Maz ElJundi, Head of Crypto at Revolut, discusses how the financial app is creating a bridge between traditional banking and Web3, driving crypto adoption through education and intuitive user experiences.
In this episode of Gen C, Avery comes back to join Sam and welcome Mazen ElJundi, who leads crypto at Revolut. With his global perspective from living across the Middle East, Europe and the US, Mazen shares insights on Revolut's growth to 52.5 million users and $4 billion in revenue. The conversation explores how Revolut is simplifying crypto for everyday users, the importance of education in driving adoption and why borderless payments represent one of the most promising use cases for cryptocurrency.
Billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper joins "CoinDesk Spotlight" with a bold prediction that bitcoin could dethrone the U.S. dollar within 10 years as the dominant global currency. Plus, he advocates for the inclusion of bitcoin in company treasuries alongside fiat currencies for stability and weighs in on an AI-driven future with revolutionized jobs and productivity. And, personal reflection on the individuals who shaped him and the legacy he hopes to leave.
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This content should not be construed or relied upon as investment advice. It is for entertainment and general information purposes.
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This episode was hosted by Christine Lee. “CoinDesk Spotlight” is produced by Sam Ewen, Christine Lee, Jennifer Sanasie, Taylor Fleming and Victor Chen.
Check out our free report on forecasting Bitcoin’s hashrate: https://blockspace.media/insight/download-our-report-hashrate-forecast-for-2025-2027/
Welcome to The Mining Pod! Today, Will and Colin dissect Galaxy's report on the crypto lending market. The crypto lending sector crashed 80% after peaking at $64.4 billion in Q4 2021 following failures at Genesis, BlockFi, and Celsius which fissured the lending landscape during bitcoin’s 2022 bear market. Since then, DeFi lending has surged 959% to $19.1 billion and has now overtaken centralized lending. Plus, Tether emerged from the bear market as the dominant player in centralized lending, why ASIC-backed loans haven’t recovered from 2021’s go-go days, and why bitcoin miners will increasingly leverage their HODL to access financing.
# Notes:
- Crypto lending market: $36.5B in Q4 2024
- DeFi lending grew 959% since Q4 2022
- Tether controls ~70% of centralized lending
- ASIC-backed loans collapsed in 2022
- Large miners beginning Bitcoin lending operations
- Interest rates lower in DeFi vs. OTC markets
00:00 Start
03:34 Why does lending matter?
05:56 Lender types
07:02 DeFi loan market
08:30 Lending market growth
24:47 Future of the lending market
25:41 Lava
27:02 AAVE
28:22 Interest rates
31:54 Predictions: Miners using BTC as collateral
33:22 Predictions: Rates converging with tradfi
35:10 Predictions: Retail lending products
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👉 @Digital_Shovel, All Things Crypto Mining!
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Bitcoin developers are clashing over relaxing OP_RETURN limits. This technical debate about arbitrary data on Bitcoin has sparked divisions about what constitutes "spam" and revealed tensions between Bitcoin Core devs and those seeking a "purer" Bitcoin experience.
What started as a technical proposal has exploded into community division, with accusations of "destroying Bitcoin" flying around. The hosts break down what OP_RETURN is, why some devs want to increase its size limit, and why others view it as enabling "spam" on the blockchain. At its core, this fight reveals deeper tensions about who controls Bitcoin's future and what the network should be used for.
Notes:
- OP_RETURN limit currently set at 83 bytes
- Proposal would increase limit to ~1 megabyte
- 30-45% of Bitcoin transactions are "non-financial"
- Bitcoin Knots node usage has grown to 7-8%
- Out-of-band transactions bypass node relay
- Core devs facing diminished community trust
Timestamps:
00:00:00:00 Start
00:00:36:16 Why's everyone so mad?
00:02:04:14 Claim your bias
00:04:00:03 The backstory
00:08:27:09 Changing the OP_RETRUN limit
00:11:24:06 Post to relax the limit
00:15:39:23 Out of Band payment
00:17:39:06 Standard vs valid consensus
00:19:52:29 What is spam?
00:28:41:05 Arch Network
00:29:13:14 Cons of increasing the limit
00:32:34:25 That's too "woke" bro!
00:35:56:27 Knots
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o you by Arch Network! Arch brings the speed of Solana & the best of crypto UX to Bitcoin. Tap into the rich app ecosystem on Arch & try out the testnet while you’re still early! Visit arch.network to learn more.
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👋Bitcoin Season 2 is produced Blockspace Media, Bitcoin’s first B2B publication in Bitcoin. Follow us on Twitter and check out our newsletter for the best information in Bitcoin mining, Ordinals and tech!
Enjoy the show? Check out our website and newsletter by clicking here.
Questions or want to sponsor? hello@blockspace.media
Host Christine Lee breaks down the latest news in the crypto industry as American Robert Prevost became pope, beating crypto prediction market odds.
American Robert Prevost didn't think he would become pope, and neither did crypto prediction markets. Plus, Meta re-joins the stablecoin race and Celsius' Alex Mashinsky lands 12 years in prison. CoinDesk's Christine Lee presents "CoinDesk Daily."
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This episode was hosted by Christine Lee. “CoinDesk Daily” is produced by Christine Lee and edited by Victor Chen.
Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Bitcoin’s back above $100k and hashrate is rebounding above 900 EH/s with it. In this week's news roundup, Kelly Greer from Crucible Capital joins to explain trends in the GPU financing and hosting markets – and what ASIC market cycles can tell us about where they might be going. We also cover Alpha's IPO valuation, the Digital Energy Council's push against tariffs on ASIC miners, and how Bitfarms is joining other miners in halting hash expansion to focus on HPC and AI infrastructure builds.
Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com
# Notes:
- Network hash rate rebounding to ~900 exahashes
- GPU rental prices down to $1.45-2.10 per hour
- Alpha IPO valued at $215-300 million
- Tariffs on ASICs could reach 24-36%
- BitFarms halting hash expansion for HPC/AI focus
- Trump admin signals support but tariffs persist
Timestamps:
00:00 Start
02:33 Difficulty Report Presented By Luxor
04:42 GPU rental, financing landscape is shifting
18:00 Antalpha valuation
23:55 ASIC tariff exclusion
29:00 Bitfarms pauses mining to focus on AI
👉 Fractal Bitcoin, Reduces up to 50% of your pool fee. No new hardware, no extra energy.
And it’s easy. FB rewards go straight to your existing Bitcoin wallet address. Over 50% of Bitcoin’s hashpower is already merge mining Fractal. Get more from the same resources — start on Fractal today!
👉 Luxor, Leaders In Bitcoin Mining and Compute Power!
Get game-changing mining results with Luxor Firmware. Boost hashrate, cut energy costs, protect your hardware, and maximize mining profits with LuxOS.
Published twice weekly, "The Mining Pod" interviews the best builders and operators in the
Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining landscape. Subscribe to get notifications when we publish interviews
on Tuesday and a news show on Friday!
👉 @Digital_Shovel, All Things Crypto Mining!
Are you a Crypto miner looking to expand your operations leading into this next Bull Market? Digital Shovel is a leading manufacturer of modular mining pods, as well as PDUs & Switchgears. Industry leading prices for a complete datacenter, including Smart PDUs and switchgear.
Host Christine Lee breaks down the latest news in the crypto industry as bitcoin soared over $100,000 again.
Bitcoin soared over $100,000 again Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with the United Kingdom. Plus, Arizona became the second U.S. state to sign a crypto reserve bill into law and the OCC is further relaxed rules to allow banks offer crypto services. CoinDesk's Christine Lee hosts "CoinDesk Daily."
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This episode was hosted by Christine Lee. “CoinDesk Daily” is produced by Christine Lee and edited by Victor Chen.
The latest price moves and insights with Christine Lee and Arthur Hayes.
To get the show every day, follow the podcast here.
Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes explains how bitcoin will reach $1 million by 2028, the likely outcome of U.S. and China trade talks, and the Federal Reserve’s irrelevance. Plus, find out what's in his portfolio, whether alt season will make a comeback and how he received a pardon from President Donald Trump.
Host Christine Lee breaks down the latest news in the crypto industry as optimism grows for a potential U.S.-China trade deal.
Bitcoin surging to about $97,000 along with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 as optimism grows for a potential U.S.-China trade deal as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced plans to meet Chinese officials in Switzerland this weekend. Plus, Ethereum's Pectra upgrade goes live and the first U.S. crypto reserve is signed into law in New Hampshire. CoinDesk's Christine Lee hosts "CoinDesk Daily."
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This episode was hosted by Christine Lee. “CoinDesk Daily” is produced by Christine Lee and edited by Victor Chen.
Udi Wertheimer discusses Bitcoin Core's controversial OP_RETURN changes, mounting community backlash, and why Core developers are losing social capital with Bitcoiners over technical decisions they can't properly communicate.
Udi Wertheimer, co-founder of the Taproot Wizards and famous Bitcoin provocateur, joins us to talk about the explosive OP_RETURN debate dividing the Bitcoin community. We dive deep into why Bitcoin Core developers are facing unprecedented backlash, how they've lost touch with newer Bitcoiners, and what Greg Maxwell's sudden reappearance signals about Core's weakening position. Udi offers surprising insights on both sides and proposes solutions for rebuilding trust between developers and the community.
Follow our guests: @udiwertheimer
**Notes:**
• OP_RETURN controversy spans over a decade
• Greg Maxwell returns after years of silence
• Core devs disconnected from 5+ year Bitcoiners
• ~50 readers engage with Bitcoin OpTech weekly
• 6-month delay suggested for PR merge
• JPEGs benefit from controversy attention
Timestamps:
00:00 Start
03:08 OP_RETURN Debate Summary
10:21 SPAM on Bitcoin
17:17 Is this a Core blunder?
27:26 How SHOULD Core do?
34:42 What if Core doesn't communicate better?
37:38 What does a pleb do?
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👉 Brought to you by Arch Network! Arch brings the speed of Solana & the best of crypto UX to Bitcoin. Tap into the rich app ecosystem on Arch & try out the testnet while you’re still early! Visit arch.network to learn more.
-
👋Bitcoin Season 2 is produced Blockspace Media, Bitcoin’s first B2B publication in Bitcoin. Follow us on Twitter and check out our newsletter for the best information in Bitcoin mining, Ordinals and tech!
Enjoy the show? Check out our website and newsletter by clicking here.
Questions or want to sponsor? hello@blockspace.media
