Liz Coyne

<div id="highlights-block_613fab56321c7" class="highlights">
 
</div>



Digital Asset Summit 2021, New York City — Blockworks&#8217; Digital Asset Summit 2021 is our flagship US-based institutionally focused crypto <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/events/digital-asset-summit-2021-2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">conference</a> for asset managers and financial services professionals.



Hosted Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 14 &#8211; 15, this in-person event features leaders from the world of finance and digital assets discussing crypto from the perspective of industry practitioners.



While the event is sold out, we are thrilled to be able to bring you all the main stage content via livestream.



<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/events/digital-asset-summit-2021-2/#form0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Follow this link and log-in to watch now.</a>

Digital Asset Summit 2021 Live from NYC

Jack Kubinec

This is a segment from the Lightspeed newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Donald Trump begins his second term as President of the United States on Monday, and after an expensive campaign season, crypto will finally get its president.&nbsp;



Bitcoin gained momentum following Trump’s victory, largely due to his pledge to create a strategic bitcoin reserve that would see the US Treasury Department <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/empire-newsletter-strategic-bitcoin-reserve">accumulate</a> nearly 5% of all bitcoin. But Trump taking office may still reap benefits for a less reserve asset and more use case focused network in Solana, industry participants say.



SOL is up 19% on the week leading up to Trump’s inauguration. The asset spiked 5% right after the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/01/16/business/new-trump-ends-crypto-communitys-government-harassment/">reported</a> the incoming president is “receptive to the idea” of a second strategic crypto reserve of tokens founded in the US like SOL, XRP, and USDC.



On that point, listen: I’m receptive to the idea of playing in the NBA, but that doesn’t mean you’ll see me suiting up for the Knicks this weekend. I think Paradigm’s vice president Alexander Grieve was prescient on the America-first crypto reserve.



“View such stories with skepticism until it comes from [Trump] or his staff,” Grieve wrote in an X post yesterday. “And question why such details might be in the press in [the] first place—[and] who might have put them there.”



There was other reporting on the Trump-crypto front that felt much more plausible this week however. Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-new-sec-leadership-poised-kick-start-crypto-overhaul-sources-say-2025-01-15/">reported</a> that under President Trump, the Securities and Exchange Commission would “potentially freeze” crypto litigation that does not come with allegations of fraud.&nbsp;



The SEC sued Coinbase and Binance in 2023, alleging that the crypto exchanges operated as unregistered broker-dealers for facilitating the trading of SOL, among other tokens.&nbsp;



In defining SOL as a security, Gary Gensler’s SEC essentially said that US firms that exchange the token are breaking the law. This is because it has only given out two of its special purpose broker-dealer licenses, and neither of those recipients offer SOL. The SEC already <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-didnt-say-sol-isnt-a-security">dropped its Solana allegations</a> from the Binance suit, but if the Coinbase enforcement were to also be frozen, then a potential major obstacle to the network’s adoption would be cleared.



With Solana’s unregistered security issues seemingly being put to bed, some are already looking ahead to SOL ETFs that would see regulated Solana investment vehicles trade on public stock exchanges. Polymarket bettors give SOL ETFs a 75% chance of being approved in 2025, although Sol Strategies CEO Leah Wald said she doesn’t expect Solana ETFs to be approved “anytime soon” in a <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/us-sol-etfs-unlikely-to-be-approved-soon">recent interview</a> with Blockworks’ Katherine Ross.



There’s also arguably a more intangible benefit to come for Solana under a Trump presidency and friendlier regulatory regime.&nbsp;



When SOL’s regulatory status was uncertain, developers largely focused on facilitating memecoin trading, which was “effectively a form of protest” against regulatory unclarity coming from the SEC, Titus Capilnean, vice president of go-to-market at Civic Technologies, said.



With Trump in office, crypto “may see a shift from pure speculation to utility-driven growth as builders gain confidence to launch more sophisticated applications without fear of regulatory backlash,” Capilnean said.



Many US Solana builders have told me over the last year that with regulatory clarity, their products would stand a much better chance of finding product-market fit. Here’s their chance to prove it.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

What’s to come for Solana under a Trump presidency?

Casey Wagner

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/forwardguidance">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



President-elect Donald Trump has made a lot of promises for his first day in office, to the crypto industry and otherwise.&nbsp;



With his inauguration just days away, let’s review some of his vows:&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Increase tariffs </h2>



Trump’s proposed <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/unpacking-trump-potential-tariff-policies">tariff plans</a> have made headlines for months. In late November, though, he made a new promise: a 10% increase on China, plus 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico. The latter two countries quickly signaled they were willing to negotiate.&nbsp;



Just this week Trump said that the “External Revenue Service,” a new agency that would be tasked with collecting tariff income, will be created on Monday. We at Forward Guidance are of the belief that tariff increases will happen at a much <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/trump-gradual-tariff-policy">slower</a> pace, though.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Commute Silk Road creator’s sentence</h2>



Trump in May <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/25/trump-commute-ross-ulbricht-sentence-libertarian-convention-00160025">pledged</a> to commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, who has been <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/silk-road-founder-10-years">serving</a> a double life sentence plus 40 years since 2015.&nbsp;



Ulbricht&nbsp; was convicted on seven federal counts including narcotics conspiracy and money laundering for his role in founding the <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/silk-road">Silk Road</a> marketplace. Prosecutors also presented evidence during trial supporting allegations that Ulbricht had paid $730,000 in murder-for-hire fees, but he was not charged with this crime.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Overturn SAB 121</h2>



Trump <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/01/13/andreessen-tech-industry-trump-administration-doge/">reportedly</a> plans to reverse the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/senate-gensler-sec-overturn-sab-121">SEC’s controversial</a> SAB 121 guidance, which states that crypto custodians should list custodied assets as liabilities on their balance sheet. 



President Biden last year <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/house-fails-to-override-anti-sab121-veto">vetoed</a> a bipartisan resolution that sought to do just this, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/05/31/a-message-to-the-house-of-representatives-on-the-presidents-veto-of-h-j-res-109/">arguing</a> the legislation “would inappropriately constrain” the SEC.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Trump’s day 1 promises come due 

Ben Strack

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/forwardguidance">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



After the 2024 launches of US bitcoin and ether ETFs, proposals for funds holding <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/us-sol-etfs-unlikely-to-be-approved-soon">solana</a>, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/xrp-etf-contingent-on-election-and-sec-appeal">XRP</a> and <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2039458/000199937124014510/hbar_s1-111224.htm#hbars1a002">even HBAR</a> surfaced. Others would, if greenlit, diversify across multiple coins.



There was also a <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/canary-capital-litecoin-etf">litecoin ETF plan</a> from Canary Capital Group that the firm <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2039461/000183988225002329/canary-s1a_011525.htm">amended</a> this week. Nasdaq submitted a <a href="https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/assets/rulebook/nasdaq/filings/SR-NASDAQ-2025-005.pdf">19b-4</a> form on Canary’s behalf — with some considering this step a positive sign for the product’s fate.



Canary CEO Steven McClurg told me he has “a high level of confidence” there’ll be more spot crypto ETFs in the US market this year, declining to get too specific.



We’ve heard industry watchers offer their “when, not if” optimism. But as the proposal stack grows bigger on the proverbial SEC desk (we’re in the digital filing age, didn’t you know?), the key question is what exactly it will take for these to get the go-ahead.



And with a <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/trump-nominates-new-sec-chair">new</a> SEC administration, are we talking weeks, months or years? Bloomberg Intelligence’s James Seyffart (who <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/one-year-since-bitcoin-etf-approval">spoke with me</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L2izGpzL-U">Felix</a> recently) noted on X that a litecoin ETF could see the light of day before SOL and XRP offerings.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">To be clear, i view a Solana or an XRP ETF approval from the SEC as a matter of &quot;when&quot; not &quot;if&quot; at this point but Litecoin *MIGHT* get through first &#8212; largely because of a lack of accusations that Litecoin is a security from the SEC&mdash; James Seyffart (@JSeyff) <a href="https://twitter.com/JSeyff/status/1879944849400688820?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



One of the reasons would be that the SEC — in <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/coinbase-binance-suits-different">lawsuits against</a> Coinbase and Binance, for example — <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/the-sec-says-these-crypto-assets-are-securities-their-reasoning-is-wrong#">has not labeled litecoin as a security</a>.&nbsp;



It did however put SOL in that <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/lightspeed-newsletter-mango-markets-sol">securities category</a>. And you know about the agency’s legal battle with Ripple. If you need a refresher, Casey yesterday detailed the SEC moving forward <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-advances-ripple-appeal">with an appeal</a> in <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-files-ripple-appeal-precedent">that case</a>.



ETF.com analyst Sumit Roy agreed an LTC ETF may have better odds due to “its simpler use case and history,” avoiding some regulatory scrutiny tied to XRP and SOL. He added that approval in 2025 is possible. “That said, the SEC remains cautious about market manipulation and custody risks, which apply to all crypto ETFs,” Roy told me.



Beyond the young US spot crypto products, today is the seven-year anniversary of the Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (BLOK) coming to market.&nbsp;



Crypto equity ETFs remain a key way advisers plan to <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/financial-advisers-crypto-adoption-survey">get exposure</a> to the space (see Bitwise/VettaFi survey results below), so I’ll be interested to see what sort of flows this fund notches in 2025. Its assets under management stand just shy of $1 billion.



<figure class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfqou9nxhw7MKaCg-3LZp8_nQRWDdk00e-o6wGM1lK7f9l-hbMsDic1sDkMhm28IjXyfqR_vks3Z_iGuB9OKZBIzODwpQfgdjtwN9uABcB4pttPAw6TTlMvhqsV4hohEfgsZzswDA?key=kSQe3_theVV6kqUG3io8EXYk" alt=""/></figure>



We could see new holdings for BLOK when more crypto- and blockchain-related companies go public. But for now, BLOK co-portfolio manager Dan Weiskopf <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/2025-crypto-stocks-to-watch">told us</a> he’s watching miners delving deeper into the AI segment and companies buying/holding BTC.



BLOK’s top five holdings are currently Galaxy, Robinhood, Core Scientific, Coinbase and MicroStrategy.&nbsp;



The six-spot goes to Metaplanet, a Japan-based MicroStrategy Jr. of sorts that has said it intends to up its bitcoin holdings to 10,000 BTC this year.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

ETP: Exchange-traded patience

Macauley Peterson

This is a segment from the 0xResearch newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



In the first ACD call of the year following the holiday break, Ethereum core developers were focused on tying up loose ends on the upcoming <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/testing-bottleneck-next-ethereum-upgrade">Pectra hard fork</a>.



Devnet 5, which went live shortly before the call, may be the last [network implemented] before moving on to the testnet phase, tentatively scheduled to begin in early February. System contracts for Pectra underwent bytecode audits, with all changes already implemented. A follow-up presentation on audit findings will occur in two weeks.



A significant part of the discussion focused on refining the gas refund mechanisms. <a href="https://ethresear.ch/t/analyzing-eip-7623-increase-calldata-cost/19002">EIP-7623</a>, which aims to clarify the handling of gas refunds, was successfully merged, resolving issues with the order of gas refund application. A fix addresses a lingering point for Pectra, ensuring that transaction gas costs align with expected outcomes.



Another key feature under scrutiny was EIP-7840, which pertains to <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ethereum-increases-gas-limit-pectra">base fee updates</a> in Ethereum&#8217;s future. Marek Moraczyński from the Nethermind team provided context for a proposal aiming to streamline configuration and bring consistency to Ethereum, enhancing network efficiency.



As Ethereum looks to pick off any low-hanging fruit to help with scaling, other improvements are working their way toward developer consensus. One, related to <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ethereum-increases-gas-limit-pectra">BLS precompilation</a> gas costs under <a href="https://typefully.com/LogarithmicRex/ethereum-upgrade-eip-2537-VvunN9Q">EIP-2537</a>, seeks to align gas constants with prior assumptions. Radek Zagórowicz from the Ipsilon team explained that “the easiest fix to the spec is&#8230;correcting the constant so it follows their previous assumptions.” This adjustment ensures gas costs are consistent, aligning with Ethereum’s larger goal of efficient scalability.



Gas limits on the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ethereum-dencun-upgrade-progresses">Holesky testnet</a> were discussed, with a proposal to keep them elevated, relative to mainnet, for testing purposes. For instance, the gas limit would increase to 60 million after the Pectra fork, and progressively rise with each fork thereafter.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Who should lead the EF?</h2>



Outside of the day-to-day development, the Ethereum community is also rallying behind Danny Ryan as a strong candidate to lead the Ethereum Foundation (EF). His technical expertise, demonstrated during Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake, as well as his community-driven approach, have made him a well-regarded figure in the space.



Aya Miyaguchi has been at the helm of the EF, serving as its executive director since 2018, but there’ve been a slew of calls on X for new leadership, many of which are in support of Ryan.



Anton Cheng <a href="https://x.com/antonttc/status/1879719906058678519">shared</a> his story of how Ryan inspired him in 2019 by “[showing him] the path to Ethereum,” as a strong proponent of open-source software. The prominent, though pseudonymous, DCinvestor similarly <a href="https://x.com/iamDCinvestor/status/1879694111348793634">outlined</a> Ryan’s leadership qualities, noting his ability to lead through uncertainty and his deep technical understanding of Ethereum, two essential qualities as Ethereum navigates its scaling challenges.&nbsp;



Ryan, who <a href="https://x.com/dannyryan/status/1834648555845271625">left</a> the EF in September, has been <a href="https://x.com/econoar/status/1879560601674121649">reportedly</a> interested in the EF role. He sounded a diplomatic note on X in a bid to head off any incivility:



“Regardless of the future of Ethereum — whether with or without me in any capacity — I want to state publicly and very clearly that I have nothing but respect and praise for [Miyagotchi&#8217;s] leadership and friendship,” Ryan <a href="https://x.com/dannyryan/status/1879705279761178690">wrote</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Pectra progress: Gas refunds, audits and Ethereum leadership talk

Katherine Ross

This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Coinbase is shaking things up.&nbsp;



If you somehow didn’t hear, Morpho and Coinbase have teamed up to offer loans where Coinbase users (though New York users can’t, much to the disappointment of some of my colleagues) can borrow USDC against bitcoin held on Coinbase. Pretty cool, right? Definitely yet another sign of the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/accountable-wants-to-be-the-new-celsius">changing times</a>.&nbsp;



Blockworks data whiz Dan Smith joined <a href="https://blockworks.co/podcast/empire/307eeabe-d45a-11ef-b591-8f988d3ad736">Empire’s round-up this week</a>, telling host Jason Yanowitz that he thinks the announcement is a win for bitcoin… with some caveats.



“ Bitcoin&#8217;s money, they [Coinbase] want it to be everywhere,” Smith said. But the asterisk, as he called it, is that the loanee now has to trust that Morpho can hold that bitcoin as collateral on Base. This can, understandably, cause anxiety about that going wrong.



As Smith pointed out, the upside is that Coinbase is the largest centralized exchange in the US.



For some folks, that’ll be enough to entrust Morpho and Coinbase with holding their loaned bitcoin.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="What&#039;s Wrong with Crypto Data (And How To Fix It) | Roundup" width="1024" height="576" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WrwwEzkC2xQ?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Watch today’s Empire roundup through the jump</figcaption></figure>



There’s been a lot of demand for the product, according to Coinbase’s VP of Product Max Branzburg.



Smith, in the episode, also noted that the pairing of onchain lending startup Morpho and Coinbase here is a huge win for the former.



For Branzburg and Coinbase, Morpho was the go-to because it has “built some really great products in this area, and has built protocols that are very well audited that are safe, secure, [and] provide that kind of value.”



But he’s not ruling out the potential for other integrations with other projects.&nbsp;



“As more people are building on base, we&#8217;ll find ways to bring Coinbase users to those builders,” Branzburg said.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">The future of finance is onchain. Onchain is faster, more efficient, and more global &#8211; and it&#39;s now in the hands of millions of Coinbase users with billions of dollars of assets to put to work. This is step one &#8211; imagine what&#39;s next. <a href="https://t.co/1GObSQjAyP">https://t.co/1GObSQjAyP</a>&mdash; Max Branzburg 🛡 (@maxbranzburg) <a href="https://twitter.com/maxbranzburg/status/1879910470313972173?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Honestly, one of my burning questions personally was two-fold, why bitcoin, and is this only going to be a bitcoin offering?&nbsp;



A few weeks ago, when I spoke with Haynes Boone partner Matthew Frankle, we discussed the rising appetite for bitcoin margin loans (which unfortunately didn’t make <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-crypto-lawsuits-future">its way into this newsletter</a>…yet). And now we have this big partnership announcement from Coinbase.



Branzburg’s simple answer to the first part is that bitcoin’s the “OG.” It’s really following the same formula Coinbase used when it announced its wrapped bitcoin product last year, which allowed folks to utilize their bitcoin exposure on Base.



“That was a pretty cool breakthrough a few months ago, but you still had to go take your bitcoin, get it into your wallet, navigate the protocols, figure out how to use it. What&#8217;s happening here is, under the hood, we&#8217;re doing all of that for you, abstracting all that complexity away,” he explained.&nbsp;



Essentially, it gives customers a potential value add for their bitcoin (and keeps it from getting dusty, of course).&nbsp;



Anyway, the last tidbit of information I gleaned was that bitcoin’s just the start for onchain lending via Coinbase.



“This roadmap will expand to other assets over time as well,” Branzburg told me.



So there you have it folks, Coinbase is going further onchain and, perhaps, just in time for crypto to have its moment in the spotlight.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Coinbase’s bitcoin-backed loans are just the start

David Canellis

This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



True believers of an impending <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/altcoin-market-returns-against-btc">altcoin season</a> now have their most compelling evidence to date:



XRP is at all-time highs (sort of), and the XRP Army is finally looking like the smart ones in the room.



It’s for sure a big deal. Price records for XRP have turned out to be crypto’s answer to Haley’s comet: They only come around once every half-decade or so. Which is eons around here.



There’ve been mixed reports over whether XRP has really broken its 2018 peak. A Fortune <a href="https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/01/16/ripples-xrp-breaks-3-for-first-time-since-2018-nears-all-time-high/">piece</a> yesterday pointed out that XRP’s all-time high is $3.84 on Binance while CoinGecko says $3.40.



XRP reached as high as $3.3991 on Binance on Thursday afternoon, per TradingView data. So eh, close enough.&nbsp;



Not to mention, Ripple Labs CTO David “JoelKatz” Schwartz has historically been <a href="https://x.com/JoelKatz/status/1879804948663398505">adamant</a> that XRP had never actually reached $3.84 in 2018 for most of the crypto trading world.



That price was supposedly met only briefly on South Korean exchanges, which at the time placed a hefty <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/k/kimchi-premium.asp">premium</a> on many top coins, including BTC and XRP.



Keep in mind that the goal for most crypto traders and investors is to avoid “round-tripping” their bags — holding coins from bull market top to bear market trough and back again.



Real roundtripping in XRP’s case would mean holding through a 90% collapse between January 2018 and December 2019, and another 80% drop between April 2021 and the following June.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXekw00ZhA5s4bW8zVHia7MMcFK82jH4Wi9xCeepk9RweCpgQDguZzn-6E5KAgC1Tg05MPvVrUIyEPGihqTXPUT7yU6yDyCy3piEolSBGmuG-70a0d2sTr0Wt2NWRHnkmfiFEcai9g?key=uNt10HG54B7aajpTJAD8tDt9" alt=""/></figure>



Here’s the rub: because XRP’s last all-time high was so long ago, its equivalent today would be much higher due to US dollar inflation.



What was $3.40 in 2018’s money would now be $4.25. XRP would need to rally by another 25% or so to break its inflation-adjusted all-time high, as shown by the beige area at the top of the chart above.



But that’s only against the dollar. XRP’s bitcoin and ether ratios continue to be firmly underwater, even despite its near-500% rally since this time last year.



The purple line on the chart below plots XRP’s performance against ETH, while the pink line is its BTC ratio.&nbsp;



XRP has lost 64% of its value against ETH since Ethereum launched in 2015 and 42% against BTC over its recorded trading history, starting in 2013.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdWXPGHvj_qw3RrwaZIGgTMMx985sXCxnobfJWthn7oSwGHNMN3jSo4V1t3doaSPCcy6WOSwJvnB3-Qk_Lmen7d61JVNY7eCpqhu5BCJkyG8ObwwmuJrpGIIww-0RZccDwOuQBuSQ?key=uNt10HG54B7aajpTJAD8tDt9" alt=""/></figure>



No matter. XRP’s rally is still very much a symbol of a crypto groundswell in the US ahead of Trump’s second term. A sign of the times that screams the US is open for crypto business.



Take Ripple’s branding and communication in its <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130427154139/https://ripple.com/bitcoiners/">early</a> years: “crypto” and “blockchain” were curiously absent right up until <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170801103655/https://ripple.com/">mid-2017</a>, instead opting to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131206081901/https://ripple.com/guide/#ripple-is-like-email">present</a> its distributed ledger as a payments protocol similar to email.



Now, they’re “<a href="https://ripple.com/company/">pioneers in crypto</a>.”



If there was such a thing as reverse <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/definitive-guide-chain-abstraction">chain abstraction</a>, Ripple has nailed it. And it’s paying off.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Roasting Ripple: XRP Army finally becomes the smart money

This is a segment from the Lightspeed newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



 Multicoin Capital was one of Solana’s early investors. Now it’s trying to change the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/lightspeed-newsletter-solana-economics">network’s inflation mechanism.</a>



The Austin, Texas-based firm <a href="https://github.com/solana-foundation/solana-improvement-documents/pull/228/commits/8969b469c724e89f64ac42540d5f99948f6dc3b5">published</a> a Solana Improvement Document this morning that would change SOL emissions from the current fixed schedule to a market-based solution. Multicoin’s proposal would likely drive down inflation — which dilutes SOL holders — but would also lower staking yields, which are a boon for SOL stakers.



In Solana terms, inflation refers to the network issuing SOL to the validators who run Solana’s software and help build the blockchain. Validators then pass this issuance along with some MEV rewards to the stakers who delegate staked SOL to them.&nbsp;



In brief, Multicoin’s proposal sets a target staking rate of 50% for security and decentralization purposes. If more than 50% of SOL is staked, then issuance would decrease to discourage staking by reducing yield. If less than 50% of SOL is staked, then issuance would increase to raise yields and encourage staking. The minimum inflation would be 0%, and the maximum would be based on the current Solana issuance curve.&nbsp;



Solana’s inflation rate was initially set at 8%, and this figure will decrease by 15% yearly until it reaches 1.5% inflation. SOL’s inflation rate is currently around 4.8%, according to Solana Compass. Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko said <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLsSUqQc-N8">on the Lightspeed podcast</a> that the fixed rate idea was borrowed from the Cosmos blockchain, and inflation is just “accounting.”



Yakovenko doesn’t care much about inflation, because the process of SOL issuance doesn’t create or destroy value, it simply moves value around. Newly-minted SOL gets passed along to stakers, while non-stakers see their holdings become relatively less valuable.



Still, Multicoin sees a reduction in SOL inflation as necessary for a few reasons. New SOL being passed only to stakers centralizes the network, high inflation reduces the usefulness of SOL for things like DeFi since there’s a high opportunity cost to not stake, and only 9% of staked SOL is liquid. Lower staking rewards could also reduce sell pressure in jurisdictions where staking rewards are counted as income for tax purposes.&nbsp;



Even though issuance doesn’t technically induce a cost to the network as a whole, the negative perception created by unstaked SOL being diluted makes it worth limiting inflation in Multicoin’s view.



There’s some positive precedent here: Ethereum had narrative success defining ETH as ultrasound money after becoming a proof-of-stake network and greatly diminishing its issuance. But there’s also negative precedent in a different way: Cosmos adopted a market-based inflation mechanism for ATOM, but its community has <a href="https://www.theblock.co/post/273899/cosmos-hub-inflation-reduction-proposal-rejection">quibbled</a> over where the bounds should be — and ATOM’s price is still down 34% over the past year.&nbsp;



In any event, Multicoin partner JR Reed told me the proposal was inspired by perpetual swaps and their use of funding rates, not Ethereum’s mechanism for limiting inflation. 



There’s one other obvious consequence of Multicoin’s proposal: SOL staking yield, which has <a href="https://dune.com/21co/solana-key-metrics">historically</a> stayed higher than 7%, would decrease if issuance decreased. A growth in MEV rewards could offset the lower inflation, but otherwise, staking SOL would begin to pay fewer dividends.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Solana to weigh possible SOL inflation cut

Felix Jauvin

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/forwardguidance">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Ever since COVID closed global economies in 2020, gauging where we stand in the business cycle has been a very difficult act.&nbsp;



The typical business cycle looks as follows, and historically, it’s been fairly easy to have a general idea of where we stood by contrasting it with interest rates and monetary policy:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1251" height="876" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-3.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-96329" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-3.png?w=1251 1251w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-3.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-3.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-3.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-3.png?w=367 367w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-3.png?w=373 373w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-3.png?w=313 313w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-3.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1251px) 100vw, 1251px" /></figure>



However, everything has been somewhat upside down in recent years, leaving many economists befuddled.&nbsp;



For example, in 2022 we saw negative real GDP prints (initially at two but then revised down to one):



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcaD8bJiY9EI6a_un5011HMUAE4n7ebj2s_5L5kMY0FZFczdw-D709gyxWMsOHcQ10-Lxuf45W42gKdvFetRjM_yxCIor80D161xiORXbMsIENJ3z0S87FY2mZXKHRj5y88FfGwyg?key=Gt2XLrt4V7a7uq7GkcoKF_N2" alt=""/></figure>



However, during that same time we saw one of the hottest labor markets we’ve ever seen, as per JOLTS data.&nbsp;



It’s hard to believe in a recession with a labor market that strong:



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfu1pS8mCEdMrnS9J3iGUp6gAL8JCfIDtYyn-kGoEFZvoR43BLyADoRFcRQEqzar_TQZrKSDVO1UN3gEVurdCjqw87-MlsArccmbQPBF_Og3OGJuvEOC_VQc1vDj0NntflgCL78?key=Gt2XLrt4V7a7uq7GkcoKF_N2" alt=""/></figure>



Since 2022, we’ve seen a major rate hiking cycle from the Fed that somehow also didn’t tilt the economy into a recession when looking at it on an aggregate basis. Stocks hit new highs everyday, the labor market cooled but remained resilient, and GDP growth powered ahead.



During that same time, however, if you honed in on the manufacturing and goods sector and set aside the services economy, it almost looks like we’ve just been through a manufacturing recession.&nbsp;



ISM Manufacturing PMIs have been in contraction territory for a couple years now:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="1002" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-2-1.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-96328" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-2-1.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-2-1.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-2-1.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-2-1.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-2-1.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-2-1.png?w=410 410w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-2-1.png?w=417 417w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-2-1.png?w=350 350w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-2-1.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



During that time, we saw significant disinflation leading to outright deflation in the goods sector of the economy:



<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfgDG1Vk4pLHxhRoWvTWu4Odo0vZpcfPvp3egPuVaVpT39kmU3Wq7mJ2EOvfkxMkHMbQm5SM6mXOhcU-0mB_z37DzuAOX9yLHd8dA3PBUmGXcaau2BkoCeXSIQ4Hu3_UEpMJvXN1A?key=Gt2XLrt4V7a7uq7GkcoKF_N2" alt="" style="width:480px;height:auto"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Source: <a href="https://inflationguy.blog/2025/01/15/inflation-guys-cpi-summary-december-2024/">inflationguy.blog</a> </figcaption></figure>



Fast forward to today, and we’ve seen the Fed cut rates to frontrun concerns about the labor market and continue attempting a soft landing of the economy where we move into a new business cycle without a recession.



We’re now seeing leading indicators hinting that the manufacturing sector might be exiting the doldrums and heading toward a new upswing.



We’re starting to see commodities begin to break out after two years of consolidation, hinting at an upswing in economic growth:



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXemmqOzL4DMgA6_oqmypMeAV88GMrAAuwLilLBFwzrbGzVH_JZMOuHF4WsC9O8agmsVvcg1hP10KrrsgvIVOcfj0SlN0JA4fG1lQ2nDtiad4XRGc3jpai2kV72_RjLEfEZekeL5?key=Gt2XLrt4V7a7uq7GkcoKF_N2" alt=""/></figure>



ISM new orders look to be breaking out, as well as the Philly Fed manufacturing index: 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="853" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-1-1.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-96327" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-1-1.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-1-1.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-1-1.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-1-1.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-1-1.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-1-1.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-1-1.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-1-1.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/unnamed-1-1.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeJJdCi6qIkwK5gQkla7A3FAtcLx_w3R6cLf3gZiCPpyAc9HkeC9rbM4G4oJ3N6r8-Q-GAA8TGs3OOattGg5lB4QqW643LdYPDor7ChxhBb18lMZU0axQRWHViEftCFH_yhq6wmrQ?key=Gt2XLrt4V7a7uq7GkcoKF_N2" alt=""/></figure>



Per the survey data, it’s looking like much of this is being led by optimism from the business sector ever since the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/donald-trump-declared-president-2024-election">election</a>:



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfpE451KEJufpBH6Rq7ZdDK10o8EG5j2AQRGI7SbOz0vQNLgtaNGjRT4Xy0GDzzlH0T_qXeO6EBr9YMGjtbiwvQdAoZeBdNYTZoR8GktQDNHN-vlBEhhZu_83bCPRQoCmvDaIXNaw?key=Gt2XLrt4V7a7uq7GkcoKF_N2" alt=""/></figure>



So where does this chart-geeking journey lead us?&nbsp;



I think it’s safe to say we’re not late in the cycle. It increasingly looks like we are in fact in the early innings of a new business cycle that avoided a recession due to the huge fiscal stimulus and deficits during the last couple of years.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Are we at the start of a new business cycle?

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/forwardguidance">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



The SEC has moved forward with an appeal in its <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-files-ripple-appeal-precedent">case against Ripple</a>.&nbsp;



The securities regulator is seeking to reverse a 2023 <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/judge-rules-ripple-xrp-not-security">ruling</a> that determined retail sales of Ripple’s XRP token were not unregistered securities offerings. Federal Judge Analisa Torres said that blind/programmatic sales of XRP, which occur on exchanges, were not in violation of US securities laws.&nbsp;



“The district court erred both factually and legally in concluding that defendants’ offers and sales of XRP to public buyers who purchased on crypto asset trading platforms,” the SEC wrote in its opening brief, filed late last night.&nbsp;



Even if buyers didn’t know their XRP tokens were coming from third parties or Ripple itself, Ripple still led the public to have “reasonable expectations of profits” from the cryptocurrency, the SEC said. Ripple’s “public marketing campaign…specifically engaged ‘less sophisticated’ investors,” the regulator added.&nbsp;



Ripple chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty dismissed the SEC’s claims, writing on <a href="https://x.com/s_alderoty/status/1879680738926481670">X</a> that the brief is nothing but “a rehash of already failed arguments.”&nbsp;



Plus, Alderoty added, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-chair-nominee-crypto-past">new leadership</a> at the SEC is likely to &#8220;abandon&#8221; the case altogether.&nbsp;&nbsp;



On this last point, I’m less certain that the SEC will drop this case after Trump takes office and Chair Gary Gensler <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/gary-gensler-resigning">departs</a>, at least immediately. It’s possible, but any decisions Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda make in the short term (before three additional commissioners are appointed and confirmed) will face harsh legal scrutiny. 



We’re much more likely to see commission votes resume after there are at least three sitting commissioners.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

SEC moves ahead with Ripple appeal in Gensler’s final days 

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/forwardguidance">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Amid ongoing speculation about an American strategic bitcoin reserve, several US states are looking to take matters into their own hands.&nbsp;



“It&#8217;s time for Texas to lead the way in establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve,” Texas senator Charles Schwertner wrote in a Wednesday X <a href="https://x.com/DrSchwertner/status/1879630775835890082">post</a>.&nbsp;



The GOP lawmaker’s proposal calls bitcoin a valuable digital asset “with strategic potential for enhancing this state’s financial resilience.” Its decentralized nature and finite supply are “unique qualities that can serve as a hedge against inflation and economic volatility.”



The draft bill seems to echo a Texas House <a href="https://legiscan.com/TX/text/HB1598/2025">proposal</a> from Rep. Giovanni Capriglione last month.&nbsp;



The reserve would be a “special fund” outside the state treasury’s general revenue fund. The comptroller would be responsible for establishing secure custody of the BTC (i.e. via cold storage) and may contract a US-based third party for help.&nbsp;



The Texas legislature — by a two-thirds majority vote in each house — can direct the comptroller to transfer, sell or convert the reserve’s BTC. It would then deposit proceeds to another state treasury fund or account.&nbsp;



Meanwhile, a lawmaker from Oklahoma (Cody Maynard) <a href="http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2025-26%20int/hb/HB1203%20int.pdf">introduced</a> a bill to allow the state treasurer to invest public funds in BTC, stablecoins or any other digital asset with an average market cap north of $500 billion over the previous calendar year.&nbsp;



Money used for such purchases could come from the state’s general, revenue stabilization and/or constitutional reserve funds. The amount it invests in BTC can’t exceed 10% of the public funds in the account.&nbsp;



These proposals follow similar ones by <a href="https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?bn=2664&amp;body=H&amp;sInd=0&amp;sYear=2023&amp;type=B">Pennsylvania</a>, <a href="https://x.com/Dennis_Porter_/status/1877746381949116787">New Hampshire</a>, North Dakota and other states.



While the fate of <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-as-a-potential-us-reserve-asset">Cynthia Lummis’s</a> national BTC reserve plan remains unclear, at the very least <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/trump-campaign-promises-bitcoin-reserve">Trump has promised</a> to keep the BTC the government already possesses.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

State bitcoin reserve plans proliferate

This is a segment from the 0xResearch newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



The rise of “<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-powerful-defi-potential">Bitcoin DeFi</a>” on new networks looking to scale Bitcoin has primarily come through bitcoin-backed derivatives like SolvBTC.BBN and LBTC. These derivatives receive staking rewards from Babylon, offering new avenues for liquidity and yield generation. However, concerns about the transparency of these platforms, particularly regarding the management of bitcoin reserves, have sparked debate within the Bitcoin community.



A recent <a href="https://x.com/trackoor/status/1875307649862135830">article</a> by the co-founder of Nubit, known online as Hans, raised alarms about the potential for unbacked reserves and the inflation of total value locked (TVL) in platforms like Solv. These concerns highlight broader risks in the bitcoin-backed derivatives space, especially as market volatility persists.



SolvBTC is minted by depositing either BTC or flavors of wrapped bitcoin so that solvBTC tokens mirror the value of the BTC held in reserves 1:1.



But after that, solvBTC can be moved freely across chains and apps, making it challenging to track TVL. That led to <a href="https://x.com/trackoor/status/1875876403536953575">allegations</a> of double-counting solvBTC issuance.



Solv co-founder Ryan Chow <a href="https://x.com/RyanChow_DeFi/status/1875414459747070086">called</a> the claims “a smear campaign, coordinated and orchestrated” by Solv’s competitors.



SolvBTC.BBN suffers from a liquidity discount which <a href="https://x.com/januszg_/status/1876728550931190049">deepened</a> to 7% last week following a hack of the protocol’s X account.



Solv has <a href="https://x.com/SolvProtocol/status/1876544783507988566">pledged</a> to reimburse user funds lost as a result of the hack.



Despite these clarifications, the core issue remains that Solv, like other bitcoin-backed derivatives platforms, introduces additional layers of trust. While some transparency improvements are being made, the underlying reliance on centralized mechanisms to mint and manage bitcoin-backed derivatives adds risk for users. As @0xTindorr pointed out in an X <a href="https://x.com/0xTindorr/status/1876479673154392268">thread</a> defending Solv, any bitcoin liquid staking tokens (LSTs) inherently carry additional risk.



As the bitcoin-backed derivatives market continues to expand, ensuring these platforms are genuinely backed by reserves and thus remaining transparent will be crucial to maintaining trust and mitigating risks. Users must remain cautious, understanding that the promise of liquidity and yield often comes with hidden risks, especially when the backing of assets is unclear.



Solv Protocol’s native token, SOLV, is set to list Thursday on Binance with a total supply of 9.66 billion and an initial circulating supply of approximately 1.48 billion at time of listing. The token’s launch, which followed a points campaign, adds a new layer to the growing ecosystem of bitcoin-backed derivatives. It will be revealing to monitor performance in this space in light of the potential risks associated with Solv’s expanding offerings.



Other bitcoin derivative issuers, including Lombard and Bedrock, have been using points programs to entice deposits, often a prelude to launching a token.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Risky business? Transparency in BTC-backed derivatives

This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



If I were to boil it down, I’d say there are three key reasons why Tribe Capital’s Evan Park is bullish on DePIN. The use cases, sustainability, and — of course — the revenue potential.



Tribe’s backed a few DePINs including Wynd Networks (the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/grass-data-verification-depin-funding">company behind Grass</a>), flight tracking project Wingbits and Akash.&nbsp;



When looking at DePIN projects, Park’s biggest question is whether or not the project is “solving a problem where real demand can be generated.”



Specifically, when Park is being pitched, he’s skeptical when a project shows him revenue figures that aren’t necessarily coming from the underlying network.&nbsp;



I asked him what makes him call bullshit on a DePIN pitch and he told me: It’s “important to distinguish revenue in crypto, but also in DePIN.” He wants to know where the revenue is coming from, essentially. Are the users also validators? Are individuals “contributing to the network and their data, is that the thing that’s making revenue?”



He also keeps a close eye on organic growth and gets validation on potential demand.



But a good team, and a founder “deep in the space” are huge green flags for Park. If this sounds familiar to you, it’s probably because Wyatt Lonergan of VanEck Ventures told us that he also pays close attention to project teams last month.



“It&#8217;s a consideration that&#8217;s more important in DePIN than any other sector. But also having domain expertise, or having advisors and team members that have that domain expertise in your given industry, while bridging that with crypto native experience. It&#8217;s not enough to have one without the other,” he noted.&nbsp;



And there’s your insider scoop for the day.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

What to look for in DePIN projects: Tribe Capital VC

This is a segment from the Lightspeed newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



The full version of Firedancer — a very-performant re-write of Solana’s validator software authored by Jump Crypto — may still be <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/2025-solana-product-launches">a ways away</a>. But in the meantime, Solana validators still can use a limited version of the client named Frankendancer. 



Frankendancer was spawned by Jump taking the Agave client, which is descended from the original Solana Labs software, and replacing parts of it piecemeal to create a new client akin to Frankenstein’s monster. Frankendancer <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/lightspeed-newsletter-solana-firedancer-testnet">went to Solana mainnet in September</a> during Solana’s Breakpoint conference — but since then, it’s seen limited uptake.



So far, 12 validators controlling roughly 5.4 million staked SOL are running Frankendancer, according to <a href="https://beta.validatorbase.com/solana">data</a> from Validatorbase. That’s out of 392 million staked SOL in existence, according to Solana Compass.



The “main reason most validators aren&#8217;t running [Frankendancer] yet is because it doesn&#8217;t capture MEV efficiently,” Temporal engineering partner Ben Coverston told me.



Maximal extractible value, or MEV, is the processing of adding, removing, or reordering transactions in a block to extract extra value. Many Solana validators capture MEV by running the Jito-Solana client, which is a version of the Agave client with MEV modifications attached.&nbsp;



MEV is quite lucrative for Solana validators. Around 25% of validator staking rewards — which can be thought of like the revenue a validator creates by running Solana — currently come from MEV, <a href="https://dune.com/21co/solana-key-metrics">according</a> to a Dune dashboard. Roughly 65% of the rewards come from SOL issuance, and 10% comes from fees.&nbsp;



It’s not impossible to capture MEV without Jito, Coverston added, but it is certainly more difficult, so any validators who want to run Frankendancer are likely looking at a lower return on their investment.



That’s not to say there’s no reason to run Frankendancer. Phase Labs announced today that its validator has upgraded to the Frankendancer client, calling the software “the next leap forward” for Solana.



Phase’s Aeropool stake pool <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/solana-stake-pools-yield-vs-punishment">has specifically said</a> that its stake delegation strategy is to empower positive Solana contributors rather than only chase the highest APY.



Most validators don’t share this strategy — over 93% of Solana validators currently <a href="https://www.jito.network/stakenet/history/">use</a> Jito-Solana. On testnet, they may begin seeing some pressure to try Frankendancer however: Solana developer shop Anza has <a href="https://discord.com/channels/428295358100013066/594138785558691840/1326768397047824487">talked</a> about beginning to push for a Frankendancer supermajority of stake on testnet next week.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Solana validators slow to adopt Frankendancer for MEV reasons

This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Crypto is a creature of extremes. Look no further than the major narratives right now.&nbsp;



AI agents and memecoins are almost completely virtual. DePIN, meanwhile, derives practically its entire value proposition from very physical networks of hardware. In the real world.&nbsp;



So, you can’t fault Helium — the decentralized wireless carrier powered by Solana — for teaming up with DAWN to expand both their networks, together.



The pair have struck a partnership to allow Helium hotspot operators to serve DAWN broadband internet, and vice versa, to create “the world’s first fully decentralized last-mile internet solution.”



Like how Helium is shooting to disrupt centralized telecoms, DAWN is pushing to <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/two-vaneck-funds-back-depin-dawn">change our relationship with traditional ISPs</a>, allowing regular users to both own the infrastructure and be rewarded in crypto for providing wireless broadband to anyone in range.



“The conversation started with a strong alignment on the mission of decentralizing internet access,” a Helium spokesperson told me. “We&#8217;re moving toward making connectivity owned by the many and accessible to everyone.”



It means that the Helium Network will automatically grow by 8,000 nodes that already serve the DAWN ecosystem, according to a press release.



A Helium Foundation <a href="https://dune.com/helium-foundation/helium-makers">dashboard</a> meanwhile points to more than 25,000 mobile hotspots onboarded since last April, which hypothetically could serve DAWN broadband once the functionality is rolled out, although it’s not immediately clear how many are currently active.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1382" height="998" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AD_4nXcS2KLUG9cyxVVCmOyGyMtabV-GqO6WfmGYnWh-Jyw1sYAued80xonZL9J3L_UXvxcfOcSfyJaKEQyJW9mBV6ui_1t8RJQKdsPJwnUTe5Av3abo1bUC-NVYnfEE6SXvEVFkKRnhvw.png" alt="" class="wp-image-96300" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AD_4nXcS2KLUG9cyxVVCmOyGyMtabV-GqO6WfmGYnWh-Jyw1sYAued80xonZL9J3L_UXvxcfOcSfyJaKEQyJW9mBV6ui_1t8RJQKdsPJwnUTe5Av3abo1bUC-NVYnfEE6SXvEVFkKRnhvw.png?w=1382 1382w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AD_4nXcS2KLUG9cyxVVCmOyGyMtabV-GqO6WfmGYnWh-Jyw1sYAued80xonZL9J3L_UXvxcfOcSfyJaKEQyJW9mBV6ui_1t8RJQKdsPJwnUTe5Av3abo1bUC-NVYnfEE6SXvEVFkKRnhvw.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AD_4nXcS2KLUG9cyxVVCmOyGyMtabV-GqO6WfmGYnWh-Jyw1sYAued80xonZL9J3L_UXvxcfOcSfyJaKEQyJW9mBV6ui_1t8RJQKdsPJwnUTe5Av3abo1bUC-NVYnfEE6SXvEVFkKRnhvw.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AD_4nXcS2KLUG9cyxVVCmOyGyMtabV-GqO6WfmGYnWh-Jyw1sYAued80xonZL9J3L_UXvxcfOcSfyJaKEQyJW9mBV6ui_1t8RJQKdsPJwnUTe5Av3abo1bUC-NVYnfEE6SXvEVFkKRnhvw.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AD_4nXcS2KLUG9cyxVVCmOyGyMtabV-GqO6WfmGYnWh-Jyw1sYAued80xonZL9J3L_UXvxcfOcSfyJaKEQyJW9mBV6ui_1t8RJQKdsPJwnUTe5Av3abo1bUC-NVYnfEE6SXvEVFkKRnhvw.png?w=356 356w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AD_4nXcS2KLUG9cyxVVCmOyGyMtabV-GqO6WfmGYnWh-Jyw1sYAued80xonZL9J3L_UXvxcfOcSfyJaKEQyJW9mBV6ui_1t8RJQKdsPJwnUTe5Av3abo1bUC-NVYnfEE6SXvEVFkKRnhvw.png?w=361 361w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AD_4nXcS2KLUG9cyxVVCmOyGyMtabV-GqO6WfmGYnWh-Jyw1sYAued80xonZL9J3L_UXvxcfOcSfyJaKEQyJW9mBV6ui_1t8RJQKdsPJwnUTe5Av3abo1bUC-NVYnfEE6SXvEVFkKRnhvw.png?w=303 303w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AD_4nXcS2KLUG9cyxVVCmOyGyMtabV-GqO6WfmGYnWh-Jyw1sYAued80xonZL9J3L_UXvxcfOcSfyJaKEQyJW9mBV6ui_1t8RJQKdsPJwnUTe5Av3abo1bUC-NVYnfEE6SXvEVFkKRnhvw.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1382px) 100vw, 1382px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Helium’s HNT is still working on reclaiming highs from the last cycle. DAWN, which has an active points program, is yet to confirm a token launch</figcaption></figure>



The spokesperson said that there’s no equity or investment deal as part of the partnership. Still, it all suggests a certain coalescence in the DePIN space.&nbsp;



Like how GPUs and ASIC mining rigs can be used to mine a number of different cryptocurrencies — switching between them based on profitability — we could be headed for a world where DePIN devices in our homes can be pointed to all sorts of different use cases depending on demand.&nbsp;



It might mean additional income for the household without the often extreme overheads related to proof-of-work mining, although how much would be largely dependent on token prices and whatnot.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1380" height="1000" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AD_4nXd1nND-GiHGinDzKPsTMQoHZpIsMAO9sRbIxvucteXY8QVyXzckJPVYFPSWbaG8q5B4smbdT9Sk21fQxESHnBI7ao1gb3IEupRaUJ1vkGak1ZA4ae1RNMwTOYrta425yRYk5J8aKg.png" alt="" class="wp-image-96299" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AD_4nXd1nND-GiHGinDzKPsTMQoHZpIsMAO9sRbIxvucteXY8QVyXzckJPVYFPSWbaG8q5B4smbdT9Sk21fQxESHnBI7ao1gb3IEupRaUJ1vkGak1ZA4ae1RNMwTOYrta425yRYk5J8aKg.png?w=1380 1380w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AD_4nXd1nND-GiHGinDzKPsTMQoHZpIsMAO9sRbIxvucteXY8QVyXzckJPVYFPSWbaG8q5B4smbdT9Sk21fQxESHnBI7ao1gb3IEupRaUJ1vkGak1ZA4ae1RNMwTOYrta425yRYk5J8aKg.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AD_4nXd1nND-GiHGinDzKPsTMQoHZpIsMAO9sRbIxvucteXY8QVyXzckJPVYFPSWbaG8q5B4smbdT9Sk21fQxESHnBI7ao1gb3IEupRaUJ1vkGak1ZA4ae1RNMwTOYrta425yRYk5J8aKg.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AD_4nXd1nND-GiHGinDzKPsTMQoHZpIsMAO9sRbIxvucteXY8QVyXzckJPVYFPSWbaG8q5B4smbdT9Sk21fQxESHnBI7ao1gb3IEupRaUJ1vkGak1ZA4ae1RNMwTOYrta425yRYk5J8aKg.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AD_4nXd1nND-GiHGinDzKPsTMQoHZpIsMAO9sRbIxvucteXY8QVyXzckJPVYFPSWbaG8q5B4smbdT9Sk21fQxESHnBI7ao1gb3IEupRaUJ1vkGak1ZA4ae1RNMwTOYrta425yRYk5J8aKg.png?w=355 355w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AD_4nXd1nND-GiHGinDzKPsTMQoHZpIsMAO9sRbIxvucteXY8QVyXzckJPVYFPSWbaG8q5B4smbdT9Sk21fQxESHnBI7ao1gb3IEupRaUJ1vkGak1ZA4ae1RNMwTOYrta425yRYk5J8aKg.png?w=360 360w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AD_4nXd1nND-GiHGinDzKPsTMQoHZpIsMAO9sRbIxvucteXY8QVyXzckJPVYFPSWbaG8q5B4smbdT9Sk21fQxESHnBI7ao1gb3IEupRaUJ1vkGak1ZA4ae1RNMwTOYrta425yRYk5J8aKg.png?w=302 302w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AD_4nXd1nND-GiHGinDzKPsTMQoHZpIsMAO9sRbIxvucteXY8QVyXzckJPVYFPSWbaG8q5B4smbdT9Sk21fQxESHnBI7ao1gb3IEupRaUJ1vkGak1ZA4ae1RNMwTOYrta425yRYk5J8aKg.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1380px) 100vw, 1380px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Helium users are spending ~$6,000 HNT per week right now, up from under $3,000 in January 2024</figcaption></figure>



What’s interesting is that had this partnership not been made, eventually Helium and DAWN would’ve been considered competitors. But not really anymore.



Wouldn’t that make Elon Musk’s Starlink the biggest rival to the Helium-DAWN partnership, outside of the traditional carriers?



“Starlink is disrupting the connectivity industry in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago,” the Helium spokesperson said. “Several Helium deployments use Starlink as an internet backhaul in the US and Mexico.”&nbsp;



The team has also developed a connectivity kit that combines Starlink with Helium Hotspots, to better serve phones in areas without cell coverage.



In any case, the Helium-DAWN partnership makes total sense, especially considering the latter is expected to airdrop a token to early adopters at some point.



After all, when it comes to incentivizing people to set up physical devices in their homes, two token flywheels must be better than one.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Helium partners with DAWN to create ‘last-mile internet solution’

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/forwardguidance">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



I broke down the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/coinbase-sec-appeals-decision">Coinbase-SEC court ruling</a> yesterday and noted it would take some time to sort out its broader implications.&nbsp;



One legal pro’s viewpoint suggests the decision could be a final straw of sorts to force long-anticipated regulatory clarity.



Monday’s court decision was not exactly surprising, according to Arie Heijkoop, a partner in Haynes Boone’s investment management practice group. The SEC’s response to Coinbase’s petition “was lacking in any substance,” he explained; but a court ordering an agency to issue a new rule has a high bar.&nbsp;&nbsp;



That said, Heijkoop told me the opinion’s descriptive language (exhibiting increased understanding of the space) suggests “the SEC may be running out of room to continue evading coming out with a defined position on crypto and digital asset regulation.”



Indeed, Judge Stephanos Bibas notes the SEC’s “old regulations fit poorly with this new technology, and its <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/regulation-by-enforcement-unsustainable">enforcement strategy</a> raises constitutional notice concerns.”



Bibas’s concurring opinion, in particular, seems to implore the SEC to distinguish the coins that operate more like securities from those that do not, Heijkoop explained.&nbsp;



“As the number of crypto products, and how they function, proliferate, if there will ever be crypto regulation handed down, it will likely have to account for those differences,” the Haynes Boone partner added.



This ruling may provide some optimism to defendants to challenge crypto enforcement actions if there is no further SEC guidance. But handing down a new rule would be “a fairly seismic action,” Heijkoop said.&nbsp;



Further, SEC actions for unregistered securities offerings may not fully cease given the decision’s recognition of crypto products with securities-type characteristics.



Whether the agency’s <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-chair-nominee-crypto-past">new administration</a> offers more guidance through regulation rather than litigation remains a key question.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Weighing in on the latest Coinbase-SEC ruling

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/forwardguidance">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



As President Biden rounds out his final days in office, the Senate has begun the process of confirming President-elect Trump’s Cabinet picks.



Defense Secretary hopeful Pete Hegseth was the first to take the hot seat.&nbsp;



Republicans, as expected, embraced Hegseth, calling his “unconventional” resume a strength while Democrats grilled him about his <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/5084889-tim-kaine-pete-hegseth-hearing-infidelity/">character and judgement</a>. It was hours of tense questioning, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune says he plans to schedule the vote soon, and Hegseth should have the nomination in the bag.&nbsp;



On tap for confirmation hearings today are Trump’s picks for attorney general (Pam Bondi), CIA director (John Ratcliffe) and the White House office of management and budget (Russ Vought).&nbsp;



The Senate Banking Committee has not yet scheduled <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/trump-nominates-new-sec-chair">SEC chair hopeful</a> Paul Atkins’s confirmation hearing, but with widespread Republican <a href="https://www.banking.senate.gov/newsroom/majority/scott-statement-on-meeting-with-paul-atkins-nominee-to-serve-as-sec-chairman">support</a> Atkins should be a shoo-in. In the meantime, Trump will select either Commissioner Peirce or Uyeda to serve as <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-crenshaw-confirmation-vote-cancelled">acting chair</a>. We’re expecting the transition team to announce this decision in the next few days.&nbsp;



In his final <a href="https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/gensler-sec-011425?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery">town hall</a> address Tuesday, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-commissioner-crenshaw-vote-delayed">outgoing</a> SEC Chair Gary Gensler praised his agency staff for their “wise counsel and help.”&nbsp;



“You vigorously followed the facts and the law without fear or favor to ensure that market participants comply with the securities laws, whether it be regarding traditional financial products or more recent ones like crypto,” Gensler said, in what may be his final nod to the industry as head of the agency.&nbsp;



Trump has still not named his pick for CFTC Chair. Rostin Behnam, who long <a href="https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/opabehnam48">advocated</a> for Congress to grant the CFTC explicit oversight of digital asset commodities, will be <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/cftc-chair-announces-departure">stepping down</a> on Monday. Caroline Pham or Summer Mersinger, both Republican CFTC commissioners, are expected to head the agency in the interim.&nbsp;



External candidates who’ve made Trump’s short list reportedly include former CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz, former agency official Josh Sterling and attorney Neal Kumar. I doubt we get an official nomination from Team Trump before Monday, but we’ll be on the lookout just in case.&nbsp;



Over in the House, Majority Whip Tom Emmer yesterday was selected to vice chair the digital assets subcommittee.&nbsp;



“With President Trump in the White House, and Gary Gensler confined to the waste bin of Washington, we have an excellent opportunity to ensure that the future of digital assets is guided by Americans, with American values,” Emmer wrote in a <a href="https://x.com/GOPMajorityWhip/status/1879319142303498579">statement</a> on X. 



Emmer, who co-sponsored the CBDC Anti-Surveillance <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/house-passes-cbdc-anti-surveillance-act">State Act</a>, the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/senate-passes-resolution-to-overturn-sab121">anti-SAB 121</a> resolution and <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/fit21-crypto-bill-advances-to-senate">FIT21</a>, has advocated for <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/reps-ask-sec-for-clarity-securities-airdrops">more lenient</a> crypto regulation in recent years. The House Financial Services Committee has not yet released a schedule of upcoming hearings.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Confirmation hearings for Trump Cabinet picks are underway

Join global sovereigns, endowments, pensions, foundations, and family offices as they explore this new asset class.


Allocators

Meet with VCs, hedge funds, private equity, global investment firms, and the likes as they build crypto strategies across their portfolios.


Asset Managers

Engage with banks, brokerages, credit unions, payment processors, fintechs, and insurance providers as they develop internal digital asset strategies.


Financial Institutions

Experience

Who you can expect to meet at DAS

Stats from our previous Digital Asset Summits

By The Numbers

Tickets

BUY TICKETS

BUY WITH CRYPTO 

GENERAL ADMISSION PASS 

BUY WITH CRYPTO

VIP PASS

Bundle and save! Get 15% off orders of 4 or more tickets. 

GENERAL ADMISSION 4-PACK

Prices are subject to increase. Register today and save! *Mainstage sessions on Day 1 will follow Chatham House Rules and will be closed to press. Tickets cannot be transferred once checked in to the conference. All attendees must present ID upon picking up their badge. Any onsite badge reprints will be subject to fees.

Speakers

Mohamed A. El-Erian is the President of Queens’ College, the University of Cambridge. Since 2014, he has served as Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz, the corporate parent of PIMCO where he formerly served as chief executive and co-chief investment officer. He is Chair of Gramercy Fund Management, a columnist for Bloomberg View, and a contributing editor at the&nbsp;Financial Times, He serves on two corporate boards and several advisory committees and non-profit boards.



Dr. El-Erian first joined PIMCO in 1999 and was a senior member of PIMCO’s portfolio management and investment strategy group. He rejoined the company at the end of 2007 after serving for two years as president and CEO of Harvard Management Company, the entity that manages Harvard’s endowment and related accounts. Before coming to PIMCO, Dr. El-Erian was a managing director at Solomon Smith Barney/Citigroup in London and before that, he spent 15 years at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. where he served as Deputy Director before moving to the private sector.



Dr. El-Erian served as Chair of President Obama’s Global Development Council from December 2012 to January 2017. He has published widely on international economic and finance topics. His 2008 book,&nbsp;When Markets Collide, was a&nbsp;New York Times&nbsp;and&nbsp;Wall Street Journal&nbsp;bestseller, won the&nbsp;Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year, was named a book of the year by&nbsp;The Economist,&nbsp;and one of the best business books of all time by the&nbsp;Independent&nbsp;(UK). He was named to Foreign Policy’s list of “Top 100 Global Thinkers” for four years in a row. Since 2014, he has been serving on the jury for the&nbsp;Financial Times/McKenzie Book of the Year award. His latest book, published in January 2016,&nbsp;The Only Game in Town: Central Banks, Instability and Avoiding the Next Collapse, is a New York Times bestseller.



Dr. El-Erian has served on several boards and committees, including the U.S. Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee, the International Center for Research on Women, the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the IMF’s Committee of Eminent Persons and the New York Fed’ Investor Advisory Committee on Financial Markets. He is currently a board member of Barclays, Under Armour, the NBER (Executive Committee), Berggruen Institute (Executive Committee), and several educational institutions. In 2018, he was just appointed to the IMF’s External Advisory Group on Surveillance and MIT’s Visiting Committee for the Department of Economics. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Investcorp external committee and government advisory committees. Since 2007, he has been chair of Microsoft’s Investment Advisory Board and co-chairs the Capital Campaign for the University of Cambridge and its Colleges..



Recognized for his philanthropic contributions, particularly in the areas of education and health, Dr. El-Erian has received several awards, including lifetime achievement from the 57357 Hospital for Children/Egyptian Cancer Network where he is the Honorary Chair. Other recognition’s include the ABNA, Arab Banker of the Year, ACCESS Arab-American of the Year Award, Africa Investor’s Capital Markets Personality of the Year, Fixed Income Analysts Society’s Hall of Fame, Foreign Policy’s “Top 100 Global Thinkers” (4 years in a row), Investment News’ “Icon and Innovator,” Linked-In top 3 “voices” among its “influencers” (2016 and 2017), Louise Bloin Foundation Creative Leadership Award, Middle East Institute’s Visionary Award, Orange County Business Journal’s most influential personalities (multiple times), Ukleja Center’s Nell and John Wooden Ethics in Leadership award, and Worth magazine’s “100 Most Powerful People in Finance” (multiple years).



Dr. El-Erian holds a master’s degree and doctorate in economics from Oxford University and received his undergraduate degree from Cambridge University.

Mohamed El-Erian

Michael Saylor is the Executive Chairman of MicroStrategy (MSTR), a publicly traded business intelligence firm &amp; holder of ₿439,000 that he founded in 1989. He is also the founder of <a href="http://alarm.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alarm.com</a> (ALRM), named inventor on 48+ patents, &amp; author of the book “The Mobile Wave”. He founded the Saylor Academy (<a href="http://saylor.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">saylor.org</a>), a non-profit that has provided free education to over 2 million students. He is an advocate for the Bitcoin Standard (<a href="http://hope.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hope.com</a>) with dual degrees from MIT in Aerospace Engineering &amp; History of Science. He posts his views on X @saylor and his website <a href="http://michael.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Michael.com</a>. His 4 hour interview with Lex Fridman summarizes his thoughts on Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money with ~10 million views on YouTube.

Michael Saylor

Michael Novogratz is the Founder and CEO of Galaxy Digital. He was formerly a Partner and President of Fortress Investment Group LLC. Prior to Fortress, Mr. Novogratz spent 11 years at Goldman Sachs, where he was elected Partner in 1998. Mr. Novogratz served on the New York Federal Reserve’s Investment Advisory Committee on Financial Markets from 2012 – 2015. Mr. Novogratz serves as the Chairman of The Bail Project and has made criminal justice reform a focus of his family’s foundation. He also sits on the Board of Overseers at NYU Langone Medical Center and is a board member of Princeton Varsity Club and Jazz Foundation of America. Mr. Novogratz received an AB in Economics from Princeton University and served as a helicopter pilot in the US Army.

Mike Novogratz

Anatoly Yakovenko is the co-founder of Solana and CEO of Solana Labs. He has almost two decades of experience building high-performance operating systems, including leading OS development at Qualcomm and holding engineering roles at Dropbox and Mesosphere. Yakovenko has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Anatoly Yakovenko

Caitlin Long

Shervin Pishevar is a serial entrepreneur and investor who has been instrumental in creating or championing eleven groundbreaking industries, including Hyperloop, the On-Demand Economy, Ride Sharing, Cloud Computing, Cloud Kitchens, the Sharing Economy, App Stores, Social Gaming, Social Networking, Quantum Computing and AI,and New Cities–Network States industries.

Shervin Pishevar

Brad is the CEO of Ripple and a member of the Board of Directors. Prior to Ripple, Brad served as the CEO of file collaboration service Hightail. From 2009 to 2012 he was President of Consumer Applications at AOL and prior to that he held various executive positions at Yahoo! from 2003 to 2008, including Senior Vice President. Earlier in his career, Brad helped to pioneer the VoIP industry as CEO of Dialpad Communications. He has previously held several board positions at companies including <a href="http://ancestry.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ancestry.com</a> and Tonic Health (acquired by R1 RCM).

Brad Garlinghouse

Dan Tapiero is a renowned macro-focused investor with over 25 years of investing and entrepreneurial experience. He is the Founder, CEO and CIO of 1Roundtable Partners (1RT) and 10T Holdings (10T), which collectively manage over $1.4 billion of investments in 24 active companies across the Digital Asset Ecosystem (DAE). 1RT is a growth equity fund focused on mid-to-late stage companies in the DAE. Dan serves on several boards including Ledger, LEDN, Futureverse, and Quicknode. Before founding 1RT and 10T, Dan was Managing Partner of DTAP Capital Advisors, a global macro investment fund that he founded in 2003. He is Co-Founder of Gold Bullion International (GBI), a physical precious metals platform for the wealth management industry. GBI expanded into the cryptocurrency business through its integration with Uphold (fka Bitreserve) in 2014. Prior to GBI, he was formerly Co-Founder of the Agricultural Company of America (AGCoA), one of the largest farmland REITs in the U.S. at the time of its sale to the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) in 2013. Previously, from 1992-2012, Dan was a macro-focused portfolio manager and analyst at Duquesne Capital Management, SAC Capital Advisors, Tiger Management and Steinhardt Management Co. Dan graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Brown University, where he earned his B.A.'90 and M.A.'91 in European History. Dan has been on the Board of Trustees of the Lawrenceville School for the past 15 years and currently leads the Investment Committee for its endowment.

Dan Tapiero

Kristin is the CEO of the Blockchain Association, the Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing more than 100 of the industry’s leading companies. She also serves as a board member of the Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web. Kristin serves as a liaison between policymakers and the cryptocurrency industry to assist in the creation of legislation and regulation that promotes the growth of the cryptocurrency ecosystem in the U.S. She is also a leading, public voice advocating for the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry through top-tier media interviews, op-eds and letters to the editor, and global speaking engagements. Kristin is a renowned voice for the industry, having been featured on Fortune’s 2020 40 under 40 list, CoinDesk’s 2021 50 people who defined the year in crypto, and CoinTelegraph’s 2022 top 100 Influencers in Crypto and Blockchain. Prior to leading the Blockchain Association, Kristin helped blockchain and technology companies achieve their public policy objectives in Washington. She served as a Senate and congressional aide on Capitol Hill for nearly ten years, much of which was spent focusing on technology policy.

Kristin Smith

Wiley Nickel is the U.S. Representative of the 13th District of North Carolina, a 50/50 toss-up district in Raleigh and surrounding metro area. Wiley serves on the Financial Services Committee and the Digital Assets Subcommittee, and has been a champion for expanding the group of pro-crypto Democrats. He led the way to secure support from 71 House Democrats on FIT21 and was the Democratic lead on the Congressional Review Act to overturn SAB121. Prior to being elected to Congress, Wiley served as a North Carolina State Senator, attorney, and worked for two White House administrations.

Wiley Nickel

Amy is the head of emerging markets equity, a member of the Morgan Stanley Investment Management Operating Committee, the Morgan Stanley Investment Management Equity Technology Council, the Morgan Stanley Innovation Council and the Morgan Stanley Arts and Culture Committee. She manages digital asset initiatives at MSIM and has held roles in equity and FX trading, portfolio management support, product development and strategy.



Prior to joining Morgan Stanley in 2001, Amy managed business development at Arc Worldwide. She has over 25 years of financial services experience.

Amy Oldenburg

Pascal Gauthier is the Chairman &amp; CEO of Ledger, a tech company that specializes in developing secure consumer devices for storing and managing cryptocurrencies and NFTs.



He began his career at Kelkoo, later acquired by Yahoo, and was COO at Criteo, where he played a key role in the company's pivot to advertising and global expansion. Pascal Gauthier also worked as a Venture Partner at Mosaic Ventures, a London-based VC firm, and is non-executive chairman of Kaiko, a leading digital data analytics provider.&nbsp;



Since he became Chairman &amp; CEO of Ledger in 2019, Pascal Gauthier has expanded the company's product line with Ledger Live, an intuitive digital asset management app, and a next-generation consumer device, Ledger Stax. He is committed to driving ownership and security in the cryptocurrency industry.

Pascal Gauthier

Eric Peters leads both Coinbase Asset Management and One River Asset Management. Coinbase Asset Management is a premier institutional digital asset manager and SEC-registered investment adviser operating as an independent business and wholly owned subsidiary of Coinbase. The firm was founded in January 2021, as One River Digital Asset Management, and was acquired by Coinbase in March 2023. One River Asset Management is an innovative alternative-investment manager operating volatility, trend, and inflation strategies. The team leverages its macro/fundamental perspective and quantitative capabilities to build/deliver unique diversifiers for client portfolios. Prior to founding One River in 2013, Eric served as Chairman of Grant Capital Partners, a discretionary global macro hedge fund. Over the course of his career, Eric has held various positions that include portfolio manager for Peloton Partners, proprietary trader for both Lehman Brothers and Credit Suisse, and Founder and Chief Executive Officer of a TH Lee Putnam funded technology firm. Eric travels extensively, exchanging ideas, debating policy, and identifying investment opportunities with many of the world’s top investment managers, economists, strategists, political consultants, academics, scientists, and business leaders. The content of those discussions often finds its way into his weekly investment letter - wknd notes - which is read by investment professionals who directly deploy over $1trln in alternative assets. Eric holds a B.A. in Business Economics from Brown University.

Eric Peters

Mike Cagney is a co-Founder and the Chief Executive Officer of Figure, a leader in applying blockchain technology to markets such as lending, payments and exchanges. Mike is also the Co-Founder of the Provenance Blockchain, a public, open source blockchain built for financial services. Previously, Mike was CEO, Chairman and Co-Founder of SoFi, a leading marketplace lender providing student loan refinancing, mortgages and personal loans, as well as a range of banking and wealth management services. He also was Co-Founder and managing member of Cabezon Investment Group, a global macro hedge fund, in addition to serving as a Non-Executive Chairman of ReFlow Services, a tax and liquidity solution for mutual funds. Prior to Cabezon and ReFlow, Mike served as Founder and CEO of Finaplex, a leader in wealth management software that was sold to Broadridge (NYSE: BR). Prior to Finaplex, Mike was Senior Vice President and Head Trader for the proprietary trading and financial products group at Wells Fargo Bank. Mike holds an M.S. management degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was a Sloan Fellow. He also holds a M.S. in Applied Economics and a B.A. in Economics from UC Santa Cruz.

Mike Cagney

As the Global Head of Digital Assets at BNY, Caroline Butler leads all global commercial digital assets initiatives across the bank. With a focus on delivering value to clients, Caroline is responsible for overseeing the digital asset platform strategy, new product development and delivery, and go-to-market efforts for all digital asset products and services across the enterprise. Based in New York City, Caroline serves on the board of directors for BNY’s European bank board, Access Fintech, and the International Securities Services Association (ISSA). Previously, Caroline was Global Head of Custody Services for BNY, where she led the development of the industry’s first digital asset custody platform for traditional and digital assets from a global systemically important bank. Caroline’s global professional experience spans a range of investment services and trading businesses, centered on running and transforming businesses with expertise in equities, futures and options clearing, and securities services.

Caroline Butler

Sergey Nazarov is the co-founder of Chainlink, the standard for high-quality onchain data and secure cross-chain interoperability, powering leading tokenized assets and unifying global markets onchain.



The Chainlink standard has securely enabled over $17 trillion in transaction value, powering onchain finance across banking, tokenization, DeFi, global trade, and other major sectors. Sergey has worked in the blockchain industry since 2014, when he founded one of the earliest tokenization platforms, along with tools for composing and supporting live smart contracts. His work in capital markets dates back to 2016, when he demoed one of the first-ever "smart bonds," which used oracle infrastructure to connect existing Swift messaging standards to blockchain networks. Sergey continues to collaborate with major market infrastructure providers and institutional banks such as Swift, DTCC, Fidelity International, ANZ, and many others, giving him a unique perspective on what’s required to accelerate the global adoption of blockchain technology and tokenized assets.

Sergey Nazarov

Sandy Kaul is senior vice president, Franklin Templeton, providing advisory consulting for the firm and thought leadership as part of the Franklin Templeton Institute. She delivers actionable intelligence and insights on the future of the investment and wealth management industry for the firm and its clients. Ms. Kaul has cultivated deeply informed insights and has an extensive background in driving market leading research, thought leadership and predictive models centered on the evolution of the investment and wealth management industry. She identifies and champions opportunities to address industry advancements and drive transformation, with a focus on innovative distribution trends and digital disruption. She delivers strategic insights to inform the firm's decision-making on partnerships and investments, including within Franklin Templeton's growing digital asset business. Ms. Kaul has over 25 years of well-rounded industry experience and is a frequent speaker at industry events and a widely published author. She combines her unique blend of sell-side, buy-side and consulting insights to drive her research and thought leadership around what constitutes best practices and where innovation is occurring. Ms. Kaul joined Franklin Templeton in 2022 from Citi, where she served as Managing Director and Global Head of Business Advisory Services, and launched and built out the Citi's Business Advisory Services practice, a market leading provider of industry thought leadership spanning Citi's Markets and Global Wealth organizations. Ms. Kaul rejoined Citi in 2009, after originally starting her career there in 1985 as a Futures Research Analyst covering the soft commodities markets with Citi's predecessor firm, Shearson Lehman Brothers. She joined Commodities Corporation/Goldman Sachs Asset Management in 1995 as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA) and Portfolio Manager. After managing money for nearly six years, Ms. Kaul shifted her attention to consulting where she led the strategy practice within the Financial Services division of the renowned dot.com firm, Scient, and then went on to become a Partner at the capital markets niche management consulting firm m.a.partners/Detica. Ms. Kaul holds a bachelor's degree in history and political science from Colgate University.

Sandy Kaul

Bill Barhydt has been an entrepreneur and pioneer in Internet technologies for 30 years. Bill is the founder and CEO of Abra, a leading investment platform for high net worth investors and institutions including trading, custody, high yield interest accounts, borrowing and lending. Before starting Abra, Bill spent 15 years working on mobile money and financial inclusion projects throughout the world and consulted to many governments, aid agencies and telecoms on mobile banking deployments. Bill started Boom Financial (Digicel) to bring mobile banking and microfinance to every corner of the world, which led Bill to Bitcoin in 2011. Bill started his career working in R&amp;D at the CIA and NASA and also spent several years working at Goldman Sachs in bond trading and Fixed Income markets. As an early team member of Netscape, Bill was involved in building core infrastructure that helped grow the consumer Internet we all know and use everyday.

Bill Barhydt

ERIC BALCHUNAS is Senior ETF Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, where he leads the ETF and fund research and contributes to Bloomberg Opinion. He is a frequent speaker at industry events and conferences, as well as the co-creator of the Bloomberg podcast Trillions and Bloomberg TV’s ETF IQ. Eric is author of The Bogle Effect (2022) and The Institutional ETF Toolbox (2016). Eric holds a bachelor's degree in Journalism and Environmental Economics from Rutgers University.

Eric Balchunas

Kyle Samani is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Multicoin Capital, a thesis-driven cryptofund that invests in tokens and companies reshaping entire sectors of the global economy. Prior to Multicoin Capital, he co-founded Pristine (Upskill, 2017), an enterprise software company that enables deskless workers with solutions for smart glasses. Based in Austin, Texas, Samani is widely recognized as a thought leader on blockchain and cryptoeconomics. He holds degrees in Finance and Management from NYU Stern and has been programming since he was 10 years old. Follow him on Twitter @KyleSamani.

Kyle Samani

Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Prior to founding SkyBridge in 2005, Scaramucci co-founded investment partnership Oscar Capital Management, which was sold to Neuberger Berman in 2001. Earlier, he worked in Private Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs &amp; Co. In 2022, Scaramucci was ranked #47 in Cointelegraph’s Top 100 Influencers in Crypto and Blockchain. In 2016, he was ranked #85 in Worth Magazine’s Power 100: The 100 Most Powerful People in Global Finance. In 2011, he received Ernst &amp; Young’s New York Financial Services “Entrepreneur of the Year” Award. Anthony is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and a board member of the Federal Enforcement Homeland Security Foundation. He is the author of five books. Scaramucci served on President Donald J. Trump’s 16-person Presidential Transition Team Executive Committee, and in 2017 briefly served as Chief Strategy Officer of the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank and White House Communications Director. Scaramucci, a native of Long Island, New York, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Tufts University and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.

Anthony Scaramucci

David Mercer is the Chief Executive Officer of LMAX Group, a global, high-growth financial technology company based in London. A former City banking executive and currency specialist, he joined LMAX Group in 2011 and after a successful management buyout, rapidly built LMAX Group into the leading operator of institutional FX and cryptocurrency exchanges with offices in 11 countries and global client base. An outspoken industry commentator, David is a long term champion of the UK’s fintech sector and passionate about supporting entrepreneurship in the UK.

David Mercer

Colleen Sullivan is Co-Head of Ventures at Brevan Howard Digital. Prior to joining Brevan Howard Digital, Colleen co-founded and served as CEO of CMT Digital, where she was also a partner with the broader CMT Group and commenced activities in the crypto industry in 2013. Prior to starting CMT Digital, Colleen co-founded Sullivan Wolf Kailus, a boutique law firm that specializes in hedge fund, private equity, venture capital, digital assets, and other alternative investment products. Colleen also previously practiced law in the Investment Funds and Derivatives group at Sidley Austin LLP and, at age 25, co-founded a company called iOptions Group LLC, which developed hedging and monetization strategies for holders of employee stock options. Ms. Sullivan currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Chamber of Digital Commerce.

Colleen Sullivan

Robert Mitchnick serves as the Head of Digital Assets for BlackRock. He is a member of the Corp Exec-COO Executive team. Rob is responsible for driving BlackRock's digital assets strategy, including working with internal business units to develop and execute on strategic initiatives around digital assets. Prior to joining BlackRock, Robbie spent time at CPP Investment Board in Public Markets and Private Investments, and at Ripple. During his time at Ripple, Robbie co-authored 'A Fundamental Valuation Framework for Cryptoassets' along with John Bates Clark medal winner Susan Athey. Robbie has BA &amp; BCOM degrees from Queen's University and an MBA from Stanford, where he graduated as an Arjay Miller Scholar and the Robichek Award winner in Finance. He holds a Blockchain Technologies Certification from MIT Sloan and is a CFA Charterholder.

Robbie Mitchnick

Gautam Sharma is CEO &amp; CIO of BH Digital, Brevan Howard’s crypto asset management division. Gautam previously led principal investments at Brevan, including overseeing Alan Howard’s family office strategic businesses in crypto &amp; fintech. Prior to this, Gautam spent over 4 years at Steadview Capital, a tech-focused growth stage fund, and 5 years at McKinsey &amp; Co., focused on fintech &amp; digital banking transformations.

Gautam Sharma

Matthew Sigel runs crypto research at VanEck and is the portfolio manager of Smart Contract Leaders, one of the firm’s liquid token funds. Formerly, he was a portfolio manager and analyst at AllianceBernstein.

Matthew Sigel

Steven Goldfeder, CEO of Offchain Labs, is a key blockchain innovator who developed Arbitrum—the largest and most advanced Ethereum tech stack—authored "Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies," and pioneered multi-party computation, shaping the future of blockchain interaction for consumers and institutions alike.

Steven Goldfeder

Sadie Raney is the co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of quant digital asset hedge fund Strix Leviathan and the Chief Executive Officer of Eve Wealth, a female-founded financial services network that provides women with the resources and opportunities to grow their financial well-being. Sadie also helped found Makara, one of the first SEC-registered automated investment advisors in crypto, which spun out of Strix Leviathan in 2021 and was acquired by Betterment in 2022.



Prior to founding Strix Leviathan in 2018, Sadie served as Financial Controller for Blue Box, a cloud computing startup, where she helped lead the finance and administration team through the company’s acquisition by IBM. She has also served in financial controller roles at MTR Western and Aramark and as a Senior Financial Analyst at Grand Bank Yachts. She began her career at Deloitte.



Sadie serves as an advisor to Franklin Payroll and Jetson, and is an advisory board member for Veriledger. She is also a mentor for the Barcelona Technology Transfer Group at IESE Business School and a member of the Female Founders Alliance. She was listed as one of&nbsp;Hedge Fund Journal’s&nbsp;50 Leading Women in Hedge Funds in 2023 and was featured in&nbsp;100 Women in Finance’s&nbsp;100WFinTech Changemaker series.



Sadie holds a B.A. from Pepperdine University and an M.B.A. from the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington, during which she attended the IE Business School in Madrid for an International MBA exchange.

Sadie Raney

William joined Marshall Wace in May 2022 to oversee Fintech and Digital Assets investments for MW Digital Finance Fund.



Prior to joining Marshall Wace, William worked at Candy Capital, a family office where he was responsible for various investments across the technology sector. Prior to Candy Capital, William worked for HSBC and Greyspark Partners, were he was heading Fintech Investment Advisory. William is also an active seed investor across digital assets and fintech.

William Benattar

Matt Hougan is one of the world’s leading experts on crypto, ETFs, and financial technology. He is Chief Investment Officer for Bitwise Asset Management, a pioneer in cryptoasset index funds with more than $1.2 billion in assets under management. He was previously CEO of ETF.com, where he helped build the world’s first ETF data and analytics system, the leading ETF media site, and the world’s largest ETF conference, Inside ETFs. Hougan is co-author of both “A Comprehensive Guide to Exchange-Traded Funds” and “Cryptoassets: The Guide to Bitcoin, Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies for Professional Investors” from the CFA Institute’s Research Foundation. He is a crypto columnist for Forbes, and a three-time member of the Barron’s ETF Roundtable.

Matt Hougan

Jonah Van Bourg is a professional crude oil and cryptocurrency trader with 18 years of experience managing trading teams and running risk in volatile markets. Most recently, he was Global Head of Crypto and Precious Metals Trading at DRW. Prior to this, Jonah spent 7 years as a partner and oil trader at Vitol. In his early career, he ran the global oil trading desk at Goldman Sachs. Jonah graduated with a BA in Economics and Statistics from Columbia University.

Jonah Van Bourg

MacKenzie&nbsp;Sigalos is an award-winning journalist who is a cross-platform contributor to CNBC, NBC, and MSNBC, where her reporting is featured on digital, broadcast and streaming networks, as well as CNBC’s social platforms. Her international and domestic field reporting has included coverage in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and multiple cities across the U.S.&nbsp;MacKenzie&nbsp;is also a founding co-host and contributor on Crypto World.



Previously,&nbsp;MacKenzie&nbsp;spent five years at CNN in New York and Hong Kong, where she had varied beats, writing and producing for a range of TV business and news programs, including Fareed Zakaria’s weekly foreign affairs program and Anderson Cooper’s daily news hour.

MacKenzie Sigalos

Avi Felman is a Principal and Head of Digital Assets Trading at&nbsp;GoldenTree&nbsp;Asset Management. Mr. Felman is also a General Partner of&nbsp;GoldenChain, a wholly owned subsidiary of&nbsp;GoldenTree&nbsp;that manages the Firm’s funds focused on digital assets. Mr. Felman is one of the longest tenured traders in digital assets and has held several prominent positions, including most recently as Co-Portfolio Manager and Head of Trading for&nbsp;BlockTower&nbsp;Capital where he grew the flagship fund portfolio from $40mm at time of joining to over $800mm. Previously, Mr. Felman was Lead Trader at Wave Financial where he co- led the development of the first SEC-regulated Bitcoin fund and he also was responsible for the derivatives strategy and trading execution. Prior to joining Wave Financial, Mr. Felman founded Ledger Capital, a firm focused on cryptocurrency trading and investments. Mr. Felman received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering&nbsp;from&nbsp;Washington University.

Avi Felman

Catherine Gu is Visa’s Global Head of CBDC and Tokenized Assets. She heads Visa’s Global CBDC and tokenization program, alongside blockchain protocol research and development, building digital payment solutions with central banks, financial partners and global infrastructure technology companies. She is leading Visa’s engagements on CBDC projects with over 40 different central banks, alongside private firms and financial institutions. This includes being a key contributor to the BIS Innovation Hub’s Project Rosalind as well as initiatives around the world. Visa is currently actively involved in several tokenization projects, including with Central Bank of Brazil, Hong Kong Monetary Authority and several tier-one financial institutions in building and designing tokenization solutions to facilitate payments, capital investments and programmable finance.

Catherine Gu

Ben Forman is the Founder and Managing Partner of ParaFi.



Ben founded ParaFi in 2018 as one of the earliest investment firms focused on the blockchain and digital asset ecosystem. Prior to founding ParaFi, Ben spent the first 10 years of his career in institutional investing roles at leading asset managers including KKR and TPG. While at KKR, Ben served as a Director in the credit business, investing across a wide array of industry sectors and parts of the capital structure, including distressed special situations, private credit, and opportunistic and liquid credit. Ben also led KKR's blockchain research as part of the firm's Innovation and Disruption Council beginning in 2016.



Prior to KKR, Ben served as a Vice President with TPG’s former credit business, Sixth Street Partners. As one of the first investment professionals to join the platform, Ben helped scale its private credit vehicle, TPG Specialty Lending, which went public in 2014. Earlier in his career, Ben was a member of the private equity team at Littlejohn &amp; Company and investment banking team at Rothschild &amp; Co.



Ben has a passion for capital markets, behavioral economics and game theory, all of which drew him to the blockchain space. He grew up playing chess competitively and continues to play actively to this day (peak ELO 1871). He graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania.&nbsp;

Ben Forman

Kevin Yedid-Botton is a Partner of ParaFi, leading the firm’s quantitative strategies and technology development.



Kevin’s career is rooted in technology and financial markets. Prior to joining ParaFi in 2019, he was a Managing Director at Reality Shares, an ETF asset management firm, responsible for quantitative strategies and strategic initiatives. Kevin previously served as a portfolio manager for a family office, investing tactically behind technology opportunities across private and public markets. Previously, Kevin was also the CEO and CTO of Tenzar Technologies, a high-performance computing company.



Kevin holds a B.S. in Applied Physics from Emory University, with a concentration in computational physics, quantitative finance, and machine learning.

Kevin Yedid-Botton

Mike is the Co-Founder and CEO of BitGo and Internet Pioneer. At BitGo, Mike Belshe drives product and business strategy for delivering security, compliance, and custodial solutions for blockchain-based currencies. Prior to BitGo, Mike was one of the first engineers dedicated to building Chrome at Google. He is creator of the SPDY protocol and lead author of HTTP/2.0—the internet protocol responsible for loading web pages today. In 2003, Mike co-founded Lookout Software—an email search company acquired by Microsoft—and has held management positions at several startups, including Netscape, Good Technology, and Critical Path. He is also an inventor with over 10 technology patents.

Mike Belshe

Zach Abrams

Brian Quintenz is the Head of Policy for a16z crypto, where he helps to translate between the crypto and policy communities. Brian has long stood out as an innovative thinker in crypto and DeFi and was one of the earliest leaders in Washington to recognize the value of crypto. Brian initially joined a16z crypto as a senior advisor. In December 2022, he moved to the full-time role leading its policy team. Prior to joining a16z, he was nominated by both Presidents Obama and Trump to serve as commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and, in August 2017, was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He also led the agency’s Technology Advisory Committee, which hosted the most comprehensive set of public crypto-related policy discussions and briefings of any federal financial regulator. During his service, the CFTC oversaw the listing of the first U.S. regulated Bitcoin and Ether futures contracts on derivatives exchanges, and the rapid expansion of DeFi. All the while, he was a champion for tailored, risk-calibrated regulation. Prior to his appointment to the CFTC, Brian was the Founder and Managing Principal of Saeculum Capital Management, LLC where he developed and implemented Saeculum’s long term, momentum-based investment process for both traditional discretionary accounts as well as a managed-futures, commodity pool hedge fund. Brian began his career on Capitol Hill, where he worked for 6.5 years and served as senior policy aid to a Member of Congress. He received his B.S. from Duke University and M.B.A. from Georgetown University.

Brian Quintenz

Leah Wald is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of Sol Strategies, a publicly traded holding company committed to the continued development of the Solana blockchain and ecosystem through its private equity and financial markets activities. She is a seasoned entrepreneur specializing in alternative asset management with deep expertise in disruptive technologies. As the Co-Founder and former CEO of Valkyrie Investments, she led the firm in becoming a leading player in the digital asset sector, launching innovative investment vehicles including Bitcoin ETFs and amassing over $1.3B AUM. Valkyrie Funds LLC, the investment advisory business of Valkyrie Investments Inc., was acquired by CoinShares (Nasdaq Stockholm: CS; USOTCQX: CNSRF).

Leah Wald

With 7 years of experience across investment banking, hedge funds, and private equity, Guy has built a strong foundation in the financial sector. Prior to founding Ethena, he spent 6 years at Cerberus Management, a firm with $60 billion in assets under management, where he focused on investing in financial services businesses across the capital structure.

Guy Young

Joseph is the CIO at Monetary Macro, principal of FedGuy.com, author of the bestselling book "Central Banking 101," and previously a senior trader on the Federal Reserve’s Open Markets Desk. Joseph writes widely on the mechanics of the financial system and his work has been featured in Barrons, Bloomberg, Financial Times and many other media outlets. Earlier in his career, Joseph was a credit analyst and in another life he practiced law. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University, a J.D. from Columbia Law School, and an MSc. in Financial Economics from Oxford University.

Joseph Wang

Austin Campbell

Rich Widmann is the Global Head of Strategy for Web3 at Google Cloud and a founding member of Google’s Web3 business. Since the launch of Google Cloud’s Web3 efforts, the team has launched a robust suite of developer products and tools leveraged by Web3 developers across a number of the largest protocols in the ecosystem. In addition, Rich has led several Alphabet-wide initiatives aimed at broadening Google’s exposure to Web3, including efforts which enabled Google to custody cryptocurrency.  More recently, he led the effort to execute the first-ever stablecoin payment for services at Google. Prior to Google, Rich was a litigator and member of the firm’s regulatory and white-collar investigations team, where he helped investigate and recover millions of dollars stolen in connection with the FIFA World Cup bribery schemes. Rich’s experience in handling federal regulatory investigations led him to the world of cryptocurrency, where he began representing founders in the Ethereum ecosystem in high-stakes regulatory engagements and litigation. Rich has held director-level roles at two regulated institutions, including a cryptocurrency custodian and a nationally chartered bank. Rich is an adjunct professor at Northwestern Pritzker University School of Law where he teaches a JD/MBA course on cryptocurrency technology and regulations. Richard holds a Juris Doctorate from Northwestern University School of Law, a Master's from the University of Pennsylvania, and a bachelor’s degree in History from the College of New Jersey. Before he practiced law, he was a middle school English teacher in Philadelphia with Teach for America.

Rich Widmann

Founder &amp; CEO of dYdX. Previously software engineer at Coinbase, Uber. Princeton CS ’15

Antonio Juliano

Carlos Domingo is co-founder and CEO of Securitize. Carlos has 25+ years of experience in innovation and digital transformation, including having also founded SPiCE VC, the first truly liquid, inclusive and transparent tokenized VC on the blockchain. Previously, Carlos was CEO of Research &amp; Development for Telefonica (one of the largest telecom companies in the world), as well as CEO of New Business and Innovation for Telefonica Digital. Carlos holds a PhD in computer science, speaks English, Spanish and Japanese, and is based in Miami.

Carlos Domingo

As the Head of Digital Assets Strategy for T. Rowe Price, Blue is responsible for developing and leading the implementation and execution of T. Rowe Price’s digital asset strategy across the universe of cryptographic tokens, coins, protocols and blockchain technologies. Blue has more than 20 years of buy and sell-side markets experience. Prior to joining T. Rowe Price in 2022, she was a Managing Partner at Dunamis Trading, a market-neutral crypto fund, where she spent four years focused exclusively on crypto investing. Before moving into crypto in 2018, her background was in emerging markets credit, rates, and FX with Lehman Brothers, Elliott Management, and TD Securities. Blue holds an undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College, an MBA from Duke University, and she performed her graduate studies in International Economics and Middle Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins SAIS and the London School of Economics. She is a mother of three and her favorite dinosaur is the triceratops.

Blue Macellari

Ray co-founded L1D and currently acts as the CEO/CIO. Ray has an investment background in venture, hedge funds and interest rate trading. Ray holds a BEng from UCL and an MSc in Finance from Imperial College. He previously acted as the CIO of Bellegarde Capital AG an independent investment group with activities focused in fintech, blockchain and other alternative investments. Also previously at Swiss Capital (StepStone Group) responsible for the firm’s macro outlook, macro hedge funds and event driven coverage. From 2005 to 2011 Ray was part of Harcourt Investment Consulting AG, a USD 6 bn fund of hedge funds firm in Zurich, and responsible for USD 2 bn of investments (rates, macro and distressed). He started his career at Bloomberg LP in London and subsequently left the firm to trade interest rates for a London based proprietary group.



Ray holds a BEng from University College London (UCL) and an MSc in Finance from Imperial College.

Ray Hindi

Vance Spencer is the co-founder of<a href="https://framework.ventures/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Framework Ventures,</a> one of the largest VC firms in the blockchain industry. Under the leadership of Vance and his co-founder Michael, Framework was arguably the first VC firm to <a href="https://decrypt.co/16943/why-framework-ventures-is-going-all-in-on-defi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">“go all in”</a> on the emerging Decentralized Finance (“DeFi”) ecosystem, notching up major early investments in several multi-billion dollar apps and networks like Chainlink, Aave, Synthetix, The Graph, and more. Over the last year, the firm has raised $400M for its third fund, and has also expanded into additional maturing verticals like web3 gaming, real world assets, and social crypto. Before Framework, Vance and his co-founder Michael launched and sold Hashletes, a digital collectible startup with official licensing from the NFL. Prior to entering the crypto space, Vance worked at Netflix in Los Angeles and Tokyo, where he was part of the team responsible for the relaunch of the Japan business, eventually joining the team leading corporate development for most of northern Asia.

Vance Spencer

Chris Perkins serves as Managing Partner and President of CoinFund, driving day-to-day excellence and enterprise-scale by bridging the gap between cryptocurrency-native investing and traditional ﬁnance. He also advocates for the interests of the crypto ecosystem through his appointment to the CFTC’s Global Markets Advisory Committee and its&nbsp; Digital Asset Markets Subcommittee. He has also testified before Congress on crypto market structure design.



Chris is the co-inventor of the Composite Ether Staking Rate (CESR), which is the first interest rate benchmark of its kind in the crypto industry.



Prior to joining CoinFund, Chris served as Global Co-Head of Futures, Clearing and Foreign Exchange Prime Brokerage (FXPB) businesses at Citi. In this capacity, he was responsible for delivering leading listed derivative electronic and voice execution, comprehensive central clearing and #1 ranked OTC Clearing and FXPB services to top institutional clients.



Prior to joining Citi in 2008, Chris served as the U.S. Head of Derivatives Intermediation at Lehman Brothers.&nbsp; An Iraq war veteran, Chris served in the U.S. Marine Corps for nine years, achieving the rank of Captain. Chris is the co-founder of Veterans in Digital Assets (VIDA) and Veterans on Wall Street (VOWS) (<a href="http://www.veteransonwallstreet.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.veteransonwallstreet.com</a>),&nbsp; two international initiatives focused on veterans’ employment and empowerment. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Naval Academy, with distinction, and a Master of Arts degree in National Security Studies from Georgetown University.&nbsp; He is a member of the Economic Club of New York.

Chris Perkins

Michelle Noyes joined AIMA in 2012 as Chief Operating Officer of AIMA's New York office, and became the Association's Head of Americas in 2017. She also co-chairs AIMA’s Digital Asset Working Group (AIMA DAWG). Previously, she was Head of International Sales and Investor Relations for BRZ Investimentos, one of the largest independent asset managers in Brazil. While in Sao Paulo, she also served as the Brazil representative for AIMA and established the AIMA Brazil network. Michelle holds a B.A. and M.A. from New York University and is a CAIA Charterholder.

Michelle Noyes

Sid Powell is the CEO &amp; Co-Founder of Maple Finance and with his Co-Founder Joe Flanagan founded Maple in 2019. Sid comes from a background in debt capital markets and institutional banking. During his career in traditional finance, he participated in $3BN+ of corporate bond issuance,and served as Treasurer for a commercial lending company in Australia. Maple has originated more than $5b in institutional lending since inception and currently holds over $550m in assets on the platform. We aim to be the global leader in tokenized private credit and first choice for institutional borrowers.

Sid Powell

Jim Bianco is President and Index Manager at Bianco Research Advisors. He is also the President of Bianco Research LLC. Since 1990, Jim’s commentaries have offered a unique perspective on the global economy and financial markets. Unencumbered by the biases of traditional Wall Street research, Jim has built a decades long reputation for objective, incisive commentary that challenges consensus thinking.



 Jim appears regularly on CNBC, Bloomberg, and Fox Business, and is often featured in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, Grants Interest Rate Observer, and MarketWatch. Jim has a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Marquette University (1984) and an MBA from Fordham University (1989).

Jim Bianco

Santiago Roel Santos (CryptoPunk #9159) is an investor focusing at the intersection of DeFi and the Web3 metaverse (NFTs/gaming). Most recently was a Partner at ParaFi Capital, one of the largest crypto funds specializing in DeFi. Prior to that, he was at Sageview Capital investing in Internet and software and, before that, at JP Morgan investment banking. Santiago began investing in crypto in 2012.

Santiago Roel Santos

Marco is the Chief Legal Officer at Kraken Digital Asset Exchange. Marco is a recognized authority in the law and policy of blockchain technologies. Prior to his move to Kraken, Marco was the Chief Legal Officer of Blockchain.com, as well as a Partner at both Cooley LLP and Pillsbury Winthrop, where he counseled banks, broker-dealers, exchanges, digital wallets, payment providers and other companies making new and exciting uses of distributed ledger technology. Marco counseled his clients primarily on the money transmission and securities laws, including anti-money laundering regulations. Marco is an author of the SAFT Project Whitepaper, a self-regulatory effort to curb Initial Coin Offerings. He is an advisor to the International Monetary Fund, the Blockchain Ambassador to the State of Delaware and was the Chairman of the Regulatory Affairs Committee of the Bitcoin Foundation.

Marco Santori

Sébastien Derivaux is a chef and co-founder of <a href="https://www.steakhouse.financial/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Steakhouse Financial</a>, a boutique consulting business that helps DeFi protocols thrive. Sébastien focuses on Real-World Assets (RWA), having begun leading the RWA efforts at MakerDAO in 2020, and Asset-Liability Management. He holds a PhD in Data Science from Strasbourg University. Read more of his thoughts on the <a href="https://cryptobanking.network/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Crypto Banking Network</a>.

Sébastien Derivaux

James Seyffart is a research analyst within Bloomberg Intelligence (Bloomberg's Research Department), focusing on the broader asset management industry with specialized expertise in the coverage of Funds like ETFs, Mutual Funds and Hedge Funds. He also aids colleagues in digital asset research and their overlap with traditional financial markets. This overlap gives him particular expertise in the area digital asset funds. Professionally, he's been covering Crypto and particularly attempts to launch digital assets ETFs since at least 2017.



James is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®), a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA®) and a member of their New York societies/chapters. He has a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from The College Of New Jersey (TCNJ)

James Seyffart

Ali Hennessy is Head of Nasdaq’s ETF listings business, where she is responsible for developing and executing the strategic vision for Nasdaq’s ETP business. Prior to taking on this role, she led business development for Nasdaq ETF Listings which included managing relationships with existing clients as well as prospecting new issuers. Prior to joining Nasdaq, Ali spent several years at State Street Global Advisors where she worked on the Institutional ETF Sales team, marketing the SPDR ETF lineup to Asset Managers.

Ali Hennessy

Michael Anderson is the co-founder of<a href="https://framework.ventures/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Framework Ventures,</a> one of the largest VC firms in the blockchain industry. Under the leadership of Michael and his co-founder Vance, Framework was arguably the first VC firm to <a href="https://decrypt.co/16943/why-framework-ventures-is-going-all-in-on-defi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">“go all in”</a> on the emerging Decentralized Finance (“DeFi”) ecosystem, notching up major early investments in several multi-billion dollar apps and networks like Chainlink, Aave, Synthetix, The Graph, and more. Over the last year, the firm has raised $400M for its third fund, and has also expanded into additional maturing verticals like web3 gaming, real world assets, and social crypto. Before Framework, Michael and his co-founder Vance launched and sold Hashletes, a digital collectible startup with official licensing from the NFL. Before entering the crypto space, Michael served as a product manager at both Snapchat and Dropbox, where he helped build out their monetization platforms.

Michael Anderson

Michael Bucella co-founded Neoclassic Capital in 2024 after spending 6 years as a general partner at BlockTower Capital, a US-based institutional digital asset investment firm, backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures. Michael joined BlockTower Capital shortly after the firm’s founding in 2017, leading the strategic expansion of the firm across multiple strategies (hedge funds, venture capital, credit, DeFi, and co-investments). Michael began his career in the financial services industry in 2008, spending nearly 10 years at Goldman Sachs in New York. From 2008 to 2010, he served within Goldman Sachs Asset Management (“GSAM”), as a member of the cross-asset solutions team supporting the firm’s largest institutional clients. From 2010 through 2017, Michael served as Vice President in the Securities Division, where he led the global equities business in Canada working with the largest pension plans and asset managers in the region. He then developed and led the cross-asset business across Canada and was a founding member of the Multi-Asset Platform desk at Goldman Sachs, where he continued to head Canada, while leading the global expansion of the business. Michael serves on the Board of Directors for Nasdaq-listed TeraWulf Inc. (“WULF”). He also serves as a mentor to the University of Toronto’s Creative Destruction Labs accelerator’s blockchain stream, since its inception in 2018. Michael is a frequently featured guest on CNBC, Bloomberg and other financial media networks. Michael holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance &amp; Accounting from Fordham University and is a member of the Fordham University President’s Council.

Mike Bucella 

Lekker Capital is a global macro hedge fund with a particular focus on the emerging digital asset industry. Prior to founding Lekker, Quinn served as the Head of Capital Markets for two institutional lending businesses in the digital asset ecosystem, most recently at Maple Finance. Quinn spent five years in fixed income and capital markets at Guggenheim Partners in New York before his full-time foray into crypto.

Quinn Thompson

Robert&nbsp;Leshner&nbsp;is the CEO and Co-founder of Superstate, an asset management firm modernizing investing through tokenized financial products. Prior to founding Superstate,&nbsp;Leshner&nbsp;co-founded Compound Labs in 2017, which developed one of the first DeFi applications.&nbsp;Robert is a venture investor at Robot Ventures and co-hosts&nbsp;The Chopping Block,&nbsp;a crypto-native podcast. He is directly responsible for designing smart contracts such as Governor Bravo and the ERC-7246 token standard, Encumber.&nbsp;



 He has a degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Additionally,&nbsp;Robert is the former chair of the San Francisco Revenue Bond Oversight Committee and a CFA charter holder.

Robert Leshner

Matt Homer is the General Partner of The Department of XYZ. He also serves as a board member at Gemini Trust Company and Standard Custody &amp; Trust. Prior to launching The Department of XYZ, Matt led blockchain investments at Nyca Partners.



A two-time former regulator, Matt most notably served as the primary regulator for many leading digital asset firms in the United States. As&nbsp; Executive Deputy Superintendent at the New York State Department of Financial Services, he oversaw the licensing and supervision of digital asset firms and was responsible for the Department’s broader innovation agenda as well.



Matt previously worked for Plaid, one of the world’s most successful fintech unicorns, and started his career as a strategy consultant at Deloitte. He has also held roles at at the FDIC and US Agency for International Development and has advised institutions such as the UN Capital Development Fund, the World Bank, and the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance. Matt holds a masters from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Matt Homer

Alex Thorn is a Managing Director and Head of Firmwide Research at Galaxy Digital. At Galaxy, Alex leads a team of researchers dedicated to understanding and unpacking developments in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, producing insights for internal and external audiences. Prior to joining Galaxy Digital, Alex spent 12 years at Fidelity Investments, mostly recently co-managing Avon Ventures, the early-stage crypto venture fund affiliated with FMR LLC, the parent company of Fidelity Investments. Before that, Alex was Director of Blockchain Research at Fidelity Center for Applied Technology where he directed technology experimentation and published research on the cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem, and held several roles in Legal and Compliance functions before that. Alex has a B.A. in Political Science from Vanderbilt University.

Alex Thorn

Pranav Kanade is a seasoned finance professional with over 11 years of industry experience, currently serving as a Portfolio Manager for VanEck's Digital Assets Alpha Fund. Prior to joining VanEck, Pranav served as a Credit Portfolio Manager at Millennium Management where he worked closely with a team of 6 investment professionals. He was also the founding member and Head of Research for the Liquid Credit investing business at Angelo, Gordon &amp; Co. Additionally, Pranav held the role of Managing Director/Research Analyst at Hutchin Hill Capital, where he focused on Technology and Energy. Pranav began his career at UBS in credit research during the European credit crisis. He holds a BS in Finance and Accounting with a specialization in Entertainment, Media, and Technology from New York University.

Pranav Kanade

James is General Partner – Fund Manager &amp; VP of Operations at Republic. Prior to this, James worked in a wide variety of investing, business building and operating roles across the Alan Howard ecosystem. Originally hired into Brevan Howard, his focus was Principal Investing across Crypto, Web3, Fintech &amp; Frontier Technologies.



James was also one of the founding team at WebN Group, the well-known incubator for Fintech &amp; Web3 innovation, where over 18 months significant equity value was created. Twinstake, TruFin, Libre, Geometry and Soter are a few of those companies. Due to James’s extensive experience, he additionally spent 6 months restructuring, realigning and putting into place operational policies and scaling procedures at Elwood, a market leading EMS &amp; PMS provider backed by Goldman Sachs, Citi Bank, and Barclays.



Having been heavily involved in Web3 &amp; Digital Assets Markets for over 8 years, James started his career with ~15 years of investment banking experience across multi-asset trading, derivative, sales and structuring desks at top tier banks. His deep understanding of the intersection between digital assets, financial technologies and traditional finance has been crucial to creating robust investment thesis’s, venture builds and implementing operational policies, scalable processes and go-to-market strategies in portfolio companies.



Outside of work, James is an advisor to various companies, including Saltford FC and has published numerous quantitative, financial and regulatory papers across both traditional and digital markets, most recently for the Digital Economic Initiative. As a qualified Chartered Financial Analyst®, James holds a Masters in Finance (Distinction) &amp; graduated with an Honours Degree in Economics from Durham University.

James Newman

Ian De Bode

Jack O'Holleran is a veteran entrepreneur and the CEO and co-founder of SKALE Labs, the core team behind the SKALE Network, a blockchain scalability platform that enables developers to build and deploy Ethereum applications quickly and cost-effectively. With over two decades of experience in enterprise software and blockchain technologies, Jack is a recognized expert in blockchain and decentralization. Prior to co-founding SKALE Labs in 2018, Jack founded several successful startups, including IncentAlign, a digital currency platform, and Aktana, the global leading machine learning/AI platform for the life science industry. He also held numerous senior roles at Good Technology, which was later acquired by Motorola, where he continued to serve as an executive. Throughout his career, Jack has been a driving force behind the development of innovative solutions that improve scalability, security, and user experience. Jack has been actively involved in the cryptocurrency industry since early 2013, and he is committed to creating a more open, transparent, and decentralized world by leveraging the transformative power of blockchain technology. Under his leadership, SKALE Labs has emerged as a leader in the blockchain industry, providing an innovative solution that enables developers to build and deploy decentralized applications quickly and cost-effectively. Jack earned his BS from the University of Nebraska, where he was a two-time letterman for the Nebraska Football team and twice named to the Academic All-Conference first team. He is a proud father of three young children and resides in San Francisco.

Jack O'Holleran

Ryan is the co-founder of Syncracy Capital — a thesis-driven hedge fund making high conviction, concentrated investments in the secular winners of the cryptoeconomy. Prior to founding Syncracy Ryan was a Senior Research Analyst at Messari.

Ryan Watkins

Rajeev Bamra serves as the global Head of Strategy for Digital Economy at Moody's Ratings, based in New York. A seasoned executive and thought leader, he plays a pivotal role in shaping the intersection of traditional finance and evolving digital economy within the rating agency. In his current position, Rajeev leads the strategy and operations group, driving key decisions at Executive and Senior Leadership levels, and ensuring Moody's readiness for the digitalization of the global economy. Rajeev serves as a significant catalyst in embedding the concept of digitalization, encompassing digital currencies, decentralized technologies, AI, Quantum, innovative product design and emerging digital risks like Cybersecurity, into the fabric of Moody's ecosystem.



His visionary leadership extracts the maximum potential from the evolving digital economy, steering the innovation agenda and operational planning for the organization. As a recognized thought leader, Rajeev has authored research papers and thought leadership documents on digital economy infrastructure development, leveraging transformative technologies such as blockchain and AI across various sectors. Actively representing Moody's at events, panels, webinars, and podcasts, Rajeev helps optimize stakeholder relations relations to underscore Moody's commitment to digital finance and innovation. His visionary leadership and strategic acumen continue to propel Moody's into the forefront of the evolving digital economy.

Rajeev Bamra

Chris is the Director of Research and Business Development at Cumberland Labs, a pioneering venture studio and incubator, backed by the partners of DRW and Cumberland. He founded Georgia Tech Blockchain and has mentored and worked with several student blockchain organizations, including Harvard and Cornell Blockchain. Previously, he worked at Genesis, GSR, and Chicago Trading Company as a trader, and has advised multiple protocols building in DeFi.

Chris Newhouse

As Head of Digital Assets Research and Portfolio Manager for the VanEck Smart Contract Leaders Fund, Mr. Sigel helps guide VanEck’s digital assets strategy and sits on the investment committee of the firm’s private funds. He produces frequent research on Bitcoin, smart contract platforms, and emerging markets adoption of digital asset. Prior to VanEck, Mr. Sigel  worked as a research analyst and portfolio strategist at CLSA, an analyst and portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein (where he covered technology and other sectors under Cathie Wood), and a journalist at Bloomberg, CNBC and NHK Japan Broadcasting, where he covered finance. Mr. Sigel is a CFA Charterholder and has a BA from Harvard University.

Michael Selig

Join 100s of your colleagues from the world of institutional finance.