Stocks, bonds and cash are all moving onto digital rails, and Michael lays out why that faster money needs Bitcoin as its sponge. Plus the $86M Ledger reseller attack, and why one point of failure can knock you out of the game. BOOK A CONSULTATION Holding Bitcoin for decades raises two questions: who protects it, and how it reaches your family. Onramp answers both. Three institutions protect it, and no single one can lose it, move it, or use it. Inheritance built in. Insured through Lloyd's of London. Speak with our team to see if it fits. 👉 https://go.onrampbitcoin.com/consult-fs-pod GET ON THE LIST • Onramp: our research, event invites, and the week's Bitcoin news in one free email. https://go.onrampbitcoin.com/research-fs-pod • Early Riders Insights: the best content in the ecosystem, weekly. https://www.earlyriders.com/research ABOUT THIS EPISODE A reseller in Southeast Asia sold tampered Ledger devices, and roughly $86 million, mostly Bitcoin, was drained before Ledger cut the reseller off. Michael, Liam and Brian on why that is a supply chain lesson rather than the death of self-custody, and why proof of reserves does not fix the real problem. From there: OpenAI's math results and Justin Drake's call for "bunker mode," with Coinbase's Yehuda Lindell on why ECDSA still holds; REA, the GitHub repo that reverse engineers any app; and Jev and the shrinking AI moat. Then the digital asset roundup. Citrini Research maps tokenization, AI agents and TradFi converging, and Michael takes it to Bitcoin: tokenizing everything speeds money up without fixing inflation, which leaves Bitcoin as the liquidity sponge. Plus China's national blockchain, Standard Chartered custody in Singapore, Samsung Wallet stablecoins, Meanwhile's $37.5 million raise, Spiko's $90 million, Breez's 14x jump in agent-driven inquiries, and Kyle Harrison on the death of venture capital. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Back after a week off: a world of single points of failure 03:37 - Why proof of reserves is not the fix 05:37 - Single point of failure of the week: Ledger's reseller attack 09:49 - Self-custody isn't dead, but it has to get easier 14:05 - The third way: no single point of failure 18:08 - Attackers inside custodians, and assuming everyone is fallible 23:19 - OpenAI's math leap and Justin Drake's "bunker mode" 29:12 - REA reverse engineers anything: is Airbnb next? 34:13 - Request for builders: make sending email cost Bitcoin 36:43 - Jev, TypeSafe and the vanishing AI moat 39:25 - Jevons paradox, the AI capability gap, models as insider risk 43:49 - Citrini on tokenization: why Bitcoin is the liquidity sponge 50:41 - China's blockchain, Standard Chartered, Samsung Wallet, Cash App 55:15 - Deals: Meanwhile, Spiko, and Breez on coding agents 59:47 - The death of venture capital, and Nous Research's $90M ABOUT THE SHOW Final Settlement is a weekly show on capital markets, dealmaking, early-stage venture, Bitcoin applications, and protocol development, presented by Early Riders and Onramp Media with Michael Tanguma, Liam Nelson, and Brian Cubellis. • Connect with Early Riders: https://www.earlyriders.com/contact • Michael: https://x.com/MTanguma · Liam: https://x.com/Lnelson_21 · Brian: https://x.com/BackslashBTC MORE FROM ONRAMP MEDIA • The Last Trade and First Principles: https://www.youtube.com/@OnrampMedia • Signal vs Noise, live twice a week: https://www.youtube.com/@SignalvsNoiseLIVE • Audio, every show: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1690709152 or search Onramp Bitcoin Media on Spotify • News and data: https://onramp.media Onramp does not provide financial, tax, or legal advice. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any asset. This episode is for entertainment purposes only.
