CoinDesk Podcast Network

CoinDesk’s The Policy Protocol hosts Renato Mariotti and Rebecca Rettig open on what the Democratic midterm sweep means for the CLARITY Act. They then dig into the CFTC’s approval of stock perps and the Cboe and Citadel Securities lawsuit challenging it.

They’re then joined by Security Alliance (SEAL) researcher Tay Monahan, who breaks down last week’s $6.3 billion Binance hack and argues that no regulator can stop North Korea on its own. Tay also explains how Tether, Circle and the wider industry moved to freeze stolen funds, and names the one control she’d put in place against North Korean IT workers: meeting employees in person.

Plus, Renato and Rebecca name onchain investigator ZachXBT as their Person of the Week.

-

This episode is brought to you by Grayscale, the world's largest digital asset-focused investment platform. Grayscale's mission is to make digital asset investing simple and open to every investor. Learn more at grayscale.com.

-

Timecodes:

00:00 - Welcome to The Policy Protocol

01:15 - Unpacking the Midterms: Is the CLARITY Act Dead?

03:12 - A 'Terrible Night for Crypto'?

06:16 - A 'Rump CLARITY' in the Lame Duck?

07:20 - CFTC Approves Stock Perps

10:28 - The $6.3B Binance Hack: SEAL's Taylor Monahan Joins

11:11 - Could Any Rulebook Have Stopped the Binance Hack?

13:01 - Why Hackers Target Crypto, and Why Banks May Be Next

15:20 - Keeping North Korean IT Workers Out

18:52 - Tether, Circle and the Industry-Wide Freeze

22:54 - Why the Feds Want Freezes Without Court Orders

25:00 - Person of the Week: ZachXBT

Google has agreed to backstop Anthropic’s $19 billion lease at bitcoin miner TeraWulf’s Kentucky data center. If Anthropic defaults, Google can take over the lease or take a stake in the project. Plus, Payward purchases AAVE tokens and Standard Chartered’s venture arm invests in Soter. CoinDesk’s Jennifer Sanasie hosts “CoinDesk Daily.”

-

This episode is brought to you by Grayscale, the world's largest digital asset-focused investment platform. Grayscale's mission is to make digital asset investing simple and open to every investor. Learn more at grayscale.com.

Hyblock Capital co-founder and CEO Shubh Varma joins CoinDesk’s Ray Salmond on Markets Outlook in the aftermath of the largest hack in crypto history. Varma says the order books barely moved because Binance could cover the $6.3 billion loss and refunded users in coin, not dollars. Plus, what the Democrats’ midterm wave means for crypto regulation, why he thinks Bitcoin’s next run will come from capital rotating out of the AI trade, and his contrarian call that 2027 will be bullish despite a Fed that’s raising rates.

-

This episode is brought to you by Grayscale, the world's largest digital asset-focused investment platform. Grayscale's mission is to make digital asset investing simple and open to every investor. Learn more at grayscale.com [grayscale.com].

-

Learn more about CoinDesk Data & Indices at coindesk.com/institutions.

-

Timecodes:

00:00 - Shubh Varma Joins Markets Outlook

01:51 - Why Bitcoin Shrugged Off the Biggest Hack in History

04:12 - The Spot vs. Perps Signal to Watch

06:55 - Is Alt Season Dead for Good?

09:29 - Do Retail Investors Even Need to Trade Crypto Anymore?

12:38 - What the Midterm Blue Wave Means for Crypto

14:29 - Is AI Stealing Bitcoin’s Bull Run?

17:38 - The Contrarian Bull Case for 2027

Hunter Biden sits down with CoinDesk’s Nik De on Election Day to talk about his $LAPTOP meme token, Democrats’ crypto blind spot and why he’s done hiding. Biden blames the token’s chaotic launch on a market maker he says put just $5,000 to work. He calls himself a “true believer” in crypto, and says most Democrats who weigh in on it “don’t know anything about it.” He also argues that President Trump’s personal crypto ventures are a danger to the industry, and says Trump’s refusal to accept ethics provisions is the only reason market structure legislation stalled. Plus, his take on the swift dismissal of charges against two FBI agents tied to the laptop investigation why he chose to “walk through the fire” instead of disappearing.

-

Register for Consensus Hong Kong 2027 (February 1-3) and Consensus Miami 2027 (May 4-6) at events.coindesk.com.

-

Learn more about CoinDesk Data & Indices at coindesk.com/institutions.

-

Timecodes:

00:00 - Hunter Biden Joins CoinDesk

01:40 - Why He’s a Crypto “True Believer”

02:44 - The First Meme Coin With a Built-In Prediction Market

03:28 - Why Progressives Have Crypto Wrong

04:27 - What Happened at the $LAPTOP Launch

06:47 - $LAPTOP Tokenomics and the 5% Charity Floor

09:02 - Hunter Biden’s Election Day Predictions

12:56 - Why Crypto Money Is Flowing to Republicans

14:34 - Why He Says Trump’s Crypto Ventures Are “Dangerous” for the Industry

17:06 - The Ethics Fight That Stalled Market Structure Legislation

22:29 - Owning the Launch, and the Rug Pull Perception

23:52 - A Judge Tosses Charges Against FBI Agents in the Laptop Probe

26:18 - Comey, Don Lemon and the DOJ’s “Eye of Sauron”

29:58 - Can Government Weaponization Be Stopped?

35:00 - Iran, Vietnam and the Nuclear Codes

37:19 - Why Hunter Biden Stays in the Public Eye

What the Democrats' win means for crypto.

Democrats are projected to take both chambers of Congress, shifting control of crypto legislation despite the industry spending tens of millions to back Republicans. Sherrod Brown won his Ohio seat back after crypto PACs poured $63 million into defeating him, and Elizabeth Warren is now likely to chair the Senate Banking Committee. CoinDesk’s Jennifer Sanasie hosts “CoinDesk Daily.”

-
This episode is brought to you by Grayscale, the world's largest digital asset-focused investment platform. Grayscale's mission is to make digital asset investing simple and open to every investor. Learn more at grayscale.com.
-

This episode was hosted by Jennifer Sanasie. “CoinDesk Daily” is produced by Jennifer Sanasie and edited by Victor Chen.