Alex Thorn talks to Omid Malekan, blockchain professor at Columbia Business School, about stablecoins and the CLARITY Act. Alex and Omid discuss the bank lobby’s current negotiating position and argue that the fears of deposit flight or a negative impact on credit creation by yield-bearing stablecoins are overblown at best and disingenuous at worst. Alex also talks to Galaxy Trading’s Beimnet Abebe about bitcoin markets, macro conditions, and geopolitical concerns. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Participants, along with Galaxy, hold a financial interest in Bitcoin (BTC). Galaxy regularly engages in buying and selling BTC, including hedging transactions, for its own proprietary accounts and on behalf of its counterparties. Galaxy also provides services to vehicles that invest in BTC. If the value of such assets increases, those vehicles may benefit, and Galaxy’s service fees may increase accordingly. The valuation in this communication is based on technical, fundamental, and market analysis and not on any formal valuation method. For more information, please refer to Galaxy’s public filings and statements. Cryptocurrencies, including BTC, are inherently volatile and risky and ultimate market movements may not align with this statement. For additional risks related to digital assets, please refer to the risk factors contained in filings Galaxy Digital Inc. makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) from time to time, including in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, filed with the SEC on November 10, 2025, available at www.sec.gov (http://www.sec.gov/). This episode was recorded on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. ++ Follow us on Twitter, @glxyresearch, and read our research at www.galaxy.com/research/ to learn more! This podcast, and the information contained herein, has been provided to you by Galaxy Digital Holdings LP and its affiliates (“Galaxy Digital”) solely for informational purposes. View the full disclaimer at www.galaxy.com/disclaimer-galaxy-brains-podcast/