Bits + Bips: Why a US Strategic Crypto Reserve Doesn’t Even Make Sense - Ep. 794
A strategic crypto reserve for the U.S. economy? That’s Trump’s latest proposal (or directive?)—and the reaction from the industry has been… let’s just say, mixed. Would it even work? And does it create more problems than it solves?
Meanwhile, the White House is hosting a crypto roundtable—but not everyone is convinced it’s going to be productive. Who will be in the room, what will actually be discussed, and will it help or hurt the industry?
On this episode of Bits + Bips, hosts James Seyffart and Noelle Acheson together with guests Steve Hou and Steven Ehrlich break it all down. Will tariffs and macro factors keep weighing on crypto? What’s driving the explosion in new ETFs? And what happens if banks start issuing their own stablecoins?
Plus: What could be the real next catalyst for the crypto market.
Show highlights:
6:13 - Whether a strategic crypto reserve makes sense for the U.S.
14:50 - How this reserve could actually give people outside of crypto second thoughts
24:37 - What the Crypto Roundtable will be about and whether it’s what the industry wanted
27:32 - Whether David Sacks is directing the reserve allocations so as to personally benefit
32:07 - Why Noelle was surprised after the SEC stated memecoins are not securities
42:22 - James’ insights into the avalanche of altcoin ETFs
47:10 - The significance of BlackRock adding IBIT to its model portfolio
54:02 - How macro news drove risk assets to such a selloff on Monday
58:12 - Why the 10YT is such a significant chart to watch
1:10:21 - Whether the war in Ukraine is coming to an end
1:16:20 - What the next catalyst for crypto is
1:19:07 - Whether stablecoins are a good business for banks
Thank you to our sponsors!
RockWallet
Bitwise
Hosts:
James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence
Noelle Acheson, Author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” Newsletter
Guests:
Steve Hou, Quantitative Researcher at Bloomberg LP
Steven Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained
Links
Crypto reserve:
Unchained: Why Trump May Have Chosen This Week to Announce a Strategic Crypto Reserve
Bloomberg: Bitcoin Reserve Is Likely to Come First From States, Senator Lummis Says
Crypto roundtable:
CoinDesk: Trump to Host First Crypto Roundtable at White House Next Week
Crypto Czar David Sacks says he sold crypto holdings before administration began
Memecoins:
SEC: Staff Statement on Meme Coins
ETFs:
SOL: CME Group to launch Solana futures on March 17 as ETF momentum builds
BlackRock Adds Its Bitcoin ETF to Model Portfolio for First Time
Macro:
Trump’s tariff post on Truth Social
Atlanta’s negative 2.8% GDP projection
CNBC: 10-year Treasury yield falls to lowest since December on latest signs of slowing economy
Reuters:
Inflation, growth may be in conflict but Fed seen restarting cuts in June
US weekly jobless claims post largest gain in five months; weather blamed
Stablecoins:
CoinDesk: Bank of America CEO Says Bank Will Likely Launch Its Own Stablecoin
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With Execs Leaving and Market Share Declining, Can Binance Survive? - Ep. 544
In the wake of FTX’s collapse, Binance – already the biggest exchange in the world by a large margin – has continued to grow. But a series of challenges, including billions of dollars worth of customer outflows, the winding down of its stablecoin BUSD and the SEC and CFTC lawsuits related to its U.S. operations have challenged its market dominance. Steven Ehrlich, director of research at Forbes Crypto, joins the show to discuss how Binance has been dealing with a deluge of bad news and how it plans to forge a path forward.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show highlights:
how the collapse of FTX impacted Binance and its market dominance
how Binance has been losing market share over the past few months
why Steven believes that Binance.US is in a "very tenuous situation"
whether Binance is feeling stronger now that the SEC experienced a partial loss in the Ripple case
the consequences of consumers losing trust in Binance, according to Steven
the speculation around the recently filed sealed motion filed by the SEC
whether the theory that Binance is the next FTX has some merits
how Binance.US needs to recuperate some market volume to increase its revenue
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com
Arbitrum Foundation
Thales DAO
Toku
Guest
Steven Ehrlich, director of research at Forbes Crypto
Links
WSJ:
Binance, the Biggest Player in Crypto, Is Facing Legal Risks Over Russia
More Binance Executives Leave, Including Some Overseeing Russia
How the Binance CEO Operates: Weigh the Risk, Calculate the Reward
What Is Happening With Binance?
Binance Lays Off Over 1,000 Employees
Some Binance.US Crypto Trading Was a Mirage, the SEC Alleges
Binance.US Legal, Risk Executives Leave the Crypto Exchange
Reuters:
Crypto exchange Binance hit by executive exodus
Paxos receives U.S. SEC notice over Binance's stablecoin 'BUSD'
Binance CEO's trading firm received $11 billion via client deposit company, SEC says
The Block:
Binance.US can't grow until CZ sells stake, fixes regulatory issues: sources
Binance to end support for BUSD, encourages conversion to FDUSD
Mastercard, Binance end crypto card partnership in four countries
Binance withdraws crypto license application in Germany
CoinDesk: SEC's Secret Binance Court Filing Has Observers Bracing for Bad News
John Reed Stark’s post on X
CFTC: CFTC Charges Binance and Its Founder, Changpeng Zhao, with Willful Evasion of Federal Law and Operating an Illegal Digital Asset Derivatives Exchange
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Unconfirmed: Why the FTX.US/LedgerX Deal Indicates Crypto M&A Might Start Booming - Ep.269
Steven Ehrlich, director of research for digital assets at Forbes, discusses the FTX.US-LedgerX merger, what to expect from FTX going forward, DeFi regulation, and more. Show highlights:
why the FTX.US acquisition of derivatives platform LedgerX is significant
how FTX.US stacks up against other US cryptocurrency exchanges
who should use crypto derivative products
how regulators might handle FTX.US and crypto derivative ETFs
what to expect from FTX going forward
how long FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried spends talking to regulators every day
why Steven thinks crypto mergers and acquisitions will be a trend going forward
what Steven learned from his conversations with Polygon and Hermez
how Fereshteh Forough, a woman living in Afghanistan, is using crypto to help teach women to build dapps, smart contracts, and use crypto
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021
Polymarket: https://polymarket.com
Sorare: https://sorare.com
Episode Links
Steven Ehrlich
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenehrlich/?sh=fb976542ce44
https://twitter.com/Steven_Ehrlich
https://www.forbes.com/newsletters/forbescryptoassetadvisor/?sh=55678b72dec8
FTX.US Merger
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenehrlich/2021/08/31/us-bitcoin-exchange-backed-by-billionaire-sam-bankman-fried-moves-into-crypto-derivatives/
M&A Trend
https://www.forbes.com/newsletters/forbescryptoassetadvisor/2021/08/31/exploring-voyagers-900-million-token-merger/?sh=29f4f16851b4
Interview with Sam Bankman-Fried
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenehrlich/2021/08/30/billionaire-sam-bankman-fried-pushes-back-against-critics-of-crypto-derivatives/?sh=6428141b5cbd
Polygon-Hermez Deal
https://www.coindesk.com/polygon-merges-with-hermez-network-in-250m-deal
Fereshteh Forough Coverage
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenehrlich/2021/08/17/taliban-resurgence-could-threaten-afghan-school-teaching-women-to-code-and-build-ethereum-apps
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