Crypto Options Unplugged

Stephane Ouellette, CEO of FRNT Financial — institutional crypto lender and adviser — returns to unpack 2025’s underwhelming bull run. He talks about the DAT/SPAC wave draining capital from real operators. Conversation covers industry concentration, consolidation opportunities, tokenized equities and credit, stablecoins as institutional rails, and why institutional lending and payments modernization matter next.

Eamonn Gashier, founder of Block Scholes and ex‑TradFi trader, built options vol analytics and on‑chain oracles. They discuss DEXs surging volumes, oracles delivering real‑world data for settlement, AI execution bots paying micro‑fees, and why BTC showed resilience amid Middle East tensions. Conversation also covers macro forces, central bank dilemmas, and selective conviction in altcoins.

In this episode, Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise Asset Management, joins Imran Lakha and David Brickell (FRNT) to map out the institutional landscape of 2026. Hougan breaks down why he believes a $1,000,000 Bitcoin price is a matter of simple math, provided it captures just 17% of an expanding global store-of-value market.We also dive into the "Leapfrog" theory of Digital Asset Treasuries, the psychological impact of "Quantum FUD" on institutional committees, and why AI agents are the secret catalyst for future blockchain volume. Finally, Matt explains the stakes of the Clarity Act and why turning regulatory "sand into cement" is the final step for trillions in sidelined capital.We also announce the lucky winners of out 100 USDC giveaway. Like and subscribe for more.Deribit FZE does not accept UAE retail clients for derivatives and does not accept US clients and clients from restricted countries.

Maxime Seiler, co-founder of STS Digital and ex-Credit Suisse volatility trader, brings market-making and options expertise. He explains why crypto stayed resilient as macro headlines bite. They cover current positioning in options, short-lived vol spikes and mean reversion, skew and gamma dynamics, and tactical setups like put selling to fund calls.

Jason Urban, Co-Head of Digital Assets at Galaxy Digital and former TradFi equity derivatives pro, shares market-readiness and trading chops. He discusses crypto resilience amid geopolitical shocks. He explores Solana micropayments, ETH tokenized real-world assets, TradFi convergence with AI, and how altcoins will bifurcate into real-economics winners versus hype.

Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered's Global Head of Digital Assets Research, shares institutional macro views on Bitcoin, stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, and crypto adoption. He discusses short-term BTC downside risk and a multi-year rebound, a $2T stablecoin future, tokenized RWAs overtaking stables, miners pivoting to AI compute, and portfolio-driven skyward targets for major coins.

This week Imran and David host guest Sid Powell (Maple Finance co-Founder) to discuss the disconnect between crypto prices and the growth in activity and positive trajectory in the space regarding infrastructure build and regulatory clarity. Topics discussed include: Borrowing demand shifted from basis trade compression to reserve/OTC/yield strategies; inflows post-crash ($150M stablecoins) show yield hunger. TradFi interest surges (tokenized private credit/RWAs); quantum threat dampens retail/RIA adoption but solvable long-term. Outlook: constructive medium-term (Fed dovish shift + AI capex rationalization likely), but short-term chop/de-risk probable. Tokenization + institutional flows key catalysts; ETH benefits from credit/DeFi dominance.Deribit FZE does not accept UAE retail clients or US clients, and clients from other restricted countries.

Crypto finally broke lower last week, smashing through long-term supports triggering cascading liquidations, massive unwinds, and multi-year extreme put skew/vol explosion (front-end puts hit -30 vol skew, implieds ~100). Panic pricing peaked, and spot had sharp retrace (BTC back ~67K range) suggests worst may be over — potential retest of 74K as resistance before real bottom forms (without vol blowout). Guest Praneeth Srikanti (Ethereal Ventures partner) joins David for an indepth interview covering : VC crypto still active (pre-seed/seed focus), thesis shifting to risk/trust infrastructure (neutral, non-aligned layers for AI-era compute/power/settlements), tokenomics converging equity/token views, AI as crypto accelerator (provenance, deterministic agents, yield sources). Like and subscribe for more. Deribit FZE does not accept UAE retail clients or US clients, and clients from other restricted countries.

Crypto & precious metals crack lower over the weekend as markets digest Kevin Warsh's nomination as Fed Chair (replacing Powell in May) — seen as hawkish on balance sheet reduction (smaller Fed footprint, less QE dependency, favoring productive credit over asset inflation), sparking knee-jerk risk-off despite his dovish lean on rates. Put skew explodes (front-end protection demand surges, calls dumped), vol spikes, signaling near-term chop/volatility ahead of major supports (BTC ~74K line in sand, ETH ~2,200). Guest Eric Saraniecki (Canton Network co-founder, Digital Asset) joins David discussing Canton built for institutional composability & privacy, targeting high-utility collateral (Treasuries, cash legs, FX), cash-on-ledger velocity, RWAs at scale.Deribit FZE does not accept UAE retail clients or US clients, and clients from other restricted countries.

Gold Parabolic, Crypto Still Stuck – Why The Disconnect?Text: Crypto remains frustratingly range-bound (85–95K zone) despite gold/silver parabolic moves and macro liquidity tailwinds. Geopolitical noise easing (Greenland tariffs looking like classic Trump deal-making fade), but US government shutdown risk looms this weekend — could delay key crypto bills. BTC/ETH testing major supports (98K Fib + short-term holder cost basis provided overhang above), put skew elevated (protection demand strong), suggesting lows may not be in yet. Guest Adam Brice (ex-precious metals broker, now Hivemind Capital trader) joins Imran & Dave: discusses gold/silver decoupling, quantum risk (real but 5–10+ years out), generational shift (millennials value digital/non-sovereign assets), and why the alt narrative needs fresh momentum.Deribit FZE does not accept UAE retail clients or US clients, and clients from other restricted countries.