The Scoop

This year has been unprecedented in many respects, with the coronavirus pandemic rocking markets and driving volatility in ways many couldn't predict.Quant trading firms — or firms that base their trading strategies on statistic models — were seemingly left at a disadvantage as firms like Winton and others lacked the data for such unprecedented events. On this week's episode of The Scoop, Martin Green, co-CIO and CEO of quant trading firm Cambrian Asset Management, broke down what it's like to run these strategies in a time when so many events were statistically unlikely.A lot of it, said Green, comes down to the manner in which models are built to identify and respond to types of risk.During this week's episode, Green also touched on: Why human judgment is valuable in building models, but is better left behind once models are executing trades How market data in crypto has changed as the quant firm built out its data stores How the firm views risk management and why identifying types of risk in the digital asset world is key to a winning strategy How Cambrian is getting in on the decentralized finance mania and how the firm's risk strategy interacts with the space This episode of The Scoop is brought to you by Bitstamp, the original global cryptocurrency exchange. Since 2011, Bitstamp has been a cornerstone of the industry, earning the trust of over four million individuals and top financial institutions looking for a reliable trading venue. Whether you’re trading on our web platform, mobile app or industry-leading APIs, Bitstamp gives you the professional-grade tools you need to execute your strategy. Download the Bitstamp app or visit Bitstamp.net/Pro to learn more and start trading today!

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

When Bitcoin emerged, its white paper touted a myriad of use cases that had the potential to rock the traditional finance world.But the idea of using an asset that could severely fluctuate in value as a medium of exchange doesn't quite make sense to some. This, says senior Coin Metrics analyst Nate Maddrey, is why we have stablecoins.On a previous episode of The Scoop, Martin Chavez said Bitcoin doesn't qualify as money in his book — it's a commodity. On this week's episode, Nate Maddrey breaks down how stablecoins were a reaction to this problem long before they were a trading tool."I think it's important to note that that stablecoins, they capture all of the benefits or most of the benefits of something like Bitcoin where it's censorship-resistant...but it has that relatively stable price and that unlocks just a whole bunch of new use cases," said Maddrey.Tether was the first in 2014, but since then, many others have followed suit. On this week's episode, The Block dives into the history and mechanics of stablecoins with Maddrey leading the way, discussing: The different categories of stablecoins and why most follow a so-called "Tether model" How the Tether controversy happened and why the cloud of concern has somewhat dissipated Why calling them "stablecoins" may be a misnomer depending on what the word "stable" connotes  His take on the growing USDC supply How the stablecoin world will affect the decentralized finance (DeFi) movement

Chris Hehmeyer has long been a big player in the U.S. futures and commodities industry, but now he's all in on crypto. On this week's episode of The Scoop, Hehmeyer explained why. Hehmeyer began its push into crypto during the 2017 bull run. Competitive pressures in its traditional futures business led to the firm's pivot earlier this year full-time into crypto. Hehmeyer said he wanted to signal to clients that the firm was ready to commit to the growing crypto market.That commitment coincided with the growth of the futures market and bespoke products. With a decade of experience in traditional futures markets, Hehmeyer Trading may be poised to capitalize on that growth. On this week's episode of The Scoop, Hehmeyer talked about where he sees that growth happening, as well as: Where he sees growth is happening in the crypto derivatives market, given years of experience in the traditional futures market How he's making markets in some of crypto's newer products, dealing in spot and hedging in derivatives How being a Chicago shop getting into the crypto space differs now from 2017 Why the decentralized finance (DeFi) space is the next frontier for firms like Hehmeyer, and how the firm is currently "dabbling" What the current DeFi "euphoria" could indicate going forward

In the episode, Justin Sun broke down how Poloniex fits into Tron's plans to capitalize on the DeFi mania. He also discussed: Why increased network effects will keep Tron from being left behind as more protocols emerge The strategy that brought in enough Tether to grow the number of stablecoins on the Tron blockchain to 3.7 billion His response to those who argue Tron is more centralized and those concerned the network has its roots in plagiarism His story behind the Poloniex deal Why memes are a key community building strategy

The age of the new day trader has come about at an uncertain time for the world and the markets, meaning downturns and upturns are fleeting. Sven Henrich, founder of NorthmanTrader, is an expert at reading the macro signs of the market. On this week's episode of The Scoop, he cautioned against continued interventions by the Federal Reserve that have kept the new generation of traders from a prolonged bear market.Henrich's firm provides macro views and technical analysis to its subscribers, and on Twitter, he's been highly critical of the Fed's actions in recent weeks. He's been raising the alarm of coming consequences due to what he sees as the central bank's refusal to take on any pain. On this week's episode, he broke down macro events in the time surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, touching on: Why continued market interventions could create stresses that investors might be overlooking in a strong tech market narrative What the growing divergence between gold and tech stocks means for economic growth Where to allocate capital as governments debase currencies and real interest rates drop Why bitcoin isn't a hedge against the monetary side when you look at its price action Why the next two months are critical for the strength of the dollar

The cost of market data is an ongoing debate in the traditional finance world, but in crypto, not so much. But during this week's episode of The Scoop, Ronan Ryan, head of IEX, the Investor's Exchange, said that's going to change.Ryan broke down the market data discussion from both the traditional and crypto viewpoints on this week's episode. He also explored: What it's like to host a podcast and what value he hopes it adds  Why crypto exchanges aren't charging for market data...yet Why traditional finance giants like Fidelity are urging regulators to take a close look at market data fees How regulators are slowly but surely coming up with parameters for rebates, fees and the selling of market data How IEX led the way on the implementation of a speed bump, faced pushback from Nasdaq and others only to eventually have their idea go mainstream

Bitcoin and gold have both climbed higher in recent weeks, but any correlation between the two is still too slight to take seriously, according to CoinMetrics. Fundstrat managing partner Tom Lee offered a different explanation on this week's episode of The Scoop — that boomers and Millenials are taking sides.Lee pointed out that it's likely an older generation piling into gold with huge cash positions. For those who missed the market rally, gold likely became a more attractive position as inflation rose.As boomers load up on gold, members of Generation X and Millenials are buying up tech stocks. As tech stocks become more attractive and cash less so with concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, the perception towards bitcoin is shifting as well, according to Lee."Because of coronavirus, I think we're seeing businesses essentially go cashless and therefore digital money is making it easier to understand the value of Bitcoin, which is essentially a settlement network that isn't denominated in dollars," he said.Research from JPMorgan seems to agree with Lee. An August 4 note from the bank's strategists said millenials seem to prefer tech stocks while older investors are selling shares and buying bonds. However, this doesn't mean the institutions are likely to jump in any time soon. As Bitcoin's value rises, Lee said that there might be more parallels to gold. On this week's episode, Lee broke down his other takes on current market conditions, including: Why the negative impact of COVID-19 on markets has waned How the virus has affected Fundstrat's so-called granny shots list, a list of easy-win stocks The relationship between traditional markets and bitcoin price volatility  The impact of election cycles on traditional and digital assets and how the winner will effect the market's movements Why he hates being called a perma-bull Listen to this week's episode on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts.

During this week's episode of The Scoop, Ehrlich broke down what he shares on those calls. Voyager conducted its initial public offering (IPO) through a reverse merger, listing on the Canadian Securities Exchange and trading in over-the-counter (OTC) markets. While an IPO calls for extensive regulatory filings and investment bank backing, a reverse merger sees private company investors acquire shares of a public but inactive corporation. In Voyager's case, it acquired the shell company UC Resources Ltd., which was publicly listed on the Canadian TSX Venture Exchange.Voyager was an early addition to the IPO party, though Mike Novogratz's Galaxy Digital had already gone public on TSX in August 2018. Now, there's growing interest in crypto IPOs, with rumblings of Coinbase and BlockFi looking to take the plunge. While crypto touts transparency, IPOs put a firm's inner workings on display, opening the door for merger and acquisition activity, according to Ehrlich."You go public and it's right there in front of everybody: what you're worth, what your stock's worth, the financials of the company, the metrics of your company. It's there and it's a currency now to go make acquisitions," he said.Ehrlich discussed the different approaches to crypto IPOs and which firms are right for which routes on This Week's episode. He also discussed: How his early days at E*Trade prepared him for the current retail mania, and how 2020 parallels the late 90s What Coinbase needs to consider before it makes moves to go public Why the current brokerage rush won't end well for most To what degree the fintech space is looking to leverage crypto and why it means widespread adoption is coming — just on a longer timeline.