Podcast Summary: The Wolf Of All Streets

Episode: Bitcoin DOMINATES Wall Street As Jamie Dimon Capitulates! Did We Win?
Date: December 19, 2025
Host: Scott Melker
Guests/Co-Hosts: NLW (briefly, pre-recorded interjections)

Overview

Scott Melker leads a packed Friday 5 episode, dissecting the latest tidal wave of institutional and government crypto adoption news. He explores JP Morgan’s headlong dive into tokenized markets, shifting U.S. regulatory tides, major developments from Coinbase, and the jaw-dropping plans from the DTCC to tokenize trillions. The central theme is a provocative one: is crypto finally dominating Wall Street, or is Wall Street simply absorbing and controlling crypto on its own terms? The discussion brims with humor, skepticism, and sharp analysis, providing a wide-angle view of crypto’s integration with traditional finance.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Institutional & Government Crypto Adoption—Regulatory Shifts

Timestamps: 00:45–08:37

• Momentum on the U.S. Clarity Act:
  Melker and NLW discuss the long-awaited Congressional initiative to clarify crypto market structure. Trump's "crypto czar" David Sacks says markup is set for January, though skepticism abounds due to government delays and looming shutdowns.

  • “The government moved slowly, inefficiently, and is a heaping trash bin of efficiency.” —NLW (03:35)

• Irony of Inaction vs Urgency:
  Despite momentum, both hosts caution that successful passage is far from certain, especially as government shutdown threats linger and campaign season looms.

  • “They got to strike while the iron's hot, in my opinion.” —NLW (05:28)

• Potential Impact:

  • Optimism for an alt-season catalyst if passed, but Melker warns good news might already be priced in.
    • “I actually think there's more downside in the Clarity act not getting passed than there is upside for the market in the short term.” —NLW (05:45)

• Other Regulatory News:

  • Michael Selig, known for a pro-crypto stance, is confirmed as CFTC chair.
  • SEC’s Atkins hints most tokens are not securities, likely ceding oversight to the CFTC—a pivotal shift.
    • “It seems that the SEC is trying to punt a lot of the control of the industry back to the CFTC.” —NLW (07:20)
  • FSOC no longer deems crypto a "systemic threat" to banks—a psychological win for the industry.
    • “Very cool, Very good news. Very happy to see it.” —NLW (07:53)

2. JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon & Institutional Blockchain Adoption

Timestamps: 08:38–13:01

• JP Morgan Tokenized Money Market Fund:

  • JP Morgan's fund, seeded with $100 million of the bank’s own capital, signals genuine conviction.
    • “They're actually putting their own money where their mouths are... which is something that you wouldn't expect from them.” —NLW (09:56)
  • Multiple crypto firms (BitGo, Ripple, Circle, Paxos, and a fifth) granted trust charters, letting them custody client assets independently—a huge milestone.

• Jamie Dimon's ‘Capitulation’:

  • Despite his historic anti-crypto stance (“Bitcoin's a scam… anyone who touches it at JP Morgan gets fired”), Dimon now acknowledges on Fox News:
    • “Smart contracts, I think will probably be real.” —Jamie Dimon (10:46)
  • Melker contrasts Dimon's rhetoric with the bank’s actual moves:
    • “JP Morgan will now accept Bitcoin as collateral for loans.” (11:11)
  • Melker probes whether this marks true capitulation or a crafty move to centralize and control the rails, warning of creeping institutional dominance.
    • “Is JP Morgan capitulating to us, or… are they going to make sure that they just control as much of this as possible?” —Scott Melker (12:01)

3. The DTCC's Colossal Tokenization Move

Timestamps: 13:01–18:50

• DTCC Tokenizes U.S. Treasuries:

  • The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC)—clearing $4 quadrillion in annual transactions and custodizing $100 trillion in assets—will tokenize U.S. treasury securities using the Canton Network.
  • “4 quadrillion in annual transactions. That's not even a real number.” —Scott Melker (14:04)
  • DTCC received a "no-action" letter from the SEC, removing regulatory barriers.
    • “No action means you're good to go. You can do whatever you want.” —Scott Melker (14:38)

• Canton Network, Not Ethereum/Solana:

  • DTCC bypassed Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, etc., in favor of the permissioned, institution-backed Canton Network.
    • “Apparently the Canton Network is purpose built for high frequency trading, has privacy features and is pretty centralized... funded by the biggest institutions in Wall Street.” —NLW (15:19)
  • Crypto market reaction to this titanic news is muted, even among Canton token holders.
    • “That can't even move the price of a crypto token in 2025. Like literally, what do we have to do here?” —Scott Melker (16:50)

• Reflection on Token Value:

  • The episode questions why massive adoption announcements create no price movement, sparking broader doubts about whether utility or tokenomics really deliver value to holders.
    • “Does value actually accrue to token holders? I have no idea.” —NLW (17:30)
    • “There’s no bigger announcement in the history of crypto. It's bigger than anything. And literally, nothing happened.” —NLW (18:41)

4. Coinbase Expands into Stocks & Stablecoin Customization

Timestamps: 19:02–21:57

• Stock Trading on Coinbase:

  • Coinbase now allows U.S. users to trade stocks, a major platform pivot met with unexpected pushback from parts of the crypto community.
    • “This seems like a huge piece of news, but because we hate everything our industry. Coinbase's big announcement is that you can trade stocks is literally the opposite of what we signed up for.” —Scott Melker (19:09)
  • Melker argues this is positive, signaling crypto-native firms eating into the legacy system from the crypto side, not vice versa.

• Custom Stablecoin Launch:

  • Institutions (and potentially large users) can now issue white-labeled stablecoins with Coinbase, collateralized by Coinbase Custody.
    • “Obviously, I never wanted to launch a meme coin, but I will be launching Scott Melker stablecoin.” —Scott Melker (20:25)
  • Trend illustrates institutions’ preference to partner with trusted crypto incumbents (like Coinbase/USDC) rather than create their own infrastructure.
    • “Maybe we should just give a few bips of those fees off to Coinbase and USDC and just utilize theirs and we can white label it and put our name on it.” —NLW (21:36)

• Broader Strategic Direction:

  • The next wave is traditional brokers (Robinhood, others) integrating deeper with crypto rails on tokenization; Coinbase’s moves show the contest is on.

5. Macro: BOJ Rate Hike & Crypto Prices

Timestamps: 22:39–25:11

• Bank of Japan Raises Rates:

  • December 19th, cited as a doomsday for crypto due to a historic BOJ hike (the largest in 30 years, up 25bps)—but markets shrugged.
    • “Last I checked, it was December 19th. And market, it's still here. We're still here, I think.” —NLW (22:43)
  • Past BOJ hikes correlated with big Bitcoin drawdowns, but Melker notes other factors (tariffs, global events) were likely involved and that the market has absorbed this narrative.
    • “You can't tell me that when everybody knows already that the bank of Japan is going to hike that. That should be rocking the market today. I think that notion is stupid.” —NLW (24:17)

• Overarching Observation:

  • Despite constant, massive institutional uptake and regulatory wins, the market’s lack of price reaction is profoundly strange—a recurring theme throughout the episode.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Market Sentiment & Price Reactions:
  “Biggie, Tupac and Bob Marley could come down and have a buy crypto concert led by Jesus himself, telling you that the apocalypse is coming if you don't buy crypto and price wouldn't move.”
  —Scott Melker (17:06)

• On Jamie Dimon’s About-face:
  “I wish I had a whole bunch of videos of all the greatest hits of Jamie Dimon that will depress you and haunt you in your sleep, where he's called crypto scam... Let's see what he's saying now when he goes on Fox News...”
  —Scott Melker (09:56)

• Summing Up the Regulatory Moment:
  “I think, to January for clarity, no pun intended on clarity. And we need to get it done then.”
  —NLW (07:51)

• Crypto's Place in Wall Street:
  “Are we dominating Wall Street? Are we eating the world? Or is Wall Street actually dominating us and eating our asset class?”
  —NLW (02:56)

• Final Thoughts:
  “Frankly, I'd rather cheer for Coinbase offering stocks than for JP Morgan offering crypto. Right. I think we can all agree on that because Jamie Dimon is just such a douchebag.”
  —NLW (21:59)

Key Timestamps (MM:SS)

• 00:45–08:37: U.S. regulatory & legislative updates, Clarity Act, CFTC & SEC
• 08:38–13:01: JP Morgan's tokenized fund, Jamie Dimon's new tone, institutional crypto custody
• 13:01–18:50: DTCC tokenizes treasuries, Canton Network, skepticism on token value accrual
• 19:02–21:57: Coinbase launches stock trading and custom stablecoins
• 22:39–25:11: Bank of Japan rate hike, macro implications
• Throughout: Recurring themes of price inaction despite enormous news

Tone

Blunt, irreverent, and insightful.
Scott Melker delivers a high-energy, sometimes sardonic analysis, poking fun at both the glacial pace of regulators and the paradoxes of institutional "adoption." The show mixes financial acumen with crypto-native skepticism, never missing a chance to jab at legacy players like Jamie Dimon.

Summary

Scott Melker’s Friday 5 paints a clear picture: the world’s biggest financial institutions are not just dipping in—they’re transforming markets through crypto rails, often on their own (centralized) terms. U.S. regulatory clarity is tortuously slow, even as Wall Street races ahead with tokenization and integrated collateral. Crypto-native players like Coinbase innovate to stay competitive, while even earth-shattering adoption news struggles to move market prices, leaving veterans to wonder whether true value accrues to token holders or just to the rails themselves. In the battle for the heart of finance, the lines between disruption and absorption have never been blurrier—or more consequential.

“Are we eating Wall Street, or is Wall Street eating us?” — That’s the question of the hour.