CFB Talks Digital Assets

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Jun 2026

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CFB Talks Digital Assets is the home of informed conversation about crypto from CF Benchmarks. We are the first and leading digital asset index provider, authorized and regulated by the UK FCA. Respected and innovative financial institutions use our indices and reference rates to power regulated financial instruments, like listed derivatives, investment funds and structured products. Join CF Benchmarks’ Head of Content, Ken Odeluga, Head of Research, Gabe Selby, CFA and Research Analyst, Mark Pilipczuk, as they talk with some of the most accomplished and influential figures in finance, about everything affecting digital assets — crypto protocols, markets, fund flows, on-chain metrics, macroeconomics and more.

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June 11, 202659 min

Inflation Prints, Hyperliquid's Rise & the SpaceX IPO

In the latest CF Benchmarks live X Space, recorded June 11, 2026, Head of Research Gabe Selby, CFA is joined by Research Analyst Mark Pilipczuk, Kraken Chief Economist Thomas Perfumo, CFA, and CF Benchmarks CEO Sui Chung, with special guest Ishmael Asad, Research Analyst at Bitwise, for a wide-ranging roundtable across macro, markets, and crypto fundamentals.With long-end yields at multi-year highs, a hot CPI and PPI print, and a new Fed chair stepping in the panel works through the following question: when do a string of "one-off" shocks cement into a structural regime? From there the conversation turns to where capital is actually flowing, contrasting a discounted crypto market, Hyperliquid's fundamentals-driven ascent and entry into the CF Large Cap, and a record-breaking SpaceX IPO drawing in a wave of retail demand.Chapters: 00:00 – Intro, Team Welcome & Guest Introduction 02:06 – The Macro Setup: Multi-Year-High Yields, Hot CPI & PPI 04:27 – A 1970s Redux? Oil, Iran & the Incoming Warsh Fed 06:50 – How Long Can "One-Off" Inflation Shocks Continue? 09:11 – Hot Labor Data, Rate-Hike Odds & a Global Liquidity Squeeze 14:08 – A View From London: Political Shocks & Stagflation Risk 17:10 – When Good News Is Bad News: Labor Market Cracks & Capital Rotation 19:58 – Spotlight on Hyperliquid: Inside CFB's New Valuation Framework 21:25 – HYPE's Economics: ~$1B Revenue, an 83% Margin & a 61x TTM Multiple 24:20 – Why a Scalable 24/7 Model Commands a Premium 26:13 – HYPE's Institutional Bid: ETF Flows & the Coinbase Deal 28:38 – HYPE Joins the CF Large Cap at Number Five 32:29 – Index Inclusion Explained: Why SpaceX Can't Join the S&P 500 Yet 37:14 – The Bear Case: Token Unlocks & Supply Overhang 39:55 – Hyperliquid's Competition & the Perps Landscape44:33 – The SpaceX IPO: What Are Investors Looking At?47:54 – Orbital AI: The Interstellar Data Center Narrative 49:40 – Elon's Playbook: Narrative, Multiples & "Populist Liquidity" 53:16 – Rapid Fire: The Week Ahead

June 5, 202655 min

Rate-Hike Fears, AI's Pull on Miners & Crypto's Capitulation

This episode was recorded live via X Spaces - audio quality varies in places.Recorded June 4, 2026, the latest CF Benchmarks live X Space finds Head of Research Gabe Selby, CFA joined by Research Analyst Mark Pilipczuk, Kraken Chief Economist Thomas Perfumo, CFA, and CF Benchmarks Product Manager Jen Wang, with special guest John Todaro, Managing Director of crypto and AI/HPC equity research at Needham.With Bitcoin near $63,500 after thirteen straight days of ETF outflows, the panel works through what a tightening capital markets backdrop, renewed rate-hike risk, and an unresolved US-Iran oil shock mean for digital assets. The conversation turns to why public Bitcoin miners are racing to become AI infrastructure landlords, how MicroStrategy and the new wave of treasury companies are faring under pressure, and where genuine fundamentals are still separating the winners from the noise.00:00 – Intro & Team Welcome 01:09 – Meet the Guest: Needham's John Todaro02:48 – Data Check: Bitcoin Near $63.5K as the BVX Spikes04:23 – Are Fed Rate Hikes Back on the Table?06:50 – Looking Through the Oil Shock: The Hormuz Premium08:25 – How Rates Hit Crypto Equities vs. AI Infrastructure11:37 – Is Bitcoin Mining a Dying Business?14:11 – Supply Constraints: GPUs, IREN–Nvidia & the Power Bottleneck18:10 – Public vs. Private Miners: The Great HPC Bifurcation22:47 – MicroStrategy's First BTC Sale Since 2022 & the Capital Markets Squeeze27:39 – Why Institutions Want Operating Cash Flows, Not Just Treasuries30:36 – BitMine's 9.5% Preferred: Does Staking Yield Change the DAT Math?33:14 – Crypto's Strangest Chart: Hyperliquid, Its ETF & "Fundamentals Not Vibes"36:29 – The Echo Chamber: Is This Really Capitulation?38:27 – Bitcoin's Technical Setup & the $59–60K Demand Zone41:19 – HYPE Joins the CF Capitalization Series (Jen Wang)42:58 – Reading the Vol Surface: Where the Protection Bid Sits44:48 – CME BVX Futures Go Live: A Hedging Playbook & the ETN Pipeline49:58 – Week Ahead: Clarity Act, ERCOT, FOMC & Friday Payrolls56:16 – Closing RemarksThe information contained within is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. It is not intended nor should it be considered an invitation or inducement to buy or sell any of the underlying instruments cited including but not limited to cryptoassets, financial instruments or any instruments that reference any index provided by CF Benchmarks Ltd. This communication is not intended to persuade or incite you to buy or sell security or securities noted within. Any commentary provided is the opinion of the author and should not be considered a personalised recommendation. Please contact your financial adviser or professional before making an investment decision.Note: Some of the underlying instruments cited within this material may be restricted to certain customer categories in certain jurisdictions.

May 15, 202657 min

CPI Upends Rate Reckoning, CME BTC Vol. Futures Go Live in June, CLARITY Markup Moves Forward

This episode was recorded live via X Spaces - audio quality varies in places.In this week's CF Benchmarks live X Space, recorded May 14, 2026, the team unpacks a packed week for macro, policy and market structure: a hot CPI print that flips rate-cut expectations on their head; the CLARITY Act clears the Senate Banking Committee with bipartisan support; Kevin Warsh's narrow confirmation as Fed Chair designate; and CME announces Bitcoin Volatility futures will launch on June 1.Join Head of Research Gabe Selby, CFA, Research Analyst Mark Pilipczuk, Kraken Chief Economist Thomas Perfumo, CFA, and - for a special deep dive on CME's watershed product launch - CF Benchmarks Senior Product Manager Xin Wang.Chapters:00:00 – Intro & Team Welcome00:53 – Hot CPI Print: 3.8% YoY & The Rate Hike Pivot03:25 – PPI Confirms The Trend: Sharpest Print Since March 202205:25 – Market Impact: S&P at All-Time Highs, 10-Year Tops Year-to-Date07:00 – CLARITY Act Markup: Today's Pivotal Senate Banking Vote09:35 – GENIUS Act as the Analog: Why CLARITY Matters11:57 – Calendar Risk: Beating the Midterm Clock13:06 – Warsh Confirmed 54-45 — But Powell Stays Until 202818:46 – The Real Story: A Divided Fed Board, Not a Puppet Chair21:00 – Bitcoin at $81K & The 200-Week Moving Average in Focus24:26 – ETF Bid Support: Stairs Up, Elevator Down?27:05 – Stagflation Tilt: GDPNow & Decelerating Growth28:20 – Ether's Relief Rally: Catch-Up Trade or Real Move?31:03 – Altcoin Leadership: AI & Compute Tokens Take the Lead34:51 – CME Launches Bitcoin Vol. Futures June 1: a Watershed Moment36:33 – Inside BVX/BVXS: 30-Day Forward Vol. on CME Bitcoin Options39:18 – Is BVX the "VIX of Bitcoin"? Similarities & Differences41:40 – Vol. as Feature, Not Bug: How Practitioners Will Deploy BVX44:25 – The IBIT Options Effect: Compressing Bitcoin's Vol. Curve50:06 – The $10T Asset Question: Why Bitcoin Vol. Trends Down52:54 – Week Ahead: FOMC Minutes & The Trump-Xi Summit56:26 – Closing Remarks

May 11, 20261 hr 6 min

Saylor's Pivot, NFP Heat & the Clarity Countdown: Crypto's Cross-Currents

This episode was recorded live via X Spaces - audio quality varies in places.In the fourth CF Benchmarks live X Space, recorded Friday May 8, 2026, Head of Content Ken Odeluga is joined by Head of Research Gabe Selby, CFA, Research Analyst Mark Pilipczuk, Kraken Chief Economist Thomas Perfumo, CFA and CF Benchmarks Senior Product Manager James Flamant - with special guest Ryan Rasmussen, Head of Research at Bitwise.A red-hot NFP print, Michael Saylor's signal that Bitcoin sales aren't off the table, Circle's 20% pop on stablecoin-rewards optimism, and a forensic walk-through of the Kelp DAO ~$300M cross-chain exploit. From AI concentration risk and chipmaker earnings to the Clarity Act markup expected within days, the team unpacks the cross-currents shaping crypto right now.Chapters:00:00 – Intro & Team Welcome01:21 – NFP Shocker: 115K Print Smashes the 65K Estimate04:36 – Household vs. Employer Survey: The Revisions Question06:42 – AI, Crypto & the Decade-Long Productivity Boom07:31 – Cross-Asset Reaction: NQ Bid, Bitcoin Offered08:38 – The K-Shaped Equity Market & Mark-to-Market EPS12:13 – Chipmakers in Focus: Intel's Comeback, AMD's GPU Push15:19 – AI Concentration Risk: What Happens If Momentum Fades?17:50 – Bitcoin Decoupling from Tech: Finding the Next Catalyst20:46 – Crypto Equities & Miners Steal the Show23:27 – Coinbase Earnings: The Institutional Pivot Accelerates25:56 – Strategy's $12.5B Loss & Saylor's Capital-Structure Pivot30:26 – The Signal Heard Round Crypto: Strategy May Sell Bitcoin35:04 – ETF Flows vs. MicroStrategy: Who's Really Driving Price?38:09 – Is Strategy Coming In From the Cold?41:00 – Bitcoin's Volatility as a Feature: Tax-Loss Harvesting44:30 – The Clarity Act: Where Market Structure Stands Right Now47:39 – Circle Pops 20%: Stablecoin Rewards in the Spotlight50:32 – Deep Dive: The Kelp DAO $300M Cross-Chain Exploit55:28 – Safeguards, Sandboxes & the Innovation Exemption58:25 – Architecture After Kelp: Hunting the Weakest Link01:00:11 – Week Ahead: Inflation, the Warsh Vote & the Clarity Markup01:04:18 – Rethinking On-Chain Risk-Free Rates01:05:16 – Closing Remarks

May 1, 20261 hr 2 min

Crypto vs. Fractured Fed: Warsh Incoming, Powell Stays, Plus Morgan Stanley and Goldman BTC ETFs

This episode was recorded live via X Spaces — audio quality varies in places. In the third CF Benchmarks live X Space, recorded April 30, 2026, Head of Content Ken Odeluga is joined by Kraken Chief Economist Thomas Perfumo, CF Benchmarks Head of Research Gabe Selby, and Research Analyst Mark Pilipczuk for a packed session the morning after the most divided FOMC vote in over three decades.The DOJ has dropped its probe into Jerome Powell, Kevin Warsh has cleared the Senate Banking Committee on a historic party-line vote, and Powell has signalled he intends to stay on as a board governor — all in the space of a week. Meanwhile, four dissents at Wednesday's FOMC meeting — the most since October 1992 — have laid bare a fragmented central bank just as its leadership transition begins. The team unpacks what it all means for the rate path, risk assets, and crypto specifically, before turning to the Bitcoin ETF distribution war heating up between IBIT, Morgan Stanley's newly launched MSBT, and Goldman Sachs' income-focused filing.00:00 – Intro & Team Welcome01:20 – DOJ Drops the Powell Probe: Clearing the Path for Warsh 05:04 – Powell Digs In: Staying as Governor Until 202809:33 – Jackson Hole: The Next Real Fed Event10:26 – Risk Assets in Earnings Mode, Not Rate-Cut Mode12:18 – Inside the FOMC Decision: Four Dissents, Most Since 199224:25 – Rate Cut Odds Collapse: What It Means for Crypto29:40 – Why Crypto Is Lagging Equities Right Now31:54 – Morgan Stanley's MSBT: Can a Late Entrant Compete?35:02 – The Distribution War: IBIT's Portability Edge41:58 – Goldman's Bitcoin Premium Income ETF: Boomer Candy Arrives48:07 – Bitcoin's Gamma Ceiling & the Missing Euphoria Bid52:20 – Capital Flows: ETFs vs. MicroStrategy54:46 – The Silver Lining: Warsh as Crypto Bull & Fed Deregulation56:24 – AI CapEx & the Growth Sustainability Question57:57 – Week Ahead: Iran, Clarity Act, Michigan Sentiment & Earnings61:03 – Closing Remarks

April 28, 202640 min

BlackRock's Matt Kunke on the Launch of ETHB and Staking ETF Mechanics

In around four weeks after its listing, BlackRock's iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB) had gathered roughly $450M in assets — which BlackRock itself calls a "top-quintile" launch.We're stoked to welcome Matt Kunke, CFA — Director and US iShares Digital Assets ETFs Product Strategist at BlackRock — to the CFB Talks Digital Assets podcast for a deep dive on what ETHB unlocks, why it sits alongside the original Ether ETF (ETHA) rather than replacing it, and how staking actually works inside an ETP wrapper.CF Benchmarks is the index provider for BlackRock's IBIT, ETHA and ETHB - so this conversation gets technical fast, but Matt is at his lucid best throughout.A sample of what's in store:Why BlackRock built ETHB as a separate product instead of converting ETHA — and the reasoning behind giving investors choiceThe "collateralized bond" mental model for proof-of-stake, and why correlated slashing — the tail risk everyone names — has never actually happenedHow ETHB manages its stated 70%–95% staking range, the entry queue currently sitting at ~50 days, and why the exit queue is the one that really mattersThe Lido stETH precedent: why sophisticated market actors should keep ETHB-style products at-or-near NAV even in stressed environmentsWhere staking yields are headed post-Pectra, the floor mechanics, and why the glide path is gradual rather than abruptETH + staking rewards — how wealth advisors and hedge funds are actually framing the tradeWhy ETH's wirehouse approval trajectory looks today the way IBIT's did roughly nine months agoGrab your beverage of choice and dive in!Recorded April 2026.Chapters00:00 – Intro & Welcome: Matt Kunke from BlackRock02:00 – A Top-Quintile Launch: ETHB Hits $450M in Under Four Weeks04:15 – A New Product, Not an ETHA Conversion06:14 – TradFi Demand vs. Crypto-Native Sentiment08:29 – Tax & The Case for Keeping an Unstaked Option09:08 – Staking 101: The Collateralized Bond Mental Model11:24 – Three Staking Providers & the Correlated Slashing Defense13:23 – Slashing in Practice14:42 – Why 32 ETH? Pectra's Move to 2048 and Validator Consolidation16:11 – Inside the 70%–95% Staking Range18:25 – Why Lido's stETH Says Staking Discounts Stay Tight20:54 – The 50-Day Entry Queue vs. the Empty Exit Queue23:24 – Genesis of ETHB: Regulation & International Precedent25:13 – ETH + Staking Rewards: How Investors Frame the Trade26:31 – The Ethereum Thesis: Lindy, Liveness & Institutional Use Cases28:59 – Inside Staking Yields: Issuance, Fees & The Gentle Glide Path33:18 – What's Next: Basis Trades, Covered Calls & Modulated Risk35:53 – Bitcoin's Bias & ETH's Wirehouse Approval Trajectory38:24 – Closing Remarks

April 24, 202653 min

Warsh, Weekend Trading & the $300M Hack: Crypto's Inflection Points

Recorded April 23, 2026. This episode was recorded live via X Spaces - audio quality varies in places.In the second CF Benchmarks live X Space, Head of Research Gabe Selby is joined by Kraken Chief Economist Thomas Perfumo, CF Benchmarks Head of Product Thomas Erdosi, and Research Analyst Mark Pilipczuk for another packed markets discussion. The team breaks down Kevin Warsh's Senate confirmation hearing and what a shift away from forward guidance could mean for rate volatility. They dive into Strategy's accelerating Bitcoin purchases - now at a 16-month high - and whether the NAV premium can sustain the buying machine. The conversation turns to CME's landmark move to 24/7 crypto futures trading from May 29th, and Kraken's acquisition of Bitnomial, giving it the full CFTC license stack that brings regulated perpetual futures to the U.S. for the first time. A deep dive into the Kelp DAO's $292M bridge exploit opens up a broader discussion on AI's dual role as both threat and defence in DeFi security. The team closes with their Q1 factor performance breakdown and a look at the key catalysts ahead.Chapters:00:00 – Intro & Team Welcome02:27 – Warsh's Confirmation Hearing: What Did We Learn?05:58 – Killing the Dot Plot? The Forward Guidance Debate09:07 – Why Less Transparency Could Backfire on Rates10:06 – Balance Sheet Reduction: Tough Talk, Tougher Execution12:19 – Strategy's Bitcoin Buying Spree Hits a 16-Month High14:52 – NAV Premiums, STRF & the Sustainability Question18:00 – CME Goes 24/7: A Watershed Moment for Crypto Futures21:40 – The Weekend Gap Problem24:27 – Kraken's CFTC License Stack: Spot, Margin & Perps Under One Roof26:21 – Perpetual Futures Go Regulated in the U.S.29:31 – Will Perps Eat Fixed-Term Futures' Lunch?31:51 – On-Chain Innovation: CF Benchmarks Oracles & Tokenised Indices34:15 – Deep Dive: The Kelp DAO $292M Bridge Exploit38:36 – DeFi's Hidden Counterparty Risk Problem43:00 – AI as Defence: Patching Vulnerabilities Before the Hackers Do44:19 – Q1 Factor Performance: What Worked & What Didn't48:14 – Week Ahead: PCE, GDP, Fund Flows & the Clarity Act52:28 – Closing Remarks

April 7, 202656 min

War, Rates & Resilience: Making Sense of Bitcoin in a Crisis

This episode was recorded live via X Spaces - audio quality varies in places.In the inaugural CF Benchmarks live X Space, recorded April 1 2026, Head of Research Gabe Selby, CFA is joined by Research Analyst Mark Pilipczuk, Kraken's Chief Economist Thomas Perfumo, CFA and Senior Product Manager Cristian Isac for a wide-ranging markets discussion. The team unpacks Bitcoin's surprising resilience during Operation Epic Fury, why traditional safe havens like Treasuries failed to protect portfolios, and what the Fed's paralysis between inflation and a weakening labor market means for rate expectations heading into the Powell-to-Warsh transition. They also dig into the breakdown of the Bitcoin–M2 money supply relationship (and why that dislocation may signal undervaluation), MicroStrategy's evolving capital structure and preferred yield, the emerging world of Bitcoin structured products, and what institutional appetite on the ground at DAS tells us about where the market is heading next.00:00 – Intro & Team Welcome01:02 – Operation Epic Fury: Market Reactions & Surprises03:34 – Why Treasuries Failed as a Safe Haven04:41 – Bitcoin's Resilience: Holding the Line Through Conflict05:49 – CF Benchmarks Flagship Index Recap06:42 – Macro Regimes & Bitcoin's Shifting Role08:58 – NFP Preview & Labor Market Weakness10:20 – Fed Policy Paralysis: Inflation vs. Employment12:54 – Powell's Exit, Warsh's Nomination & Fed Composition17:30 – Should the Fed Look Through the Inflation Spike?19:28 – Global Money Supply & Bitcoin: Building a Forecast Model21:27 – Correlation ≠ Causation: Why Factors Break Down25:05 – Market Dislocations: Gold vs. Real Yields, Forex & M2-BTC Divergence28:07 – Where's the Fair Value? The Case for BTC Undervaluation31:30 – Gold vs. Bitcoin Flows: A Rotation Underway?34:10 – MicroStrategy: Treasury Strategy, Preferred Shares & Yield39:02 – Could MSTR Acquire Discount Treasury Companies?41:14 – Structured Products: Packaging Bitcoin for Institutions46:17 – Bitcoin Volatility Index & Covered Call ETFs50:32 – Vol Products Paradox: Does Selling Vol Kill Vol?52:56 – Institutional Appetite Post-DAS & What's Next55:03 – Closing Remarks

March 27, 202639 min

xStocks: Inside Kraken's Tokenized Equities Revolution

Kraken’s xStocks are nothing short of a global phenomenon - with total transaction volumes reaching $25 billion in just 8 months.The more important question is what that growth says about the future of market structure.On the latest CFB Talks Digital Assets podcast, we explore the rise of Kraken xStocks with Mark Greenberg, Head of B2B at Payward Services / Kraken, and Thomas Erdösi, Head of Product at CF Benchmarks.Topics covered include: How xStocks are gaining traction by combining equity exposure with crypto-native functionality, including 24/7 access, transferability, self-custody, and on-chain facilities How xStocks work: the mechanics behind 1:1 backing, price integrity, and the critical design choices needed to support tokenized stock exposure at scale The role of CF Benchmarks: regulated pricing methodology and calculation infrastructure How Kraken’s new partnership with Nasdaq paves the way for a regulated, permissioned U.S. pathway to tokenized equities, powered by the xStocks infrastructure - and what that means for issuance, settlement, and expanded market accessIf you’re following the convergence of digital assets and traditional markets, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss!

February 12, 202654 min

Monochrome's Jeff Yew and Grayson McLeod on What Makes a True Spot Crypto ETF, Asia Expansion & More

We're delighted to welcome Monochrome Asset Management back to the CFB Talks Digital Assets podcast. Monochrome is Australia's only asset manager licensed for direct retail crypto custody. Consequently, its crypto ETFs are the only ones in Australia that hold assets directly - not via feeder or sub-funds. Monochrome ETFs are also unusual due to offering in-kind creation and redemption for all investors. Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (IBTC) and Monochrome Ethereum ETF (IETH) are listed on Cboe Australia, each with a management fee of 0.25%. They're the lowest-cost crypto ETFs in Australia. With IBTC recently passing US$100 million in AuM and Monochrome now expanding in South-East Asia, we're stoked to sit down with CEO Jeff Yew and Chief Operating Officer Grayson McLeod. Listen in for exclusive insights on Oz's institutional crypto landscape, and the potential offered by the country's vast superannuation system. Key talking points:What exactly makes IBTC and IETH distinct as true holders of crypto, and how does this benefit investors?How Monochrome's regulated in-kind facility means no cap on institutional allocationsThe key to unlocking faster growth for ETH ETF allocationsWhat's behind IBTC's and IETH's airtight tracking?How close are we to seeing allocations at scale from Aussie 'Supers'?For a rare look at the evolution of institutional crypto in the pivotal Australian marketplace get Jeff and Grayson's perceptive commentary now!