CoinDesk Podcast Network

CoinDesk's The Policy Protocol hosts Rebecca Rettig and Renato Mariotti open on the stalled CLARITY Act and how crypto's newness in DC stacks up against TradFi's decades-old relationships. They also dig into two hot topics: Erebor raising $1.5 billion at a valuation near $9.5 billion, and FlightAware's short-lived trademark lawsuit against prediction market Kalshi. Then they sit down with Brooke Ybarra, Head of Innovation at the American Bankers Association, who breaks down the yield compromise on payment stablecoins, makes the ABA's case that stablecoin growth could pull deposits away from community banks and shrink local lending, and explains how banks of all sizes are already experimenting with tokenized money and tokenized deposits. Plus, Rebecca and Renato debrief on the bipartisan holdouts and name SEC Chair Paul Atkins as their Person of the Week.

NOTE (Aug. 14, 09:00 ET): this episode was recorded before the SEC canceled the open meeting originally scheduled for Friday.-This episode is brought to you by RealFi, a smarter stablecoin, backed by real-world assets. Find out more at realfi.co.-To view the ABA's recommended changes to legislative text of the Clarity Act, please see their Joint State Association Letter to the Senate: https://www.aba.com/advocacy/policy-analysis/Joint-Letter-to-the-Senate-on-the-Clarity-Act

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Chapters/Timecodes:00:00 Welcome to The Policy Protocol01:12 CLARITY Stalls Before the August Recess03:03 Crypto vs. TradFi: A New Entrant in DC05:18 Why Clarity Levels the Playing Field06:20 Hot Topic: Erebor's $1.5B Bank Raise08:38 Hot Topic: FlightAware Sues Kalshi12:06 Brooke Ybarra of the ABA Joins the Show12:38 The Yield Compromise and Interest-Like Payments14:59 The Deposit Flight Debate17:22 How Banks Are Innovating with Tokenized Money19:49 What Happens If CLARITY Doesn't Pass22:45 Person of the Week: SEC Chair Paul Atkins

DoubleZero Edge is partnering with Kalshi to deliver Wall Street-grade market data to the world's largest CFTC-regulated prediction market. Co-Founder Austin Federa joins Jennifer Sanasie on Markets Outlook to unpack why professional infrastructure took so long to reach crypto, what the 10/10 flash crash revealed about new finance's weaknesses, and why faster data could level the playing field for every trader, not just the big firms. Plus, in today's Brand New Rails, we meet the ship captain working to bring the $2 trillion commercial shipping industry on-chain.

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Timecodes:

00:00 - Austin Federa Joins Markets Outlook

00:43 - DoubleZero x Kalshi: Inside the Announcement

02:30 - Why Wall Street Infrastructure Took So Long to Reach Crypto

04:36 - Brand New Rails: Tokenizing the $2 Trillion Shipping Industry

07:13 - Does Faster Data Hurt Retail Traders?

08:16 - Prediction Markets: More Than a Narrative

10:31 - Access, Disruption, and Federa's 2017 Thesis

12:13 - The Catalyst to Watch

13:11 - New Finance's Biggest Challenge

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This episode is brought to you by RealFi, a smarter stablecoin, backed by real-world assets. RealFi is launching August 2026. Join the Testnet now at realfi.co.

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This episode was hosted by Jennifer Sanasie.

Robinhood CFO and Robinhood Ventures President Shiv Verma joins CoinDesk’s Jennifer Sanasie from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on the day Robinhood Ventures Fund II began trading. Verma breaks down how the fund gives everyday investors access to early-stage Y Combinator companies at the ground floor.

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Timecodes:

00:00 Robinhood Ventures Fund II Begins Trading on NYSE

00:42 Partnering With Y Combinator for Startup Access

01:11 How Robinhood Values Private Companies Using SAFEs

02:25 Fee Structure, Daily Liquidity, and No Accreditation Required

04:16 Why the Best Companies Are Staying Private Longer

06:13 Robinhood Chain, Tokenization, and the Next Bull Cycle

Kalshi in talks to raise $750M at a $40B valuation.

Prediction market Kalshi is in talks to raise $750 million at a $40 billion valuation, with Sequoia and Wellington eyeing the round. The company's annualized revenue hit $4 billion in July, nearly four times rival Polymarket. CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie hosts "CoinDesk Daily."

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This episode is brought to you by RealFi, a smarter stablecoin, backed by real-world assets. Find out more at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ realfi.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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

XRP's slip below $1.

XRP briefly fell below a dollar for the first time since November 2024, stalling just above $1 as an attacker drained nearly 200,000 XRP from a cross-chain bridge. CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie hosts "CoinDesk Daily."

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This episode is brought to you by RealFi, a smarter stablecoin, backed by real-world assets. Find out more at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ realfi.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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