Podcast Summary: The Wolf Of All Streets

Episode: Bitcoin & Crypto Demand SURGES As Banks & Wall Street Go ALL IN!
Host: Scott Melker
Date: December 12, 2025

Episode Overview

Scott Melker hosts a solo Friday Five episode exploring the accelerating institutional adoption of crypto, new regulatory moves, and seismic developments that bridge legacy finance with the blockchain world. Touching on everything from the OCC’s game-changing announcement, to banks embracing spot Bitcoin, to Ripple’s Wall Street deal and the fallout from prominent fraud cases, Melker ties these events into a bigger story: the full-court press of institutionalization and tokenization in crypto, and what it might mean for decentralization’s future.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Regulatory Breakthrough: OCC Enables Banks to Facilitate Crypto Trades

[00:01–07:00]

• OCC Announcement:
  The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) now allows banks to act as “riskless principals” in crypto trades, meaning banks can match buyers and sellers without holding crypto on their balance sheets—akin to OTC desks, but as full market participants.
• Significance:
  “This is a massive, massive step forward in what banks are allowed to do and frankly a huge piece of competition for the Coinbase, Gemini and Krakens of the world.” — Scott Melker (03:15)
• Impact:
  Marks normalization of crypto within U.S. banking; greatly expands competition for crypto exchanges among banks.

2. DTCC and Blockchain Rails: TradFi Joins In

[07:01–11:50]

• DTCC (Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation):
  Traditionally the nerve center sitting between all securities and stock trades, DTCC is now moving to adopt blockchain for tokenization.
• Melker’s Take:
  “This is one of those Netflix taking over Blockbuster moments. They don’t want to be the next Kodak or Sears Roebuck and they’re adopting the technology.” (09:10)
• Paul Atkins Prediction:
  Whole U.S. financial system could run on blockchain rails within two years.
  Melker: “I don’t think that’s realistic, but it’s very clear that tokenization and moving on blockchain rails are the future.” (10:00)
• Crypto-Native vs. Private Blockchains:
  Banks and institutions will likely favor private blockchain rails for control, e.g., JPM’s proprietary coin, rather than open public chains.

3. The Need for Future-Proof Crypto Legislation

[11:51–17:00]

• Unstable Regulatory Landscape:
  No lasting crypto law—executive orders shift with political regimes, affecting market confidence.
• Key Point:
  “You need to future-proof these things.” (12:40)
• Legislation Updates:
  • The long-awaited Clarity Act, Genius Act, and ongoing Senate negotiations
  • Urgency before mid-terms and election distractions stall progress
  • Bipartisan talks: Some pro-crypto Democrats onboard, but passage still not guaranteed

4. Banks, CEOs, & the Push for Control

[17:01–25:30]

• High-Level Meetings:
  Top bank CEOs (BofA, Citi, Wells Fargo) meeting with senators to shape crypto’s market structure—signaling the appetite and intention for banks to claim their share.
• Stablecoin Regulation Fallout:
  Banks want to control, access, or block yield-generation in stablecoins; after the Genius Act, banks felt left out of lucrative custody and yield opportunities.
• Quote:
  “This is a clear signal of where the puck is headed. These are the very banks that will be able to participate in crypto services, also involved in this legislation.” (18:40)

5. Institutions Build Inroads: Competition vs. Partnership

[25:31–32:00]

• Tech Partnerships:
  Chainlink emerges as critical tech provider, partnering with both legacy institutions and crypto exchanges.
• Approaches:
  • Banks may build their own privatized systems or
  • Partner with crypto incumbents via API integrations (e.g., Coinbase)
• PNC Bank Launches Spot Bitcoin Trading:
  First major U.S. bank to offer direct spot Bitcoin in digital banking; “Exciting to see more banks embrace crypto.” — Brian Armstrong (30:25)
• Stablecoin Adoption:
  Varied approaches: Some banks piloting their own coins, some adopting USDC, others a hybrid.

6. Stablecoins Go Mainstream: YouTube and PayPal’s PYUSD

[32:01–37:40]

• YouTube Integrates PayPal’s PYUSD Stablecoin:
  U.S. creators can now receive payouts in PYUSD, marking a new level of stablecoin adoption.
  • “You can’t tell me that PyUSD is not the worst name for a stablecoin in the history of stablecoins.” (33:40)
  • “It’s one further step in the clear adoption of stablecoins… every major payment provider or platform starting to use this.” (34:45)
• Robinhood's Internal Use:
  Melker reveals, via an unpublished interview, that Robinhood uses stablecoins internally because they’re 24/7/365 and frictionless for international ops. (35:40)

7. Wall Street’s “Hedged” Crypto Bet: The Real Ripple Story

[37:41–43:50]

• $500 Million Ripple Investment:
  Citadel, Fortress, and others made a much-hyped crypto bet—but the deal was structured for minimum risk and guaranteed returns (10% annually, greater in certain events).
  • “As you really dig into the deal, it’s more like they were guaranteed a 10% payback with unlimited upside and no downside.” (41:00)
• Takeaway:
  Wall Street isn’t making classic VC gambles—sharks are minimizing risk, maximizing potential reward.

8. Ripple in Real Financial Products: Europe’s Amena Bank

[43:51–45:45]

• Amena Bank Goes Live with Ripple Payments:
  First major instance of Ripple bridging traditional fiat and blockchain for cross-border payments—a realization of Ripple’s much-publicized promise.

9. Do Kwon Sentenced: Largest Crypto Fraud?

[45:46–47:50]

• Terraform Labs’ Do Kwon gets 15 years for fraud.
  • “I saw a report that this was the largest fraud sentence in the history of crypto. And I was like, SBF, bro. Yeah, 25 years, right?” (46:17)
• Melker’s Perspective:
  Clear line between hubris and criminality—Kwon’s case had actual fraud, not just poor judgment or business failure.

10. Macro Reflection: Bitcoin’s Price, Cycles, and the State of Crypto

[47:51–End]

• Where’s the Moon?
  $92,000 BTC in 2025 vs. earlier predictions; market action mostly flat since Trump’s 2024 election win.
• Four-Year Cycle Over?
  “I think this is a sideways phase… 2026, there’ll be a new liquidity regime. Things are going to be moving forward for us to the upside.” (49:30)
• No Overstated Bear Market:
  Cautions against expecting severe downturns without equivalent prior upside.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “This is basically crypto rails being fully normalized inside the United States banking system.”
  — Scott Melker, on the OCC decision (05:05)

• “They (DTCC) don’t want to be the next Kodak or Sears Roebuck. They’re adopting the technology.”
  — Scott Melker (09:10)

• “The question is, as they adopt it, are they actually looking to co-opt the system entirely? I would argue, yes.”
  — Scott Melker (10:15)

• “Once again, those are the very institutions that I bought Bitcoin to opt out of. So there’s a part of me that’s not that excited and there’s a little bit of cognitive dissonance there.”
  — Scott Melker (11:20)

• “There is really no way that there was any risk here for Fortress and Citadel and others. And who can blame them for taking a deal like this?”
  — Scott Melker, on the Ripple deal (41:00)

• “But humans are really bad at anticipating the timeline of things... we also equally underestimate how fast that adoption can happen when it actually hits. And I wildly underestimated how fast this adoption was going to happen here as it hits.”
  — Scott Melker (36:40)

• “We’re really at a battleground here between the banks and the institutions and the crypto industry — and them wanting to participate, but also be in control.”
  — Scott Melker (22:50)

Key Timestamps

• 00:01 — Overview and OCC regulatory breakthrough
• 07:00 — DTCC goes blockchain, Paul Atkins’ predictions
• 11:50 — Need for clear, lasting crypto legislation
• 17:00 — Bank CEOs lobbying for market structure influence
• 25:30 — Private blockchains vs. public, PNC Bank spot Bitcoin
• 32:00 — YouTube/PayPal stablecoin integration
• 37:40 — Wall Street’s “risk-off” Ripple investment
• 43:50 — Amena Bank adopts Ripple payments
• 45:46 — Do Kwon sentenced, scale of crypto fraud
• 47:51 — Macro market outlook, Bitcoin price cycle

Tone & Style

Scott maintains his usual candid, irreverent, and conversational style—often inserting self-deprecating humor ("You can't stop me"), pointed sarcasm on regulatory names ("PyUSD is the worst name for a stablecoin in the history of stablecoins"), and sharp skepticism toward both crypto hype and Wall Street maneuvering.

Takeaway

The episode paints a picture of a crypto ecosystem at a true crossroads: mainstream institutions are not just dipping toes, but moving to own large parts of the infrastructure crypto built to replace. While adoption and normalization bring huge liquidity and validation, the emerging battleground will be about who controls, reaps, and defines the tech — and whether decentralization is the winner, or just a convenient head-fake on the way to new old empires.