BTC247: Bitcoin's evolution with Traditional Finance w/ Jon Melton (Bitcoin Podcast)

We Study Billionaires - The Investor’s Podcast Network

Stig Brodersen

Education, Investing, Business

4.6 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 13 August 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Preston sits down with Jon Melton to explore his shift from Morgan Stanley to Bitcoin, insights on Silvergate Bank’s crypto strategy, and the future of Bitcoin-backed finance. They delve into lending models, the impact of regulation, and how Jon sees banks engaging with digital assets going forward. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 04:31 - How Jon transitioned from Morgan Stanley to the Bitcoin world. 06:32 - The impact of Wences Casares on Jon’s Bitcoin conviction. 08:43 - What made Zappo a pioneer in Bitcoin custody. 09:42 - Silvergate Bank’s unique approach to cryptocurrency banking. 14:50 - Reasons behind Silvergate’s decision to wind down operations. 20:09 - The importance of over-collateralization in Bitcoin lending. 23:10 - Why Unchained avoids rehypothecation in its lending model. 27:25 - How Bitcoin loans might integrate with real estate in the future. 33:38 - The Federal Reserve vs. Treasury Department on stablecoin policy. 37:49 - Why Jon remains bullish on Bitcoin and its role in future finance. Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Website: Unchained Capital. Related Article: Revisiting Unchained’s Core Lending Principles by Jon Melton. Related article: Core Lending Principles. Related article: The Plot to Destroy Silvergate by Nic Carter. Related Video: Banking, Crypto, and an Upcoming Regulatory Overhaul with Caitlin Long and John Maxfield. Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Premium Feed⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. NEW TO THE SHOW? Join the exclusive ⁠⁠⁠⁠TIP Mastermind Community⁠⁠⁠⁠ to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Follow our official social media accounts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠ | | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠. Check out our ⁠⁠⁠⁠Bitcoin Fundamentals Starter Packs⁠⁠⁠⁠. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠. Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠TIP Finance Tool⁠⁠⁠⁠. Enjoy exclusive perks from our ⁠⁠⁠⁠favorite Apps and Services⁠⁠⁠⁠. Get smarter about valuing businesses in just a few minutes each week through our newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠The Intrinsic Value Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the ⁠⁠⁠⁠best business podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our ⁠⁠⁠⁠sponsors⁠⁠⁠⁠: SimpleMining Hardblock AnchorWatch Human Rights Foundation Cape Unchained Vanta Shopify Onramp Abundant Mines Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to TIP.
0:02.7	Hey, everyone, welcome to this Wednesday's release of the Bitcoin Fundamentals podcast.
0:06.8	Do you guys remember all the drama with FTX and how numerous traditional banks went under during this period of time, which was the start of this whole chokepoint 2.0, which was debanking everyone in the Bitcoin and crypto space.
0:19.7	Well, today's guest, John Melton, had a front
0:22.3	row seat at Silvergate Bank. During our conversation, he explains how this entire thing went down,
0:28.2	what the solvency actually was at the bank, and how the company was forced to liquidate
0:32.8	despite still being very solvent and actually having solid operations. This episode also gets into a
0:39.2	broad range of topics, which is why I titled it Bitcoin's Evolution with Traditional Finance. And I
0:44.3	think the historical context and lessons learned are a great place for many people to study
0:49.3	and understand. There's no better teacher than John to tell these stories and the lessons.
0:57.1	And with that, I hope you guys enjoy this fun conversation.
1:07.1	Celebrating 10 years, you are listening to Bitcoin Fundamentals by the Investors Podcast Network.
1:10.1	Now for your host, Preston Pish.
1:29.0	Hey, everyone. Welcome to the show. I've got John Melton here with me, and we're going to cover a whole host of topics here. And you've got a lot of experience in finance, in the Bitcoin space, and we're going to get into some really interesting topics. So, John, welcome to the show.
1:33.4	Thanks so much, Preston. Looking forward to it and I appreciate you having me.
1:36.5	So I want to start off just kind of covering where you have a lot of experience, which is in currency
1:41.5	markets working at Morgan Stanley for like 13 years before
1:45.2	you even came into Bitcoin. I guess my question for you in that, because I've never really
1:49.7	had conversations on the show with people with that experience. I'm just kind of curious,
1:54.0	what is that like? What's the day to day if you were going to describe it to like a family
1:58.0	member? What's that experience in currency trading like?
2:01.3	Well, based on the question, and it's really an interesting multidisciplinary area, which
	...

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