CoinDesk Podcast Network

CoinDesk’s The Policy Protocol hosts Rebecca Rettig and Renato Mariotti open on the week’s biggest stories: the CFTC’s new advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to regulate spot crypto exchanges without Congress, and Justin Drake’s “bunker mode” warning about AI breaking wallet cryptography.

Then they sit down with Jonathan Jachym, Chief Policy Officer at Payward, who explains how Payward’s regulatory stack is being used to bring Hyperliquid to the US and to partner with banks like Wells Fargo. Jachym argues the CFTC’s ANPR is a critical first step to close a federal regulatory gap that leaves the US one of the few G20 nations without basic market-structure rules.

Plus, Rebecca and Renato name Solana, and the Samsung-USDC partnership bringing stablecoins to 82 million Galaxy users, as their Person of the Week.

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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.

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Digital markets move fast. Move forward with clarity from S&P Global Ratings' risk analysis spanning stablecoins, tokenized funds, digital bonds, DeFi protocols, and more. Explore digital asset solutions with S&P Global Ratings at https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/products/solutions/digital-assets?utm_campaign=Global-DA-Vaults&utm_source=digital-ads&utm_medium=link&utm_content=CoinDesk1.

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Chapters/Timecodes:

00:00 Welcome to The Policy Protocol

02:10 The CFTC Moves to Regulate Spot Crypto

03:56 The ANPR Rollout

06:20 CFTC Resourcing and the Kalshi–NFL Fight

07:26 'Bunker Mode' and AI vs. Crypto

09:38 Jonathan Jachym of Payward Joins

10:08 Bringing Hyperliquid to the US

13:35 Bitnomial, 2C2D, and the CFTC's New Model

16:46 'Not a Partisan Issue': Filling the US Gap

19:14 Partnering With the Banks: Wells Fargo and Beyond

21:04 Will the Progress Last Under a New Commission?

24:39 Person of the Week: Solana & the Samsung Wallet Partnership

Iran tanker attacks pulled Bitcoin lower.

Bitcoin fell to around $84,000 as stepped-up Iranian attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz lifted oil, Treasury yields, and the dollar. Traders are now watching the $83,000 level that FxPro says would confirm sellers are in control. CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie hosts "CoinDesk Daily."

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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.

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Digital markets move fast. Move forward with clarity from S&P Global Ratings’ risk analysis spanning stablecoins, tokenized funds, digital bonds, DeFi protocols, and more. Explore digital asset solutions with S&P Global Ratings at https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/products/solutions/digital-assets?utm_campaign=Global-DA-Vaults&utm_source=digital-ads&utm_medium=link&utm_content=CoinDesk1

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

Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince sits down with CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie to explain why the internet as we know it is about to be rewritten. Prince reveals that AI agent traffic has already overtaken human traffic online, more than a year ahead of his own forecast, and he predicts it will be 1,000 times larger within five years. He breaks down why agents don't click on ads, why Cloudflare needs a payments system that can handle more than 100 times Visa's volume, and why today's blockchains are "three orders of magnitude" too slow to power it. He also explains why AI agents could actually bring privacy back to the internet.

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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.

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Digital markets move fast. Move forward with clarity from S&P Global Ratings’ risk analysis spanning stablecoins, tokenized funds, digital bonds, DeFi protocols, and more. Explore digital asset solutions with S&P Global Ratings at https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/products/solutions/digital-assets?utm_campaign=Global-DA-Vaults&utm_source=digital-ads&utm_medium=link&utm_content=CoinDesk1

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Timecodes:

00:00 - Cloudflare's Matthew Prince Joins CoinDesk Spotlight

01:48 - Why Agents Don't Click on Ads

03:02 - Bot Traffic Passed Human Traffic Way Ahead of Schedule

04:14 - From COVID to ChatGPT, and Why the Web Is Growing Again

06:43 - What Happens When the Users Are All Machines?

08:24 - The Internet's Tragedy of the Commons

10:47 - Building a Payments Network Bigger Than Visa

11:36 - Will AI Agents Only Read the Cheapest Information?

12:54 - The $1,200 AI Budget and the Developing World

15:07 - Is AI Heading for a Black Mirror Future?

16:46 - Can Small Businesses Survive an Agentic Internet?

20:00 - Decentralization Alone Can't Save the Internet

22:45 - The World Is “Overly Paranoid” About AI

24:37 - Why Cybersecurity Gets Scarier Before It Gets Better

26:19 - Sci-Fi, Star Trek, and the Helpful Robot

28:18 - Will AI Agents Pay in Stablecoins?

30:24 - Why Cloudflare Won't Pick Crypto Winners

32:09 - How Agents Could Bring Privacy Back

35:04 - From an Attention Economy to a Knowledge Economy

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This episode is hosted by Jennifer Sanasie.

Acronym Foundation President Tyler Spalding joins CoinDesk's Kate Irwin on Markets Outlook to break down the launch of the Anvil Protocol's SDK and what it means for bringing DeFi into everyday business. Spalding explains how Anvil works as a letter of credit protocol, and how CoinDesk parent company Bullish is among the first companies to integrate the SDK. Plus, why Bitcoin, Ethereum and tokenized real-world assets could reshape on-chain collateral.

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Disclosure: Bullish is the parent company of CoinDesk.

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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.

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Digital markets move fast. Move forward with clarity from S&P Global Ratings' risk analysis spanning stablecoins, tokenized funds, digital bonds, DeFi protocols, and more. Explore digital asset solutions with S&P Global Ratings at https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/products/solutions/digital-assets?utm_campaign=Global-DA-Vaults&utm_source=digital-ads&utm_medium=link&utm_content=CoinDesk1.

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Read more about CoinDesk Research's report on Asia-Pacific's emergence as the proving ground for regulated stablecoin finance and RLUSD's role at: https://www.coindesk.com/research/the-definitive-stablecoin-landscape-series-asia-pacific

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Timecodes:

00:00 - Tyler Spalding Joins Markets Outlook

02:02 - Anvil Launches Its SDK for Builders

03:10 - DeFi's New Playbook: Letters of Credit

04:09 - Founders Fund Leads $5M Anvil Token Round

05:40 - Why a Governance Token Still Makes Sense

09:12 - The First Companies to Integrate

11:42 - What Makes Anvil's On-Chain Collateral Different

14:22 - Collateral in the Age of AI Agents

14:57 - Bitcoin, Ethereum and the Future of Collateral

One year after Grayscale unlocked Ethereum staking inside an ETF for the first time, Head of Index Steve Vanourny breaks down what they've learned and why the results speak for themselves. Steve makes the case that unstaked ETH ETF investors are leaving money on the table and looks ahead at where Grayscale is taking its product roadmap next, from income strategies to the convergence of crypto and AI compute.
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Timecodes:

0:00 - Intro: Leaving Money on the Table
0:20 - One-Year Anniversary of ETH Staking in ETFs
0:48 - Lessons Learned: Staking Matters
1:21 - The Economics of Staking
2:49 - Why Grayscale Over Competitors
4:15 - Ethereum Ecosystem Outlook
5:11 - Educating Investors on Staking Risks
6:54 - ETF Roadmap: Income & AI Convergence
8:30 - Key Takeaway: Do Your Homework
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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.