The Starting Block

The Block

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The Starting Block is The Block's new flagship daily live show — the breaking news, the context behind it, and the people shaping where crypto goes next. Each episode is a 45-minute live broadcast hosted by award-winning journalist and broadcaster Gareth Jenkinson and powered by The Block's newsroom and research desk.

Oct 1

Bond yields hitting highs & European backlash on stablecoin reward bans

Episode 45 of The Starting Block, hosted by The Block's Gareth Jenkinson, was broadcasted live with Coinbase Head of Policy for Europe Katie Harries. Coinbase Head of Policy for Europe Katie Harries joins Gareth Jenkinson on The Starting Block to discuss the stalling of the US Clarity Act, the Stand With Crypto movement's growth in the UK and EU, and the campaign to unlock stablecoin rewards under MiCA. The Block Briefing opened with news that Lloyds and Visa completed a seven-day live pilot settling $750,000 in USDC in under an hour, including over weekends, marking what Lloyds called the first stablecoin settlement trial between Visa and a major UK banking group. Standard Chartered initiated coverage on Ethena with a $2 price target on its ENA token by end of 2028, implying over 600% upside from current levels around 26 cents, premised on USDE stablecoin supply growing from under $5 billion to roughly $40 billion. The briefing also covered the White House reviewing two CFTC proposed rules that would expand the definition of a swap to include event contracts, affecting platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi, and the FCA opening its authorization gateway for UK crypto firms ahead of a new regime taking effect in October 2027, with a February application deadline. Coinbase's Base network went live with its Cobalt upgrade, introducing validity transactions that only execute when preset conditions are met before a given block. In the Market Pulse segment, André Dragosch of Bitwise Europe framed the surge in global bond yields as a collision between easy fiscal policy and tightening monetary policy. He noted the MOVE index — the implied volatility gauge for Treasury bonds — hit its highest level since the 2025 tariff tantrum, and that most S&P 500 constituents are already in bear-market territory below their 200-day moving averages. His base case is that a Fed pause or pivot is weeks, not months, away, and that once both fiscal and monetary policy ease simultaneously, Bitcoin enters full bull-market mode. He flagged Bitcoin's correlation with the S&P 500 at its lowest since 2015, called out $92K as the next major resistance level, but said he expects a consolidation back toward the true-market-mean around $75K before the rally resumes. In the Hot Seat, Katie Harries said the Clarity Act advanced further than anyone expected — passing the House with roughly 78 Democrats joining Republicans — but ultimately failed to reach the 60 Senate votes needed for cloture, blocked in her view by legacy financial institutions. She said Coinbase expects regulatory clarity to come through SEC and CFTC rulemaking regardless, pointing to the SEC's recent innovation exemption enabling tokenized equities in DeFi environments. On Stand With Crypto, she noted the movement now has over 3 million US advocates and 4 million globally, with 300,000 in the UK alone — more than any UK political party's membership. A current UK campaign targets bank blocks preventing customers from moving funds to FCA-registered crypto exchanges. On the EU, Harries said Stand With Crypto EU's 50,000 respondents to the MiCA 2 Commission consultation are primarily pushing to unlock stablecoin rewards, which she argued is the key lever for driving euro-denominated stablecoin adoption and keeping the EU competitive against US dollar-backed stablecoins. About the guestKatie Harries is Head of Policy for Europe at Coinbase, the publicly listed US cryptocurrency exchange, where she leads regulatory and policy engagement across the UK, EU, and broader international markets. Key topics• US Clarity Act stalled in Senate despite broad bipartisan House support.• Stand With Crypto has over 4 million global advocates across six countries.• UK banks blocking transfers to FCA-registered crypto exchanges, new campaign launched.• EU MiCA review is a chance to unlock stablecoin rewards and boost euro adoption.• André Dragosch sees Fed pause weeks away, Bitcoin target at $92K next resistance. OUTLINE00:00 - Introduction01:27 - The Block Briefing05:49 - Market Pulse: Bond Yields & Bitcoin10:44 - Q4 Outlook16:01 - The Hot Seat: US Clarity Act22:10 - Stand With Crypto UK & Bank Blocks30:22 - MiCA Review & Stablecoin Rewards Guest links:Katie Harries - https://x.com/KatieFHarriesCoinbase - https://x.com/coinbaseAndré Dragosch - https://x.com/Andre_DragoschBitwise Europe - https://x.com/Bitwise_Europe Host links:Gareth Jenkinson - https://x.com/gazza_jenksThe Block - https://x.com/TheBlockCo--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to The Block's Newsletters! 🚨 Breaking News👨‍🔬 Expert Analysis📈 Market Insights Subscribe now 👉 https://www.theblock.co/newsletters -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hiring in crypto?🧠 Find top talent fast with Campus, powered by The Block!✅ Challenge candidates with our Crypto Assessment Test⚡ Hire faster, build stronger teams Start your free trial today 👉 https://theblock.co/campus (00:00) - Introduction (01:27) - The Block Briefing (05:49) - Market Pulse: Bond Yields & Bitcoin (10:44) - Q4 Outlook (16:01) - The Hot Seat: US Clarity Act (22:10) - Stand With Crypto UK & Bank Blocks (30:22) - MiCA Review & Stablecoin Rewards
Sep 30

Unpacking Telegram’s evolving crypto ecosystem

Episode 44 of The Starting Block, hosted by The Block's Gareth Jenkinson, was broadcasted live with Walt CCO Alex Kruglov. Walt (formerly Wallet in Telegram) CCO Alex Kruglov joins Gareth Jenkinson on The Starting Block to discuss the company's rebrand, the platform's expansion into trading, tokenized assets and agentic trading, and how Telegram's billion-user network gives Walt a distribution edge over their rivals. Kruglov opened by retracing his career: roughly 15 years in social media, including a decade at Russian social network VK where he served as deputy CEO before the platform became, in his words, more corporate. He and Andrew Ogosev, who had been VK's CEO after Pavel Durov departed, left to build startups inside the TON and Telegram ecosystem, eventually founding the company now called Top.com. Kruglov explained how that background of understanding how messaging platforms integrate mini-apps, bots and blockchain tech, gave the team an edge he compared to experience found mainly inside Asian super-apps like WeChat. Wallet in Telegram began as a simple text bot for purchasing and holding Toncoin at a time the token was not listed on exchanges, and over the years grew into a platform supporting approximately 300 assets, including tokenized gold and tokenized stocks. The rebrand to Walt was driven by the product outgrowing the original wallet concept, coinciding with Telegram stepping back into an active role in the TON ecosystem by launching its own self-custodial Gram wallet. Kruglov explained the split: Telegram's Gram wallet will handle basic ecosystem functions — usernames, tokenized gifts, Stars — for the full billion-user base, while Walt targets users who want trading, yield products, investment access and, soon, crypto cards and agentic trading. On the name itself, Kruglov said it preserves continuity with the prior brand, carries the sound of "vault" for a sense of security, and carries a human quality as a person's name. Walt announced agentic trading one day before Robinhood made a similar announcement, which Kruglov flagged as validation that the industry is moving in that direction. On user behavior, Kruglov said the majority of existing users still trade Bitcoin, Gram and other crypto assets, but 40 percent of new users begin their journey on Walt with a real-world asset — either tokenized gold or tokenized stocks. He attributed this to a broader blurring of the lines between crypto and traditional markets, predicting that within one to two years there will be little meaningful distinction between tokenized real-world assets and what he called traditional crypto. He pointed to a Kazakhstan conference where a locally developed Grain Token for the agriculture industry drew significant attention as an example of where tokenization is heading by 2027. Kruglov argued that mass adoption requires a trusted distribution partner willing to go all-in on putting crypto in front of regular people, and that Telegram — which grew to a billion users without traditional marketing — is exactly that partner. About the guestAlex Kruglov is the CCO at Walt (formerly Wallet in Telegram) and a co-founder of Top.com, the company behind the platform, and builds consumer-oriented blockchain infrastructure products for the Telegram and TON ecosystem. He previously worked for the major Russian social network VK, before leaving to focus on blockchain and crypto projects. Key topics• Wallet in Telegram rebrands as Walt, supporting 300-plus assets.• Walt to launch agentic trading and crypto cards for emerging markets.• Telegram's new Gram wallet acts as entry point; Walt handles advanced trading.• 40% of new Walt users start their journey with tokenized RWA, not crypto.• Robinhood launches crypto perpetual futures with up to 10x leverage on Bitcoin. OUTLINE00:00 - Introduction01:20 - The Block Briefing06:47 - Alex Kruglov Background09:22 - Telegram Ecosystem Explained13:38 - The Walt Rebrand18:36 - Competition & Distribution Edge22:25 - RWA & User Trends Guest links:Alex Kruglov - https://x.com/avk767Walt - https://x.com/walt_io Host links:Gareth Jenkinson - https://x.com/gazza_jenksThe Block - https://x.com/TheBlockCo--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to The Block's Newsletters! 🚨 Breaking News👨‍🔬 Expert Analysis📈 Market Insights Subscribe now 👉 https://www.theblock.co/newsletters -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hiring in crypto?🧠 Find top talent fast with Campus, powered by The Block!✅ Challenge candidates with our Crypto Assessment Test⚡ Hire faster, build stronger teams Start your free trial today 👉 https://theblock.co/campus
Sep 29

Bitcoin market update /w Bitfinex, Moca Network goes live

Episode 43 of The Starting Block, hosted by The Block's Gareth Jenkinson, was broadcasted live with Moca Network CEO Kenneth Shek and the Head of Operations at Bitfinex Securities, Jesse Knutson. Moca Network CEO Kenneth Shek joined Gareth Jenkinson on episode 43 of The Starting Block, to announce Moca Network's mainnet going live. Shek discussed the various use cases for Moca Network, seeing it as digital identity blockchain that aims to assist in AI agent credentialing that seeks enterprise partnerships. For the Market Pulse, Gareth was joined by the Head of Operations at Bitfiniex Securities, Jesse Knutson. Knutson explained how his platform serves as the capital raise and secondary market trading arm within the Tether and Bitfinex ecosystem. Knutson made the case that tokenization may simply be evolutionary rather than revolutionary, that is, the next logical step in capital market infrastructure, and added that anyone accustomed to 24/7 Bitcoin trading finds legacy settlement timeframes to feel outdated by comparison. He added that emerging and frontier markets, including Bitfinex Securities' licensed jurisdictions of El Salvador and the AIFC in Astana, Kazakhstan, are uniquely positioned to leapfrog established financial centers by building on current technology from scratch. Knutson also previewed the Future of Capital Markets Summit in Lugano on October 22, co-hosted with Blockstream Capital Partners and featuring speakers including Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino and Adam Back. In the Hot Seat, Kenneth Shek described Moca Network as a purpose-built layer-one blockchain focused exclusively on digital identity — not a general-purpose chain — designed to enable decentralized, privacy-preserving data storage and sharing for enterprises, humans, and AI agents. Shek cited the rollout of government e-ID schemes globally, tightening GDPR-style regulations, and the removal of third-party cookies by Apple and Google as the conditions that make now the right moment for launch. Enterprise partners already live on the network include companies in telecom, loyalty, airlines, ticketing, and entertainment, as well as Delivery Hero, owner of Foodpanda, which uses Moca to verify in-game spending data for gamers. Shek outlined three data-verification methods available on Moca Network: zero-knowledge proof, selective disclosure, and full disclosure — with the user holding the private key and retaining control at all times. He framed the AI agent use case as the network's clearest near-term growth driver: as agents begin booking travel, completing purchases, and handling KYC on behalf of users, Moca allows a human to cryptographically delegate a scoped, revocable key to an agent rather than handing all personal data to a centralized platform. Shek described the company's adoption curve as moving from a stage where enterprises shut the door, to one where they welcome Moca in, with the third stage — enterprises knocking on Moca's door — expected as the network compounds. About the guestKenneth Shek is the CEO and founder of Moca Network, a digital identity infrastructure project built out of Animoca Brands, where he also serves as Managing Director. Key topics• Moca Chain Mainnet goes live as a purpose-built digital identity layer-one blockchain.• AI agents need verifiable, delegated credentials to act safely on users' behalf.• Bitfinex Securities has $500M in listed assets across 12 tokenized products.• Tokenization seen as evolutionary step enabling 24/7, on-chain capital markets.• Emerging markets like El Salvador and Kazakhstan poised to leapfrog TradFi incumbents. OUTLINE00:00 - Introduction01:04 - The Block Briefings04:37 - The Market Pulse with Jesse Knutson06:24 - Tokenized Markets & 24/7 Trading09:52 - TradFi Disintermediation13:33 - Lugano Capital Markets Summit19:35 - The Hot Seat: Moca Chain Mainnet Launch21:57 - Digital Identity Use Cases25:21 - AI Agents & Verifiable Identity29:53 - Enterprise Traction & Growth34:08 - Gaming & Novel Asset Use Cases36:12 - Data Security & Cryptography Guest links:Kenneth Shek - https://x.com/tylerdurden88Moca Network - https://x.com/Moca_NetworkJesse Knutson - https://x.com/KnutsonJesseBitfinex Securities - https://x.com/BFXSecurities Host links:Gareth Jenkinson - https://x.com/gazza_jenksThe Block - https://x.com/TheBlockCo--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to The Block's Newsletters! 🚨 Breaking News👨‍🔬 Expert Analysis📈 Market Insights Subscribe now 👉 https://www.theblock.co/newsletters -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hiring in crypto?🧠 Find top talent fast with Campus, powered by The Block!✅ Challenge candidates with our Crypto Assessment Test⚡ Hire faster, build stronger teams Start your free trial today 👉 https://theblock.co/campus (00:00) - Introduction (01:04) - The Block Briefings (04:37) - The Market Pulse with Jesse Knutson (06:24) - Tokenized Markets & 24/7 Trading (09:52) - TradFi Disintermediation (13:33) - Lugano Capital Markets Summit (19:35) - The Hot Seat: Moca Chain Mainnet Launch (21:57) - Digital Identity Use Cases (25:21) - AI Agents & Verifiable Identity (29:53) - Enterprise Traction & Growth (34:08) - Gaming & Novel Asset Use Cases (36:12) - Data Security & Cryptography
Sep 28

Bitget CEO Gracy Chen Breaks Down $388M Hack

Episode 42 of The Starting Block, hosted by The Block's Gareth Jenkinson, was broadcasted live with Bitget CEO Gracy Chen. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen joins Gareth Jenkinson on The Starting Block to discuss the $388 million hack of Bitget's hot and warm wallets, how attackers exploited a third-party zero-day vulnerability to bypass risk controls, and how the exchange is using its protection fund to cover all user losses. The attack began at 6:31 PM UTC on September 24, 2026, with two small test transactions of 0.84 ETH and 93 TRX that fell below alert thresholds. About 30 minutes later, the attacker initiated 17 large transfers across Ethereum, XRP, ZEC, BSC, Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, and Avalanche, draining approximately 361 million USDT equivalent before Bitget's reconciliation system detected the discrepancy at 7:05 PM and automatically blocked user-initiated withdrawals. The attack unfolded in three steps: exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in a third-party security product to obtain high-level internal credentials; using those credentials to insert fraudulent withdrawal commands directly into the wallet backend, bypassing risk controls entirely; and then deleting all traces of those commands to slow forensic investigation. Private keys were not compromised and cold wallets were unaffected. Mandiant and SlowMist have been engaged as independent investigators, and Bitget published attacker wallet addresses and on-chain tracing data on day one. Chen said a formal incident report will address the attacker's identity, and declined to name a suspect before it is published, though she said her earlier suspicion has not changed. Chen addressed her public appeal to ThorChain to block the stolen funds, saying the protocol responded that, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, it could not intervene. She expressed frustration with that answer while acknowledging her respect for decentralization, and called out ThorChain as a repeated route for laundering stolen funds, including in Bybit's case. She gave shoutouts to Tether and Circle for quickly freezing a portion of the stolen assets, to Mandiant and SlowMist for their investigative work, to volunteer white-hat group SEAL 911 for alerting her team within 90 minutes of the attack, and to peer exchanges including Binance and OKX for public and private support. On the financial side, Chen confirmed that all user balances are fully protected and will be covered by Bitget's user protection fund, established in 2022 and valued at approximately 465 million USDT equivalent on the day of the incident. The fund will be replenished to at least 300 million within a week using corporate reserves, which a Bitget audit as of August 31 showed totalling more than 1.4 billion. Chen said the 388 million loss falls entirely within that buffer and does not threaten day-to-day operations. In the immediate term, the team is focused on processing withdrawals chain by chain, with Bitcoin withdrawals opening smoothly on Monday and Ethereum withdrawals scheduled for Tuesday, and on working with law enforcement, financial intelligence units across multiple jurisdictions, and blockchain foundations to trace and, where possible, recover stolen assets. About the guestGracy Chen is the CEO of Bitget, a major cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company that ranks among the top platforms for derivatives trading by volume. A passionate advocate for diversity in the Web3 space, Chen is a delegate at the UN Women CSW conference. Under her leadership, Bitget launched the Blockchain4Her initiative, committing $10 million to promote gender diversity and inclusivity in the blockchain industry. She holds a Bachelor's Degree from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Key topics- Attacker exploited a third-party zero-day to steal $388M from hot and warm wallets.- All user balances fully protected by Bitget's $465M user protection fund.- Protection fund to be replenished above $300M within one week.- Attacker's identity to be addressed in a formal incident report.- ThorChain declined to block stolen funds, citing permissionless design. Notable quotes"Serious doesn't mean existential. We do have the reserve, we do have the team and the capability to go through this." – Gracy Chen OUTLINE00:00 - Introduction01:07 - Withdrawals Resume02:31 - The Hack: Full Recap05:57 - Attack Timeline & Steps11:12 - North Korea Link?13:07 - ThorChain & Laundering17:00 - Industry Support & Shoutouts21:25 - Law Enforcement & Regulators24:47 - Protection Fund & Replenishment28:11 - Solvency & Operations29:11 - The Road Ahead Guest links:Gracy Chen - https://x.com/GracyBitgetBitget - https://x.com/bitget Host links:Gareth Jenkinson - https://x.com/gazza_jenksThe Block - https://x.com/TheBlockCo--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to The Block's Newsletters! 🚨 Breaking News👨‍🔬 Expert Analysis📈 Market Insights Subscribe now 👉 https://www.theblock.co/newsletters -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hiring in crypto? 🧠 Find top talent fast with Campus, powered by The Block!✅ Challenge candidates with our Crypto Assessment Test⚡ Hire faster, build stronger teams Start your free trial today 👉 https://theblock.co/campus (00:08) - Introduction (00:38) - Welcoming Gracy Chen (01:07) - Withdrawals Resume (02:31) - The Hack: Full Recap (05:57) - Attack Timeline & Steps (11:12) - North Korea Link? (13:07) - ThorChain & Laundering (17:00) - Industry Support & Shoutouts (21:25) - Law Enforcement & Regulators (24:47) - Protection Fund & Replenishment (28:11) - Solvency & Operations (29:11) - The Road Ahead
Sep 25

Unpacking Bitget’s $350M hack, DoubleZero ships real-time Hyperliquid data service

Episode 41 of The Starting Block, hosted by The Block's Gareth Jenkinson, was broadcasted live with DoubleZero Co-Founder Austin Federa. Key topics• DoubleZero launches real-time full order book data feed for Hyperliquid• Multicast technology allows uncapped, rate-limit-free data delivery to traders• AI agents can now subscribe to DoubleZero feeds to build automated trading strategies• Trading venue consolidation coming; Hyperliquid seen as a near-certain survivor• Federa bullish on Q4 2026, dismissing year-long crypto Twitter doomerism Summary DoubleZero Co-Founder Austin Federa joins Gareth Jenkinson on episode 41 of The Starting Block to discuss the launch of real-time Hyperliquid data on DoubleZero Edge and his bullish outlook on markets heading into Q4 2026. Federa explained that DoubleZero is a blockchain protocol running a global permissioned fiber network designed to bring high-speed market data infrastructure to new finance systems — the kind of private dedicated network that large companies like Facebook already operate but that has never existed for Web3. The new Hyperliquid product streams a protocol-native binary feed with full order book depth across every native HyperCore and HIP-3 market, uncapped and without rate limits. Federa explained that this is possible because DoubleZero uses multicast technology — which replicates data in hardware at the edge rather than sending individual copies to each subscriber — meaning the company has no marginal bandwidth cost per customer. Most major traders on Hyperliquid are co-located in Tokyo where the network's 27-validator set runs, and DoubleZero works with validator partners Kinetic and Mayven to source that data for distribution, before transporting it over its global fiber network to wherever a trader wants to consume it — Chicago, Columbus, London, Virginia, or the Solana blockchain. Federa also addressed the broader trading venue landscape, drawing a parallel between today's proliferation of perp DEXes and prediction markets and the L1 season of 2020–2021. He argued that a similar consolidation is inevitable — a race to zero on fees, compression when capital costs rise, and ultimately only a handful of survivors. He expressed high confidence that Hyperliquid will be among those that make it through the next bear market, citing its first-mover advantage and cryptographic asset assurance as genuine differentiators over centralized exchanges. He noted Solana's Alpenglow consensus upgrade had just hit testnet and said he was watching its rollout closely. On markets, Federa pushed back on what he described as pervasive and unwarranted doomerism across crypto Twitter throughout 2026, arguing that fundamentals and macro conditions have actually been strong. He said he sees a very strong Q4 ahead and that he has been counter-trading the bearish consensus all year with positive results. He added a contrarian view on AI: that Anthropic and OpenAI are unlikely to remain the frontier AI companies within two to three years, and that Microsoft and the broader Elon Musk conglomerate — spanning SpaceX, xAI, and Tesla — are better positioned to monetize the AI wave long-term. About the guestAustin Federa is the Co-Founder of DoubleZero, a protocol that runs a global high-performance fiber network designed to deliver institutional-grade market data infrastructure to blockchain and new finance systems. Before co-founding DoubleZero, he served as Head of Strategy at the Solana Foundation, where he shaped strategic direction for one of the industries largest blockchain networks. Notable quotes“It's weird to say, like we're democratizing access to high-frequency trading, but that really is what AI has enabled.” – Austin Federa “Smart people get things wrong, but if you know what the future is, it's very hard to be wrong.” – Austin Federa “90% of these things will fail. But in that process, it'll create a lot of innovation. It'll create much better experience for retail, much better pricing for retail. Competition is just a net good for everybody.” – Austin Federa OUTLINE00:07 - Show Intro & Housekeeping02:27 - The Block Briefing08:05 - The Hot Seat: DoubleZero's Hyperliquid Launch12:29 - Geolocation & Data Speed21:58 - Trading Venue Landscape29:09 - Market Outlook: Q4 Bull Case Guest links:Austin Federa - https://x.com/Austin_FederaDoubleZero - https://x.com/doublezero Host links:Gareth Jenkinson - https://x.com/gazza_jenksThe Block - https://x.com/TheBlockCo--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to The Block's Newsletters! 🚨 Breaking News👨‍🔬 Expert Analysis📈 Market Insights Subscribe now 👉 https://www.theblock.co/newsletters -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hiring in crypto?🧠 Find top talent fast with Campus, powered by The Block!✅ Challenge candidates with our Crypto Assessment Test⚡ Hire faster, build stronger teams Start your free trial today 👉 https://theblock.co/campus (00:07) - Show Intro & Housekeeping (02:27) - The Block Briefing (08:05) - The Hot Seat: DoubleZero's Hyperliquid Launch (12:29) - Geolocation & Data Speed (21:58) - Trading Venue Landscape (29:09) - Market Outlook: Q4 Bull Case
Sep 24

AI agents will score $4T in fees by 2035 - Sharplink

Episode 40 of The Starting Block, hosted by The Block's Gareth Jenkinson, was broadcasted live with Sharplink CEO Joseph Chalom. Sharplink CEO Joseph Chalom joins Gareth Jenkinson on The Starting Block to discuss how AI agents will rewire traditional finance, the case for Ethereum as the settlement layer of the future economy, and SharpLink's conviction on ETH as a treasury asset. Chalom laid out his thesis that four elements are colliding for the first time in financial history: programmable money in the form of stablecoins, tokenized assets, DeFi and on-chain settlement, and AI agents as the automation layer. He argued that this convergence could save consumers $1.4 trillion a year by 2035, pointing to $15 trillion in idle low-interest cash in the US alone that agents will redirect to yield-bearing instruments, and predicting that cross-border remittance fees of roughly six percent and FX transaction costs of three to four percent will fall to near zero, mirroring how stock brokerage commissions collapsed in prior decades. On the question of incumbent resistance, Chalom said banks will fight hard to protect their moats while also trying to co-opt agent capabilities, but argued that crypto-native super apps from the likes of Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, Circle, Tether, and Robinhood have a structural advantage because they run all financial functions on unified rails. He warned that history shows every technology revolution produces two or three centralized winners who end up monetizing users, and said decentralized, credibly neutral chains like Ethereum are the best tool available to avoid that outcome repeating. He added that the generation set to inherit an $80 to $100 trillion wealth transfer from baby boomers trusts code and their phones more than institutions. Turning to markets, Chalom said the bear market is over, noting ETH is up 70 percent since the end of June and that the failure of the Clarity Act to advance caused a stock market sell-off rather than a crypto sell-off, which he read as crypto maturing into its own asset class. He flagged the SEC's innovation exemption for tokenized stock trading as a major catalyst, noted that only $30 billion of assets are currently tokenized and called the runway enormous, and confirmed SharpLink remains the second-largest public holder of ETH in the world with Fidelity and BlackRock as its largest shareholders. He said the stock was up roughly 90 percent in the two months since June's lows and that conviction in ETH has only grown as the agentic finance narrative reinforces the Ethereum settlement-layer thesis. About the guestJoseph Chalom is the CEO of Sharplink, one of the largest Ethereum treasury companies in the world. Before joining Sharplink, Chalom spent 20 years at BlackRock leading its digital assets and blockchain strategy, including the launch of the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) and the tokenized money market fund BUIDL. Key topics• With AI agents, stablecoins tokenization and defi we are seeing them all play a role in global finance. • By 2035 consumers will save approximately $1.4T from agentic commerce through reduced fees• Chalom believes super apps built on crypto rails will outperform traditional banking systems.• ETH is up 70% from its June low, with Chalom saying he believes we're are out of the bear market. • Sharplink is now the second largest public company holding ETH, and their stock has risen around 90% in the last 2 months. Notable quotes“Universes start with big bangs when elements collide. And the four that are converging for the first time in history are stable coins, essentially programmable money, tokenized assets, the exposure layer, DeFi and on-chain activity, where a lot of the atomic trading, swapping and settlements gonna happen. But now we have a fourth element, which are AI agents who are gonna be the automation layer of this. And it is gonna rewire finance.” – Joseph Chalom “We believe very strongly we can't have gatekeepers again who keep your agents in or out, who don't allow them to move freely, who don't allow them persist identity, who override the user and make recommendations. I think we're gonna be done with the banks having sponsored results and sponsored recommendations and users being tricked by Super Bowl ads. Your agent doesn't care about that attention economy, it can focus on what's in your best interest.” – Joseph Chalom “Agents will create agency and autonomy and prosperity like we've never seen. We just need to learn from history and not wait two, three years until the gatekeepers have put up their walls.” – Joseph Chalom OUTLINE00:07 - Introduction02:37 - The Block Briefing07:50 - Hot Seat: Joseph Chalom09:06 - The Agentic Finance Thesis11:03 - $1.4T in Savings by 203513:53 - Will Banks Fight or Fold?19:00 - Consumer Trust & Adoption Curve23:53 - Bitcoin & ETH Market Outlook25:00 - Regulation & Tokenization Boom27:18 - SharpLink ETH Treasury Update29:57 - Robinhood Chain & RWA Momentum31:43 - Conclusion Guest links:Joseph Chalom: https://x.com/joechalomSharplink: https://x.com/Sharplink Host links:Gareth Jenkinson - https://x.com/gazza_jenksThe Block - https://x.com/TheBlockCo--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to The Block's Newsletters! 🚨 Breaking News👨‍🔬 Expert Analysis📈 Market Insights Subscribe now 👉 https://www.theblock.co/newsletters -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hiring in crypto?🧠 Find top talent fast with Campus, powered by The Block!✅ Challenge candidates with our Crypto Assessment Test⚡ Hire faster, build stronger teams Start your free trial today 👉 https://theblock.co/campus
Sep 23

Bitcoin to $100k? Feat. CoinMarketCap’s Research Lead Alice Liu

Episode 39 of The Starting Block, hosted by The Block's Gareth Jenkinson, was broadcasted live with Coinmarketcap Head of Research Alice Liu. CoinMarketCap Head of Research Alice Liu joins Gareth Jenkinson on The Starting Block to discuss the Bitcoin short squeeze that drove BTC to $87,000, whether we're in an altcoin season or not, and her macro outlook for Bitcoin through the end of 2026. Liu attributed Bitcoin's spike to $87,000 to derivatives positioning rather than fresh spot inflows, citing CoinMarketCap liquidation data showing roughly $558 million in forced short liquidations on Monday against only $57 million in long liquidations. She described the move as a classic short squeeze that cleared bearish positioning and reset the market to a new price level, with cheap funding rates potentially allowing leveraged accumulation to resume. The broader macro backdrop — including the Nasdaq 100 printing an all-time high above 30,000 points — also lifted risk assets across the board. The CMC Fear and Greed Index stood at 75, an 11-point gain from the prior week. On altcoins, Liu confirmed that the CMC Altcoin Season Index had reached 52, putting the market officially in altcoin season. She pointed to Bitcoin Cash and Uniswap as standout 24-hour performers, both up roughly 15–20%, driven in part by CME's announcement of upcoming futures listings for those assets. She also previewed findings from an upcoming CoinMarketCap research report on tokenized stocks, noting approximately $3 billion in on-chain TVL across platforms including Ondo (37% market share), Xtalks (30%), and Bstocks (26%), with Bstocks leading on trading volume. She highlighted that the SEC's five-year waiver on equity tokenization has added confidence to that sector, and that the Robinhood chain's volume growth has been partly driven by memecoin packages tied to tokenized stocks — a trend she described as a creative play that has also created controversy among users. Looking at the rest of 2026 and into early 2027, Liu noted that Bitcoin's three consecutive months of gains — 7.2% in July, 24.9% in August, and 8.8% so far in September — mirror a pattern last seen in 2012, when October subsequently saw a dip rather than a continuation. She said the next Federal Reserve interest-rate decision on October 28 carries roughly a 55% chance of another 25-basis-point hike. Despite those uncertainties, Liu argued that Bitcoin looks more attractive than gold on a relative performance basis since the October 2025 high, and that continued ETF inflows and asset-manager allocations should support BTC as gold and oil prices ease. About the guestAlice Liu is the Head of Research at CoinMarketCap, a crypto data and price-aggregation platform, where she joined in 2022 to build the research division and publishes monthly reports covering on-chain analytics, DeFi, RWA tokenization, and broader market trends. Before CoinMarketCap, she held roles in digital-asset research at WisdomTree and as a Senior Investment Associate at Coutts, with earlier experience at J.P. Morgan. Key topics• Was Bitcoin's spike to $87K spike a short squeeze?• CMC Altcoin Season Index hit 52, in their view confirming official altcoin season.• Tokenized stocks market holds ~$3B TVL; Bstocks leads on volume.• Bitcoin outperforms gold on relative basis; ETF flows seen as tailwind. OUTLINE00:07 - Intro02:29 - The Block Briefing07:57 - The Hot Seat: Alice Liu 09:00 - Bitcoin's $87K Squeeze11:30 - Altcoin Season Confirmed14:10 - RWA Tokenized Stocks Deep Dive18:38 - Memecoins Meet Tokenized Stocks22:09 - BTC Price Outlook for 202625:50 - Bitcoin vs. Gold27:17 - Wrap-Up & Tomorrow's Show Guest links:Alice Liu - https://x.com/AliceCrypto3CoinMarketCap - https://x.com/CoinMarketCap Host links:Gareth Jenkinson - https://x.com/gazza_jenksThe Block - https://x.com/TheBlockCo--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to The Block's Newsletters! 🚨 Breaking News👨‍🔬 Expert Analysis📈 Market Insights Subscribe now 👉 https://www.theblock.co/newsletters -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hiring in crypto?🧠 Find top talent fast with Campus, powered by The Block!✅ Challenge candidates with our Crypto Assessment Test⚡ Hire faster, build stronger teams Start your free trial today 👉 https://theblock.co/campus (00:07) - Intro (02:29) - The Block Briefing (07:57) - The Hot Seat: Alice Liu (09:00) - Bitcoin's $87K Squeeze (11:30) - Altcoin Season Confirmed (14:10) - RWA Tokenized Stocks Deep Dive (18:38) - Memecoins Meet Tokenized Stocks (22:09) - BTC Price Outlook for 2026 (25:50) - Bitcoin vs. Gold (27:17) - Wrap-Up & Tomorrow's Show
Sep 22

The Block launches standalone AI website The Latent

Episode 38 of The Starting Block, hosted by The Block's Gareth Jenkinson, was broadcasted live with The Block's Publisher, Adam James, and Bitwise's Head of Research Europe, André Dragosch. About the guestAdam James is the Publisher at The Block, the leading global information services brand covering cryptocurrency and blockchain, where he previously served as editor-in-chief and managing editor for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Before joining The Block, he was a managing editor and podcast host at OKX Insights, the research arm of crypto exchange OKX, and also served as editor-in-chief at Bitcoinist.com. Key topics• The Block launches The Latent, a standalone AI news and data website.• The Latent uses Pangram scores to show readers how much of each article is AI-written.• The Latent Score benchmarks AI models by performance and cost-per-task.• Bitcoin ETFs recorded $999 million in single-day inflows, an 11-month record.• André Dragosch declares the bear market over, targets $100K–$150K for Bitcoin. OUTLINE00:07 - Introduction01:19 - The Block Briefing04:47 - Market Pulse: Bitcoin Above $85K12:27 - Hot Seat: The Latent Launch18:36 - AI Transparency21:23 - AI Model Benchmarks24:56 - Data Dashboards & Wrap-Up Guest links:Adam James - https://x.com/XBT002The Block - https://x.com/theblockcoAndré Dragosch - https://x.com/Andre_Dragosch Host links:Gareth Jenkinson - https://x.com/gazza_jenksThe Block - https://x.com/TheBlockCo--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to The Block's Newsletters! 🚨 Breaking News👨‍🔬 Expert Analysis📈 Market Insights Subscribe now 👉 https://www.theblock.co/newsletters -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hiring in crypto?🧠 Find top talent fast with Campus, powered by The Block!✅ Challenge candidates with our Crypto Assessment Test⚡ Hire faster, build stronger teams Start your free trial today 👉 https://theblock.co/campus (00:07) - Introduction (01:19) - The Block Briefing (04:47) - Market Pulse: Bitcoin Above $85K (12:27) - Hot Seat: The Latent Launch (18:36) - AI Transparency (21:23) - AI Model Benchmarks (24:56) - Data Dashboards & Wrap-Up

The Starting Block is The Block's new flagship daily live show — the breaking news, the context behind it, and the people shaping where crypto goes next. Each episode is a 45-minute live broadcast hosted by award-winning journalist and broadcaster Gareth Jenkinson and powered by The Block's newsroom and research desk.

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2026
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45
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Explicit
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