The Crypto Beat

In episode 61 of The Crypto Beat, Kelvin and Tim were joined by Christian Lopez of Cohen & Company Capital Markets to discuss why mid-scale crypto companies face a "consolidate or die" moment as big banks prepare to enter the space post-regulation. He explains how stablecoin yields could disrupt traditional banking's cost-of-capital advantage, and makes the case that Bitcoin is this generation's store of value — the way gold was for grandparents and homes were for parents.OUTLINE00:00 - Introduction01:57 - Coinbase Super Bowl Ad04:00 - Crypto's Perception Gap07:00 - Buy vs. Build for TradFi12:28 - Consolidation & IPO Pipeline17:26 - Private Market Exits19:46 - Tokenized Equities24:32 - Stablecoin Regulation Battle30:23 - Bitcoin Bear Market Drivers35:50 - Generational Wealth & BitcoinGuest links:Christian Lopez - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianjlopez/Tim Copeland - ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/timccopeland⁠⁠⁠⁠Kelvin Sparks -⁠⁠ https://x.com/imyoungsparks⁠⁠---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Subscribe to The Block's Newsletters!🚨 Breaking News👨‍🔬 Expert Analysis📈 Market InsightsSubscribe now 👉⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.theblock.co/newsletters⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hiring in crypto?🧠 Find top talent fast with Campus, powered by The Block!✅ Challenge candidates with our Crypto Assessment Test⚡ Hire faster, build stronger teamsStart your free trial today 👉 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://theblock.co/campus

In episode 60 of The Crypto Beat, Kelvin and Tim were joined by Thomas Coratger, post-quantum team lead at the Ethereum Foundation, to break down how Ethereum is preparing for quantum computing with a 2030 target for shipping post-quantum resistant consensus. He explains how AI is accelerating both defense and offense in this race, and warns that bridges and DeFi oracles are particularly vulnerable weak points that could cascade failures across the entire crypto ecosystem.OUTLINE00:00 - Intro 02:47 - The Grind 07:36 - Lean Ethereum 10:29 - Quantum Threat 17:00 - 2030 Roadmap 20:15 - Quantum Winter 25:05 - Bridge Risks 35:25 - User Migration 42:20 - AI Workflow 48:19 - Rapid FireGuest links:Thomas Coratger - https://x.com/tcoratgerEthereum Foundation - https://x.com/ethereumfndnTim Copeland - ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/timccopeland⁠⁠⁠⁠Kelvin Sparks -⁠⁠ https://x.com/imyoungsparks⁠⁠---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Subscribe to The Block's Newsletters!🚨 Breaking News👨‍🔬 Expert Analysis📈 Market InsightsSubscribe now 👉⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.theblock.co/newsletters⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hiring in crypto?🧠 Find top talent fast with Campus, powered by The Block!✅ Challenge candidates with our Crypto Assessment Test⚡ Hire faster, build stronger teamsStart your free trial today 👉 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://theblock.co/campus

In episode 59 of The Crypto Beat, Miden Co-Founder Azeem Khan discusses how most crypto users don't realize how exposed their on-chain activity really is, drawing parallels to the 1990s encryption wars. He makes the case for "compliant privacy" as the path to institutional adoption, explains why the cypherpunk ethos needs a pragmatic update, and shares what he's learned from pitching privacy tech to JP Morgan, the SEC, and central banks from Abu Dhabi to Uzbekistan. OUTLINE 00:00 - Introduction 02:30 - The Illusion of Anonymity 06:25 - The Privacy Rorschach Test 09:01 - Scaling Privacy UX 11:01 - The Regulatory Bottleneck 15:45 - Cypherpunk Ethos in 2026 18:44 - Institutional Adoption Playbook 24:04 - Where Privacy Captures Value 27:49 - The Privacy Token Pump 32:41 - Three Lessons on Privacy Guest links: Azeem Khan - https://x.com/azeemk Miden - https://x.com/0xMiden Tim Copeland - ⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/timccopeland⁠⁠⁠ Kelvin Sparks -⁠ https://x.com/imyoungsparks⁠ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to The Block's Newsletters! 🚨 Breaking News 👨‍🔬 Expert Analysis 📈 Market Insights Subscribe now 👉⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.theblock.co/newsletters⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hiring in crypto? 🧠 Find top talent fast with Campus, powered by The Block! ✅ Challenge candidates with our Crypto Assessment Test ⚡ Hire faster, build stronger teams Start your free trial today 👉 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://theblock.co/campus

In episode 58 of The Crypto Beat Wintermute's Head of OTC Trading Jake Ostrovskis and Kaiko Senior Researcher Adam McCarthy join Kelvin and Tim to discuss why crypto feels like a bear market — compressed basis, dead retail, and Bitcoin stuck between risk asset and digital gold narratives. The conversation pivots to Hyperliquid's HIP3 and HIP4 as rare bright spots, the challenges of pricing RWAs and prediction markets on-chain, and what the Clarity Act and regulatory momentum could mean for a 2026 recovery. OUTLINE 00:00 - Introduction 03:11 - Market Malaise 09:38 - The 10/10 Flash Crash 14:41 - Bodies & Leverage 19:24 - HIP3 & RWA Perps 29:03 - HIP4 & Prediction Markets 36:20 - Valuing Hyperliquid 39:17 - 2026 Crystal Ball 44:57 - What Is Bitcoin? 47:19 - Treasury Companies Guest links: Adam McCarthy - https://x.com/AdMcMarkets Jake Ostrovskis - https://x.com/JO_wintermute Tim Copeland - ⁠⁠https://x.com/timccopeland⁠⁠ Kelvin Sparks - https://x.com/imyoungsparks --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to The Block's Newsletters! 🚨 Breaking News 👨‍🔬 Expert Analysis 📈 Market Insights Subscribe now 👉⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.theblock.co/newsletters⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hiring in crypto? 🧠 Find top talent fast with Campus, powered by The Block! ✅ Challenge candidates with our Crypto Assessment Test ⚡ Hire faster, build stronger teams Start your free trial today 👉 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://theblock.co/campus

Jordi Alexander and Zaheer Ebtikar join Tim Copeland break down why crypto sentiment seems to be at its worst in years despite supportive macro tailwinds, arguing the market is suffering from a sort of regime change: ancient whale distribution, exhausted infrastructure narratives, and a duration mismatch between builder timelines and speculator expectations. They discuss the shift toward real product-building (stablecoins, on-chain trading of traditional assets, Dreamcash/HIP3), the commodities volatility pulling attention from crypto, and why the current mindshare-to-market-cap ratio signals a strong eventual rebound. OUTLINE 00:00 - Introduction 02:15 - How Bad Is It? 04:30 - October 10th & Cascading Liquidations 07:00 - Infinite Tokens & Regime Change 11:30 - The Year of Productization 16:00 - Layer 1s & The Builder Problem 20:30 - Sports Betting & Financial Nihilism 25:00 - Dreamcash & HIP3 Explained 28:30 - Macro Shifts & The Gold Trade 33:00 - What's Exciting for 2026 Guest links: Jordi Alexander - ⁠https://x.com/gametheorizing Zaheer Ebtikar - https://x.com/SplitCapital Tim Copeland - ⁠https://x.com/timccopeland⁠ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to The Block's Newsletters! 🚨 Breaking News 👨‍🔬 Expert Analysis 📈 Market Insights Subscribe now 👉⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.theblock.co/newsletters⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hiring in crypto? 🧠 Find top talent fast with Campus, powered by The Block! ✅ Challenge candidates with our Crypto Assessment Test ⚡ Hire faster, build stronger teams Start your free trial today 👉 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://theblock.co/campus

Anthony Pompliano and Jeff Park argue that deflation, not inflation, may be Bitcoin’s biggest headwind, challenging the narrative that fueled institutional adoption in 2020. They suggest institutions aren’t trying to exit fiat, but are instead integrating Bitcoin into the legacy system to attract new clients and revenue. OUTLINE 00:00 - Introduction 01:30 - The Independent Investor 05:45 - Institutions & Bitcoin 08:20 - Bitcoin vs Altcoins 12:00 - Biggest Risks to Bitcoin 17:30 - The Weak Dollar Play 22:00 - AI & Occupy AI 28:15 - Favorite Investments 33:00 - Long-Term Outlook Guest links: Anthony Pompliano - https://x.com/APomplianoJeff Park - https://x.com/dgt10011Kelvin Sparks - https://x.com/imyoungsparksTim Copeland - https://x.com/timccopeland --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to The Block's Newsletters! 🚨 Breaking News 👨‍🔬 Expert Analysis 📈 Market Insights Subscribe now 👉⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.theblock.co/newsletters⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hiring in crypto? 🧠 Find top talent fast with Campus, powered by The Block! ✅ Challenge candidates with our Crypto Assessment Test ⚡ Hire faster, build stronger teams Start your free trial today 👉 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://theblock.co/campus

The Block's Kelvin Sparks was joined by Solstice Founder Ben Nadareski and BonkX founder Jovan Tisma, who argue stablecoins will become the standard settlement layer within 10 years, compressing bank margins but unlocking DeFi access for retail. They stress the importance preserving permissionless principles while institutionalizing, and believe lifestyle-focused payments—not speculation—will drive mainstream adoption. OUTLINE 00:00 - Introduction 03:00 - Why Crypto Payments 10:00 - The 10-Year Horizon 12:00 - Building on Solana 17:00 - Breaking Into Payments 23:00 - Banks vs Stablecoins 30:00 - Onboarding Retail 34:00 - Lifestyle Banking 38:00 - Where Value Accrues 45:45 - The USX Incident Guest links: Solstice - ⁠https://twitter.com/solsticefi Ben Nadareski - https://twitter.com/ben_solstice BonkX - ⁠https://twitter.com/BonkX_SOL Jovan Tisma - ⁠https://twitter.com/tishmica --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to The Block's Newsletters! 🚨 Breaking News 👨‍🔬 Expert Analysis 📈 Market Insights Subscribe now 👉⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.theblock.co/newsletters⁠⁠⁠⁠ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hiring in crypto? 🧠 Find top talent fast with Campus, powered by The Block! ✅ Challenge candidates with our Crypto Assessment Test ⚡ Hire faster, build stronger teams Start your free trial today 👉 ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://theblock.co/campus

Tim Copeland and Kelvin Sparks were joined by Mike Cahill from Pyth and Niklas Kunkel from Chronicle discuss how oracles are transforming from simple price feeds into critical infrastructure for tokenized real-world assets. They explore the explosive growth in tokenized money market funds and CLOs, the shift toward B2B adoption by DeFi protocols rather than retail, and new business models—Pyth's data subscription hit $1M ARR in weeks while Chronicle scaled to $6B in tokenized funds in under a year. OUTLINE 00:00 - Introduction 02:06 - Pyth's RWA Origins 05:25 - Going Cross-Chain 07:51 - Oracle Competition Metrics 12:04 - Chronicle's DeFi Journey 17:17 - Retail vs Institutional 23:21 - Corporate Chains 34:27 - Pyth Reserve & Buybacks 41:24 - Building Without a Token 45:47 - 2026 Predictions Guest links: Pyth - https://x.com/PythNetwork Mike Cahill - https://x.com/mdomcahill Chronicle - https://x.com/ChronicleLabs Niklas Kunkel - https://x.com/nomos_paradox --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to The Block's Newsletters! 🚨 Breaking News 👨‍🔬 Expert Analysis 📈 Market Insights Subscribe now 👉⁠⁠⁠ https://www.theblock.co/newsletters⁠⁠⁠ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hiring in crypto? 🧠 Find top talent fast with Campus, powered by The Block! ✅ Challenge candidates with our Crypto Assessment Test ⚡ Hire faster, build stronger teams Start your free trial today 👉 ⁠⁠⁠https://theblock.co/campus

Tim Copeland was joined by Andrew Keys, Co-Founder of The Ether Machine, and Guilherme Gomes, Founder and CEO of OranjeBTC todiscuss the rapid rise of digital asset treasury companies. The conversation explored how these firms aim to outperform crypto ETFs through active management, including staking, DeFi, leverage, and capital markets strategies, while highlighting the risks around execution, premiums to NAV, and long-term sustainability. OUTLINE 00:00 - Introduction 01:25 - Current State of Digital Asset Treasury Companies 04:28 - DeFi Strategies and Risk Management 09:13 - Why Investors Choose DATs Over ETFs 14:04 - Market Access and Regulatory Considerations 20:52 - Hong Kong Regulator Concerns About Premiums 26:36 - Share Buybacks and Finding Equilibrium 30:47 - Bitcoin vs Ethereum: Different Asset Profiles 34:42 - Market Cap Decline: From $176B to $100B 40:26 - MicroStrategy's Average Buy Price Risk 47:11 - The Flywheel Effect and Selling Scenarios 51:13 - US Insider Trading Probe 52:24 - Niche Token Treasuries and Liquidity Concerns 55:06 - Closing Remarks Guest links: Andrew Keys - https://x.com/AK_EtherMachine The Ether Machine - https://x.com/TheEtherMachine Guilherme Gomes - https://x.com/GuiAmadoGomes OranjeBTC - https://x.com/oranjebtc --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to The Block's Newsletters! 🚨 Breaking News 👨‍🔬 Expert Analysis 📈 Market Insights Subscribe now 👉⁠⁠ https://www.theblock.co/newsletters⁠⁠ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hiring in crypto? 🧠 Find top talent fast with Campus, powered by The Block! ✅ Challenge candidates with our Crypto Assessment Test ⚡ Hire faster, build stronger teams Start your free trial today 👉 ⁠⁠https://theblock.co/campus

In episode 52 of the Crypto Beat, Kelvin Sparks and Tim Copeland were joined by Bybit CEO Ben Zhou to discuss how he bootstrapped a derivatives-focused exchange and grew Bybit into a one-stop crypto platform. Ben also reflects on managing a $1B hack with radical transparency, surviving brutal bear markets, and why he thinks RWAs and on-chain capital markets will be a defining theme going into 2026. OUTLINE 00:00 - Introduction 02:05 - Derivatives-First Bybit 05:09 - Cards & User Acquisition 08:21 - Prediction Markets & Competition 11:33 - CEX vs On-Chain Perps 13:44 - Mantle, BitDAO & L2 Strategy 18:28 - Market Outlook & Liquidity 21:40 - Hiring, Culture & Layoffs 28:14 - Bootstrapping & Product Focus 30:41 - $1B Hack & Hard Lessons 36:46 - RWAs, Tokenized Stocks & 2026 Guest links: Ben Zhou - https://x.com/benbybit Bybit - https://x.com/Bybit_Official ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subscribe to The Block's Newsletters! 🚨 Breaking News 👨‍🔬 Expert Analysis 📈 Market Insights Subscribe now 👉⁠ https://www.theblock.co/newsletters⁠ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hiring in crypto? 🧠 Find top talent fast with Campus, powered by The Block! ✅ Challenge candidates with our Crypto Assessment Test ⚡ Hire faster, build stronger teams Start your free trial today 👉 ⁠https://theblock.co/campus