BITCOIN SEASON 2: How To Beat Coinbase On-chain w/ Flashnet’s Ethan Marcus
Flashnet CEO Ethan Marcus breaks down Bitcoin’s on‑chain trading, fee wars, stablecoin hurdles, and why Spark aims to outpace Lightning—all in under 35 minutes.
Sep 10, 2025
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ABOUT
Flashnet CEO Ethan Marcus joins us to discuss Bitcoin’s scaling landscape, on‑chain spot markets, the challenges of stablecoins, and how Spark’s signing protocol offers a fast, cheap alternative to Lightning. He also shares candid lessons from a $300 k load test and his vision for Bitcoin‑native finance.
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Notes:
Coinbase charges ~70 bps per trade.
Spark handled $300 k in 9 min during beta.
Bitcoin spot volume ≈ $20‑30 trillion yr.
Lightning’s fee‑free stablecoin rollout deemed “disaster”.
Spark’s operator model uses threshold signatures.
Braille’s USD‑BTC stablecoin launches on Spark.
Timestamps:
00:00 Start
01:52 Is Flashnet crypto or fintech?
02:23 What is Spark?
03:25 Role of the Operator
05:06 Like a State Chain but different
06:50 Spark idea origins
08:54 Flashnet
11:08 Why not build on Lightning?
12:16 Hyperliquid
15:00 How does Spark fit into BTC scaling?
16:30 Why use a DEX?
18:38 Evolution of on-chain exchanges
20:35 Braille & stablecoins
21:58 RGB & other protocols
24:15 Park launch troubles
26:16 Degens lend a helping hand
28:08 Corporate chains
30:21 Single sequencer = server
32:09 Zero Day
33:08 Innovations in BTC
👋Bitcoin Season 2 is produced Blockspace Media, Bitcoin’s first B2B publication in Bitcoin. Follow us on Twitter and check out our newsletter for the best information in Bitcoin mining, Ordinals and tech!
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