiences need to be entirely new: “Just porting over a PC or console game has almost never worked on mobile. I think metaverse expenses are like that: you've got to develop new stuff.” For example, “an ad as a billboard is trying to take the real world constraints and apply it to a virtual space,” Whitehead explains, “An ad could be teleporting you to a completely different experience.…”

Episode 96 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Improbable's Founders CEO Herman Narula & Chief Product Officer Rob Whitehead. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |

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TBD, the crypto focused arm of Jack Dorsey’s Block, is partnering with Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, to unleash the power of stablecoin payments onto the next billion crypto users. In this episode of The Scoop, Circle’s Chief Revenue Officer Kash Razzaghi and TBD’s Chief Operating Officer Emily Chiu discuss their new partnership, and explain how their companies’ synergy is going to make it easier to move value back and forth between crypto and the real world economy. According to Chiu, the crypto industry is lacking a way to exchange crypto for real world items: “The minute you nexus upon the real world and commerce in the real world, you need to solve these really hard problems that haven't yet been solved in the space. That's what TBDex does, and we see USDC and stablecoins as a critical bridge for facilitating these transactions.” One of the first use-cases will be a remittance function that enables payments between the US and Mexico, a corridor that sees billions flow a year. TBD hopes its digital identity solution will put users in control of both their identity and data as well as who they share it with. As Chiu explains, these digital identity solutions will hopefully promote global economic empowerment: “Regardless of what identity you have, you can create a self-sovereign identity wallet regardless of who you are, there's no intermediary and you need permission from in order to start transacting and engaging with the global economy.

Episode 95 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded at live at Converge with The Block's Frank Chaparro, Circle's CRO Kash Razzaghi and TBD's Co-Founder & COO Emily Chiu. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Tron About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |

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The Blockchain Association recently launched a new political action committee (PAC) designed to build relationships with pro-crypto Congressional candidates. In this episode of The Scoop, the Blockchain Association’s Executive Director Kristin Smith shares the objectives of the new Blockchain Association PAC, and why she believes Congress is the appropriate authority to design a regulatory framework for the crypto industry. As Smith explains, the Blockchain Association PAC is intended to promote pro-crypto candidates: “For us, this PAC is really about building relationships… This isn't the type of PAC where we go and buy a bunch of airtime or print out a bunch of mailers and spend a few hundred thousand dollars or $1,000,000 in a single race.” While SEC Chair Gary Gensler recently remarked that multiple crypto regulators could undermine the SEC’s efforts, Smith believes the Congress is in the best position to effectuate change: “We need Congress to step in and help sort through these issues because they are the ones that can grant new authority and they're the ones that have the flexibility to design a regulatory system that matches the risks that we see in crypto.” Episode 94 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded at SALT New York 2022 on September 13 with The Block's Frank Chaparro, and Blockchain Association's Executive Director Kristin Smith. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Tron About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized Web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |

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For the final installment of this three-part Ethereum Merge special edition of The Scoop, we take a closer look at zero-knowledge (ZK) rollups — technology that could enable Ethereum to scale to millions of transactions per second. There are four main teams working on ZK-rollups: Polygon, Scroll, Starkware, and Matter Labs. In this episode of The Scoop, Matter Labs Chief Product Officer Steve Newcomb shares what he believes to be the key ingredients of a good ZK-rollup, and why he believes scaling solutions will herald a new wave of innovation. According to Newcomb, a paradigm shift will occur once Ethereum successfully scales: “Once Ethereum can scale — and truly scale — it's kind of like coming out of Plato's cave and seeing the rest of the world, and seeing these use cases we could have never even predicted.” Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has stated he believes ZK-rollups will be the main layer-2 scaling solution in the future, largely because of the speed at which users can move funds between mainnet and the layer-2. Newcomb also believes that ZK-rollups are “going to be the end game for scaling,” although he also stipulates that a good ZK-rollup should meet the following requirements: “These five ingredients — having a generalized ZK-rollup, being EVM compatible, working with solidity, being truly open sourced, being correctly decentralized, and having good tokenomics — these are the key ingredients of what makes a good ZK-rollup a ZK-rollup.”

Episode 93 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Tim Copeland, VP of Research Larry Cermak and Matter Labs' Chief Product Officer Steve Newcomb. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized Web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord | About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com.

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Last year, Sky Mavis’ Axie Infinity inspired an entire genre of ‘play-to-earn’ crypto games. In recent months however, the volume of in-game NFT sales has been in decline as data from The Block shows: In this episode of The Scoop, Sky Mavis Co-Founder and Growth Lead Jeff Zirlin explains why he believes the core Axie community is stronger than ever, and how Axie Infinity’s in-game economy will become less reliant on speculative activity. According to Zirlin, the key to developing Axie’s in-game economy “away from play-to-earn to something that's more play-and-own,” is to give people reasons to invest in the game for purposes other than pure speculation: “We need to have emotional spending within these digital economies — people need to be spending for emotions that can be linked to the seven sins like wrath and greed, sloth… it can't it can't be everyone just coming in and expecting to get a free lunch.” Although Axie’s NFT trading volume is down from last year’s highs, Zirlin points out that the current levels are still significantly higher than they were before the bull market mania of last year: “People poured into Axie because it was the main thing that was working and the best product on the market. Now we're seeing a return to reality, but we're still at a much higher zone of adoption than we were prior to all the madness.” Episode 92 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Sky Mavis Co-Founder and Growth Lead Jeff Zirlin. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized Web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com.

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In the crypto world, MEV (‘Maximal Extractable Value’) refers to block producers’ ability to reorganize the sequence of transactions in any given block to extract a premium. While MEV can be used nefariously in instances such as front-running large transactions, it can also be used for arbitrage opportunities that do not directly impact other market participants. In this episode of The Scoop, we take a closer look at the world of MEV with Viktor Bunin, a protocol specialist at Coinbase, and Stephane Gosselin, the founder of Flashbots — a research project that provides MEV solutions to Ethereum validators. According to Gosselin, the purpose of Flashbots is to make markets more efficient: “We look at market structures, we research them and we develop products to try to improve them, and make sure that they're aligned with the intent of the chains that they're operating on top of.” How Flashbots works in practice is essentially by creating a separate layer where users can bid against each other to have their transactions included on the blockchain. As Bunin explains, “It essentially creates a private mempool or a ‘fastlane’ where it says, ‘Hey, you're welcome to compete all you'd like, but you should do it at this layer,’ and then there will be a standardized way by which whoever is a winning bid — essentially the winning transaction — that will be the one that gets included on the blockchain and no others.”

Episode 91 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Viktor Bunin, protocol specialist at Coinbase and Stephane Gosselin, MEV boost architect & co-founder of Flashbots. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized Web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord | About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com.

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In the last episode of The Scoop, we explored why some venture capitalists are becoming reluctant to invest in token models. However, not all VCs in the crypto space share this sentiment. Multicoin Capital — a VC whose combined crypto funds total nearly $550 million — is “primarily token investors,” according to managing partner Kyle Samani. In this episode of The Scoop, Kyle Samani talks through some of Multicoin’s recent investments and lays out when the token model can be an effective value capture mechanism for up-and-coming crypto projects. As Samani explains, token incentives are ideal for projects that require a large initial investment in exchange for prolonged rewards: “If you can identify use cases where the token is incentivizing one upfront action that has long lasting or perpetual value creation elsewhere, that is a super, super compelling way to use token incentives.” Episode 90 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live at SALT New York 2022 with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Research Director George Calle with Multicoin Capital Managing Partner Kyle Samani. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized Web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord | About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com.

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Last year’s bull market exuberance is a distant memory, as are the wildly inflated crypto funding rounds that attracted an unprecedented amount of venture capital to the space. In this episode of The Scoop, CoinShare’s Chief Strategy Officer Meltem Demirors and Aglaé Ventures Managing Partner Vanessa Grellet unpack how the crypto VC landscape has changed since last year’s bull market, and particularly why venture capitalists are becoming more reluctant to invest in early token rounds. As Demirors explains, savvy investors are realizing the token model is not always the best way to capture value: “There's now consideration of the fact that tokens, in particular governance tokens, are not necessarily the best way to capture value creation… an investor who's willing to write really large checks is going to have some fundamental questions around monetization that doesn't just rely on ‘number-go-up’ tokenomics.” According to Grellet, regulatory concerns — particularly regarding some token models’ similarity to unregistered securities — are another reason tokens are not as attractive to investors these days. While hesitancy regarding seed-stage token rounds is becoming more widespread, Grellet believes there is still interest in tokens if they make sense as part of larger equity investments: “We see a lot of investors being comfortable with both the equity and a token option so that if the main company has one project, but also has several other projects that warrant tokens, then you can have upside in the ongoing life of the company.” Episode 89 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro, CoinShares CSO Meltem Demirors, and Aglaé Ventures' Managing Partner Vanessa Grellet. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized Web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord | About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com.

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Unstoppable Domains allows users to register domain names via non-fungible tokens (NFTs) which can then be used to receive crypto payments, and as digital identity markers around Web3. In July, the company raised $65 million in a Series A, successfully clinching ‘unicorn’ status at a $1 billion valuation. In this episode of The Scoop, Unstoppable Domains’ Founder and CEO Matt Gould explains why NFT domain names are likely the future identity system for Web3, and how persistent digital identities will redefine the importance of online reputation. As Gould explains, once people start using an NFT domain as part of their online identity, additional interactions with Web3 applications will link more information to that NFT domain name, and a digital identity begins to emerge: “We think this is a big deal because there really isn't an identity system for the Internet yet, and a lot of people in the space think this is probably one of the big unlocks for crypto and blockchain over the next several years.” If this new NFT-based identity system develops the way Gould anticipates, then it will also be significantly harder for people to create fake reputations on Web3 platforms. Given bots and scammers are notorious problems on existing Web2 platforms, Gould thinks the implications could fundamentally change how we view online interactions: “Reputation that comes from having persistent digital identities is another huge benefit — not only owning your data, but being able to create your reputation will make online interactions hopefully more pleasant.”

Episode 88 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live withhe Block's Frank Chaparro and Unstoppable Domains Founder and CEO Matt Gould. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Tron TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized Web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord | About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com.

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Back in July, the SEC launched an investigation into Coinbase for allegedly listing several tokens that should have been listed as securities. Yesterday, SEC Chair Gary Gensler made comments that indicate he believes more crypto exchanges and broker-dealers are still in violation of guidelines put in place under former SEC Chair Clayton in 2017. In this episode of The Scoop, FTX President Brett Harrison shares how FTX US is striving to avoid regulatory issues, and why regulatory clarity in the digital asset space will lead to more domestic innovation in the US. According to Harrison, the onus of “deciding what to list is on the exchange.. but that doesn't necessarily prevent future enforcement if the regulatory agency in this case disagrees.” Given this dynamic, FTX US lists a limited number of tokens out of an abundance of caution. As Harrison explains: “We have fewer than 30 tokens on our exchange, and we think that's fortunately or unfortunately the long term play that will work for us until there is better clarity in terms of what registration is going to be required.” Although FTX US is not currently listing a broader selection of tokens, Harrison does believe many crypto projects would gladly register with the SEC if a clear framework existed: “I think a lot of token projects would register and quite happily do so if there was a clear process for it, because they want to get listed on US exchanges, they want to be able to operate their company in the US without worrying about enforcement action down the road — they would like for their tokens to have security like properties.” Episode 87 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro and FTX President Brett Harrison. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Tron On August 1st, 2022, Poloniex launched a faster and more stable trading system along with a brand new user interface. Poloniex was founded in January 2014 as a global cryptocurrency trading platform. With its world-class service and security, it received funding in 2019 from renowned investors, including H.E. Justin Sun, Founder of TRON. Poloniex supports spot and margin trading as well as leveraged tokens. Its services are available to users in nearly 100 countries and regions with various languages available. For more information visit Poloniex.com. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com.

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Since going public last October, the digital asset management platform Bakkt has been working towards enabling more businesses to provide crypto services to their customers. For example, in April of this year, Bakkt closed a deal with American Bank which allows the bank’s customers to buy and sell both bitcoin and ether. In this episode of The Scoop, Bakkt’s Chief Product Officer Dan O'Prey lays out Bakkt’s ambitions for the future and breaks down his company’s strategy to help banks grow their client-facing crypto offerings. According to O'Prey, Bakkt hopes to position itself as the underlying infrastructure layer that enables access to a variety of crypto services: “Bakkt is aiming to be that infrastructure platform — those services under the hood — that can enable non-crypto companies to offer crypto to their consumers in a variety of different fashions.”

Episode 86 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Bakkt Chief Product Officer Dan O'Prey. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Tron On August 1st, 2022, Poloniex launched a faster and more stable trading system along with a brand new user interface. Poloniex was founded in January 2014 as a global cryptocurrency trading platform. With its world-class service and security, it received funding in 2019 from renowned investors, including H.E. Justin Sun, Founder of TRON. Poloniex supports spot and margin trading as well as leveraged tokens. Its services are available to users in nearly 100 countries and regions with various languages available. For more information visit Poloniex.com. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com.

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In part one of this three-part Ethereum Merge special edition of The Scoop, Lex Sokolin — head economist at Consensys — examined how The Merge will improve web3’s reputation outside of the crypto space. In this episode of The Scoop, Ethereum Foundation researcher Danny Ryan provides a technical overview of The Merge, and explains why it took longer than expected to prepare the network for its transition to proof of stake. According to Ryan, changing the consensus mechanism of an active blockchain is no small feat: “It's like we built this better plane and started flying it next to the existing proof-of-work plane, and we're actually taking the payload, we're taking all the contents out of the proof-of-work plane, and we're putting in this other plane in flight.” Although The Merge was initially supposed to happen years ago, translating the mathematical concepts that underpin the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism into production took longer than expected. As Ryan explains, “You have these beautiful mathematical algorithms and proofs and design goals, and then when it comes time to actually turn that into something concrete and actionable, there's a lot of work to do.” Episode 85 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Tim Copeland and Ethereum Foundation researcher Danny Ryan. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Tron On August 1st, 2022, Poloniex launched a faster and more stable trading system along with a brand new user interface. Poloniex was founded in January 2014 as a global cryptocurrency trading platform. With its world-class service and security, it received funding in 2019 from renowned investors, including H.E. Justin Sun, Founder of TRON. Poloniex supports spot and margin trading as well as leveraged tokens. Its services are available to users in nearly 100 countries and regions with various languages available. For more information visit Poloniex.com. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com.

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After years of anticipation and development, the Ethereum blockchain is finally on the verge of transitioning its consensus mechanism from proof-of-work to a more energy-efficient mechanism known as proof-of-stake. According to a blog post from The Ethereum Foundation, switching the consensus mechanism of the blockchain is like changing the engine of a spaceship, and in just a few days, it will be “time to hot-swap the new engine for the old mid-flight.” In this special Ethereum Merge edition of The Scoop, Lex Sokolin, head economist at leading Ethereum development company ConsenSys, examines the implications of Ethereum’s Merge for the future of the network. During the discussion, Sokolin explains why the switch will help improve the reputation of web3 outside of the crypto space — particularly with those who prefer ESG investments. A long-standing criticism of cryptocurrency technology singles out the amount of energy required to power the underlying blockchains. According to Sokolin, the fact that Ethereum is set to reduce its energy consumption by roughly 99.95% will help alleviate this concern: “I think removing the objection around ESG is very meaningful because it does change culturally some of the value proposition of Ethereum to those communities who take really seriously these issues around electricity consumption and impact.” By removing ESG concerns, Sokolin hopes more people in the world will be able to see the potential for web3 technology, without having to worry about negative externalities. As Sokolin explains, “A lot of how people align with web3 and crypto is through idealistic storytelling about what the world could be, and it's really important to be open minded and have a kind of hope for what new platforms can create.” Episode 84 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Tim Copeland and ConsenSys Head Economist Lex Sokolin. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Tron On August 1st, 2022, Poloniex launched a faster and more stable trading system along with a brand new user interface. Poloniex was founded in January 2014 as a global cryptocurrency trading platform. With its world-class service and security, it received funding in 2019 from renowned investors, including H.E. Justin Sun, Founder of TRON. Poloniex supports spot and margin trading as well as leveraged tokens. Its services are available to users in nearly 100 countries and regions with various languages available. For more information visit Poloniex.com. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com.

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Hxro Network (pronounced “hero”) raised $34 million in a token round in November to help advance the platform’s vision of building a decentralized derivative platform on Solana. Now, Hxro is on the cusp of launching USDC collateralized markets, which will mark the first time users are able to trade derivatives products using collateral with real value. In this episode of The Scoop, Hxro co-founder and CEO Dan Gunsberg joins host Frank Chaparro to unpack the idea behind the Hxro protocol and to explain how Hxro hopes to solve liquidity problems that currently exist in the decentralized derivative space. According to Gunsberg, the technology underlying Hxro Network allows anyone to create a decentralized derivative product: “Effectively anybody will be able to come and create any type of derivative product on Hxro Network’s protocol… the core protocol is something called ‘Dexterity,’ and the idea of it is that it’s really just the generalized architecture for the payoff function and the accounting mechanisms of a derivative.” Not only does Hxro allow users to build any type of derivative product, “the beauty” of the platform is the way in which it will unify liquidity to create more efficient markets, Gunsberg believes. Gunsberg explains, “Once those markets are created, they all exist in the base layer protocol and then any application can tap those markets… so what you end up with is this unification of liquidity across many applications and many users, that all bottoms out into the same marketplace depending on the product.” Episode 83 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Hxro Co-Founder & CEO Dan Gunsberg. Listen and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Tron On August 1st, 2022, Poloniex launched a faster and more stable trading system along with a brand new user interface. Poloniex was founded in January 2014 as a global cryptocurrency trading platform. With its world-class service and security, it received funding in 2019 from renowned investors, including H.E. Justin Sun, Founder of TRON. Poloniex supports spot and margin trading as well as leveraged tokens. Its services are available to users in nearly 100 countries and regions with various languages available. For more information visit Poloniex.com. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com.

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Last time Paolo Ardoino came on The Scoop podcast back in 2019, the USDT stablecoin had a market cap of less than $5 billion. Today, that number has risen to more than $66 billion, according to data from The Block's Data Dashboard. While Ardoino serves as both the CTO of Tether (the issuing company behind USDT), as well as CTO of the crypto exchange Bitfinex, recently he has been focusing much of his attention on developing Holepunch — a fully encrypted platform for peer-to-peer applications. In this episode of The Scoop, Paolo Ardoino shares his vision for the future of peer-to-peer technology, which he believes is in line with "the original ethos of the World Wide Web." According to Ardoino, we already possess the hardware necessary to facilitate peer-to-peer data transfer in a more efficient way than existing centralized platforms allow: "The biggest lie ever is that our hardware, our devices, our iPods, phones don't have the capacity to do great things — actually, they are much more powerful than what we think." While our devices may be powerful, Ardoino suggests that having to route data through centralized servers creates unnecessary latency which limits performance: "I'm talking to you, I'm calling you, and there is no reason why my signal — all my data — should pass through a centralized server. There is today, in 2022, no need for that." The first app to be deployed on the Holepunch peer-to-peer technology is a video calling service named Keet. Whereas centralized video streaming platforms are forced to compress data to facilitate global demand, the direct peer-to-peer connection provided by Holepunch allows Keet to facilitate much higher quality video connections. According to Ardoino, "You have to take a shower before using Keet because we get 4K video from you, and it's not compressed."

Episode 82 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Bitfinex CTO and Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Tron On August 1st, 2022, Poloniex launched a faster and more stable trading system along with a brand new user interface. Poloniex was founded in January 2014 as a global cryptocurrency trading platform. With its world-class service and security, it received funding in 2019 from renowned investors, including H.E. Justin Sun, Founder of TRON. Poloniex supports spot and margin trading as well as leveraged tokens. Its services are available to users in nearly 100 countries and regions with various languages available. For more information visit Poloniex.com. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com.

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Earlier this summer, the collapse of Three Arrows Capital (3AC) sent the crypto lending world into chaos. Many lenders suffered heavy losses due to 3AC exposure and some were forced into bankruptcy. BlockFi — a prominent crypto lender that was valued at nearly $5 billion during the height of the bull market — was one of the firms that took a big hit when 3AC collapsed, prompting the company's shareholders to approve a $680 million deal with FTX US that outlines a path to a potential acquisition later next year. In this episode of The Scoop, BlockFi CEO Zac Prince candidly recounted the events surrounding his firm's liquidation of Three Arrows Capital. He also explained his personal philosophy regarding the relationship that a crypto lender should have with its customers. Prince expressed during the interview that he firmly believes that BlockFi's clients should be given priority consideration: "I have a very fundamental belief that in the type of business that Blockfi is, you can't screw over your clients and still have a business, period. That's not an option and that's not something that Blockfi is ever going to do on my watch." When asked directly about Three Arrows Capital, Prince responded, "I also respect that these are still people and I hope that they're doing okay, but there's a whole mountain of legal and potentially civil and criminal things that they'll be dealing with in the foreseeable future."

Episode 81 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and BlockFi Founder & CEO Zac Prince. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Tron On August 1st, 2022, Poloniex launched a faster and more stable trading system along with a brand new user interface. Poloniex was founded in January 2014 as a global cryptocurrency trading platform. With its world-class service and security, it received funding in 2019 from renowned investors, including H.E. Justin Sun, Founder of TRON. Poloniex supports spot and margin trading as well as leveraged tokens. Its services are available to users in nearly 100 countries and regions with various languages available. For more information visit Poloniex.com. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com.

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While NFT projects grew in popularity, so too did brand recognition — and the interest of talent representatives to sign them on. United Talent Agency (UTA) was among the first in August of 2021, when it signed CryptoPunks and Meebits creators Larva Labs, followed by Deadfellaz in April of this year. Other talent representatives got into web3 as well, such as Creative Artists Agency (CAA) signing on the NFT collector 0xb1 in October 2021 and even hiring a Chief Metaverse Officer in August of this year. But why did talent representatives like UTA sign on these NFT brands at all? Why do NFT brands need talent representation? To get to the heart of these questions, MK sat down with UTA's head of web3, Lesley Silverman. Silverman has been at UTA for the past seven years, educating artists on the utility of web3 and helping interested artists launch their web3 brand. Before joining UTA, Silverman worked as a fine arts lawyer, and she says this experience shaped how she lead UTA through the NFT space.

Episode 80 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's MK Manoylov and Lesley Silverman, Head of Web3 at United Talent Agency. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Tron On August 1st, 2022, Poloniex launched a faster and more stable trading system along with a brand new user interface. Poloniex was founded in January 2014 as a global cryptocurrency trading platform. With its world-class service and security, it received funding in 2019 from renowned investors, including H.E. Justin Sun, Founder of TRON. Poloniex supports spot and margin trading as well as leveraged tokens. Its services are available to users in nearly 100 countries and regions with various languages available. For more information visit Poloniex.com About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com

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Plaid, a fintech infrastructure and payments provider aiming to simplify the digital financial ecosystem through a single API, recently announced big crypto players such as Gemini and Binance.US are joining its network of financial institutions. The move is part of Plaid's broader effort to integrate both legacy institutions and crypto service providers into its platform, which was valued at more than $13 billion last year after a $425 million fundraise. In this episode of The Scoop, Plaid's head of UK, Keith Grose, joins host Frank Chaparro to discuss how its integration with crypto platforms is helping bring new users into the ecosystem, and to break down what the future of digital finance will look like. According to Grose, users' digital financial interactions will increasingly be controlled by a single wallet that is able to move seamlessly between different platforms: "You are essentially, as a user, going to have this back end wallet, whether it's your bank account or your crypto wallet, that you control the keys to and you can take wherever you want to use it around the digital world. That's where we're headed." While Plaid is built to cater to a range of digital financial platforms, Grose points out that all financial transactions ultimately come down to trust: "What we're really talking about when you're talking about payments is trust… and I think we're more and more moving to a place where trust is becoming digital, and proving trust online in the digital world is very different than proving trust in a physical, community based system that most of humanity has been in for most of history."

Episode 78 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Plaid head of UK/EU Keith Grose. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Chainalysis &IWC Schaffhausen About Tron On August 1st, 2022, Poloniex launched a faster and more stable trading system along with a brand new user interface. Poloniex was founded in January 2014 as a global cryptocurrency trading platform. With its world-class service and security, it received funding in 2019 from renowned investors, including H.E. Justin Sun, Founder of TRON. Poloniex supports spot and margin trading as well as leveraged tokens. Its services are available to users in nearly 100 countries and regions with various languages available. For more information visit Poloniex.com. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com.

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The US has yet to see a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) reach the market, but when a futures-based product got the green light from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last year, issuers were hopeful. Some thought it signified the regulator becoming more comfortable with crypto products and a spot ETF could be on the horizon. But since then, the SEC continued to shoot down application after application on the basis that there aren't sufficient mechanisms to prevent price manipulation in the spot market. Grayscale, which has long desired to convert its flagship GBTC product into an ETF, took issue with this. During the SEC's continued extensions on its application, and after a series of rejections of other similar applications, the firm sent a letter saying the regulator could be violating its own procedures by approving a futures product but refusing to allow a spot-based product. The firm argued that futures are priced based on the underlying spot market, meaning any price manipulation in the spot market would affect futures products. The idea is if the regulator is comfortable with futures, it should be comfortable with a spot-based product. But Grayscale, too, received a rejection weeks later, spurring it to mount a legal challenge in the DC Court of Appeals. Now, it's gearing up to submit its first brief in the case, detailing its qualms with the SEC's rejection of its application. In this week's episode of Policy Scoop, Aislinn Keely sat down with Grayscale's Chief Legal Officer, Craig Salm, to take an in-depth look at the firm's argument. "It wasn't a decision that we made lightly, and during the course of that comment letter period, we had a couple of meetings with the Commission to try to work through their questions and the issues presented, lay out the arguments and reasoning why we felt that if they were okay with futures, they should now be okay with spot," said Salm.

Episode 78 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Aislinn Keely and Craig Salm, Chief Legal Officer at Grayscale. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Chainalysis &IWC Schaffhausen About Tron On August 1st, 2022, Poloniex launched a faster and more stable trading system along with a brand new user interface. Poloniex was founded in January 2014 as a global cryptocurrency trading platform. With its world-class service and security, it received funding in 2019 from renowned investors, including H.E. Justin Sun, Founder of TRON. Poloniex supports spot and margin trading as well as leveraged tokens. Its services are available to users in nearly 100 countries and regions with various languages available. For more information visit Poloniex.com About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com

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Fractional — a crypto startup whose tech allows individual non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to be locked in a smart contract, and then 'fractionalized' into fungible digital pieces — is changing its name to 'Tessera.' In addition to the name change, Tessera announced they closed a $20 million Series A earlier this summer in a funding round led by Paradigm. In this episode of The Scoop, Tessera co-founder and CEO Andy Chorlian explains how fractionalized NFTs foster new digital communities, and why 'Tessera' is a more suitable name for the direction of the platform. According to Chorlian, Tessera is helping new communities form by taking 'blue-chip' NFTs that could cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, and making them more accessible to the average collector: "It's really just reshaping what it is that's exciting about a particular NFT or owning that NFT — generally more so in like the collecting things that you love and meeting other like minded people and being in interesting communities." The team decided to move away from 'Fractional' — a name that "sounds like a DeFi protocol," according to Chorlian — in favor of 'Tessera' because of the word's dual meaning and resonance with the vision for the platform: "It is the name of a tile used to create mosaic artwork, and the other use… is the idea of a membership pass or an identity card, and that really hit two of the main things that we think our product and NFTs in general are cool and exciting for."

Episode 77 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Tessera co-founder and CEO Andy Chorlian. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Chainalysis &IWC Schaffhausen About Tron On August 1st, 2022, Poloniex launched a faster and more stable trading system along with a brand new user interface. Poloniex was founded in January 2014 as a global cryptocurrency trading platform. With its world-class service and security, it received funding in 2019 from renowned investors, including H.E. Justin Sun, Founder of TRON. Poloniex supports spot and margin trading as well as leveraged tokens. Its services are available to users in nearly 100 countries and regions with various languages available. For more information visit Poloniex.com About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com

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Over the course of the past two decades, Grammy Award-winning DJ, André Allen Anjos (also known as RAC) has noticed a growing trend. "There's been a trend since 2005 in the MySpace era, and all of that has been a trend towards sovereignty of an artist, of putting the artists on top," he says. RAC is an advisor to Audius — a decentralized music streaming platform that raised $5 million last September from big names including Coinbase Ventures and Pantera Capital, along with popular artists such as Jason Derulo and Katy Perry. In this episode of The Scoop, RAC and Audius Co-Founder and CEO Roneil Rumburg examine the limitations of centralized music streaming platforms and explain how data ownership in web3 allows artists to redefine their relationship to their fans. Rumburg argues that centralized streaming platforms prevent artists from establishing a direct connection with their fanbase. "There shouldn't be this sense of 'platform lock-in' that we have today on Spotify or places like that where, as a creator, you don't really know who your fans are, and you don't have the ability to port that fan base between experiences." RAC has first-hand experience with this problem: while the DJ has 5.5 million followers on SoundCloud, his fanbase is "locked" into the platform. Artists "don't own that connection in any way," he says. Audius is designed to avoid that, according to Rumburg. "Our company could go away tomorrow, and all of this would keep working… From the artist's perspective, there's no lock in here. You can take your following and your data that you have here and use it anywhere else."

Episode 76 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro, Audius Co-Founder Roneil Rumburg and Grammy award winning DJ and Audius Advisor, RAC. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com

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CoinShares — a London-based crypto firm whose operations include asset management, venture capital, and proprietary trading — had exposure to Terra's "algorithmic" stablecoin UST, the collapse of which resulted in a loss of $21 million for the firm's trading unit of the business. In this episode of The Scoop, CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti provides an inside look at how CoinShares navigated Terra's collapse, and why crypto's "private company environment" leads to marketplace uncertainty. According to Mognetti, a lack of standardized disclosure requirements for crypto firms makes it difficult to verify balance sheet details. "The opacity despite all the progress we're doing is quite intense, so you don't have as much information as you want." While Mognetti points to Voyager Digital as an example of a crypto company that has fully disclosed the state of its book, he acknowledges this is likely due to Voyager's status as a publicly traded company — for private companies, the disclosure requirements aren't nearly as robust and largely vary by jurisdiction. This leads to uncertainty, Mognetti argued. "Even if they tell you they're good, you don't know what they have in the book and against whom they are exposed."

Episode 75 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and CoinShares Co-Founder and CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com

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Block CEO Jack Dorsey has called 'Web5,' a decentralized identity platform under development by TBD, the Block's blockchain arm, "likely our most important contribution to the internet." In this episode of The Scoop, TBD lead Mike Brock explains how Web5, whose name is a play on the idea of connecting Web2 and Web3, aims to reimagine the way trust is established and maintained, and how digital identity can connect the emerging decentralized financial system to the existing real-world economy. Hardcore crypto proponents dream of creating a fully decentralized, trustless system. But Brock says there are some practical problems with transacting in such a world: "Are you going to go and buy a gold watch from an anonymous online merchant and then send them a non-reversible payment for $10,000 and just hope that it gets drop-shipped to you?... We can't build an economy around that. We have to have a way to authenticate with the real world." That's where the Web5 platform comes in. Brock describes it as a "messaging layer that ultimately allows you to establish secure transactions, with negotiated social trust." Users of Web5 are in control of both their identities and their data — something Brock believes will facilitate a new way for the developing decentralized economy to connect with known, verifiable actors in the real world: "We're trying to build on-ramps and off-ramps from the real world — fundamentally, that's what digital identity ultimately gets you."

Episode 74 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live at The Block headquarters with The Block's Frank Chaparro and TBD Lead at Block, Mike Brock. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com

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In this episode of The Scoop, Solana Labs co-founder and COO Raj Gokal discusses his early impression of Solana Spaces, as well as the innovation and experimentation that is occurring across the Solana ecosystem at a "breakneck pace." As Gokal explains, some people who visit Solana Spaces' first location in Manhattan are discovering that web3 might not be as daunting as it seems: "There's hundreds of people coming through — just starting their first Phantom wallet, sending their first USDC, and learning, 'okay, using crypto is like not that complicated.'"In addition to the inroads Solana is making in the physical world, Solana is currently hosting a virtual hackathon called 'Summer Camp' — the largest Solana hackathon to date, according to Gokal: "The hackathon that's going right now has almost 14,000 developers. This is the most participation from a hackathon that we've ever seen… and it's now — in the depths of the bear market."Although the price of SOL has fallen approximately 85% since last November's highs, the Solana Network has seen accelerated adoption over the same period, as data from The Block shows.

Episode 72 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Solana Labs Co-Founder and COO, Raj Gokal. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com

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Circle's USDC stablecoin is the second largest by market capitalization, and has steadily grown in dominance over the last couple of years. In this episode of The Scoop, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy at Circle, Dante Disparte, joins host Frank Chaparro to share his take on what a responsible approach to stablecoin regulation might look like and why he believes central bank digital currencies are "anti-democratic." According to Disparte, the separation between the central banks and citizens' pockets is important to maintain: "The gap between the central bank, the banking system, your wallet and how you spend money is a powerful feature and not a bug." Furthermore, Dante believes that central bank digital currencies ignore the fundamental peer-to-peer potential of digital assets: "A central bank digital currency would be the equivalent of building a high speed train engine, but not caring about the rail network, nor the station stops. And the real powerful breakthrough of blockchain based finance is that the infrastructure has networked peer to peer station stops." During this episode, Chaparro and Disparte also discuss:

The difference between 'risk' and 'uncertainty'

Stablecoin standards

Non-USD denominated stablecoins

Episode 72 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro, and Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy at Circle, Dante Disparte. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com

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Earlier this year, crypto infrastructure provider Talos closed a $105 million Series B for a valuation of $1.25 billion. In this episode of The Scoop, Talos cofounders Ethan Feldman and Anton Katz provide insider perspectives on how institutions have been positioning themselves during the crypto market’s recent upheaval, and why they believe the industry will rebound stronger than ever before. As Katz points out during the interview, the more market participants think about risk, the more stable the industry will become: “I think a lot of people are revising how they're thinking about risk… So overall, I think what we're going to see is actually we're going to see a much more robust, much safer credit market emerge as a result of this.” In addition to firms beefing up internal risk management, the Talos co-founders also believe regulation will also play a major role in helping the crypto ecosystem grow. According to Feldman: “Regulation is an enabler to some extent, right? This is what's going to enable the bigger institutions in the world to actually trade spot crypto.”

Episode 71 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro, and Talos Co-Founders Ethan Feldman and Anton Katz. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com

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Variant — a venture capital firm founded on the idea that the next iteration of the internet is going to be defined by decentralized, user-owned networks — has raised $450 million to be deployed across two new funds. In this episode of The Scoop, Variant co-founders Jesse Walden and Spencer Noon reveal how they plan on allocating the capital — and why Variant remains bullish on the long-term future of web3. According to Walden, the technology powering the emerging web3 industry will only improve from here: “In the history of technology, technology doesn't get worse and disappear — it gets better and more pervasive. And that's happening at an exponential rate in Web3, because this is all software, it's all open source, and there's just tons of talent jumping in... So the tech is working, and again, I think that means it's only going to be more pervasive.” Although web3 is still in its infancy, the Variant co-founders believe elements of it are already disrupting their centralized equivalents. For example, Walden describes how certain distressed lenders recently prioritized paying back loans to DeFi protocols over other counterparties: “DeFi protocols were the only protocols that got paid back by some of these institutions that blew up … the transparency and sort of enforcement of these smart contracts can actually have better outcomes than the alternative, which is opacity and sort of trust in the wrong parties.”

Episode 70 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro, and Variant Co-Founders Jesse Walden and Spencer Noon. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com

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Following the crypto market crash in May and June, several institutional bitcoin mining companies have liquidated large portions of their bitcoin reserves, adding more fuel to the selling pressure. In this episode, we discussed the impact of the shrinking hash price and the profitability of bitcoin mining at the moment. The network's hash price has reached the lowest point since late 2020 due to bitcoin's price decline and only moderate difficulty correction. Even though the network has had three difficulty declines in a row over the past month, the competition level is still up by about 10% year-to-date. Meanwhile, the global energy price surge and inflation are pushing mining firms' production costs even higher – not to mention that a lot of them also have growing interest expenses on outstanding loans they took since last year. If bitcoin's price drops below the critical $15,000 level, we may start to see miner capitulation. Listen to more of our discussions below. In this episode of The Scoop Mining Report, The Block Research's mining analyst Wolfie Zhao and host Frank Chaparro take a further look at the pressures facing miners in today's market environment and how recent heatwaves have affected mining operations today.

Episode 69 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and The Block Research Analyst Wolfie Zhao. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Chainalysis & IWC Schauffhausen About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com

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Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the blockchain-based method to verify and transfer ownership of a digital asset, exploded in popularity in 2021. Though some collections such as NBA Top Shot and CryptoPunks had existed before last year’s climb in popularity, NFTs largely did not enter mainstream consciousness until the arrival of Bored Ape Yacht Club, a collection of 10,000 algorithmically assembled images of languid monkeys. The success of Bored Ape Yacht Club in the spring of 2021 sparked an influx of large-scale NFT collections such as Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Meebits, Doodles, Cool Cats and Azuki. What followed was the scramble in the crypto community to buy in early to the next popular project, and the rush for non-crypto natives to understand what these types of tokens even are. Around the same time as so-called profile-picture projects emerged, NFTs also expanded into the gaming sector through play-to-earn (P2E) mechanics. The P2E game Axie Infinity particularly emerged as a giant in the blockchain-based gaming space in the late summer and early fall of 2021 before losing traction. In all, NFTs surpassed $13 billion in trading volume in 2021. NFT trading volume cooled in concert with the broader crypto bear market in 2022. With high-profile parties like Coinbase and GameStop entering the space, this technology doesn’t seem to be going away. And with them, so too are pertinent questions around copyright and ownership. In this debut episode of The Block's NFT Scoop, reporter MK Manoylov speaks with The Block Research's Thomas Bialek about the history of NFTs, where they came from, and what lead to their explosion in popularity in 2021.

Episode 68 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's MK Manoylov and The Block Research's Thomas Bialek. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Chainalysis & IWC Schauffhausen About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com

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As head of a retail crypto platform with lending exposure to Three Arrows Capital (‘3AC’), Abra CEO Bill Barhydt has personal insight into what led similar platforms to go bust in the wake of 3AC defaulting on $3.5 billion in loans across 27 different counterparties. In this episode of The Scoop, Barhydt reveals how Abra has been able to remain operational despite 3AC exposure, and where other lenders who incurred severe losses from 3AC went wrong. Adequately accounting for ‘concentration risk’ for example, which Barhydt describes simply as not putting “all your eggs in one basket,” has been key to Abra’s survival. This meant Abra was able to write-off a relatively small loss resulting from the collapse of 3AC without it having an impact on their broader operations. Yet, while Barhydt believes concentration risk is “by far the easiest thing to manage for in lending,” firms like Voyager have been forced into bankruptcy from over-exposure to 3AC, with court documents suggesting Voyager has claims of over $650 million against 3AC compared to the $1.3 billion in crypto assets the broker currently has on its platform. When lenders take a hit from failing to adequately account for concentration risk, Barhydt believes it is usually out of complacency: “Usually it’s a function of laziness because: hey, the rates are good, nobody’s asking any questions, markets going up and to the right… It is pure laziness. And unfortunately, there were a couple of firms that were in that situation for different reasons.”

Episode 67 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Bill Barhydt, CEO of Abra. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Chainalysis & IWC Schauffhausen About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com

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Last time Real Vision CEO Raoul Pal came on The Scoop podcast back in 2020, the investment strategist cautioned that the Federal Reserve's monetary policy was simply “papering up the cracks” in the economic crunch caused by Covid-19. Over two years later, Pal’s predictions seem to have come true, as the global economy struggles to keep pace with rampant inflation, which reached a 40-year high of 9.1% in the US in June. Although the crypto markets have been hit especially hard in recent months, Pal feels “that the forced selling participants are out of the market,” adding that “we’re definitely close to the low.” In this episode of The Scoop, Pal forecasts where he believes the economy is headed in the coming months, and shares why Ethereum’s upcoming merge could represent a defining moment for the web3 industry. After Ethereum’s merge to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, users who "stake" ether to secure the network will earn yield in ether — something Pal thinks will have a standardizing effect on the inflation rate of protocols around the industry: “We are going to end up creating a benchmark web3 interest rate of which we can assess other risks against, so that makes risk management slightly more transparent.” For example, Pal hypothesizes that if Ethereum offered 4.8% yield after its upcoming merge, then 4.8% would become the benchmark yield for other crypto projects as well. Furthermore, the risk from investing in protocols offering yields higher than Ethereum’s could be assessed relative to Ethereum's hypothetical risk-free 4.8% yield. In addition to creating a benchmark yield for the industry, Pal thinks the decrease in the Ethereum blockchain’s energy consumption after the merge could result in it becoming an institutional favorite compared to the more energy-intensive, proof-of-work consensus mechanism used by the Bitcoin blockchain. As Pal explains: “To have a benchmark yield in the second largest cryptocurrency, when everybody wants to allocate over time to web3 as a theme, that is not counter to the 'FUD' of the ESG narrative that Bitcoin has to battle with — it becomes incredibly attractive for institutions to allocate.” Additionally, Pal claims he has personally been adding the most crypto to his portfolio since November of 2020, stating “the risk-reward is now becoming super ludicrous, so it dwarfs anything else.”

Episode 66 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Raoul Pal, Co-Founder and CEO of Real Vision. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Chainalysis & IWC Schauffhausen About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com

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Although Algorand may not be the most popular blockchain ecosystem, its underlying technology is arguably among the most cutting edge. Founded in 2017 by Silvio Micali, MIT professor and Turing Award recipient for his pioneering work in the fields of cryptography and computer science, Algorand uses a highly efficient consensus mechanism it calls pure proof of stake, and is one of the most energy-efficient blockchains in the industry. While Silvio Micali oversees the research and development of Algorand's technology, the Algorand Foundation is responsible for helping the surrounding community flourish. In this episode of The Scoop, Algorand Foundation CEO Staci Warden detailed recent developments in the Algorand ecosystem that she hopes will harness the power of Algorand's technology for global good. "We have the best tech in crypto, and I think a lot of people would acknowledge that," Warden says. She cites Algorand's roughly 1,000 transactions per second and 4.5 second settlement time — which the development team hopes to increase to 10,000 transactions per second and 2.5 second settlement time by the end of the year. Given these performance indicators, Warden believes Algorand is equipped to handle problems at scale. As she explains, "When you've got a machine like that, of course you start thinking big — and so we think in terms of very big global problems." One of these problems is financial inclusion, which the Algorand Foundation is looking to address through an upcoming partnership with an organization that is planning to make 4G mobile phones preloaded with Algorand's tech available to people in Africa who might otherwise be unable to access traditional financial services. Algorand also has a growing decentralized finance ecosystem, largely due to an ecosystem fund launched last September that today is worth approximately $50 million.

Episode 65 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Staci Warden, CEO of the Algorand Foundation. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Chainalysis & IWC Schauffhausen About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com

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As the industry continues to cope with fallout from the implosion of Three Arrows Capital, July has been a brutal month for crypto lenders, with both Voyager Digital and Celsius declaring bankruptcy, and other prominent lenders including Genesis, BlockFi and Blockchain.com incurring severe losses. In the case of Celsius — which is now reporting a $1.2 billion hole in its balance sheet — retail investors have a long road to recovering any of the crypto they deposited in the platform. In this episode of The Scoop, Domain Money founder and CEO Adam Dell walks through some of the fatal mistakes made by the recently collapsed crypto lenders and explains what a responsible approach to portfolio management looks like in the digital asset space. In contrast to the way Celsius allegedly deployed users' funds into levered strategies, Dell says it is important that Domain Money remains market neutral: "We don't take balance sheet risk. And so many of the entities you mentioned were using their clients' funds to basically take levered positions in the market." Domain Money is also looking to differentiate itself through quality portfolio managers. Dell has brought in teams from Goldman Sachs and Bridgewater to help construct and manage portfolios in the hope that veterans from traditional finance will be able to use their experience to manage the volatility of the crypto market. While the contagion stemming from Three Arrows Capital and rampant global inflation have caused crypto prices to plummet, Dell says this is healthy in the long-run: "I'm a little bit conflicted in that I certainly want all of our investors to have positive returns in any timeframe, but I also think this is, in the long-term, a very good thing for this industry to go through to weed out the bad actors, to weed out the momentum and meme-focused investors, and have a set of investments thrive and grow over time that are solving real world problems."

Episode 64 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Adam Dell, founder and CEO of Domain Money. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Chainalysis & IWC Schauffhausen About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com

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No matter the blockchain, individual blocks are limited in the amount of information they can hold; so when blockspace becomes limited, transaction fees increase. As Ava Labs COO Kevin Sekniqi puts it: “Chains are only cheap as long as the blockspace has not been filled up completely — once blockspace gets filled up completely, it becomes expensive.” In this episode of the Scoop, Sekniqi explains how Avalanche — the proof-of-stake blockchain Ava Labs launched back in September 2020 — utilizes ‘subnets’ to tackle the problem of blockchain scalability, and how subnets compare to other scaling solutions. As Sekniqi explains, existing validators of the Avalanche blockchain are able to deploy new subnets, and choose the rules of how they operate: “The simplest way to describe subnets… is a subset of the Avalanche validators coming together and agreeing to do something.” For example, the validators of a new subnet could choose to optimize the specifications of the new chain for a specific application, or validators could choose to require users to undergo KYC before interacting with the new subnet. Whereas an Avalanche subnet could theoretically be run with just a single validator, popular scaling solutions on Ethereum rely on the entire validator set of the base chain to process transactions. Sekniqi argues that this approach is likely unnecessary, and creates “extreme overhead that you don’t really want.” Instead, Sekniqi believes the number of validators securing a chain should scale organically alongside its value: “If there's a lot of activity and it truly is a very valuable chain, more and more people will start validating that chain because there are incentives… and so [security] scales up as the value is built upon it.” Episode 63 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live at The Block headquarters in New York with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Kevin Seqniki, COO of Ava Labs. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Chainalysis & IWC Schauffhausen About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com

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Last month, a grand jury indicted OpenSea's former head of product in what amounts to the first insider trading enforcement in crypto. Nathaniel Chastain allegedly purchased and sold non-fungible tokens (NFTs) he knew would be listed on OpenSea's homepage at a considerable profit. This alleged activity looks a lot like front running or insider trading, in which someone profits off of non-public information. But insider trading is a securities violation, and NFTs are not currently classified as securities. For that reason, the Department of Justice is arguing a creative case theory that doesn't include securities violations. Instead, the DOJ is seeking to stick Chastain with wire fraud and money laundering charges. In this month's episode of Policy Scoop, Aislinn Keely sits down with Ian McGinley, former co-chief of the complex frauds and cybercrime unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and current partner at Akin Gump’s white-collar defense and government investigations practice, to take a closer look at the case. McGinley breaks down:

Implications for the enforcement of insider trading in crypto

What wire fraud means in this context and how it's been used in the past

How the DOJ's case theory could be used in future enforcements

Episode 62 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Aislinn Keely, Policy Reporter. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Chainalysis & IWC Schauffhausen About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com

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With bitcoin’s market cap hovering around $380 billion — down from over $1.25 trillion last November — lately much attention has been paid to bitcoin’s price action in the mainstream media. Although headlines often focus on bitcoin’s economic component, they are missing the most important aspect of the technology, according to Darin Feinstein, founder of bitcoin mining company Core Scientific. According to Feinstein, “The root of what this technology is, it's a new accounting technology — that's the base.” In a new episode of The Scoop, Feinstein explains the significance of the technology underlying the bitcoin blockchain, and why he thinks it represents the first innovation in the field of accounting in over 700 years. Feinstein says his background in accounting helped him see bitcoin’s potential back in 2011, “I read somewhere about the immutability of the ledger, and as an accountant, it caught my eye. Then I said, ‘That's impossible, there's no such thing as an immutable ledger,' — that's the holy grail of accounting.” The ledger is the technology responsible for fundamentally organizing society, he says. “There's nothing more important to your life, in terms of how you function every day, then all of the ledgers that exist that people rely on to know where you are, and what you're doing, and what you own.” After spending months researching bitcoin, Feinstein concluded that not only is it an immutable ledger, but one that removes human risk from the equation: “It disrupts the world because you now have a permanent accounting ledger that nobody can manipulate, you can't commit fraud on it, you can't alter it, you can't claim human error — the records are the records. It's the first time in human history you have truth on-chain ever.”

Episode 61 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Darin Feinstein, founder of Core Scientific. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Chainalysis & IWC Schauffhausen About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com

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Many Web3 platforms require users to connect their crypto wallets before engaging with the platform in any meaningful way. Consequently, the Web3 experience on mobile devices is tedious at best, given current devices are not designed with such functionalities in mind. Solana Mobile — a subsidiary of the development team behind Solana — hopes to address the difficulties that surround the Web3 mobile user experience with its new Android phone called ‘Saga,’ which is slated for release in early 2023. Last week, Solana Labs co-founder and CEO Anatoly Yakovenko announced the new mobile device, which will run a ‘Solana Mobile Stack’ (SMS) operating system and will feature a marketplace for decentralized Web3 applications. In this episode of The Scoop, Anatoly Yakovenko said he believes Saga’s early success will be linked to its ability to significantly enhance the mobile crypto user experience: “The theory is that crypto users might be crazy enough to switch from iOS to Android because of crypto. It might be so important to have that experience, that they're willing to change their habits.” If Solana Mobile is successfully able to prove there is consumer demand for crypto-forward mobile products, Yakovenko believes it will inspire major tech companies to integrate crypto infrastructure into their own mobile devices moving forward: “You need Google and Apple to do it, but they're not going to do it until there is proven demand that people need it — and so somebody has to kind of make that leap…” Episode 60 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live at The Block headquarters in New York with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder and CEO of Solana Labs. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Chainalysis & IWC Schauffhausen About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. About IWC Schaffhausen IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com

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Web3 can be daunting for new users and brands looking to enter the space. But MoonPay — the crypto payment infrastructure company that raised $555 million at a valuation of $3.4 billion just last year — has spent the last few months building out a suite of NFT related products in an attempt to simplify the process of introducing new users to Web3. So far this year, MoonPay has enabled NFT purchases via credit cards, built out its white-glove NFT concierge service for celebrities, and launched an NFT minting service aimed at brands and content creators. In this episode of The Scoop recorded live at the NFT.NYC conference, MoonPay co-founder and CEO Ivan Soto-Wright sits down with host Frank Chaparro to discuss the inroads MoonPay has made into the burgeoning NFT industry, and to explain some of the ways he envisions the space evolving over the coming months. One potential use case for NFTs that Soto-Wright is excited about is their potential to act as redeemable tokens for real-world items. According to Soto-Wright: “‘Phygital’ — or ‘digital twinning’ — is the idea that you can take something that exists physically and create a digital pair of that as an NFT, and then you can hold on to that and redeem it for the physical…” In addition to helping brands combat counterfeiting, Soto-Wright explains how brands could use ‘phygital’ items to pitch products directly to consumers: “Let's say Gucci has a special line of shoes that they want to sell on their website, and maybe the shoes haven't actually been released yet — they could release them digitally and they could actually start to engage with the audience and see whether there's actually demand for that asset before it actually is created.” Big brands are part of the audience MoonPay hopes to attract with its new HyperMint NFT utility service, announced at the start of NFT.NYC last week, which allows brands and creators to mint millions of NFTs at a time.

Episode 59 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live at NFT.NYC with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Ivan Soto-Wright, co-founder and CEO of MoonPay. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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One biotech startup is trying to use blockchain technology to revolutionize the way potential treatments for rare diseases are identified for funding and development. According to Vibe Bio CEO Alok Tayi: “Vibe is a community of patients, scientists and partners that help identify promising treatments for rare diseases and other overlooked diseases, and fund them in innovative ways.” In this episode of The Scoop, Tayi shares his vision for how Vibe Bio aims to disrupt the centralized control of big pharma, and explains why a decentralized autonomous organization (or ‘DAO’) is the optimal solution for organizing the members of the Vibe community. According to Tayi, the biology of rare diseases is often understood, but biotech companies do not have enough incentive to fund research given the limited financial upside. As Tayi notes: “There actually ends up being a myriad of different candidate medicines with promise that are sitting on shelves today, but simply lack the capital and the focus to be able to develop them.” This is the problem Tayi hopes to address through Vibe Bio. By using a DAO structure, Vibe Bio is able to put forward governance proposals to identify promising treatment options. $VIBE token holders can then vote on which treatments will get funded via the proceeds of the DAO's token sale. As Tayi explains, this decentralized approach empowers patients who would otherwise be unable to get assistance from centralized biotech companies: “When you start to move away from a traditional sort of financing model to one that's community led, patients can now be in the driver's seat of deciding what medicines to pursue, what disease areas we should try to treat, not profit or politics.” Earlier this week, Vibe announced it received $12 million in a funding round led by Initialized Capital, which also included participation from prominent angel investors Naval Ravikant and Balaji Srinivasan, as well as 6th Man Ventures — the venture firm helmed by The Block Co-Founder Mike Dudas — amongst others.

Episode 58 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Alok Tayi, Co-Founder & CEO of Vibe Bio. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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Earlier this week, the apparent insolvency of Three Arrows Capital (or '3AC' for short) caught many in the crypto world by surprise, including Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy who commented: “Everyone kind of assumed those guys just made billions over the years… but now it seems like we were just all horribly wrong.” In this episode of The Scoop, Evgeny Gaevoy joins The Block’s Frank Chaparro and guest co-host Larry Cermak to analyze the fallout from the 3AC situation, and to explain the wide-scale deleveraging that is occurring in the crypto markets. According to Cermak, not only was 3AC liquidated by top-tier exchanges, but the firm has outstanding debts with multiple counterparties, “The impact isn't completely clear when it comes to size… the number I've heard is roughly around $1.5 to $2.5 billion in terms of actual debt that 3AC has — and in terms of the firms affected, it’s almost everyone.” While the extent of 3AC’s obligations is unclear, Voyager Digital has publicly announced its intent to pursue legal action against 3AC, if the firm defaults on a loan worth over $650 million. Given the widespread uncertainty regarding balance sheets in the wake of 3AC’s insolvency, crypto lenders have begun recalling loans to large counterparties, including Gaevoy’s Wintermute. “[Wintermute] basically got recalled pretty much on all open loans that we had with all the lenders,” Gaevoy said, “our balance sheet decreased more than half basically.” As Gaevoy explains, recalling loans allows crypto lenders to check counterparties for solvency: “The reason is everyone just wants to see who is solvent in this market. That’s basically the best way to check it, because once you recall all the loans and you give all the firms like one or two weeks… you probably will see some of them fail and collapse and that's it.” Episode 57 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Larry Cermak, and Evgeny Gaevoy, CEO of Wintermute. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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Magic Eden, Solana’s largest NFT marketplace, is eyeing an ambitious growth plan after raising a $130 million funding round co-led by Greylock and Electric Capital. While the broader crypto market struggles to find its footing, Magic Eden is coming off its best month ever, with just over 5 million SOL in volume transacted during May. In this episode of The Scoop, Magic Eden co-founder and COO Zhuoxun 'Zedd' Yin, talks through the project’s funding efforts and unpacks some of the reasons why he believes Magic Eden has room to grow into more than just an NFT marketplace. As Zedd explains during the interview, both Magic Eden’s founders and its investors share a broad time horizon for the future: “I think despite the ridiculous and amazing traction that I think we've had in the first nine months, it's still very early days for us and we have a lot more we want to build — and I think hopefully that plan and that outlook resonated with a lot of investors. And for us, we were lucky to be able to bring on the partners that we were really excited about.” Instead of limiting itself to running a marketplace, Magic Eden hopes to establish itself as a hub for all NFT-related activity. According to Zedd: “We would love to be the place where there's actually many layers on top of the marketplace — so not only is this the place where you perform the execution of the transaction, but really all of the discovery, all of the community based interaction, all the fun social elements that come with NFTs is also happened on Magic Eden.” Magic Eden also plans to branch out beyond the Solana blockchain "As, you know... very intentional decision to start on Solana. But I really do think that if developers and users are going to be in other ecosystems, it's almost like if you're a traditional company starting in Australia. But then there's a lot of users in New Zealand or like whatever, like Singapore. You want to be there too. Right?"

Episode 56 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded in-person with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Magic Eden Co-Founder & COO, Zedd. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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This week approximately 15,000 non-fungible token (NFT) enthusiasts from around the world descend on New York City for the fourth annual NFT.NYC conference, which features more than 1,500 speakers over four days. In this episode of The Scoop, NFT.NYC conference founders Jodee Rich and Cameron Bale sit down with host Frank Chaparro to share details of the upcoming conference and its origins — and to analyze the boom and cultural adoption that NFTs have witnessed over the last few years. As Jodee Rich explains during the show, although he has worked with multiple forms of emerging technologies over the years, he has never seen a new technology embraced as readily as NFTs have been: “I was very early in the social media boom, very early in telephony, mobile telephony, very, very early in microcomputers… I've never seen a particular technology being adopted so quickly — and it's way beyond trading, which is the very interesting thing.” As data from The Block shows, NFT sales have grown exponentially over the last two years. For this year’s NFT.NYC, the organizers specially partnered with NFT intelligence platform Mnemonic to analyze the crypto wallet addresses provided by attendees. As Cameron Bale explains, Mnemonic’s findings showed that most attendees acquired their first NFT within the last two years: “Something super interesting is that 68% of our attendees got their first NFT in 2021 and 22% of them got their first NFT in 2022, and that's from a survey of 15,000 attendees.”

Episode 55 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and NFT.NYC Founders Jodee Rich and Cameron Bale. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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Back in April, digital asset infrastructure provider PolySign acquired top fund administration firm MG Stover as reported by CoinDesk. At the time of acquisition, MG Stover had more than $40 billion in digital assets under administration. This move coincided with PolySign completing its Series C fundraise, which included new powerhouse investors such as Soros Fund Management, Brevan Howard and GSR, along with former investors including Cowen Digital, who led PolySign’s $54 million Series B last year. In this episode of The Scoop, Jack McDonald, chair and CEO of Polysign, and Matt Stover, CEO of MG Stover, sit down with host Frank Chaparro to record their first-ever podcast together, and to discuss the unwavering demand for digital asset-related products they are seeing from their clients. As Stover explained, while crypto prices may be down, there is still plenty of private funding flowing toward building out digital asset infrastructure: “We get to see both the liquid and illiquid on the investment side and there's so much capital still flowing into the private companies building infrastructure around this new asset class.” Although the recent market downturn has many market participants on edge, McDonald says the long-term view institutions from traditional finance have when it comes to digital assets make short-term market movements irrelevant. As McDonald said during the interview: “The long-term view that these traditional asset managers make in investing in this sort of way is really unaffected by the recent market downturns. They're taking a long-term view and they've done the work to make these decisions.”

Episode 54 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro, Jack McDonald, Chair & CEO of PolySign, and Matt Stover, CEO of MG Stover. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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Panic and fear gripped the crypto market this week as falling prices and market pressure caused two industry titans — hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and lending platform Celsius Network — to face potential insolvency. While the extended crypto market downturn has caught many market participants offside, one high-frequency trading firm managed to not only survive recent conditions but concluded trading for the month of May up 3.7%. In this episode of The Scoop, Martin Green, Co-CIO & CEO of Cambrian Asset Management, explains why proper risk management is key to his firm’s success, and why he believes there is still a bright future ahead for the crypto industry. According to Green, Cambrian’s risk management systems are designed to take the human element out of the equation: “Humans aren't designed to make great analytical judgments when their brains are filled with cortisol, serotonin or dopamine. They're just not. So our systems are designed to take risk off, like sell along, or buy to cover a short if the market goes against us. So if we're long, the market goes against us to some pre-programed amount… the systems will take risk off so that if the market becomes more extreme, we've protected our investors capital.” Although nearly $500 billion dollars has been wiped from the total crypto market cap so far in June, Green believes the severity of this correction has likely been exacerbated by crypto’s reflexive nature. While crypto’s volatility often draws the ire of critics who do not believe it to be a viable alternative to the current financial system, Green thinks it is important to remember is still a new technology: “I think we have to remember — and we all do in the industry — but people outside the industry have to remember that [crypto] fundamentally… is an early stage technology. Early stage in an eventual possible adoption curve.” Episode 53 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Martin Green, Co-CIO & CEO at Cambrian Asset Management. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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As persistent inflation strikes fear in the market ahead of Wednesday’s FOMC meeting, the total crypto market cap has plunged below $1 trillion dollars for the first time since January 2021, as data from The Block shows: In this special episode of The Scoop, financial veteran Jim Greco — a general partner at crypto high-frequency trading firm F9 Research — examines some of the causes of the recent market meltdown, and explains why only the strongest crypto companies will survive. According to Greco, this sell off was driven primarily by macro concerns regarding persistent inflation: “On the actual market structure component of what the sell off has been about, I think it's largely a macroeconomic story — and really ever since the end of last year, we've been dealing with a huge inflation story.” Last Friday, the US Labor Department reported May’s consumer price index to be up 8.6% compared to May of 2021, signaling the highest levels of inflation since the 1980s. In addition to cratering crypto prices, Greco also believes the bear market will help bring last year’s inflated crypto valuations back to reality: “Were these companies ever worth $10 billion or whatever the valuation was? Probably not. I think this was just investors looking at the direction of volumes and volatility last year, projecting out as if that wouldn’t stop into 2025, but now we've had a huge correction and it's pretty clear what those projections into 2025 look like now, and they're not anywhere close.” Indeed, crypto financial services firm BlockFi, which reportedly raised funds at over a $5 billion valuation just last year, announced recently that it was in the process of finalizing a down round that would bring BlockFi’s valuation to just $1 billion.

Episode 52 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Jim Greco general partner at F9 Research. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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Elwood Technologies — an Alan Howard backed digital asset platform that is building trading infrastructure for institutional investors — closed a $70 million Series A last month co-led by Goldman Sachs and Dawn Capital. In this episode of The Scoop, Elwood CEO James Stickland sits down with host Frank Chaparro to discuss Elwood’s recent fundraise, and to provide a closer look at the institutional activity that is occurring in the crypto market. According to Stickland, institutional exposure to crypto “is more on the derivatives end of the market,” largely because of the lucrative spreads: “Crypto derivative specialists are still able to make spreads they can drive buses through. Which is fantastic for them, which is obviously therefore creating FOMO, and with the synthetic nature and capability of it, is driving that real appetite.” While derivatives are, for now, the extent of many institutions’ crypto exposure, Stickland claims that regulatory clarity regarding digital assets will “really allow engagement on spot and holding on balance sheet.” Stickland views the combination of coming regulatory clarity along with more robust market infrastructure as having a powerful impact on the market in the long run: “Getting great prime, getting great credit approved facilities, and the regulator making a call — that plus having some real stable infrastructure, that lights this thing up beyond all belief.”

Episode 51 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and James Stickland, CEO of Elwood Technologies. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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Marathon Digital produced a “record” 1,259 bitcoins during the first three months of 2022. Yet the US-based bitcoin mining firm reported a Q1 net loss of $13 million, largely due to the decline in bitcoin’s price since last year’s highs. Despite falling short on revenue estimates, Marathon CEO Fred Thiel claims that the current cost for his company to produce one bitcoin via mining is “about $6,250,” giving the firm plenty of margin before they would need to consider scaling down their operation. In this episode of The Scoop, Fred Thiel sits down with host Frank Chaparro to discuss the intricacies of effectively managing a bitcoin mining company, along with Marathon’s growth over the years. As Thiel explains during the interview, there are three main considerations when it comes to operating a bitcoin mining company: “There are really three things we worry about: the price of Bitcoin, the cost of power, and our ability to deploy and then access hardware. Capital is important, too, but those are the three KPIs we look at all day long.” While the price of bitcoin will always be prone to fluctuation, the energy cost for bitcoin miners is typically predictable since it is purchased on long-term contracts. As Thiel explains: “Just like the airline industry will hedge their fuel purchases by buying futures on fuel, when we write a hosting agreement, we are locking in a fixed price for five years. So our cost of hosting, which is energy hosting, services, etc., is locked in a little over $0.04 a kilowatt hour for five years. And our energy provider has to take out the hedges to make sure that they're not upside down on the energy cost.” The third consideration — the ability to deploy and access hardware — is often a bottleneck for Marathon, because the company has to wait on government bodies to approve operational permits.

Episode 50 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Fred Thiel, Chair and CEO at Marathon Digital. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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Coinbase shares are down over 70% on the year, a state of affairs compounded by a rough Q1, but one leading Wall Street analyst believes Coinbase may be undervalued. In this episode of The Scoop, Mark Palmer — managing director and fintech analyst at global financial services firm BTIG — shares why his firm is bullish on a narrative shift on Wall Street regarding Coinbase stock in the coming months. As Palmer contended during the show: “Coinbase has developed itself over the last ten years, largely via acquisition… and over time, this is going to become much less of a retail trading story and much more about a sort of crypto supermarket that's going to have an awful lot of different revenue drivers.” Palmer points to the 2021 acquisition of Bison Trails as an example of Coinbase’s horizontal expansion. As Coinbase CPO Surojit Chatterjee and Bison Trails founder Joe Lallouz argued during an episode of The Scoop, the deal enhanced Coinbase’s crypto infrastructure services products, including institutional staking support. Although Coinbase offers a wide range of crypto services, Palmer believes many Wall Street analysts tend to view Coinbase first and foremost through the lens of an exchange: “There are a lot of folks who are covering some of the crypto exchanges and platforms that really aren't as focused on crypto — maybe they're focused on exchanges at large — and some of those distinctions and nuances, which are crucially important, get missed.” Editor's Note: While Coinbase is a sponsor of The Scoop podcast, this episode is not an endorsement of Coinbase stock or products, nor was it produced with involvement from Coinbase. All opinions expressed by host and podcast guest are solely their own opinions and not necessarily those of The Block. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

Episode 48 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Mark Palmer, Managing Director and Senior Equity Research Analyst at BTIG. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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In his last appearance on The Scoop, Antonio Juliano — founder and CEO of decentralized derivatives platform dYdX — was preparing to integrate StarkWare’s layer-2 scaling technology into the third iteration of the dYdX protocol. Just over a year later, dYdX has grown to dominate the decentralized derivatives space, with the majority of decentralized perpetual swap trading volume occurring on the platform, according to data from The Block.

In this episode of The Scoop, Antonio Juliano explains why his team remains undeterred by the global market drawdown as they work towards the upcoming dYdX v4 release, which will fully decentralize governance of the protocol. As Juliano said on the show, his long-term vision extends past market cyclicality: “It's really important for us to maintain that mentality of: the markets may go down, people may write us off to some level, but really what we're building for is five years from now.” While most “blue chip” DeFi tokens have fallen significantly from last year’s all-time highs, Juliano believes the recent trend of centralized exchanges like Coinbase and Robinhood providing users with streamlined access to Web3 platforms will provide an influx of new market participants to DeFi protocols. As Juliano explained during the interview, “It's just going to be a huge magnifier and multiplier in terms of the types of people and the number of people that can interact with DeFi. I'm really excited about this — I've been excited about this narrative playing out for a while now. I thought it would probably take a little bit longer, to be honest than it did... but it's something that that I'm really excited about and I think will be a huge multiplier for DeFi." Episode 48 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Antonio Juliano, Founder & CEO of dYdX. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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As Anthony Scaramucci explained during his last appearance on The Scoop, his firm SkyBridge Capital began investing in bitcoin near the end of 2020. Just under two years later, Scaramucci is positioned near the center of the burgeoning crypto industry, largely due to his role as Chair of finance conference business SALT, which partnered with FTX to host the first annual Crypto Bahamas conference in April of this year. In this episode of The Scoop, Scaramucci tells the story of how he first met FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried, and explains why upcoming regulatory clarity could signify “a floodgate opening” for bitcoin. Out of the multiple structural tailwinds Scaramucci covers during the interview, he believes his prediction that a “cash bitcoin ETF will happen sometime this year” would likely have the biggest impact on the market, if it turns out to be true. As Scaramucci hinted at during the show, “Buddies of mine have very large institutions, that unfortunately for right now have to remain nameless due to confidentiality, that are gearing up and ready to pounce on the Bitcoin cash ETF.” According to a Nasdaq survey conducted in April, 72% of financial advisors polled indicated they would be more likely to invest client assets into crypto if there was spot ETF product available. Although the SEC has either rejected or delayed bitcoin spot ETF applications for years, Scaramucci believes that could all change soon, “given the saturation and the maturity of the market.” In addition to a potential bitcoin spot ETF approval, Scaramucci also points to Fidelity’s recent announcement that it will allow clients to gain bitcoin exposure through their 401k accounts as another structural tailwind for bitcoin in the long run. “Fidelity is about to do for bitcoin what it did for the mutual fund and the U.S. equity markets when the 401k programs came into existence in the 1980s." Episode 47 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Anthony Scaramucci, Founder of SkyBridge Capital and Chair of SALT. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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Fresh off the heels of a $50M Series C round last November, StarkWare Industries closed a $100M Series D round on Wednesday, giving the Israeli-based startup a valuation of $8 billion. The fundraise was led by Greenoaks Capital and Coatue, and included Tiger Global amongst others. StarkWare aims to bring efficient, affordable blockchain transactions to the masses through its ZK-rollup technology, which addresses blockchain congestion by compressing multiple transactions into ‘STARK proofs’ that are then passed on to the underlying blockchain. In this episode of The Scoop, StarkWare co-founders Eli Ben-Sasson and Uri Kolodny sit down with host Frank Chaparro to discuss what their firm has been building, and how their technology will allow blockchains to scale. According to Kolodny, the trustless computational integrity enabled by StarkWare technology will be very useful to society: “It delivers something that is dearly missing and dearly needed in modern societies and the way they’re doing their computation. That is something very simple: it is integrity — the ability to know that something was done the right way, even when you weren’t watching.” Despite bearish sentiment across markets, StarkWare’s recent fundraise shows VCs are excited about the opportunities unlocked through StarkWare’s scaling technology, and are willing to continue providing the developer with capital. StarkWare’s two products, StarkEx and StarkNet, both serve as Ethereum scaling solutions, with the former being "scaling as a service," while the latter is permissionless. StarkNet completed its launch earlier this year, allowing any developer to integrate the platform into their application. ... For more visit theblockcrypto.com/podcasts Episode 46 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and StarkWare Co-Founders Uri Kolodny and Eli Ben-Sasson. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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Much of the policy conversation surrounding crypto is concerned with Wall Street-minded issues that mostly take place in the digital world – investor protection, cybersecurity, licensure to provide online financial services. But the policy conversation surrounding proof-of-work mining is asking crypto to contend with real-world issues. Mining firms are answering to environmental narratives, concerns of noise pollution and questions as to how a data center can better a community. This episode of Policy Scoop takes a deep dive into the policy dialogues around mining, from the federal level down to local communities. Host Aislinn Keely sits down with Taras Kulyk, Senior VP of Growth at mining firm Core Scientific, to talk about regulators' and lawmakers' views on proof-of-work mining and how the industry is meeting those concerns. "It all boils down to the executive order from the Biden administration that's dealing with a wide swath of things. But the environmental impact kind of became the key rallying mark for digital asset miners in the United States," said Kulyk. "The good thing is, is it seems like there's a lot of misinformation that can be very easily quelled and dealt with within Washington, specifically that for some reason, legislators think that digital miners produce CO2." New York Assembly Member Clyde Vanel also joins the show to talk about the proposed mining moratorium in the state, and why he thinks it's not the answer to environmental concerns. Vanel shares how he's seen mining firms positively shape some of New York's communities, and why he's hopeful for its role in the state.

Episode 45 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Aislinn Keely and Core Scientific SVP of Growth Taras Kulyk & NYS Assemblyman Clyde Vanel. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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As the crypto market matures, owners of “pristine” digital assets will increasingly be able to use their holdings as collateral for an array of financial services, according to Bill Barhydt, CEO of Abra. Founded in 2014, crypto wealth management platform Abra closed a $55 million Series C last September led by IGNIA and Blockchain Capital. In this episode of The Scoop, Barhydt explains why the recent Terra blow-up has no impact on crypto’s disruptive potential, and how a new wave of crypto-backed financial products promises to unlock more utility for long-term holders. As Barhydt explains, “Most banks won't recognize crypto — I don't even know any that will recognize crypto when they're trying to figure out your financial status, when you're trying to qualify for a mortgage…” Just last month, Abra announced a partnership with Propy — the company who sold a Florida home for $650,000 using an NFT — allowing crypto holders to apply for loans using their crypto as collateral. While Abra is “not financing homes yet,” allowing long-term crypto holders to use their digital assets as collateral for down payments on property is a sign of maturity for the asset class, according to Barhydt. If crypto can become pristine digital collateral like Barhydt imagines, he believes the implications will be felt around the world: “The banking system knows that I have this much bitcoin, it lends me this amount of money to complete my payments, and that's debited later — that's a much more efficient way to process credit transactions in countries where there is no credit scoring system, which is most countries, so having a kind of digital collateral changes everything.”

Episode 44 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Bill Barhydt, CEO of Abra. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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The demise of the Terra blockchain sent a ripple effect throughout the crypto ecosystem last week, as the market absorbed over 80,000 BTC deployed in a failed attempt to keep the UST "stablecoin" pegged 1:1 with the US dollar. “If you’re a market maker and you don’t make money in those kinds of days, then yeah — you’re doing something wrong,” said Evgeny Gaevoy, CEO of Wintermute — an algorithmic crypto market maker with nearly $2 trillion in cumulative volume, according to the firm’s website. In this episode of The Scoop, Evgeny Gaevoy recounts the Terra meltdown from a market maker’s perspective, and explains how future decentralized yield-bearing stablecoins can innovate where Terra's UST failed. According to Gaevoy, the 20% annualized yield promised to users who deposited UST into Terra’s Anchor Protocol was more debt than could be paid by the protocol’s revenue: “What was really wrong about LUNA is they had that 20% yield which was coming out of nowhere,” he said. “It was backed by future growth of the protocol, which could have happened, but didn’t.” Although UST has proven to be a failure, Gaevoy thinks an interest-bearing stablecoin is possible, as long as the promised yield is equivalent to the issuing protocol’s revenue. To illustrate, Gaevoy proposed a hypothetical protocol that brings in $500,000 a year in revenue and seeks to raise $5 million through offering interest-bearing stablecoins: “Let's say they have cash flows of $500,000 per year — they can issue $5 million worth of stablecoins with 10% yield, and then suddenly they have $5 million and they can pay this yield because they actually generate this income. So they can offset these interest payments with what they generate from their own protocol — that model can work, and that model I think is really interesting to explore for a lot of protocols.” Wintermute is in the process of launching its own stablecoin, according to Gaevoy, who said the firm “just needs to iron out the regulatory details.” Episode 43 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Evgeny Gaevoy, CEO of Wintermute. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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The Bahamas has turned into an attractive destination for crypto companies looking to set up shop in a jurisdiction with a clear regulatory framework for digital assets — a movement spearheaded by crypto exchange FTX’s announcement to relocate its headquarters to the island nation late last year. The Bahamas' emerging crypto scene was on full display during the last week of April, which saw approximately 2,000 industry leaders, public figures and celebrities, such as Bill Clinton and Tom Brady, converge for ‘Crypto Bahamas’ — a four day conference hosted by FTX and finance conference company SALT. In this episode of The Scoop, Ryan Salame, Co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets (FTX’s Bahamian subsidiary), explains why he believes the conference was “an incredible success,” and why he thinks the Bahamas is positioned to become a global hub for the crypto industry. The conference helped to highlight the crypto-friendly nature of the Bahamas, as Salame explains during the interview, “Some of my objectives were to show off the Bahamas as a jurisdiction, to show why we were there, allow the opportunity for companies to send people to see that this is a great place to do business. So that objective was easily hit.” Salame told The Block’s Frank Chaparro that over 20 companies are in conversation with FTX about moving their headquarters to the Bahamas. While the US has yet to solidify its regulatory approach to digital assets, clear legislation in the Bahamas removes the structural uncertainty. As Salame explains, “All of crypto sits under one regulatory body, versus in the US, you're seeing the CFTC and FCC debate.” Salame’s sentiment is shared by former CFTC chair Chris Giancarlo, who gave the regulatory structure for digital assets in the U.S. a “zero” on a scale of 1 to 10 during a panel at the conference. Episode 42 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Ryan Salame, Co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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Bitcoin traded below $30,000 on Monday, amid market uncertainty brought about by the ‘depegging' of UST—an algorithmic stablecoin whose value is supposed to remain equivalent to $1. At publication, UST is trading at $0.92, although the ‘stablecoin’ saw lows of $0.6050 on the Binance UST/USDT trading pair. In this breaking episode of The Scoop, host Frank Chaparro spoke with crypto researcher Mika Honkasalo, who appeared on the podcast to provide a detailed look at how the UST drama is unfolding. As Honkasalo explained, while UST has experienced depegging before, this time around is structurally different: “I think people at first didn't really realize that it would be a real thing, because they had seen something similar before and they didn't realize that the structure of the market had become a lot more averse to UST than it previously had. And I think what you're seeing today is sort of that just escalating or going further.” Although the Luna Foundation Guard announced plans yesterday to support the UST peg with $1.5 billion worth of assets, whether or not UST returns to its peg will likely come down to whether the buyers or sellers win out. As Honkasalo noted during the interview, “Whether or not it maintains the peg today is very much a question of: if the sellers sort of run out of tokens and the buyers have more, the buyers will live to fight another day here in the mid-term.” As for the future fate of Luna and UST, Honkasalo thinks much of its success will rest on macro forces outside of its control. “I think that if the market turns positive, it will be much easier to keep the whole Luna ecosystem going. But if it continues to be more negative than this, the next wave of sells could be even much worse.”

Episode 41 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Mika Honkasalo, Crypto Researcher. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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This special bonus episode of The Scoop was recorded live at the Crypto Bahamas conference with Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, the digital payments and infrastructure company behind the popular stablecoin USDC. As data from The Block shows, USDC is the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, and its share of the total stablecoin supply has been steadily on the rise. According to Allaire, a primary driver of demand for stablecoins comes from crypto native businesses: “Basically any business that operates in the crypto economy wants to use stablecoins as working capital. Well, these are businesses that also have borrowing needs, these are businesses that want to borrow, and so you want to borrow stablecoins — so there's inherent demand to borrow in that medium of exchange.” It is this demand for stablecoins that creates lucrative yield opportunities for stablecoin lenders in crypto, in the same way that lenders in the world of traditional finance profit from the interest on the money they lend. As Allaire explains, stablecoin borrowers are willing to pay to borrow capital: “Banks get 17 or 20% from consumers for lending the money for credit cards, right? So people pay an interest rate to borrow. Working capital of crypto is stablecoins, there's businesses that want to borrow it, and there you go.”

Episode 40 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder & CEO of Circle. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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Founded back in 2011, Blockchain.com recently closed a Series D funding round in March at a valuation of $14 billion, making the crypto company both one of the longest-operating exchanges as well as one of the highest valued in the industry. After spending effectively “zero” on marketing for over a decade, Blockchain.com recently announced a sponsorship deal with the Dallas Cowboys, becoming the first crypto company to ink a deal with an NFL team approved by the league. In this episode of The Scoop, Peter Smith, CEO of Blockchain.com, discusses his company’s upcoming strategy, including IPO rumors and the rationale behind their Cowboys partnership. As he explains during the interview, Smith wants “to work with the biggest and the best,” making the Cowboys the ideal choice for Blockchain.com’s first sports partnership: “When you really study these marketing deals, you're basically looking for who has the biggest fan base, the demographics of the fan base, and then the TV side of it,” Smith said. “We really wanted to work with them because of the fan base and the TV exposure.” Blockchain.com was also in the news in April, when a Bloomberg report circulated suggesting the company is planning an IPO for some time this year. However, when asked about the report, Smith commented that it must have been “a slow news day at Bloomberg.” While Smith believes Blockchain.com “will be a public company someday – and probably sooner than later,” he clarified: “We haven't done anything in the last 60 days that's different than what we've been doing for the last nine months preparing to someday be a public company.”

Episode 39 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Peter Smith, CEO of Blockchain.com Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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Before Jon Cheesman became the global head of FTX Access — a new division of the crypto exchange founded by billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried which caters to institutional clients – the seasoned market-veteran served as head of forex sales to banks and hedge funds in London at HSBC, spent time as a partner at crypto venture firm Distributed Global and was a VP at Goldman Sachs. Despite having over a decade of professional experience with global financial markets, Cheesman thinks we are currently living through “the most uncertain macro period” he’s ever seen. In this episode of The Scoop, Cheesman discusses the various macro headwinds which have hit the crypto market so far in 2022, and explains why he believes “a good tailwind is often an end of a headwind.” Cheesman contended that tightening monetary policy hurts crypto in the short-term, but it doesn’t affect the value proposition behind crypto: “There's no question that inflation and what that means for central bank policy is a significant headwind for crypto assets in the near term. But, I think people are comfortable to separate temporary cyclicality with longer term structural tailwinds.” Some of the “structural tailwinds” Cheesman thinks are gaining traction include the idea of “the death of fiat currencies” because of central bank activity, and also the recent focus amongst “high net-worth individuals” on being able to lay claim to one’s assets in light of the removal of some Russian banks from the SWIFT payment messaging network. As data from The Block shows, total daily volume rose for BTC/RUB pairs in March.

In addition to, “the more structural tailwinds of the supercycle thesis,” Cheesman also believes both extremely high, and low inflation bode well for crypto.

Episode 38 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Jon Cheesman, Global Head of FTX Access. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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The Blockchain Association — a trade association that lobbies US politicians on behalf of the crypto industry — saw explosive growth in 2021, thanks in part to the controversy surrounding the crypto tax reporting provisions that were included as part of a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that went through Congress last year. In this episode of The Scoop, Kristin Smith, Executive Director of the Blockchain Association, appears on the show for a record-breaking fifth appearance (pulling ahead of FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried by one) to explain the crypto-friendly momentum that she sees building among American politicians. According to Smith, there are three main reasons why the crypto lobbying industry is gaining influence in Washington: “Between the professionals on the ground, the political giving, and the people back at home that care about this space, the crypto industry is in a much, much better position than we've ever been to date.” Although total US crypto trade association lobbying decreased from $1,034,663 in Q4 of last year to $917,406 in Q1 of 2022, the Blockchain Association increased their Q1 lobbying efforts from $540,000 to $590,000 — over 60% of the industry total for the quarter. Relative to the total crypto market cap — which peaked at just over $3 trillion last November — the amount of money being directed towards crypto lobbying may seem low. But according to Smith, “the amount of money it takes to influence Washington is laughably small.” In the US, direct donations to candidates are limited to $2,900 per election, or $5,800 per cycle. Although they are limited in size, direct donations carry weight with politicians because the funds go directly to the campaign, says Smith.

Episode 37 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Kristin Smith, Executive Director at The Blockchain Association Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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Founded in 2015, crypto-native VC firm CoinFund has spent the past year bolstering its leadership with talent from the world of traditional finance, including Chris Perkins — a former executive at Citigroup — and Christopher Giancarlo, the former CFTC chair. CoinFund’s hiring of Chris Perkins as the firm’s new President is part of a larger exodus of talent from Citi towards digital asset companies, as reported by The Block. In this episode of The Scoop, CoinFund’s President Chris Perkins and CEO Jake Brukhman break down the recent personnel updates at CoinFund, and explain why the combination of crypto-natives and experienced executives from traditional finance are key to pushing blockchain technology to the point of mass adoption. While Brukhman and Perkins believe outsiders from traditional finance can help crypto projects scale, that is not to say that all crypto projects are eager for VC firms to get involved. As Perkins mentioned during the interview: “Crypto is all about community, and you really have to work to navigate that community to understand the founders and to help them grow.” While the crypto community can be nuanced compared to the world of traditional finance, Perkins believes the allure of working with the burgeoning digital asset industry is strong enough to continue to draw in talent: “We're effectively in the process of giving birth to a brand new asset class. And it's just so incredibly exciting being a pioneer, being on the cutting edge. For those of us who are wired like that, it's kind of obvious why you'd want to transition into this space.” Episode 36 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Senior Fintech Reporter Lucy Harley-McKeown, and Chris Perkins, President and Jake Brukhman, CEO & Founder of CoinFund. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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In this episode of The Scoop, Framework co-founders Michael Anderson and Vance Spencer sat down with host Frank Chaparro to explain their new fund’s investment thesis which centers around the idea that blockchain gaming is “getting to the point of mass-market appeal.” As Anderson explained during the interview, the combination of AAA quality game design and in-game ‘play-to-earn’ economies is the key to mass adoption: “That combinatorial effect is the transition that we predict will move from ‘play-to-earn’ into ‘play-and-earn’ where it’s more that you want to be playing the game because it’s a really fun and engaging game. You get to compete at the highest levels, and you get to play in the economy in the same ways that you get to with Axie.” Despite surging in popularity in 2021, the ‘play-to-earn’ game Axie Infinity has recently seen declining activity, something exacerbated by a $600 million hack earlier this year. According to the Framework co-founders, the remedy to the complexities and risks of blockchain gaming is in custodial solutions — another big theme of their new fund which the two co-founders hope will lead to mass adoption. As Spencer explained: “All of the game loops, all of the things that are super important to these game developers, break without these custodial experiences. And so this is going to be the kind of paradigm through which all of the people will initially come in.” Framework Ventures isn’t the only VC firm that sees blockchain gaming as crypto’s next major development: South Korean VC firm Hashed also shared with The Scoop how they are betting big on gaming with their own $200 million fund deployed last December.

Episode 35 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Michael Anderson & Vance Spencer, cofounders of Framework Ventures. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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In the last episode of the Mining Report, The Block's Wolfie Zhao discussed the unprecedented growth of North American bitcoin mining companies in 2021 with massive equipment pre-orders and power capacity build-outs. Over the past few months, there have been several interesting developments in the crypto mining industry. The prices of graphic unit processors, commonly used for mining on Ethereum and other proof-of-working networks, have continued to slump, thanks in part to the overall crypto market downturn. Although Ethereum's hashrate remains steadily at the 1,000 TH/s level, its growth has largely slowed amid anticipation the switch to proof-of-stake will take place later this year. In the bitcoin ASIC arena, Canaan, Bitmain and MicroBT have all rolled out liquid-cooled miners, bringing changes to the market where air-cooling has been the dominant and default setting since the start of the bitcoin ASIC era. It is a sign that bitcoin's mining chip efficiency growth is starting to plateau while equipment designers and manufacturers increase their efforts on other hardware engineering solutions to maximize mining chip performance. Meanwhile, with the massive expansion plans executed in 2021, mining companies face mounting pressure for cash in 2022. Some long-time mining hodlers, who choose not to sell mined bitcoins to cover OpEx or CapEx, have finally started to offload parts of their bitcoin reserves. On the other hand, the demand for private loans in bitcoin mining appears to continue. In this episode of The Scoop Mining Report, The Block Research's mining analyst Wolfie Zhao and host Frank Chaparro take a further look at the changing dynamics in the mining hardware and financing space.

Episode 34 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Research Mining Analyst Wolfie Zhao. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto

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An estimated 25,000 people descended on Miami, Florida earlier this month for Bitcoin 2022, the world's largest Bitcoin-focused conference. That's more than double the attendance the conference saw last year. The annual Bitcoin conference is known for its fanfare, including some anti-government and anti-regulatory sentiment. That was still on display at Bitcoin 2022, with incidents like billionaire Ricardo Salinas including a slide titled "The Devils" depicting regulators and a Braveheart-style freedom chant from the crowd. But the tone seems to be shifting. In this episode of Policy Scoop, The Block's Aislinn Keely delves into that change in tone, particularly the way this year's conference put a much greater emphasis on policy. The anti-government sentiment that pervaded Bitcoin 2021 turned into a neutral and perhaps even friendly stance toward policymakers at the 2022 event. This may be because most Bitcoiners have accepted that mass adoption won't come without regulation. Keely covered the conference on the ground in Miami, and in this week's episode, she chats with The Block Managing Editor Michael McSweeney about the key takeaways from the policy-related discussions at Bitcoin 2022.

Episode 33 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Aislinn Keely and The Block's Managing Editor Michael McSweeney. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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Gauntlet Network — a platform that provides risk modeling and performance optimization solutions for DeFi protocols — recently raised $23.8 million for a valuation of $1 billion. On June 24, 2020, when Gauntlet Network’s CEO Tarun Chitra first came on The Scoop, the total value locked across all DeFi verticals was just over $1.5 billion. Today, less than two years later, that number has grown exponentially to over $211 billion. In this episode, Chitra describes his company’s rise to unicorn status and explains how a project in DeFi can be successful. In his view, it's not just replicating what exists in centralized finance and putting it on the blockchain: “The products that do really well in DeFi are not just straight up, ‘take a centralized finance thing, make the closest clone you can, and then try to get people to use it…’ that pretty much never works in DeFi. It's always something that's somewhat adapted to the nuances of crypto systems and how people interact with crypto systems in a way that's very different than traditional finance or even centralized crypto.” Successful DeFi projects must handle what Chitra describes as the "degen ape," referring to crypto power users. These market participants erratically move large sums of money into decentralized protocols without researching the protocol’s underlying fundamentals. DeFi protocols with billions in TVL currently rely on Gauntlet’s risk modeling for their operations, including Aave, a lending protocol whose founder and CEO Stani Kulechov recently shared with The Scoop how the protocol’s V3 upgrade is mitigating risk. In time, Chitra believes increasingly more forms of contracts will fall under the purview of DeFi: “I don't think DeFi really revolutionizes finance per se. I think it revolutionizes lawyers. You just get rid of lawyers for a lot of transactions… Somehow in DeFi, you're able to make these things like - the tokenization means that you can turn these things that were legal contracts into like exchange tradable assets.”

Episode 32 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Tarun Chitra, Founder and CEO of Gauntlet Network. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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During an episode of The Scoop from last November, Mastercard EVP Jess Turner explained how Mastercard was pivoting to become a ‘crypto first’ company. Mastercard has since made significant progress on this decision, including the filing of over a dozen metaverse and crypto-related trademarks. During this latest episode of The Scoop -- recorded at the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami -- Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard’s EVP of Blockchain/Digital Asset Products & Digital Partnerships, shared the progress the payments company has made since entering the crypto industry, and how the move is a natural extension of Mastercard’s core business. As Dhamodharan explained: “We are a payment company that enables commerce. That’s what we are about. The reason we got into crypto is this is about providing choice and making sure people can exercise that choice safely and securely. That’s what our network always stood for: enabling safe commerce experiences across multiple rails.” Mastercard has also made progress on the NFT front, including a partnership with Coinbase and an OpenSea integration. These decisions form part of Mastercard’s broader efforts to simplify the crypto experience for end-users. As Dhamodharan commented during the interview: “This is not about a crypto native going and buying an NFT… it’s really about enabling every artist and every creator to be able to have a large market for them to sell their artwork, and it’s really powering the creator economy. And how can we do that if we don’t enable common consumers to be able to purchase and hold the NFT using a simple consumer experience?” Episode 31 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded at the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Raj Dhamodharan EVP of Blockchain/Digital Asset Products & Digital Partnerships at Mastercard. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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Amun Holdings Limited - owner of both 21Shares and Amun, Inc. - introduced the first crypto exchange traded product (ETP) to market back in 2018. Although the collaborative ARK Investments and 21Shares bitcoin spot ETF was recently rejected in the US, 21Shares remains the world’s largest provider of crypto ETPs with 30 unique products currently trading across exchanges. In this episode of The Scoop, recorded at the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami, 21Shares and Amun co-founders Hany Rashwan and Ophelia Snyder sat down with host Frank Chaparro to discuss the current landscape of crypto ETPs, and explain why they believe the rise of crypto index tokens and crypto basket ETPs are signs of a maturing industry. As Snyder commented during the interview: "'Is bitcoin going to zero this year?' is no longer a continuing ongoing narrative. That changes things. It means that people are starting to look at crypto as an asset class, as an industry, as a theme… It's not, 'ok, will bitcoin now exist?' It’s now: ‘Ok, well crypto is definitely going to exist, so what is the S&P 500 of crypto?’ While 21Shares has the most ETP offerings on the market, other firms are also developing crypto basket products such as Bitwise’s recently announced NFT index fund (though this fund is only available to accredited investors). Given their positions in the market, both Rashwan and Snyder are very aware of the institutional funds flowing into the crypto: something the two have continued to witness despite the market’s drawdown over the last few months. As Snyder explained: “I had a very interesting conversation with one of our lead market makers about a week ago talking about what’s going on in this market actually, and what are they seeing on the trading side, and one of the key takeaways is this: the institutions are actually forming thesis based investment philosophies. So they look at fundamentals… they develop a thesis and they invest.” Episode 30 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded at the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and 21Shares and Amun co-founders, Hany Rashwan and Ophelia Snyder. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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Animoca Brands, the Hong-Kong based digital entertainment startup behind the popular blockchain metaverse platform The Sandbox, raised $358.88 million in January at a valuation of over $5 billion in a funding round led by Liberty City Ventures. In this episode of The Scoop, CEO of Animoca Brands Robby Yung discusses his company’s growth and shares his philosophy on what it means to build an ‘open’ metaverse platform. As Yung explained during the interview: "Our job is very much more like a government from an economics standpoint because we levy what’s akin to a tax on the ecosystem for providing the ecosystem… Our focus is on encouraging economic activity, it doesn’t have to be us selling things to customers, it can be customers selling amongst themselves."Whereas web2 game designers rely on a "storefront model" in which users purchase content directly, web3 metaverse projects such as The Sandbox reap revenue from users’ transaction fees generated from in-game interactions. As Yung commented: "...In an open metaverse we’re providing a public service, but at the same time we need to be mindful that we need to make a profit for our shareholders. You need to balance those two things and not put one at the expense of the other."The Sandbox is an "open" virtual world meaning it provides the basic infrastructure for users to build their own customized experiences. This is something that is central to Yung’s vision for how an open metaverse should operate: "I’m actually most excited about the stuff that I can’t imagine happening with my products, because other people are going to innovate those things."Besides The Sandbox, Animoca Brands has over 150 investments in other NFT and metaverse projects. The studio recently announced its acquisition of racing game developer Eden Games.

Episode 29 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Robby Yung CEO at Animoca Brands. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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After decades of experience working with software companies, Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm with over $100 billion in assets under management, announced its plans to move into crypto last fall. In this episode of The Scoop, Thoma Bravo founder of Orlando Bravo unpacked the similarities between early software companies and today's crypto landscape, and discussed the thought process behind Thoma Bravo's decision to begin investing in the crypto ecosystem. As Bravo shared during the interview: “At Thoma Bravo, the way to think about how we make strategic decisions is actually quite simple: we’re very ‘micro.’ We focus on what are the best deals that are right in front of us that fit our strategy. Our strategy, if you had to define it very briefly, would be: how do you turn great innovators into great companies, and how do you do that while working and empowering existing management teams?” While Bravo cited many similarities between the software industry from the early 2000s and the crypto industry today, he also thinks crypto companies have an edge. Crypto companies have “better business models,” Bravo notes. "You can build a huge business here with very little capital.” Indeed, Thoma Bravo isn’t the only private equity firm from traditional finance to recognize the fact that crypto founders have unique needs. Sequoia Capital and Bain Capital have recently launched their own crypto-specific funds catered toward crypto-native founders.

Episode 28 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Greg Lim, Company Intelligence Research Director, and Orlando Bravo, founder and managing partner at Thoma Bravo. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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Sequoia Capital has been invested in crypto since 2015, but the VC firm recently raised the stakes by announcing its first sector-specific fund: a $500 million Sequoia Crypto Fund focused on liquid tokens and digital assets. In this episode of The Scoop, Sequoia partners Shaun Maguire and Michelle Bailhe sit down with host Frank Chaparro to discuss Sequoia’s new fund and explain how the power dynamic between venture firms and crypto native founders has evolved. So what are these crypto-native founders looking for when it comes to selecting VC firms? Maguire believes they are looking for funds that can keep pace with the fast-paced crypto industry: “Crypto moves so fast, crypto founders want to work with funds that can move incredibly fast, they want to work with funds that deeply understand their problems, deeply understand the landscape. Those properties are primarily going to live within crypto specific funds rather than in generalist funds.” The crypto-specific fund structure certainly seems to be working well for Sequoia, which recently led a $135 million Series A+ investment in LayerZero Labs, along with FTX Ventures and A16Z. In fact, Bailhe believes that this is why Sequoia’s technical knowledge and understanding of the problems in cross-chain interoperability that LayerZero Labs is attempting to solve made such an impact on co-founder Bryan Pellegrino. “I remember him saying, ‘You really tried to engage on the way that we had constructed LayerZero and how it was working, versus focusing on kind of the easy questions…’” Bailhe recalled. “They felt like they would get people who were deeply committed to crypto.”

Episode 27 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro, and Shaun Maguire & Michelle Bailhe, Partners at Sequoia. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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Before IreneDAO went viral last year, Irene Zhao only had a few hundred followers on Instagram. Today, the influencer from Singapore has nearly half a million followers on the social platform. In this episode of The Scoop, Irene Zhao and Ben Tang share why IreneDAO is a proof-of-concept for their web3 startup named So-Col or 'Social Collectables', and how web3 could empower both content creators and fan communities alike. As Zhao commented during the interview, “IreneDAO kind of revolutionized the way the creator is able to interact with their fans… the relationship between creator and fans tends to be very transactional, because the creator just gives them exclusive content and then the fans just pay money in return… because of DAOs, all the fans are able to unite together, to come together, and come up with something that really aligns with the creator's vision.” Zhao and Tang believe 'fan club DAOs' will allow fans to organize themselves in a way not currently possible outside of web3. Zhao and Tang believe the problem with the current ownership economy in web2 is twofold: fans have a hard time organizing themselves and creators often rely on advertisements to monetize their content. As Tang explained: “If you look at monetization, there’s not a lot of ways to monetize apart from like selling out, doing a lot of advertisements, or doing like an OnlyFans, or things that people might not really be very keen to kind of do.” This is something they believe will change with web3. “The keyword here is ownership,” Tang explains, “In web2, you cannot own a stake in the creator’s fan club. Here, you can actually own a stake in it through NFTs.” Tang and Zhao are not the only ones who see the potential of web3 to disrupt the ownership economy: digital ownership and DAO services are two topics that web3 VC funds have been paying close attention to.

Episode 26 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro, and Irene Zhao and Ben Tang, Co-Founders of So-Col. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Cross River Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.

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Do Kwon, Founder and CEO of Terraform Labs, recently made headlines with an announcement to purchase billions of dollars worth of bitcoin in order to establish “decentralized forex reserves” for UST, Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin. In this episode of The Scoop, host Frank Chaparro and Kwon discuss the details of Terra’s bitcoin reserves and unpack Terra's plans for unlocking bitcoin’s potential as the new gold standard for digital currency. While the move could enhance the stability of UST’s peg to the dollar, Kwon also believes it speaks to how the future of crypto could operate multi-chain. In such a future, Kwon hopes utilizing bitcoin as a sort of gold standard will help facilitate adoption of UST across various blockchains. With a market cap of over $16 billion, UST is the largest decentralized stablecoin. However, data from Terra Bridge shows that only just over $1 billion UST has been moved into other ecosystems. This is something Kwon would like to change. As Kwon explained: “We believe that Terra UST has the chance to be the largest stablecoin across multiple different blockchains,” Kwon said. “Not just the largest stablecoin on the Terra blockchain.” While tribalistic attitudes frequently pit community members of competing smart contract ecosystems against each other, Kwon believes this is something that the new ‘bitcoin standard’ for UST can transcend: The Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) — the non-profit entity responsible for maintaining UST’s peg to the dollar — has already purchased over $1 billion in bitcoin, and plans to continue purchasing bitcoin as UST grows. As Kwon mentions during the interview, “The future model of Terra $UST is that a certain percentage of new UST that is being minted goes to buy bitcoin all the time to build up reserves."

Episode 25 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Do Kwon, Founder & CEO of Terraform Labs. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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In the weeks since the invasion of Ukraine, the US and others have levied heavy sanctions against Russia. Financial businesses, including crypto firms, are now expected to comply with regulations by blocking a growing number of sanctioned entities. Some businesses, like PayPal and Revolut, have chosen to block Russian users altogether, despite this not being a requirement under the current sanctions regime. Others, like Kraken, have made it clear that while they block all sanctioned entities, they will continue to serve Russian users until political forces definitively direct them to stop. And still others, like FTX, have chosen to cut off some Russian accounts that aren't on the sanction list in addition to the sanctioned entities but continue to serve most Russian users. The varying approaches to sanctions compliance have left some wondering where the lines are, both legally and ethically. Meanwhile, some lawmakers are floating proposals to empower the Treasury to bar crypto services providers from transacting with any addresses associated with Russia. In this week's episode of Policy Scoop, The Block's Aislinn Keely sits down with a sanctions expert and the legal chiefs from Kraken and FTX to parse out the complexities around Russian sanctions and the impact on the crypto industry as it stands today.

Episode 24 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Aislinn Keely and Marco Santori, CLO at Kraken, Caroline Brown, former attorney at the U.S. Departments of Justice and the Treasury and current partner at Crowell & Moring, & Mark Wetjen, Head of Policy and Regulatory Strategy at FTX.US. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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With nearly $13 billion in total value locked, Aave is certainly one of the dominant players in the DeFi lending space. However, as the protocol grows, so too does its risk factor. In this episode of The Scoop, founder and CEO of Aave Stani Kulechov discusses the innovation brought on by the recent Aave V3 upgrade, and shares what is being done to mitigate risk. While parameter adjustments through community governance may be sufficient to adjust a DeFi protocol’s risk curve during times of fluctuating market conditions, there are deeper, systematic risks that can still lead to devastating losses. For example, a fork of the Aave protocol on the Gnosis blockchain named Agave recently had its smart contracts exploited by a malicious attacker, draining $8 million from the protocol. At the moment, one of the only ways to mitigate smart contract risk at the protocol level is to submit the smart contracts to a third party for security audits. Not only does this leave potential security vulnerabilities if an attack vector is overlooked, but also given the sheer number of new protocols and their underlying smart contracts, security scaling has become a major bottleneck for the industry. As Stani explained, “More and more smart contracts are deployed into the internet of smart contracts, and the challenge here is we need to somehow figure out a scalable way of applying security.” Aave V3 has implemented certain design features such as “isolation mode” which mitigates risk by isolating newly listed tokens from the rest of the protocol’s liquidity. “We understand that the stakes are getting higher and higher,” Stani said, “so we have to become more risk averse.” Episode 23 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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David Woo, a former top Bank of America executive, is famous for his 2013 prediction that Bitcoin would prove to be a viable alternative to traditional money transfer providers. Nearly a decade later, Woo is still prognosticating about the future of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, though given the current macro backdrop, his outlook is significantly bleaker. In the latest episode of The Scoop podcast, Woo joins host Frank Chaparro to explain why Bitcoin may not be spared from the economic and geopolitical issues he sees potentially forming on the horizon: “I think the most important story that we could be transitioning into is basically Cold War II," he said. "Cold War II that pits the US and its allies against China and Russia... That’s not going to be fun.” US efforts to potentially develop its own central bank digital currency in such an environment also spells trouble, though the Fed itself hasn't given the official green-light on this front. To illustrate his point, Woo pointed to China, where the launch of a CBDC resulted in a harsh crackdown on services facilitating the exchange of fiat currencies and crypto assets. Earlier this month the Biden Administration issued an executive order which, among other things, “places the highest urgency on research and development efforts into the potential design and deployment options of a United States CBDC.” Woo suggests that it is this particular event that will have a profound impact on Bitcoin: “Once you have a CBCC, do you not think the attitude towards Bitcoin is going to change completely?” Episode 22 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and David Woo, Founder and CEO of David Woo Unbound. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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As the market for non-fungible tokens continues to court interest from mainstream corporates, investors, and celebrities, Anchorage co-founder Diogo Mónica reveals how his firm is managing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of these assets. As Mónica explained during an interview on The Scoop with host Frank Chaparro, there are two main reasons he believes institutions are expressing interest in NFTs: “The first one is that it’s free marketing. You buy an NFT or you do something in crypto and for a few hundred thousand dollars you get tens of millions of dollars of mainstream press. The second reason, which is probably the major reason for the ones who want to build products, is they want to try it out… if you’re going to build a product in NFTs, you have to own one.” Indeed, institutional interest in developing NFT products is accelerating. This month alone, Softbank, Gamestop, and Instagram all announced NFT products slated for release in the near future. Still, Mónica noted that NFTs only represent a small portion of the digital assets of which Anchorage holds custody. “I would say it probably maps in the hundreds of millions. But the business is obviously measured in the tens of billions which makes it not significant enough yet." The core of Anchorage's business is its institutional custodian services, which have been growing since its inception in 2017. Last year, Anchorage became the first federally chartered digital asset bank in the US and has now expanded its operations to lending and trading services. One particularly interesting NFT play that aligns with this narrative was Visa's acquisition of a CryptoPunk NFT last summer, which Anchorage Digital helped to facilitate. Episode 21 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Diogo Monica, Co-Founder and President of Anchorage Digital. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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For those unfamiliar with the term “anon”, it refers to the prolific but anonymous identities that many veteran crypto investors use to discuss projects and express views on the market without revealing details of their personal lives. Out of the legion of such popular anon accounts on Twitter, the members of a syndicate known as “eGirl Capital” have established large followings due to their commentary, research and investment in cryptocurrency. In this episode of The Scoop, CL, an anon from eGirl Capital joins host Frank Chaparro to discuss how the group formed and why they are able to operate so cohesively.What started out in 2020 as a simple group chat between friends became reality when one of the group’s members registered eGirl Capital as a legal entity. While not a VC firm in the traditional sense, the establishment of a legal entity paved the way for eGirl Capital to participate in deals together. At a time when established firms such as Bain Capital are entering the crypto space, CL believes the crypto native anons of eGirl Capital have an edge in terms of spotting quality projects. While being crypto-native gives the group much more experience and knowledge than the traditional financial institutions who are trying to enter the space, eGirl Capital also benefits from their lack of traditional corporate structure. “There is no founder, no head trader...and none of us are getting paid, except for a few interns,” CL said. In regards to potential deals, the decision must be unanimous: “If one person is very firmly ‘no’ then it’s a no.”/

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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VC firm Hashed was founded in 2017 when a group of founders and engineers from South Korea pooled $700,000. Fast-forward five years and more than 500 investments later, and Hashed’s treasury now totals over $4 billion and it is still 100% owned by the firm. Crypto gaming is one of the main pillars of Hashed’s investment thesis, serving as the focal point of a $200 million fund announced in December. While Hashed is actively investing in the emerging Web3 gaming ecosystem, their ambitions don't stop there. In this episode of The Scoop, Baek Kim, general partner at Hashed, joins host Frank Chaparro to explain how Hashed has taken additional steps to help shape the future of crypto gaming. According to Kim, one of the main problems currently facing crypto gaming is sustainability. Indeed, existing crypto gaming projects are fading in popularity, according to data collected by The Block Research. While projects such as Axie Infinity have tried to poach outside talent to reverse shrinking user bases, Hashed has created its own "metaverse ventures studio" with a team of over 80 people in order to help talented game developers incubate more sustainable Web3 games. While existing crypto games largely rely on financial incentives instead of sustainable content to retain their users, Kim notes that games like Axie Infinity are “fun enough to hang out in the Discord channel.” In fact, Kim suggests that interacting with crypto gaming communities outside of the game can be even more fun than actually "playing games." This is a phenomenon that Kim believes is “quite unique about crypto gaming.”

Episode 19 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Baek Kim, General Parnter at Hashed. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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LinksDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization aspiring to reimagine the idea of the golf country club through global membership, illustrates the complexity that can underpin the red-hot acronym. While holding a LinksDAO NFT gives users membership rights, there has been some confusion amongst holders as to the extent of what those rights entail. Mike Dudas, co-founder of LinksDAO and 6th Man Ventures, recently discussed the current landscape in an interview on The Scoop. As Dudas explained during the interview: “Today we're in this in-between world where many things that call themselves DAOs are really corporations but have a participatory governance mechanism. So it looks different than a corporation, but it's not truly decentralized and autonomous in the spirit of what I believe these organizations can become over the coming decade.” In the case of LinksDAO, a corporation named LinksDAO Inc. is responsible for fundraising and business development. While owners of LinksDAO NFTs are given membership rights to LinksDAO, they do not receive ownership rights to LinksDAO Inc. “The community is more of an advisory board, so we wouldn't be definitionally a DAO. We would be like a group of members who act as an advisory board to a C-corp.” This division is a necessary reality because, as Dudas puts it, “in America in 2022 you can't sell an NFT to the public using Ethereum self-custody wallets without KYC that gives somebody ownership of an asset.” Still, regardless of the structure of a DAO, projects are cropping up to serve them with tools, Dudas noted. “Right now there are a number of what are called ‘point solutions.’ Early on in the evolution of any ecosystem, what happens is you have solutions that service the most important and critical functions for a DAO.” Funds like Bain Capital Crypto are eyeing this opportunity, with DAO service providers being one of the focus points of their recently announced $560 million fund.

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Spartan Group — an Asia-based consultancy and venture capital firm — is set to close a new $200 million fund aimed at the metaverse, according to Jason Choi, a general partner at the firm. The new fund, which will close less than a year after Spartan announced its $110 million DeFi fund, will focus on projects building in the metaverse, specifically virtual worlds that support “digital ownership" as Choi described in an exclusive interview on The Scoop. To be sure, Spartan is far from alone. A series of big-name investors have recently raised and deployed capital in this space, including a $100 million fund backed by Alan Howard and the Winklevoss twins. The latest market entrance represents a shift for Choi, who was not always as focused on digital ownership. As a self-described fundamentalist investor, Choi wasn’t interested in metaverse projects until the fees generated by Axie Infinity caught his eye in late 2020. “We were pretty skeptical of the sustainability of the game itself,” Choi said. "But the numbers were proving us wrong. And from that experience, it kind of taught us that there's clearly a different type of user in this kind of NFT-metaverse gaming vertical versus the DeFi projects that we're very used to.” Building off its experience with Axie Infinity, Spartan Group’s new fund focuses on three different layers of the metaverse: the infrastructure layer, the experience layer, and the ‘value add layer,’ the latter of which Choi describes as “things that are outside of the metaverse” like guilds and NFT marketplaces. Since Spartan Group’s new fund is designed to capture the value of a fully developed, populated metaverse, Choi believes it will take “at least five or ten years to play out.” Episode 17 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Jason Choi, General Partner at The Spartan Group & Host of The Blockcrunch Podcast. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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Multicoin Capital co-founder & managing partner Kyle Samani, an early investor in both Solana and FTX, is turning his attention today towards the NFT space. In this episode of the Scoop, Samani shared his strategy and investment thesis on where he sees NFTs going in the coming months. Samani believes that NFTs will evolve from their current form of mostly static jpegs and become more dynamic, similar to how Web pages evolved since the early days of the internet. "So far in NFTs we don’t really have a lot of ‘pieces of state’ that have a relationship to one another," he said. "You vaguely have this in the notion that there are 10,000 apes in a collection, but beyond the fact that they all have the ‘ape tag’ on them, they actually don’t really have a relationship to one another.” Samani used Beeple’s 5000 Days, a collection of 5,000 small NFTs in a 2x2 grid as, an example: “[MetaKovan] who bought it should introduce some sort of game and say, ‘if you can assemble 9 of the 5,000 in a square, you unlock something.’ Now you can start to say that these NFTs have relationships to each other in some sort of unique way.” While Samani sees a lot of potential for innovation in the NFT design space, he believes that it is “unlikely” that Multicoin Capital will hold even a 1% position in NFTs. Instead of buying in NFTs directly, Multicoin Capital is investing in the underlying technology. “There are three major layers of the stack to think about, and we are investing in two of them,” Kyle said. Those two layers are the 'primitives or infrastructure layer,’ and the second is in NFT exchanges or marketplaces directly. The third layer, outright ownership of NFTs, Samani doesn't currently see as being viable enough for Multicoin Capital to invest in at scale.

Episode 16 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Kyle Samani, Founder & Managing Partner at Multicoin Capital. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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Bitcoin is converging with one of the largest industries in the world: oil and gas. In this episode of The Scoop, Justin Ballard, co-founder of Jai Energy, joined The Block's Frank Chaparro to discuss how his Wyoming-based firm is working with producers of oil and gas to help them put excess energy to work by mining bitcoin. "Every single of one them that calls us, typically are calling us about a flare gas situation," Ballard, who worked for more than a decade as an attorney and operator in the oil industry prior to founding Jai, said of new entrants to bitcoin mining from the oil and gas world. "The oil and gas industry and bitcoin mining can work together," he said. Jai uses the excess energy or 'run-off' owned by oil companies to power bitcoin mining, which offers a new revenue stream for gas companies and energy for Jai's bitcoin mining operation. Ballard explained how the synergies between these groups will expand: "There's a variety of areas where oil and gas companies have megawatts of excess capacity that they've so capital into building out, but they're not utilizing on a daily basis. And we've had some success showing them those areas and where it's like, Look, you can go build a very nice bitcoin mine on this facility." Ballard also explained how the business models of oil and gas firms and bitcoin mining companies are nearly identical, with the main difference being the change in difficulty built into the bitcoin network. For more visit Theblockcrypto.com/podcasts

Episode 15 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Justin Ballard, CEO & Founder at Jai Energy. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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For crypto venture investors, 2021 was a landmark year. The flood of capital that poured more than $28.65 billion into crypto firms last year was propped up by new billion-dollar fund launches, a ramp-up in venture investing among crypto firms, and investor appetite for a general risk-on environment, giving way to a new class of angel investors in the market. But 2022 has been more risk-off, with the crypto market shedding billions of market cap on news that inflation could lead to a hike in interest rates, plus the addition of geo-political uncertainty, which has caused its own price gyrations across markets. This pullback has begun seeping into the private crypto market, according to venture capital investor Darren Lau, who founded crypto educational resource The Daily Ape and runs VC firm Not3Lau Capital. Lau has backed projects including Nansen, Trader Joe, and Mixmob. He was also an early Solana investor. “I talked to a few projects recently, like just this week, and they were telling me like how even though these VC’s were committing to the round a month ago, two months ago, they’re pulling out of the deals based on how the market looks right now," Lau said on the most recent episode of The Scoop. They're also being much more selective compared to previously. "So back then a lot more VC’s were spraying and praying," added Lau. The "spray and pray" approach — which involves an investor making a bunch of bets on the hope that one will deliver a massive upside — appears to be becoming less of a darling strategy in today's market. Says Lau: "People are being more careful with their capital."

Episode 14 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Darren Lau of The Daily Ape and Not3Lau Capital. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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Jump Trading is one of the deepest-pocketed firms operating in the crypto market. Jump put its full scale on display earlier this month when the firm stepped up to cover hundreds of millions of dollars in losses after Wormhole—a DeFi project to which Jump contributes code—was hacked. In this episode of The Scoop, Jump president and CIO Dave Olsen explained how the firm reacted to the hack and market-bought more than $300 million in ETH to cover the losses. "This was not a syndicate or a group of folks that pool resources to go out and purchase 120,000 ether," he said, explaining: "We did debate that but what led to such a swift conclusion was what we felt that we would have a bigger impact on the community by immediately being able to tell everything that their assets were backed one-to-one and step up and kind of lead the community." Once a secretive equities trading operation, Jump Trading has become more public-facing in a bid to grow its presence in the crypto market. During this episode, Olsen dove into details that have not been historically talked about publicly—including Olsen's view on what is important in market making in both crypto and traditional markets. In Olsen's view, connectivity to as many venues as possible is one of the three "building blocks" for being successful as a market maker. "You've got to be involved and connected to and able to trade pretty much everywhere that instrument trades," he said. In addition to connectivity, you also need ample capital, he said. "So connectivity, scale, and then the ability to analyze all the information you're getting and translate that into your best prediction of what should the price be for that asset at that moment in time? Those are really the three building blocks.”

Episode 13 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Dave Olsen, President & Chief Investment Officer at Jump Trading Group. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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The United States Congress turned its attention to stablecoins this month, with senior Treasury official Nellie Liang fielding a range of questions during twin hearings in the House of Representatives and the Senate. The hearings centered on a recent report on stablecoins penned by members of the President's Working Group, which Liang oversaw. That report urged Congress to create "rules of the road" for stablecoin issuers, mainly by restricting stablecoin issuance to insured depository institutions (IDIs). The Treasury has already designated stablecoins a "systemic risk" for the Financial Stability Oversight Council, meaning that if Congress fails to act, the council can step in. Liang told the House and the Senate that she believes in flexibility for any charter standards related to stablecoin issuers. In the meantime, proposals are beginning to float around the Hill. During this month's Policy Scoop, The Block's Aislinn Keely sits down with The Block's senior policy reporter, Kollen Post. Post was in attendance for both hearings and has been on the ground tracking the stablecoin regulation landscape from report to proposals. ... For more visit theblockcrypto.com/podcasts

Episode 12 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Aislinn Keely and senior policy reporter Kollen Post. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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After a year of exponential growth, North American Bitcoin mining companies have raised billions of dollars in 2021 through equity and debt instruments to invest in both new top-of-the-line equipment and additional power capacities. The latest special episode of The Scoop – the Mining Report – features The Block Research's mining analyst Wolfie Zhao and host Frank Chaparro as they discuss the state of mining in North America, which is steadily growing its market dominance with the state of Texas rising to be the new biggest hub for Bitcoin mining. Some of the topics covered in the episode include:

The potential growth of the network's hashrate in 2022

The current power capacity supply crunch

The rise of traditional energy companies that are increasing their market shares in Bitcoin mining

Episode 11 of Season 4 of The Scoop's Mining Report was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Research Mining Analyst Wolfie Zhao. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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Wealth and financial advisors oversee trillions of dollars in assets. While a wide range of financial services, from trading firms to exchanges to hedge funds, have warmed up to the crypto market, wealth and financial advisors have largely remained on the sidelines. During the latest episode of The Scoop, Michael Batnick, director of research at Ritholtz Wealth Management, and Jeremy Schwartz, EVP and global chief investment officer at Wisdom Tree Asset Management, walked listeners through the RWM WisdomTree Crypto Index and the state of crypto wealth management today. Ritholtz Wealth Management and Wisdom Tree Asset Management recently announced the launch of a new diversified crypto index for financial advisors in December 2021. Through a partnership with Onramp Invest, the index can be offered by financial advisors via separately managed accounts (SMAs). "The US regulators still can't get their heads wrapped around a bitcoin spot ETF, which we think is the best structure for a 100 percent allocation," noted Wisdom Tree's Jeremy Schwartz. In Batnick's view, the crypto market hasn't done a good job marketing itself to advisors. A report released earlier this year by asset management firm Bitwise suggests that 16% of financial advisors have allocated to crypto in their clients' accounts — an increase from 9% in 2021. Batnick suspects that number might be far lower. "An informal survey, I'd say we're under 1 percent," he contended. "The reason why is because I think that the products that were available to financial advisers have not been suitable or at least had difficulties getting advisers comfortable wrapping their arms around the solution."

Episode 10 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Michael Batnick, Director of Research at Ritholtz Wealth Management and Jeremy Schwartz, EVP & Global Chief Investment Officer at Wisdom Tree Asset Management. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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Avi Felman's eyes are glued to his trading screen, waiting for market-moving headlines that could be prime opportunities to put on a multi-million crypto trade. These past few weeks have been especially active for the portfolio manager, who joined crypto investment firm BlockTower in November 2019. Felman, who co-leads the firm's flagship fund, navigated price gyrations stemming from macro and industry news, ranging from headlines that government officials recovered funds from Bitfinex's 2016 hack to more recent news that Russia could invade neighbor Ukraine. On this episode of The Scoop, Felman explained the decision-making process that goes into making a trade on headlines, using reports that Russia was on the verge of invading Ukraine as one case study example. "I know that the context is that the Biden administration has been warning about Russia for quite some time," he said. "I know that bitcoin doesn't like uncertainty. I read the headline as being extremely uncertain." Whether a certain news event adds uncertainty is just one factor Felman considers. Timing is equally important. "Okay, I want to make a trade and this all happens in the span of, you have to think, about 15 to 30 seconds," he explained. "You need to make those connections. Then I need to start de-risking a little bit." In some instances, Felman takes a cue from the S&P 500, which has been moving very closely with bitcoin despite the crypto's reputation as a hedge asset. "The vast majority of time the bitcoin decouples from the S&P, it's because of a delayed reaction," he said. "It's because bitcoin has some idiosyncratic crypto native bidder that isn't paying attention to broader risk." ...For more visit Theblockcrypto.com/podcasts Episode 9 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Avi Felman, Co-Portfolio Manager at Blocktower Capital. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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2021 was a landmark year for Genesis Global. The trading firm — which operates a wide-range of businesses spanning lending and prime services — clocked in more than $100 billion in spot crypto volumes in 2021. On the lending side of the house, cumulative loan originations stood at more than $130 billion. On this episode of The Scoop, head of derivatives at Genesis Joshua Lim helped unpack the dynamics shaping the market behind its headline Q4 numbers. In addition to a compression in the popular, and once very juicy, basis trade, Lim explained that the market became more dynamic with big new hedge funds entering the fold. At the same time, existing participants become more engaged with the market – holding crypto on their balance sheet for not just investment purposes, but for operational use as well. “It could be linked to receiving payments denominated in tokens from projects that they had executed for other firms. It could be related to running nodes on a blockchain,” Lim said. “It could be more traditional kind of crypto native use cases like receiving a percentage of whatever assets under custody as sort of a revenue stream.” “We saw those types of firms really engaging on derivative hedges that would, you know, protect them on the downside, which was actually kind of useful.” Lim added that as more firms enter the space through the metaverse and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), demand for such hedging tools could extend beyond the crypto native investors that Genesis is used to dealing with. The firm has already started accepting NFTs as collateral for certain loans. Still, it’s early days for NFT-related lending. “It's not something that we do on a regular basis,” Lim said. “I think from a business perspective, it's still, let's say, less than 50 basis points of our overall lending business in terms of the magnitude of the collateral value.

Episode 8 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Joshua Lim, Head of Derivatives at Genesis Global Trading. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com.

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For some, a landscape of colorful NFTs and crypto anons can be daunting — yet for traditional investors, it can present an array of new challenges that require near-constant adjustment or reinvention. But as novel use cases evolve under the twin banners of "Web3" and "the metaverse," business interests such as VC firm Standard Crypto are eyeing the opportunity to leap into such a world. During this episode of The Scoop, Alok Vasudev, co-founder at Standard Crypto, joined The Block's Frank Chaparro to discuss the future of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and NFTs, when a project "merits" a DAO, and how Vasudev learned to stop worrying and embrace the 'weirdness' of crypto. Vasudev contends that, unlike other venture firms, Standard Crypto doesn't follow themes but rather operates first as fans of the innovations technology can present. This broad investment approach has recently included DAOs, which Vasudev said he believes could one day potentially function like companies in the future, with the added benefit of on-chain governance. "One thing that we talk about is whether DAOs in how they're structured are actually going to evolve to look a little bit more like companies than they have in the past, but with radically different accountability structures because of token holder governance." Vasudev also believes NFTs and projects being built for Web3 may likely serve as the proving ground for the future iterations of internet success stories like Angry Birds or Facebook: "I think I remember the first time I was kind of stunned that they were actually making an Angry Birds movie... So this idea that kind of internet culture is just going to become mainstream culture, I think is already proven out. And now I think NFTs are the next chapter in that story."

Episode 7 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Alok Vasudev, co-founder at Standard Crypto. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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Tucked away in Signal’s app is a new “Beta” feature that allows users to send payments between each-other seamlessly. It’s powered by a crypto project called MobileCoin. On this episode of The Scoop, MobileCoin founder and CEO Josh Goldbard joined Frank Chaparro to explain how MobileCoin is trying to blend encrypted messaging and payments to make global money transfers easy. Goldbard and Chaparro explore the increasingly dynamic environment for payments, which has diverse firms from Walmart to Facebook to Jack Dorsey’s Cash App competing for mindshare and transactions. “What we're building is the global Cash App, the global Cash App that allows you to move money in and out at the velocity of the internet,” Goldbard described of the project. “What we want to make here is the last payment rail,” he added. “What makes it the last payment rail is that it is the lowest friction, highest priority, easiest to use payment technology ever made.” In this episode we also explore:

What raising venture capital is like in a frothy venture environment

Goldbard’s game-plan to recruit top engineers

Why Signal decided to partner with MobileCoin

How Goldbard poached Cash App’s founding CTO Bob Lee

Episode 6 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Josh Goldbard, founder and CEO of MobileCoin. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Coinbase Prime Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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Since volumes skyrocketed in 2021 across marketplaces, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have seemed to become a focal point of the art and gaming world. Love them or hate them, NFT enthusiasts argue that the medium is in the infancy of its evolution. Adopters are beginning to appreciate not only the aesthetics of NFTs, but their potential usefulness. On this episode of The Scoop, Head of Growth at Parallel NFT Franklin Fitch and artist Dave Krugman joined host Frank Chaparro to discuss how NFTs are radically transforming the relationship between creators and the art market, as well as the gaming industry. Krugman compared the current state of NFTs to the early days of Instagram, when early adopters had to learn to become comfortable with sharing content without monetizing it. As the network effect of users and creators grew, eventually Instagram gave creators a way to make money on their efforts -- with certain caveats, like follower milestones. According to Krugman, adapting NFTs comes with an even steeper learning curve. "This is a technology that is fundamentally going to change the way that we connect and operate with each other -- it's a lot," said Krugman, when referencing artists who are anti-NFT. Fitch noted that NFTs would be particularly disruptive for the video game industry in the realm of creating incentives for gamers such as loot boxes, which are tethered to their ecosystems and have no external value. Unlike traditional in-game assets, NFTs fundamentally allow an asset to be exchangeable, tied to a marketplace, and to allow for social signaling between players. As Fitch noted, "It adds new levels of competitiveness, new levels of participation, re-imaginings of incentives, right? New social layers. I think it's fantastic. And this is the power games." ... For more visit the theblockcrypto.com/podcasts

Episode 5 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Head of Growth Franklin Fitch at Parallel NFT & Photographer & Digital Artist Dave Krugman. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Kraken & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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At the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the daily lives of virtually everyone around the world radically changed. Commutes to the office ceased. Concerts and dining outings were canceled. For some, punting stocks and cryptocurrencies on online brokerages filled the void. That fundamental shift reshaped US equity markets, ushering in an era dominated by Wall Street Bets, meme stocks, and cryptocurrency. Indeed, retail trading has yet to subside even as economies reopen. Monthly net purchases of US equities by individual investors have stabilized at around $20 billion—a surge from the pre-pandemic norm of about $5 billion. On this episode of The Scoop, eToro's newly-appointed US lead Lule Demmissie explained why she doesn't see retail's newfound presence in the market subsiding anytime soon, and how eToro plans to capitalize on growing its business related to cryptocurrencies and stock trading. "What you're seeing is the sustainability of that user base staying engaged, waiting for dips, getting in the markets when necessary," said Demmissie, former Ally Invest president and TD Ameritrade managing director. "Ultimately they're sticking around and they're engaging every time there's volatility," she added. Demmissie said that the collective mind of the retail crowd could have more insight than institutions previously may have thought. "I'm originally from Ethiopia, right? So I grew up in the throes of a revolution. So the idea of mob rule is something that is like embedded in my DNA as to be averse to it," said Demmissie. "There is a self-made mechanism, a self-clearing mechanism that is happening in social, where there is a balance that takes place within the crowd, where the crowd gets smarter and smarter, and the synthesis of it afterwards becomes something that is really interesting to listen to."

Episode 4 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and CEO Lule Demmissie of eToroUS. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Kraken & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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ADA — the native cryptocurrency of the Cardano network — is among the myriad of cryptocurrencies that saw their price soar in 2021. On this episode of The Scoop, The Block's Frank Chaparro sat down with Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano and CEO of Input-Output Global, to unpack the ecosystem underpinning the price headlines. While Cardano's ADA has surged over the course of 2021, the blockchain that underpins the token is yet to play host to a large decentralized exchange, of the kind that have sprung up on Solana or Ethereum. There have also been questions about the number of successful decentralized applications or 'DApps' in the ecosystem, when compared to others. Hoskinson says that this sentiment reflects a misunderstanding about what is being developed on Cardano. "There's almost 200 DApps that are under construction right now," he noted. "SundaeSwap is one of the most prominent, it's launching tomorrow," referring to the DEX that launched Thursday — albeit with congestion issues that resulted in some transactions taking longer than expected to complete. "There are several already running on the ecosystem," Hoskinson clarified. In the future, Cardano could even continue to exist without the participation of the Wyoming-resident. As Hoskinson opined, "the founders are important because they get the party started and they set the initial state of the system." He went on to add, "I think that you have to plan for obsolescence, you have to plan to fire yourself. And that's what Satoshi did." Episode 3 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano and CEO of Input-Output Global. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Kraken & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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Last year, cryptocurrency concerns took center stage in an ongoing debate over the US government's trillion-dollar infrastructure bill. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act proposed a variety of ways to pay for its intended projects, including a heightened focus on crypto tax reporting. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has long teased unified broker reporting for exchanges, meaning entities that fall under the broker definition will be required to report information and send tax forms to the IRS. The infrastructure bill made it official: broker reporting is coming in 2023. But some are worried the bill's definition of a "broker" is too broad and could encompass entities that can't reasonably report to the IRS, like miners or decentralized finance (DeFi) entities. Key amendments to clarify that definition failed to pass, and it's now all on the to clarify "broker" in its upcoming guidance. In this week's Policy Scoop, The Block's Aislinn Keely dives into the current landscape of crypto tax reporting and how the coming guidance might affect taxpayers. Keely spoke with Justin Woodward, tax attorney and co-founder of TaxBit, and Seth Wilks, Senior Director of SME and Government Relations at TaxBit about:

The historical context of the long-awaited broker reporting guidance and why it matters.

What will likely be in the guidance and why it's likely to affect centralized exchanges first.

When it will take effect and what that might look like.

How the IRS is thinking about DeFi and non-fungible tokens.

Episode 2 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Aislinn Keely and Justin Woodward, tax attorney & co-founder of TaxBit and Seth Wilks, Senior Director of SME & Government Relations, at TaxBit Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Kraken & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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2021 was a watershed year for crypto exchange Coinbase. In addition to becoming the biggest cryptocurrency company to tap the public markets via a direct listing, the firm grew its total assets-on-platform to more than $255 billion, hired more than 3,000 people, and clocked in quarterly revenues above $1 billion during both the second and third quarters. Still, the company’s stock price has slid since its market debut in April, down by more than 31% since its first day of trading. The bearish sentiment is likely tied to the lack of predictability in Coinbase’s revenues, which are volatile and heavily dependent on trading fees. During the latest episode of The Scoop, Coinbase president Emilie Choi said that Wall Street is focused too much on the predictability of short-term revenue rather than the much broader gameplan the company has for becoming a foundation for the emerging crypto-economy. “We have obviously our flagship brokerage, and then we have the exchange and those are reinventing what a financial system can mean,” she said. “And then the final part of this strategy is about crypto as a new form of App Store, and there’s so much to tap into there.” That shift could help diversify its revenue model, she added. “We have largely a trading model that generates a ton of revenue for us, and we love that model and we’re totally OK with the volatility of it. And at the same time, we’re investing very heavily in the subscription and services model, and you’re seeing a lot of growth from that because it’s the thing that helps us control our own destiny.” To that end, Choi said the firm plans to pour more resources into its Coinbase Wallet. It is also expanding its subscription businesses — like Coinbase Cloud — as a means to grow its non-transaction-based revenue. ....For more visit theblockcrypto.com/podcasts

Episode 1 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and President & COO Emilie Choi of Coinbase. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Kraken & Chainalysis Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Chainalysis Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

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Whether a crackdown on stablecoins is a possible concern for FTX’s business

The ramifications of the government’s “really extreme fiscal” reaction to Covid-19 and its impact on the monetary supply

Why the Fed should have seen hot inflation coming

Product leverage in the cryptocurrency market and cascading liquidations

How the amount of capital sitting on the sidelines is “absolutely massive” and could fend off a big crypto bear market

Episode 86 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Kava Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Kava For over four years, Kava Labs has contributed to building a portfolio of decentralized products and services that allow users to gain access to all of the benefits of DeFi. Kava connects the world's largest cryptocurrencies, ecosystems, and financial applications on one of DeFi’s most trusted, scalable, and secure earning platforms. Kava lets you mint stablecoins, lend, borrow, earn and swap safely and efficiently across the world’s biggest crypto assets with a simple and intuitive user experience and the full confidence of institutional-grade security and quality. With a proven track record of delivering successful projects safely, the Kava Platform is DeFi's most trusted, scalable, and secure institutional-grade cross-chain engine.

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Sam Bankman-Fried, the billionaire founder of crypto exchange FTX, joins The Scoop to close out 2021 in a two-part episode that explores the origin story of the increasingly ubiquitous trading venue, Bankman-Fried's worldview, and what he expects for the digital asset market in the year to come. We begin with Part 1, during which the former Jane Street trader and Stanford graduate harkens back to the precious beginnings of FTX, spun out of Alameda Research, a trading firm he also founded. Bankman-Fried also explained why the firm was launched in the first place back in 2019. “What it really was, was saying, OK here’s a business [that’s] making $1 billion-plus a year collectively at the time, which we understand deeply,” he said. “They were just not well built. The number of problems they had were enormous. Losing millions of dollars a day in customer funds ... the risk engines just didn’t work. And you could see why.” As Bankman-Fried recalled, some back-of-envelope math played a role in the decision-making process. He said he considered what the expected value of an exchange could be and figured that the odds of success were non-trivial: "I don’t know exactly how high, but definitely not close to zero, so fuck, it let’s do it. That was basically the chain of logic there. Eighty percent chance we fail to ever get a user. If we do get users then there is a 50% chance that it goes pretty well.” During this episode, Bankman-Fried and Chaparro also explore:

FTX’s marketing campaigns and the underpinning ethos of its advertising strategy

How memes differentiate FTX from its competitors

Why FTX wants to take a very different approach to public relations than most companies

The regulatory environment in crypto and why Bankman-Fried doesn’t think the conversation is partisan

Episode 85 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Kava Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Kava For over four years, Kava Labs has contributed to building a portfolio of decentralized products and services that allow users to gain access to all of the benefits of DeFi. Kava connects the world's largest cryptocurrencies, ecosystems, and financial applications on one of DeFi’s most trusted, scalable, and secure earning platforms. Kava lets you mint stablecoins, lend, borrow, earn and swap safely and efficiently across the world’s biggest crypto assets with a simple and intuitive user experience and the full confidence of institutional-grade security and quality. With a proven track record of delivering successful projects safely, the Kava Platform is DeFi's most trusted, scalable, and secure institutional-grade cross-chain engine.

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On this episode of The Scoop, The Block's VP of Research Larry Cermak joined host Frank Chaparro for a discussion in which he broke down his predictions for the top crypto trends to come in 2022. For the year ahead, Cermak expects that market appetite for established projects will continue, and that exchanges and data businesses in particular stand to benefit most. “If there is already an established exchange or established data business and it just needs a little bit of cash to raise, they're never going to have issues," Cermak remarked. Layer-2's in focus Cermak also outlined why he believes layer-2 networks — protocols that enable faster and cheaper transactions on top of blockchains — will be a central theme of 2022, with a particular focus on zero-knowledge rollups. “I do think that there's going to be a big development in layer-2's next year," said Cermak, adding: “You have the first proper decentralized applications launching on these chains not just built for Ethereum, but built already for the layer-2’s. So I think that will be the main theme of next year when it comes to this perspective.” The next NFT wave? Despite recent reductions in attention on NFTs as a whole, Cermak believes there's going to be a shift in demand for certain kinds of NFTs and gaming tokens. Indeed, he expects the NFT market to continue to grow and become more sophisticated in its next wave. “I think, you know, maybe some of the profile NFTs are not going to be as hot next year," Cermak told Chaparro, "But I think some of the more creative ones and in-game assets of proper games… I think we’re going to see some of that next year.” For an overview of The Block's 2022 Digital Asset Outlook, you can download the free, public report from The Block Research team here.

Episode 84 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Larry Cermak, VP of Research at The Block. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Kava Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Kava For over four years, Kava Labs has contributed to building a portfolio of decentralized products and services that allow users to gain access to all of the benefits of DeFi. Kava connects the world's largest cryptocurrencies, ecosystems, and financial applications on one of DeFi’s most trusted, scalable, and secure earning platforms. Kava lets you mint stablecoins, lend, borrow, earn and swap safely and efficiently across the world’s biggest crypto assets with a simple and intuitive user experience and the full confidence of institutional-grade security and quality. With a proven track record of delivering successful projects safely, the Kava Platform is DeFi's most trusted, scalable, and secure institutional-grade cross-chain engine.

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As 2021 comes to a close, Copper's head of research Fadi Aboualfa joined The Block's VP of Research Larry Cermak and host Frank Chaparro to unpack the trends that shaped the crypto market this year as well as the future dynamics that might be on the horizon for 2022. Aboualfa highlighted the ascent of so-called meme cryptocurrencies like dogecoin and shiba inu, which surged in value this year. Aboualfa said their rise is tied to strong social and community elements. "There's a social aspect to that price appreciation," he said. "Bitcoin started by a couple of people who really believe in it and started becoming very vocal about it." Another trend unpacked by Aboualfa was the race to become the next Ethereum killer. Projects like Avalanche and Solana are among the layer-1s that have seen their price surge as investors appear to believe that these blockchains might be superior to Ethereum. Ultimately, Aboualfa and Cermak both agreed that the crypto markets won't face a prolonged bear market akin to the one that occurred in 2018, but markets will face volatility and short-term setbacks. Cermak outlined two major risks in 2022 that markets face: "One is that, you know, central banks are now starting to hint at tapering measures, starting to hint at being less aggressive when it comes to just responding to Covid and responding to the situation. That, I think, can have a very negative effect when the market starts pricing in that the central banks are going to be way more conservative." "Second risk that I think is pretty real, but I think it's now smaller after what I've seen yesterday at the hearing, is the regulatory risk in the US," he added, referring to the recent hearing on crypto hosted by the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services.

Episode 83 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Larry Cermak, VP of Research at The Block, and Fadi Aboualfa, Head of Research at Copper. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Kava Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Kava For over four years, Kava Labs has contributed to building a portfolio of decentralized products and services that allow users to gain access to all of the benefits of DeFi. Kava connects the world's largest cryptocurrencies, ecosystems, and financial applications on one of DeFi’s most trusted, scalable, and secure earning platforms. Kava lets you mint stablecoins, lend, borrow, earn and swap safely and efficiently across the world’s biggest crypto assets with a simple and intuitive user experience and the full confidence of institutional-grade security and quality. With a proven track record of delivering successful projects safely, the Kava Platform is DeFi's most trusted, scalable, and secure institutional-grade cross-chain engine.

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A lot has changed since the sluggish days of the crypto bear market in 2019, according to infamous Twitter personality “Loomdart.” The investor at Egirl Capital—an anonymous group of crypto traders—joined host Frank Chaparro for a discussion about how the market has matured since 2019's doldrums and why he believes it will only continue to mature in the years ahead. In Loomdart's view, cryptocurrencies are no longer as correlated with one other as they once were. However, he also acknowledged that today the recent Metaverse and NFT headlines have temporarily “hijacked” momentum in the $2 trillion market. “Ever since this kind of metaverse narrative started and Facebook did the whole 'Meta' brand takeover, there has been this gigantic influx of capital,” he said. To be sure, Loomdart is also talking about his own book as the founder of MetaDrop, which recently helped Alien-themed shooting game VAIL raise money through an NFT drop. But the anonymous UK-native has data to back up his investment thesis. Over the past month, NFT gaming firm Sandbox raised $93 million, while Solana Ventures, FTX, and Lightspeed Venture Partners has raised $100 million for a blockchain gaming fund. Loomdart told Chaparro that this VC interest in the metaverse and NFTs will ultimately feed back into the broader crypto market, thereby making it more dynamic. “This isn't 2017, 2018's crypto anymore,” Said Loomdart. “Everything was just one market, but like crypto has evolved so far beyond that.” In this episode, Chaparro and Loomdart discuss:

How Ether's "flippening" of bitcoin could open up a Pandora’s box

Why Loomdart believes crypto prices will likely “slowly go up forever”

The impact of the macro backdrop on crypto prices

Why the metaverse will only take off if crypto is in the background

Episode 82 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Loomdart, Co-Founder of MetaDrop. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Kava Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Kava For over four years, Kava Labs has contributed to building a portfolio of decentralized products and services that allow users to gain access to all of the benefits of DeFi. Kava connects the world's largest cryptocurrencies, ecosystems, and financial applications on one of DeFi’s most trusted, scalable, and secure earning platforms. Kava lets you mint stablecoins, lend, borrow, earn and swap safely and efficiently across the world’s biggest crypto assets with a simple and intuitive user experience and the full confidence of institutional-grade security and quality. With a proven track record of delivering successful projects safely, the Kava Platform is DeFi's most trusted, scalable, and secure institutional-grade cross-chain engine.

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“The evolution is inevitable.” On this episode of The Scoop, Partner at Lightspeed Ventures Amy Wu joined host Frank Chaparro to discuss Lighstpeed's investments in the intersection of crypto and gaming as well as the problems participants in that corner of the market face. Specifically, Wu says that game developers in crypto have to worry about not only building a good game but creating financial incentives to support a robust in-game economy. "Opening up a game economy and allowing a lot of really creative incentivization of both player and creator alike can actually deeply add to a game environment," she said. The rise of in-game economies As for blockchain-focused companies, specifically, Wu said that such projects will have to abstract away the complexities of blockchain to allow for a superior gaming experience. "The primary reason for some of these games with the longest longevity is not going to be around NFT speculation at all. It ultimately will actually just be about gameplay in my opinion...it cannot be the main driver of play." Turning in-game assets into NFTs solves a big problem for game developers and players, allowing holders of in-game assets to tap into their value. “Gamers have been buying digital assets in games for decades, so this is essentially just the next step towards that evolution… I think that having the ability to invest the time, actually put money into the game to buy these assets, and then sort of have some guarantee that there will be some value coming out of the assets as well is pretty attractive”. ... For more visit theblockcrypto.com/podcasts

Episode 81 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Amy Wu, Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Kava Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Kava For over four years, Kava Labs has contributed to building a portfolio of decentralized products and services that allow users to gain access to all of the benefits of DeFi. Kava connects the world's largest cryptocurrencies, ecosystems, and financial applications on one of DeFi’s most trusted, scalable, and secure earning platforms. Kava lets you mint stablecoins, lend, borrow, earn and swap safely and efficiently across the world’s biggest crypto assets with a simple and intuitive user experience and the full confidence of institutional-grade security and quality. With a proven track record of delivering successful projects safely, the Kava Platform is DeFi's most trusted, scalable, and secure institutional-grade cross-chain engine.

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On this episode of The Scoop, Adam Carson, Operating Partner & Crypto Investment Lead at Point72 Ventures, joined host Frank Chaparro for the company's first public interview to discuss its investment strategy as well as Carson’s perspectives on the convergence of fintech, Web3 and the metaverse. Point72 Ventures, an offshoot of billionaire investor Steven Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management Group, was launched in 2016 to initially focus on fintech investing but is increasingly ramping up its focus on the crypto space. In the interview, Carson said that the firm could invest in 5-10 crypto firms next year and might even make some token investments. "I hope that we will sort of evolve into doing more token investing," Carson said. On-ramp investments For now, the firm is looking to invest in infrastructure "picks and shovels" companies that will help onboard incumbent institutions who can then in turn create on-ramps for future consumers to enter the crypto space, according to Carson. To date, Point72 Ventures has only publicly announced four crypto company investments: Messari, Zero Hash, 24 Exchange, and Massive. However, Carson announced on The Scoop that Point72 Ventures is soon to publicize its investment into a fifth company, which he mentioned was an established DeFi operation. When tokens? It's not clear exactly when Point72 will begin making token venture bets, but Carson said that the firm will have to rethink its existing investing approach to make such a move. "It's a different world and it's totally new and it's also exciting," he said, noting that such deals can close in a matter of days versus months, which is more typical in equity deals. "There's different operational and technology needs," he said. "You need to be able to custody these coins. You need to be able to move these coins."

Episode 80 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Adam Carson, Operating Partner & Crypto Investment Lead at Point72 Ventures. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Kava Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Kava For over four years, Kava Labs has contributed to building a portfolio of decentralized products and services that allow users to gain access to all of the benefits of DeFi. Kava connects the world's largest cryptocurrencies, ecosystems, and financial applications on one of DeFi’s most trusted, scalable, and secure earning platforms. Kava lets you mint stablecoins, lend, borrow, earn and swap safely and efficiently across the world’s biggest crypto assets with a simple and intuitive user experience and the full confidence of institutional-grade security and quality. With a proven track record of delivering successful projects safely, the Kava Platform is DeFi's most trusted, scalable, and secure institutional-grade cross-chain engine.

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“We’ll be back." This November, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rejected a proposal to list a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) from VanEck, only to approve VanEck's bitcoin futures-based fund a few days later. While VanEck may not have been able to launch a spot ETF at the time, the firm sees a silver lining in the reaction from policymakers in Congress. “For the SEC to have gotten a letter from both a Republican and a Democrat in favor of approval of the Bitcoin ETF was, to me was very positive in the absence of a lot of negative noise around the approval," VanEck CEO Jan van Eck said during the latest episode of The Scoop podcast. Van Eck also discussed why the firm remains undeterred in bringing more crypto funds to market, and what’s next for the ETF giant. He explained that while the SEC ruling on the spot ETF wasn't surprising, the firm expects to submit more bitcoin funds for approval. History repeating? But van Eck went on to note that the rejection of spot bitcoin ETfs may be similar to the initial pushback against gold bullion ETFs. He observed that the government initially also rejected gold bullion ETFs, while they were quick to approve gold futures funds. In this respect, van Eck contended that the SEC is exhibiting a double standard over bitcoin ETFs, with the agency wanting jurisdiction over crypto-cash markets. “It did not require that meaningfully for a gold ETF or a dry bulk shipping ETF," he said. From a macro perspective, however, van Eck acknowledged that while he believes governments view digital assets as “incredibly threatening” -- citing China’s ban on crypto trading and mining earlier this year -- he is encouraged by other regulatory movements in the space. ... For more visit theblockcrypto.com/podcasts

Episode 79 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Jan van Eck, CEO of VanEck. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Kava Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Kava For over four years, Kava Labs has contributed to building a portfolio of decentralized products and services that allow users to gain access to all of the benefits of DeFi. Kava connects the world's largest cryptocurrencies, ecosystems, and financial applications on one of DeFi’s most trusted, scalable, and secure earning platforms. Kava lets you mint stablecoins, lend, borrow, earn and swap safely and efficiently across the world’s biggest crypto assets with a simple and intuitive user experience and the full confidence of institutional-grade security and quality. With a proven track record of delivering successful projects safely, the Kava Platform is DeFi's most trusted, scalable, and secure institutional-grade cross-chain engine.

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"It seems very much like the mania is just absolutely peaking right now." That's Pierce Crosby, general manager at TradingView. During this episode of The Scoop, Crosby joined host Frank Chaparro to discuss the state of the retail market in crypto and stocks, the data firm's institutional ambitions and its bid to take trading charts global. “Deployment of TradingView not just across the US, but globally is really the next mission for us.” Crosby explained that to date TradingView currently has approximately 33 million users, and has had a virtually zero customer acquisition cost. Plans for retail and institutional clients Crosby told Chaparro that he expects retail interest in crypto to continue to grow as exchanges "gamify" their platforms and move to meet the demand of consumers looking to capitalize on new products and token listings, such as dogecoin. "Infrastructure wise, things are just set up for retail to participate." However, TradingView is looking less to capture retail traders than it is to capture retail investors. Rather than competing with exchanges that use ICOs, products or fees to capitalize on margin, Crosby says the company has a longer-term view on this point. "For us, it seems much more strategic to service investors than it is to service traders, just because volatility is volatility," he said. “I think most businesses that are set up for success, at least from what I've seen, are folks that are thinking more of the investor versus the actual trader." Of course, there's also the institutional side of things, and according to Crosby, TradingView is looking to deploy some of the $298 million it raised this fall by building out some of its internal offerings for institutional clients. “We have over one hundred and fifty engineers now focused on this tech. So we've done well to replace a lot of internal technology and not just charts, but order management, portfolio management, execution engines, really, everything from the front, front end and middle layer,” Crosby said. ... For more visit theblockcrypto.com/podcasts

Episode 78 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Pierce Crosby, General Manager at TradingView. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Masterworks Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Masterworks Masterworks is democratizing the exclusive multi-trillion-dollar art world. Instead of needing to write a $10 million dollar check to buy one Picasso painting, you can buy shares of masterpiece paintings. Masterworks has securitized over $250 million worth of art for their 235,000 members and was recently valued at over $1 billion, making them the first and only unicorn in the alternative investing space. Invest like a billionaire today with a few easy clicks at masterworks.io/scoop

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“It makes a lot of sense for us to be a crypto first firm.” That’s Jess Turner, Executive Vice President of New Digital Infrastructure and Fintech at Mastercard. On this episode of the Scoop, Turner joined host Frank Chaparro to discuss how Mastercard is continuing to lean into crypto. More than ever, Mastercard and other traditional financial institutions are finding themselves involved with crypto, Turner said. “Whether traditional banks issue crypto in the way it's defined today or not, they're heavily involved today because many of their cards are being used to buy this cryptocurrency.” Mastercard's business includes providing companies with credit card infrastructure. But crypto has quickly become a strategic focus for the payments network giant. Mastercard is also testing how it can add stablecoins to its payment rails as evident in the news that it would serve as a bridge between consumers spending with USDC and merchants. CBDC and Stablecoins Turner thinks that stablecoins will serve as one financial rail among others. Said Turner: “If you think about what you're getting back for, whatever payment mechanism or money movement mechanism you're using, you want to use the one that's giving you the best value for what you're trying to do. And that's why you need kind of this multi-rail choice... Do I believe stablecoin will be part of those choices and continue to grow? I do.” Mastercard is also exploring how it can work with governments and central banks on launching central bank digital currencies. NFTs Mastercard is currently working adding partnerships with NFT companies, including with marketplaces such as Mintable. The company is eyeing an opportunity in expanding consumer access to NFTs as they go mainstream. Turner went on to say that Mastercard is also exploring ways to work directly with the technology, focusing on how NFTs can better create provenance and validity as well as how they can be programmed for value exchange ... For more visit theblockcrypto.com/https://www.theblockcrypto.com/podcasts

Episode 77 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Jess Turner, EVP New Digital Infrastructure and Fintech at Mastercard. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Masterworks Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Masterworks Masterworks is democratizing the exclusive multi-trillion-dollar art world. Instead of needing to write a $10 million dollar check to buy one Picasso painting, you can buy shares of masterpiece paintings. Masterworks has securitized over $250 million worth of art for their 235,000 members and was recently valued at over $1 billion, making them the first and only unicorn in the alternative investing space. Invest like a billionaire today with a few easy clicks at masterworks.io/scoop

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The crypto world has only just begun digesting the finalized crypto reporting requirements from the Financial Action Task Force, or FATF. The years-long process began in the summer of 2019 when the FATF made public its initial version that called for what it dubbed virtual asset service providers, or VASPs, to undertake an unprecedented degree of information-sharing about their customers and the transactions they conduct. Since then, the guidance has gone through numerous iterations and accounted for emerging use cases like decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), to name a few. At the heart of this framework is the so-called travel rule, requiring businesses that facilitate the movement to collect and share information about the parties to a transaction. How VASPs – like exchanges – will comply with this as FATF-supporting countries go live with the requirements is an active and evolving question. In this special episode of The Scoop, The Block reporter Aislinn Keely breaks down the implications of the FATF framework and how it might shape the evolving regulatory landscape in the United States. To unpack the questions at hand, Keely spoke with former FATF executive secretary and current ACAMS director Rick McDonell, Shyft co-founder Joseph Weinberg and Elliptic director of policy and affairs David Carlisle. This special episode takes a closer look at:

What is FATF and why it matters

The implications for less-easily-categorized decentralized finance (DeFi) entities

The travel rule solutions being developed today

How the FATF framework will impact enforcement efforts in the US

Episode 76 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s reporter Aislinn Keely and Rick McDonell, Director of ACAMS & Former Executive Secretary of the FATF, Joseph Weinberg Co-Founder of Shyft, and David Carlisle, Director of Policy and Affairs at Elliptic. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Masterworks Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Masterworks Masterworks is democratizing the exclusive multi-trillion-dollar art world. Instead of needing to write a $10 million dollar check to buy one Picasso painting, you can buy shares of masterpiece paintings. Masterworks has securitized over $250 million worth of art for their 235,000 members and was recently valued at over $1 billion, making them the first and only unicorn in the alternative investing space. Invest like a billionaire today with a few easy clicks at masterworks.io/scoop

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"It's really a matter of moving at the pace of the decisions of institutional players." That's Shaun Martinak, research and portfolio manager at One River Digital, the newly-launched arm of One River Asset Management that's working with clients to add crypto exposure to their portfolios. In an interview during the latest episode of The Scoop podcast, Martinak observed that while institutional players have made headlines entering crypto, some of the largest investors--including pensions and endowments--account for only a small fraction of the crypto market. He believes that, in the future, there will be a place for such investments in the portfolios of these types of investors. "I think between 2 and 10 percent is a perfectly good number," he said, speaking to the penetration of pension funds and endowments into crypto. "And it's a matter of the timeline for education and the timeline for decision making." He said such firms are actively seeking exposure though One River as they actively pitch for their business. "I think the pitch is multifaceted, but it really boils down to: This is an area of fundamental growth at a time where fundamental growth is difficult to find." The metaverse While hesitant to make predictions on cryptocurrency portfolio allocation over the next 12 months, Martinak was enthusiastic about the growth and technological advancement he’s seen in the gaming segment. Ultimately, he sees the possibility of gaming and NFT assets sitting alongside traditional assets in an investor's portfolio. “When I think about the metaverse and I think about what digital assets and crypto primitives bring to existing in a space with other people in a digital environment, it just seems like it compounds how much time and attention we spend on our screens and in our information universe because your bank account is going to live in there with you, your value is going to live in there with you," he said. As Martinak posits: “What is this going to look like in its version of the Super Bowl?”

Episode 75 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Shaun Martinak, Research and Portfolio Manager for Digital Assets at One River Digital. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Masterworks Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Masterworks Masterworks is democratizing the exclusive multi-trillion-dollar art world. Instead of needing to write a $10 million dollar check to buy one Picasso painting, you can buy shares of masterpiece paintings. Masterworks has securitized over $250 million worth of art for their 235,000 members and was recently valued at over $1 billion, making them the first and only unicorn in the alternative investing space. Invest like a billionaire today with a few easy clicks at masterworks.io/scoop

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GSR is building out a space for itself at the intersection of traditional and decentralized finance worlds, according to its newly-minted head of DeFi, Jake Dwyer. During the latest episode of The Scoop podcast, Dwyer explained that the firm is building out the capacity to both create new trading products as well as provide liquidity to DeFi protocols in a way that's more familiar to the traditional finance players who want to become more closely involved. With these plans in hand, GSR expects to contribute more than $1 billion in total value locked over the next year — fueled in no small part by the increase in interest from traditional finance sources. "People are sitting on pretty substantial positions just by being early users in these protocols,” said Dwyer. DeFi vs CeFi In the last six months, GSR has expanded its venture investment activity in DeFi as a more central component of the business, with an eye on fixed income protocols and credit. "You've got things like Aave and Compound and others on other chains for borrow and lend. But we've seen numerous innovations around the second-order derivatives of Swivel and Tempest on the fixed and floating rate interest side of things," Dwyer explained. Dwyer is excited about the collateral and interest rate segment of the market, which he sees as innovating at a fast pace. "I think that a lot of these different sorts of fixed income derivatives protocols that are out there are going to evolve in really exciting ways over the next the next couple of months." He believes that DeFi will eventually match more centralized activities as the market will see increased innovation. Eyeing a multi-chain future Looking to the future, Dwyer said he believes that it will be one marked by a variety of networks that serve different purposes — and in the background, in some cases. "We believe that in the future you're not going to know what chain you're interacting with necessarily or care," he said. ... For more visit theblockcrypto.com/podcasts

Episode 74 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Jake Dwyer, Head of DeFi at GSR. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Masterworks Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Masterworks Masterworks is democratizing the exclusive multi-trillion-dollar art world. Instead of needing to write a $10 million dollar check to buy one Picasso painting, you can buy shares of masterpiece paintings. Masterworks has securitized over $250 million worth of art for their 235,000 members and was recently valued at over $1 billion, making them the first and only unicorn in the alternative investing space. Invest like a billionaire today with a few easy clicks at masterworks.io/scoop

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“We're not art investors. We're investing in things that have communities” On this episode of The Scoop, Adam Goldberg co-founder of Standard Crypto joined host Frank Chaparro to discuss his work as a crypto VC and how his company is looking at the DeFi market in an unconventional way. Standard Crypto is $1 billion in size, according to a source familiar with the fund. Today, their investment team is primarily focused on projects in three areas: infrastructure, networks and apps. Thus far, Standard Crypto has made investments in major companies like OpenSea, Axie Infinity, Matrixport, Aave and Telegram, among others. The firm also has stakes in projects such as Audius, BitClout/Deso and Instadapp. Goldberg framed Standard Crypto's focus on the types of investments that have an ability to execute on and build a community. "When you have a network that's owned by its participants, the rules can't change without the community being on board. And that's what makes us feel like crypto networks are the hardest thing to disrupt that we've ever seen in humanity, in that they evolve with their communities as things change and shift over time," said Goldberg. Gaming and the Metaverse in focus Goldberg told Chaparro that Standard Crypto is actively looking at companies advancing social and gaming projects in crypto. He sees the metaverse convergence of games and in-game economies as a new kind of development that's different from gameplay itself. "You know, Axie is not just a game, it's a new movement. It's sort of like a new generation of Pokemon or of of Angry Birds. And it's possible that we'll see, you know, movies or other types of experiences built around that IP." Said Goldberg. NFTs Standard Crypto is also looking closely at NFT’s, of which Goldberg said he sees a lot of opportunities to capture value as “new types of productive assets”. Standard Crypto are current investors in NFT marketplaces OpenSea and Foundation. ... For most visit theblockcrypto.com/podcasts

Episode 73 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Adam Goldberg, Co-Founder at Standard Crypto. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Masterworks Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Masterworks Masterworks is democratizing the exclusive multi-trillion-dollar art world. Instead of needing to write a $10 million dollar check to buy one Picasso painting, you can buy shares of masterpiece paintings. Masterworks has securitized over $250 million worth of art for their 235,000 members and was recently valued at over $1 billion, making them the first and only unicorn in the alternative investing space. Invest like a billionaire today with a few easy clicks at masterworks.io/scoop

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“When I started to read about smart contracts… my mind exploded.” That's Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave, who joined host Frank Chaparro for the latest episode of The Scoop podcast to discuss his entry into the world of decentralized finance (DeFi) and offer a deep dive into Aave's ecosystem. Among the topics: Aave Arc, the project's institutional product. During the conversation, Kulechov said that he believes smaller banks and private firms will be among the institutional world's early adopters of DeFi. “I think the biggest banks are more in the state of actually learning and getting education on the fly, and they will not be the early movers," he said. "But the early movers will be the banks that are smaller banks, private banks, and are exposed one way into the crypto space." 'MetaFi' As one might expect, the interview with Kulechov swung toward a popular one in the crypto space today: virtual worlds, gaming and the so-called Metaverse, the latter being a catch-all phrase for the different platforms and services that compromise an immersive digital experience. Kulechov likened the way users spend time playing games in the Metaverse to the way people log time in a physical space like a cafe or workspace. “Games becomes more of an economy the same way as we're spending times sitting in a cafe, workspaces or having dinners or meeting friends.” He also related the use of finance tools in DeFi protocols to playing games and shopping in a brand’s store in the metaverse. For Aave in particular, this area is being explored via the launch of Aavegotchi, which began its first land auctions this October. “It's just like a completely new world that can be not just an experiment, but it could become reality," said Kulechov. Beyond DeFi While DeFi remains the focus of Aave, Kulechov sees a range of possibilities for similar architectures outside of DeFi. Kulechov discovered that while DeFi protocols applied nicely to finance, a similar architecture could be created to build a social platform. .... For more visit Theblockcrypto.com/podcasts

Episode 72 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Stani Kulechov, founder & CEO at Aave. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Masterworks Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Masterworks Masterworks is democratizing the exclusive multi-trillion-dollar art world. Instead of needing to write a $10 million dollar check to buy one Picasso painting, you can buy shares of masterpiece paintings. Masterworks has securitized over $250 million worth of art for their 235,000 members and was recently valued at over $1 billion, making them the first and only unicorn in the alternative investing space. Invest like a billionaire today with a few easy clicks at masterworks.io/scoop

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"I noticed it has a big connection to electronic music and that is my biggest passion." On this episode of The Scoop, multi-platinum and Grammy-nominated DJ Alesso and Lin Dai CEO of OneOf joined host Frank Chaparro to discuss why prominent artists are getting into NFTs and how this is signaling a cultural shift for how tastemakers are engaging with their fans today. Alesso explained that electronic artists in particular have taken notice of recent advancements in technology like NFTs and the metaverse as a new means of connecting fans to music and visuals. "I saw the possibility of combining art with music and that made me very interested," Alesso said. OneOf, which is an NFT platform and marketplace built on the Tezos blockchain network, raised $63 million in its seed round of funding from backers such as Quincy Jones to launch this year. The company is focusing on building partnerships in the music industry and hopes to bridge artists like Alesso, Doja Cat, John Legend and others with their fans by producing NFTs with a lower minting cost. "We can offer artists like Alesso a great blank canvas to bring their vision to life without considering how much they have to charge [fans].” Said Dai. OneOf further aims to differentiate their business by connecting their NFT tokens to entries for prizes centered on real fan experiences, such as access to special Discord channels or backstage passes at concerts. Alesso and Dai announced on The Scoop that the Cosmic Genesis NFT will come in four "chapters" with chances to win such tiered prizes, culminating in a one-of-one NFT auction with a ticket for a potential trip to space. Alesso will debut new music attached to the Cosmic Genesis NFT at the Dreamverse launch event at New York's Terminal 5 concert hall on November 4th to coincide with the NFT's launch. ... For more go to Theblockcyrypto.com/podcasts Episode 71 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and multi-platinum and Grammy nominated DJ Alesso and Lin Dai, CEO of OneOf. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Masterworks Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Masterworks Masterworks is democratizing the exclusive multi-trillion-dollar art world. Instead of needing to write a $10 million dollar check to buy one Picasso painting, you can buy shares of masterpiece paintings. Masterworks has securitized over $250 million worth of art for their 235,000 members and was recently valued at over $1 billion, making them the first and only unicorn in the alternative investing space. Invest like a billionaire today with a few easy clicks at masterworks.io/scoop

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The latest data from Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance shows that the U.S. has taken over China as the country with the biggest share of Bitcoin's hash rate. The backdrop of this data shift: the near-complete exodus of bitcoin miners from China, once the undisputed powerhouse for this particular sector of the crypto economy. This historic reversal took place over the course of mere months after China ordered its initial crackdown on the crypto mining space in May. China's government escalated the crackdown even further last month, and major companies like Bitmain have been forced to react. With the effects of China's mining crackdown still lingering, this special episode of The Scoop -- the Mining Report -- features The Block editor Wolfie Zhao and host Frank Chaparro as they discuss the state of mining on an international level as well as the current state of affairs in China today. Some of the topics covered include:

What China's "banned" in 2013, 2017, and 2021 and why this time was different.

The different situation in China for Ethereum miners who rely on GPUs.

Why Chinese miners who owned mining equipment had options in the wake of the crackdown but those invested in mining firms faced tough choices.

Why a comeback in China is unlikely -- and why the U.S. hashrate share is set to keep growing.

Episode 69 of Season 3 of The Scoop Mining Report was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Wolfie Zhao, Asia Editor. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Exodus Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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Robinhood was hit by a slowdown in its crypto business during the third quarter, but the business unit's chief operating officer, Christine Brown, is optimistic. On this episode of The Scoop, Brown told host Frank Chaparro that "business is good" at the brokerage company. "More than 60 percent of Robinhood funded accounts traded crypto in Q2, and now everyone, everyone listening should know that retail is very cyclical," she said, foreshadowing the firm's earnings drop on Tuesday. "There's ebbs and flows." Robinhood reported a decline in crypto activity from its levels in the previous quarter, "leading to considerably fewer new funded accounts." Yet Robinhood hasn't moved as fast on launching new products and listing new coins, allowing rivals like Coinbase to take advantage of hype cycles around cryptocurrencies like Solana and Shiba Inu. And Robinhood's long-asked-for crypto wallet, announced in September, may not launch until next year. "We are actively rolling out the alpha and we have a small group of customers, about five to 10 people, who are going to be actively working with us through the last pieces of the customer experience," Brown said. As for new listings, Brown said the firm is taking a "safety-first approach," indicating the firm won't add new coins anytime soon. "We only have seven coins on our platform. That's an incredibly curated set of assets, especially if you think of other exchanges out there where there might be hundreds," she said. "We want to make sure that what we list makes sense, that we are working with our regulators in the proper way." Robinhood's slow and steady approach to listing new coins was further emphasized by the firm's CEO Vlad Tenev, who said during Tuesday's earnings call that "[t]he regulatory environment, in terms of new coins and lending products in crypto, is uncertain and evolving." ... For more visit Theblockcrypto.com/podcasts

Episode 69 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Christine Brown, COO at Robinhood Crypto. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Exodus Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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"We're stepping more and more into an almost bigger focus in the building in crypto." On this episode of The Scoop, Kanav Kariya, President of Jump Crypto joined host Frank Chaparro for a rare interview to discuss Kariya’s vision for its 100-person large digital assets division. Launched in the late 1990s, Jump is one of the most active trading firms across equities and crypto markets. Kariya spoke about his path from an internship in 2017 at Jump to becoming the president of the firm's crypto wing. "The way things work at Jump is you naturally assume positions and then you're kind of handed the role after," Kariya explained. In addition to market-making and trading, Kariya outlined how the firm is also interested in building new projects. “The possibilities for the space are just far greater than DeFi and financial stuff,” Kariya said. He went on to explain that a big part of the firm’s strategy has been to participate in governance and build on different networks, highlighting projects like Pyth, Oasis and Wormhole. Jump Crypto also has a dedicated staff building on Solana. “A lot of that is in translating the engineering work that we've done on building trading systems and bridging that over the building, tooling and contributing to these open crypto repositories," said Kariya. In fact, he announced that Jump Crypto is focused on putting healthcare networks on-chain via the Oasis Network. Kariya also expressed optimism about non-fungible tokens or NFTs, saying that Jump Crypto is watching the evolution of NFTs as an asset class. “There's no reason that those resources as an asset class couldn't evolve to be like any other tokens or financial products,” Kariya commented.

Episode 68 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Kanav Kariya, President at Jump Crypto. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Exodus Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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On this episode of The Scoop, founder Ari Rubenstein and founder & CEO Ryan Sheftel joined host Frank Chaparro to discuss the launch of their new crypto firm, called Radkl. Radkl, which was born out of trading firm and New York Stock Exchange market maker GTS, is a new digital asset trading business. GTS currently trades hundreds of thousands of financial instruments algorithmically, which according to GTS accounts for some “five percent of the entire US equity markets by volume.” Radkl’s focus on crypto today means providing liquidity and eventually getting into decentralized finance protocols like staking, among other services it expects to offer for its clients. “Being involved in the liquidity provision, in the AMM protocols, and DeFi is an obvious first start” Said Sheftel. The CEO said that he expects traditional CeFi order books to merge with AMM liquidity, and to have Radkl serve that sector of the market. Meanwhile, Rubenstein sees the beginnings of crypto firms as a similar kind of disruption and growth potential for traditional businesses to when capital markets went electronic and online. Rubenstein believes they are early entrants into a growing market, “I think we're going to see a world very soon, Frank, that we see an explosion in a secondary markets for things that formerly didn't have secondary markets that now are made by this digitization of of industries that- I don't mean just financial instruments or digital pictures like entities- I mean lots of other things that could ride the backbone of CeFi and decentralized finance.” Hedge fund investor and owner of the Mets Steve Cohen also announced he will be backing Radkl. Though as of yet, the exact sum of that investment has not been disclosed.

Episode 67 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Ari Rubenstein, Co-Founder and Ryan Sheftel, Co-Founder & CEO at Radkl. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Exodus Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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“For us it’s almost like having a store on 5th avenue”. Atari is gearing up to celebrate its 50th anniversary, and appropriately enough the company is kicking off its half-century birthday not in the physical world, but in the metaverse. Specifically, it is hoping to capitalize off of the "land" it owns in virtual worlds built by Decentraland and The Sandbox. Atari's Head of Blockchain Manfred Mantschev told host Frank Chaparro on The Scoop: “When these plots came up the value of the adjacent plots would go up because people recognized the Atari brand, and that image would basically drive people, drive interest to the whole project. So that's kind of how we got started.” Real estate in the metaverse continues to sell for record breaking amounts. With early hits such as Pac Man, Pong, and Centipede, Atari is known as a landmark maker of arcade games of the 70s and 80s. Today, Atari’s familiar brand is often seen in nostalgia plays for consumers. By appearing in productions like Stranger Things, Ready Player One and Blade Runner the company has found new relevance. Atari is hoping to onboard a wider audience into the metaverse in the same way that big brand storefronts attract shoppers to enter a shopping mall. Its mission now, Mantschev explained, is is to convince users to enter the metaverse, where Atari hopes to be a familiar face in a new virtual world. "The same way a mall wants to have a flagship store in the mall and smaller stores next to it are prepared to pay higher rents just because there is a sought-after anchor tenant in the mall." ... Read more on Theblockcrypto.com/podcasts

Episode 66 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Manfred Mantschev, Head of Blockchain at Atari. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Exodus Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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“It’s a global development.” On this episode of The Scoop, 10T Founder and CEO Dan Tapiero joined host Frank Chaparro to discuss his insights into the globalization of crypto markets and how his macro investing strategy has seen his fund 10T pour hundreds of millions into crypto unicorns. To date, Tapiero has already allocated the majority of some of his funds to companies such as Kraken, Deribit, and Ledger. “We have a portfolio of about 10 to 15 companies that are our targets." Tapiero mentioned how 10T has been helping investors adopt a macro crypto strategy, saying that he’s rejected some 50 plus deals in favor of a more careful approach with a closer guarantee to 5-10x returns. In spite of bear swings, Tapiero remains bullish. "I don't think the valuations of things that we're looking at are high to begin with." Tapiero also observed an "asymmetry" that he credits to the market's resilience. He said he's noticed that as bitcoin upside drives valuations up, any market downsides simply cause bitcoin company valuations to remain relatively neutral. He had this to say: "I saw that you can have a productive portfolio of assets withstand an unbelievable bear market without even having a negative mark. And so in 2018, what brought me to this idea to some degree, was in '18 bitcoin was down 80 percent, Ethereum 95 percent, but a basket of companies that we looked at broadly maintained their value. So to me, that's like mind blowing. I can build a portfolio that has access to all of the upside, not just of Bitcoin and Ethereum, but the entire space without having to suffer, hopefully, much on the downside... For institutions, especially, this is a very attractive type of portfolio." ...

Episode 64 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Dan Tapiero, Founder & CEO at 10T Holdings. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Exodus Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface.

Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control.

Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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Sygnum is one of the few cryptocurrency banks operating in Europe. On this episode of The Scoop, Mathias Imbach Co-Founder and Group CEO of Sygnum joined host Frank Chaparro to discuss the country's crypto ecosystem and how large wealth channels are opening up to bitcoin and other digital assets. “Nowadays, the conversation goes very different," said Imbach. "There's very few banks in Switzerland which have not made it a strategic priority to really think [supporting digital assets] through. Some would still say, 'right now we want to not touch it for x, y, z reasons,' but there needs to be a strategic rationale. They need to have an answer to clients, why they do it or why they don't do it." Sygnum's clients aren't just interested in crypto assets, but all real-world assets that are traded on a blockchain. “It's about creating a more direct link between what we own and how we transfer it,” he said. For that reason, Sygnum is currently exploring the tokenization of wines and other pieces of art for clients who also want to own fractionalized shares of such assets. “If you accumulate 100 percent equivalent of a wine bottle, you can also then burn the tokens and take physical delivery of the wine. So basically, you're creating this digital, but at the same time still a real asset, kind of convergence, where you can take it, use it as an investment opportunity, as a financial gains opportunity, with liquidity along the way.”

Episode 64 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Mathias Imbach, co-founder & Group CEO at Sygnum. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken, and Exodus Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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DARMA Capital's Andrew Keys is a believer in the disruptive power of Ethereum, but he's also concerned that regulators may stand in the way of it. Digital Asset Risk Management Advisors, or DARMA for short, is an investment firm with more than $1 billion of assets under management. DARMA currently holds over 10,000 validators at over 320,000 Ether, Keys told host Frank Chaparro on this episode of The Scoop. “And that's staking kind of an institutional-grade, generating tremendous yield,” said Keys. Keys talked about the firm's journey since launching with just $100 million under management in 2019. He also looked forward, saying that despite the potential use cases of Ethereum and decentralized finance, regulatory headwinds might make it difficult for institutions to engage directly with the market. “I think we are about to witness a regulatory environment that is excruciatingly painful and that is a result of being able to go create a wallet, go on to a decentralized exchange, have a million dollars of X and trade it for a million dollars of Y with no KYC, no accreditation at investor accreditation. And I think that until we start solving some of those problems and self-regulating and complying, the decentralized nature of blockchain is under imminent threat.” In this episode Keys also discusses:

Why the cryptocurrency market is impacted by global market events such as the Evergrande meltdown

How the market has evolved since Keys' early days at Ethereum development studio ConsenSys

Tailwinds for Ethereum and headwinds for Bitcoin

What's behind the market success of competitive Layer-One protocols

The growth of the market for non-fungible tokens

Episode 63 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded at the 2021 Mainnet Conference with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Andrew Keys, co-founder & managing director at DARMA Capital. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken, and Exodus Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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“We are heavily moving into DeFi.” Pantera Capital, the longest operating US based bitcoin investment firm, now manages 5Bn worth of assets. But when it comes to decentralized finance, Pantera’s Franklin Bi still sees the space as undervalued. “As long as we're still looking at the fundamentals and drawing out what the multiples are there, we're still not at the point where you know, you're really starting to see the speculative mania.” On this episode of The Scoop, Franklin Bi Director of Portfolio Development at Pantera Capital joined host Frank Chaparro to discuss the current state of venture capital investment into crypto and how he’s finding value in an increasingly crowding ecosystem. “There's the crypto native side, which I think a lot of new investors coming into the space don't recognize yet. Things like staking, participating in the network, focusing on decentralized governance and how we play a role there. That's all stuff that looks super different from, you know, just showing up at a board meeting once a quarter to review the financials.” Pantera has been investing heavily into DeFi since 2017, and is continuing their ramp up as more investors begin to move away from simply an interest in novel technologies to searching for sustainable yield. Bi observed this shift in investor sentiment as traditional investors are slowly beginning to comprehend the margins of DeFi products. He expressed that certain digital assets companies are still relatively undervalued when compared to public market counterparts. “They're getting valued like traditional financial institutions, which to me, sounds like they're undervalued because the rate at which a DeFi project can grow is on a totally different scale. The profitability margins. totally different scale.” Bi went on to add, “It tells me that they're actually undervalued rather than overvalued.”

Episode 62 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded at the 2021 Mainnet Conference with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Franklin Bi, Director of Portfolio Development at Pantera Capital. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken, and Exodus Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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On this episode of The Scoop, Sky Mavis Games Co-Founder and Growth Lead Jeff ‘Jiho’ Zirlin joined Frank Chaparro at the 2021 Mainnet Conference to discuss their game Axie Infinity. Chaparro and Zirlin cover Axie’s recent growth in popularity, kicking off the ‘Play-To-Earn’ trend in gaming, and how Axie Infinity players in the Philippines and other emerging economies are playing the game to supplement their incomes. To be sure, the project's concentration in the Philippines speaks to how much work the project has ahead of it in making it truly global. Zirlin told Chaparro that Axie's user base has grown from some 38K active users in April to around 1.7 Million active users in August. Interest in the project has since waned given a wider rout in the gaming NFT market, down roughly 45% as per data from The Block, with a weekly volume has decline of about $220M from peak to around $130M. But even Zirlin admitted that interest can wane as quickly as it has built up: "So the cool thing about NFT games or even crypto in general is like we have these very powerful feedback loops that cause over decades or over years, huge network effects. But any positive feedback loop that creates a negative creates a network effect can also run in reverse." Like the emerging markets Axie is popular in, Zirlin noted that the game also shows characteristics of an emerging market economy where "you have hot inflows of money and then also withdrawals." Zirlin announced on The Scoop that Axie is creating their own DEX for the game. Instead of moving funds to wallets and then to an exchange to convert cryptocurrency, players will be able to convert their funds directly to the currency of their choosing through the DEX. "We're also working on an in-house decentralized exchange or a Dex which will be native to our Ethereum-side chain called Ronin." Zirlin said, adding, "I think we really saw the future of the gaming industry and rightly, we've kind of seen the emergence of this metaverse emerging market worker." Axie Infinity recently completed a $7.6 million funding round that included among its investors billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban.

Episode 61 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded at the 2021 Mainnet Conference with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Jeff Zirlin, Co-Founder & Growth Lead at Sky Mavis. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken, and Exodus Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control.

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This week, the world's largest auction house cracked $100 million in NFT sales. Christie’s Noah Davis says they’re just getting started. On this episode of The Scoop, Davis, an associate vice president and head of digital sales at the auction house, joined Frank Chaparro to discuss Christie’s view of the 2021 rise in NFT sales and how the traditional art market and this brave new one are converging and bolstering adoption of a possible blockchain future. “It's incredible that it continues to gather speed and that interest continues to pour in from new corners of the world,” said Davis, a Specialist in post-war and contemporary art. He highlighted a recent uptick in interest in NFT sales with buyers in Asia. Still, that is running up against what could be described as a lull in the NFT market. As per data from The Block, weekly NFT transactions have fallen from highs near 2 million to 315,000 last week. Davis even observed an inverse correlation to NFTs and Ethereum’s price movements. “A lot of people will panic, sell their NFT’s when ETH is mooning and then they collect when ETH is kind of in a lull," he remarked. NFT sales are just the first taste for auction houses like Christie's to possibly one day also move onto the blockchain, which Davis believes could have specific applications for the company. “It would solve for authenticity testing, keeping track of exhibition history, literature references, title disputes, restoration, you name it.” Said Davis, “As far as financials are concerned and deals are concerned, it just is such a better, more democratic way to do business.” Christie’s recently announced that on October 1st they will auction off an NFT set of CurioCards that it is putting up in what will be the world’s first major auction with live bids taken in the form of ETH.

Episode 60 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Noah Davis, Associate Vice President & Head of Digital Sales at Christie's. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken, and Exodus Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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Okcoin, which was founded in 2013, is doing something different in a crowded field of crypto exchanges: it's going to allow clients to denominate trades in bitcoin in units of satoshi, rather than BTC. On this episode of The Scoop, Okcoin CEO Hong Fang joined host Frank Chaparro for a discussion on Okcoin's rapid retail product launches and the hiring growth they've undergone in an effort to compete in the space. She also explained the reasoning for the launch of Satoshi dominated trades. “Our focus and area of kind of innovation driven product efforts on the retail side continue to drive our product offerings. Some of those will also evolve into institutional offerings.” Said Fang. Okcoin announced on The Scoop that they will be launching a “SATs Mode” in an effort to cater to retail client demand for Bitcoin. That SATs mode will mean an ability to package and sell Satoshis, or 1,000th of a bitcoin. Since bitcoin holders often hold only a portion of a bitcoin in decimals, Okcoin wants to make clients feel comfortable with Sats in order to make transactions easier to understand. This announcement comes on the heels of Okcoin's integration of Lightning, the layer 2 micropayment protocol used for for sending small amounts of Bitcoin. Okcoin is expecting to use this retail lead offering as an opportunity to test the waters for such a product for institutional grade clients. In an attempt to capture more DeFi exposure for institutional clients, Okcoin recently also launched an Earn APY offering for institutions following their retail offering. In their view, Okcoin is focusing its business on participating in a decentralized future, though they acknowledge that as DeFi adoption grows the business could still evolve into something very different than an exchange, such as a DAO. “Ultimately everyone will own their own data,” Said Fang.

Episode 59 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded at the 2021 Mainnet Conference with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Hong Fang, CEO of Okcoin. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken, and Exodus Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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Digital artist Pplpleasr believes that the production and dissemination of art represent just the first phase of NFT technology adoption. This week on The Scoop, PplPleasr joined host Frank Chaparro to break down how she created Fortune Magazine's DeFi cover and the role of NFTs in Web3 and the broader art space. Earlier this year, Pplpleasr was commissioned by Fortune to create its first NFT cover. That cover image is a tribute to the NFT community, featuring a number of different well-known avatars. The cover's depiction represents a stark contrast to the often gloomy imagery one typically associates with Wall Street, juxtaposed instead with the colorful, dynamic universe of the online crypto community. Pplpleasr remarked: "The Fortune magazine was something that I think is a special moment for all of us because it sort of represents one of these pivotal moments of traditional media representing the entire community." Still, PplPleasr admits that it's early days for NFT's and platforms on which they can trade — they're are often clunky and have complicated user interfaces. "The technology doesn't even exist yet for us to trade, let's say, assets between different games," said Pplpleasr. "Like, if I wanted to trade an asset from a Riot game to a Blizzard game, that just is not possible. But I do obviously imagine a future with NFT's where that is possible." Today, Pplpleasr sees an opportunity to unlock the power of NFT's in her own way by making it easier for women and people outside the art world to launch their own careers. She recently announced a partnership with the Grammy-nominated musician Steve Aoki to create NFT artworks to be offered at auction at Sotheby's. A portion of the auction proceeds will go to support the careers of women NFT artists.

Episode 58 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded in studio with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Digital Artist Pplpleasr. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken, and Exodus Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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Mike Belshe founded BitGo—the crypto financial services and custody firm—in 2013 with the original intention to help solve a pinpoint he identified when entering the bitcoin market early on: how to store crypto holdings safely. "We forget about how easy loss is", said Belshe. Today BitGo is more wide-spanning than just storage and custody, also covering lending, trading, and prime-related financial services. The firm is expected to complete its acquisition by Mike Novogratz's Galaxy Digital by end of 2021, creating an operation the two Mikes hope will bridge the crypto world with Wall Street. On this episode of The Scoop, Mike Belshe CEO of BitGo joined host Frank Chaparro to talk about that deal between BitGo and Galaxy, BitGo's origin story, and why regulators should embrace the openness of the blockchain. In Belshe's view, regulators—including Gary Gensler of the Securities and Exchange Commission—should actually lean into using blockchain to identify nefarious behavior, and say "wait a minute we have this huge tool, let's use that." In the event that the agency deems most cryptocurrencies as securities—a scenario Belshe said was unlikely—Belshe noted that regulators would lock out the US from the market's innovation.

Episode 57 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Mike Belshe, CEO at BitGo. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken, and Exodus Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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On this episode of The Scoop, Bittrex Global CEO Stephen Stonberg joined host Frank Chaparro for a discussion on Bittrex’s US and global businesses, his outlook on security tokens, and how the company is tackling regulatory tightening in an effort to safely enter markets across the world. In its global business, Stonberg said that Bittrex is testing out lending and staking products as well as dipping its toes into STOs or Security Token Offerings, such as in real estate, stocks, cars, etc. Bittrex test-launched a limited number of what Stonberg termed ‘unsolicited ETFs’ like "Google tokenized and Tesla tokenized" which they are currently only selling to a small subset of clients via their Bermuda license. As the market matures and investors eventually look for yield in alternative products outside of utility tokens, Bittrex is positioning itself to capture that market share. “I would expect that as utility tokens become a more mature market, that you won't see those types of returns," said Stonberg. Stonberg views real estate on the blockchain as one of the use cases that will reshape the industry. In fact, Bittrex is exploring the potential of STO-based tokens, such as in real estate as well as possibly art and IPOs, as Stonberg suggested. “I really think that you're going to see everything being tokenized. Why should we not have real estate tokenized? Like, why should if you're IPOing a company, why does it have to be an IPO? Why can't it be in the venture stage?” As for where competitors are in the adoption cycle, Stonberg added: "Right now, we're in the fund build phase where the regulators haven't caught on yet." However, he did not comment on whether Bittrex has plans at this time to fundraise or enter public markets.

Episode 56 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Stephen Stonberg, CEO at Bittrex Global. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken, and Exodus Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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It has been a wild summer for blockchain project Solana. From the meteoric rise in the price of its native token to technical problems facing NFTs launched on the blockchain, the project has entered the forefront. On this episode of The Scoop, Anatoly Yakovenko Founder & CEO of Solana Labs joins host Frank Chaparro for a deep dive into Solana, which some believe can compete with Ethereum despite being less decentralized. As for price specifically, Yakovenko admitted it doesn't always make sense. "This is just mind-boggling that if the price of Solana doesn't make any sense, then I have no clue why Ethereum has anything in terms of its value," he said, adding: "I don't pay attention to the price so much because I have no control over it and I'm an engineer. So, like, if I can't change it, then it's just like one of these variables." Solana Labs completed a $314.2 million fundraise back in June 2021 (that amount raised is a play on the number Pi). Investors included Andreessen Horowitz, Polychain Capital, FTX via Alameda Research and CoinShares. But as of yet, Yakovenko said much of their capital raise has not been deployed. It is also known for powering Serum, the decentralized exchange launched by Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX. Solana recently launched its Metaplex NFT marketplace, which Yakovenko acknowledged experienced server issues. Still, DeFi comes to the top of Yakovenko's mind as a core use case. “I've really felt that finance was a place where blockchain makes sense," he said. In Yakovenko's view, users could even one day use their own hardware to tap into the network in order to access financial market data as quickly as professional trading firms with access to exchange data. "The network guarantees as close as possible to an impossible problem, which is that information propagates equally to everybody at the same speed," he said.

Episode 55 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Anatoly Yakovenko, Founder & CEO @ Solana Labs. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken, and Exodus Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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Hundreds of institutions are looking to Coinbase as a trusted, publicly-traded exchange to create tailored crypto solutions for them. Now, as traditional finance firms begin to deploy capital into crypto services, Coinbase sees itself at the forefront of facilitating that institutional adoption. “I think we're moving away from the designation of Coinbase as an exchange to being a much more complex organization,” said Coinbase's Greg Tusar, whose crypto brokerage startup Tagomi was acquired last year. On this episode of The Scoop, Coinbase head of institutional sales Brett Tejpaul and head of institutional product Greg Tusar join for a discussion on Coinbase’s pace of growth to meet client demand and how the company is building itself into a full-scale prime broker. “We're focused more on the future of finance and DeFi,” said Tejpaul of Coinbase's goal to combine its custodianship, exchange, brokerage and DeFi services for institutional clients. He went on to say that they have filled out some 250 requests for proposals from clients to build crypto products for their firms. The longest such RFP is a whopping 800 questions long, according to Tejpaul. The execs also touched on Coinbase's role in growing retail interest in stablecoins and altcoins, citing how some 75% of clients own more than Bitcoin, 80% own some Ethereum and Tejpaul estimated that 50% of that group also own at least 5 or more cryptocurrencies. The company is also focusing on growing its product base by creating a variety of familiar instruments for traditional finance institutions, which include providing means for institutions to gain sub-custody, tap into stablecoin utility to leverage DeFi protocols, and by creating capabilities for DeFi, smart contracts, and NFTs for broad institutional participation.

Episode 54 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Brett Tejpaul, Head of Institutional Sales, and Greg Tusar, Head of Institutional Product, at Coinbase. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken, and Exodus Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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FTX.US President Brett Harrison wants the company to be the next Robinhood, and he says they’re listening to every customer's comments to expand their user base and untangle the complexities of building an exchange. “The retail user base wants to be heard," said Harrison. On this episode of The Scoop, Brett Harrison took a break from coding FTX.US to join host Frank Chaparro for a discussion on how the company is expanding its user base and the company's planned entrance into crypto derivatives. Unlike FTX, which is a global business and closed its Series A round of funding in July to the tune of an $18 billion valuation, FTX.US is focused exclusively on the US market. FTX.US, however, stands to benefit from its namesake’s most recent round of funding, of which Harrison said FTX will be allocating an undisclosed portion toward the US business. FTX.US is also focusing on M&A, with an eye to expand its suite of products next year and prepare to go head-to-head with the likes of publicly traded companies like Coinbase and Robinhood. As Harrison put it: "It needs to have all the things that they want to trade." This includes the recent inroads FTX.US has made to unlocking derivatives, which Harrison explained its US arm cannot offer without a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) license. But the company has never shied from pushing the needle on regulation and wants to keep lines of direct communication with regulatory bodies, according to Harrison. "We need to engage [regulatory bodies] in an ongoing way, and so in the cases that we've done that been doing that we've had very positive experiences." Earlier this week, FTX.US announced the acquisition of the long-running crypto derivatives exchange LedgerX and the firm has previously held meetings with CFTC leaders.

Episode 53 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Brett Harrison, President at FTX.US. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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"The market filled your sail with wind and now you're doing a good job of sailing. But are you ready to survive the next time the wind drops?" Blockchain.com, one of the longest operating firms in the crypto space, has been successful at taking the long road. Now the U.K.-based company is building out its stockpile of cash reserves to prepare for a possible ‘Crypto Winter’ on the horizon -- that is, a prolonged downturn in the market. "I think when I look out over the space right now, there's going to be a lot of folks who are unprepared for that," CEO and co-founder Peter Smith told The Scoop host Frank Chaparro. Blockchain.com recently obtained a $5.2 billion valuation following several rounds of funding in 2021, including a $300 million round of funding most recently in March. Chaparro and Smith also discussed some of the on-chain innovations that Smith is looking out for in the immediate future. One such example that Smith believes could invigorate public interest in the space is the launch of on-chain consumer apps, which Smith predicts could begin as soon as later this year. “It's going to lead to an explosion of innovation, probably something like when Apple created the App Store“. He likened the advent of such on-chain crypto apps to the rise of Web apps most are familiar with on their phones or tablets. “You’re on the phone 24hrs a day, the same thing will happen in crypto.” Smith noted that he hopes Blockchain.com could one day become one of the builders of such apps. Smith also highlighted the public interest in whether Blockchain.com may follow other industry companies in going public. He affirmed the company's appetite to one day tap public markets but cautioned that the team is waiting for the right time to take that step. Smith said that the company is currently focused on M&A, with four deals in progress as Blockchain.com looks to step up its market share.

Episode 52 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Peter Smith, Co-founder & CEO at Blockchain.com Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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Franklin Fitch, Head of Growth at Blockparty, sees the commodification of culture as the future of the internet. Indeed, Fitch believes that a well executed NFT strategy could very well be a make-or-break opportunity for legacy brands as well as for the brands of the future: “When you start to connect physical events, digital signaling, memes and collectibles all into one, I think you create this really superpowered sort of wave of commodification of culture and commodification of status and commodification of membership. And also combine that with all the crypto native benefits of global payment rates, easy ability to transact and send peer-to-peer so it becomes really liquid and moves quickly.” As household name companies (such as Visa or Coca-Cola) begin to explore NFTs, Fitch sees an opportunity forming for brands to commodify "what culture is" for their brand and community. He related the growth in NFTs to luxury watches and their collectors, both of which are dependent on a community of buyers to maintain their value. With NFT’s, he argues, the marketplace is built into the ecosystem of NFTs and he believes its ease of access will help to maintain a product's liquidity. Much like the way watches are collected to connote social status, NFT's can actually be built to have additional use cases to unlock VIP access within the Metaverse. Fitch observed how NFT's are being used as a means to unlock experiences within online communities and in the Metaverse: "Now we have ways to codify, financialize, commodify artifacts of culture, and we have ways to communicate them peer-to-peer, socially, signal with them, unlock experiences with them."

Episode 51 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Franklin Fitch, Head of Growth at Blockparty. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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OpenSea's Devin Finzer is just as surprised as anyone to see non-fungible tokens (NFTs) taking off this summer. “None of us expected to hit a billion in transaction volume this month,” said Finzer, describing what he views as "the biggest economy in the history of the internet." During this episode of The Scoop, OpenSea co-founder and CEO Devin Finzer joined host Frank Chaparro for a discussion on NFT’s, the metaverse, and OpenSea’s most recent completed fundraise. OpenSea recently raised $100 million from VC majors such as A16z as well as angel investors like Michael Ovitz and Ashton Kutcher, setting the NFT marketplace valuation at a $1.5 billion value. The company's focus on building a marketplace appeared to bear fruit based on the NFT volume in August for OpenSea. With fresh capital in hand, OpenSea is planning on retooling its systems to make it easier for the public to gain access to the marketplace. Finzer spoke with The Scoop about how OpenSea is improving gateways for the public to purchase NFT’s with a credit card and how the team is working with partners to lower fees for minting, selling and buying. He also touched on how this also includes expanding their blockchain partnerships with layer-1 and layer-2 scaling solutions, such as their recent Polygon integration. Finzer further discussed the Metaverse application of NFT’s as brands begin to buy into virtual worlds, such as Decentraland, in what the startup believes will become the stage for this new economy. “Long term we think NFT’s will be used for all sorts of creative things, across gaming, art collectibles, event tickets, real world items," said Finzer.

Episode 50 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Devin Finzer, co-founder & CEO at OpenSea. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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ConsenSys wants major financial groups to jump into the world of decentralized finance -- and believes MetaMask Institutional can serve as a gateway for such firms. While most listeners are likely familiar with MetaMask, the DeFi wallet that boasts millions of monthly users, MetaMask Institutional (MMI) is a new initiative within ConsenSys focused on providing institutional access to DeFi. Already, the firm counts several large multi-billion dollar crypto-native and traditional funds among its clients, according to Johann Bornman, the initiative's product lead. For bigger investment firms, interest in DeFi centers around exposure to higher yields from lending protocols like Aave or Compound. “Some of them are very active in terms of their yield fund strategies and their yield farming strategies,” Bornman explained during a new episode of The Scoop podcast. “But on average, if you're talking about these larger hedge funds and pension funds that you mentioned and also some of the larger crypto funds, on average, you're seeing them sort of dip their toe into the space.” Bornman added: “And this might entail minting assets or lending assets on Compound and Aave or using some of the most well-known protocols in the space."

Episode 48 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Johann Bornman, product lead for MetaMask Institutional at Consensys. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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Dave Weisberger is a Wall Street vet who saw market structure develop and go electronic. On this episode of The Scoop, the co-founder and CEO of CoinRoutes joined host Frank Chaparro for a walk-through on how far trading in crypto has evolved and why regulators are ignoring these improvements. He remarked: “Firms that are domiciled and regulated out of the United States are at such a massive disadvantage in the growing digital asset world to the point where, as a startup, we had to make a choice to become software only.” Weisberger views the slow regulatory work by the SEC as being harmful to investors, which among factors, is causing exchanges and custodians to put fees and premiums on crypto in order for investors to enter the market. But as the market grows and becomes more differentiated from traditional markets, the crypto “market is getting more efficient," Weisberger said. While the current sentiment sees larger players continuing to find themselves subject to arbitrage fees and the headaches of legal battles, Weisberger believes it won’t last forever: "The settlement costs and the financing costs of doing certain esoteric strategies will ultimately go down dramatically as DeFi finds its sea legs and matures. We're nowhere near that point yet, but the application of that technology is going to be profound as it grows." During this episode, Weisberger and Chaparro also discuss:

Regulatory risks in the US

Rich valuations in private crypto markets

Outweigh benefits to firms headquartered overseas

The completion of CoinRoutes’ Series B round of funding

Episode 48 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Dave Weisberger, Co-founder & CEO of CoinRoutes. This is the first edition of The Scoop’s policy focused series, Policy Scoop. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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A high-wire fight in Washington, DC over crypto tax reporting provisions included in a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill drew widespread attention and impassioned remarks from supporters, opponents and powerful members of Congress. And while Kristin Smith, executive director of the Blockchain Association, admits that the legislation's current language is not perfect, the collective show of force from advocacy groups, business leaders and think tanks was "like no other thing I have experienced in my 20 years in Washington, D.C.” On this episode of The Scoop, Smith joined host Frank Chaparro and senior reporter Kollen Post to discuss the legislation live during the podcast as senators conducted their last vote before sending the bill out of the chamber. According to Smith, the fight over the crypto tax reporting requirements — which opponents say puts undue burdens on businesses that aren't clearly defined as "brokers" of digital assets and at one point risked choosing technological winners and losers — is far from over. In the end, Smith concedes that there ultimately may not be an opportunity to add amendments to the bill. However, the fight put the crypto industry front-and-center in Washington for the first time, with Smith saying: "We went from zero to 60 overnight, and we have caught the attention of the entire policymaking class in Washington." The bill now makes its move into the House which will reconvene in September for next steps. This episode of The Scoop also focused on:

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s position on crypto

The players in the DC crypto scene today

Which policymakers and politicians favor amendments to the bill.

Episode 47 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Kristin Smith, Executive Director at Blockchain Association. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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As new networks are tapping into Polkadot, its co-founder sees a high-stakes battleground forming over privacy and security. "You want to create a system which is upgradable which can adapt to new technologies if you want to be able to stay one step ahead of the curve," says Rob Habermeier, who joins The Scoop host Frank Chaparro for a discussion on how exactly DeFi fits into Polkadot, where he sees privacy and security headed, and the hurdles that Polkadot's so-called 'parachains' face in 2022. Polkadot is still in “very early days”, said Habermeier, in terms of the interoperability of the network’s recently launched parachain functions. “A lot of this interoperability stuff that's been talked about for a very long time is just coming to fruition now. We're seeing the first parachains, we're seeing the first bridges between ecosystems," he says. Polkadot's parachains operate by allowing multiple blockchains to branch off their network. Polkadot deployed its first six parachain partnerships via the Kusama network on July 20. “And those are focusing on, for example, DeFi, on smart contracts, on layer 2 scaling, and on identity secure compute using some secure hardware," Habermeier continues. Habermeier also outlined how Polkadot’s Substrate platform works, on which Compound Labs recently launched a product called Gateway. Substrate works by reordering transactions in a block to suit the needs of DeFi institutions. “You're not going to have your profits constantly cut into by some aggressive miner who's reordering your transactions or sandwiching them,” Habermeier explained. “What that's going to do is essentially make it more difficult to exploit users who are using DeFi systems.” During this episode Habermeier and Chaparro also discuss:

Why Habermeier dropped out of college to build Polkadot

Where security and privacy is headed with blockchain

The challenges of finding and procuring talent in the digital asset industry

Episode 46 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Rob Habermeier, Co-Founder at Polkadot. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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Genesis Global Trading—the New York-based crypto firm that bills itself as a prime brokerage—turned over more than $8 billion worth of derivatives last quarter. Joshua Lim is the man behind those billions as the firm's Head of Derivatives. Lim joined The Scoop this week to unpack Genesis' second quarter report, explaining how new preferences among investors and traders have shaped the make up of derivatives. He told The Block's Frank Chaparro that the growth of crypto-native hedge funds have increased their need for derivatives, including options and futures, to hedge their positions. "I think it's mostly crypto negative hedge funds that we deal with that were more willing to engage with us on hedging strategies," he said. As bitcoin was approaching $55,000, he said many were "looking for attractive pricing on the implied volatility across two different strikes such that they could buy some cheap sort of protection for their portfolio." That desire to hedge among crypto players was echoed in Genesis' report, which was released Wednesday: "As BTC/USD marched to new highs in April, a number of our forward-thinking crypto-native hedge fund and corporate treasury counterparties meaningfully stepped up their systematic put-hedging programs." As for the second-quarter specifically, Lim pointed out a number of trends that played out, including the tightening of the spread between spot and futures and a reversal of the popular basis trade that aims to profit from that spread. In this episode Lim also unpacks:

How the derivatives market in crypto evolved from linear products to a wide-range of products

How the spread between spot and futures can indicate how frothy the market is

The big takeaways from Genesis' second quarter report

What needs to happen in the NFT market for it to support derivatives

The emergence of market neutral strategies in crypto

Episode 45 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Genesis Global Trading's Head of Derivatives Joshua Lim. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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Signs point to the looming specter of regulation slowly bringing the days of bitcoin and crypto's "Wild West" to an end. The only question, perhaps, is if not now, then when? "We’re getting to a boiling point," The Block's Aislinn Keely told The Scoop. On this policy report episode of The Scoop, host Frank Chaparro is joined by The Block’s policy and regulatory reporters — Editor of Wonk Talk Aislinn Keely and Senior Politics Reporter Kollen Post — for an update on where the United States currently sits on the digital asset policy front. Keely and Post covered what a Gensler-led SEC looks like, citing Elizabeth Warren’s letter to the SEC questioning how the US plans to regulate exchanges. Keely and Post noted the potentially risky domino effect of agency mandates on policies such as those that targeted crypto startup BlockFi, particularly in instances for which crypto products mimic savings accounts and securities and don’t have the provision of FDIC backing. Post noted that if the NY investigation of Tether becomes a federal case, it could change the narrative of the White House’s coverage of digital assets in terms of how much cash the Senate wants to monitor the ecosystem. As of this podcast’s publication, The Block received new details stating that an upcoming infrastructure bill in the U.S. Senate will in fact be partially paid for by enhanced tax enforcement of cryptocurrency. Keely also clarified where the US currently stands on Central Bank Digital Currency or CBDC. Keely said that the US is still on the perceived “losing side” relative to countries like China, which is in the process of developing a digitized version of the yuan. The US government has not made any final decisions on whether it will issue a digital dollar.

Episode 44 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Aislinn Keely, Editor of Wonk Talk & Kollen Post, Senior Politics Report at The Block. This is the first edition of The Scoop’s policy focused series, Policy Scoop. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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Access to bitcoin was once a case where “no one wants to be first, but everyone wants to be second”. Now, New York Digital Investment Group, or NYDIG, won’t stop until it’s able to put bitcoin within reach of every American. Patrick Sells, Head of Bank Solutions at NYDIG, explained during the most recent episode of The Scoop how the firm has been amping up its partnerships in order to roll out their bitcoin products now that there is interest being expressed from regional banks. To that end, NYDIG has teamed up with banking service providers, including NCR, Alkami, Fiserv, Allied Payment, Q2, First Foundation, and others. “I think if we kind of pause today and you fast forward to 12 months, you would see over a thousand institutions rolling out NYDIG products," he said, referring to the results these partnerships will yield. "I think we'll see that number grow as we move forward through the next 12 months.” Much of what NYDIG has offered to banks is centered around bitcoin purchases, but the ambitions appear to be broader. Sells discussed NYDIG’s ability to offer credit card solutions and retail lending. Sells said they could offer a service that converts unused hotel points into bitcoin “allowing people to have points and convert those to Bitcoin, that's in some ways the lowest friction path possible from an entry point standpoint or from allowing gift cards to be converted into Bitcoin." NYDIG is also working on providing a way to make it easier for clients to leverage their bitcoin holdings to get approved for loans, according to Sells. Today, most lenders don't consider bitcoin as collateral or a traditional asset. As Sells put it: "Any type of fiat financing for a home, a car, a line of credit, whatever, credit underwriting doesn't take into account your bitcoin, right?"

Episode 43 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Patrick Sells, Head of Bank Solutions at NYDIG. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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State Street made headlines last month, announcing a brand new division covering crypto, digital assets, and tokenization. State Street VP and Head of Global Markets, Nadine Chakar, is leading that charge. Despite the recent price slump in crypto-assets, interest has not abated, she noted in an interview for the latest episode of The Scoop: “The price depreciation has not impacted demand and interest at all. I think we're still seeing a lot of people enthusiastically embracing digital in general, crypto in certain cases. And there's not a day that goes by that you don't see some large hedge fund or some large investor, you know, outlining their support for digital.” To meet that demand, State Street is working with clients on developing solutions that help them allocate to bitcoin and other crypto-assets. It is also a partner to several fund managers looking to offer exchange-traded funds–although, it’s not clear when financial regulators will approve such a product. Still, Chakar said the bank isn’t ready to dive into the market with a custody offering: “We're not going to rush into this unless we can feel very comfortable that we could support the new digital assets with the same rigor that we support the old ones where we're going to continue to work on fine-tuning our models.” Chakar also does not believe that a decentralized banking ecosystem will be built to replace banks or traditional finance institutions. Chakar mentioned pensions plans as an example of a traditional finance structure that DeFi may not be able to execute on. Though it's not an impossibility one day, she noted: “I hate to disappoint people that think the banks are just going to up and disappear and be totally replaced by blockchain.” Nadine sees the balance between the integration of DeFi traditional finance as that “sweet spot” but sees the industry as still at a starting point.

Episode 42 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Nadine Chakar, Head of State Street Digital at State Street. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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GSR’s Rich Rosenblum doesn’t seem to mind the volatility. On this week’s episode of The Scoop, GSR Markets co-founder and President Rich Rosenblum, joined The Scoop host Frank Chaparro for a discussion on the state of the bitcoin market. The price of the cryptocurrency has been gyrating over the course of the last several weeks, even dropping below $30,000 on Tuesday. That bearish price activity, however, is happening against a backdrop of crypto firms raising hundreds of millions in equity financing. Rosenblum cut his teeth as an oil trader at Goldman Sachs before launching the crypto trading firm and market maker GSR in 2013. Today, GSR trades billions of dollars worth of crypto. He said what we are seeing is not a bear market. “I'd say we're in more of a stasis. I think that the market is getting more iterated, more complex than ‘do I buy it and hold it for this rampant bear market or do I get short?’ I think we're a bit in between here.” Indeed, the private market in crypto startups is heating up, with FTX announcing its own $900 million Series B raise this week. In total, data from The Block Research shows companies have raised $6.2 billion this year. Rosenblum added: “So, certainly the private equity companies that are coming to the space and looking there, they've got more firepower than the VC’s and they're not afraid to spend. So there's a lot of building, but the price of a token dropping by 50 percent in two or three months, I think it's pushed away not only in retail, but some of the institutional investors. So the token landscape is a little bit quieter. But as say, it's down but not out.” We also discuss:

The growth of GSR’s team and business operations

Why market makers matter in DeFi

How GSR could make markets in the NFT space

Where Rich is seeing bigger opportunities in crypto trading today

China’s mining ban

Episode 41 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Rich Rosenblum, Co-founder and CEO of GSR Markets. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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Imagine a world with not just a few thousand cryptocurrencies, but billions of them. That's Rally CEO Kevin Chou’s vision. The founder of mobile gaming heavyweight Kabam joined The Scoop's Frank Chaparro to talk about the development of creator coins, which are blockchain-based tokens that are tied to the social capital of a person. “We thought about… if you have instead of just thousands of tokens in the world, but you have millions of tokens, tens of millions of tokens, a billion tokens at some future point in time, how do you create a world where people can easily exchange that value?” To be sure, it’s early days for Rally. The firm has onboarded approximately 160 creators, and that number is growing, with a community that spans athletics, art, and music. Rally is currently working with musicians like Portugal. The Man, as well as streamers, gamers, celebrities, athletes, and others to create their own fungible tokens via their network. According to Rally, the decentralized $RLY Community has raised $108 million to date for its community treasury. The project is offering a platform for creators to issue their own 'creator coins' that allow them to engage directly with fans and offer bespoke incentives — thereby giving them the power to “own their economic destiny," as Chou puts it. But the vision is much broader, according to Chou, who said in the interview: “How do we eventually think about a world where more and more people choose to create their online identity, reputation and financial wherewithal all on a blockchain. And that's kind of the world that we're trying to solve here on Rally.” Chou also discusses:

Rally's plan to create network rewards for creators

How creators are earning significant income already with Rally

How Rally aims to work with regulatory commissions across the globe

Episode 40 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Kevin Chou, CEO of Rally. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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Tom Farley, in many respects, was early to crypto. The 45-year-old — who is best known for his time as the head of the New York Stock Exchange — vividly recalls a conversation with early Coinbase employee Dan Romero, who connected him Coinbase co-founder and fellow Duke alumnus, Fred Ersham. "So I met with Fred and was blown away by what they were doing and agreed to put ten million dollars on behalf of the New York Stock Exchange into Coinbase," Farley said on the most recent episode of The Scoop. He made that investment in 2013. Fast forward to 2021: Farley has officially gone full crypto, announcing last week that he would join EOS-backed crypto exchange Bullish as its CEO following the completion of a SPAC deal that would merge the company with Far Peak, the SPAC company Farley joined after his tenure at NYSE. On this episode of The Scoop, Farley joins The Scoop's Frank Chaparro to discuss the deal, which is expected to be valued at a whopping $9 billion. Farley will enter a crowded market with well-placed competitors like Coinbase, which recently went public at a valuation above $50 billion. Bullish aims to win over clients with a blended market structure that borrows from the DeFi world and centralized exchange space, Farley explained. “Bullish is really tipping our hat to the successful use of liquidity pools and automated market makers, and it's combining them with a CeFi market structure," Farley said. Farley also unpacks:

His journey into the crypto Rabbit hole

The inside story on how the Far Peak/Bullish deal executed

The benefits and drawbacks of going public via a SPAC

How SPAC projections can be problematic for investors

Bullish's blended market structure and the benefits automated market makers add to an exchange platform

Episode 39 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Former NYSE President and Incoming CEO of Bullish, Tom Farley. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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China banning bitcoin has happened so many times it’s become a meme at this point. But with this latest crackdown on China-based miners, there might be no coming back, says The Block’s Wolfie Zhao. “I think the crackdown on bitcoin mining has never been serious. There were a lot of talks in 2018-2019 but there wasn't anything seriously enforced. But this time it seems like there's no way to go back.” On the most recent episode of The Scoop, Wolfie Zhao, Asia Editor at The Block, explained to host Frank Chaparro how the most recent ban is tied to sustainability concerns within the government. As Zhao put it: “So there is the financial side that is cracking down: Banks are cutting funding channels for OTC desks. The other side is the energy angle, which is cracking down on bitcoin miners. That’s why we see Shenzhen shutting down power supplies to bitcoin mining farms… So obviously when the state council made the comment about cracking down on Bitcoin mining, they didn't say we're just going to crackdown on big companies that are using fossil fuel power." "They just said we want to crackdown," Zhao continued. Zhao and Chaparro also explore:

The impact of the Chinese miner exodus on the bitcoin network

How one region tried to buck the broader crackdown

Why the US now has a better business environment for bitcoin miners

The biggest misconceptions about bitcoin mining in China

Why the mining crackdown is not just an ESG issue

For a detailed timeline of China’s crackdown on mining, check out Zhao's full report.

Episode 38 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and The Block's Asia Editor Wolfie Zhao. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control.

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It’s no secret that investors find themselves in a low-yield environment. And that backdrop is forcing investors to explore DeFi. That’s part of the logic behind the recently announced Compound Treasury, a new company that allows investors and firms to access the yields on Compound without engaging directly with the blockchain. On this episode of The Scoop, Compound Labs’ Founder Robert Leshner unpacks how institutional flows hunting for yield are finding their way to DeFi — and how he sees Compound Treasury playing a role facilitating that migration. “Compound Treasury is what we hope is an embodiment of this, where we can source the yields from the compound protocol and pass it to institutional customers and abstract away all of the nuance of interacting with smart contracts and managing the flow of funds." Leshner predicted that over time, DeFi and traditional finance will become more intertwined. “I think over time, yields will converge,” he noted. Until then, fintechs will look to services like Compound Treasury to juice yields which have been on a downward spiral. Wealthfront — which at one point offered a return of 2.5% APY for cash accounts — currently offers 0.10% APY. Robinhood offers 0.30%. There are a number of factors that are playing into high DeFi yields, including the existence of “natural risk premiums” in DeFi compared to traditional technical risks in legacy finance. He posited how DeFi could prove to be more resilient against risk relative to traditional financial systems in the long run: “You have what I would call ‘natural risk premiums’ that exist in DeFi that don't exist in traditional markets. The best being technical risk. So technical risk is the risk that the protocol itself just breaks in an unexpected way. Now, longterm, DeFi is safer infrastructure than anything in traditional markets. The reason being a smart contract when it's immutable, if it works, it'll work forever.”

Episode 37 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Compound Labs' Founder Robert Leshner Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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Anthony Scaramucci — the New York financier and former White House official — first jumped into the crypto fray at the end of last year. Now, Scaramucci is going all in. During the latest episode of The Scoop, the Skybridge Capital founder walks listeners through his journey to bitcoin. Skybridge first began investing in BTC at the end of last year. "We have a full commitment to crypto," he remarked. Since then, Skybridge has thrown its hat in the bitcoin exchange-traded product ring and also plans to launch an ETF that has exposure to publicly traded cryptocurrency companies. Indeed, Skybridge is one of a number of U.S. companies vying to go to market with a bitcoin ETF. But the Securities and Exchange Commission has yet to give the nod to such a product, and the proposed ETF that's furthest along in the process — put forward by asset management company VanEck — is now the subject of an additional comment period. Other companies, like NYDIG, Fidelity and Cathie Wood's ARK Invest, are among those pursuing bitcoin ETF launches. Skybridge also has plans to launch a private Ethereum fund. "July 1st, we're launching a private Ethereum fund. We’ll then file for an ETF for Ethereum. Again, it is anybody's guess when those things will be going," he said. Scaramucci went on to say: "I can say — which is public information — that we did file for an ETF related to Bitcoin. We also have a UIT with a company out of Wheaton, Illinois, called First Trust… as we're speaking, we're making an announcement on an ETF for a digital innovation fund that has some great publicly traded assets that we think are geared related to [Ethereum], related to Bitcoin, but also the other coins." Scaramucci believes he can lean on his Wall Street chops for product adoption. He cited Morgan Stanley’s buy-in to SkyBridge’s digital asset portfolio as another example of Wall Street’s appetite for Bitcoin. “Morgan Stanley is a very big part of our business."

Episode 36 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and SkyBridge Capital's Anthony Scaramucci. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface.

Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control.

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Crypto venture investing is heating up. In 2021, VCs poured $3.18 billion into crypto startups in Q1 2021, an increase from $1.1 billion in Q1 2020. On this episode of The Scoop, Vanessa Grellet, CoinFund’s newly joined Head of Portfolio Growth, joins the show for a discussion on the current state of the crypto venture capital market. “If you compare the deal flow of crypto compared to private equity and hedge funds and the general space, it's still small. And I think there's a few cycles right now. We see the products getting product markets, trade and adoption with consumers. So you see a big deal flow of the more mature series coming up and institutional investors really getting interested here. And then innovation continues at a very rapid pace in the space,” she told The Scoop's Frank Chaparro. Grellet, who previously led strategic initiatives for Ethereum at Consensys, also walked us through some of the investment opportunities CoinFund is eyeing. She touched specifically on NFTs and the metaverse — referring to a convergence of physical and digital lives in a digital space. Grellet is bullish that certain groups will begin spending more time in the digital world, buying up digital land, collectibles, and other NFTs. “[We’re] having digital first generations who are going to live in the Metaverse, who are buying land, who are buying clothes, who are buying experiences there, it creates almost like a second huge market for consumer goods and experience,” she said. (CoinFund is known for its presence in the NFT market, having previously invested in Genies, Upshot, and other NFT groups.) Grellet also teased an upcoming announcement from CoinFund on their new vehicle “Metaversal,” which will help capture consumer interest in NFTs in the metaverse.

Episode 35 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and CoinFund's Head of Portfolio Growth Vanessa Grellet. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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Bitcoin mining continues to make headlines this week as China ramps up its clampdown on the long-running — and once-dominant — sector. In the latest episode of The Scoop podcast, Amanda Fabiano — who leads Galaxy Digital’s mining business — explained exactly what is happening in China, noting that authorities there recently ordered bitcoin mining projects to close in the southwest province of Sichuan. However, this could provide a bull case for North American mining, as miners are pushed out of China in search of areas with cheaper sources of energy like Kazhakstan. “A lot of people have built lives there on Bitcoin mining. They were the first people who dove into how to set up these large mining facilities. They have been holding the Bitcoin network up and running it forever. So I genuinely feel for the groups that have been working on that... On the other side, I think it's really bullish for North American mining. And I also think it's a testament to how the Bitcoin network is so resilient. An entire country just banned Bitcoin mining that is supposedly accounting for the largest hash distribution in the world. And yet the Bitcoin network continues on.” Rising concerns about curbing the energy consumption in bitcoin mining in China have also lead to ESG initiatives in the hopes of producing sustainable mining solutions. But the promise of a sustainable coin seems like one too good to be true. Fabiano dispels some of the misconceptions around bitcoin mining and what it really looks like for a coin to be mined with renewable energy. “So when we think about the amounts of electricity, for example, that's lost in energy end transmission and distribution it's 19 times that of the Bitcoin network. And the energy footprint of always-on electrical devices in America is 12.1 times that of the Bitcoin network," Fabiano said, adding: "But what we always hear is how Bitcoin is ruining the world. We don't care about how your toaster being left on is ruining the world because people don't care that much about it. I think it's really easy to pick on bitcoin’s energy consumption because it is so transparent."

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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The slump in prices across the cryptocurrency market has hit DeFi hard. On this episode of The Scoop, The Block's Mika Honkasalo walked us through The Block's Data Dashboard to illustrate the impact of the decline in retail interest across non-custodial trading venues. The most notable area of weakness is demand for trading with leverage on decentralized derivatives venues such as Perpetual Protocol, which are "more reflexive versions of DEX's themselves," according to Honkasalo. "And this is where the trade volumes have really dropped off—almost 80 to 90 percent." DEX volumes on venues like Uniswap and Sushiswap have held up a bit better, but are down around 50%, according to Honkasalo. Still, there are some areas of growth despite the overall market doldrums. Lending protocols, for instance, have seen growth recently. Outstanding Aave debt has surged and clocked in fresh all-time highs earlier this month. Honkasalo ties this to a thirst for dollars in the market. Yearn is another example "of where the money is going," Honkasalo added. According to the Data Dashboard, total value locked in Yearn vaults hit an all-time high above $5 billion this month. Looking to the future, Honkasalo said that it will be interesting to watch how technical improvements in DeFi help sustain future periods of price appreciation, noting that the most recent cycle was stunted by scaling limitations. "Ethereum ran into this problem where no one could really use Ethereum when it was really really popular, and now that we have these layer two solutions coming up like Arbitrum and Optimism, it may be that the last time was really the last time where as soon as activity picks up it becomes immediately way too expensive for users, and that's the path to the excitement dying down," he said.

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Bitwise, the $1 billion-plus crypto asset management firm, announced a Series B funding round to further advance its index and fund products on Wall Street. With the raise, Bitwise became the latest startup in the digital asset industry to raise fresh capital amid a period of heightened interest from institutions and their clients. In this episode of The Scoop, Bitwise co-founder and CEO Hunter Horsley explained how the industry is creating access for new classes of investors. In Horsley’s view, traditional portfolio managers and financial advisors remain an untapped market for the nascent crypto asset management industry. In terms of the volatility, Hunter sees this as a positive. For Bitwise, volatility means the opportunity for financial advisors to enter the cryptocurrency market by adopting crypto as another asset class in a client or portfolio’s diversification strategy. “The volatility of crypto is a magical gift for a financial advisor. What do I mean by that? If you're an individual who downloads one of the incredible apps that you have today, you see this jagged price chart, this twenty-four-hour price chart. Right. It's very scary, prone to emotional trading. And that's the scary version of volatility. If you're a financial advisor constructing a portfolio that you want to have certain low correlations, you want to have a certain Sharpe ratio, you want to balance across different asset classes. Well, in that case, crypto volatility is actually very useful.” Looking back to Bitwise's latest round, the startup managed to attract notable backers. Indeed, some of the investors involved in raising the Series B round were industry heavy-hitters.As Horsley put it: “[The Series B Funding was] collected by Elad Gil, one of the most accomplished technology investors, Electric Capital, one of the leading crypto venture capital firms and some renowned Wall Street investors; Dan Loeb's Third Point, Daniel Ochs Willoughby, Louis Bacon’s Moore Strategic Ventures, Henry Kravis, Stanley Druckenmiller and [Bridgewater CEO] Dave McCormick.” This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Eventus, Kraken, and Exodus Eventus is the leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, transaction monitoring and market risk solutions. Eventus offers a powerful, award-winning trade surveillance platform that is easy to deploy, customize and operate. Eventus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments and supports many of the industry’s leading crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini, ErisX and OSL. The company’s rapidly growing client base relies on Eventus’ responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer for the Human Rights Foundation, is excited about the implications of El Salvador's adoption of Bitcoin. Last week, Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador, sparked shockwaves across the bitcoin community with his Miami conference announcement of a proposed bill to declare bitcoin as legal tender in the country and mandate its acceptance as a means of payment. Earlier this week, the bill was formally introduced and then signed into law. During a new episode of The Scoop, Gladstein explained what's happening in El Salvador and the ramifications from a domestic and international human rights perspective. Gladstein pointed out that it's significant that El Salvador opted for bitcoin versus building a digital currency the government could have more control over. Gladstein also unpacked what the move means for bitcoin’s role as a form of money. While major Wall Street firms have invested in bitcoin over the last year in part for its use case as digital gold — an inflation hedge — Gladstein says that bitcoin’s role as a quick, borderless payments vehicle is becoming increasingly important. Developments like El Salvador making bitcoin legal tender and advancements in the build-out of Lightning, a bitcoin scaling project, are fueling that shift, according to Gladstein. “Most people don't think bitcoin is money, but what if it was actually turning into money? What would that look like? What would that seem like?... And that's literally what we're watching unfold," he said during the interview, noting: “[Bitcoin] has these remarkable properties that allow it to enable connections between people in different places in the world. So I guess my argument is that we're kind of entering this next narrative phase of Bitcoin, what we perceive it to be, and it being enacted or adopted by a country not as an asset necessarily on the central bank balance sheet, but as legal tender.” As for what this means for the people of El Salvador, specifically, Gladstein said that it will help bank many unbanked citizens. “70 percent of the country doesn't have a bank account, but more than 50 percent of the country has Internet access. So there is a significant overlap there of people whose lives are being changed as a result of this.”

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Aya Kantorovich, head of institutional coverage at FalconX, has been experiencing a bit of déjà vu. Kantorovich, a former associate at crypto hedge fund Pantera, joined The Scoop to unpack the crypto market's recent bouts of volatility and how the market is stuck in a cycle of retail-led drawdowns. FalconX — an aggregator of crypto trading flows — has a window into both the retail and institutional market. According to Kantorovich, liquidations across off-shore market venues, cascading liquidations, and the inability for traders to access crypto exchange platforms drive prices down. When money can't move around, price drawdowns are amplified. "We saw $2 billion worth of liquidations happening across BTC," she said. "Retail liquidations was a large portion of this ... and then a cascading effect." "When you have this level of heightened volatility you see some exchanges begin to shut down their trading capabilities and when these centralized trading platforms shut down those capabilities then traders don't have the ability to top off on their margin so you see a continued cascade," she added. Kantorovich doesn't think this is a cycle that will break because many new institutions have to sell when the price reaches a certain threshold. Unlike crypto native whales, which have driven the buying at the dip, large billion-dollar plus asset managers "have a completely different level of drawdowns that they're allowed to maintain." "Let's say the market falls down by 30%, they have a fiduciary obligation to take money off the table," she said. "These aren't the momentum diamond hands that we're so used to seeing in crypto." "I think the reason for that is we are going to continue to see institutions that do not have a momentum-long venture persona ... and that could be both good or bad for the space."

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Elon Musk's trigger-happy Twitter fingers have left the bitcoin world in a tizzy in recent days. As the Wall Street Journal noted in a recent piece, Musk has become bitcoin's "biggest influencer" — much to the dismay of many evangelists. Since he first tweeted that Tesla would stop accepting bitcoin as payment because of environmental concerns, bitcoin has fallen about 40% from its all-time highs. More recent tweets about Musk working with North American miners on addressing environmental concerns have pushed the crypto from lows near $30,000. On this most recent episode of The Scoop, Martin Green, who leads quant investment firm Cambrian Asset Management, explained why Musk's tweets are having such an outsized impact on the crypto market. In Green's view, it's not so much Musk's tweets that matter but the environment into which he is tweeting. "Often the news itself, like Elon's tweet, would have a different consequence in a different situation," he said. "You can light a match in the middle of my driveway... you can take that match and drop it on the floor in an open space. Monstrous difference in the consequences. Still the same match." Green said that the crypto market has been primed to overreact to market news thanks to the amount of leverage in the system, which creates "a cascading of selling pressure." The lack of institutional spot buying recently has added fuel to the fire. Still, Green said there are a number of tailwinds for the industry. He said that there are macro forces that indicate that institutions are under-allocated to the crypto market, noting specifically that Ethereum is "quite under-owned." This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken, and Exodus Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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In Vance Spencer's view, the market is completely undercounting the amount of capital that's about to move into the crypto world from institutional investor circles. The co-founder of the $1 billion-plus investment firm Framework Ventures would have a good sense of that trajectory, considering how Framework wrapped up a $100 million fundraise for a new fund in the decentralized finance market. Announced Friday, backers of the new fund include the $40 billion investment firm Hall Capital Partners and unnamed endowments, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. Spencer joined The Scoop (prior to the raise being made public) to unpack the case for Ethereum, which powers much of the DeFi market, the impact of Dogecoin mania, and institutional adoption of crypto. "The resounding sense that I get is that people are underestimating the amount of capital that's coming off the sidelines by probably 1 to 2 orders of magnitude," Spencer said. Spencer said that Ethereum and Bitcoin are the two cryptos that are "on the menu" for the large investors and are both "nowhere near a top." Still, he added that the story of Ethereum "has a lot more to be told in a world where there is not hyperinflation or there's not all these crazy things happening than [bitcoin's story]."

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken, and Exodus Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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Wall Street is embracing crypto one headline-driving development at a time. From Goldman Sachs to Morgan Stanley, major banks are moving from exploring the digital asset world to fully operating in it. Goldman, for instance, announced Friday it would restart its market for non-deliverable forwards tied to bitcoin. Both Morgan Stanley and Goldman have said they will offer their wealthiest clients exposure to bitcoin. But one channel that has yet to fully embrace crypto is the independent wealth management market. Josh Brown — the brains behind the well-followed Reformed Broker blog — is among the legion of wealth managers who have yet to start advising their clients to buy crypto. The CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management joined The Scoop to talk about how financial advisors are examining the fast-growing $2 trillion market, why he is skeptical of non-fungible tokens and decentralized finance, and how Covid-19 turned the idea of risk on its head. Here's a blurb from the show: "The most concerning is that what we’ve just witnessed completely flipped the entire concept of risk on its head because we’ve just had the biggest risk in 100 years. We had Spanish Flu 2.0 in the modern era, like traveling three times faster than the 1918 version, right? Like the biggest risk you could think of, millions of people suddenly dropping dead from a global pandemic. It turned out to be one of the biggest opportunities. And you didn’t have to wait three years or eight years like the Great Depression to figure that out. Literally. The stock market fell for 16 days and stopped. Think about that. So what even is risk anymore? What if I tell you the next thing is a nuclear bomb going off somewhere? Dow Jones might go up 50%." This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken, and Exodus Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information About Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today. About Exodus Exodus is leading the world out of traditional finance by building beautiful and user-friendly crypto products. Forget having to learn the nuances of different cryptocurrencies. Exodus is designed for everyone and hides the complex details behind a beautiful and intuitive interface. Buy and sell one cryptocurrency for another from the comfort of your wallet, in seconds. Funds remain under your full control. Secure, manage, stake, and exchange all of your favorite cryptocurrencies from one wallet. No account registration is required. Download Exodus at Exodus.com or directly from Google Play and the iOS App Store and you’re ready to go.

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It's been an impressive month for the digital assets tied to billionaire crypto exchange executive Sam Bankman-Fried. Solana, the layer-1 blockchain competitor to Ethereum, has seen its price surge 47.8% over the last month, according to CoinGecko. Bankman-Fried is one of Solana's most prominent supporters. Meanwhile, Serum, the Solana-based DEX, has seen its native token Serum increase by nearly 62% over the last seven days, Coin Gecko data shows. During this episode of The Scoop, we dive deep into the Solana and Serum eco-systems. Sam Bankman-Fried explains why FTX decided to launch a decentralized exchange on Solana versus Ethereum, which supports the vast majority of non-custodial protocols. "Any products that we tried to build or that even that we tried to scope out — we originally were just definitely going to build on Ethereum because that's where everything was — product after product got into the same death dial which was 10 transactions a second for the network was just not enough," Bankman-Fried said. Solana's blockchain promises more scalability through a new consensus mechanism known as Proof of History. It appears to be favorable among traders. Serum, which FTX announced in July, has seen its trading volumes top $1 billion last month, as per The Block's data dashboard. Of course, the benefits of a more scalable blockchain raises questions about decentralization. He said that there are limitations relative to Ethereum, but it is possible to get a lot more participation than other more scalable blockchains. "Solana has gone down in the direction of saying, hey, look we want the performance of blockchain to be an important criteria of it and we care a lot about the efficiency and scaling and economics of it," he said. "While also wanting there to be a sufficiently big group of nodes. Now, what does sufficiently mean? I don't know. Different people have different thresholds. Right now, they're about 600 active nodes on Solana." "At that level, you're certainly going to be in the position where everyone in the world is running a Solana node, but you could be in the position where 5% of the world is running one," Bankman-Fried added. "You can't get the same number as you can with Ethereum."

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It was a tweet heard 'round the crypto world. A breaking news account fired off, in all caps, an unsubstantiated headline that the U.S. Treasury Department was set to crack down on a number of unknown banks for their activity in the crypto market. Soon after the tweet's release, several industry insiders — including the Blockchain Association's Kristin Smith — threw cold water on its key claim. "There's a lot of rumors going around that don't have any truth of foundation," Smith said. In this episode of The Scoop, Smith unpacked the erroneous rumor, why U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen isn't making bitcoin a priority right now, how crypto policy works, and why crypto market participants should be concerned about the Financial Action Task Force decision coming this June. As Smith put it during the interview:

"The thing that we do have to worry about at Treasury isn't coming from the top people as I said but Treasury's interaction with the Financial Action Task Force or the FATF. The FATF has proposed something that is fairly scary ... if adopted would require a lot of different entities in the U.S. to register as money services businesses." Smith went on to add: "The threat right now is not Yellen."

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Apex Clearing facilitates more than 1.7 million trades a day as the clearing and custody firm behind hundreds of fintech trading platforms. The firm, which entered the crypto market in 2019, provides more than 200 companies, including the likes of Stash, Public.com, and WeBull, with the technology to clear stock trades. At one point Apex also powered Robinhood's platform before the California-based firm launched its own clearing solution. On the crypto side, Apex Crypto helps brokers create their own crypto trading products. That business touches more than 1 million retail clients today. This past weekend, Apex began supporting Dogecoin, unleashing the meme-coin on more than 13 million end-clients. It was good timing considering the price of the coin has whipsawed as retail traders turned their attention toward that particular cryptocurrency market. In this episode of The Scoop, Apex Clearing CEO Bill Capuzzi talks about the growth of its crypto business, what drew it to the dogecoin market, and why stockbrokers will ultimately break into the non-fungible token (NFT) space. "We opened close to 150,000 accounts since we announced and launched Dogecoin from Saturday until today," Capuzzi said, adding: "They’re hearing it from their end customers. Right. So the end customers are raising their hands and saying, hey, we’d like access to Dogecoin through WeBull, and WeBull is leveraging Apex on the backend."

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Crypto brokers are making money hand over fist. The direct listing of Coinbase put on display just how much money such firms are making, with the exchange reporting nearly $2 billion in revenues during the first quarter of 2021. Much of those revenues were transactional and from trades made on its retail brokerage platform. Other large brokerages want in on the action, according to Edward Woodford, CEO of crypto firm ZeroHash. The Chicago-based firm works with brokers to jumpstart their own solutions to serve retail clients. On this episode of The Scoop, Woodford joins options brokerage industry trailblazer Tom Sosnoff to discuss why brokers want to create one-stop shops for their clients by incorporating crypto trading as well as the revenue opportunities crypto presents. Sosnoff founded tastyworks, which began offering crypto through a partnership with ZeroHash announced at the end of last year.

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt and Kraken Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today.

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Bridgewater, the world's largest hedge fund, isn't convinced by the bitcoin narrative yet, but it's listening. On this week's episode of The Scoop, Bridgewater's director of portfolio strategy Jim Haskel said he's not surprised by the growing institutional interest. Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio previously said he didn't see bitcoin's merits as a currency, but he amended his statements in a newsletter published earlier this year. "I believe Bitcoin is one hell of an invention," Dalio wrote at the time. Haskel said Bridgewater remains skeptical but also recognizes bitcoin's "fantastic" attributes. Though the cryptocurrency's price remains volatile and lacks some of the characteristics of traditional wealth from Bridgewater's point of view, Haskel says he sees potential. "What I would say is that we certainly have not rejected it as a potential store hold of wealth," Haskel remarked. "We just wouldn’t use it in big size yet." On this week's episode, Haskell talked about Bridgewater's unfolding bitcoin strategy as well as:

If it's still possible for funds to have access to unsustainable levels of leverage

Whether the inflation alarmists are justified

What the impact of continued recovery will be on assets and how that affects alternative allocations

How Bridgewater started considering bitcoin as an inflation hedge.

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt and Kraken. Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today.

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Miami Mayor Francis Suarez turned heads earlier this year when he said he wanted the Florida city to add bitcoin to its treasury. Now, Suarez is pushing a commitment for the city to explore crypto by turning his attention to Ethereum. According to a new episode of The Scoop, Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin and Suarez announced that they have embarked on a new collaborative project focused on city services. To be sure, it's early days for the initiative, but the two have met on two occasions now and talks about the scope of the initiative continue. "We're trying to come up with a project that goes through the foundation and directly with Ethereum that we can do with the city," said Suarez. "We want the city directly involved in a way that demonstrates the applicability of the software so that we can continue to provide better services for our residents." There's a bit of history underpinning the developments: it was in Miami that Buterin, in 2014, first unveiled Ethereum to the world during a presentation at the Bitcoin Miami conference. According to Suarez, decentralized information systems are becoming a priority for Miami, especially with looming security concerns like the upcoming hurricane season. During this week's episode, Suarez and Buterin, along with Cryptex founders Preston Van Loon and Joe Sticco, also discussed:

How the Ethereum ecosystem can help create jobs in Miami

The ways in which decentralized systems would benefit the city, like the transfer of title records for real estate

Why now is the time to start building a project like this despite Ethereum's scalability issues

How Florida is trying to join Wyoming in becoming the next regulatory bastion for crypto.

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Michelle Bond has been focused on financial regulation for decades, and a turn to crypto policy a few years ago led her to take the helm at the Association for Digital Assets Markets by the end of 2020. ADAM is a trade association for crypto markets, featuring a code of conduct that requires its members to commit to operating with certain requirements of transparency and speed. "ADAM is 100% a standards-setting body," Bond said during the most recent episode of The Scoop. ADAM's membership includes such industry players as Anchorage, Paxos and Genesis and the group functions as a collective voice for its members. The group's ultimate goal is to provide for the crypto market what FINRA is to securities brokerages: an industry-spearheading body for self-regulation. "We would like to, one day, become a self-regulatory organization. We believe that that is not something that is decreed, that is earned. At the current moment, we're setting the standards," said Bond. Among major issues of the day, Bond noted that industry participants are awaiting a response from the Treasury's FinCEN office on the recently closed comments on its proposal to monitor rules. Less publicized but still critical is custody. Financial regulators in Washington, Bond said, "are 1,000% asking questions and grappling with custody." As always, writing up such policies for crypto finance entails a combination of technological and legal savvy. This is where self-regulation comes in. Though Bond, like much of the industry, lamented the lack of coherent frameworks from financial watchdogs like her former workplace, the SEC, she identified the situation as fairly standard: "Regulators will never come right out and endorse anything. That will never happen. And that makes sense; that's not their job." But by presenting a code for how to operate in today's fast-moving crypto market, ADAM aims to accomplish what regulators have not. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt and Kraken. Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today.

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After much anticipation, Uniswap v3 — the latest upgrade to the Ethereum-based decentralized exchange — was announced Tuesday. On this episode of The Scoop, The Block Research's Mika Honkasalo walked through the designed upgrade, explaining the significance of Uniswap's adoption of "concentrated liquidity" which aims to make trading on the platform more capital efficient. In Honkasalo's view, this move will help with the adoption of Uniswap among traders and perhaps serve as a tailwind for the broader DeFi market. "I think this is why Uniswap really had nowhere to go in their design except move towards this sort of active liquidity provision because that’s something that works with traditional markets,” he said, adding: "I think what this unlocks next is the possibility to support just more volumes, especially in combination with the L2 launch, which hopefully comes very quickly after the L1 launch is to really start competing against centralized exchanges." Uniswap v3 — set to be implemented in May — will also include Uniswap's adoption of scaling solution Optimism, which aims to reduce gas fees.

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Digital artist Beeple sold his collection of 5000 daily works for a whopping $69 million in a Christie's auction last week. That's the third-highest auction price on record for a living artist, but the sale was record breaking for another reason — it was sold as a non-fungible token (NFT). In recent weeks, NFTs have soared in popularity, and that's created opportunities for big and small artists alike to generate value for their work. The Block's Saniya More sat down with Cory Van Lew, an artist who's been tokenizing his work on SuperRare, with some pieces going for tens of thousands of dollars. He's taken a lot of that profit and reinvested it in the NFT market by supporting other artists, but he has even bigger aspirations — he's just started the process of creating his own NFT gallery in the physical world. On this week's episode of The Scoop, he talked about what a merged digital and reality gallery would look like, as well as:

How Van Lew began his career as an artist and how that led him to tokenizing his work.

The nuts and bolts of turning a creation into an NFT.

Why holding NFTs creates different value than say holding a print of an artwork.

His take on the energy use conversations surrounding NFTs.

Why the NFT community is a supportive space for creators and collectors.

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Fidelity Digital Assets — the cryptocurrency division of multi-trillion asset manager Fidelity — is among the several firms riding the institutional bitcoin wave. FDA, which launched amid a bitcoin bear market in 2018, offers trading and custody services to a wide range of institutional firms. On this episode of The Scoop, Fidelity's Christine Sandler — a veteran of the trading world — walked through the breakneck growth of the crypto market in the past six months and explained how Fidelity has positioned itself during this period. Sandler, who previously held positions at Coinbase, New York Stock Exchange, and Barclays, said Fidelity's crypto unit experienced 4x growth during 2020 and is currently working with hedge funds, corporates, family offices, and registered investment advisers. "Our overall account growth was absolutely phenomenal," Sandler said. "We saw participation across all segments. So whether it was corporations adopting it and putting assets on their balance sheet, or hedge funds beginning to approach this from a strategic perspective, registered investment advisors, family offices, ultra-high net worth individuals." Fidelity also works with large banks on sub-custody, according to Sandler. She said that these banks have sought out partners as they look to enter the market. "They’re starting to see more of their core customers adopt either strategies or maybe think about launching an asset management business in the space and perhaps this creates this opportunity that it’s not this fledgling business anymore," she said. "It is potentially much more viable." Sandler also discusses the growth of the crypto credit market, women in the crypto market, and rich crypto valuations during this episode of The Scoop. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt and Kraken Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today.

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The market for non-fungible tokens, digital collectibles, and tokenized music is hitting the mainstream. On Thursday, Beeple's NFT-powered suite of 5,000 images sold for a staggering $69 million, making it the third-highest figure paid for work by a living artist. Indeed, the sale sent shockwaves across the broader press, cementing NFT's place in the mainstream consciousness. The market has been growing at a fast clip, with weekly users on NFT platforms soaring from around 20,000 at the beginning of the year to nearly 200,000 this week, according to data from The Block.

On this episode of The Scoop, The Block's Frank Chaparro and Ryan Todd unpack the market's recent headlines with DJ and music producer 3Lau. Performing artist 3Lau has long been focused on the intersection of music and crypto. Recently, he tokenized an album in a move that netted the Long Island native more than $11 million. In this episode of The Scoop, the group discusses how tokenization will usurp record labels and put more money in the pockets of artists, his plans for helping more artists get involved in NFTs, and what makes this current crypto boom cycle different from the initial coin offering rally. "You have these middlemen that have capitalized on artists' emotions and their lack of financial savviness," he said, describing the record labels and managing companies that capture much of the value from a musician's work. Through NFTs, artists can now engage directly with their audiences. "Beeple is an example of that as someone who makes amazing stuff. Will there be speculation in the short term? Yes. Will there be innovation in the long term? Yes," he said, adding: "But in the end, just like with any market, there is a period of price discovery and that's what we're going through right now. The difference between this and what happened with the ICO boom in 2017: back then, people were buying ideas that could barely be delivered upon. Now people are buying things that give them emotions."

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The market for non-fungible tokens and digital collectibles has been growing at a breakneck pace, with projects like Dapper Lab's NBA Top Shot seeing user activity and transaction volumes soar. Since the beginning of the year, the burgeoning market — which runs the gamut of sports collectibles to digital cats — has seen more than half a billion in weekly trade volumes, according to data compiled by The Block.

On this episode of The Scoop, Gary Vaynerchuk — the Internet personality, entrepreneur, and CEO of VaynerMedia—broke down what's taking place beyond the hype and why he thinks NFTs are going to be the internet's next big thing after the development of social media. Vaynerchuk is best known for his angel investments in tech giants like Facebook, Twitter, Venmo, and Uber.

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ARK Invest has had quite the 2021. Since the beginning of the year—underpinned by unprecedented trading volumes and retail activity—ARK has seen its assets under management soar, buoyed by its bets high-growth tech stocks. Many of the names ARK has backed overlap with the stocks that have become darlings among the Wall Street Bets crowd. Indeed, ARK has grown into a heavy-hitter on Wall Street, with the Wall Street Journal referring to founder Cathie Wood as having on of "Wall Street's hottest hands." The latest few trading sessions, whoever, the firm has experienced a reckoning. The firm's Ark Innovation fund—which includes Tesla, Square, and Silvergate—has fallen sharply past the overall market, as The Journal noted. The $23 billion fund is down more than 30% off its highs. On this episode of The Scoop, Brett Winton—the firm's head of research—breaks down the firm's insurmountable rise, the recent market volatility and macro backdrop, Wall Street Bets and the explosion in retail trading, and the big ideas within the crypto and bitcoin that ARK finds interesting. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt and Kraken Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today.

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Led by Ethereum 2.0 developer and Prysmatic Labs founder Preston Van Loon and Joe Sticco, Cryptex is set to launch the mainnet of its token TCAP in the next few weeks. Already, the firm has lined up 500 users for its testnet, including a number of liquidity providers in the US. On this episode of The Scoop, Sticco and Van Loon breakdown the launch of their token, which offers investors a way to buy the entire crypto market, how DeFi can offer an alternative to indexes popular on Wall Street, and the scaling solutions being explored in Ethereum. This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt and Kraken Bakkt Bakkt® unlocks the $1.2+ trillion of digital assets that is currently held in cryptocurrencies, rewards and loyalty points, gaming assets and merchant stored value. We began in 2018 with the vision to bring trust and transparency to digital assets. Through the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt Bitcoin Futures and Options contracts, we serve institutional clients in an end-to-end regulated market with true price transparency. For consumers, Bakkt aggregates digital assets to enable instant liquidity and to empower users to trade, transfer and pay however they want. Visit Bakkt.com for more information Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today.

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Regulators in Canada approved two bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in recent days, marking the first approvals of their kind for North America. Since launch, the products have seen considerable inflows. With the demand for a bitcoin ETF now proven, many wonder what a Canadian approval could mean for a U.S. offering. The Scoop spoke with Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, about what an approved bitcoin ETF means for the landscape. During this week's episode Balchunas broke down the winding road to approval and why Canada was always likely to be a first. Now that Canada has its BTC ETFs, he argued that an approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is just around the corner. "I think it's just a matter of the SEC coming around, and then once they come around mentally, I imagine it will happen pretty quickly," he said. "But again, I'm not in that bubble. I'm not a regulatory analyst. That's just my sense from talking to people."

How Canada has historically been a proving ground for novel financial products.

The differences and similarities in the Canadian and U.S. approval processes.

Why Balchunas thinks 2021 will be the year of a U.S. BTC ETF approval.

Why it's only a matter of time before a meme ETF launches.

This episode is brought to you by Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today.

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Thursday morning, Coinbase's S-1 filing went public, revealing for the first time details about its financials, cap table, and its pitch to the investment world ahead of a planned direct listing on Nasdaq. In this episode of The Scoop, The Block's director of news Frank Chaparro and director of research Larry Cermak unpack the S-1 filing's headline-grabbing sections and the broader implications of Coinbase's plan on the broader bitcoin market. Coinbase has been preparing to go public for several months. For the past several weeks, the firm's shares have been changing hands on Nasdaq Private Market, with the most recent secondary shares clearing at an average of $373 — implying a valuation of $100 billion. In this episode of The Scoop, Chaparro and Cermak explore Coinbase's revenues, how the firm's institutional business has surged in lockstep with bitcoin's price run-up, and how Coinbase's position as a public company will impact the firm and wider market.

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Decentralized derivatives exchange dYdX is expanding. After raising $10 million in Series B funding last month, the team is gearing up for its coming V3 launch. Founder Antonio Juliano sat down with The Scoop this week to talk about where the decentralized finance (DeFi) space is going in the coming year. They could be the answer to the traditional financial system's transparency and security problems. But first, they have to scale. Juliano told The Scoop how dYdX is handling scalability, including mitigating high gas fees. They're using ZK-Rollups, or zero knowledge proofs. These proofs take information and create a "constant sized data object" which means no matter how much data is input, the information remains the same size. The idea is that thousands of trades can be compressed into a small size to run on Ethereum, circumventing the high fees. They're planning on launching their scaling solution in partnership with StarkWare in the next two weeks, according to Juliano. Juliano broke down dYdX's path to ZK-Rollups in this week's episode of The Scoop, along with:

Where dYdX's origins began and why it was long before the boom of DeFi.

How its flagship product, the perpetual swap, works.

Why Ethereum layer 2 scaling solutions help projects like dYdX build out their market and which solutions dYdX almost went with.

When the DeFi market might collide with the centralized markets, and how interoperability and scaling will lead the way.

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Michael Sonnenshein took the reigns of cryptocurrency asset manager Grayscale Investments earlier this year. At the helm of the more than $30 billion investment firm, Sonnenshein is charting a course for a broad expansion of the business, which is best known for its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. "We brought in $5.7 billion last year," Sonnenshein said. "We are launching new products, we are investing in technology, we're building out the various teams, it's really about continuing to stay ahead of the growth we are experiencing at really an unprecedented rate."

New inflows into the firm helped push Grayscale's assets under management (AUM) to new highs, while also lining its pockets with fee-based revenue. Estimates by The Block Research suggest Grayscale has brought in more than $109 million year-to-date. In addition to new hires, the firm has a plan for upgrading its GBTC product to an exchange-traded fund should the regulators ultimately approve such a product. "We spent the better part of 2017 in SEC registration for Grayscale Bitcoin Trust," Sonnenshein told The Block. "And we made a lot of progress with the commission and ultimately realized the regulatory environment wasn't ready for a bitcoin ETF and we pulled out of that process." He added: "But we hope in the future, like we were planning to in 2017, to register and uplift GBTC onto a national securities exchange as a bonafide ETF." Still, competition is mounting, with BlockFi and Osprey recently rolling out new funds. There's also Bitwise, which has seen its assets under management climb towards $1 billion in recent months. In this episode of The Scoop, Sonnenshein breaks down its hiring goals for 2021 as well as the following:

What a bitcoin ETF approval means for Grayscale's GBTC

Why mounting competition will result in fees "absolutely" coming down

Why he wants to convince a nation-state to buy GBTC

The firm's #DropGold campaign and plans for future marketing campaigns

The technology investments Grayscale is making in its platform to make the investing process more seamless

This episode of The Scoop is brought to you by Kraken Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today.

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"It's been number one on the ask list for a long time." That's Tim McCourt, global head of equity products for CME Group. Speaking about the reception of the more than hundred-and-seventy-year-old exchange's latest product -- futures based on ETH, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network -- McCourt characterized the response as "overwhelming." "People have been really excited ... I think for a long time customers have really been demanding ether futures. They're really excited about the bitcoin futures and the success they've had," he said on the most recent episode of The Scoop. CME Group saw 388 contracts traded on the first full day of trading for the product, which was announced at the end of last year. That's about 19,000 ETH, or $33 million. The launch of ether futures followed the launch of bitcoin options at the end of 2019 and its bitcoin futures product in 2017. At last check, open interest in CME's bitcoin futures product stood above $2 billion. McCourt said that unlike products trading on other venues, CME's crypto products trade on a venue to which professional market participants are already connected. The firm's crypto products "widgets through the machine” in the same way as its thousands of other contracts, he said. "Your brokers are familiar. Your clearing members are familiar. So you don't have some of those barriers to enter that you have on the spot side." In this episode of The Scoop, McCourt unpacks the growth of CME's crypto products, the development of the overall crypto trading ecosystem, and what might come next for his company's crypto offerings.

Episode 7 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Tim McCourt of CME Group. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode of The Scoop is brought to you by our sponsors Blockset and Kraken. Blockset With Blockset, companies gain access to tools such as: 1. A highly scalable API that supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and other top chains 2. AML/KYC data expediting time to market by complying with legal requirements 3. Leading custody solutions using modern multi-party compute (MPC) technology Kraken Whether you're an experienced crypto trader or just starting out, Kraken has the tools to help you achieve financial freedom. With 50+ cryptocurrencies to choose from, industry-leading security and a wide variety of features to suit any investing strategy, Kraken puts the power in your hands to buy, sell and trade digital assets. Visit Kraken.com to get started today.

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Stock markets have seen unprecedented levels of trading in recent days, fueled by retail trading activity tied to Wall Street Bets. Robinhood — which became the key figure in this drama as the venue through which much of the publicly visible trading occurred — has been a focal point of this market backdrop after buckling under the pressure of heightened activity and temporarily limiting purchases of certain stocks, like GameStop and AMC. In response, Robinhood came forward and tied its response to the underlying settlement infrastructure. Robinhood said in a blog post that the limits on trading were connected to soaring clearinghouse deposit requirements. The firm later said that a move to real-time trade settlement would remedy f the issues that faced not only Robinhood but other brokers. Here's from the blog: "The clearinghouse deposit requirements are designed to mitigate risk, but last week’s wild market activity showed that these requirements, coupled with an unnecessarily long settlement cycle, can have unintended consequences that introduce new risks." Shane Swanson of Greenwich Associates — a market structure wonk and former director at Citadel Securities — breaks down exactly what happened to the markets last week and why things stopped trading on a new episode of The Scoop podcast. Here's Swanson: "I like to use examples because I am a simple guy and examples seem to help. If I am a broker and I have $10,000 worth of capital and these aren't the accurate numbers, but say that allows me to trade $100,000 worth in the market because I have some leverage capabilities. And I am going to let somebody trade with me and I am to give them margin which means I'm going to lend them money and they're going to trade, and I am exposed to that lending risk. And they trade all the way up and they use all my $100,000 that I am allowed to expose myself to, once I hit that $100,000 I can't trade anymore. I can't expose myself to any more risk. I have used up the bucket of capital of which I am allowed to trade now." As for what happens next, Swanson told The Scoop that "it's always hard to go backwards on cost," referring to the ramifications of moving from T+2 to a more instant settlement process. "It all depends. If the costs are egregious enough that the industry has to absorb commissions could come back. Movement from T-plus 2 to T-plus 1 settlement would be over a long enough time horizon I believe that would not be something that ends up impacting the retail investors in terms of cost," Swanson explained.

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Cboe is a Wall Street powerhouse. On a typical trading day, the exchange operator handles about a third of U.S. equity volumes. In derivatives, major Wall Street products such as the VIX and S&P 500 options trade hands every day through its venue. Cboe is now trying its hand at the crypto market — again, that is. More than a year after it shuttered its bitcoin futures product, the exchange said that it would re-enter the market through a partnership with crypto data services provider CoinRoutes. On today's episode of The Scoop, Cboe global head of information solutions Catherine Clay lays out the firm's ambitions to build out a business in crypto market data. Clay also touches on how Cboe's plans set the stage for a wide range of tradable products, including a bitcoin VIX-like product to an exchange-traded fund. "You can even think about creative indices that reflect portfolio allocations with digital assets as a component," Clay said. "Bringing this real price data in for the creation and calculation of indexes falls very much in line with how we think about educating the investment sphere and giving people some idea about how to construct portfolios for crypto." For Clay, the relatively undeveloped state of the crypto data ecosystem harkens back to her time trading internet stock derivatives in the 1990s. "It really reminds me of when I was a derivatives trader back in the late 90s trading the internet stock back then that were really volatility," she said. "I remember standing in the pit where I was the lead market maker for Netscape and Double Click and you could imagine back then there was very little data available to understand where the derivatives—the options— listed on those underlying should be priced and traded." In this episode of The Scoop, Clay also discusses

Her background as a derivatives market maker and how that history informs her view on the crypto world

The use case of the real price data it is now distributing through CoinRoutes

The importance of data and analytics for a robust crypto market

The pent-up demand from issuers looking to create crypto products

What Cboe's next steps might be if the SEC approves a bitcoin ETF

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Pantera Capital's CEO Dan Morehead says initial coin offerings (ICO) aren't dead, but the narrative is gearing towards a bitcoin and ethereum ruled world for investors. "Crypto as a market is so volatile that the narrative changes," said Morehead on this week's episode of The Scoop. That narrative lately has been all about bitcoin's growing adoption. From Microstrategy to Stone Ridge Holdings — and maybe soon the city of Miami — big players are allocating millions into the cryptocurrency. But as the money flows towards bitcoin adoption, ICO's aren't over, according to Morehead. Pantera is still pitched one every two to four months, and the firm's initial coin offering (ICO) fund ended 2020 up more than 500%. Still, that's a sharp decline from the 50 pitches a week Pantera sifted through in 2017, and its bitcoin fund closed 2020 up nearly 300%. The crypto narrative for investors is trending towards bitcoin amid institutional adoption, Morehead told The Scoop. "We’re really seeing an inflection point with more coming into the market over the last couple of months....I think the reality is they’re looking for managers that manage multi asset funds sometimes both tokens and venture and they ultimately want that all to be within a handful of managers," he said. Lately, he's getting calls from many endowments, putting the industry at an inflection point with so many entering the space. Driving the interest in bitcoin is the current macro backdrop as well as bitcoin's spring halving last year—which the firm said could play a role in bringing its price to $115,000. He broke down what that means for the coming year on this week's episode, along with:

Why the market is so focused on BTC and ETH this time around compared to the focus on initial coin offerings in 2017.

What institutional investors want out of a bitcoin or crypto fund manager

Why Coinbase's initial public offering will kick off a wave of crypto companies going public.

How the industry is going to consolidate in the coming years, and why many exchanges are in a prime position to get rolled up.

Why Pantera is "much more bullish on Ethereum" than other parts of the space.

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"They start with bitcoin. It is the easiest to understand." In the most recent episode of The Scoop, Olaf Carlson-Wee said that recent headlines about institutional investors making waves in the bitcoin market aren't surprising to him. Since he launched Polychain Capital in 2016, he's become familiar with new market entrants who start by exploring bitcoin and then ultimately make their way to other ecosystems. "It isn't surprising that these big institutional investors are first getting involved with bitcoin," he said. "This is effectively electronic gold. Everyone can reason about gold and the value of gold in an easy way." From Anthony Scaramucci to Paul Tudor Jones, the bull case for bitcoin as digital gold has been all but cemented as a Wall Street talking point. Yet his interest in bitcoin will find its way to DeFi, Carlson-Wee argues. "Once you have $100 million of bitcoin, you might start to think how I could get yield on this bitcoin for example," he said. "A lot of the time the answer there is through on-chain financial contracts." Carlson-Wee also believes that interest in DeFi products and services will buck the example of the 2017 ICO bubble and be more long-lasting. As he put it during the interview: "The summer of ICOs was a summer, the summer of DeFi was just the beginning of multi-years of compounding growth. The financial engineering in DeFi, I think, at this point is inarguably moving faster than the financial engineering anywhere else in the world. The capital coordination is faster than anywhere else in the world. A lot of these DeFi protocols are bigger than IPOs—regularly. Despite that go regularly unnoticed and are hard to interact with. The user experience barriers here are very high and despite that we see significant traction in terms of volumes." Still, Olaf-Carlson Wee said DeFi market participants need to work out the UI problems that make platforms difficult to use. In this episode of The Scoop, Olaf Carlson-Wee digs into:

The differences between the ICO boom and the current market rally

How DEXs went from being irrelevant to facilitating billions of dollars in volumes

Where DeFi goes next

What he thinks about the upcoming Coinbase IPO

YFI's recent proposal to increase inflation

Polychain's lessons learned from the previous 2017 cycle

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Count this as one of the first major acquisitions deals of 2021: Coinbase said on Wednesday that it is set to acquire crypto infrastructure services provider Bison Trails for an undisclosed sum. On this episode of The Scoop, Coinbase chief product officer Surojit Chatterjee and Bison Trails CEO Joe Lallouz unpack the deal with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Ryan Todd. "Bison trails is going to serve as a foundational product within our product portfolio: what we call our ecosystem products," Chatterjee, a former executive at Google, said. "So staking infra services is a start point, but we are going to look at other potential services that we can externalize, that we can create as a service." The deal represents a bigger push by Coinbase to offer its internal solutions to new client segments, Chatterjee said. "Over time you will see we will extend additional infrastructure and API services, many of which have actually been developed to power our internal Coinbase product," he added. "We want to externalize them make them services for the entire crypto ecosystem." In this episode of The Scoop, we explore various aspects of the deal, including:

What it could mean for Coinbase's existing staking offering

How it improves Coinbase's standing as an infrastructure as a service provider in the crypto market

How the Bison Trail's team could lead to new external API services for big ticket clients and help improve existing services

Chatterjee's product philosophy for Coinbase

Recent moves by rivals to snag banking licenses from the OCC

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Bitcoin investment firm NYDIG raised $50 million in October, quadrupled its clients and life insurance company MassMutual purchased a minority stake in the firm. This came about because bitcoin is transitioning to a predominantly institution-owned asset, according to NYDIG CEO Robert Gutmann. MassMutual made a $5 million equity investment in NYDIG last December, as well as a $100 million bitcoin investment for its general investment account through NYDIG. On today's episode of The Scoop, Gutmann said this event could open the floodgates for insurance giants to get in on bitcoin. “You are going to see a lot of dominoes fall after this," he said. Based on the set of macro circumstances 2020 presented, insurance companies are starting to question whether they can go forward only buying corporate credit to make good on policies, according to Gutmann. "Over some number of years, it's hard for me to imagine it is not all of them [investing in bitcoin]," he said. "If MassMutual can get there from a diligence perspective so can the next one...It's definitely coming." He also sees publicly-traded companies following in the footsteps of Square and MicroStrategy. Both firms allocated a portion of their balance sheets to bitcoin. In Gutmann's view, these companies have a "fiduciary duty to consider whether holding 100% of your assets in dollars is in the best interest of your shareholders." "Reasonable people can have different opinions about that, but I personally don’t think only Jack and only Michael and no one else is going to do a cold analysis of that and not come to that conclusion," he said. On today's episode of the Scoop, Gutmann also touched on:

Why he expects more insurance companies will enter the crypto space over time

How the MassMutual deal came to be

Why public companies are interested in bitcoin and how the adoption narrative for public companies is similar to that of insurance firms

Why his institutional clients are only interested in bitcoin

NYDIG's M&A strategy.

Listen to today's episode on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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After bitcoin's price fell from its highs above $40,000 this past weekend, investors were left arguing about whether that drop to almost $30,000 was an inevitable market correction or a sign of something more sinister. Indeed, liquidations across futures venues soared to more than $3 billion as crypto exchange Coinbase reported persistent technical issues. But Galaxy Digital's Mike Novogratz isn't particularly worried. "I am positive this is not November 2017," he said on this week's episode of The Scoop. "Listen, the market got way, way overbought. It was overbought by every statistic, every metric you can look." In spite of a fallen price, Novogratz said the real thesis of the past few months was adoption. More people have heard the bitcoin story, according to Novogratz, and a price correction won't meaningfully undercut that progress. There are still institutions waiting to buy, he said. "The bitcoin-as-a-hard-asset story remains intact," Novogratz added. "This is a wash-out, a position wash-out. I don't think it will be long-term damaging. $30,000 should hold." He went on to highlight institutional firms that "haven't filled their coffers yet that continue to want to buy." "Insurance companies, asset managers, big institutions haven't bought bitcoin yet and they want to," said Novogratz. During this week's episode, Novogratz explains how he and Galaxy Digital are navigating the market correction, as well as:

Why this price drop won't scare off institutional investors

The impact of the macro background and fiscal spending under a Joe Biden-led administration

The businesses he's most excited about, particularly in the decentralized finance space

How he's viewing Bakkt and Coinbase's plans to go public

His advice for new market entrants.

This episode of The Scoop is brought to you by Blockset. With Blockset, companies gain access to tools such as: 1. A highly scalable API that supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and other top chains 2. AML/KYC data expediting time to market by complying with legal requirements 3. Leading custody solutions using modern multi-party compute (MPC) technology Learn more and start building today.

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On this episode of The Scoop, The Block's research team speak with Dinwiddie about his crypto journey, what originally got him excited about the space, what made him buy bitcoin, the investments that have made him excited about DeFi, Calaxy, and the NBA.

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Despite the uncertainty of the global economy in 2020, the New York Stock Exchange has had a strong year, helping companies raise more than $66 billion.

In many respects, it has been the year of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), according to vice chairman John Tuttle. This year, firms have raised billions through the acquisition-style mechanism.

During this episode of The Scoop, Tuttle — who previously led NYSE's global listings business — explained why the fundraising method has taken the markets by storm and how they've evolved from a lackluster funding mechanism to a red-hot fad on Wall Street.

"Let's look back ten years or so, SPACs were a four letter word, they didn't have the best reputation, the sponsors didn't necessarily have the best interest in mind of investors in the market place," Tuttle said.

He went on to explain:

"And they largely fell out of favor. Several years ago you started seeing some rule changes around SPACs to address some of those challenges that SPACs had a decade or so ago and you started seeing higher qualities sponsors come into market.What do I mean by that? Folks that—whether it be the Goldman Sachs or the Gores Groups of the world. Folks that had very well-respected reputations in the marketplace both as financial partners but business partners as well too. You started seeing deals be larger in size. You started see well respected names launch SPACs and partner with SPACs and partner with SPACs, and that's what gave credibility to the product."

Indeed, some crypto firms have been considering SPAC-centric strategies, including BlockFi and Ripple. There's also firms like Coinbase, which is said to be in the process of going public in the near-term, as previously reported by Reuters.

Tuttle says that the exchange group is talking with crypto firms about tapping into public markets.

"It has been a space that's been of interest for quite some time," he said. "We've had discussion with companies that have been thinking about accessing the public market, from that space, crypto blockchain digital assets."

"Those conversations continue, they're accelerating," he added. "And I also think that digital assets, crypto are going to play somehow somewhere some way an important role in the market of the future." _________________________________ This episode was brought to you by Polkadot Decoded, the Polkadot community conference on December the 3rd. Don’t miss this opportunity to tap into the latest developments and discover what lies ahead in the Polkadot ecosystem, including Gavin Wood in conversation with Laura Shin and a panel moderated by The Defiant founder Camila Russo. . Save your spot today!

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CEO Brad Garlinghouse says in what was poised to be a challenging year, Ripple exceeded his expectations for 2020. "We aren’t going to grow as fast this year as we thought. However, we’re still getting two production financial contracts a week," he said. Indeed, the digital asset and payment system has seen some days this year in which XRP liquidity on Bitso exceeded BTC. But still, an opaque regulatory atmosphere has kept Ripple from reaching its potential, Garlinghouse argued in an interview with The Scoop's Frank Chaparro. According to Garlinghouse, there isn't a "level playing field" for all digital assets in this regulatory climate. "Bitcoin was the only one with the hall pass," he said. This creates an atmosphere in which assets without clarity underperform, according to Garlinghouse. On this week's episode, Garlinghouse discussed how Ripple is "fighting with one hand tied behind our back," as well as:

Why big banks aren't partnering with Ripple, but smaller banks are interested

The ways regulatory clarity has benefited bitcoin but not other digital assets, and why the lack of clarity impedes Ripple's growth

Why Ripple is currently not planning a blockchain initial public offering (IPO)

How central banks are looking into XRP-based ledgers.

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Shayne Coplan thinks information markets are the future, and with the recent influx in volume to his platform Polymarket, it seems they are rapidly becoming the present. In recent weeks, the prediction market platform has done millions in volume with its various election markets, which span from the U.S. presidential election to state calls. The platform's "Will Trump win market" has surpassed $8 million in volume. As the U.S. presidential election grew ever-tighter on November 3 and 4, many crypto minds noted that Polymarket's odds more accurately reflected the outcomes compared to traditional models like Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight. Coplan says he has no doubt in the growing future of prediction markets, and on this week's episode of The Scoop, he laid out why he believes markets are the most reliable source of sentiment data. He also touched on:

How he went from early ethereum adopter to founder of a company

Why he believes markets are superior to polls, and how prediction platforms can change the way information is interpreted

Where Polymarket sits on the sliding scale of decentralization and what that means for compliance

How Polymarket's second version is lowering the barrier to entry and what tools are making adoption easier

What's next for Polymarket after the U.S. presidential election resolves.

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The ban will take effect in January of next year, affecting crypto brokers, investment platforms, financial advisers and, of course, derivatives exchanges. But, David Mercer, CEO of LMAX Group, said what the ban really does is effectively halve the leverage. The FCA had already limited leverage to retail customers to two to one, now it's one to one. "You've banned derivatives, but actually you've just halved leverage. It's one to one rather than two to one. That's all that's really happened," said Mercer. "What they're saying to everyone, you can own crypto assets you just can't own it on leverage. " Still, Mercer said there is a duty in capital markets to protect retail investors and firms have a duty of care. LMAX Group is a regulated broker in the U.K. trading mostly spot, but clients still pass suitability tests indicating their understanding of the product. Working with regulators, even when you disagree with them — and Mercer said he does disagree with the ban — is key. Mercer laid out why he thinks the FCA took such an aggressive approach on this issue as well as its implications on this episode of The Scoop. He also touched on:

Why normal corporate firms are beginning to set aside part of their balance sheets to bitcoin, and why Mercer says it's inevitable that bigger traditional funds begin allocating portions of their portfolio to bitcoin

How the market responded to regulator cases against Bitmex

The implications of the FCA ban and how the regulator's influence might change by ignoring crypto stakeholders

Why he thinks a significant bank will move into the marketplace in 2021 and what that will do for crypto.

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HODLpac is seeking to put the benefits of crypto protocols on display, borrowing from the industry in its governance and voting structure to apportion collected funds to candidates. Though it doesn't accept donations in crypto yet, it does follow a token-based voting structure to determine who the PAC will support and how much a candidate might receive. Its first Community Ballot will occur tomorrow, meaning those who are interested in donating and voting on candidates still can. For more information, Whirty and Smith broke down the structure and purpose of the project on this week's episode on The Scoop. Whirty and Smith also discussed the opportunities of a blockchain-based PAC and where they see the project going, as well as:

How a crypto-focused hybrid PAC operates and why it's needed in Washington

The PAC's quadratic voting structure and how quadratic voting can lessen the disparity between hyper-wealthy and average donators

The road to more decentralized governance and a grassroots base

An inside look at the way money talks in Washington — and why a PAC or donation-based opportunity may be a faster way to get an issue on the floor

What the different 2020 election outcomes might mean for crypto.

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Yassine Elmandjra, crypto asset analyst at ARK Invest, published a white paper recently that argues Bitcoin could reach three trillion dollars in market cap by 2025. On this week's episode of The Scoop, he broke down how he arrived at that conclusion. ARK began looking into digital assets in 2015, when BTC was trading around $250. At that time, the firm published a white paper arguing BTC was unique and didn't fall into a traditional asset class. Now, it's published a part two to that early paper aimed at institutions. "In addition to sizing that opportunity for institutions, we really tried to look at what the liquidity and volume profile of Bitcoin are relative to other asset classes and whether or not we're at we're at a place where Bitcoin can support the institutional flow that we so desire," he said. "With that...indeed, we think that over the next five years, Bitcoin presents a multi trillion dollar opportunity." Elmandjra detailed the path to the moon on this week's episode, as well as:

The relationship between Bitcoin, the S&P and gold and what that means for strategic allocation

What increasing volumes means for Bitcoin's maturity as an institutional asset

What the main pain points are for institutional adoption of Bitcoin, like the lack of primer brokerage firms and large custodians

What it would take for Ark to gain spot exposure of bitcoin in the future

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Last Thursday, BitMEX found itself embroiled in both a civil and criminal case with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), respectively. BitMEX was hit by twin lawsuits. The CFTC accused the derivative exchange and its operators, including CEO Arthur Hayes and co-founders Ben Delo and Samuel Reed, of running an unregistered trading platform and violating anti-money laundering and know-your-customer regulations. The DOJ filed a criminal indictment against Hayes, Delo, Reed and head of business development Greg Dwyer for allegedly violating the Bank Secrecy Act. Reed himself was arrested. Responding to the breaking news developments, Stephen Palley, partner at Anderson Kill, featured on this week's episode of The Scoop to break down the nuances of the two cases. He touched on:

The process for litigating Bank Secrecy Act violations, and why it's likely the BitMEX operators are likely on the hook for possible prison time

What this case means for the growing decentralized finance space

Key facts in each filing that will be impactful going forward

Why it's surprising that the BitMeX domain has not been seized by law enforcement

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"We knew that DeFi was going to be big and important about sometime last year." CoinGecko co-founder TM Lee has been keeping a pulse on the space since starting the platform as a project with his co-founder in 2014. The initial coin offering (ICO) boom of 2017 multiplied the traffic tens of times over, cementing CoinGecko as a popular crypto metrics provider. Now, CoinGecko is in the midst of another boom — the decentralized finance (DeFi) explosion. The platform has gained even more popularity listing hundreds of DeFi tokens, becoming a hub of information on for those interested in the ever-increasing projects. But even though CoinGecko saw the DeFi explosion on the horizon thanks to a few team members interested in the space, on this week's episode of The Scoop, Lee said he wasn't expecting the magnitude seen today. "If you asked me last year, would DeFi be big today? I just couldn't see that. Will Uniswap be a billion dollar trading volume that beats Coinbase? I would also say that's not possible. But we are in this world right now," he said. On this week's episode, Lee talked about how DeFi mania is changing up the platform's approach as well as:

The genesis of the platform, from early days in 2014 through the ICO craze of 2017 to today

What's driving Coin Gecko's growth now, and why the explosion came only recently

How the platform balances offering a wide array of DeFi projects with protecting users from possible scams

How the team is working to stay ahead of the curve during DeFi mania

Why the investment side of the team's operations is key in the current climate.

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In the fast-paced world of decentralized finance, the people behind the protocols are sometimes just as captivating as the protocols themselves. That's certainly the case for yearn.finance's Andre Cronje, the former banking developer who seemingly built out both a cult following and billion dollar protocol over night. Indeed, the governance token tied to the protocol, YFI, has surged beyond $30,000 since its inception at the beginning of the summer. If it was up to Andre, however, he wouldn't be affiliated with the protocol as much as he is. Cronje is currently trying to expand the number of folks responsible for shepherding the protocol. In the most recent episode of The Scoop, he explained why a proper decentralized protocol doesn't need a decision-maker or figurehead, and discussed yearn's planned transition to a more decentralized model in which multi-sig holders would approve strategies. "We haven't fully transitioned yet," he said. Still, he said: "I disagree with this idea that people have that I am yearn because it doesn't need me. If I were to have a heart attack on this call now, it's going to continue without me." We also discuss:

Challenges of decentralized governance and how the yEarn community has fared

Why it's difficult for other projects to replicate YFI's success with their token launches

How the experimentation happening in the DeFi world matters to the traditional world of finance

What lowering the barrier of cost in DeFi means for innovation

What's behind the kind of toxicity in the space that almost drove him out

Some of the new project ideas yearn is working on, such as Stablecredit

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This year has been unprecedented in many respects, with the coronavirus pandemic rocking markets and driving volatility in ways many couldn't predict. Quant trading firms — or firms that base their trading strategies on statistic models — were seemingly left at a disadvantage as firms like Winton and others lacked the data for such unprecedented events. On this week's episode of The Scoop, Martin Green, co-CIO and CEO of quant trading firm Cambrian Asset Management, broke down what it's like to run these strategies in a time when so many events were statistically unlikely. A lot of it, said Green, comes down to the manner in which models are built to identify and respond to types of risk. During this week's episode, Green also touched on:

Why human judgment is valuable in building models, but is better left behind once models are executing trades

How market data in crypto has changed as the quant firm built out its data stores

How the firm views risk management and why identifying types of risk in the digital asset world is key to a winning strategy

How Cambrian is getting in on the decentralized finance mania and how the firm's risk strategy interacts with the space

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Last week, FTX announced it would acquire crypto data tracking app Blockfolio for $150 million. In this episode of The Scoop, Blockfolio co-founder Ed Moncada and FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried talk about the logic behind the deal and what the firms plan to build together. We also talk about the burgeoning decentralized finance space and how Jump Trading is going to play a big part in FTX's upcoming DEX, Serum.

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When Bitcoin emerged, its white paper touted a myriad of use cases that had the potential to rock the traditional finance world. But the idea of using an asset that could severely fluctuate in value as a medium of exchange doesn't quite make sense to some. This, says senior Coin Metrics analyst Nate Maddrey, is why we have stablecoins. On a previous episode of The Scoop, Martin Chavez said Bitcoin doesn't qualify as money in his book — it's a commodity. On this week's episode, Nate Maddrey breaks down how stablecoins were a reaction to this problem long before they were a trading tool. "I think it's important to note that that stablecoins, they capture all of the benefits or most of the benefits of something like Bitcoin where it's censorship-resistant...but it has that relatively stable price and that unlocks just a whole bunch of new use cases," said Maddrey. Tether was the first in 2014, but since then, many others have followed suit. On this week's episode, The Block dives into the history and mechanics of stablecoins with Maddrey leading the way, discussing:

The different categories of stablecoins and why most follow a so-called "Tether model"

How the Tether controversy happened and why the cloud of concern has somewhat dissipated

Why calling them "stablecoins" may be a misnomer depending on what the word "stable" connotes

His take on the growing USDC supply

How the stablecoin world will affect the decentralized finance (DeFi) movement

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Chris Hehmeyer has long been a big player in the U.S. futures and commodities industry, but now he's all in on crypto. On this week's episode of The Scoop, Hehmeyer explained why. Hehmeyer began its push into crypto during the 2017 bull run. Competitive pressures in its traditional futures business led to the firm's pivot earlier this year full-time into crypto. Hehmeyer said he wanted to signal to clients that the firm was ready to commit to the growing crypto market. That commitment coincided with the growth of the futures market and bespoke products. With a decade of experience in traditional futures markets, Hehmeyer Trading may be poised to capitalize on that growth. On this week's episode of The Scoop, Hehmeyer talked about where he sees that growth happening, as well as:

Where he sees growth is happening in the crypto derivatives market, given years of experience in the traditional futures market

How he's making markets in some of crypto's newer products, dealing in spot and hedging in derivatives

How being a Chicago shop getting into the crypto space differs now from 2017

Why the decentralized finance (DeFi) space is the next frontier for firms like Hehmeyer, and how the firm is currently "dabbling"

What the current DeFi "euphoria" could indicate going forward

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In the episode, Justin Sun broke down how Poloniex fits into Tron's plans to capitalize on the DeFi mania. He also discussed:

Why increased network effects will keep Tron from being left behind as more protocols emerge

The strategy that brought in enough Tether to grow the number of stablecoins on the Tron blockchain to 3.7 billion

His response to those who argue Tron is more centralized and those concerned the network has its roots in plagiarism

His story behind the Poloniex deal

Why memes are a key community building strategy

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The age of the new day trader has come about at an uncertain time for the world and the markets, meaning downturns and upturns are fleeting. Sven Henrich, founder of NorthmanTrader, is an expert at reading the macro signs of the market. On this week's episode of The Scoop, he cautioned against continued interventions by the Federal Reserve that have kept the new generation of traders from a prolonged bear market. Henrich's firm provides macro views and technical analysis to its subscribers, and on Twitter, he's been highly critical of the Fed's actions in recent weeks. He's been raising the alarm of coming consequences due to what he sees as the central bank's refusal to take on any pain. On this week's episode, he broke down macro events in the time surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, touching on:

Why continued market interventions could create stresses that investors might be overlooking in a strong tech market narrative

What the growing divergence between gold and tech stocks means for economic growth

Where to allocate capital as governments debase currencies and real interest rates drop

Why bitcoin isn't a hedge against the monetary side when you look at its price action

Why the next two months are critical for the strength of the dollar

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The cost of market data is an ongoing debate in the traditional finance world, but in crypto, not so much. But during this week's episode of The Scoop, Ronan Ryan, head of IEX, the Investor's Exchange, said that's going to change. Ryan broke down the market data discussion from both the traditional and crypto viewpoints on this week's episode. He also explored:

What it's like to host a podcast and what value he hopes it adds

Why crypto exchanges aren't charging for market data...yet

Why traditional finance giants like Fidelity are urging regulators to take a close look at market data fees

How regulators are slowly but surely coming up with parameters for rebates, fees and the selling of market data

How IEX led the way on the implementation of a speed bump, faced pushback from Nasdaq and others only to eventually have their idea go mainstream

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Bitcoin and gold have both climbed higher in recent weeks, but any correlation between the two is still too slight to take seriously, according to CoinMetrics. Fundstrat managing partner Tom Lee offered a different explanation on this week's episode of The Scoop — that boomers and Millenials are taking sides. Lee pointed out that it's likely an older generation piling into gold with huge cash positions. For those who missed the market rally, gold likely became a more attractive position as inflation rose. As boomers load up on gold, members of Generation X and Millenials are buying up tech stocks. As tech stocks become more attractive and cash less so with concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, the perception towards bitcoin is shifting as well, according to Lee. "Because of coronavirus, I think we're seeing businesses essentially go cashless and therefore digital money is making it easier to understand the value of Bitcoin, which is essentially a settlement network that isn't denominated in dollars," he said. Research from JPMorgan seems to agree with Lee. An August 4 note from the bank's strategists said millenials seem to prefer tech stocks while older investors are selling shares and buying bonds. However, this doesn't mean the institutions are likely to jump in any time soon. As Bitcoin's value rises, Lee said that there might be more parallels to gold. On this week's episode, Lee broke down his other takes on current market conditions, including:

Why the negative impact of COVID-19 on markets has waned

How the virus has affected Fundstrat's so-called granny shots list, a list of easy-win stocks

The relationship between traditional markets and bitcoin price volatility

The impact of election cycles on traditional and digital assets and how the winner will effect the market's movements

Why he hates being called a perma-bull

Listen to this week's episode on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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During this week's episode of The Scoop, Ehrlich broke down what he shares on those calls. Voyager conducted its initial public offering (IPO) through a reverse merger, listing on the Canadian Securities Exchange and trading in over-the-counter (OTC) markets. While an IPO calls for extensive regulatory filings and investment bank backing, a reverse merger sees private company investors acquire shares of a public but inactive corporation. In Voyager's case, it acquired the shell company UC Resources Ltd., which was publicly listed on the Canadian TSX Venture Exchange. Voyager was an early addition to the IPO party, though Mike Novogratz's Galaxy Digital had already gone public on TSX in August 2018. Now, there's growing interest in crypto IPOs, with rumblings of Coinbase and BlockFi looking to take the plunge. While crypto touts transparency, IPOs put a firm's inner workings on display, opening the door for merger and acquisition activity, according to Ehrlich. "You go public and it's right there in front of everybody: what you're worth, what your stock's worth, the financials of the company, the metrics of your company. It's there and it's a currency now to go make acquisitions," he said. Ehrlich discussed the different approaches to crypto IPOs and which firms are right for which routes on This Week's episode. He also discussed:

How his early days at E*Trade prepared him for the current retail mania, and how 2020 parallels the late 90s

What Coinbase needs to consider before it makes moves to go public

Why the current brokerage rush won't end well for most

To what degree the fintech space is looking to leverage crypto and why it means widespread adoption is coming — just on a longer timeline.

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In this week's episode, Cho and Matuszewski give the trader perspective on bitcoin and the DeFi scene, including:

How Circle Trade went from making an "ungodly" amount of money to being sold off to Kraken

Whether the market is at "peakFi"

Why big news events are having less of an impact on bitcoin price swings

An overview of the crypto brokerage wars, and how crypto firms will get "more violent" with each other over time.

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On this week's episode of The Scoop, Cermak explained out how The Block first picked up on the biggest Twitter hack in history, and what the early hours of information gathering looked like. He also touched on:

The details that indicate the hack was either unplanned or executed by amateurs

What a front page BTC scam means for bitcoin adoption

The debate over Coinbase's move to block the addresses at the height of the hack

Where the stolen funds are now

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CoinFLEX emerged in 2019 as one of the first marketplaces for physically-delivered crypto futures. Now, the Hong Kong-based firm has relaunched its platform to build out a repurchase market for digital assets. Mark Lamb, CEO of CoinFLEX, sat down with The Scoop this week to talk about the plan. In the traditional context, a repurchase market or "repo market" allows large clearing banks to exchange assets for short bursts, providing a quick way to finance other activities. Trillions of dollars a day move in the repo market. But in crypto, it's much smaller. No more than $50 million in repurchase transactions occur each day. There's also no counterpart to the traditional clearing bank, so most deals are done directly between two parties. CoinFLEX plans to be that intermediary, launching the CoinFLEX Repo Market in addition to adding spot and perpetual contracts to its current futures market. Lamb outlined how CoinFLEX plans to stake its claim as one of the first repo markets in crypto — similar to how it did that for physically-delivered futures. He also touched on:

How a plan to create a physical perpetual swap became a plan to create an entirely new type of instrument

The pros and cons of CoinFLEX's original platform, and how the firm aims to improve with the second iteration

Why institutional clients on the exchange want leverage that’s even higher than 100x or 250x

How CoinFLEX will be part of crypto's move to democratize access to high-leveraged finance and interest yield collection.

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R. Martin Chavez left his Goldman Sachs office in December after decades of work bringing new technology to Wall Street, most recently as Goldman's CFO, though his career began in Silicon Valley. Now, he's returned to the tech world, where he serves on the boards of health technology firms and has gotten involved in the conversation around the "digital dollar." On this week's episode of The Scoop, Chavez broke down some of the changes that have occurred at the intersection of health and technology due to the global pandemic. For instance, a world in quarantine has breathed new life into the field of telemedicine. He also explained why although he sees bitcoin as "an amazing research project," it doesn't quite qualify as money in his view. Chavez compared the coronavirus pandemic to the 2008 financial crisis, in that they are both wake up calls for policymakers. He said the pandemic has been a moment to examine how to build better systems, particularly in the health tech and industrial fields. Meanwhile, it's also illuminated the potential role of a U.S. central bank digital currency as a mechanism for stimulus delivery. While Chavez advocated for a blockchain-based digital dollar, he doesn't think private stablecoins are a suitable stand-in. "Stablecoins are stable right up until the instant that they're not stable," he said. Here are some of the more specific topics featured in the episode:

The themes and trends emerging in the health technology space that will be salient in a post COVID-19 world

How the pandemic illuminated the need for resilience in industrial companies and how technology can play a role in reform

What legislation is needed to reform industries that were hit hard, and how to prepare a more resilient supply chain

Why the former Wall Streeter and long time tech advocate says bitcoin isn't money

His view on central bank digital currencies and why stablecoins alone won't do the job of a digital dollar.

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Zane Tackett has witnessed some of the crypto industry's biggest moments. And he recently took a post as a sales and business development executive at FTX, giving him a first-hand look at growth occurring in the derivatives market today. It comes as a notable time for that particular corner of the crypto space, given that more that 100,000 bitcoin options contracts – a historic number totaling over $900 million – is slated to expire this Friday. Tackett will have a front row seat, and he talked about the growth factors for the derivatives market on this week's episode of The Scoop. He also touched on his history in the space, stretching back to his role in helping found the international team at OKCoin, now OKEx, an early mover in crypto futures. Tackett moved from OKEx to become director of community and product development at Bitfinex. He was at the forefront of the exchange's response to the 2016 hack in which 119,756 BTC were stolen. "It was the worst period of my life," he said. "I think the initial 48 hours, I went 40 hours without sleeping, got two or three hours of sleep and was back at it. And you know, pretty much everyone on the team was the exact same way." After his time at Bitfinex, Tackett became head of OTC sales at B2C2 before moving to FTX this year. In this week's episode, Tackett discussed how each of these experiences informed his understanding of the market, as well as:

How crypto businesses can cater to both retail and institutional traders

Why a more standard user experience has been a key reason for growth in the space

Why bitcoin resiliency is a sign of growing maturity for the crypto space despite concerns about volatility

The firewalls in place between Alameda and FTX to mitigate concerns around conflicts of interest

Why the prime brokerage space is heating up in the U.S. compared to other regions

Tackett's experience working at Bitfinex during the exchange's biggest hack and what he learned.

Episode 25 of Season 2 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Zane Tackett, a sales and business development executive at crypto derivatives exchange FTX. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. This episode of The Scoop is brought to you by Bitstamp, the original global cryptocurrency exchange. Since 2011, Bitstamp has been a cornerstone of the industry, earning the trust of over four million individuals and top financial institutions looking for a reliable trading venue. Whether you’re trading on our web platform, mobile app or industry-leading APIs, Bitstamp gives you the professional-grade tools you need to execute your strategy. Download the Bitstamp app or visit Bitstamp.net/Pro to learn more and start trading today!

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Before Tarun Chitra built out his company, he spent years doing quantitative research and development for places like D.E. Shaw Research and Vatic Labs. Chitra took his experience in machine learning to create and head a simulation platform for crypto networks — Gauntlet — which garnered backing from companies like Coinbase, Distributed Global and Polychain, among others. Gauntlet provides tools for crypto developers to forecast security risks, possible governance snags and consensus mechanism issues. By forecasting such problems and showing how they could affect assets or network activity, developers can make more informed decisions about security and governance structures. In this week's episode of The Scoop, Chitra spoke from his experience in the high-frequency trading (HFT) world. Chitra's appearance coincided with growing concerns surrounding the market activity driven by Robinhood traders, as users of the app continue to buy up stocks that other investors have dumped. Much of the conversation also coincides with the conversation surrounding brokerage and payment for order flow (PFOF), as some critics object to selling order flow to market makers, claiming it creates a conflict of interest. The Block recently uncovered how Robinhood received more than $90 million in PFOF payments during Q1. Chitra discussed the HFT world's view on PFOF and broke down some of the nuance in the transactions on this week's episode. Chitra also touched on:

Why private exchange trade funds aren't that private

Whether open finance has structural advantages in comparison to legacy market structure

If those possible advantages are enough to drive volumes in the same league as traditional markets

The role of transparency in both the Open Finance and traditional finance ecosystems.

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In a matter of months, Brian Brooks made the move from Coinbase to head of the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Brooks left his job as the exchange's top lawyer in March, after his former OneWest Bank colleague and current Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin tapped him to become the COO and first deputy comptroller at the OCC. Just two months later, then Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting announced his departure, making Brooks acting Comptroller. On this week's episode of The Scoop, Frank Chaparro sat down with Brooks to talk about what it means to have a crypto veteran in the Comptroller's chair. Brooks will run the OCC for at least the next nine months, and maybe longer depending on the political machine. Regardless, he said he's confident he can get a lot done in the time he has, and he's got an eye towards shaping guidance that will help modernize the banking system. "I think when you look at a lot of the protests that have been going on over the last week or so and a lot of the economic pain that's been felt over the last few months, what that tells me is that the system that's worked very well for some of us for a long time has not worked well for all of us," he said. "And so I think there's a direct connection between modernizing the banking system and creating more access for diverse communities than was historically the case." He broke down some of the topics he's been thinking about in relation to the OCC, including:

Beefing up the agency's Office of Innovation to better evaluate trends and provide written guidance

How blockchain technology can shrink wealth disparity by providing another route to establish credit

How federal regulation can help to level the playing field between banks and fintech firms

Why the digital dollar should come from the private sector, while the government handles the guidelines

Listen to this week's episode on Apple, Spotify, GooglePlay, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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Ian Sigalow has been in the venture capital (VC) space for over a decade, launching his firm Greycroft in 2006. Since then, he's taken some big swings in the fintech space, many of which have paid off. Greycroft manages about $2 billion today. He was an angel investor in Venmo at a time when people told him that PayPal had already won the race of free peer-to-peer service. On this week's episode of The Scoop, Sigalow discussed how one of the firm's latest investments — Public.com — could build a similar business by combining social elements with trading. Sigalow sits on the board of Public, which recently garnered Series B investments from the likes of Will Smith and Adobe chief product officer Scott Belsky. It's a social network for traders, allowing users to trade stocks as well as grow their information networks. "So we believe at Greycroft that there is an opportunity, just like there was when Venmo was founded, to create a multiplayer game inside of a stock brokerage around a feed, and to build the first socially native brokerage application in the world," he said. In this episode of The Scoop, Sigalow and The Block's Frank Chaparro explored Public's business as well as the VC landscape in the midst of COVID-19. The two also discussed:

Why companies trying to marry social networking and payment infrastructure have to do so from the outset

The lessons learned from Robinhood and other trading apps

The future plans for Public.com, including how the company makes money and executes orders

What the current economic uncertainty in the world means for the VC market

How COVID-19 accelerated expected trends in tech business developments, and how a 10-year plan meant Greycroft was already invested in many of these spaces

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Last week, saw a deluge of prime brokerage news, capped off by Coinbase's announcement of its acquisition of crypto broker Tagomi. After months of rumors surrounding the two-year-old firm, the deal became one of Coinbase's biggest acquisitions in a move to fill out its institutional business of trading and custody services. With the deal inked, Coinbase is one step closer to becoming a full-scale prime broker. This week's episode features Su Zhu, crypto investor, market commentator and founder of crypto investing firm Three Arrows Capital — an early client of Tagomi. Zhu unpacked his thoughts on the recent deal, touching on some pain points, including the importance of neutrality in the prime brokerage world. The Coinbase deal leaves room for possible conflicts of interest, according to Zhu. The episode also explores:

Why Tagomi's neutrality as a prime broker could be questioned under Coinbase's ownership

The headwinds and tailwinds facing DCG's Genesis Trading and BitGo as they build out similar offerings

The type of trading strategies and opportunities a full-scale prime broker open up for crypto investors like Three Arrows

The reasons why Tether dominates Asian liquidity and doesn't have to worry about rivals taking its crown

How Binance messed up delisting FTX's leverage product, and how it speaks to a broader existential issue at the exchange

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After a gloomy March and a proverbially rainy April, May has shaped up to be a – dare one say it – positive market from a macro market perspective. Despite the ongoing tragedy of the global coronavirus pandemic, investors appear to be buying. The S&P 500 broke 3,000 for the first time in March and the Dow is up broadly on positive sentiment that efforts to reopen businesses in the U.S. – all in the hopes of coaxing back consumers – will be successful. Yet despite the sense of optimism, analysts hesitate to call it a clear win, given the risks that remain. The Block sat down with John Stein, co-founder of robo advisor firm Betterment, who spoke about the macroeconomic picture in the context of his firm’s clients. Stein remarked that while the first quarter of 2020 was a strong one for signups – April even more so – the company has nonetheless felt the pinch amid difficult market conditions. “Our revenue is tied to assets under management. We see our pain, our own accounts are down. You know, my personal account is affected by a downturn in the market. And our customers feel that.” he told The Block. “But overall, our customers are staying the course.” We also explore:

How Betterment has fared in a world where remote work is the rule, not the exception

The ways in which the firm’s customer base reacted to this year’s market turbulence

How the first quarter of 2020 was one of Betterment’s best

Its checking account product

Staying competitive in a hyper-fast space where all eyes are on the market

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Institutional crypto exchange LMAX Digital closed out its second year by 10x-ing its trade volumes, trading $75 billion worth of crypto in the past 12 months, the firm revealed exclusively to The Block. Since its launch two years ago, the firm has facilitated $85 billion in trades, according to a Tuesday press release. Last year's monthly high was $8.6 billion traded in June of 2019, and that month saw the firm's daily record high on June 27, when $1.25 billion was traded on the exchange. CEO of LMAX Group David Mercer said the firm has become the primary price discovery venue, having grown to command a sizable portion of the spot cryptocurrency market. Still, the firm's growth has stagnated recently and the size of its market is still dwarfed by retail-aimed exchanges like Binance and Coinbase. Now, with two years of growth under its belt, the firm is looking to expand its reach. Mercer told The Block that the firm is looking to add its trade and market data to more leading market reference indices, as well as expand its product portfolio with the growth of the asset class. In a recently recorded episode of The Scoop, Mercer discussed the firm's recent growth and what it's been like to operate a digital asset exchange in the midst of the ongoing financial and health crisis. The Block's Frank Chaparro and Mercer also explore:

How the firm coped with rising volatility and maintained liquidity on its venue in the midst of whipsawing crypto markets

The differences between how traditional markets have held up during the COVID-19 crisis relative to crypto

Why LMAX needs more asset managers, fund managers to get involved in crypto for it to go head to head with retail exchanges

What traditional markets can learn from crypto

Why banks may not care about crypto yet, but their customers are asking questions

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If recent headlines are any indication, Wall Street's slow embrace of bitcoin – or, at least, financial instruments tied to it – is beginning to pick up the pace. Earlier this week, it was reported that JPMorgan is offering banking services to cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Gemini. And macro investor Paul Tudor Jones recently revealed that he allocated as much as 2% of his assets to bitcoin, while his fund has opened to door to buying bitcoin futures. Elsewhere, derivatives markets are heating up with volumes and open interest on CME Group's bitcoin option contract hitting fresh highs on Thursday. Market participants point to the juxtaposition of central bank money printing and bitcoin's fixed-supply – the latter of which was very much on display this week during the halving event – as one catalyst for recent interest. On this episode of The Scoop, Skybridge Capital's Anthony Scaramucci explores these developments and why he is "there" when it comes to being convinced to allocate some capital to bitcoin. "Paul is closed for new investors, but if he wasn’t closed for new investors, I would be in his fund," Scaramucci said. "And I have no problem owning, as a pass-through through his fund, some level of digital currency exposure." In this episode, the former 10-day-long White House communications director said that Jones has helped the idea of owning bitcoin acceptable go mainstream. An admitted non-crypto expert, Scaramucci said there is a technological opportunity for peer-to-peer transfer of value with permanency. "There is an era coming where everybody is going to want to own something that is less manipulated by the governments as it relates to a store of value," he said. Scaramucci said that a few more announcements like Paul Tudor Jones' revelation that he will take on exposure to bitcoin will cause the "wall to fall down." We also explore:

Why Scaramucci recently moved close to $300 million to legendary hedge funds Bridgewater Associates, Oaktree Capital, and Third Point, and why his fund and others suffered during the first part of the year

Why the pandemic hit the structured credit market especially hard relative to equities

The implications of the liquidity the Fed is injecting into the economy, and why money printing can last longer than we think

Why the crypto rush will happen, but not as quickly as people want it to – and why he doesn't buy the threat to the dollar in the near future

Scaramucci gives us an inside look on what's going on in Washington and why Libra would be an unmitigated disaster from the government's perspective

This episode was also brought to you by PAX Gold, the world’s only regulated gold token. It’s the fastest and easiest way to own and trade the highest-quality physical gold. One PAX Gold token represents one fine troy ounce of a 400 oz London Good Delivery gold bar, stored in Brink’s vaults in London. When you buy PAX Gold, you own physical gold. The value of PAX Gold is always tied directly to the real-time market value of gold.PAXG is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, and can easily be moved or traded anywhere in the world, 24/7. With PAXG, anyone can now own a fraction of an LBMA-accredited London Good Delivery gold bar with zero storage fees. Trade it today on leading exchanges like Kraken, FTX and itBit. Or, earn interest on your PAX Gold holdings through Nexo or Crypto.com. Learn more or purchase PAX Gold at paxos.com/paxgold

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It’s been an interesting time for the stablecoin market. Total stablecoin issuance recently surpassed $10 billion, according to data compiled by The Block Research. Meanwhile, the discussion of Facebook’s Libra has taken on interesting new dimensions of late. Lex Sokolin, a former research analyst and the current global co-head of fintech at Consensys, has been paying close attention to these developments. In this episode of The Scoop, which was recorded prior to the Libra Association announcement of its new CEO, we dive into its shift to a multi-currency model. We also dig into:

Whether Libra’s massive network and cash pile will suck the life out of other open-source initiatives

Why a regulated approach to digital assets might have an easier time surviving and thriving

Is the stablecoin market overhyped right now?

How developments in the fintech ecosystem may have an impact on business models in the cryptocurrency market

This episode of The Scoop is brought to you by Bitstamp, the original global cryptocurrency exchange. Since 2011, Bitstamp has been a cornerstone of the industry, earning the trust of over four million individuals and top financial institutions looking for a reliable trading venue. Whether you’re trading on our web platform, mobile app or industry-leading APIs, Bitstamp gives you the professional-grade tools you need to execute your strategy. Download the Bitstamp app or visit Bitstamp.net/Pro to learn more and start trading today! This episode was also brought to you by PAX Gold, the world’s only regulated gold token. It’s the fastest and easiest way to own and trade the highest-quality physical gold. One PAX Gold token represents one fine troy ounce of a 400 oz London Good Delivery gold bar, stored in Brink’s vaults in London. When you buy PAX Gold, you own physical gold. The value of PAX Gold is always tied directly to the real-time market value of gold.PAXG is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, and can easily be moved or traded anywhere in the world, 24/7. With PAXG, anyone can now own a fraction of an LBMA-accredited London Good Delivery gold bar with zero storage fees. Trade it today on leading exchanges like Kraken, FTX and itBit. Or, earn interest on your PAX Gold holdings through Nexo or Crypto.com. Learn more or purchase PAX Gold at paxos.com/paxgold

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Unless you were hiding under a rock on Thursday, you would have seen the letter by macro investor Paul Tudor Jones that outlines his case for owning bitcoin as a hedge against central bank money printing. In the letter – titled The Great Monetary Inflation – Jones dropped the bombshell update that Tudor Investment Corp could allocate a percentage of its assets to bitcoin futures. Although Jones doesn't subscribe to owning bitcoin "in isolation" or view himself as a "crypto nut," the coin community propelled into euphoria at the sight of one of the most respected fund managers giving the burgeoning asset a stamp of approval. Galaxy Digital's Mike Novogratz – having once sat in a similar seat to Jones as a macro investor – joined The Scoop's Frank Chaparro and discussed the significance of Jones' letter. This latest episode also digs into:

The macro investor's toolbox: Why it doesn't matter that Jones might allocate to futures rather than spot bitcoin

More funds on the sidelines: Novogratz says many major fund managers he knows own bitcoin in their personal accounts but say it's too difficult to buy through their funds

Update on Galaxy: How the firm revamped its playbook to take advantage of the new environment and why subscriptions for the asset management business have increased

The macro picture: Why inflation could follow a period of deflation

The dollar: Why Novogratz thinks the chances of China taking on dollar hegemony is at an all-time high

Halving: How it’s fueling bitcoin’s bullish narrative and where bitcoin’s price is going after it happens

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We are going to rewind the clock on this episode of The Scoop with the Odd Lots team, Bloomberg's Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal. The podcast duo – whose combined time covering global financial markets spans more than three decades – take us back to their times at the FT's Alphaville and The Business Insider, respectively, where they covered the 2008-2009 financial crisis. In this episode, the podcasters become the "podcast-ees." The episode explores how there are parallels between the dearth of reporters at the cutting edge of the repo markets and blind spots in today's coverage of the coronavirus. We also dive into:

The differences between the structural problems as revealed by the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19-linked crisis.

How the government's inability to funnel money to Main Street reveals the issues underpinning our financial plumbing, and how those issues could make Universal Basic Income more of a mainstream policy prescription in the U.S.

Why cash in people's pockets during a crisis is a good thing.

How this crisis might result in a shift in how we think about capitalism, whereas the last crisis resulted in a shift in the way we think about risk.

How bitcoin and Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) aren't as different as some pundits might think.

Why we shouldn't sleep on equity analyst research.

This episode is brought to you by Bitstamp the original global cryptocurrency exchange. Since 2011, Bitstamp has been a cornerstone of the industry, earning the trust of over four million individuals and top financial institutions looking for a reliable trading venue. Whether you’re trading on our web platform, mobile app or industry-leading APIs, Bitstamp gives you the professional-grade tools you need to execute your strategy. Download the Bitstamp app or visit Bitstamp.net/Pro to learn more and start trading today!

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From multi-platinum performing artist to crypto-entrepreneur, the mononymous Akon has long chased lofty ambitions. The Senegal-native's Akoin project is the singer's latest lofty endeavor. The aptly-named cryptocurrency was founded to democratize financial-services in Africa, where traditional banking infrastructure is scarce. Indeed, the project harkens back to the ICO boom of 2017 when celebrities made headlines in the mainstream press for promoting a digital currency fundraise – drawing the attention and occasional ire of regulators. In this episode of The Scoop, Akon – the chief visionary of Akoin – and Akoin president Jon Karas join The Block's Frank Chaparro and Ryan Todd to defend the project's viability. Akon and Jon position Akoin not as the answer to the financial inefficiencies of the world but as a last-mile solution to financially unify a continent long hindered by corruption and monetary instability. In this episode, we also discuss:

How Akon's ties to Western Africa, and Senegal in particular, give him an advantage over other crypto entrepreneurs that that are less familiar with the region

How Akon was able to work with the Senegalese government to develop Akon City, a planned smart city that he claims has attracted $7 billion in funding

Akon's favorite traditional Senegalese dish: Thieboudienne

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Despite the world being beset by the COVID-19 pandemic and a financial crisis, humor is something we can all find respite in. This is even the case, believe it or not, for Wall Street. From the Ghana funeral that's swept financial services Twitter (FinTwit) following Ray Dalio's "cash is trash" call to the much-loved "Money printer go brr," this crisis has seen its fair share of memes. Indeed, it's fueled engagement for meme accounts, such as Ramp Capital, the anonymous, self-declared CFO of FinTwit. An engineer by trade, the man behind the Ramp Capital account has been tweeting about the financial services world since 2013, bringing a degree of humility to an ecosystem long known for its buttoned-up style. He's ramped things up, pun intended, since global markets began gyrating in February. On this episode of The Scoop, The Block's Frank Chaparro and Ryan Todd talk to Ramp about memeing through the crisis and its wild stock market swings, Ramp's crowdsourced stock portfolio – $WERAMP – and Ramp's observations on the key difference between market sentiment and Twitter sentiment.

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In 19 days, the number of bitcoin released with each block reward will drop from 12.5 to 6.25, a 50% cut in supply. This will be the third halving in bitcoin's lifetime and it has market participants across crypto speculating about the potential ramifications. Namely, whether it will result in a pop in bitcoin's price or whether it is priced in. In this episode of The Scoop, we welcome GSR Trading co-founder Rich Rosenblum to dig into the halving. Rosenblum, who spent ten years at Goldman Sachs trading oil, kicked things off with the firm's transition from a programmatic trading firm in a retail driven market into a broker offering bespoke products to help miners hedge their risks. We also discuss:

The fundamental difference between oil and bitcoin in terms of supply and demand dynamics

The similarities between mining operators and shale producers

The reason why U.S.-based "institutional" offerings have failed to launch while the Asian derivatives market has taken off

How trading firms and market participants are preparing for the halving, and, of course, whether it is priced in

Episode 14 of Season 2 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with Frank Chaparro and Rich Rosenblum, co-founder of GSR Trading.

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The U.S. Federal Reserve and the Federal government are working aggressively to implement policies to address the financial crisis tied to the spread of Covid-19. Most recently, Americans across the country began receiving checks to recoup losses in their incomes and the Fed said it would serve as a backstop for the junk bond market, announcing it would for the first time purchase corporate bonds including those in junk territory. Such government actions has triggered a cacophony of criticism, some of whom argue the stimulus doesn't go far enough to address mounting unemployment. Others say the Fed's action could result in a surge in inflation. In an episode of The Scoop, legendary macro investor and founder of Real Vision Raoul Pal joins The Block's Frank Chaparro and Ryan Todd to examine the current macro backdrop. Pal argues that the impact of Covid-19 on consumer of behavior—including a dip in spending on concerts and restaurants—is not being truly appreciated by the markets. In this episode we also explore:

Why stimulus up until this point is "papering up the cracks" and won't be enough to sustain the economy through the Covid-19 storm

What he would do if he ran the Fed

Why people should be worried about deflation, not inflation

How the "dollar is going to break the global system" and how that could benefit Libra or bitcoin

Episode 13 of Season 2 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with Frank Chaparro, Ryan Todd and Raoul Pal, CEO and founder of Real Vision.

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A financial crisis triggered by a global pandemic has exposed underlying problems on Wall Street and the market as a whole. That's according to Paxos chief executive officer Charles Cascarilla, who made an appearance on the latest episode of The Scoop podcast with host Frank Chaparro. Cascarilla – who spent the most formative years of his career as a hedge fund investor at Cedar Hill Capital during the 2008-2009 financial crisis – talked about unexpected liquidity issues across assets, such as Treasury securities and CAT bonds, and the problematic plumbing at the heart of it all. Cascarilla said that uncertainty of the pipes and plumbing added to the risk associated with volatility and the inability to price assets during an economic and health crisis. He said less risk can be created by knowing where one's assets are on a blockchain. In this episode of The Scoop, Cascarilla walked us through how Paxos is trying to usurp the current plumbing of Wall Street alongside power hitters like Credit Suisse and Instinet with a new blockchain-based settlement platform. The episode also dug into conditions that could result in widespread bank failures and nationalization of the industry. And of course, the discussion touched on bitcoin's role in a global crisis and whether the premier cryptocurrency emerges from this crisis period as digital gold.

Episode 12 of Season 2 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with Frank Chaparro, Ryan Todd and Charles Cascarilla, CEO of Paxos.

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The cryptocurrency market continues to exhibit signs of volatility. As such, Genesis Global Trading – an institutional over-the-counter cryptocurrency trading and lending firm – decided to hit the pause button on credit extension amidst the coronavirus-tied market chaos. Recently, Genesis has started to extend credit on a client-by-client basis but is acting gingerly in the market it helped pioneer – at least for a few weeks to figure out where the crypto credit market stands. Moreover, while Genesis pulls back, its rivals have been willing to give out loans at significantly reduced collateral. In this episode of the Scoop, Genesis CEO Michael Moro discusses the firm's rationale behind these critical decisions, a recent phone call it received from its regulator FINRA, and how the need for employees to work remotely has impacted its business. Episode 11 of Season 2 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with Frank Chaparro, Ryan Todd and Michael Moro, CEO at of Genesis Global Trading and Genesis Capital. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com

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As markets whipsaw amidst uncertainty surrounding the economic and health impacts of the coronavirus, the pipes and plumbing of our financial system, for the most part, has held up. That is even as legions of bankers, traders, and financial services professionals are forced to hunker down in their homes. Last week, there was one exception, however. A reported ransomeware issue at a little-known payments processor caused headaches across mid-sized banks across the country, making it difficult for certain Fedwire wires to execute. Silvergate, which banks for more than 800 cryptocurrency firms, was one of the firms that had issues with inbound Fedwire transfers. In this episode of The Scoop, Silvergate CEO walks us through the outage, the underpinning of banking and the Fedwire, and the firm's plans for 2020.

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Many have tried to launch a bitcoin-tied ETF, but all have failed. Bitwise Asset Management is one such fund manager, which had its proposal for a bitcoin-linked fund shot down by the Securities and Exchange Commission in January. Indeed, the fight for a bitcoin ETF dates all the way back to the Winklevoss' attempt to launch one with Cboe. The idea behind an ETF is that it would offer an onramp for investors who want exposure to bitcoin but are uninterested in holding the coins themselves. In this episode of The Scoop, Bitwise COO Teddy Fusaro joins us to discuss the elusive bitcoin ETF. In addition Fusaro and The Block's Frank Chaparro discuss:

The history of the bitcoin ETF

The reasons why regulators aren't keen on approving one, such as market manipulation and the lack of cross-exchange market surveillance

How demand for a bitcoin ETF has translated into a premium for Grayscale's GBTC product and how traders can cash in on the premium

A deep look at Bitwise and why Fusaro views it as an asset-manager and educator in the crypto market that unearths "hard truths"

Fusaro harkens back on his Rhode Island, Italian heritage as he shares his favorite Italian delicacy with Chaparro

Episode 9 of Season 2 of The Scoop was recorded at The Block offices with Frank Chaparro and Teddy Fusaro, COO at Bitwise. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com

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State Street, one of the largest custody banks in the world, has yet to launch a service to store crypto assets but that doesn't mean it is actively involved in the digital asset market. Leading the charge is Jay Biancamano, Managing Director of digital product development and innovation at the firm. Biancamano has had his finger on the pulse of all things market structure, having previously worked at trading technology firms like ITG, Liquidnet, and Fidessa. So he has seen the shift to electronic trading take place in U.S. equities. On this episode of The Scoop, Biancamano and The Block's Frank Chaparro explore how the digitization of assets will transform the trading landscape. In this episode we look at

State Street's partnership with Gemini on cryptocurrency trade reporting

The five key trends to watch has markets shift from electronic to digital

The relevance of the Morgan Stanley/E*Trade deal to the crypto market

Why stocks aren't going to tokenize as soon as some pundits might think

Episode 8 of Season 2 of The Scoop was recorded at The Block offices with Frank Chaparro and Jay Biancamano, Managing Director at State Street. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com

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To the bemusement of some XRP bears, crypto exchange Bitso captured attention earlier this year with news that it captured over 2% of Mexico's remittance market. Indeed, the ability to quickly and seamlessly send money across borders has long been one of the touted benefits of cryptocurrencies, but Bitso's surge has stood out among its rivals. XRP/Peso volume growth has surged over the past 5-months, while volumes on the whole declined. In this episode of The Scoop, Bitso CEO Daniel Vogel walked The Block's Frank Chaparro through its business. We also examine:

Why Vogel thinks Bitso can capture 20% of the Mexican remittance market by the end of the year (the equivalent of over $100 million a week)

The crypto landscape in Mexico and Latin America and the reason why it boosts "crazy" adoption metrics

What traditional financial-services companies in Mexico can learn from crypto-native firms like Bitso about the digitization and democratization of finance

The catalyst behind the growth of its XRP-powered remittance business

Episode 7 of Season 2 of The Scoop was recorded on January 21 via Skype with Frank Chaparro and Daniel Vogel, CEO at Bitso. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com

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Crypto custodian Anchorage emerged from stealth in January 2018, unveiling a new type of custody solution aimed at toppling incumbents like BitGo and Coinbase. Backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Blockchain Capital, the firm has locked down $57 million in venture capital to build out a faster alternative to cold storage solutions. Leading the firm's regulatory and policy efforts is Katie Biber, a legal professional who once served as the GC for Romney's presidential campaign. On this episode of The Scoop, The Block's Frank Chaparro and Bieber explore:

Anchorage's review process in determining whether or not to list an asset

The importance of transitioning from state by state regulatory framework to a unified federal framework

Why the absence of enforcement action has made it harder for companies understand what law is, or is not

Why Anchorage expected major regulatory pushback against The Libra Association, and why this is not necessarily a bad thing

Episode 6 of Season 2 of The Scoop was recorded on January 21 at The Block offices with Frank Chaparro and Katie Biber, General Counsel at Anchorage. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com

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Blockchain.com is one of the oldest companies in the crypto world. Best known for its consumer wallet business, the firm has expanded into new verticals over the past year, launching an exchange, institutional lending, and over-the-counter trading businesses. On this episode of The Scoop, Blockchain.com CEO Peter Smith joined The Block's Frank Chaparro to discuss:

how the firm has leveraged its 40 million wallet accounts to break into new segments

the size of the non-custodial market versus the custodial market

The crowded crypto exchange space

Facebook Libra

Episode 5 of Season 2 of The Scoop was recorded at Blockchain.com's New York office with Frank Chaparro and Peter Smith, Founder and CEO at Blockchain.com. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com

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Facebook's Libra sent shockwaves through Washington D.C. when it was announced with much fanfare last summer. Indeed, it sparked a conversation among policymakers and legislators about the benefits of cryptocurrency, and stablecoins specifically, as well as broader questions about what money is and the implications of a Facebook rival to the U.S. dollar. Since this summer, a number of countries have announced their intentions to digitize their own sovereign currency. In China, the country has ramped up its own efforts to launch a blockchain-based version of their currency. None of this is going unnoticed on the Hill and on this most recent episode of The Scoop, Perianne Boring explores why concerns about China are driving lawmakers to focus on the space.

In this episode we discuss:

The history of blockchain and cryptocurrency policywork in the US

China's 84 blockchain patents and its plans for a digital currency

Lawmakers concerns about China being the leader in blockchain and central bank digital currencies

Former CFTC chair Christopher Giancarlo's plan for a digital currency

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Launched in May 2019, crypto exchange FTX has showcased the breakneck growth of the burgeoning market for digital asset derivatives. The Binance-backed firm is known for its diversity of products, offering trading of futures tied to dozens of cryptocurrencies. Recently, following the lead of firms like Bakkt, CME, and Derebit, FTX launched options, a derivative product that offers the option traders to purchase bitcoin at a certain price at a predetermined point in the future. Indeed, options have been a hot topic in crypto given recent activity. In this episode of The Scoop FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and The Block's Frank Chaparro discuss:

How derivatives and options markets are developing differently in Asia versus the US, where regulated exchanges like CME Group dominate

FTX's unique approach to bitcoin options and other derivatives products

Whether Asian-based exchanges are exposed to potential regulatory risks

Why FTX will likely slow down its rolling out of new product

The risks of launching derivatives on low volume crypto assets

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When Tagomi came out of stealth mode in 2018, the need for a crypto prime broker was a commonplace talking point in the digital asset world. An independent broker, sitting in between the spine-tingling market and investors, would help lure larger asset managers to bitcoin, pundits said. Indeed, two years later even Tagomi has been disappointed by the lack of asset managers in the market and their focus on best execution, although important, is no longer core. Still, even though the firm's conception of a crypto prime broker has changed, it sees other opportunities on the horizon. In this episode of The Scoop we explore:

How the firm has adapted when the institutional wave of asset managers fell apart

How the notion of a crypto prime broker has changed since the company's founding

How Tagomi can serve traditional technology companies entering the market, such as Facebook Libra and Robinhood

Examine the on-boarding process for large institutional investors

Why the firm does not want to service retail clientele

Why the firm is bullish on Libra

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JP Thieriot is the CEO of Uphold, a crypto broker that serves 184+ countries, across 30+ currencies (traditional and crypto) and commodities with frictionless foreign exchange and cross-border remittance for members around the world. In this episode we explore:

Competition in the crowded landscape of crypto brokerage

The key distinctions between the U.S. and South America in regards to crypto utility and speculation

How Uphold is promoting utility and providing a safe haven from inflation in countries such as Venezuela and Argentina

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Kristin Smith is the Executive Director of The Blockchain Association. In this episode Kristin sits down for her second time with Frank, Ryan, and Steven to discuss:

Where we stand after the Libra hearings and predictions on how this story will play out in 2020

The important differences between Republicans and Democrats in the manner they introduce crypto related legislation

The Blockchain Association's efforts in making the U.S. more appealing for blockchain businesses to operate

The implications of Brad Sherman being appointed as new chair of the subcommittee of the Financial Services Committee

Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.

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Episode 34 of The Scoop was recorded with Frank Chaparro, Ryan Todd, and Horacio Barakat, V.P. of corporate strategy at Broadridge. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. In this episode Horacio sits down with Frank and Ryan to discuss:

The challenges associated with implementing distributed ledger technology into the financial services industry

Broadridge's strategy to roll out a DLT-based repo platform

The reasons why banks need to parter with fintech companies to innovate versus built it alone

How they pitch old school broker dealers on blockchain

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Tom Jessop is the President of Fidelity Digital Assets. In this conversation Frank and Tom discuss:

Fidelity's process in deciding between servicing institutions or retail

The importance of custodians as a foundation for the digital assets market

Why even the best technology may fail when there is no mature market structure

Fidelity Digital Assets offering of execution services

Why it is important to implement aspects of traditional finance into the digital assets space

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Leo Zhang is Principal at Iterative Capital Management, an investment manager, cryptocurrency miner, and wholesale dealer. In this episode Leo joins Frank Chaparro and Matteo Liebowitz to discuss:

The unseen impact Bitcoin miners have on the overall market

The initial public offering of mining firm Canaan and new entrants to the market, like Layer1

The significance of rainy season in China and it's importance to mining ecosystem

Leo's take on upcoming halvening and it's impact on the entire Bitcoin ecosystem

Why Bitcoin on / off ramps are a main focus for Iterative Capital's investment strategy

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Alex Gladstein is the Chief Strategy Officer of the Human Rights Foundation. Alex is a supporter of Bitcoin and it's important role in supporting human rights against oppressive regimes. In this Episode Frank and Alex discuss the important distinction between the moral and legal issues surrounding Virgil Griffith's recent arrest, Bitcoin's potential role in the modern urban protesting environment, how the IMF could, but wont, lend aid to Venezuelans in need by using Bitcoin, and the separation of money and state in a future cashless society.

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Episode 30 of The Scoop was recorded on Skype with Frank Chaparro, Steven Zheng, and Andy Rachleff, Co-Founder of Wealthfront. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com. In this episode of the Scoop, Andy discusses several topics with Frank and Steven, including:

How Andy saw opportunity in the crowded investment services space

Why Wealthfront has developed a laser focus on millennial investors

Why Wealthfront does not include cryptocurrencies in their investment services

Andy's experience as a co-founder at Benchmark, including his biggest failure as an investor

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Max Boonen is the Founder & Director of B2C2, one of the world's largest OTC liquidity providers. In this conversation Frank and Max discuss:

Why Max encourages competition amongst OTC liquidity providers

Why Max thinks the institutional investors that matter may already be in the space

The importance of accounting for regulatory and customary risk when entering a new market

Why the majority of B2C2 clients prefer to trade Tether

How B2C2 differentiated itself as a young company

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In this episode of The Scoop, Paolo Ardoino discusses several topics with Frank Chaparro and Larry Cermak, including:

Bitfinex's failures in transparency and what they are doing today to be more transparent

Paolo's thoughts on the research report suggesting Tether manipulated Bitcoin prices during the 2017 bull run

Why Bitfinex saw success in raising capital for LEO

Plans to launch options which will be available on Bitfinex via it's company iFinex Financial Services

Tether's plans to launch a gold-backed Tether Gold, with each coin directly linked to a specific gold bar

Bitfinex's partnership with a well-known company to launch crypto gift cards

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Bob Greifeld led Nasdaq as its CEO from 2003 to 2016, driving its evolution as a fledgling listing venue for many tiny tech companies into a diversified global financial technology company. He now sits on the board of two financial high frequency trading firms, including Virtu Financial, where he serves as Chairman. In this conversation, we discuss his new book, Market Movers, and dig into his storied career and examine some of the market structure debates shaping today's capital markets.

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Agatha Bacelar is a 27-year-old Brazilian-American running for Congress in California’s 12th district, a seat currently held by House speaker Nancy Pelosi. Agatha is not your typical Congressional candidate. With a degree from Stanford University and a professional background in blockchain, Agatha is aiming to make tech regulation an important conversation in politics. In this conversation, Agatha discusses how she got into politics, her time working at Democracy Earth, her stance on universal basic income, and why now is the time to run against the most powerful Democrat in the country. I hope you enjoy the episode.

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State Street, one of the largest custody banks in the world is yet to launch a service to store crypto assets but that doesn't mean the Boston based firm isn't making waves when it comes to digital assets. On this episode of The Scoop we spoke to Jay Biancamano, managing director of digital product development and innovation at the firm about the opportunity State Street sees in the market. The 25 year plus financial services veteran also shared stories about his time in the US equity market structure, explained why the firm isn't in the bitcoin custody business yet and how block chain can make multi-asset trading finally a reality. I hope you enjoy the episode

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On this episode of The Scoop, Michael Sonnenshein talks about the largest Q3 that Grayscale has experienced in it's 6 year history, the increased participation of institutions in the space and the transference of traditional wealth that will be occurring over the next couple of decades -- a transference that will undoubtedly expand the scope and usage of digital currencies.

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While big players like Coinbase, Bakkt and Consensus make most of the headlines in Crypto and on Crypto Twitter there are some institutional players that have been quietly operating in the background for years in the Bitcoin market. One such player is Jump Trading and it's affiliate venture capital firm, Jump Capital. Jump Trading is one of the most active traders in the digital asset world and also one of the most discrete. Leading investments on the Crypto side at it's sister firm Jump Capital is Peter Johnson -- a principal at the firm who joined The Scoop to discuss the firm's origin story in Crypto, we also dove into the firm's Crypto incubator at the University of Illinois Champaign and we talked about the trends Johnson is expecting to play out in 2019. I hope you enjoy the episode.

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Tom Lee is one of the great luminaries of crypto and finance Twitter. The former chief equity analyst at JP Morgan made headlines during the bitcoin boom of 2017 with his calls that the cryptocurrency would soar to it's price target of $25,000. Fast forward to today; Lee isn't making anymore price targets on bitcoin but he still makes calls on the market -- leading Fundstrat, a market research shop covering both equities and crypto. On this episode of The Scoop, Lee shared his thoughts on how the research business has evolved over the last 2 decades, why he doesn't think bitcoin is a macro-hedge and the largest roadblocks keeping big investors out of the market. We hope you enjoy the episode.

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Union Square Ventures is one of the most prominent east coast VC firms and is also one of the most notable mainstream investors in the bitcoin market. On this episode of The Scoop USV partner Nick Grossman joined us to discuss the firm's approach to investing in the market -- he was recently promoted to partner to lead blockchain investments after 5 years with the firm. We spoke about Libra association which USV is a member of, we examined USV's portfolio and talked about the future of venture capital and the future of capital formation. I hope you enjoy the episode

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Galaxy Digital is one of the most well known brands in the market for digital currencies led by it's stalwart Mike Novogratz. The firm's origin story dates back to the bitcoin boom of 2017. Originally, Galaxy was to be a $500 million hedge fund which at the time reportedly lured the attention of family offices and other hedge fund managers. It also marked a striking comeback story for Novogratz who left his previous employer, Fortress Investments after his $2.3 billion macro-fund was liquidated resulting in his exile from the Wall Street world. Fast forward to 2019 and Galaxy Digital looks a lot different than it was described in initial reports. The nearly 80 person firm spans asset management, trading and consulting -- an operation some have likened to Wall Street's investment banks. In this episode of The Scoop Novogratz talked about Galaxy's multi-faceted role in the crypto market, why it is expanding into San Francisco and the reason why the bear market might not necessarily be over. I hope you enjoy the episode.

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Listen to a preview of next week's The Scoop episode where Frank chats with Mike Novogratz, the Founder, CEO and Chairman at Galaxy Digital.

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Founded in 2013, Pantera Capital is one of the oldest investors in the nascent market for digital currencies. Having previously made headlines for it's eye-popping 25,000%+ returns in bitcoin back in the heyday of 2017 -- it might also be one of the most recognizable brands. On this episode of The Scoop, The Block welcomed Pantera Capital partner Paul Veradittakit to talk about the firm's history, why it sees more room for investing in the crowded crypto currency exchange market and how the firm plans to fend off new upstart challengers in the years to come.

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Paxos wears many hats in the blockchain ecosystem. It offers one of the better known stable coins, $PAX. Operates a crypto currency exchange, that's itBit and the company provides products that help large firms use blockcain to improve their settlement systems. But at the heart of Paxos (according to CEO Charles Cascarilla) is to move the financial system onto the blockchain -- it's a move he says could prevent future financial calamities like what the market saw in 2008. On this episode of The Scoop Cascarilla talked about the growth of it's stable coin and why stable coins are a better alternative for merchants. I hope you enjoy the episode

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On this episode of The Scoop, Nelson Minier, who was once the world's largest Venezuelan bond trader shares his stories about being a trader during the financial crisis, how he built up Kraken's OTC business and straddling the line between the worlds of traditional and emerging financial services.

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R. Martin Chavez is perhaps one of the most senior technologists on Wall Street as the global co-head of securities at Goldman Sachs. On this episode of The Scoop Chavez talked about the evolution of banking over the past 20 years, Goldman’s foray into bitcoin and the reason why he thinks the Fed will end up making its own cryptocurrency. Transcript and show notes are available on The Block.

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Listen to a preview of this week's The Scoop episode where Frank and Ryan discuss technology adoption, blockchain, and cryptocurrencies at Goldman Sachs with Marty Chavez, Global Co-Head of Securities.

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CoinList president Andy Bromberg has witnessed numerous cycles of the token sale market. From the ICO boom in 2017 to the short-lived STO mania the next year. Today, CoinList continues to offer it's platform for firms to conduct token sales for institutional investors, recently facilitating crypto-project Algorand's $60 million offering -- it was one of the largest in recent memory. Bromberg joined The Scoop to discuss how the surge in bitcoin's price has impacted the broader market for token sales, how CoinList's strategy has changed since 2017 and why the once hyped STO market never took off.

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Yoni Assia has been in the bitcoin world since 2012 and his firm eToro has offered a platform for crypto trading for several years but if you're a listener in the U.S. you might not have ever heard of his firm which actually has a $1 billion plus evaluation. The Israeli based company which is popular across Europe has just expanded into the U.S. and it's preparing to go head to head with the likes of Robinhood and Coinbase. Yoni is hoping big marketing dollars and the social network elements of eToro's platform will help it out compete U.S. giants. In this episode of The Scoop Yoni outlined his vision for eToro in the U.S., how the firm has traditionally expanded globally and the plan for it's new cryptocurrency exchange eToroX

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Alex Adelman is CEO and Co-Founder of Lolli, which is a rewards application that gives you bitcoin when you shop at your favorite stores. Frank Chaparro and Steven Zheng discuss e-commerce and crypto, the power of memes in regards to marketing Lolli in the spacehow the firm lures Fortune 500 companies to it’s platform and why it could one day offer services like lending and possibly a credit card.

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Zac Prince is CEO of BlockFi, which helps crypto investors manage digital assets and grow their net worth through services such as Bitcoin loans. Frank Chaparro and Ryan Todd discuss the complexity of crypto loans and the future of the industry. Notes and transcript available on The Block.

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David Mercer has been building out LMAX Digital, a UK-based institutional exchange venue, which recently clocked in $1 billion in volumes in one trading day. The firm counts dozens of banks and trading firms as its clients. Mercer joins The Scoop with Frank Chaparro and Ryan Todd at the Crypto Evolved event in New York City to talk about LMAX's growth, the 3 things keeping institutions from diving into the nascent market, and what it is like playing Rugby on the North Pole. Show transcript and notes available on The Block.

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It's been three months since Yuval Rooz stepped into his new role at Digital Asset as CEO. Rooz, a cofounder of the firm, had a goal of making the firm - which was best known for partnering with large financial institutions on blockchain project - more open. On this episode of The Scoop, Rooz joins Frank Chapparo and Ryan Todd to discuss his transition into the CEO suit, what it's been like to take the reins after the exit of Blythe Masters. We also dove into blockchain strategies across cloud providers like Amazon and the success of Digital Asset's partnership with the Australian Securities Exchange. Show transcript and notes available on The Block.

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Frank Chaparro and Matteo Leibowitz interview Joe McCann, the Founder and Chairman of the Board of NodeSource in this week's episode of The Scoop. Frank, Teo, and Joe discuss open source software, how it's changing the banking industry, decentralized financing, and how they're all coming together. View show notes and transcript.

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Frank Chaparro and Ryan Todd speak to Kristin Smith, the Director of External Affairs at the Blockchain Association in this week's episode of The Scoop. Frank, Ryan and Kristin discuss the implications of the case against Kik as well as the recently reintroduced Token Taxonomy Act. Kristin also reveals what it's like to represent leading crypto companies on the hill, and the reception of crypto and blockchain in D.C.

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A clip from next week's The Scoop episode with Kristin Smith, Director of External Affairs at the Blockchain Association. Frank Chaparro, Ryan Todd and Kristin Smith discuss the implications of the recent case against Kik. Subscribe and listen to the entire episode next Tuesday.

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In this episode of The Scoop, Frank Chaparro and Teo Leibowitz interview Carlos Domingo, CEO and Co-founder of Securitize. Carlos touches on what securities have to gain from being tokenized, the future of the tokenized security platform landscape and the advantage of taking tokenized security route vs. traditional finance. Frank, Teo and Carlos also touch on what separates Securitize from their competitors. For the transcript and additional reading materials: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/2019/06/04/a-conversation-with-carlos-domingo-ceo-and-co-founder-securitize/

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Frank Chaparro and Teo Leibowitz interview Emilie Choi, VP of Business, Data & International at Coinbase in this episode of The Scoop. Frank and Teo ask questions that cover a variety of topics spanning Emilie's rise at Coinbase to why crypto exchanges shouldn't be compared to their traditional counterparts. Emilie also shares her thoughts on what Coinbase's focus areas are in the near future. For the transcript and additional reading materials: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/2019/05/29/emilie-choi-coinbase/

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In this episode of The Scoop, Frank Chaparro and Ryan Todd interview Stephen Palley, Partner at corporate law firm Anderson Kill. Over the course of a forty-five minute long conversation, Stephen discusses the most current lawsuits including recent developments at Bitfinex and Tether. Stephen also shares his thoughts on projects like Maker and how he sees regulation developing. For the transcript and additional reading materials: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/2019/05/21/a-conversation-with-stephen-palley

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In this episode of The Scoop, Frank Chaparro and Larry Cermak interview Robert-Jan den Haan, an independent journalist focussed on cryptocurrencies and expert on all things Bitfinex and Tether. Robert guides Frank and Larry through the latest Bitfinex news, including the NYAG lawsuit, what may have happened their 850 million dollar reserves, and why Bitfinex in doing an IEO. To read the transcript and find additional reading material, please visit: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/2019/05/13/what-the-heck-is-happening-at-bitfinex/

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In this episode of The Scoop, Frank Chaparro and Ryan Todd interview Michael Moro, Chief Executive Officer at Genesis Trading / Genesis Capital. Genesis Trading is a Digital Currency Group company providing over the counter digital currency trading for high net worth individuals or institutions. In their conversation, Frank, Ryan, and Michael discuss legacy OTC firms adoption of crypto, the challenges of handling big alt-coin transactions, and how crypto lending markets are heating up. For the transcript and additional reading materials: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/2019/05/07/a-conversation-with-michael-moro-ceo-of-genesis-global-trading/

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In this episode of The Scoop, Frank Chaparro and Matteo Leibowitz interview Mark Yusko, CEO and CIO of Morgan Creek Capital Management. Mark is also Co-Founder & Partner of Morgan Creek Digital, an asset management firm focussed on investing across the blockchain and digital assets industry. Over the course of an hour long conversation, Mark discusses his investing philosophy, bullishness on Bitcoin and blockchain, which economic theories best describe reality, the mistake of moving off of a gold standard, and why financial markets in 2019 may be a repeat of the dotcom bomb. As Mark says in the opening "I'll give you the give you the short version although I don't do short well." To read the full transcript and see additional reading materials visit: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/2019/04/30/mark-yusko-ceo-and-cio-of-morgan-creek-capital-management/

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In this episode of The Scoop, Frank Chaparro and Ryan Todd interview Mike Bodson, CEO of DTCC. The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation is a 5,000 person operation that touches every corner of Wall Street, handling 1.8 quadrillion dollars of trades every year, flipping the GDP every three days. DTCC also operates a custodial service, securing 54 trillion dollars worth of securities, mostly in electronic form. Mike discusses Wall Street’s adoption of distributed ledger technology, cryptocurrency valuations, and how Superstorm Sandy almost wiped out 35 trillion dollars. To read more about this podcast and find additional related reading materials, head over to https://tblck.co/the-scoop-e1

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Frank Chaparro introduces The Block's new podcast, The Scoop, with a clip from the first episode, featuring Mike Bodson of DTCC. Catch an all-new episode of The Scoop every Tuesday. Subscribe now to get all future episodes straight to your device.

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