NYDIG Notes

NYDIG's Pete Janney and Greg Cipolaro break down a North Korean exploit that drained nearly $300 million from a DeFi project, triggering knock-on effects across the crypto lending ecosystem. The pair size up the digital asset-backed lending market, roughly $70 billion in outstanding loans, with about half originated through DeFi platforms, and walk through how a single exploit on Kelp cascaded into Aave, drained TVL from ~$28 billion to ~$13 billion, and pushed dollar borrowing rates from around 4% to 13-15%. They examine the mechanics of the digital bank run, why borrowers and depositors are now locked in, and the governance and economic risks that institutional participants often abstract away. Greg argues the term "DeFi" is a misnomer, with "open finance" being a more accurate description given how centralized the decision-making actually is. The conversation closes with what this means for Wall Street's tokenization and stablecoin roadmaps, and why a high-touch, traditional approach to digital asset lending matters more than ever.

In this episode, NYDIG's Pete Janney and Greg Cipolaro unpack bitcoin's strong performance since the onset of the Iran conflict. The pair examine drivers of that outperformance and where the incremental buyer is coming from, with a close look at Strategy's STRC perpetual preferred equity instrument. They also cover Goldman Sachs entering the covered call ETF space, the state of implied and realized volatility, and what the current options environment means for yield-seeking clients. Greg adds context from on-chain metrics suggesting the current drawdown is tracking better than prior cycles and a bottoming process may be underway.

NYDIG's Pete Janney, Greg Cipolaro, Logan Scott, and Ben Lawsky reconvene for their quarterly update and outlook, recapping a turbulent Q1 2026 that saw bitcoin fall 22.5% amid a cascade of headwinds, from the failed Clarity Act markup and quantum computing fears to AI disruption, the Iran conflict, and rising stagflation concerns. The team unpacks how bitcoin has surprisingly outperformed since the onset of geopolitical tensions, behaving as a store of value while precious metals stumbled, and why correlations with U.S. equities near all-time highs tell a more nuanced story. They assess the current state of institutional adoption, including major banks launching custody and ETF products, new capital formation structures like Strategy's STRC and Strive's preferred equity, and the convergence of traditional finance and crypto firms. The conversation turns to the Q2 outlook, where the fate of the Clarity Act looms large. May is shaping up as the make-or-break window before midterm politics close the legislative path, and the team weighs what that means for the market, regulatory clarity, and the next wave of institutional capital.

In this episode, NYDIG's Pete Janney and Ben Lawsky unpack the current state of the Clarity Act, the broad market structure bill that would define when digital assets are securities versus commodities and establish a regulatory framework for exchanges, DeFi, and tokenization. They explore how an unresolved stablecoin yield provision from the Genius Act derailed the bill's momentum, the competing interests of the banking lobby, major crypto players, and the White House, and why May is shaping up as a make-or-break window before midterm politics complicate the path forward. The conversation also touches on what legislative delay means for institutional adoption and why some of the largest financial firms are hoping for statutory clarity before finalizing their moves into the crypto space.

In this episode, NYDIG’s Greg Cipolaro and Pete Janney discuss how perpetual preferred stock issuance has become a new driver of bitcoin demand, with instruments like Strategy’s STRC helping digital asset treasury companies raise capital to expand their bitcoin holdings. They break down how these products work, why they have resonated with investors, and the key risks tied to bitcoin price exposure, corporate credit, and dividend sustainability. The conversation also compares the current market drawdown with the 2022 cycle, highlighting the limited fallout from a recent bankruptcy and the signs of a more resilient, better-capitalized crypto industry.

In this episode, NYDIG’s Greg Cipolaro and Pete Janney discuss how geopolitical tensions stemming from the Iran conflict have created volatility across global markets, particularly in oil, equities, and interest rates, and how bitcoin has responded differently than in past risk-off environments. They examine bitcoin’s recent price stability near the mid-$60K range and the possibility that the market may be entering an early bottoming phase as trading activity and derivatives metrics begin to recover. The conversation also explores bitcoin’s evolving correlation with technology equities, the continued institutional buildout of crypto infrastructure despite muted token price reactions, and recent critiques of bitcoin from prominent investors, highlighting ongoing debates around its role, adoption trajectory, and long-term positioning in the financial system.

In this episode, NYDIG’s Pete Janney and Greg Cipolaro discuss rising market anxiety tied to artificial intelligence and its potential economic impact. They examine a widely circulated “AI doom” research piece and why concerns about job displacement and weakening demand are resonating with investors. The conversation compares today’s debate with past technological revolutions and explores how rapid rotations across equities and broader risk sentiment are affecting bitcoin, and how uncertainty around AI and portfolio repositioning is shaping the current macro environment.