The Scoop

Mike Dudas is the Managing Partner of 6MV and former CEO of The Block. The Scoop's host, Frank Chaparro, was joined live by Mike Dudas for Frank's final episode of the program. Frank and Mike discuss The Block's history, the evolution of the crypto space over the years, and how payments and stablecoins have emerged as one of crypto's killer use cases. OUTLINE 00:00 - Introduction 02:11 – Early Days of The Block 03:24 – The Tether Revelation 05:24 – Stablecoin Success 07:44 – Adoption Curve in Payments 11:33 – Global Stablecoin Impact 14:47 – Investment Opportunities 19:48 – Crypto vs. Fintech 25:27 – Meme Coins Debate 31:52 – Bonk and Pump Strategies 35:27 – Breaking Into the Mainstream 40:54 – Conviction in Solana 44:18 – Crypto Culture and Sentiment 47:51 – Conclusion GUEST LINKS Mike Dudas on X: https://x.com/mdudashttps://x.com/mdudas ⁠ Are you hiring in crypto? Use Campus to quickly find your best candidates with our challenging Crypto Assessment Test. Faster hiring, stronger teams. Sign up for a trial today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠theblock.co/campus⁠⁠⁠⁠

David Bailey is the CEO of Bitcoin Inc. The Scoop's host, Frank Chaparro, was joined live by David Bailey to discuss the growing adoption of Bitcoin by nation-states and institutions, with Bitcoin heading towards becoming a reserve asset and political force. They also discuss Michael Saylor's Microstrategy, and Bitcoin's separation from the broader crypto market. OUTLINE 00:00 - President Trump prelude 04:00 - Sponsor break 05:01 - Bitcoin losing its identity? 10:26 - International adoption 15:17 - Bitcoin as a matter of national security 18:39 - Market trends 21:33 - Risks of Microstrategy 26:28 - Microstrategy’s appeal 30:47 - Bitcoin’s maturity and seeking yield 31:51 - Crypto market troubles 34:25 - Conclusion GUEST LINKS David Bailey on X: ⁠https://x.com/DavidFBailey BTC Inc: https://b.tc/ Are you hiring in crypto? Use Campus to quickly find your best candidates with our challenging Crypto Assessment Test. Faster hiring, stronger teams. Sign up for a trial today: ⁠⁠⁠theblock.co/campus⁠⁠⁠ This episode is brought to your by our sponsors: Fidelity Explore Fidelity crypto careers today. Go to ⁠⁠⁠crypto.FidelityCareers.com⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

Barry Silbert is the Founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group and Yuma. The Scoop's host, Frank Chaparro, was joined live by Barry Silbert to discuss his journey through the evolution of the crypto market, how his experience with the 2008 financial crisis shaped his approach to investing, and why he thinks Bittensor may be the next Bitcoin. OUTLINE 00:00 - Introduction 01:00 - Sponsor Break 02:00 - Barry Silbert’s Crypto Journey 06:43 - Bitcoin’s Evolving Narrative 09:25 - Crypto’s Credit Crisis 15:24 - Bitcoin’s Dampening Volatility 18:56 - How Bittensor Mirrors Bitcoin’s Early Days 20:56 - Yuma’s Vision and Playbook 26:10 - Barry’s Priorities at Yuma 30:14 - What’s Overrated in Crypto & Memes 33:50 - Final Thoughts GUEST LINKS Barry Silbert on X: https://x.com/barrysilbert Yuma Group on X: ⁠⁠https://x.com/YumaGroup⁠ Digital Currency Group on X: ⁠https://x.com/DCGco⁠ Are you hiring in crypto? Use Campus to quickly find your best candidates with our challenging Crypto Assessment Test. Faster hiring, stronger teams. Sign up for a trial today: ⁠⁠theblock.co/campus⁠⁠ This episode is brought to your by our sponsors: Fidelity Explore Fidelity crypto careers today. Go to ⁠⁠crypto.FidelityCareers.com⁠⁠ to learn more.

Sebastian Bea is the President of Coinbase Asset Management. The Scoop's host, Frank Chaparro, was joined by Bea to discuss how Bitcoin's recent market behavior is driving increased institutional interest and portfolio integration, signaling a potential shift in Bitcoin's role from a high-volatility tech proxy to a store of value like gold. Bea and Chaparro also touched on a potential move by the US government to revalue gold vs the US Dollar, and its potential impact on Bitcoin. OUTLINE 00:00 - Introduction 01:00 - Big Changes for Bitcoin 06:45 - Frameworks for Institutional Portfolios 09:48 - Bitcoins as Digital Gold 13:54 - Getting On Board With Bitcoin 22:04 - Regulatory Designation’s Market Impact 25:20 - Bitcoin’s Shift From NASDAQ to Gold 27:30 - US Government’s Revaluation of Gold? 34:22 - Leaving Bitcoin Dominance Behind 36:33 - Bitcoin Graduating As An Asset Class 38:59 - Capitalizing on Bitcoin’s momentum 41:49 - Bitcoin as a Savings Instrument 44:31 - Conclusion GUEST LINKS Sebastian Bea on X: https://x.com/sebastianbea Coinbase Asset Management on X: ⁠https://x.com/CoinbaseAM Are you hiring in crypto? Use Campus to quickly find your best candidates with our challenging Crypto Assessment Test. Faster hiring, stronger teams. Sign up for a trial today: ⁠theblock.co/campus⁠ This episode is brought to your by our sponsors: Fidelity Explore Fidelity crypto careers today. Go to ⁠crypto.FidelityCareers.com⁠ to learn more.

Austin Federa is a co-founder of DoubleZero. The Scoop's host, Frank Chaparro, was joined by Federa to discuss how the current public internet infrastructure bottlenecks blockchain performance, and how DoubleZero looks to address this by leveraging underutilized fiber optic cables to create a dedicated global network to support higher performance. OUTLINE 00:00 - Introduction 01:02 - Sponsor break 02:03 - DoubleZero’s core thesis 05:42 - The problem with the public internet infrastructure 10:13 - Understanding the current infrastructure 16:36 - DoubleZero’s impact 19:59 - Speed is the name of the game 24:18 - Timeframes for rebuilding infrastructure 31:11 - How DoubleZero finds and utilizes infrastructure 35:35 - Tokenization 36:55 - Technical difficulties 37:20 - This isn’t your grandfather’s internet 39:20 - Hiring talent and being a founder 40:21 - Hiring Talent for a New Layer of the Internet 44:37 - Conclusion GUEST LINKS Austin Federa on X: https://x.com/Austin_Federa DoubleZero on X: https://x.com/doublezero Are you hiring in crypto? Use Campus to quickly find your best candidates with our challenging Crypto Assessment Test. Faster hiring, stronger teams. Sign up for a trial today: theblock.co/campus This episode is brought to your by our sponsors: Fidelity Explore Fidelity crypto careers today. Go to crypto.FidelityCareers.com to learn more.

John Wu is the President of Ava Labs. The Scoop's host, Frank Chaparro, was joined by Wu to discuss Avalanche’s growing institutional appeal, the rise of blockchain gaming, and how his background in traditional finance shaped his approach to building in crypto. OUTLINE 00:00 - Introduction 00:51 - Sponsor break 02:11 - John Wu’s tradfi background 06:36 - Taking crypto seriously 09:27 - Ava Labs’ focus 11:11 - The gaming landscape 18:38 - Ava Labs x financial markets 24:30 - Challenges in building in Tradfi 26:11 - How enterprises select blockchains 29:03 - Project Guardian 31:52 - Looking ahead GUEST LINKS John Wu on X: https://x.com/John1wu Ava Labs on X: https://x.com/AvaLabs Ava Labs: https://www.avalabs.org/ Are you hiring in crypto? Use Campus to quickly find your best candidates with our challenging Crypto Assessment Test. Faster hiring, stronger teams. Sign up for a trial today: theblock.co/campus This episode is brought to your by our sponsors: Fidelity Explore Fidelity crypto careers today. Go to crypto.FidelityCareers.com to learn more.

Guilhem Chaumont is the Co-Founder and CEO of Flowdesk. The Scoop's host, Frank Chaparro, joined Chaumont at the Flowdesk office in Paris to discuss market volatility driven by tariffs, crypto’s convergence with traditional finance, and the evolving role of digital assets in institutional portfolios. OUTLINE 00:00 – Introduction 00:43 – Sponsor break 01:43 – Flowdesk 03:14 – Tariffs and Market Turbulence 04:58 – Market Uncertainty and Institutional Hesitation 08:20 – Volatility and Weekend Selloffs 12:02 – Amplified Declines in Altcoins 16:28 – Why This Crash Is Different from FTX 21:12 – Bridging Traditional Finance and Tokenization 26:07 – The Effect of AI 30:05 – Looking ahead and Conclusion GUEST LINKS Guilhem Chaumont: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guilhem-chaumont-215091a5/ Flowdesk on X: https://x.com/flowdesk_co Are you hiring in crypto? Use Campus to quickly find your best candidates with our challenging Crypto Assessment Test. Faster hiring, stronger teams. Sign up for a trial today: theblock.co/campus This episode is brought to your by our sponsors: Fidelity Explore Fidelity crypto careers today. Go to crypto.FidelityCareers.com to learn more.

Nick Matthew is an investor with Standard Crypto. In this episode, Matthew joins The Scoop to discuss the current state of the crypto market, noting that investment opportunities still exist despite macro downturns. Matthew also contrasts the rise of stablecoins with memecoins, and the potential for crypto to consolidate and shift its evolution towards building 'Fintech 2.0' rather than web3. OUTLINE 00:00 – Introduction 01:12 – Sponsor break 03:04 – Coping with market downturnsl 03:25 – The Fundraising Freeze 05:02 – Macro in the driver seat 09:36 – Memecoin extinction or ressurection 15:59 – Who’s making money in crypto 17:45 – Fintech 2.0 or Web3 22:04 – Investing in stablecoins 25:26 – Investing in teams 28:30 – The next billion users 31:40 – Looking ahead and conclusion GUEST LINKS Nick Matthew on X: https://x.com/nickjmatt Standard Crypto on X: https://x.com/standardcrypto Are you hiring in crypto? Use Campus to quickly find your best candidates with our challenging Crypto Assessment Test. Faster hiring, stronger teams. Sign up for a trial today: theblock.co/campus This episode is brought to your by our sponsors: Fidelity Explore Fidelity crypto careers today. Go to crypto.FidelityCareers.com to learn more. Uranium.io Investing in uranium is now widely accessible. Visit uranium.io to learn more.

Arthur Breitman is the Co-Founder of Tezos. In this episode, Breitman joins The Scoop to discuss the launch of uranium.io, a new marketplace for trading uranium powered by blockchain technology that looks to make investing in uranium more accessible to retail investors. The conversation also touched on geopolitical and technological tailwinds that could drive greater demand for nuclear energy. OUTLINE 00:00 Introduction 00:49 Sponsor break 02:41 How uranium markets work today 05:36 The limitations of uranium ETFs and futures 07:10 Tokenization and RWA evolution 15:56 Why start with uranium 18:33 Why uranium is red hot right now 23:30 Lessons from entering the uranium market 28:01 Beyond commodities 31:13 Conclusion GUEST LINKS Arthur Breitman on X: https://x.com/ArthurB Uranium.io on X: https://x.com/uranium_io Are you hiring in crypto? Use Campus to quickly find your best candidates with our challenging Crypto Assessment Test. Faster hiring, stronger teams. Sign up for a trial today: theblock.co/campus This episode is brought to your by our sponsors: Fidelity Explore Fidelity crypto careers today. Go to crypto.FidelityCareers.com to learn more. Uranium.io Investing in uranium is now widely accessible. Visit uranium.io to learn more.

Kyle Samani is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Multicoin Capital. In this episode, Samani discusses the current state of the crypto market and venture capital funding in the industry. Samani highlights areas which he believes are key investment opportunities, and lays out why he sees a brighter future for Solana in on-chain finance over Ethereum. OUTLINE 00:00 Introduction 00:32 Sponsor Break 02:24 VC Funding Downtrend 08:04 Clarifying Crypto's Usecases 13:46 New Era of Crypto Regulation 17:06 Regulatory Clarity = Increased Investment? 22:49 Samani's Revised Solana Thesis 25:28 Solana vs. Ethereum 32:17 Closing Thoughts & Predictions GUEST LINKS Kyle Samani on X: https://x.com/KyleSamani Multicoin capital on X: https://x.com/multicoincap Are you hiring in crypto? Use Campus to quickly find your best candidates with our challenging Crypto Assessment Test. Faster hiring, stronger teams. Sign up for a trial today: theblock.co/campus This episode is brought to your by our sponsors: Fidelity Explore Fidelity crypto careers today. Go to crypto.FidelityCareers.com to learn more. Uranium.io Investing in uranium is now widely accessible. Visit uranium.io to learn more.

Michael Rihani is the director of products at Coinbase and one of the chief architects behind Coinbase's new bitcoin-backed loan product for everyday consumers. In this episode, Rihani explains how Coinbase's new loan product is designed to make DeFi feel 'magical,' and how this fits into Coinbase's broader strategy of bringing the power of blockchain technology to a global audience. OUTLINE 00:00 Introduction 00:57 Sponsor Shoutouts 03:11 Coinbase's New Loan Product 07:50 The "DeFi Mullet" 09:21 Morpho Integration 11:52 CeFi+DeFi Synergy 17:00 Coinbase's Product Roadmap 21:00 Making DeFi "Magical" 23:12 DeFi Adoption Roadblocks 25:54 The Future of DeFi Lending GUEST LINKS Michael Rihani on X: https://www.x.com/MichaelRihani Coinbase's crypto-backed loans: https://www.coinbase.com/loans Are you hiring in crypto? Use Campus to quickly find your best candidates with our challenging Crypto Assessment Test. Faster hiring, stronger teams. Sign up for a trial today: theblock.co/campus This episode is brought to your by our sponsors: Fidelity Explore Fidelity crypto careers today. Go to crypto.FidelityCareers.com to learn more. Uranium.io Investing in uranium is now widely accessible. Visit uranium.io to learn more.

In this episode, host Frank Chaparro is joined by M13 General Partner Latif Peracha and M13 Principal Mark Grace. The conversation explores the risks and opportunities presented by crypto's volatile liquid tokens, as well as the need for crypto founders to balance short-term liquidity with long-term potential when it comes to bootstrapping. OUTLINE 00:00 Introduction 01:17 Sponsor Shoutouts 03:40 Overview of M13 08:07 Generalist Crypto VCs 10:35 IPOs vs. ICOs 12:42 Token Volatility 18:32 Taking Profit 22:30 Opportunities in CeFi vs. DeFi 28:20 Regulatory Clarity & Innovation 31:17 Predictions & Closing Thoughts GUEST LINKS M13 - https://www.m13.co/ M13 on X - https://x.com/M13Company Latif Peracha on X: https://x.com/latifperacha Mark Grace on X: https://x.com/markwgrace This episode is brought to your by our sponsors: Fidelity - Explore Fidelity crypto careers today. Go to crypto.FidelityCareers.com to learn more. Uranium.io - Investing in uranium is now widely accessible. Visit uranium.io to learn more.

The Scoop's host, Frank Chaparro, was joined by The Digital Chamber President Cody Carbone. In this episode, Chaparro and Carbone discussed the current U.S. policy landscape for the crypto industry under the new Trump administration. With growing bipartisan support and regulatory clarity, the conversation highlights how crypto is becoming a mainstream political issue with significant economic and electoral implications. OUTLINE 00:00 Intro 01:12 Sponsor break 03:05 The tone has shifted 05:37 IRS DeFi rule nullified 09:25 Stablecoin legislation 12:35 Fine-tuning crypto policy 15:31 Crypto’s growing political influence 18:01 How Trump changed the crypto debate 24:14 The next six months 28:56 Conclusion GUEST LINKS Cody Carbone - https://www.linkedin.com/in/codycarbone/ Cody Carbone on X - https://x.com/CodyCarboneDC The Digital Chamber - https://digitalchamber.org/ The Digital Chamber on X - https://x.com/DigitalChamber

The Scoop's host, Frank Chaparro, was joined by Paris Blockchain Week Chairman Michael Amar. In this episode, Chaparro and Amar discussed the origin and development of Paris Blockchain Week. Amar shared anecdotes of the various challenges and milestones reached over the years, and gave tips on curating a top-tier crypto conference. OUTLINE 00:00 - Introduction 00:56 - Sponsor break 02:49 - Michael Amar’s journey into crypto 06:55 - The development of Paris Blockchain Week 08:57 - Capturing the Zeitgeist each year 11:11 - Crypto conference oversaturation 13:40 - The Biggest Challenges in Running a Crypto Event 18:28 - The European crypto landscape 20:35 - Expectations for 2025 22:20 - Emerging sectors and trends 25:33 - Advice for founders entering the crypto space 30:38 - Conclusion GUEST LINKS Michael Amar - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amarmic/ Michael Amar on X - https://x.com/amarmic Paris Blockchain Week - https://www.parisblockchainweek.com/ Paris Blockchain Week on X - https://x.com/Parisblockweek

The Scoop's host, Frank Chaparro, was joined by Yellow Card Financial CTO and Co-Founder Justin Poiroux. In this episode, Chaparro and Poiroux discussed the rapid adoption of stablecoins in emerging markets, particularly in Africa. They explore how stablecoins are solving cross-border payment issues, and how Yellow Card is looking to bridging the gap between the developing world and the global financial system. OUTLINE 00:00 - Introduction 00:58 - Sponsor break 03:44 - Understanding Yellow Card 05:56 - Challenges of building in Africa 08:04 - How Yellow Card addresses cross-border payments 15:53 - Yellow Card’s origins 20:02 - Early challenges 25:03 - Educating users & building trust in emerging markets 28:26 - Looking ahead 34:40 - Conclusion GUEST LINKS Justin Poiroux - https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinpoiroux/ Yellow Card Financial - https://yellowcard.io/ Yellow Card Financial on X - https://x.com/yellowcard_app

The Scoop's host, Frank Chaparro, was joined by Ryze Labs Founder and Managing Partner Matthew Graham. In this episode, Chaparro and Graham discussed the intersection of the crypto market, AI, and robotics, with Graham highlighting several key technological advancements that could have a profound impact on how the markets function and alter humanity's role in them. OUTLINE 00:00 Introduction and market overview 1:30 AI x Crypto: current trends 08:16 The Turing test 12:19 The future of AI companions 18:33 The human edge in an AI world 19:54 The AI economy 24:46 Robotics 30:33 Investigating and investing in hardware 39:36 Looking ahead and conclusion GUEST LINKS Matthew Graham - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattysino/ Matthew Graham on X - https://x.com/mattyryze Ryze Labs - https://x.com/RyzeLabs Ryze Labs on X - https://www.ryzelabs.io/en/home

The Scoop's host, Frank Chaparro, was joined by Arca CIO Jeff Dorman. In this episode, Chaparro and Dorman discussed the disconnect between market sentiment and the developments in the crypto space. Dorman goes over the actual use cases of the crypto ecosystem and how they are being drowned out by memecoins and scandals, highlighting that big outside players are beginning to get on board. OUTLINE 00:00 Introduction 01:11 Sponsor break 02:04 Memes taking the spotlight 06:40 Crypto’s adolescent stage 11:29 Common misconceptions about crypto 18:50 Assessing value in the crypto space 23:00 Are we still early? 29:37 The future of crypto 34:50 Where are the liquid funds? 41:30 Tradfi will eventually come 45:04 Conclusion GUEST LINKS Jeff Dorman - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-dorman-cfa-61063129 Jeff Dorman on X - https://x.com/jdorman81 Arca - https://x.com/arca Arca on X - https://www.ar.ca/

The Scoop's host, Frank Chaparro, was joined by August Co-Founder and CEO Aya Kantorovich. In this episode, Chaparro and Kantorovich went over the state of crypto capital markets, the resilience of DeFi during market downturns, and how banks are looking to get started in DeFi. OUTLINE 00:00 Introduction 01:08 From banking to crypto 02:30 Why institutions avoid DeFi 05:33 How institutions impact volatility 10:50 Crypto as the weekend market 17:00 Bitcoin as a reserve asset 20:01 Cambrian explosion of memecoins 26:28 Coinbase earnings 31:42 The resiliency of deFi 37:49 AI Agents 42:00 Conclusion GUEST LINKS Aya Kantorovich - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayakantorovich/ Aya Kantorovich on X - https://x.com/aya_kantor August - https://www.augustdigital.io/ August on X - https://x.com/august_digital

The Scoop's host, Frank Chaparro, was joined by Lightspark Co-Founder and CEO David Marcus. In this episode, Chaparro and Marcus discuss the vision and technology behind scaling Bitcoin as a global payment network. Marcus explained how new developments, including stablecoins on Bitcoin, could transform worldwide financial systems and directly lead to an increase of GDP. OUTLINE 00:00 Introduction 01:52 Lightspark's mission and Bitcoin's Role 04:39 Challenges in scaling Bitcoin 09:44 Lightspark's evolution 16:10 Stablecoins x Bitcoin 21:27 Stablecoin improvements over traditional payments 27:20 Past regulatory challenges 30:23 Changing regulatory climate 35:19 Future outlook 41:37 Conclusion GUEST LINKS David Marcus - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmarcus/ David Marcus on X - https://x.com/davidmarcus Lightspark - https://www.lightspark.com/ Lightspark on X - https://x.com/Lightspark

The Scoop's host, Frank Chaparro, was joined by SonarX Founder Patrick Kim, SonarX Global Head of BD Jesse Bornstein, and Senior Web 3 Specialist at AWS, Everton Fraga. In this episode, Chaparro, Bornstein, Fraga and Kim discussed the challenges of managing and consuming the exponential growth of blockchain data across multiple chains. Patrick, Jesse, and Everton explained how the proliferation of blockchains has led to a big data problem with petabytes of data that is difficult for enterprises to fully utilize, and what solutions there are to these issues. OUTLINE 00:00 Introduction 03:02 The Challenge of Blockchain Data Management 08:47 Multi-Chain Data Complexity and Solutions 14:13 Standardizing and Simplifying Blockchain Data 19:57 Institutional Challenges 23:13 Stablecoins, RWAs, and Data Demands 28:25 Public Blockchain Data and Practical Use Cases 32:23 Supporting Multiple Blockchains 35:11 AI's Role in Blockchain Data Integration 38:16 Advice for Developers and Businesses 43:23 Conclusion GUEST LINKS Jesse Bornstein - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesse-bornstein-10a774a/ Everton Fraga - https://www.linkedin.com/in/evertonfraga/ Patrick Kim - https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickkim/ SonarX - https://www.sonarx.com/ SonarX on X - https://x.com/SonarX_HQ AWS - https://aws.amazon.com/