Callan, also known as “Sap” is the Co-Founder of Threshold Labs, the managing team behind Threshold Network’s tBTC, a trust-minimized bridge enabling native Bitcoin in DeFi.

Threshold Network is a decentralized infrastructure protocol that leverages threshold cryptography to provide privacy and access control services on public blockchains. It was formed through the merger of two projects, Keep and NuCypher, with the aim of enabling secure and decentralized custody and data privacy. One of its core offerings is tBTC, a decentralized bridge that allows users to bring their Bitcoin onto Ethereum and other EVM-compatible networks in the form of an ERC-20 token that is fully backed 1:1 by BTC.

tBTC is designed to address the limitations of custodial wrapped Bitcoin products, such as WBTC, which rely on centralized entities to hold users' BTC. Instead, tBTC uses a network of randomly selected node operators that collectively manage custody through threshold signature schemes. This structure ensures that no single party can access or move the underlying BTC, enhancing security and decentralization. The latest version, tBTC v2, introduces a scalable and permissionless model, progressively shifting control from human intermediaries to protocol-based guarantees.

Bitcoin DeFi—or BTCFi—is an emerging segment of decentralized finance that aims to bring Bitcoin’s liquidity into smart contract ecosystems. Historically, Bitcoin has been underutilized in DeFi due to its limited scripting capabilities and incompatibility with platforms like Ethereum. Bridges like tBTC are key to unlocking Bitcoin’s potential in DeFi, enabling BTC holders to participate in lending, yield farming, liquidity provision, and collateralized borrowing—all while retaining exposure to Bitcoin. By offering a decentralized, trust-minimized bridge, Threshold Network positions itself as a foundational layer in this growing ecosystem.

Stabull Finance

Threshold Network

Andy on Twitter

Brave New Coin on Twitter

Brave New Coin

If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.

Staci Warden is the Algorand Foundation CEO, and Dr. Matthew Brigida is Chief Economist at Algorand Foundation. In June, the Algorand Foundation’s tokenomics team released a new study questioning the assumption that TVL is a meaningful investment signal. Despite being widely cited as a proxy for legitimacy, the research found that TVL doesn’t correlate with token performance, even when adjusted for known distortions like double-counting.

The team analyzed 300+ cryptocurrencies from 2023–2024, simulating weekly long/short strategies based on TVL rankings. The result? No outperformance, no alpha. And no meaningful insight once broader market movements are accounted for.

As Pew reported last year, most Americans still don’t trust crypto. If TVL continues to be used as a shorthand for credibility, that only adds noise. This paper adds to the growing push for better metrics in DeFi.

Algorand’s mission is to power a world where information has integrity and innovative ideas can scale. The Algorand Foundation supports Algorand’s rapidly growing ecosystem by providing a best-in-class developer environment, supporting key infrastructure and setting technical standards, offering comprehensive support to builders and entrepreneurs, and providing the framework for decentralized governance.

Stabull Finance

The TVL Study White Paper

The TVL Study Blog Post

Algorand

Andy on Twitter

Brave New Coin on Twitter

Brave New Coin

If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.

Jeff Hancock is the CEO of Coinpass, a UK-based crypto exchange acquired by OANDA in 2023. He’s bringing crypto and traditional finance closer together in a secure, regulated way.

​​Born in London in 2018, Coinpass climbed the regulatory mountain early, securing an FCA crypto-asset registration and then catching the eye of multi-asset heavyweight OANDA, which snapped up a majority stake in August 2023. Now the exchange enjoys the deep pockets and risk-management chops of a global FX giant while keeping its Union-Jack credentials intact.

Coinpass is unapologetically business-first: corporate and SSAS pension accounts, OTC desks, Faster Payments for GBP, SEPA Instant for EUR, and a Fireblocks-secured custody stack. The offering tops out at roughly 18 coins across 50 pairs, with auto-trade DCA tools and a staking “Earn” programme.

As the FCA’s May 2025 paper ushers in a tougher regulatory era, Coinpass is already playing the game two moves ahead—fully registered, audit-ready, and backed by OANDA’s deep balance sheet. Its curated asset list and institutional-grade spreads may forego meme-coin noise, but they deliver what CFOs and treasurers actually need: transparent pricing, instant GBP rails, and a compliance posture built to glide through tomorrow’s rulebook. While other exchanges scramble to retrofit governance, Coinpass stands out as the gold-standard gateway for UK digital-asset professionals—future-proof, rock-solid, and ready to scale.

Stabull Finance

Coinpass

Andy on Twitter

Brave New Coin on Twitter

Brave New Coin

If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.