Liz Coyne

Arbitrage Opportunities in Digital Assets: Flow Traders’ Edd Carlton

Jack Kubinec

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When Marc Andreessen went on The Joe Rogan Experience and said 30 of a16z’s portfolio founders had been debanked, or had their bank accounts closed arbitrarily, a chorus of crypto figures joined in to cry foul on the US banking system.



While discontent with the banking system is obviously nothing new in crypto, the debanking narrative — the extent of which we still know relatively little about —&nbsp;has given fresh ammunition to teams building bank replacements. On Solana, projects from onchain banks to subscription services are making their case for the debanked and unbanked to sign up. What’s unclear is whether today’s banking alternatives can succeed where past iterations have failed.



After the Joe Rogan podcast went live, Squads Labs director of research Shimon Newman began working on a report on the contours of a federal conspiracy to debank crypto entrepreneurs and startups — known in crypto as Operation Chokepoint 2.0. An early version of the report shared with Lightspeed highlights how US regulators’ perceive that there is a lot of risk associated with crypto — a perception that extends to fintech and payment service providers. As a result, there has been a large number of debankings, though detailed data on the exact number of crypto-related debankings remains scarce.



Newman’s report cites data <a href="https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/why-anti-money-laundering-policies-are-failing/">saying</a> an estimated 0.1% of laundered money is intercepted by current anti-money laundering efforts, and <a href="https://www.trmlabs.com/the-illicit-crypto-economy-report#:~:text=The%20share%20of%20illicit%20funds,2023%20from%200.70%25%20in%202022">less</a> than 1% of crypto volume is illicit. But whether or not the crypto crackdown is worthwhile, Squads is capitalizing on it: The startup’s smart wallet app has begun offering a “virtual US bank account” that can accept bank transfers and convert dollars into stablecoins for low fees. It does not offer credit-related services like taking out a loan, Newman said.



Iron is also building an “onchain bank” on Solana, though its founder’s public messaging has focused on the benefits of stablecoins rather than the scourge of debanking in recent days.



CFX Labs founder Nick Cavet shilled me today on his startup’s idea for “rebanking,” where USD deposits can be tokenized and essentially run on rails alongside the traditional banking system.



Serj Korj, co-founder of Solana incremental subscription app DePlan, started another initiative called Subdoor that lets people pay for subscriptions in crypto. He has <a href="https://x.com/SerjKorj/status/1863253106324341021">leaned</a> into the debanking narrative as well, though he pointed out in text messages that there are far more people who are unbanked — or never had bank access to begin with — in the world.



The narrative that banks are too opaque and free from accountability for wrongdoing has caught a second wind from debanking, but it’s not a new story. History suggests any crypto-ification of banking would require regulators to get on board too. And for some, the debanking narrative has already passed.



“Debanking is a year old story. And fintech eye rolls cuz it’s a 10 year old story,” Cavet said in a text.



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Solana teams pick up on debanking narrative

Casey Wagner

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



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It’s that time of the year: Republicans are finalizing their picks for House committee and subcommittee chairs.&nbsp;



For eagle-eyed crypto fans, you probably saw Rep. French Hill was nominated to chair the House Financial Services Committee. Also of note, Glenn Thompson is slated to hold on to his position as Agriculture Committee chair.



Let’s run through what these representatives have said about crypto and what could be in store for policy next session:&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">French Hill </h2>



Hill was the first-ever chair of the House Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion, serving for the past two years.&nbsp;



Chair Maxine Waters created the subcommittee during the 116th Congress. It was expanded to also include crypto matters this session under Chair Patrick McHenry, who did not run for re-election. Since broadening its scope, subcommittee hearings have been held on <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/defi-hearing-lawmakers-clash">DeFi</a>, crypto <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/lawmakers-frustrated-with-sec-crypto-approach">market structure</a> and the role of federal agencies.&nbsp;



Hill received bipartisan support Thursday following his nomination announcement. Democrat Ritchie Torres, a fellow crypto-friendly rep, <a href="https://x.com/RitchieTorres/status/1867304053291823505">said</a> he looks forward to continued bipartisan cooperation next session.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Glenn Thompson&nbsp;</h2>



You may be wondering what the Agriculture Committee has to do with finance. But this group actually tackles a lot of pressing issues, specifically with commodities and derivatives markets. As many crypto advocates <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-must-work-closely-with-regulators">push</a> for more regulation from the CFTC and less from the SEC, the Ag Committee could prove crucial.&nbsp;



Thompson introduced the Digital Commodity Exchange Act last session — a bill that went on to influence <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/house-passes-act-fit21-with-bipartisan-support">FIT21</a>, which passed through the Ag Committee and later the full House with backing from both parties. A major part of the legislation is granting the CFTC authority to oversee crypto spot markets, a distinction <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/cftc-chair-asks-congress-for-greater-oversight-on-crypto-market">agency leadership</a> and industry actors have supported.&nbsp;



Thompson, a co-sponsor of FIT21, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/republicans-crypto-market-structure-bill">said</a> last year the legislation had been drafted based on “extensive feedback from stakeholder and market participants.”&nbsp;



The bill “aims to close existing authority gaps, ensuring US leadership in financial and technological innovation,” he added.&nbsp;



Committee nominees must be ratified by the House Republican Conference, which is expected to meet next week.&nbsp;



Meanwhile, over in the Senate, there’s <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-commissioner-crenshaw-vote-delayed">still no word</a> on if (or when) senators will vote to confirm SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw before Congress recesses next week.&nbsp;



Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown on Wednesday attributed the delay to Republican senators heeding &#8220;corporate special interests and standing in the way of [Crenshaw’s] nomination.”&nbsp;



Next week should be interesting.



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Republicans nominate pro-crypto reps to lead key House committees 

Ben Strack

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



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MicroStrategy could later this month join the Nasdaq 100, which includes many of the largest non-financial, Nasdaq-listed companies.



A Nasdaq spokesperson told me changes to the index would be announced tonight at 8 pm ET. Adjustments would go into effect on Dec. 23.&nbsp;



MicroStrategy’s market capitalization stands around $95 billion and appears to meet the <a href="https://indexes.nasdaq.com/docs/Methodology_NDX.pdf">requirements</a> for inclusion, analysts say.&nbsp;&nbsp;



But the Nasdaq committee’s decision could depend on MSTR’s ICB classification, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart mentioned in a recent research note. Much of the company’s share performance is linked to financial engineering derived from its bitcoin buys, he explained; whether this could make it a “financial” stock (and ineligible) remains to be seen.



While TD Cowen analyst Lance Vitanza puts odds of MSTR’s Nasdaq 100 inclusion in the 60-80% range (noting its operating software business sets it apart from traditional financial companies), he told me he wouldn’t be surprised if it was kept out.



Benchmark’s Mark Palmer said the stock — already up 480% this year — could see another boost as Nasdaq 100 inclusion would enable MSTR to benefit from giant passive funds (like Invesco’s QQQ) buying blocks of shares.&nbsp;



Vitanza said he isn’t so sure inclusion in the index would cause any sort of price spike. Still, it would certainly broaden the universe of investors, he added, which would augment the company’s long-term access to capital.



TD Cowen analysts raised their price target for the stock from $525 to $550 on Monday. MSTR shares were trading at ~$397 at 2 pm ET.



“If they were to be kept out of the index,” he told me, “that would not change our view of the stock one iota.”



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MSTR to enter Nasdaq 100? We’ll know soon.

Macauley Peterson

The Cosmos ecosystem is entering a new chapter with the Interchain Foundation’s (ICF) acquisition of Skip and the establishment of Interchain Inc. The move represents a pivot from the ICF’s historical funding of disparate teams toward a more centralized and cohesive approach.



The new subsidiary, led by Skip co-founders Barry Plunkett and Maghnus Mareneck, will take charge of product development, ecosystem strategy and execution, the ICF <a href="https://blockworks-research.beehiiv.com/p/cosmos-comeback">announced</a> earlier this week. On Thursday, a “community town hall” <a href="https://x.com/cosmos/status/1867226763883172007">X space</a> shed additional light on what to expect in 2025.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">A unified stack</h2>



<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/cosmos">Cosmos</a> has long been heralded for its modular technology stack, including Cosmos SDK, IBC, CometBFT, and CosmWasm. However, Plunkett described a lack of coordination in the ecosystem’s growth.



“There wasn’t any cohesive overarching connection,” Plunkett told Blockworks. “Each of them was going off in their own direction.”



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/cosmos-ethan-buchman-blockchain-convergence">Uniting the blockchain ecosystems: Q&amp;A with Cosmos founder Ethan Buchman</a>



Interchain Inc. aims to bridge these silos, including major “version 2” upgrades to both IBC — known as Eureka — and the Cosmos SDK. The SDK upgrade promises a 10–25x performance boost, while IBC Eureka simplifies the Interchain interop protocol to enable faster integration with non-Cosmos chains like Ethereum, EVM rollups and Solana.



“It’s a massive simplification of the IBC protocol that’s really going to allow the ecosystem to connect to other chains beyond [Cosmos]&#8230;in days or weeks,” Plunkett said during the X space.



In other words, Eureka “is like if ‘IBC Classic’ and Hyperlane had a baby,” as Cosmos-veteran builder Zaki Manian put it on the latest edition of the <a href="https://blockworks.co/podcast/bellcurve">Bell Curve podcast</a>.



Another cornerstone of the new strategy is expanding virtual machine (VM) support. An open-source EVM is in the works, with the team in discussions with projects like Injective and Cronos to consider adapting their <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/evm">EVM</a> implementations.



“Most Cosmos chains want a simple, reliable and free path to add EVM functionality,” Plunkett said, emphasizing that Solidity contracts will be able to interact seamlessly with Cosmos SDK modules and vice versa.



Cosmos chains will also gain the flexibility to run any VM. “Users shouldn’t have to say, ‘If I’m going to build a Cosmos chain, then I can’t use whatever VM I want,’” Plunkett added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The role of the Cosmos Hub</h2>



Addressing liquidity fragmentation across chains is a major priority for the Interchain Inc. team. Cosmos’ architecture, which empowers individual chains to operate independently, has inadvertently led to isolated liquidity pools. This hurts the overall ecosystem and discourages developers.



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/devcon-panelists-talk-fragmentation">Unified Ethereum? Devcon panelists take on fragmentation challenges</a>



Liquidity gets stuck on one chain and isn’t accessible from other chains, Mareneck said on X, adding, “One of the things we want to do is really unite that liquidity so that it’s more accessible from more applications, so we can use the full weight of Cosmos liquidity.”



The Cosmos Hub is central to this strategy. By providing liquidity services and reducing friction for developers, the Hub could position itself as the ecosystem’s growth engine.



Permissionless Interchain Security (ICS) will make it easier for projects to onboard to the Hub. Whereas initially chains had to apply to Hub governance to make use of ICS, that’s no longer the case.



Interchain Inc. is also focused on simplifying the developer experience, ensuring the Cosmos Hub provides essential services.



“We need to make it easier for builders and ensure the Hub provides services to grow and scale chains,” Plunkett said.



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/electric-capital-report-solana-developers">Solana gained highest share of new devs in 2024: Electric Capital</a>



The Skip team’s reputation for collaboration is going to be key for realizing this new Hub vision.



“We have relationships at Skip with a lot of different projects…we want to continue to do that, working from the platform of the Cosmos Hub,” Mareneck said.



Skip has focused on providing services for builders and useful products for users, such as Skip Go, which now powers over half of all IBC volume, Plunkett said on Bell Curve.



Rather than enforcing participation, the team will offer “carrots, not sticks,” to align incentives and foster growth.



By consolidating development and focusing on liquidity and accessibility, the ICF hopes to create a more unified and dynamic ecosystem, reigniting the vision of Cosmos as the “Internet of Blockchains.”



Outgoing ICF board member Ethan Buchman, a co-founder of Cosmos, sees this move as a chance to reinvigorate the ecosystem and bring fragmented pieces together.



“We’ve been struggling with the organizational challenges and fragmentation,” Buchman told Blockworks. This is really the first time I think we’ve taken a kind of revolutionary step to address that.”



“It’s like I’ve been trying to put together the pieces of Humpty Dumpty for so many years and finally, we just went and recruited Batman,” he said.



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What changes for Cosmos after Skip acquisition?

Donovan Choy

Ethereum loves rollups. As of late, “based” rollups are in vogue.



What makes based rollups special? Its sequencer.



Layer-2s today use a trusted centralized sequencer to order users’ transactions before they are posted down to the layer-1 for settlement, but based rollups defer those execution duties to Ethereum layer-1 validators. This is otherwise known as “based sequencing.”



There are two primary reasons this is preferable: censorship resistance and interoperability.&nbsp;



Using the layer-1 as a sequencer ensures the same liveness guarantees as Ethereum layer-1 blocks, and avoids the major complaints of potential censorship surrounding trusted centralized sequencers.



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/solana-gaming-startup-open-sources-validator">MagicBlock open sources a16z-backed ‘ephemeral rollup’ tech</a>



The second advantage of based <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/rollups">rollups</a> is better interoperability. Based rollup proponents such as Justin Drake have in recent months touted this benefit as “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd7phVLbIug&amp;list=PLbig0e-vh2_NJFaz52OvMI2sVAH-Ys3cg&amp;index=13">synchronous composability</a>,” where transactions in Ethereum are sequenced (or bridged) across different layer-2s at the same time.&nbsp;



Simply put, smart contracts on based rollups will be able to call any other contract on the layer-1 in near-instant finality within the same block — as if they were all on the same chain.&nbsp;



This composability and “money legos” is not exactly new; it was always one of the core properties sold with the original vision of Ethereum.&nbsp;



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ethereum-consensus-beam-chain">Rethinking Ethereum consensus with Beam Chain</a>



But the fragmented state of rollups today means an Arbitrum transaction is asynchronous with an Optimism transaction, which creates problems of fee uncertainty. Fee uncertainty arises because gas fees are calculated in different slot times, as opposed to within the same 12-second slot time of one Ethereum block.



In addition to making <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/ethereum">Ethereum</a> seamlessly interoperable again, there are also different kinds of significant cost savings, Ahmad Mazen Bitar, technical product lead at Nethermind and Ethereum ACD developer, explains.



“A user may want to swap his token on the [layer-1] but wants to take advantage of a deep liquidity pool on a [layer-2]. With synchronous composability, they would be able to push a singular transaction from the [layer-1] to the [layer-2], execute it, then bring it back to the [layer-1].”



The first and largest existing based rollup in live production today is Taiko, which recently saw a burst in TVL and <a href="https://www.growthepie.xyz/fundamentals/transaction-count">daily transactions</a> this month.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcSshW_LxuAsTAPdJPBsmFSYCeOK4mvz6jUIPZsiH9BzggfKmL6hFhNyXliEB_vybOQKMrfiRlG4_Pw2ilUqt1tdOBDrJvzxN0L53KzcmihfFc9hZvjNqdYHGZDXhVvZ3aRaAQmDg?key=Rl9_47v-Y4PsPBhkDrDbDXP6" alt=""/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Source: <a href="https://defillama.com/chain/Taiko">DefiLlama</a></figcaption></figure>



Other early based rollups are also in early production, such as <a href="https://x.com/NethermindEth/status/1854150431448109155">Surge</a> by the Nethermind team, and <a href="https://docs.puffer.fi/">UniFi</a> by the Puffer Finance team. Both are forks of Taiko.



Based rollups don&#8217;t come without its own drawbacks, however. Since execution (i.e. sequencing duties) is now being relegated back to layer-1 block validators, that means based rollups are constrained by the layer-1’s 12-second block time.



Hence, the purported benefits of based rollups, like synchronous composability, may be easier said than done. Based rollups would require real-time proving within the latency of one 12-second slot, without which based rollups cannot execute composable transactions speedily.



To have that kind of fast proof generation in turn brings another technological dependency into the mix, but Brecht Devos, co-founder and chief technology officer of Taiko, remains confident the tech is catching up.



It’s why Taiko recently <a href="https://x.com/taikoxyz/status/1855990091946295477">enabled</a> two zk proofs on its rollup by Risc Zero and Succinct Labs, on top of Intel’s SGX trusted execution environment (TEE). This made it the first multi-proof based rollup in production without reliance on one trusted party.



“Provers are improving quickly with more TEEs, faster and cheaper zkVMs and AVSs that can be used. We think the zk development is going very well and the sub-slot latency for proving is not far off,” Devos told Blockworks.



One other believed disadvantage of based rollups is a loss of MEV as a key “revenue” stream, due to the lack of a centralized sequencer. Yet there are nifty workarounds available, Devos said.



On Taiko, “MEV can also be captured by auctioning “execution tickets” to layer-1 block proposers,” Devos told Blockworks.



As such, while based rollups by default give up sequencing rights to layer-1 validators, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the case.



Matthew Edelen, co-founder of Spire Labs, a based rollup infrastructure provider, shares a similar view. As he explained on a recent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI2KSEXhtZc">Bell Curve</a> podcast: “Auctions don’t have to be the only way to distribute sequencing rights. You could distribute 99% of sequencing rights through an auction and give the last 1% to friends or solo stakers to look good on L2Beat.”



Finally, MEV may not even be such a big deal in the long run. This idea centres on a simple cost benefit analysis: Today, the bulk of blockchain revenues are coming from congestion fees, dwarfing a far smaller share of MEV revenues that is diminishing over time due to better MEV solutions.



As such, the smarter rollup revenue model for rollups is one that banks on the greater network effects of congestion fees coming from synchronous composability, rather than MEV fees.



As Justin Drake explained on the <a href="https://youtu.be/yvP39-EOADU">The Rollup</a> podcast:



“Congestion fees against contention fees is roughly at an 80:20 ratio today. 80% of the income on the [layer-1] comes from congestion fees — about 3200 eth per day since EIP-1559. MEV is about 800 ETH daily since the Merge. My thesis is that this ratio is becoming more extreme, going from 80:20 to something like 99:1.”



In conclusion, the benefits of based rollups bring the user experience of Ethereum back full circle.&nbsp;



There’s a sense of irony here, considering that these benefits were what blockchains already had from day one. Synchronous composability and layer-1 sequencing transactions have been the norm for all blockchains since the Bitcoin network’s genesis. 



This deviation of execution layer duties only happened due to the <a href="https://blockworks.co/podcast/bellcurve/461e3780-bbf1-11ee-8474-47deee511578">rollup-centric roadmap</a> (or the multichain path in Polkadot, Cosmos and Avalanche) as of the last few years. Based rollups are ready to run it back.



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Understanding the debate around based rollups

Katherine Ross

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



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The crypto predictions are pouring in for next year, and — if I’m being honest with you — it’s hard to contain the excitement. Or maybe it’s just Friday.



Anyway, this morning I’m specifically looking at Bitwise’s predictions, which were released earlier this week. The <a href="https://bitwiseinvestments.com/crypto-market-insights/the-year-ahead-10-crypto-predictions-for-2025">whole report </a>is worth a read, but for now I’m focused on their forecast that says 2025 will be the year of the crypto IPO.



It’s definitely hard to argue with that particular call. On paper, all of the pieces are falling into place.



Here are the three things I think support a big year for crypto IPOs:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>A regulator actually engaging with firms and moving their paperwork forward. </li>



<li>Institutional interest and support. </li>



<li>Investor appetite. </li>
</ul>



Three simple bullet points, right? Well, not really. For crypto, actually securing green lights to go public demands the perfect storm post-FTX. If you don’t believe me, let’s take a look at Circle.&nbsp;



The stablecoin issuer filed a confidential draft of its registration statement with the SEC back in January of this year and yet we’ve seen no movement on its IPO.



After years of covering IPOs in my past life, companies who’ve filed their drafts generally publicly file their S-1 in six to eight months, or at least have some sort of movement on that front. Obviously, however, this isn’t always the case.



We don’t know what’s happened behind closed doors but I’m still eagerly awaiting Circle’s next filing. And I fully agree with Bitwise that Circle looks like a crypto firm with the most potential to hit the public stage.&nbsp;



Outside of Circle, Bitwise rounded out its list with Figure, Kraken, Anchorage and Chainalysis.&nbsp;



Adding to that, we already have two companies seeking uplisting on US exchanges (Sol Strategies is <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/sol-strategies-applies-listing-nasdaq-exchange-2024-12-05">looking to uplist</a> on Nasdaq while Exodus is <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/12/13/2996721/0/en/Exodus-Movement-Inc-Announces-Uplist-to-NYSE-American-Exchange.html">uplisting to NYSE American</a>) and one company going public <a href="https://www.monexgroup.jp/en/news_release/irnews/auto_20241210536638/main/0/link/press2024_12_11_E_CNCK_v4.1%20-%20clean.pdf">through a de-SPAC</a> and, bam, it looks like this prediction should’ve been a Polymarket market.&nbsp;



If more of crypto starts going public, it could be a positive for the return of retail. A larger roster of public crypto companies not only lets folks engage with the space without fully diving in — a bonus for a more general audience — but it also builds back much-needed trust.&nbsp;



Not to mention, investors would finally be able to look at certain metrics that hadn’t previously been disclosed through documents filed with the SEC.&nbsp;



And don’t even get me started on the capital they could unlock.



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How crypto IPOs could bring back retail

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



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The Solana gaming infrastructure startup MagicBlock is making its ephemeral validator — which creates momentary Solana rollups that can process transactions quicker — open source, the team told Lightspeed exclusively.&nbsp;



When MagicBlock <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/lightspeed-newsletter-a16z-solana-gaming">went through a16z’s crypto startup accelerator</a> and began advertising its tech earlier this year, it conceived of itself as infrastructure for building onchain games. But when I spoke with MagicBlock co-founder and CEO Andrea Fortugno recently, he pitched me on a broader vision — that MagicBlock’s ephemeral rollups could let all developers move away from traditional web servers and make apps “unstoppable.”



To be clear, games are still being built with MagicBlock’s architecture. Supersize, which won the Solana-centric Radar hackathon’s gaming track last month, is built on MagicBlock. So is Windfall, Radar’s third-place gaming project. For both games, MagicBlock offers a way to run onchain without sacrificing speed.&nbsp;



MagicBlock does this by running a non-voting Solana validator that runs in parallel with Solana and can momentarily make computing resources “elastic” before a security committee verifies the state and settles it to the layer-1. In other words, Solana’s data is temporarily moved to a rollup (like Optimism on Ethereum) for some time- or resource-sensitive functions that would ordinarily be performed offchain on centralized servers.



This newly open-source tech is initially under a license that will prevent other projects from launching commercial products with the ephemeral validator unless they strike a deal with MagicBlock, Fortugno said. MagicBlock currently charges a protocol-level fee as well.



Despite the new gaming clients, the pivot to other crypto sectors is also clear in MagicBlock’s messaging. I asked Fortugno if this was because crypto gaming outside of a few rare standouts like Off the Grid has so far failed to live up to the hype.



Fortugno disagreed with the assessment that crypto gaming is struggling, and he said other use cases could make use of ephemeral rollups with “zero effort.”



“The tech is already there, and so it would be stupid not to try to tackle the other use cases,” Fortugno said. He also said SocialFi apps and perpetual futures DEXs are looking at building on MagicBlock. DeFi makes sense as a use case here: Solana-based perps DEX Zeta Markets is building a Solana layer-2 of its own to compete with centralized exchange speeds.&nbsp;



Fortugno used the term “unstoppable” frequently in our interview, which is really what’s cool about ephemeral rollups. Many Solana apps have parts run by centralized entities partly because doing everything on a blockchain is not financially viable. If MagicBlock lives up to its billing, it could make these apps a lot more trustless.



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MagicBlock open sources a16z-backed ‘ephemeral rollup’ tech

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Grayscale-related headlines have been aplenty this year, from GBTC’s <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/grayscale-fee-higher-bitcoin-etf">conversion</a> to an ETF, its <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/gbtc-outflows-curb-asset-advantage">outflows</a>, the product’s <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/grayscales-spin-off-etf-launches-crypto-outlook">spin-off</a>, more <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/grayscale-sol-etf-filing">filings</a> and <a href="https://x.com/Grayscale/status/1867214822066332108">trust launches</a>, yada yada.&nbsp;&nbsp;



A tangential update (also surfacing today) is that <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/grayscale-michael-sonnenshein-stepping-down">Grayscale’s former CEO</a>, Michael Sonnenshein, joined Securitize as its chief operating officer.&nbsp;



So the ex-leader of one of the largest crypto asset managers shifts his focus to bringing real-world assets (RWA) onchain — “which candidly I think is one of the most exciting frontiers in the broader blockchain and digital assets space,” Sonnenshein told me this morning.  



While at Grayscale, Sonnenshein worked on bringing digital assets into more traditional wrappers. At Securitize, he acknowledged, it’ll pretty much be the other way around.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The tokenized RWA market has lots of room to run before some <a href="https://www.sc.com/en/press-release/trade-finance-to-play-substantial-role-in-usd-30-1-trillion-tokenised-real-world-assets-market-by-2034/">lofty projections</a> are met. One point of agreement at <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/tokenization-updates-rwa-summit">Brooklyn’s RWA Summit</a> I attended in October was that the specific <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/tokenization-depends-on-use-cases-benefits">utility and benefits</a> (and the economics behind that) will be what drives tokenization forward.&nbsp;



Tokenized fiat currencies (aka stablecoins, a roughly $200 billion market) are well-established. Securitize helped BlackRock tokenize its USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) in March, which has helped spotlight <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/securitize-ceo-on-tokenized-treasurys-growth">another use case</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



After all, US Treasurys (which BUIDL is backed by) are the collateral serving as the “substrate” for many capital markets transactions, Sonnenshein said.&nbsp;



He added: “Continuing to build products that can address some of the inefficiencies and … move into offerings where the underlying assets are not dollars, but instead yield-bearing assets, I think is a very, very attractive value proposition.”



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Ex-Grayscale CEO shifts focus to tokenization

Next year, the Securities and Exchange Commission could become entirely Republican-controlled. At least for a little while.



The Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday delayed its vote to confirm SEC Caroline Crenshaw, whose term ended in June. After the vote — which was scheduled to take place Wednesday morning — was pushed to later in the afternoon, Senate Republicans were able to block it as late-in-the-day votes require unanimous approval. The vote has not yet been rescheduled. 



Should Crenshaw not be confirmed before the Senate adjourns for the session next week, President-elect Donald Trump will have the opportunity to nominate a replacement, although no more than three commissioners may be of the same political party. Trump appointed Crenshaw in 2020 and President Biden renominated her earlier this year.&nbsp;



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/industry-opinions-on-sec-commissioner-crenshaw">Crypto industry sounds off on SEC’s Crenshaw ahead of vote</a>



Crenshaw is permitted to serve on the commission through January 2026 if no successor is confirmed.



Chair Gary Gensler and Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga, both Democrats, last month announced they would be <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/gary-gensler-resigning">resigning from the agency</a> in January.&nbsp;



Trump earlier this month announced he would be <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/trump-nominates-new-sec-chair">nominating Republican Paul Atkins</a> to chair the agency. Upon Gensler’s departure, Trump is expected to name either Hester Peirce or Mark Uyeda, both sitting Republican commissioners, as acting chair while the Senate completes Atkins’s confirmation process.&nbsp;



Wednesday’s vote delay comes as pro-crypto lobbying efforts heat up in Washington DC.&nbsp;



Stand With Crypto, a non-profit launched by crypto exchange Coinbase, said Thursday that it opposes Crenshaw’s nomination.&nbsp;



“Anti-crypto regulators must not be confirmed,” the non-profit added.&nbsp;



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-chair-nominee-crypto-past">What SEC chair nominee Paul Atkins has previously said about crypto</a>



Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar, who will not participate in a vote to confirm Crenshaw, said Thursday he’s “glad to see the Senate delay the vote.”



“Voters just delivered Congress a crypto mandate this November,” Thanedar added in a <a href="https://x.com/ShriThanedar/status/1867223111138955509">post</a> on X. “We should make sure the leaders we nominate support crypto as well.”



Other advocacy groups are pushing Senators to finalize Crenshaw’s second term. 



“At stake is the reality of a bipartisan SEC,” Public Citizen and 39 other organizations wrote in a Thursday <a href="https://www.citizen.org/article/support-comm-crenshaw/">letter</a> to Senators. “The incoming Trump Administration has signaled they are considering breaking from the tradition that provides for the opposition party to select candidates for the two minority seats.”



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Delayed Crenshaw vote increases odds of all-Republican SEC early next year 

Felix Jauvin

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



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For those who don’t know, I’m Canadian. However, I spent nearly every hour of the day thinking about macro from a US perspective. In the world of markets, the US is at the center and everything else is secondary.&nbsp;



Reflecting on the two worlds I live in poses an interesting vignette as to why it feels like the Fed keeps stopping and starting on its approach to monetary policy with respect to the economy.&nbsp;



The Canadian unemployment rate just hit a cycle high of 6.8% and looks to be climbing even higher, whereas the US’s unemployment rate seems to be flatlining. Yes, both economies were affected by an increase in labor supply caused by immigration, but the Canadian labor market is worse across the board.&nbsp;



Canada has managed to get its inflation rate back to 2% on a year-over-year basis, while the US remains stubbornly above target:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="1000" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed-1.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-95314" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed-1.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed-1.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed-1.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed-1.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed-1.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed-1.png?w=411 411w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed-1.png?w=418 418w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed-1.png?w=350 350w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed-1.png?w=80 80w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



The Bank of Canada just surprised markets this week by going for another 50-basis point rate cut vs. the recent 25bps cuts they’ve been doing. The US is expected to squeeze in one more rate cut next week before pausing for a while as the economy continues to surprise to the upside.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeqFP1tqE1VxaXixeRKPJA2ECZJSaT3gP6DLsjd1A9TnjqdWwCJf91Ntw8EBI6FomHskcfWCx8brM0tz6c2BdewrQ9gAuBB_Jikpil5clnwClYhqKfgJQoCqVZ4aLnILkAfM9TG?key=jjGgS32kIzyDfOnvZtUTULS5" alt=""/></figure>



So what gives? What’s driving the discrepancy between two similar economies that trade quite closely?



Simply put, the US financial system is much less sensitive to changes in short-term interest rates than Canada’s. Here are two examples:



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Corporations </h2>



US companies have access to the largest debt markets in the world and can issue fixed-rate bonds at tight spreads, whereas Canadian companies (as is normal in non-US countries) are more inclined to issue floating-rate debt, which changes instantly with changes in central bank policy rate.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Households</h2>



In the US, homeowners can sit on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and as long as they don’t move, the Fed could hike rates to 50% and it still wouldn’t affect them. The rate they’ve locked in is the one for the entire mortgage. Considering how many households refinanced their mortgages at the Covid lows (sub-3%), as long as they don’t move, they’re unabated by increasing interest rates. This is very different in Canada and most other countries, where even on a 25-year fixed-rate mortgage, the rate gets reset every five years. Therefore, even if homeowners stay put, they will eventually be affected by the increase in rates.&nbsp;



These two examples showcase why the Fed is having so much trouble getting into a consistent policy path — its main tool cannot impact large swaths of the economy like it can in other countries. And so here we are instead, with increasing dispersion in economies between the US and everybody else. Oh, sweet US exceptionalism.



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Why rate changes impact the US, Canadian economies differently

If developer mindshare is any indication of innovation, then knowing something about developer activity matters.



It’s why the industry pays attention when Electric Capital <a href="https://x.com/MariaShen/status/1851702779946901968">releases</a> its annual developer report.



As of November 2024, crypto had about 23,613 monthly active developers, a sliver (0.0875%) of the 27 million population of global software devs. It’s an impressive 2000% increase over the last decade, but numbers are still down from the industry’s highs of about 31,000 in 2022.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXepqXKXBd2TObTm-o2vAXHI3D8Yvr5SZPqa6Ax0JSYUym5P0NaHiM3Jl6lO_1cvXvmJUCAiT8ol5J8ug-qPqSlhoy2v_u7wgKpGuLmmij-oKcfccrnHp2pKYpgR1kfFQeZDuSJKPw?key=g3vvBQHso2Us0NAx22CIrq--" alt=""/></figure>



One notable trend among crypto developers is the increasingly global distribution of talent today compared to years past. In 2015, 80% of devs worked out of North America and Europe. Today, both continents have seen their share of developers decline to 24% and 31%, respectively, while Asia now leads with 32% of developer mindshare.



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/solana-ecosystem-2024-milestones">The Solana ecosystem has a lot to be thankful for this year</a>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXd_X5FSjxGySogfQIJ6S71JiveDGhlhXzyidfaKbZ9wCC6uhZrOA7l08KPtg_qxmtS7hkAcaFTkU7_ZzOKCrayv3lLJXGYu3w6_jJez6_ZVB4eTa_NY6WY6WhpW0l7BAVzeqNo6?key=g3vvBQHso2Us0NAx22CIrq--" alt=""/></figure>



The Ethereum Virtual Machine (<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/evm">EVM</a>) remains the leading tech stack, boasting a robust network effect with 8,925 developers — roughly 3.6 times the size of the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) stack, which has 2,499 developers.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXflOQyGqicQ7AHpp75jeLVQ9b7K7FreOndLX54kKxyPQrueQ4JJhCeaxCoGoY4nt93R5LFeZIpV60h_Kycy3aSApvKbQfee6OVK8CNXObC6c65tNcMnZpFreiuVtLOe8gq4oMqs3g?key=g3vvBQHso2Us0NAx22CIrq--" alt=""/></figure>



What stands out however, is Solana coming in as the number one ecosystem for new developers over the past year. This is an impressive lead, especially considering that Ethereum — which is a close second in attracting new developers — is bolstered by an ecosystem that includes dozens of layer-2 rollups.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfdr2eMD3t6sIhGc8G4Ku_4wY19GqHt3SO00PNuTLESsFQ_hUG9-RmYhR26oGYUnGqYEehJs71l8qfF66Y0660zF1ahJ55PkeSP_z_M7wsXinLQDepEAWgRpTz4jdNVPu8M9oBhgA?key=g3vvBQHso2Us0NAx22CIrq--" alt=""/></figure>



Solana developers dominate in India, accounting for approximately 27%. Notably, it is the only country where new developers are joining the Solana ecosystem at a higher rate than they are any other blockchain. India also ranks second in developer share, trailing only the US.



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/web3-developers-on-the-rise">Electric Capital finds veteran Web3 devs are on the rise</a>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdRAfrA-HtaaWJluNDOFlDiU1u0L1CGhI04JU5lzchNvwp38pP6Dj7UceGL29d1xBFLrUrUvGcfDBBPwzERES__nUVmQ-s2fhWO58PAvzegLJMqC-AsrWDFgTvnepSk04USXxS-?key=g3vvBQHso2Us0NAx22CIrq--" alt=""/></figure>



The highest developer activity doesn’t always directly translate to code innovation. For this reason, the Electric Capital developer report also considered which chains have the most new code written.



Ethereum maintains its lead with about 65% of new code written across its layer-1 and layer-2 ecosystems.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcEmT7LKwqCQDDLvA8oEHKCpWprVY8WEW30UzwyByj5Bf3hwBNnG5p7nPR5ywH6yuP-ovp7b6NF0w3MSeXA1TkdcjHar6epW2REHTfZ0s7a9ynLJJ7QcCHqCUm20bvThILz4cXV?key=g3vvBQHso2Us0NAx22CIrq--" alt=""/></figure>



According to the report, liquidity isn’t the only thing <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/devcon-panelists-talk-fragmentation">fragmenting in Ethereum</a> — scarce developer talent is too. Since Ethereum adopted its rollup-centric roadmap, the share of developers working on layer-2s has grown from 25% to 56%.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeL8cTKJgbuYs57xfdjKXWdjgzojn8GXznDfg4N8YddBsAh-u5rnxbqK6BSrhI9wNErpFXUHdX5k1vc4qY9jlLeHqDcAmMBNT6n7PTBGpklqvR7ilq1MTBLfZq25esQwBkB2lDhmg?key=g3vvBQHso2Us0NAx22CIrq--" alt=""/></figure>



Out of all active layer-2s, Base has the largest active developer base of 4,287, followed by Arbitrum (3,450), Starknet (2,548), Optimism (2,416), Scroll (1,517) and zkSync (1,115).&nbsp;



If developer activity is any indication of increased chain activity, Starknet’s developer lead is perhaps somewhat surprising, especially in contrast to an older chain like Optimism. Based on transaction count, Starknet’s activity has languished in comparison over the past year.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXd9hNT_1rRQNTNcUbWNkhskfN9WUcTSfowWC7oPiOxNkjYlD0cji538EAcBplG5VT1EPhHtH5BsT5O8LmjaIdVNO1KSDyWHvK0JRuLXC2Ey1rWneTRg1FVUXxvAzvI39r1QovgvuQ?key=g3vvBQHso2Us0NAx22CIrq--" alt=""/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Source: <a href="https://www.growthepie.xyz/fundamentals/transaction-count">Growthepie</a></figcaption></figure>



What about Bitcoin?



The Bitcoin network has about 1,200 monthly active developers; a number that has stayed fairly constant over the last 12 months.



Yet with the rise of Bitcoin layer-2s, NFTs and various scaling solutions, at least 42% of bitcoin developers are now dedicating their efforts to those areas.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXe0zZJofdwdUKgRsNCs8PiR31HmRWRXkAkxUAu3WySXkJti5pyLac1tHX_e-kSyrSZZ3ueWtXblMis2jwshlEkZbMg95_0mlaBShUJuS7h5aFgAmvuv756wTruLRF7WwL3Nm_9j5w?key=g3vvBQHso2Us0NAx22CIrq--" alt=""/></figure>



Finally, zero-knowledge developers saw a slight reduction. Today, there are 2,054 monthly active developers working in zk. About 823 of them hold full-time positions.



Yet, zk contract deployments grew from a mere 40 in 2020 to 639 in 2024, with the largest share coming from Ethereum, Base and Optimism.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1156" height="674" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-95305" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed.png?w=1156 1156w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed.png?w=448 448w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed.png?w=376 376w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/unnamed.png?w=80 80w" sizes="(max-width: 1156px) 100vw, 1156px" /></figure>



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Solana gained highest share of new devs in 2024: Electric Capital

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Bitcoin enthusiasts often hear terms like “zk rollups” thrown around, but the reality is more nuanced. While Ethereum’s zk rollups rely on zero-knowledge proofs for trustless verification, Bitcoin’s architectural constraints make implementing true zk rollups a distant goal.



Misleading claims around Bitcoin’s layer-2 capabilities and trust assumptions threaten to confuse users, and the Bitcoin builder community is working to clarify these issues.



Ethereum zk rollups leverage the Ethereum mainnet (layer-1) to verify cryptographic proofs directly onchain. Bitcoin, with its 4MB block size and limited scripting capabilities, can’t accommodate these computationally intensive verifiers. As Alexei Zamyatin, a core contributor to BitVM, explains, a zk rollup verifier “simply won’t fit into a block.&#8221;



Projects like BitVM take a <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-rollups-closer-than-expected">different approach</a>, combining SNARK-based compression with optimistic verification. Rather than verifying proofs onchain, BitVM splits a program into smaller chunks, each verifiable sequentially. This method mirrors optimistic rollups like Arbitrum rather than Ethereum’s zk rollups.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2560" height="1440" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-12-13-Bitcoin-zk-1-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-95336" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-12-13-Bitcoin-zk-1-scaled.jpg?w=2560 2560w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-12-13-Bitcoin-zk-1-scaled.jpg?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-12-13-Bitcoin-zk-1-scaled.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-12-13-Bitcoin-zk-1-scaled.jpg?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-12-13-Bitcoin-zk-1-scaled.jpg?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-12-13-Bitcoin-zk-1-scaled.jpg?w=2048 2048w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-12-13-Bitcoin-zk-1-scaled.jpg?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-12-13-Bitcoin-zk-1-scaled.jpg?w=464 464w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-12-13-Bitcoin-zk-1-scaled.jpg?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-12-13-Bitcoin-zk-1-scaled.jpg?w=80 80w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Screenshot</figcaption></figure>



“The zk part stops at the compression stage,” Alexei notes. “Everything else is an optimistic fraud-proof system.”



The broader discussion about Bitcoin L2s goes beyond just rollups. In a recent thread, Janusz Grzegorz, founder of Bitcoin Layers, reflected on the evolving definition of Bitcoin L2s. Initially, Bitcoin layers evaluated projects based on their claim of being a “Bitcoin L2,” but this approach excluded meaningful activity like BTC-backed tokens on Ethereum L2s.



Janusz advocates for a shift in focus to trust assumptions instead of semantics. He proposes evaluating the bridges that underpin these systems regardless of whether they market themselves as an L2. These include protocols like Rootstock, tBTC on Arbitrum and others.



Grzegorz, known online simply as “Janusz,” also has flagged projects like Merlin and BitcoinOS as having contributed to the confusion. Such projects often market themselves as zk rollups on Bitcoin, despite lacking the infrastructure to deliver security guarantees on par with how the term “rollups” is typically used. He cautions users to scrutinize projects for real progress, such as distributed or optimistic bridges, rather than relying on buzzwords.



For Zamyatin, education and transparency are key. By focusing on trust assumptions, clear definitions and robust analyses, the Bitcoin community can better understand what’s feasible — and what’s not. For now, zk rollups on Bitcoin remain a misnomer, but innovations like BitVM demonstrate how Bitcoin can scale within its unique constraints.



To achieve <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/starkware-bitcoin-layer-2-zk-proof">true zk rollups</a>, Bitcoin will require a soft fork to enable building a native zk verifier. Several <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/op-cat-bitcoin-taproot-wizards">new opcodes</a> are currently under consideration amid a recent <a href="https://x.com/post_polar_/status/1865266144304607517">push</a> to clarify Bitcoin’s future roadmap.



An open <a href="https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Covenants_support">Wiki-style forum</a> lets interested stakeholders express their preferences and justify their views. Zamyatin’s team at <a href="https://www.gobob.xyz/">Build on Bitcoin</a> (BOB) has yet to weigh in, but expects to soon.



“What’s great about this effort is that it collects rationales in one place — instead of fighting on Twitter or scattered threads, you can see the reasoning for each individual’s stance,” Zamyatin said. “It makes it easier to evaluate proposals, summarize pros and cons, and have meaningful discussions.”



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The ZK rollup debate: Why Bitcoin isn’t there yet

David Canellis

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



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When Cobie was <a href="https://x.com/kaspotz/status/1673747128215302144/photo/1">tweeting</a> about his pyramid-shaped philosophy on building the perfect crypto portfolio — you listened.



Maybe you even saw the benefit of spreading your capital across bitcoin, ether and solana in a <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/coinbase-asset-management-allocations">50/35/15 split</a>. Depending on the execution, those strategies would’ve easily paid off during the bull market to date.&nbsp;



It still probably hurts to know that they&#8217;ve been blown out of the water by Milady and Pudgy NFTs.



USD-denominated floor prices for both NFT collections have now gone more than 20x since December 2022.



The cheapest Miladys went for the ETH equivalent of $890 back then — today they go for $22,570.&nbsp;



At the same time, Pudgys have exploded from $5,070 to $106,900. Floor Pudgys are now technically more expensive than bitcoin, although with far less supply.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdz6erw2t8b5oynreDcW3S5D0Ws9dPn_0BH0xhtlNogwJjOixN1Ynm4H0YoihRurq7qnyM_--kvVUudlMyz-UrsrgzAYoPaUZZZ7-JFkGTXHE8fxMCZnw_W1fm8qMQFqax5g14ljA?key=0dY8Vwgs6Q5PYpW1fuk_Wp9R" alt=""/></figure>



BTC has meanwhile managed around 6x and ETH 3x, while SOL is currently at 18.5x.&nbsp;



Then again, you can’t buy <a href="https://www.walmart.com/browse/toys/pudgy-penguin-toys/4171_3438149_1343175">stuffed collectible</a> bitcoins at Walmart.



Of course, NFT markets are far smaller and less liquid than major coins. They tend to undergo outsized pumps when volume suddenly picks up.&nbsp;



Most of the gains have come in the past month or so: There were only about 1,000 Pudgy <a href="https://nftpricefloor.com/pudgy-penguins">trades</a> in the past week and 1,900 in the past month. 400 and 1,240 for <a href="https://nftpricefloor.com/milady">Miladys</a>.



In any case, there’s no denying that floor Miladys and Pudgys are now two of the best-performing crypto assets in this bull market.&nbsp;



Only one top-25 coin has outperformed them: PEPE.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcodBIdBPX424WAcjvqVJyEEBR1QlCP92WvlWzBpPxDFi8o_QRiNIEYm7FonmuMhDT0sVICgR7a8r0HmgL66B6eFa51jAlOnir3xsyJcN0bW-jS4lRGzHnX_kFBXkYwijz0zekrww?key=0dY8Vwgs6Q5PYpW1fuk_Wp9R" alt=""/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">As you can see, Miladys and Pudgys are outliers</figcaption></figure>



Floor prices for Azuki, Doodles and CryptoPunks have still more than doubled, but that’s less than most major coins excluding LTC and DOT.&nbsp;



Bored Apes and Nouns have even lost value against the US dollar.



Still, if you were searching for indicators of how silly the next bull market phase could get, look no further.



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Pudgys and Miladys pump even as overall liquidity drops

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



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We’ve been on a bit of a <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/hope-for-altcoin-santa-rally">markets spree this week</a>, and it’s not over yet. At the very least, we should be glad that nothing’s ever truly boring in crypto land, right?&nbsp;



Anyway, I caught up with Kraken’s head of strategy Thomas Perfumo to pick his brain on the markets given the volatility we’ve seen.



For Perfumo, the pullback has been in line with what he calls the “new normal” after bitcoin topped $100k.&nbsp;



“We’ve seen a couple of pullbacks corresponding with large liquidations of leveraged positions. This is typical consolidation behavior,” he told me.&nbsp;



“From observations during the past two cycles, a rally in altcoins takes hold after a run-up in bitcoin. This sparks a rotation into altcoins as investors seek to outperform in the next phase of the bull market. In the prior two bitcoin-led cycles, the market cycle peak corresponded with bitcoin market cap dominance, which is currently in the mid-50s, falling closer to 40%,” Perfumo added, backing up what we’ve been <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/altcoin-season-when-bitcoin-dominance-hits-60">discussing here on Empire</a>.&nbsp;



If we continue to see altcoins outperform, Perfumo thinks there’ll be a “pick-up in interest”



“People are on the lookout for signs that crypto services are experiencing mainstream adoption. Stablecoins have already broken prior records in terms of circulating supply and DeFi total value locked (TVL) is inching closer to peak 2021 levels. We think the combination of significant improvements to scalability this past cycle and a line of sight towards a more favorable, pro-growth agenda for crypto innovation will lead to an environment that’s ripe for crypto services to catalyze a new wave of adoption.”



But, as I wrote yesterday, it might be time to start prepping your bags for lower liquidity in the next few weeks, which is typical for this holiday period. Perfumo suggested that some of the selling might be put off till the new year as folks in the US specifically base their moves on the potential tax consequences.&nbsp;



“It’s certainly possible that shortfalls in liquidity could lead to higher price volatility, both to the upside or to the downside,” he said.&nbsp;



Speaking of next year, Perfumo’s in agreement with Canary Capital’s Steven McClurg that the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-120k-by-christmas">cycle still has plenty of legs</a>.&nbsp;



It’s not just bitcoin posting wins, he noted that DEXs and some infrastructure plays — which have received <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-fundraising-capital-allocation">plenty of support from venture capital</a> — are ready to post wins on the year.&nbsp;



However, some of the other sectors, like web3, gaming and the metaverse aren’t quite there yet. Or, if we’re being honest, are nowhere near being ready for mainstream attention outside of some exceptions (looking at you <a href="https://blockworks.co/podcast/empire/6558f55c-a09f-11ef-aae9-2b3740fcea67">Off the Grid</a>).&nbsp;



That’s not to say that there can’t be dark horses among projects yet to find mainstream attention, Perfumo said.&nbsp;



Either way, he’s bullish on the environment, telling me that this is the perfect recipe for innovation within the space.



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Crypto market could see ‘pullbacks’ ahead of the holidays: Analyst

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



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It seems like conversations about sandwich attacks on Solana — where advanced traders front-run and back-run trades to extract value at the expense of unsophisticated traders — come and go every few weeks with little resolution. Most people agree sandwiching is bad, but there’s not yet consensus on how the problem can be solved.



The discourse flared up again this week after the Solana researcher Ben Coverston <a href="https://x.com/HypoNyms/status/1866584138054242683">posted</a> on social media that the network’s top sandwich bot, dubbed arsc, was pocketing millions of dollars-worth of tokens per day from sandwich attacks. Coverston predicted that if current trends hold, arsc would become Solana’s largest staker within 1-2 years. Interestingly, one of the researcher’s proposed fixes included the reintroduction of a “mempool” staging area for transactions — which Jito got rid of earlier this year in hopes of preventing sandwiching.



Sandwich attackers exploit slippage — the gap between a trade&#8217;s expected and executed price. They front-run the target transaction by placing their own trade first, which shifts the price in their favor. Then, they back-run the same transaction by placing another trade immediately after, locking in a financial win off of the manipulated price movement. As a result, the original trader often ends up with a worse execution price, effectively subsidizing the attacker&#8217;s profit.



This is a form of maximal extractible value (MEV) where sandwichers extract value from Solana blocks at the expense of less sophisticated users. Solana has taken a number of actions meant to prevent sandwiching in recent months. In March, Solana infrastructure company Jito Labs <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/jito-labs-suspends-mempool-functionality">got rid of its public mempool</a>, which was a staging area where transactions could be arranged to create MEV revenue for validators.



Sandwiching validators then set up their own private mempools, and the attacks continued. Two months later, the Solana Foundation <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/lightspeed-newsletter-sandwich-attacks">stopped offering financial help</a> to validators who were participating in private mempools. In September, Jito blacklisted a group of private mempool validators from participating in its stake pool, which is a large pile of staked SOL Jito’s software delegates.



The criticism of the Solana Foundation and Jito’s blacklist-the-bad-guys strategy is that it’s essentially playing whack-a-mole: Blacklisted validators can always spin up a new validator and resume sandwiching.&nbsp;



That’s what’s interesting about Coverston’s proposal, which he expanded upon in a blog <a href="https://tempxyz.substack.com/p/solanas-largest-existential-risk">post</a>. The privatization of mempools has reduced the number of validators executing sandwich attacks, but the few who remain, like arsc, are staking their substantial profits back into their own operations. This has led to a concerning centralization of staked Solana within a handful of nefarious validators.



To counter this, Coverston suggests re-enabling a public mempool. While this move might make sandwiching more widespread, it could also foster competition among validators executing these strategies. The increased competition would help distribute MEV profits more evenly, preventing a single group of validators from disproportionately accumulating stake — and power — on the network.



This would essentially be a reversal from Solana’s anti-sandwiching strategy over the past nine months.



To put this all in perspective though, sandwiching may not really matter in the long run. High-frequency trading strategies that are ascendent in the US equities market are basically meant to sandwich attack other traders, Blockworks Research’s Ryan Connor <a href="https://x.com/_ryanrconnor/status/1860319636883181873">pointed out</a>. That hasn’t stopped equities trading volumes from climbing to all-time highs.



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Solana should reintroduce a public mempool, researcher says

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



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The Chinese yuan fell against the US dollar Wednesday morning after Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/chinese-authorities-are-considering-weaker-yuan-trump-trade-risks-loom-sources-2024-12-11/">reported</a> Chinese officials may opt to move away from their “stable currency” policy in response to <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/unpacking-trump-potential-tariff-policies">tariffs</a> under President-elect Donald Trump.&nbsp;



The key words here are “stable currency policy.” That’s not to be confused with “stablecoin policy,” which China also has (but that’s a topic for another newsletter). China’s central bank is notorious for its commitments to keep the yuan <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/on-the-margin-newsletter-china-stimulus-stagnation">stable</a>, but a strategic currency devaluation does have some historical precedent.&nbsp;



It’s a tool China used back in 2018 and 2019 during Trump’s first term. Allowing the yuan to lose value against the dollar makes exports less expensive, potentially offsetting the 10% tariff Trump has said he’d impose during his second stint in Washington; but devaluation also poses risks to the local economy. Hypothetically, foreign buyers may be paying less for Chinese goods, but Chinese consumers would be paying more.&nbsp;



The Chinese yuan slid around 0.2% Wednesday, dropping to 7.26 per dollar. Year to date, the yuan has lost 2.4% against the dollar.&nbsp;



The move comes as President Joe Biden plans to increase Section 301 tariffs designed to <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/key-inflation-data-week">target</a> China’s cleantech industry during his final weeks in office.&nbsp;



“Many countries, when they&#8217;re faced with unilateral actions of that sort, look for ways to retaliate,” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Bloomberg today when asked about Trump’s broad tariff plans for China. “My guess would be that [China] would do that.”&nbsp;



We’re 40 days out from the inauguration, so this story is just getting started. Keep an eye on your inbox.



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Chinese yuan dips on reports government may resort to using old tricks 

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Daniel Shapiro

Research Analyst

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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 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

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 is the Founder, CEO, and CIO of One River Asset Management and its subsidiary, One River Digital Asset Management. One River is an innovative investment manager dedicated to delivering high-conviction discretionary and quantitative strategies that help its clients build superior portfolios. One River sees the world in a period of major economic and political transition, with the investment landscape shifting in ways that will make the coming ten years look profoundly different from the past decade. Its strategies are built to profit from this dynamic environment while providing strong diversification benefits to traditional investment portfolios. Prior to founding One River in 2013, Eric served as Chairman of Grant Capital Partners, a $1.25 billion discretionary global macro hedge fund. In that role, Eric focused on thematic investment opportunities and was responsible for all non-investment activities including the direct oversight of the Chief Risk Officer. 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 - Weekend Notes - which is read by investment professionals who directly deploy over $1trln in alternative assets.

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

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 was a partner and oil derivatives trader at Vitol. In his early career, he ran the global oil derivatives 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

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

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

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

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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp;



&nbsp;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

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

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

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

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

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

James is Global Head of Business Development at WebN Group, the Alan Howard backed incubator for Fintech &amp; Web3 innovation. Prior to WebN, James worked at Brevan Howard, in Alan Howard’s Family Office, focusing on Principal Investing across Crypto, Web3, Fintech &amp; Frontier Technologies.



Having been heavily involved in Web3 &amp; Digital Assets Markets for 7 years, James started his career with ~15 years of investment banking experience across multi-asset trading, derivative, sales and structuring across a number of top tier banks. James’s deep understanding of digital asset markets and his extensive derivative, treasury and trading experiences have been central to various digital venture builds, developing innovative solutions and bootstrapping technological expansion across both traditional finance players and digital natives.



James is a qualified Chartered Financial Analyst® and holds a Masters in Finance &amp; Honours Degree in Economics from Durham University. Previously, James has published quant, financial and regulatory papers across traditional and digital markets, most recently for the Digital Economic Initiative.

James Newman

Ian De Bode

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

Jeff Park is the Head of Alpha Strategies and Portfolio Manager at Bitwise Asset Management, one of the world’s largest crypto-specialist asset managers. Bitwise provides a range of investment solutions, along with industry-leading research and a nationwide team of relationship managers, to help clients navigate the opportunities in crypto. Prior to Bitwise, he was a Partner at Corbin Capital Partners, a multi-billion alternative asset management firm that specializes in multi-strategy hedge fund and opportunistic credit investing, where he led the firm’s digital asset investing efforts.  Before Corbin, Jeff was a Senior Associate at the Harvard Management Company focused on US Corporate Credit, and before that, was an Exotic Equity Derivatives trader at Morgan Stanley in New York.  He is a graduate of Stanford University with a B.A. in Economics and International Relations, and is a CFA charterholder since 2013.

Jeff Park

Raghav Chopra is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Tephra Digital, a digital assets investment firm backed by Jefferies. Previously, he was the Portfolio Manager of a $600 million technology hedge fund portfolio for AllianceBernstein LP, and prior to that, he worked at The Blackstone Group. Mr. Chopra began his career in private equity at The Carlyle Group and in investment banking at Goldman Sachs &amp; Co. in 2006. He received his MBA with High Distinction from Harvard Business School, where he was named a George F. Baker Scholar, and his B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Economics with Distinction from Yale University. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Harvard Club of New York City Foundation and Argo Blockchain plc.

Raghav Chopra

Ryan is Head of Trading at BlockTower Capital. Previously, he was a Senior Portfolio Manager at Celsius, where he led the global CeFi Trading and Market Insights teams. Prior to digital assets, Ryan was a Portfolio Manager at KLS Diversified, a multi-billion-dollar global macro and fixed income relative value hedge fund in NYC. Ryan has traditional capital markets experience within global banking and markets institutions, including RBS Greenwich Capital and Merrill Lynch &amp; Co. Ryan is a CFA Charterholder, holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Northeastern University, and is an advocate for empowering people with disabilities to participate in athletics.

Ryan Silva

Tyler Neville is a Partner at Corriente Advisors, a macro thematic hedge fund based in Fort Worth, TX that is active in bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.  Previously, Tyler traded equities &amp; derivatives at several hedge funds and Franklin Templeton, a trillion-dollar asset manager.  Tyler also served as Editorial Director at both Real Vision and Blockworks in between stints in the investment world.

Tyler Neville

Greg has more than 15 years' experience managing corporate IT data center and network operations and eight years' experience in the digital assets space. He is a leader in the Innovation group and works to provide value to KPMG in all areas of blockchain, digital assets, generative Al and metaverse. He currently manages multiple innovation efforts around configuring blockchain applications, blockchain node infrastructure, GenAl applications, and more.