CMS Holdings: Hot Ball of Money Making Markets

This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Dan Matuszewski, co-founder of CMS Holdings. If you follow Dan on Twitter, you’ll recognize him as one of the wittiest and most fun voices in crypto. In this episode, we cover a wide variety of topics including Dan’s successful trading career that led to the launch of CMS - a proprietary trading firm, why he is so attracted to this space, and how from his perspective markets have evolved over the past few years. We also discuss the importance and mechanics of stablecoins, and it is worth pointing out we recorded this before they became frontpage news last week. Please enjoy my conversation with Dan Matuszewski.
 
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.
 
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Show Notes
[00:02:22] - [First question] - Dan’s early years and his first steps into crypto 
[00:06:17] - Whether or not he was accumulating Bitcoin and saw the long-term utility of cryptocurrencies out of the gate 
[00:07:41] - How traders would get money in and out of old crypto wallets and exchanges
[00:10:16] - Having moments of doubt and why he stuck with crypto amidst it’s shortcomings
[00:11:02] - What he was hired at Kraken to do and becoming an active crypto trader
[00:13:41] - The ICO coin boom and what it was like trading the order flow in 2017
[00:15:20] - Thoughts on what it looked like during the ICO boom as a trading desk
[00:16:07] - Where stablecoins came from and why they were so necessary to invent
[00:17:59] - Tether’s negative reputation and his views of Tether outside of bad press
[00:21:14] - How stablecoins make money and how Circle makes money on USDC
[00:21:43] - Thoughts on leverage in the crypto space and how borrow rates affect investment decisions 
[00:23:48] - Arriving at a risk-free rate and how CMS’ liquidity is structured 
[00:24:27] - Capital allocation and the size and scope of CMS today 
[00:25:10] - Differences between running a fund with your own money versus investors
[00:26:42] - How megafunds will impact the market
[00:27:18] - Getting into exotic collectibles and buying a Triceratops fossil  
[00:29:10] - The impacts of the war in Ukraine, inflation and current events on crypto
[00:30:01] - The role and impact of leverage in a market selloff 
[00:31:20] - Coming regulatory oversight and the path ahead 
[00:32:19] - Why crypto investors and traders prefer the CFTC
[00:32:50] - Thoughts on NFTs as an asset class and how his mind has changed on them
[00:33:37] - What running a farming operation means and strategies that he runs
[00:35:06] - Ways for the average person can get involved in crypto and get exposure 
[00:35:55] - His information flow and where he sources his signals
[00:36:44] - How helpful it is to have a liquid token side and venture capital arm
[00:37:05] - What he’s most excited to see in the next six months and six years
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