Bits + Bips: Where Is the Most Wealth to Be Made in Crypto: DeFi or CeFi? - Ep. 913
Crypto’s bull run may be far from over, but the battleground is shifting.
On this week’s Bits + Bips, Bill Barhydt of Abra and Robert Leshner of Superstate join Ram Ahluwalia and Steven Ehrlich to debate:
The current state of the markets with a looming government shutdown
SWIFT’s move to build on Linea, an Ethereum layer 2
Hyperliquid vs Aster
The future of perps vs. spot
Why some DATs are starting to look like grifts
Whether DeFi billionaires will ultimately eclipse their CeFi predecessors
Plus: Binance’s and Tether’s valuation, CZ as the entrepreneur of the decade, and why the industry may be entering an era of “perpification.”
Thank you to Xapo for sponsoring this episode!
Hosts:
Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida
Steven Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained
Guests:
Bill Barhydt, Founder and CEO of Abra
Robert Leshner, Co-founder & CEO of Superstate
Links:
Steve’s story on the DAT that claimed it raised much more than it actually did
Subscribe to Bits + Bips newsletter here
Timestamps:
🎬0:00 Intro
📈 3:26 Why Bill believes the bull run is far from over
🧐 5:10 Why Ram is pushing back on market FUD
🏛️ 9:10 Will a government shutdown impact markets?
🌐 12:48 Why SWIFT building on Ethereum’s Linea layer 2 is such a big deal
🏦 22:15 Whether it even matters if banks embrace crypto
⚠️ 27:50 How one DAT may have been the “ultimate grift”
⚔️ 35:58 Inside the DEX perps wars: Hyperliquid vs Aster
👑 40:32 How valuable Binance and CZ really are to the industry
🚀 50:39 What advantages make Hyperliquid stand out in the perp battle
🤔 53:14 Why picking winners in trading isn’t so simple
🔄 57:29 Winners in stablecoin race plus why perps are better than spot
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Bill Barhydt: The Next Altcoin Season, $350K Bitcoin & The Future of DeFi Banking
Bill Barhydt, Founder and CEO of Abra, discusses the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency markets and investment strategies in this week's The Defiant Podcast. He attributes Bitcoin’s price movements to macroeconomic factors, including U.S. monetary policy and liquidity cycles, and notes a growing trend of companies holding Bitcoin on their balance sheets. Barhydt also examines Ethereum’s scalability challenges and the increasing role of DeFi in financial systems, suggesting that decentralized infrastructure could eventually become the standard for banking. Additionally, he expresses optimism about potential regulatory clarity in the U.S., particularly regarding stablecoins and digital asset classifications.
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction: Bill Barhydt & Abra
00:48 - Barhydt’s Background in Crypto & Finance
02:23 - How Abra Manages Crypto Wealth
05:45 - Bitcoin Loans & Prime Brokerage Explained
10:10 - Crypto Market Volatility & Macroeconomic Factors
13:24 - Bitcoin Dominance & Altcoin Cycles
18:11 - Solana vs. Ethereum: Market Trends & Adoption
24:29 - U.S. Crypto Regulations & Policy Predictions
36:05 - Trump’s Crypto Involvement
39:04 - Institutional Interest in Bitcoin & ETFs
50:18 - The Future of DeFi & Traditional Banking
52:14 - Barhydt’s Price Predictions
54:12 - Final Thoughts & Closing Remarks
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Abra CEO Bill Barhydt discusses what it takes to build a successful business in an exponentially growing industry
Bill Barhydt is the founder and CEO of Abra, a global platform for digital asset prime services and wealth management.
In this episode recorded live at Emergence, Barhydt and Chaparro discuss how building a successful crypto businesses requires careful navigation of complex legal and regulatory hurdles, and how this process might change under the upcoming Trump administration.
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
01:57 Building in Crypto
05:38 Abra's Pivots
09:48 Surviving FTX
14:18 Abra's Future Strategy
16:26 Regulation & Innovation
20:32 Closing Thoughts
GUEST LINKS
Bill Barhydt - https://www.linkedin.com/in/billbar/
Bill Barhydt on X - https://x.com/billbarX
Abra - https://www.abra.com/
Abra on X - https://x.com/abraglobal
This episode is brought to you by our sponsor: Polkadot
Polkadot is the blockspace ecosystem for boundless innovation. To discover more, head to polkadot.network
How to Fix Crypto Lending | Bill Barhydt, Abra
In this episode, we sit down with Bill Barhydt, CEO and founder of Abra, to discuss the company's journey through the crypto lending crash and their groundbreaking SEC approval as a registered investment advisor. Bill shares insights on the benefits of separately managed accounts (SMAs) in the crypto space and how they differ from the pooled funds model that led to the downfall of many crypto lenders. He also dives into the future of banking, which he believes will be shaped by the tokenization of real-world assets, access to DeFi, and the use of SMAs to minimize risk. The conversation also touches on the current regulatory landscape in the U.S., the potential impact of the upcoming election on the crypto industry, and Abra's vision of empowering people to be their own bank. Enjoy!
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Start your day with crypto news, analysis and data from Katherine Ross and David Canellis.
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Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news.
Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/
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Use code EMPIRE10 at checkout for 10% off your ticket.
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Timestamps
(0:00) Introduction
(1:15) Why Crypto Banks Blew Up
(14:48) SMA Model Standard
(17:38) Smart Contract Risk
(20:07) DeFi Platform Selection & Yield
(23:59) Future of Crypto Lending
(29:23) Macro Outlook
(34:13) Impact of Election on Crypto
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Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.t
Abra CEO explains the benefits of a fully regulated bank for digital assets
Full-service crypto platform Abra announced plans in September to establish the first fully regulated bank for digital assets in the U.S.
Abra Bank is expected to go live in early 2023 and it will enable U.S. citizens to deposit their digital assets in a U.S.-regulated manner similar to traditional banking.
In this episode of The Scoop, Abra Co-Founder and CEO Bill Barhydt explains the advantage crypto banks have over traditional banks and how Abra Bank will enable fully regulated, interest-bearing accounts in the U.S.
Whereas traditional banking services are available only during specific hours, Abra Bank will allow customers to interact with their assets at any point in time.
“We fundamentally believe in this mantra of ‘not your keys, not your crypto.’ The irony of that in running a bank is not lost on me, but the point is that we are 100% committed to saying, ‘Okay, if it's your stuff and you want to move it to a Trezor or Ledger on Sunday at 2 a.m., please do it right now’” said Barhydt.
In addition to giving customers full control over their assets at any point in time, the fact that Abra Bank will be a U.S. state-charted institution means that it will be able to provide interest-bearing accounts. According to Barhydt,
“Abra Boost, which is going to be our new offering for paying interest going forward, will be for accredited users, and then the goal is to make it available to retail once the bank fully launches.”
Episode 107 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Abra Co-Founder & CEO, Bill Barhydt.
Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.
This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn
About Tron
TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |
About Ledn
Ledn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.io
The Web3 Bank Of The Future | Bill Barhydt, Abra
In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by Bill Barhydt, founder of Abra, to discuss the 80-year debt cycle, Bill's crypto thesis and the future of Web3 banking. We start with macro, Q4 predictions and the "big Fed pause". We then discuss Bill's BTC and ETH investment thesis and the concept of a Web3 bank.
Tune in to the end, where Bill announces a new product that could shape the future of financial services.
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(00:00) Introduction
(01:32) The 80-Year Debt Cycle & the Big Fed Pause
(15:35) ETH vs Bitcoin Investment Thesis
(26:10) Circle Ad
(27:33) Abra's Outperformance in the Bear Market
(30:02) Ingredients for the Bank of the Future
(41:56) Announcing Abra Bank, the Bank of Web3
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Follow Bill: https://twitter.com/billbarhydt
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Resources
Abra
https://www.abra.com/
The Blocksize War book
https://amzn.to/3xf0IQw
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Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/
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Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
Abra CEO reveals how his lending firm weathered the Three Arrows Capital storm, and why other lenders failed
As head of a retail crypto platform with lending exposure to Three Arrows Capital (‘3AC’), Abra CEO Bill Barhydt has personal insight into what led similar platforms to go bust in the wake of 3AC defaulting on $3.5 billion in loans across 27 different counterparties.
In this episode of The Scoop, Barhydt reveals how Abra has been able to remain operational despite 3AC exposure, and where other lenders who incurred severe losses from 3AC went wrong.
Adequately accounting for ‘concentration risk’ for example, which Barhydt describes simply as not putting “all your eggs in one basket,” has been key to Abra’s survival. This meant Abra was able to write-off a relatively small loss resulting from the collapse of 3AC without it having an impact on their broader operations.
Yet, while Barhydt believes concentration risk is “by far the easiest thing to manage for in lending,” firms like Voyager have been forced into bankruptcy from over-exposure to 3AC, with court documents suggesting Voyager has claims of over $650 million against 3AC compared to the $1.3 billion in crypto assets the broker currently has on its platform.
When lenders take a hit from failing to adequately account for concentration risk, Barhydt believes it is usually out of complacency:
“Usually it’s a function of laziness because: hey, the rates are good, nobody’s asking any questions, markets going up and to the right… It is pure laziness. And unfortunately, there were a couple of firms that were in that situation for different reasons.”
Episode 67 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Bill Barhydt, CEO of Abra.
Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.
This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen
About Chainalysis
Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.
About IWC Schaffhausen
IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com
Digital collateral "changes everything," says Abra CEO Bill Barhydt
As the crypto market matures, owners of “pristine” digital assets will increasingly be able to use their holdings as collateral for an array of financial services, according to Bill Barhydt, CEO of Abra.
Founded in 2014, crypto wealth management platform Abra closed a $55 million Series C last September led by IGNIA and Blockchain Capital.
In this episode of The Scoop, Barhydt explains why the recent Terra blow-up has no impact on crypto’s disruptive potential, and how a new wave of crypto-backed financial products promises to unlock more utility for long-term holders.
As Barhydt explains,
“Most banks won't recognize crypto — I don't even know any that will recognize crypto when they're trying to figure out your financial status, when you're trying to qualify for a mortgage…”
Just last month, Abra announced a partnership with Propy — the company who sold a Florida home for $650,000 using an NFT — allowing crypto holders to apply for loans using their crypto as collateral.
While Abra is “not financing homes yet,” allowing long-term crypto holders to use their digital assets as collateral for down payments on property is a sign of maturity for the asset class, according to Barhydt.
If crypto can become pristine digital collateral like Barhydt imagines, he believes the implications will be felt around the world:
“The banking system knows that I have this much bitcoin, it lends me this amount of money to complete my payments, and that's debited later — that's a much more efficient way to process credit transactions in countries where there is no credit scoring system, which is most countries, so having a kind of digital collateral changes everything.”
Episode 44 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Bill Barhydt, CEO of Abra.
Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.
This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Cross River
Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com.
About Coinbase Prime
Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime.
About Cross River
Cross River is powering today’s most innovative crypto companies, with banking and payments solutions you can rely on, including fiat on/off ramp solutions. Whether you are a crypto exchange, NFT marketplace, or wallet, Cross River’s API-based, all-in-one platform enables banking as a service, ACH & wire transfers, push-to-card disbursements, real-time payments, and virtual accounts and subledgers. Request your fiat on/off ramp solution now at crossriver.com/crypto.
Ex Goldman Trader: The 80 Year Debt Cycle Will End With Wealth Redistribution
Before Bill Barhydt started Abra, he build security systems for the CIA and NASA. We talked about his time working for the government, as well as his role getting banks online through Netscape, and what is looks like to come out of a debt cycle.
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Empire is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like Empire, visit http://blockworks.co/podcasts.
Follow me on Twitter @JasonYanowitz and let me know what you thought of the show!
Singularity University Global Summit: How Do We Get Consumer Adoption? - Ep.83
This is a recording of the full "blockchain block" of the Singularity University Global Summit in late August. It features a talk by me on the power of decentralization, Abra CEO Bill Barhydt on the evolution of Bitcoin, and Atlas Holdings Group CEO Mickey Costa on distributed autonomous organizations. Following are two panels. The first is on where we are in the development of crypto and how we get consumer adoption with Bill and Galia Benartzi of Bancor. The second is on blockchain for good, with Cara LaPointe of the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation at Georgetown University and Anne Connelly of Singularity University. It was a great day for a lot of stimulating discussion on where we are in crypto's development and how we can steer it in the direction we want.
Thank you to our sponsor!
StartEngine: https://www.startengine.com/unchained
Episode links:
Singularity Global Summit: https://su.org/summits/su-global-summit/
Singularity University Global Summit 2018 program: https://su.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/SUGS_PROGRAM_2018_AUGUST-21_V4-1.pdf
Bill Barhydt: https://twitter.com/billbarhydt
Abra: https://www.abra.com
Mickey Costa: https://twitter.com/mickeycosta
Atlas: https://atlas.money
Galia Benartzi: https://www.bancor.network
Bancor: https://www.bancor.network
Cara LaPointe: http://beeckcenter.georgetown.edu/cara-lapointe/
Anne Connelly: https://su.org/about/faculty/anne-connelly/
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