<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i style="font-size: 12pt;">Episode 101</i><b style="font-size: 12pt;"><i> </i></b><i>of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded at Converge22 with <strong>The Block's Frank Chaparro and Castle Island Ventures Founding Partner Nic Carter.</strong></i></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on </i><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-scoop/id1460134454"><i>Apple</i></a><i>, </i><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/7qwrgTJ5CYDXAaVILNZuEd"><i>Spotify</i></a><i>, </i><a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vdGhlYmxvY2stdGhlc2Nvb3A?sa=X&amp;ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwionbSO9fbxAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAg"><i>Google Podcasts</i></a><i>, </i><a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-block-2/the-scoop-4"><i>Stitcher,</i></a><i> or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.<br /> <iframe frameborder="0" height="200" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=BLOCK7776265342" width="100%"></iframe><br /> </i></span></p> <hr /> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Back in July, controversy broke out amongst Bitcoiners when Nic Carter — a long-time bitcoin proponent and Founding Partner of Castle Island Ventures — </span><a href="https://twitter.com/nic__carter/status/1541865117553418242"><span style="font-weight: 400;">announced</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that his firm invested in a Web3 authentication company.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Even though Castle Island recently launched a </span><a href="https://www.theblock.co/linked/134432/castle-island-ventures-announces-new-250-million-fund-for-web3-investments"><span style="font-weight: 400;">$250 million</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> fund explicitly for Web3 investments, Carter’s announcement was met with staunch criticism from some members of the Bitcoin community.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode of The Scoop, Nic Carter and host Frank Chaparro discuss some of the philosophical underpinnings of the crypto space, including the similarities between Bitcoin maximalism and religious dogma.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although Carter himself is a vocal supporter of Bitcoin, he does not elevate it to anything beyond a monetary innovation — this, Carter says, is what separates him from the more zealous members of the community:</span></p> <blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The one part of the community I distance myself from is the part that confuses bitcoin with religious doctrine. I think religion is religion, money is money, and they're pretty distinct, and they should stay distinct.</span></p> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The day after the controversy broke out on Twitter, Carter addressed the situation in a Medium </span><a href="https://medium.com/@nic__carter/setting-the-record-straight-b4e1b415e7d9"><span style="font-weight: 400;">article</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> titled, ‘Setting the record straight; or: a eulogy for Bitcoin maximalism.’</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In it, he writes:</span></p> <blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I am not pessimistic on Bitcoin. I’m just interested in the world as it actually is, instead of the world of utopias and pleasant delusions."</span></p> </blockquote> <p><em>During this episode, Carter and Chaparro also discuss:</em></p> <ul> <li>What's wrong with fiat-pegged stablecoins</li> <li>Why the measurement of crypto metrics can be misleading</li> <li>How regulation will impact the industry</li> </ul> <hr /> <p><b>This episode is brought to you by our sponsors <a href="https://trondao.org/"><em>Tron</em></a><em><br /> </em></b></p> <p><strong>About Tron<br /> </strong><b></b><em>TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by <a href="https://www.hejustinsun.com/">H.E. Justin Sun</a>, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of <a href="https://www.bittorrent.com/">BitTorrent</a>, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | <a href="https://trondao.org/hackathon/">TRONDAO</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/trondao">Twitter</a> | <a href="http://discord.gg/tron">Discord</a> |</em></p><br /><span class="copyright"><p>© 2023 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.</p> </span>