CRYPTO 101 EP. 691 — Navigating the Crypto Trading Landscape and Market Structure with CoinRoutes

Date: November 18, 2025
Hosts: Bryce Paul & Brendan Viehman
Guest: Ian Weisberger, CEO & Founder of CoinRoutes

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the evolving landscape of crypto trading, with a special focus on market structure, institutional adoption, and the rise of algorithmic and cross-venue trading platforms. Ian Weisberger, a pioneer who started coding early and founded CoinRoutes in 2017, gives exclusive insight into navigating serious market volatility, how institutions and retail traders differ, and why technology is democratizing advanced trading strategies. The conversation is rich with firsthand accounts from recent market events, practical advice for retail investors, and honest perspectives on myths and risks in crypto trading today.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Plan B Conference & State of Major Exchanges

• [01:26] Ian recaps the Tether-hosted Plan B Conference in Lugano, noting the evolving roles of legacy platforms like Bitfinex and Tether.
• Exchange Volumes: Bitfinex still holds top-tier asset numbers, though trading velocity is lower compared to exchanges like Binance, which recently saw massive outflows (~$20B).
• Liquidity Insight:
  • “Bitfinex historically has had really good liquidity, but none of the wash volume that Binance and a lot of these offshore exchanges just generate.” — Bryce [02:08]

2. Black Friday Event: System Resilience & Client Protection

• [02:51] Ian details how CoinRoutes supported clients during the recent "Black Friday" (Oct 10) event:
  • “None of our clients got washed out, which is amazing... We heard some competing platforms went down, you know, through the grapevine, because some of our clients actually have, you know, multiple systems...” — Ian [02:59]
  • CoinRoutes detects exchange outages ahead of public acknowledgment, helping clients exit before major failures.

3. Ian Weisberger’s Tech Journey & Genesis of CoinRoutes

• [08:16] Ian became a tech entrepreneur as a teenager, frustrated by broken payment rails, leading to his conviction in crypto as the future of money.
  • “I think certain people know that they’re going to be in tech. I’m much better with computers than with people... just the merchant processing situation back then was not good and it... why I started getting into crypto.” — Ian [08:16]

4. CoinRoutes Platform: What It Is & Who It’s For

• [10:01]
  • Purpose: “Market leading platform for institutional trading across all of the different crypto venues... manage your risk thresholds and just do a better job trading.” — Ian
  • Features: Multi-exchange risk management, arbitrage, advanced order types; originally for large funds, now available to high-net-worth traders and smaller firms.

5. Evolution of Crypto Market Structure

• [12:04]
  • The ETF approvals were a game-changer: “It really signaled to the market that the institutions are here... now have access to this asset class that’s not going anywhere.” — Ian
  • “In 2017... I remember when there was a $3,000 price difference between Kraken and Coinbase... Now it’s a bit more nuanced. You have to be a bit smarter to make money trading in the current market structure... markets have gotten quite a bit more efficient.” — Ian [12:04]

6. Algorithmic Trading vs. Manual: Pros, Cons & Misconceptions

• [13:58]
  • Shift to Algorithmic: “It used to be that everyone was doing OTC deals on voice... Now people can have their own algorithms... it’s better for certain types of trading... market is moving to an electronic market.” — Ian
  • Institutions benefit more due to resource intensity, but the democratization is happening.
  • Return Realities: “Institutional investors are happy to make 15 or 20% on a relatively risk free basis. If you’re a retail guy, a lot of them look at 15 to 20% and say that there’s no way...” — Ian [15:33]
  • Mythbusting:
    • “If someone’s promising you that kind of return (20% a month)... That’s not real. Right. You’re probably better off just buying and holding at that point.” — Ian [16:17]
    • “I remember last cycle, one of my older family members sent me... a 10% guaranteed return per month crypto scam. I was like, no, like, you can’t do that. That’s a scam.” — Ian [17:23]

7. The Yield Question: What’s Real, What’s Not

• [18:23]
  • Retail should ask, “How is this yield generated?”
  • “Max, like 20% yield, like probably a lot less than that... but above that is not realistic.” — Ian

8. Stablecoins, DeFi, and Recent Market Events

• [19:45]-[21:45]
  • Algorithmic Stablecoin Mechanisms: Athena’s USDE uses funding-rate arbitrage. Stayed solvent during recent volatility, but collateral pricing on Binance led to unexpected liquidations.
  • Auto Deleveraging Explainer:
    • “If your position goes so far... they actually stopped you out at a higher price... otherwise the longs... would have just been wiped out and the whole system would be insolent.” — Ian [21:45]
    • Protocol design and pricing differences between DeFi (more aggressive liquidations) and CeFi (smoothed by insurance funds).

9. Comparing TradFi and Crypto Market Mechanisms

• [24:20]
  • “It’s just different... In crypto you’re only really able to lose what you put in ... so you have to do real time liquidation. It’s a bit of a different game.” — Ian

10. Transaction Costs, Retail Fees, and Order Execution

• [26:33]
  • Retail users pay a premium for ease: “Probably it doesn’t matter that you’re paying up to 1% in fees. I think as you start... swing trading... then you need to figure out how to optimize your fees...”
  • Smart order routing and gradual execution key for alts or illiquid assets.

11. Perp DEXs and Exchange Trends

• [27:57]
  • Volumes: Bulk of CoinRoutes’ $40B+ monthly volume is on futures (Hyperliquid, Binance, Bybit, OKX).
  • Growing interest in perp DEXs post-Binance debacle.
• [28:50]
  • HyperLiquid seen as more fair: “It’s much harder for people to have special deals... people are mistrustful... HyperLiquid is more fair in general. Probably than the centralized venues.” — Ian
  • CeFi has issues with preferential treatment (e.g., Alameda on FTX).

12. DeFi Connectivity & Custody

• [31:55]
  • For Uniswap trades, large institutions can use custodians like Fireblocks; retail solutions (non-custodial) are in development.

13. Signs of Market Tops, Bottoms & Current Sentiment

• [33:01]
  • Ian: “It just feels different this time... everyone was saying doom and gloom and it’s going to go down 75 or 80. It just didn’t happen... I think that we’ll get higher in this cycle... based on how nicely it’s recovered.”
• [34:27]
  • Brendan concurs, noting cycles have been elongating as adoption grows: “I’d also say that it’s pretty probable that we see an extended run... the way that I’m looking at it.”

14. Global Institutional Adoption & Stablecoin Growth

• [35:09]
  • “It is undeniable at this point that these sovereign wealth funds are allocating into bitcoin through subsidiaries and venture firms and like a web of companies... that trend will accelerate.” — Ian
  • Stablecoin issuance is strongly correlated with crypto market cap; growing globally.

15. Altcoin Perspective: Value Accrual and Speculation

• [37:04]
  • Bullish on altcoins with “real protocol revenue,” e.g., HyperLiquid.
  • “The days of these governance tokens just being worth a huge, huge amount of money where there’s no value accrual... those days are over. People are demanding that value accrue to the token holders...” — Ian

16. Biggest Myth in Crypto Trading & Market Structure

• [38:43]
  • “The market is very different from traditional instruments... This is a 24/7, 365 global real time market that is not going to be exactly the same as equities and then futures.” — Ian
• [40:36]
  • Risk advice: “You need to have different risk buckets for your trading accounts... You can’t expect that these things aren’t going to crash very, like a lot and b bottom right. Totally.” — Ian

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Overhyped Returns:
  “If someone’s promising you that kind of return (20% a month)... That’s not real. Right. You’re probably better off just buying and holding at that point.” — Ian Weisberger [16:17]

• On DeFi Liquidations:
  “Defi protocols don’t necessarily have... huge insurance funds and they don’t want to have losses socialized so they stop you out faster.” — Ian [22:18]

• On Differences to Traditional Finance:
  “This is a 24/7, 365 global real-time market... not going to be exactly the same as equities and then futures.” — Ian [38:43]

• No Crying in the Casino:
  “There’s no crying in the casino.” — Bryce (recounted by Brendan) [40:36]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:26] Plan B Conference insights and exchange landscape
• [02:51] CoinRoutes' performance during "Black Friday" volatility
• [08:16] Ian's tech background and motivation to build CoinRoutes
• [10:01] Deep dive into CoinRoutes platform features and clientele
• [12:04] How institutions and ETFs changed the market
• [13:58] The rise of algorithmic trading & common misconceptions about bots/returns
• [18:23] The yield problem: what’s realistic for retail vs. institutions
• [19:45] Algorithmic stablecoins: mechanisms & recent volatility lessons
• [21:45] DeFi vs. CeFi under stress—auto deleveraging explained
• [24:20] TradFi vs. crypto: margin, liquidation, and risk
• [26:33] Retail transaction costs & how to optimize
• [27:57] Perp DEX trends, HyperLiquid vs. centralized exchanges
• [31:55] Integrating DeFi protocols and minimizing custody risks
• [33:01] Calling market tops and bottoms in the new cycle
• [35:09] Sovereign wealth flows, stablecoin growth, global adoption
• [37:04] Altcoin shakeout: why value accrual matters
• [38:43] The biggest myth in crypto trading: not your father’s derivatives

Conclusion & Follow-Up

Ian Weisberger shares actionable insights for both advanced traders and curious newcomers—emphasizing risk management, skepticism of sky-high passive returns, and the importance of understanding how market structure in crypto fundamentally differs from traditional finance.

Connect with Ian:
Twitter & LinkedIn: @burger and CoinRoutes (links in show notes)

Hosts:
Bryce Paul & Brendan Viehman
“Thanks for listening—see you next week with more expert crypto guests!”