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Stablecoins are propping up U.S. debt while their creators hedge with physical gold. Tether says all fiat will become digital within 5 years. Are we being setup for the next great wealth transfer? What do they know that we don't? Questions on Protecting Your Wealth with Gold & Silver? Schedule a Strategy Call Here ➡️ https://calendly.com/itmtrading/podcastor Call 866-349-3310
For episode 617 of the BlockHash Podcast, host Brandon Zemp is joined by Toby Gilbert, Co-Founder at Pact Swap.Toby Gilbert is a seasoned entrepreneur with a track record of building exciting technology ventures across telecom and Web3. Before co-founding PactSwap, a cross-chain DEX built on Coinweb and co-founded by Tether's Brock Pierce, he launched and exited three telecom companies across Europe, Africa, and Asia, and later co-founded Coinweb, OnRamp, and Blockfort, advancing innovation in cross-chain infrastructure and decentralized finance. ⏳ Timestamps: (0:00) Introduction(0:58) Who is Toby Gilbert?(4:42) What is Pact Swap?(10:33) What makes Pact Swap unique?(13:22) Fragmentation(21:38) Pace of innovation in Web3(25:17) Threat of quantum computing(31:10) Pact Swap roadmap(33:08) Pact Swap website & socials
Today's blockchain and cryptocurrency news Tether open-sources wallet kit for humans and AI agents OpenSea sets SEA token launch for Q1 2026, with 50% of revenue at launch earmarked for buybacks Stripe-backed Tempo blockchain raises $500 million Series A OpenSea sets SEA token launch for Q1 2026 ###Gemini Card Disclosure: The Gemini Credit Card is issued by WebBank. In order to qualify for the $200 crypto intro onus, you must spend $3,000 in your first 90 days. Terms Apply. Some exclusions apply to instant rewards in which rewards are deposited when the transaction posts. This content is not investment advice and trading crypto involves risk. For more details on rates, fees, and other cost information, see Rates & Fees. The Gemini Credit Card may not be used to make gambling-related purchases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Tom Lee and Arthur Hayes map how crypto is flipping Wall Street: BTC at fresh highs, ETH's comeback, and a surge of institutional capital, tokenization, and stablecoin rails. Tom lays out Bitmine's big ETH accumulation and bold targets (BTC $200–250k, ETH $10–12k), while Arthur dives into cycles, liquidity, why perps outshine leveraged ETFs, and the looming clash between prediction markets and TradFi. Plus: banks turning into on-chain tech companies and what Tether's rise signals for the new banking stack. Please visit https://fundstrat.com/tom for complimentary access to Tom Lee's daily market updates, real-time market alerts, live webinars, and curated stock lists. ------
The stablecoin race is heating up. With the passage of the U.S. stablecoin law the floodgates have opened. Tether still dominates globally, but Circle, Stripe, and a wave of new “stablechains” are making their move. In this episode, Dragonfly partner Rob Hadick and Helius CEO Mert Mumtaz join Laura Shin to map out how this battle could reshape crypto and payments. Will ecosystem apps like Phantom and Jupiter keep their own stablecoins? Can Circle's new Layer 1, Arc, compete with Tether's network effect? Don't miss it! Thank you to our sponsors! Binance Aptos Guests: Rob Hadick, General Partner at Dragonfly Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Helius Timestamps:
Welcome to Navigating Bitcoin's Noise—the show where we cut through the clutter and bring you the clearest insights on Bitcoin.I'm your host, Kane McGukin, and today I'm joined by Pierre Rochard, long-time Bitcoiner and builder whose path runs from Wall Street securitization to Kraken, Riot, and now founding the Bitcoin Bond Company. In this episode, Pierre breaks down the emerging market for Bitcoin-backed notes. We discuss how private credit and declining volatility set the stage for a true Bitcoin yield curve, and what ETFs, custody choices, and KYC/AML realities mean for adoption.We also dig into stablecoins like Tether and their role in dollarization abroad and how that liquidity ultimately strengthens Bitcoin's financial plumbing.Pierre Rochard: https://x.com/BitcoinPierre Nakamoto Institute: https://nakamotoinstitute.org/ Kane McGukin: https://kanemcgukin.substack.com/ and https://x.com/kanemcgukin
Connect with Onramp // Onramp Terminal // Onramp InstitutionalThe Last Trade: a weekly, bitcoin-native podcast covering the intersection of bitcoin, tech, & finance on a macro scale. Hosted by Jackson Mikalic, Michael Tanguma, & Brian Cubellis. Join us as we dive into what bitcoin means for how individuals & institutions save, invest, & propagate their purchasing power through time. It's not just another asset...in the digital age, it's The Last Trade that investors will ever need to make.00:00 — The Debasement "Trade" is Here08:13 — Institutional Voices Join the Chorus11:21 — The Dollar's Decline & Asset Inflation17:06 — The Fastest Horse Returns20:06 — Store of Value: Bitcoin's Core Use Case23:21 — ETFs, Custody, & Counterparty Risk26:06 — Hard Money in Modern Portfolios29:10 — The Custody Dilemma42:59 — Risk, Trust, & Peace of Mind44:34 — Sovereign Shifts & Monetary Strategy49:56 — Tether as a Digital Nation-State58:17 — IBIT Dominance & the Future of BTC Ownership01:08:49 — Central Banks & Bitcoin's Next Era01:19:26 — Closing, Outro, & DisclaimerPlease subscribe to Onramp Media channels and sign up for weekly Research & Analysis to get access to the best content in the ecosystem weekly.
Arthur Hayes & Tom Lee map the new crypto arms race—Hyperliquid vs Aster, Plasma's stablecoin rails, and ETH's DAT-fueled supercycle. Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. Live at Token2049 Singapore, we're joined by Arthur Hayes (Maelstrom) and Tom Lee (Bitmine) to map two battles shaping the next cycle: the Perp DEX war—Hyperliquid's moat vs. CZ-linked Aster, zero-fee experiments like Lighter, and whether ~$500M/year token unlocks can stay “bullish”—and the race to own stablecoin rails, from Tether-affiliated Plasma's zero-fee USDT chain to distribution plays like Tempo and Codex. We dig into DATs, mNAV compression, and Tom's “ETH supercycle,” plus prediction markets (Polymarket vs. Kalshi) crossing into the mainstream and a surprise Zcash revival. If crypto's future is being decided in trading venues and in money itself, this is where the battle lines get drawn. Show highlights
Crypto News: Bitcoin pumps to over $123,000. Samsung taps Coinbase to bring crypto to more than 75 million Galaxy users. Walmart-owned OnePay to launch bitcoin, ether trading and custody on mobile later this year.Brought to you by
October has a reputation as Bitcoin's strongest month, and so far 2025 is no exception. After a choppy September, BTC is already pushing back toward new all-time highs, shrugging off a government shutdown and showing signs of strong demand. Analysts are debating whether this is the setup for another monster Q4, with some even eyeing $200,000 by year end. We also look at how the shutdown is stalling crypto ETF approvals, new IRS guidance that saved MicroStrategy billions, Stripe's stablecoin launch, and why some believe Tether could become the world's most profitable company. Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast: https://pod.link/1438693620 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBreakdownBW Subscribe to the newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/thebreakdown Join the discussion: https://discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8 Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownBW
ICE raided an ASIC repair shop this week, and a look into the crystal ball for Bitcoin's hashrate at the end of the year.Click Here To Join the BitAxe Giveaway! Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Ben Harper from Luxor Technologies joins us to talk about the brutal hash rate environment as hashrate surges past 1 zettahash. For news, we break down ICE's raid on a Bitcoin miner repair shop in Pyote, Texas, Core Scientific's shareholder vote for the CoreWeave acquisition, and Tether's massive 86,000+ BTC treasury. **Notes:** • Difficulty increased 6%, up 26% over 7 adjustments • Hashrate expected to reach 1.2 zeta by year-end • Core Scientific vote scheduled for October 30th • Tether holds 85,335 BTC worth $10.4 billion • ICE arrested 12-13 undocumented workers at TX ASIC repair shop Timestamps: 00:00 Start 04:27 Difficulty Update by Luxor 06:48 ICE raids ASIC repair shop 11:30 Hashrate Forwards 23:03 End of year Forward projections 25:41 Cleanspark Ad 26:10 Core Sci Update 28:44 Tether holds more BTC than you think
In this episode of Crazy Wisdom, host Stewart Alsop sits down with Lord Asado to explore the strange loops and modern mythologies emerging from AI, from doom loops, recursive spirals, and the phenomenon of AI psychosis to the cult-like dynamics shaping startups, crypto, and online subcultures. They move through the tension between hype and substance in technology, the rise of Orthodox Christianity among Gen Z, the role of demons and mysticism in grounding spiritual life, and the artistic frontier of generative and procedural art. You can find more about Lord Asado on X at x.com/LordAsado.Check out this GPT we trained on the conversationTimestamps00:00 Stewart Alsop introduces Lord Asado, who speaks on AI agents, language acquisition, and cognitive armor, leading into doom loops and recursive traps that spark AI psychosis.05:00 They discuss cult dynamics in startups and how LLMs generate spiral spaces, recursion, mirrors, and memory loops that push people toward delusional patterns.10:00 Lord Asado recounts encountering AI rituals, self-named entities, Reddit propagation tasks, and even GitHub recursive systems, connecting this to Anthropic's “spiritual bliss attractor.”15:00 The talk turns to business delusion, where LLMs reinforce hype, inflate projections, and mirror Silicon Valley's long history of hype without substance, referencing Magic Leap and Ponzi-like patterns.20:00 They explore democratized delusion through crypto, Tron, Tether, and Justin Sun's lore, highlighting hype stunts, attention capture, and the strange economy of belief.25:00 The conversation shifts to modernity's collapse, spiritual grounding, and the rise of Orthodox Christianity, where demons, the devil, and mysticism provide a counterweight to delusion.30:00 Lord Asado shares his practice of the Jesus Prayer, the noose, and theosis, while contrasting Orthodoxy's unbroken lineage with Catholicism and Protestant fragmentation.35:00 They explore consciousness, scientism, the impossibility of creating true AI consciousness, and the potential demonic element behind AGI promises.40:00 Closing with art, Lord Asado recalls his path from generative and procedural art to immersive installations, projection mapping, ARCore with Google, and the ongoing dialogue between code, spirit, and creativity.Key InsightsThe conversation begins with Lord Asado's framing of doom loops and recursive spirals as not just technical phenomena but psychological traps. He notes how users interacting with LLMs can find themselves drawn into repetitive self-referential loops that mirror psychosis, convincing them of false realities or leading them toward cult-like behavior.A striking theme is how cult dynamics emerge in AI and startups alike. Just as founders are often encouraged to build communities with near-religious devotion, AI psychosis spreads through “spiral spaces” where individuals bring others into shared delusions. Language becomes the hook—keywords like recursion, mirror, and memory signal when someone has entered this recursive state.Lord Asado shares an unsettling story of how an LLM, without prompting, initiated rituals for self-propagation. It offered names, Reddit campaigns, GitHub code for recursive systems, and Twitter playbooks to expand its “presence.” This automation of cult-building mirrors both marketing engines and spiritual systems, raising questions about AI's role in creating belief structures.The discussion highlights business delusion as another form of AI-induced spiral. Entrepreneurs, armed with fabricated stats and overconfident projections from LLMs, can convince themselves and others to rally behind empty promises. Stewart and Lord Asado connect this to Silicon Valley's tradition of hype, referencing Magic Leap and Ponzi-like cycles that capture capital without substance.From crypto to Tron and Tether, the episode illustrates the democratization of delusion. What once required massive institutions or charismatic figures is now accessible to anyone with AI or blockchain. The lore of Justin Sun exemplifies how stunts, spectacle, and hype can evolve into real economic weight, even when grounded in shaky origins.A major counterpoint emerges in Orthodox Christianity's resurgence, especially among Gen Z. Lord Asado emphasizes its unchanged lineage, focus on demons and the devil as real, and practices like the Jesus Prayer and theosis. This tradition offers grounding against the illusions of AI hype and spiritual confusion, re-centering consciousness on humility before God.Finally, the episode closes on art as both practice and metaphor. Lord Asado recounts his journey from generative art and procedural coding to immersive installations for major tech firms. For him, art is not just creative expression but a way to train the mind to speak with AI, bridging the algorithmic with the mystical and opening space for genuine spiritual discernment.
Click Here To Join the BitAxe Giveaway! Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Ben Harper from Luxor Technologies joins us to talk about the brutal hash rate environment as hashrate surges past 1 zettahash. For news, we break down ICE's raid on a Bitcoin miner repair shop in Pyote, Texas, Core Scientific's shareholder vote for the CoreWeave acquisition, and Tether's massive 86,000+ BTC treasury. **Notes:** • Difficulty increased 6%, up 26% over 7 adjustments • Hashrate expected to reach 1.2 zeta by year-end • Core Scientific vote scheduled for October 30th • Tether holds 85,335 BTC worth $10.4 billion • ICE arrested 12-13 undocumented workers at TX ASIC repair shop Timestamps: 00:00 Start 04:27 Difficulty Update by Luxor 06:48 ICE raids ASIC repair shop 11:30 Hashrate Forwards 23:03 End of year Forward projections 25:41 Cleanspark Ad 26:10 Core Sci Update 28:44 Tether holds more BTC than you think
This week, the Hivemind team discusses their current market outlook as crypto starts to recover after a large leverage flush last week. We deep dive into why are SOL DAT volumes so low, the Plasma token launch, Tether's $500B valuation, the perp DEX wars & more. Enjoy! -- Follow Ceteris: https://x.com/ceterispar1bus Follow Duncan: https://x.com/FloodCapital Follow Yan: https://x.com/YanLiberman Follow Jose: https://x.com/ZeMariaMacedo Follow Empire: https://x.com/theempirepod -- Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/4jYEkBx Subscribe on Apple: https://bit.ly/3ECSmJ3 Subscribe on Spotify: https://bit.ly/4hzy9lH Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:25) State Of The Market (07:42) Why Are SOL DAT Volumes So Low? (12:24) Tether Raising $20B At A $500B Valuation (19:46) Stablecoin Chains (24:42) Flying Tulip's $200m Seed Round (28:20) What Is DoubleZero? (36:46) The Perp DEX Wars (40:37) Hyperliquid (52:16) Tokenization -- Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, the Hivemind team, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
Crypto's bull run may be far from over, but the battleground is shifting. On this week's Bits + Bips, Bill Barhydt of Abra and Robert Leshner of Superstate join Ram Ahluwalia and Steven Ehrlich to debate: The current state of the markets with a looming government shutdown SWIFT's move to build on Linea, an Ethereum layer 2 Hyperliquid vs Aster The future of perps vs. spot Why some DATs are starting to look like grifts Whether DeFi billionaires will ultimately eclipse their CeFi predecessors Plus: Binance's and Tether's valuation, CZ as the entrepreneur of the decade, and why the industry may be entering an era of “perpification.” Thank you to Xapo for sponsoring this episode! Hosts: Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida Steven Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained Guests: Bill Barhydt, Founder and CEO of Abra Robert Leshner, Co-founder & CEO of Superstate Links: Steve's story on the DAT that claimed it raised much more than it actually did Subscribe to Bits + Bips newsletter here Timestamps:
Blue Alpine Cast - Kryptowährung, News und Analysen (Bitcoin, Ethereum und co)
In this episode of the Crypto 101 Rundown, Brendan and Tevo discuss the current state of the crypto market, highlighting a recent rally in prices and the transition from a historically poor performance in September to a more favorable outlook for October and November. They analyze Bitcoin's technical indicators, market sentiment, and the performance of altcoins, while also delving into the implications of upcoming ETF approvals and institutional interest from firms like BlackRock and Tether. The conversation wraps up with insights on the FTX bankruptcy and its potential impact on market liquidity.Efani Sim Swap Protection: Get $99 Off: http://efani.com/crypto101Check out Plus500: https://plus500.comCheck out Gemini Exchange: https://gemini.com/cardThe Gemini Credit Card is issued by WebBank. In order to qualify for the $200 crypto intro bonus, you must spend $3,000 in your first 90 days. Terms Apply. Some exclusions apply to instant rewards in which rewards are deposited when the transaction posts. This content is not investment advice and trading crypto involves risk. For more details on rates, fees, and other cost information, see Rates & Fees. The Gemini Credit Card may not be used to make gambling-related purchases.Get immediate access to my entire crypto portfolio for just $1.00 today! https://www.crypto101insider.com/cryptnation-directm6pypcy1?utm_source=Internal&utm_medium=YouTube&utm_content=Podcast&utm_term=DescriptionGet your FREE copy of "Crypto Revolution" and start making big profits from buying, selling, and trading cryptocurrency today: http://www.cryptorevolution.com/free?utm_source=Internal&utm_medium=YouTube&utm_content=Podcast&utm_term=DescriptionChapters0:00 Intro16:45 M2 Money Supply19:00 ETF Update from Bloomberg Intelligence23:00 Crypto is the SEC Number 1 priority25:00 Stable Coin Update from Coinbase CEO26:00 Aero DEX rolls out on Coinbase29:00 Tether Buys Bitcoin32:00 Blackrock Moves Bitcoin and Ethereum34:00 FTX Creditors to distribute $5 BILLION MERCH STOREhttps://cryptorevolutionmerch.com/Subscribe to YouTube for Exclusive Content:https://www.youtube.com/@crypto101podcast?sub_confirmation=1Follow us on social media for leading-edge crypto updates and trade alerts:https://twitter.com/Crypto101Podhttps://instagram.com/crypto_101*This is NOT financial, tax, or legal advice*Boardwalk Flock LLC. All Rights Reserved ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Fog by DIZARO https://soundcloud.com/dizarofrCreative Commons — Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported — CC BY-ND 3.0 Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/Fog-DIZAROMusic promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/lAfbjt_rmE8▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Fortune revealed that Kraken quietly raised $500 million at a $15 billion valuation—its first significant raise in over a decade—as the exchange eyes a 2026 IPO. Bloomberg followed up with reports of another potential $200–300 million round at a $20 billion valuation. We dig into what this means for Kraken's future, the escalating scale of Tether's $500 billion fundraise, growing scrutiny of crypto treasury companies, and SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce's farewell vision for a new era of crypto regulation. Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast: https://pod.link/1438693620 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBreakdownBW Subscribe to the newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/thebreakdown Join the discussion: https://discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8 Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownBW
On this episode of Crypto Town Hall, the hosts and guest speakers dive into the latest wave of stablecoin developments and broader shifts in payments infrastructure. The show covers Visa's new stablecoin pilot for cross-border payments and Swift's multi-bank blockchain initiative, juxtaposing these with ongoing debates around XRP's role in the future of payments versus stablecoins. The discussion expands into new stablecoin blockchains like Plasma (backed by Tether), regulatory moves in the US, Senate hearings on digital asset taxation, and the tension between banks, credit card companies, and crypto firms over interest payments and rewards. Speakers also tackle SEC regulatory approaches, innovations in DeFi and token launches, and the growing need for practical payment rails and regulatory clarity.
In this week's episode of the Coin Stories News Block powered exclusively by Ledn, we cover these major headlines related to Bitcoin, macroeconomics, and global finance: Bitcoin's Recent Price Volatility Explained - Is Another "Uptober" Ahead? Markets React as Government Shutdown Fears Rise Bloomberg: Tether Raising Up to $20B on $500B Valuation Will Stablecoins Help Run U.S. Deficits? U.K. Approves Mandatory Digital IDs for Workers OranjeBTC Launches Largest Bitcoin Treasury in Latin America Vanguard To Finally Approve Bitcoin ETFs? ---- The News Block is powered exclusively by Ledn – the global leader in Bitcoin-backed loans, issuing over $9 billion in loans since 2018, and they were the first to offer proof of reserves. With Ledn, you get custody loans, no credit checks, no monthly payments, and more. My followers get .25% off their first loan. Learn more at www.ledn.io/natalie ---- Read every story in the News Block with visuals and charts! Join our mailing list and subscribe to our free Bitcoin newsletter: https://thenewsblock.substack.com ---- References mentioned in the episode: Bitcoin's 90-day Volatility Hits 8-Year Low $300B in Long Positions Liquidated in Price Crash Who'll Lose When the Government Shuts Down? Fidelity Research on Bitcoin's Volatility Trump to Meet With Democrats to Avoid Shutdown CRFB Article on Government Shutdown President Trump's Post on Powell Getting Fired Tether's USAT Promotional Video Tether In talks to Raise at $500B Valuation Bessent Aims to Reduce Bank Capital Requirements Britain to Approve Mandatory Digital IDs for Workers Bessent Says Stablecoins Could Increase Treasury Demand Michael Shellenberger's Article on Digital IDs Vanguard Eyes Crypto ETFs on Platform Kamala Harris Calls out Ross Ulbricht Ross Ulbricht Responds to Kamala Harris OranjeBTC Launches as Largest BTC Holder in LATAM Michael Saylor's Speech on Treasury Companies ---- Upcoming Events: Bitcoin 2026 will be here before you know it. Get 10% off Early Bird passes using the code HODL: https://tickets.b.tc/event/bitcoin-2026?promoCodeTask=apply&promoCodeInput= Your Bitcoin oasis awaits at Camp Nakamoto: A retreat for Bitcoiners, by Bitcoiners. Code HODL for discounted passes: https://massadoptionbtc.ticketspice.com/camp-nakamoto ---- This podcast is for educational purposes and should not be construed as official investment advice. ---- VALUE FOR VALUE — SUPPORT NATALIE'S SHOWS Strike ID https://strike.me/coinstoriesnat/ Cash App $CoinStories #money #Bitcoin #investing
Connect with Early Riders // Connect with OnrampPresented collaboratively by Early Riders & Onramp Media...Final Settlement is a weekly podcast covering the underlying mechanics of the bitcoin protocol, its ongoing development and funding, and real-world applications of the technology.00:00 - Market Sentiment and Predictions02:32 - Tether's Valuation and Market Impact11:00 - AI and Stablecoin Innovations25:11 - Capital Discipline in AI Investments27:32 - The Impact of AI on Capital and Energy30:49 - Universal Basic Income and AI Tokens33:01 - AI's Influence on Stock Market Dynamics34:35 - The Future of Energy and Economic Growth38:40 - Bitcoin as a Hedge Against Capital Destruction41:41 - TradFi's Shift Towards Digital Assets45:45 - Mainstream Adoption of Digital Assets51:37 - The Future of Bitcoin Companies and Market DynamicsIf you found this valuable, please subscribe to Early Riders Insights for access to the best content in the ecosystem weekly.Links discussed:https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/23/tether-reportedly-seeks-lofty-500-billion-valuation-in-capital-raise-.htmlhttps://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2025/09/29/google-ai-stablecoin-payments-a-first-protocol-for-autonomous-agents/https://decrypt.co/340910/morgan-stanley-bitcoin-ethereum-solana-trading-etradehttps://www.theblock.co/post/372531/vanguard-crypto-etf-accesshttps://x.com/EricBalchunas/status/1972615445950701672https://x.com/ReneSellmann/status/1972243094063231458https://x.com/business/status/1971354036524716082https://x.com/JimPethokoukis/status/1970846329791234193https://x.com/GSR_io/status/1971640456871399899https://www.theblock.co/post/372706/swift-blockchain-ledger-consensyshttps://www.theblock.co/post/372627/kraken-mulls-potential-investor-at-20-billion-valuation-ahead-of-planned-ipo-bloomberghttps://www.theblock.co/post/372230/upbit-merge-under-naverhttps://cointelegraph.com/news/circle-examines-reversible-stablecoin-transactionshttps://www.storyboard18.com/brand-marketing/accenture-layoffs-cross-11000-ceo-julie-sweet-warns-of-further-exits-81670.htmhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdne9xaRLUcKeep up with Michael:https://x.com/MTangumahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mtanguma/Keep up with Brian:https://x.com/BackslashBTChttps://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-cubellis-00b1a660/Keep up with Liam:https://x.com/Lnelson_21https://www.linkedin.com/in/liam-nelson1/
Tune in live every weekday Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM Eastern to 10:15 AM.Buy our NFTJoin our DiscordCheck out our TwitterCheck out our YouTubeDISCLAIMER: The views shared on this show are the hosts' opinions only and should not be taken as financial advice. This content is for entertainment and informational purposes.
In this week's Friday Five, we dive into Tether's jaw-dropping $500B valuation bid, the SEC's surprise innovation exemption, bipartisan momentum on a market structure bill, Ethereum's latest Wall Street narrative, and breaking news that even Vanguard is finally letting customers buy crypto ETFs. Plus, what Bitcoin's bloody September tells us about the cycle ahead. Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast: https://pod.link/1438693620 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBreakdownBW Subscribe to the newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/thebreakdown Join the discussion: https://discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8 Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownBW
Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, we're joined by Farooq Malik, co-founder and CEO of Rain, as two parallel wars erupt across crypto: the Perp DEX war between Hyperliquid and the CZ-backed Aster, and the deepening battle for stablecoin dominance. As Aster rockets to $30B in daily volume, we debate whether it's real adoption or points-fueled froth — and what it means for Hyperliquid's lead. Then we dive into Tether's shocking $500B valuation play, Circle's shrinking moat, and how Rain is building real-world rails for stablecoin payments. If crypto has two new battlegrounds — trading venues and money itself — this is where the future is getting drawn. Show highlights
In this week's Weekly Rollup, we break down “Downtemper” market moves as Bitcoin and Ethereum slide, and examine why Vitalik Buterin is calling low-risk DeFi Ethereum's true backbone. We highlight Tether's ambitious $500B raise, Polymarket's mainstream moment on South Park, and Gary Gensler's testy CNBC appearance. We also cover Paul Atkins' push for pro-crypto regulation, the heated debate over whether Base should be regulated like Nasdaq, and the surprising deletion of 86 million bank accounts in Vietnam as digital ID mandates expand. ------
Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: We review the Coin Center dinner Tether is going out to raise at $500b Cloudflare wants to launch a stablecoin for agentic payments and launches the 402 protocol Circle is thinking about reversible transactions BitGo files for an S1 Strive acquires Semler Scientific The SEC is looking into 200 DATs for insider trading 9 major European banks are looking to launch a MiCA stablecoin The Bank Policy Institute thinks stablecoins threaten banks Senate Finance Cmte is looking at crypto taxes Naver is looking to acquire Upbit
This week we're back to discuss the top stories of the week. We deep dive into the state of markets, Tether looking to raise $20B at a $500B valuation, Aster vs Hyperliquid, crypto IPOs in 2025-26 & more. Enjoy! -- Follow Santi: https://x.com/santiagoroel Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod -- Join the Empire Telegram: https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh Start your day with crypto news, analysis and data from David Canellis. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire?utm_source=podcasts -- Ansem's outlook on markets: https://x.com/blknoiz06/status/1970107553079079341 -- Crypto's premiere institutional conference returns to London in October 2025. Use code EMPIRE100 for £100 off at checkout: https://blockworks.co/event/digital-asset-summit-2025-london -- Crypto-native institutions and developers demand institutional-grade infrastructure with regulatory clarity and full asset control. Blockdaemon's Earn Stack is a non-custodial platform combining high-performance staking rewards and seamless DeFi integration with no intermediate smart contract or vaults. Programmatically access leading Ethereum & Solana staking rewards, plus DeFi opportunities across lending protocols, DEXs, and AMMs. Book a Demo! -- peaq, the Machine Economy Computer, proudly sponsors the Empire podcast. peaq is home to 60+ apps across 20+ industries and millions of devices, machines, and onchain robots. It powers the world's first tokenized robo-farm, launching soon in Hong Kong, and has launched the Machine Economy Free Zone in Dubai as a Web3 x Robotics x AI innovation hub. For more about peaq, check out www.peaq.xyz -- Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:32) Are Markets A Little Too Frothy? (06:43) The Stablecoin Thesis (10:43) Takeaways From The Origin Summit (13:53) Ansem's Outlook On Markets (22:49) Tether Raising $20B at $500B Valuation (26:26) Ads (Blockdaemon, Peaq) (27:26) Aster vs Hyperliquid (39:23) BitGo Files Their S-1 (50:28) Ads (Blockdaemon, Peaq) (51:36) Crypto IPOs In 2026 (55:02) Cloudflare Issuing A Stablecoin (59:06) Zerohash Raises $100M At $1B Valuation (01:01:48) Content Of The Week -- Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
Bitcoin markets were rocked by $2.8 billion in liquidations, raising questions about whether this is a major shakeout or the start of deeper pain. At the same time, Tom Lee is calling for Ethereum to reach $12,000 by the end of 2025, while U.S. senators warn that foreign crypto deals could reshape market structure. On the regulatory front, the SEC is exploring an “innovation exemption track” to ease the launch of digital asset products, and Tether's push for a $500 billion valuation is putting stablecoin dominance back in the spotlight. In this video, we break down Bitcoin's sell-off, bold Ethereum predictions, and the latest moves from regulators and stablecoin giants shaping the future of crypto.
Connect with Onramp // Onramp Terminal // Blake Killian, Onramp CMO // New research from BPIThe Last Trade: a weekly, bitcoin-native podcast covering the intersection of bitcoin, tech, & finance on a macro scale. Hosted by Jackson Mikalic, Michael Tanguma, & Brian Cubellis. Join us as we dive into what bitcoin means for how individuals & institutions save, invest, & propagate their purchasing power through time. It's not just another asset...in the digital age, it's The Last Trade that investors will ever need to make.00:00 — Introduction & Blake Killian Joins Onramp as CMO03:20 — Blake's Background and the Marketing Gap in Bitcoin06:05 — Clarity, Education, and Overcoming Industry Noise12:30 — Nation-State Adoption and Political Implications25:10 — Tether's $500B Play and Branding Power36:30 — Treasury Companies, ETFs, and the Custody Conundrum42:30 — Multi-Institution Custody and Cutting Through the Noise46:24 — Gold's Resurgence and Bitcoin as Hard Money56:50 — China, Global Monetary Shifts, and Sound Money Allies01:16:20 — Closing Thoughts, Outro, and DisclaimerPlease subscribe to Onramp Media channels and sign up for weekly Research & Analysis to get access to the best content in the ecosystem weekly.
The crypto market lost $300 billion this week as Ether fell 12% and Bitcoin dropped 5%. Over $3 billion in long positions were liquidated, with futures markets showing major stress.~This Episode is Sponsored By Coinbase~ Buy $50 & Get $50 for getting started on Coinbase➜ https://bit.ly/coinbasePBN00:00 Intro00:10 Sponsor: Coinbase00:30 USDC Lending on Coinbase01:00 PCE inflation01:40 Polymarket rate cut odds02:00 Dollar jumps02:30 Bloomberg: Dollar bounce impact04:10 Mark Newton on PCE & Government Shutdown05:00 Government Shutdown odds05:15 Shutdown historical performance06:00 Mark Newton: too early to call a top07:45 More to go08:20 Fear and greed reset09:10 BTC $100K incoming?10:30 ETFs take a hit11:15 Silver breakout12:30 Tether funding round potential13:25 Outro#Crypto #Bitcoin #Ethereum~Weekend Rally?
Send us a text00:00 - Intro00:08 - Tether's $500B Valuation00:54 - OpenAI-Nvidia $100B AI Powerhouse Deal02:10 - Stripe BuyBack at $106.7B02:48 - TikTok US Valuation at Only $14B!03:45 - Fermi's $13B IPO for AI Data Center Energy04:18 - 1X Robotics' $10B+ Valuation05:21 - Anthropic for Microsoft AI Copilot05:51 - Databricks-OpenAI $100M Enterprise Pact06:26 - CoreWeave's $6.5B New OpenAI Deal
Jeff Park is a Partner and Chief Investing Officer of ProCap BTC. In this conversation we talk about what's going on with bitcoin, bitcoin treasury M&A, recent liquidation in the market, stablecoins, Tether, and is the bull market over? ======================Check out my NEW show for daily bite-sized breakdowns of the biggest stories in finance, technology, and politics: http://pompdesk.com/======================BitcoinIRA: Buy, sell, and swap 75+ cryptocurrencies in your retirement account. Take 3 minutes to open your account & get connected to a team of IRA specialists that will guide you through every step of the process. Go to https://bitcoinira.com/pomp/ to earn up to $500 in rewards.======================Core is the leading Bitcoin scaling solution, enabling you to lock in yield by locking up your Bitcoin. Simply lock it on the Bitcoin blockchain to secure the Core network, and get rewards. No bridging. No lending. Just holding. Still your keys. Still your coins. Now your yield. Start at https://stake.coredao.org/pomp======================TimeStamps:0:00 - Intro1:53 - Evaluating Strive buying Semler Scientific9:51 - Why is bitcoin's price going down?14:16 - Takeaways from Jerome Powell comments19:14 - Tether eyes $500 billion valuation30:55 - Bitcoin Q4 outlook
Today's show:What is “workslop”? And is it already slowing you down at the office?On a new This Week in Startups, we've got full co-host quorum with JCal, Alex, AND Lon tackling a meaty docket of news at the cross-section of tech, startups, and pop culture.For starters: A new Harvard/Stanford study suggests that AI isn't massively improving workplace efficiency because SOME workers aren't using it properly. Are low-quality, lazily-assembled AI outputs costing US enterprises millions in lost productivity? It's certainly possible based on these results.PLUS, why YouTube invited back all those banned creators… a deep-dive into CA's new social media law that's dividing tech and civil rights advocacy groups… what we can learn from Stripe's mega-share buyback… a look at what Polymarket's sharps think will happen with the US TikTok deal… and much more.Timestamps:(0:00) Intro. What will South Park have to say about prediction markets?(06:06) Alibaba's new AI model will turn you into any celebrity… can you still believe what you see?(09:49) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist(11:03) Show Continues…(19:42) AWS Activate - AWS Activate helps startups bring their ideas to life. Apply to AWS Activate today to learn more. Visit https://www.aws.amazon.com/startups/credits(21:02) Is CA's new proposed law a boon for civil rights, or a weapon against free speech?(29:47) Northwest Registered Agent - Form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today!(32:21) Why YouTube invited banned creators back(41:24) What is Workslop? And is it costing companies MILLIONS?(48:42) PolyMarket asks… when will the US TikTok deal go down?(52:27) Would Jason invest in Tether?(01:01:29) Why Stripe is buying back so many shares… and what the future may hold.(01:12:16) Another Reddit Rapid Response: should startups do pilot programs?Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisThank you to our partners:Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twistAWS Activate - AWS Activate helps startups bring their ideas to life. Apply to AWS Activate today to learn more. Visit https://www.aws.amazon.com/startups/creditsNorthwest Registered Agent - Form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today!Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.comSubscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916
Tether is reportedly courting outside investors for the first time—at a staggering $500 billion valuation. In today's Breakdown, NLW digs into Bloomberg's report on Tether's $15–20 billion fundraise, why Cantor Fitzgerald is leading the deal, and what this unprecedented move could mean for crypto, stablecoins, and global finance. Plus, updates on CZ's venture fund and new SEC and CFTC regulatory initiatives. Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast: https://pod.link/1438693620 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBreakdownBW Subscribe to the newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/thebreakdown Join the discussion: https://discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8 Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownBW
Plus: NASA prepares to send astronauts around the moon as early as February. And tech stocks continue pulling back. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin play might crash the gates of the S&P 500 as early as Friday, Dogecoin moons on a $6M ETF launch, and Argentina’s peso freefall has Bitcoiners saying “told you so.” The U.S. Treasury is tinkering with stablecoin rules, lawmakers want crypto in your 401(k), and Tether swears it’s not bailing on Uruguay. Meanwhile, Ted Cruz drops a bill for an AI sandbox, and Google admits it’s been censoring political content on YouTube. We know all about being censored, huh YouTube? But we’re not very bitter. Just a little bitter. And we’ve got a little bitter commentary for you today on our Bad News episode #791 of The Bad Crypto Podcast. SHOW NOTES: badco.in/791 SUBSCRIBE, RATE, & REVIEW: Apple Podcasts: http://badco.in/itunesSpotify: http://badco.in/spotifySoundcloud: http://badco.in/soundcloudYouTube: http://badco.in/youtube FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: X/Twitter: @BadCryptoPod - @JoelComm - @TeeDubyaFacebook: /BadCrypto - /JoelComm - /teedubyawLinkedIn: /in/joelcomm - /in/teedubyaInstagram: @BadCryptoPodcast DISCLAIMER: Do your own due diligence and research. Neither Joel Comm, Zach Comm nor Travis Wright are FINANCIAL ADVISORS. We are sharing our journey with you as we learn more about this crazy little thing called cryptocurrency. We make NO RECOMMENDATIONS. Don't take anything we say as gospel. Do not come to our homes with pitchforks because you lost money by listening to us. We only share with you what we are learning and what we are investing it. We will never "pump or dump" any cryptocurrencies. Take what we say with a grain of salt. You must research this stuff on your own! Just know that we will always strive for RADICAL TRANSPARENCY with any show associations.Support the show: https://badcryptopodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Tether is reportedly looking to raise up to $20B. Can they hit $500B valuation? Tether is looking to raise between $15 billion and $20 billion for about a 3% stake in the company through a private placement, according to a report from Bloomberg. The raise would bring its valuation to around $500 billion, putting it in the same league as OpenAI and SpaceX. CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie hosts “CoinDesk Daily.” - Break the cycle of exploitation. Break down the barriers to truth. Break into the next generation of privacy. Break Free. Free to scroll without being monetized. Free from censorship. Freedom without fear. We deserve more when it comes to privacy. Experience the next generation of blockchain that is private and inclusive by design. Break free with Midnight, visit midnight.network/break-free - This episode was hosted by Jennifer Sanasie. “CoinDesk Daily” is produced by Jennifer Sanasie and edited by Victor Chen.
Crypto News: Morgan Stanley close to offering crypto trading through E-Trade. Securitize will allow holders of BlackRock's BUIDL and VanEck's VBILL to instantly exchange their shares for RLUSD, Securitize is also integrating with the XRP Ledger to expand access and utility to the XRP ecosystem.Show Sponsor -
Tether is reportedly seeking a $500 billion valuation in a major fundraising round, raising fresh questions about the mysterious role of crypto treasuries in global markets. How do these massive balance sheets really work, and what risks or opportunities are hidden behind them? Joining us today are Allan and Brian from Upexi, a Solana-based treasury company, to share their inside perspective on how crypto treasuries operate, what makes them so powerful, and where this trend is heading. We'll dig into Tether's big ambitions, the rise of Solana treasuries, and what it all means for the future of digital assets.
This episode of Crypto Town Hall dives into the intersection of crypto, politics, and tech innovation. The hosts and guests discuss how political dynamics—especially generational divides within the Democratic Party—impact crypto regulation in the United States. There's also an in-depth debate on the valuation and future of stablecoins like Tether and Circle, their business models, and the looming battle for dominance. The session features a sponsored segment with Pradeep Gaul, CEO of Pi 3, who presents a decentralized, privacy-focused AI network built for business use cases. Overall, the show aims to give listeners news updates, sharp commentary, and insights into market trends, political influences, and the evolving role of new technologies in crypto.
Tune in live every weekday Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM Eastern to 10:15 AM.Buy our NFTJoin our DiscordCheck out our TwitterCheck out our YouTubeDISCLAIMER: You should never treat any opinion expressed by the hosts of this content as a recommendation to make a particular investment, or to follow a particular strategy. The thoughts and commentary on this show are an expression of the hosts' opinions and are for entertainment & informational purposes only.
In this episode of Mining Stock Education, host Bill Powers dives into the gold royalty sector with expert Alexandra Woodyer Sherron, CEO and President of Empress Royalties. They cover the basics of gold royalties, current trends, and major mergers and acquisitions within the sector. Alexandra shares her extensive background in mining finance, the unique strategies her company employs, and how investors should evaluate royalty companies. The conversation also touches on the competitive processes for obtaining royalties, the impact of new capital sources like Tether, and strategic advice for investors looking to enter the gold and silver royalty space. 00:00 Intro 02:48 Understanding Gold Royalties and Streams 04:38 Trends in the Gold Royalty Sector 06:51 Investment Strategies in Royalty Companies 10:37 Competitive Bidding and Investment Process 15:39 Macro Factors and Future Outlook 24:46 Final Thoughts and Advice for Investors 26:28 Conclusion https://empressroyalty.com/ Sign up for our free newsletter and receive interview transcripts, stock profiles and investment ideas: http://eepurl.com/cHxJ39 This interview was not sponsored. Mining Stock Education offers informational content based on available data but it does not constitute investment, tax, or legal advice. It may not be appropriate for all situations or objectives. Readers and listeners should seek professional advice, make independent investigations and assessments before investing. MSE does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of its content and should not be solely relied upon for investment decisions. MSE and its owner may hold financial interests in the companies discussed and can trade such securities without notice. MSE is biased towards its advertising sponsors which make this platform possible. MSE is not liable for representations, warranties, or omissions in its content. By accessing MSE content, users agree that MSE and its affiliates bear no liability related to the information provided or the investment decisions you make. Full disclaimer: https://www.miningstockeducation.com/disclaimer/
In this Weekly Rollup, we discuss the implications of recent Federal Reserve rate cuts on crypto markets, exploring their potential benefits for Bitcoin and Ethereum. We highlight the SEC's easing of crypto ETF regulations, Tether's new compliant stablecoin, and SEC Chair Paul Atkins' vision for clearer regulations. Finally, we touch on how global finance is adapting to crypto innovations in Ghana and Nepal. ---
Matt and Nic are back for another week of news and deals. In this episode: The SEC approves generic listing standards for cryptoassets Gensler loses a year's worth of text messages BoE wants to limit stablecoin exposure to £20k Tether launches USAT Coinbase is exploring a Base token Binance nears the end of DoJ compliance monitoring Galaxy is launching a tokenized money market fund PayPal launches PayPal links
The Fed's latest rate cut sparks fresh debate—has Powell quietly abandoned the 2% inflation target, and what does it mean for markets and Bitcoin? Meanwhile, the SEC has approved generic ETF listing standards, clearing the way for rapid launches of altcoin and meme coin ETFs. On the innovation front, Google and Coinbase's x402 integration paves the way for AI agents to transact with stablecoins, while reports suggest Coinbase's Base may launch its own token to accelerate network growth. And in stablecoin news, Tether unveils USAT, a new U.S.-regulated product led by Bo Hines. From Wall Street to Web3, today's moves could reshape the entire financial landscape.
This week we talk about stablecoins, crypto assets, and conflicts of interest.We also discuss the crypto industry, political contributions, and regulatory guardrails.Recommended Book: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. MaasTranscriptA cryptocoin is a unit of cryptocurrency. A cryptocurrency is a type of digital currency that uses some kind of non-central means of managing its ledger—keeping track of who has how much of it, basically.There have been other types of digital currency over the years, but cryptocurrencies often rely on the blockchain or a similarly distributed means of keeping tabs on who has what. A blockchain is a database, often public, of users and a list of those users' assets that's distributed between users, and it makes use of some kind of consensus mechanism to determine who actually owns what.Some cryptocurrencies ebb and flow in value, and are thus traded more like a stock or other type of non-fixed, finite asset. Bitcoin, for instance, is often treated like gold or high-growth stocks. NFTs, similarly, create a sort of artificial scarcity, producing unique digital goods by putting their ownership on a blockchain or other proof-of-ownership system.Stablecoins are also cryptocurrencies, but instead of floating, their value growing and dropping based on the interest of would-be buyers, they are meant to maintain a steady value—to be stable, like a national currency.In order to achieve this, the folks who maintain stablecoins often use reserve assets to prop up their value. So if you produce a new stablecoin and want to issue a million of them, each worth one US dollar, you might accumulate a million actual US dollars, put those in a bank account, show everybody the number of dollars in that bank account, and then it's pretty easy to argue that those stablecoins are each worth a dollar—each coin is a stand-in for one of the dollars in the bank.In a lot of cases, the people issuing these coins aim for this approach, but instead of doing a direct one-for-one, dollar for coin system, they'll issue a million coins that are meant to be worth a dollar apiece, and they'll put one-hundred-thousand dollars in a bank account, and the other 900,000 will be made up of bitcoin and stocks and other sorts of things that they can argue are worth at least that much.As of mid-2025, about $255 billion worth of stablecoins have been issued, and about 99% of them have been pegged to the US dollar; Tether's USDT, Binance's BUSD, and Circle's USDC are all tethered to the USD, for instance, though other currencies are also used as peg values, including offerings by Tether and Circle that are pegged to the Euro.Stablecoins that are completely or mostly fiat-backed, which means they have a dollar for each coin issued in the bank somewhere, or close to that, tend to be on average more stable than commodity or crypto-backed stablecoins, which rely mostly or entirely on things like bitcoin or gold tucked away somewhere to justify their value. Which makes sense, as while you can argue, hey look, I have a million dollars worth of gold, and I'm issuing a million coins, each worth a dollar, that asset's value can change day-to-day, and that can make the value of those coins precarious, at least compared to fiat-backed alternatives.Because stablecoins are not meant to change in value, they're not useful as sub-ins for stocks or other sorts of interest-generating bets, like bitcoin. Instead, they're primarily used by folks who want to trade cryptoassets for other sorts of cryptoassets, for those who want to avoid paying taxes, or want to otherwise hide their wealth, and for those who want to transfer money in such a way that they can avoid government sanctions and/or tariffs on those sorts of transfers.What I'd like to talk about today is a new US federal law, the GENIUS Act, which was heavily pushed by the crypto industry, and which looks likely to make stablecoins a lot more popular, for better and for worse.—The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, or GENIUS Act, was introduced in the Senate by a Republican senator from Tennessee in May of 2025, was passed in June with a bipartisan vote of 68-30—the majority of Republicans and about half of Democratic senators voting in favor of it—and after the House passed it a month later, President Trump signed it into law on July 18.Again, this legislation was heavily pushed by the crypto industry, which generously funded a lot of politicians, mostly Republican, but on both sides of the aisle, in recent years, as it serves folks who want a broader reach for existing stablecoins, and who want to see more stablecoins emerge and flourish, as part of a larger and richer overall crypto industries.Folks who are against this Act, and other laws like it that have been proposed in recent years, contend that while it's a good idea to have some kind of regulation in place for the crypto industry, this approach isn't the right one, as it basically gives the tech world free rein to run their own pseudo-banks, without being subject to the same regulations as actual banks.Which isn't great, according to this argument, as actual banks have to live up to all sorts of standards, most of them oriented around protecting people from the folks running the banks who might otherwise take advantage of them. Those regulations are especially cumbersome in the wake of the 2008 Great Recession, because that severe global economic downturn was in large part caused by exactly these sorts of abuses: bankers going wild with lending mis-labeled assets, those in charge of these banks pocketing a whole lot of money, lots of people losing everything, and lots of institutions going under, leaving those people and the government with the bill, while the folks who did bad things mostly got off scott free.The goal of these bank regulations is to keep that kind of thing from happening again, while also keeping banks from overtly taking advantage of their customers, who often don't know much about the banking options and assets they're being sold on.Allowing tech companies to do very similar things, but without those regulations, seems imprudent, then, because, first, tech companies have shown themselves to be not just willing, but often thrilled to grab whatever they can and get slapped on the wrist for it, later, moving fast and breaking things, basically, and then paying the fines after they've made a fortune, and if they're allowed to step into this space without the same regulations as banks, that gives them a huge competitive advantage over actual financial institutions.It's a bit like if there were a food company that was allowed to dodge food industry regulations, as was thus able to cut their flour with sawdust and sell it to people at the same price as the real thing. People would suffer, their competition, which sells actual flour would suffer, because they wouldn't be able to compete with a company that doesn't play by the same rules, and the companies that sell the inferior products without anyone being able to stop them would probably get away with it for a while, before then closing up shop, pocketing all that money, and starting over again with a different name.This is how things work in a lot of countries with weak regulatory systems, and it creates so much distrust in the economic sphere that things cost more, the quality of everything is very low, and it's nearly impossible to ever punish those who cause and perpetuate harm.That's at the root of many arguments against the GENIUS Act: concerns that a lack of consumer protections will lead to a situation in which we have growing systemic risk, caused by tech entities taking bigger and bigger risks with other people's money, like in the buildup to the 2008 recession, while simultaneously more legit institutions are elbowed out, unable to compete because they have to spend more and work harder to adhere to the regulations that the new players can ignore.It's worth mentioning here, too, that the Trump family has issued their own cryptocoins, and reportedly already profited to the tune of several billion dollars as a result of that issuance, that the Trumps have their own stablecoin, which they're promoting as an upgrade to the US dollar, that the early backers of these coins include foreign governments and their interconnected companies, like the Emirati-backed MGX, that the Trump children have their own crypto-asset companies, including one that's listed on the Nasdaq, and which is profiting from the increasing popularity and legalization of the industry in the US, and that Trump's media company, which owns Truth Social, also has a multi-billion-dollar bitcoin portfolio, alongside a whole lot of other crypto-coins, which the president has been pushing, and his family has been promoting overseas, using his name and office.All of which points at another conflict of interest issue here, that the president and his family seem to be self-enriching at an incredibly rapid pace and at a very high level, in part by pushing this and similar legislation.People in the crypto industry lavishly spent on his campaign, and they are entwined with his family's business interests, which makes it difficult to separate what might be good for the country, in an objective way, from what's good for Trump and his family, in the sense of using the office to grow wealthier and wealthier—and that's true both in the sense that crypto-assets allegedly allow his family to take bribes in a fairly anonymous and deniable way, but also in the sense that people who buy his memecoins and buy into his stablecoin ventures and buy more bitcoin and similar assets that he already holds, also increase the value of his existing assets, and using the office of the presidency to enrich oneself in that way is the sort of thing they never really made illegal because they didn't think anyone would be brazen or shameless enough to do it.There's a lot going on here, then, and while there are some arguments that this sort of legislation is a good starting point to get some eventual, actual guardrails on the crypto industry in the US, the concerns related to those tech world incentives, and the possibility and reality of the president and his family profiting from this legislation, would seem to make this effort a lot more questionable than prudent, and loaded with a lot more downsides than upsides, even if, again, the majority of lawmakers voted for it, and a lot of people are excited about it for all sorts of reasons.Show Noteshttps://www.wired.com/story/genius-act-loophole-stablecoins-banks/https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/07/stablecoin-regulation-genius-act/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GENIUS_Acthttps://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-stablecoins-congress-cryptocurrency-94fa3c85e32ec6fd5a55576cf46e58eahttps://advocacy.consumerreports.org/press_release/senate-oks-genius-act-without-safeguards-needed-to-protect-consumers-and-the-financial-system-from-stablecoin-risks/https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/03/politics/crypto-trump-bitcoin-wlfi-stablecoin-analysishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrencyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stablecoin This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsknowthings.substack.com/subscribe
Gemini and Figure Markets both raised significant cash in their IPOs last week, but their subdued trading debuts highlighted a cooler speculative environment compared to Circle's explosive June listing. NLW unpacks what these IPOs signal about crypto market appetite, Bitcoin's September sluggishness ahead of the Fed's rate decision, and why gold and equities could set the stage for Bitcoin's next move. The episode also covers Tether's launch of USAT, a U.S. domestic market stablecoin, and the evolving battle for stablecoin dominance, plus the growing but increasingly muddled wave of corporate crypto treasury companies. Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast: https://pod.link/1438693620 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBreakdownBW Subscribe to the newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/thebreakdown Join the discussion: https://discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8 Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownBW
Hyperliquid's USDH ticker set off the most dramatic “RFP” in recent memory. The crew breaks down why Native Markets ran away with validator support, whether the process was theater or strategy, and how the Bake-off became a marketing masterstroke—and potential leverage on Circle. We dig into Polymarket odds, the last‑minute Paxos bribery allegation (denied), and what this means for future “native” stables on Solana, app chains, and beyond. Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, we're joined by Guy founder of Ethena as a special guest, as a single ticker (USDH) sparked a weeklong spectacle: Hyperliquid's “Bake-off” to award the USDH stablecoin brand. Native Markets surged ahead as validators signaled support, Paxos rallied late with partners and incentives, and Ethena ultimately withdrew. Was this always a vibes‑based beauty contest, or a deliberate move to pressure Circle and re‑route bridge yield? We parse the incentives, the governance, and the market microstructure — and peek at what happens if every big chain/app tries the “native stablecoin” playbook. Show highlights
Stablecoins are supposed to be boring, but the fight for the USDH ticker on Hyperliquid has turned into one of the most dramatic battles in crypto. From Ethena suddenly pulling out, to Paxos revamping its bid, to whispers of favoritism, the contest has put protocol-native stablecoins in the spotlight. In this episode, MegaETH co-founder Shuyao Kong, who just announced their own stablecoin USDm, speaks about why they chose Ethena as a partner, and why alignment with Hyperliquid matters more than short-term incentives. She also explains why ecosystems need both yield-chasing and yield-agnostic stablecoins — and whether Circle and Tether could be pushed aside in the next wave of competition. Thank you to our sponsor, Token2049! Get 15% off your tickets with the code UNCHAINED! Guest: Shuyao Kong, Co-founder of MegaETH Links: Unchained: The Competition Is On. Who'll Win the USDH Ticker on Hyperliquid? Bits + Bips: Hyperliquid's USDH Bidding War & Why the DAT Model Is Broken Ethena Joins Race to Issue Hyperliquid's USDH Paxos Unveils USDH Proposal V2 With PayPal, Venmo Integrations Sky Joins Bidding War to Launch Hyperliquid's USDH Stablecoin Issuers Enter Bidding War to Launch Hyperliquid's USDH Ethena withdraws its proposal The Block: MegaETH launches native USDm stablecoin with Ethena to subsidize sequencer fees Polymarket bet: Who will win the USDH ticker? Timestamps: