Episode 104: De-escalation in Iran War Lifting Crypto Markets

Crypto holding steady amid ongoing Middle East tensions (US-Iran conflict ~3 weeks in, oil volatility high, equities pressured — BTC ~70K range resilient, no major flush).

Guest Eamonn Gashier (Founder, Block Scholes) joins Imran & David: ex-TradFi trader (16 years in investment banks/hedge funds) who dove into crypto in 2017, left banking in 2021. Block Scholes evolved from options vol analytics (built for their own trading needs) into a leading Oracle provider — delivering real-world data (commodities, oil, etc.) on-chain for DEX settlement/liquidations. Volumes exploding on DEXs (especially during weekend/geopolitical gaps when TradFi is closed). Hype token example shows real utility winning. Outlook: bullish on capital inflows + adoption (institutional + AI execution bots); selective on alts (focus utility/economics, not memes). Macro: central banks trapped (supply shocks vs. growth risks, financial repression likely) — tailwind for BTC as non-sovereign asset. Great discussion covering a lot of bases.

The following topics is covered:

00:00 – Introduction
00:20 – Todays special guest Eamonn Gashier, Founder of Block Scholes 01:35 — From TradFi to the Bitcoin Rabbit Hole: Eamonn’s journey
03:18 – Defining Oracles: Bridging real-world and on-chain data
05:35 – Arbitrage Strategies: Mismatches between DEXs and CEXes
07:34 – AI & Trading Evolution
09:27 – Crypto Resilience: Why is it decoupling?
13:19 – Fading the FUD: Debunking 4-year cycles and the Quantum threat
15:45 – Central Bank Challenges & The Energy Crisis
19:39 – Analyzing Gold: A structural outflow from Central Banks
24:59 – Digital Gold in Action: Middle East adoption and Dubai real estate
27:16 – Are crypto options expiries impact market volatility?
30:33 – Opportunities in the Crypto Vol market
32:25 – Solana’s Pivot: Moving from the “meme casino” to micropayments
34:40 – Bringing Block Scholes data to the Bloomberg terminal
36:39 – Closing Thoughts