Unchained
658 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 1.2K ratingsCrypto assets and blockchain technology are about to transform every trust-based interaction of our lives, from financial services to identity to the Internet of Things. In this podcast, host Laura Shin, an independent journalist covering all things crypto, talks with industry pioneers about how crypto assets and blockchains will change the way we earn, spend and invest our money. Tune in to find out how Web 3.0, the decentralized web, will revolutionize our world. Disclosure: I'm a nocoiner.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Not Just FTX: One Skeptic’s Take on Why Crypto Is a Scam - Ep. 446
January 24, 2023 08:30 - 1 hourJames Block, crypto skeptic and author of the Dirty Bubble Media newsletter, rose to prominence with a timely post predicting FTX’s insolvency. The blogger, a doctor by day, explains why he sees crypto as an unregulated morass of would-be securities and outright “Ponzi schemes.” From an early interest in Tether to connecting the dots on Celsius, Block explains why he does what he does and why almost all of crypto is just “regulatory arbitrage.” Show highlights: how James got into crypto and...
Why Crypto Developer Activity Continues to Grow Despite the Bear Market - Ep. 445
January 20, 2023 08:30 - 38 minutesMaria Shen, partner at Electric Capital, unpacks the venture firm’s latest Developer Report. Hotly anticipated among crypto observers, the annual report captures which chains developers are building on. Despite 2022’s price carnage, the report finds developer interest remains strong. Ethereum is the leading chain by far but EVM-compatibility is emerging as a major force in winning developers’ hearts and minds. Shen unpacks Bitcoin’s stability, Terra’s implosion, and many more insights from cr...
How Crypto Bankruptcy Claims Buyers Will Profit From the Collapse of FTX - Ep. 444
January 17, 2023 08:30 - 1 hourFrom 3AC to FTX (and possibly more to come), it’s boom times for those trading crypto bankruptcy claims. Thomas Braziel, founder and CEO of 507 Capital, gives a crash course on bankruptcy law, offering the latest updates on the FTX, Celsius, and Three Arrows Capital cases. Plus, insight on how 2023 could finally be the year Mt. Gox creditors get (some) closure. Show highlights: how Tom got into crypto with the Mt. Gox bankruptcy and whether "crypto distressed" is an emerging asset class ho...
The Chopping Block: Why Gemini Users Are Mad at Genesis and DCG - Ep. 443
January 14, 2023 08:30 - 1 hourWelcome to “The Chopping Block!” – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Robert Leshner, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra chop it up about the latest news. Show topics: Haseeb’s TL;DR of the ongoing situation between DCG, Genesis and Gemini whether DCG committed fraud because of a misrepresentation of its financials why DCG did Genesis a favor by absorbing the losses from exposure to Three Arrows Capital what's required to force an entity into bankruptcy why Cameron Winklevoss would reque...
DCG's Dilemma: Should It Sell Its GBTC Holdings to Repay Gemini? - Ep. 442
January 13, 2023 08:30 - 42 minutesGemini has accused Digital Currency Group CEO Barry Silbert of fraud after allegedly misrepresenting the financials of his company. The accusations follow a dispute over the return of $900 million in assets owed to Gemini Earn’s users. Karim Dandashy, CFA and portfolio manager at XBTO Group, discusses everything about the ongoing drama between Genesis, its parent company DCG, and Gemini. Show highlights: the fraud accusations against DCG CEO Barry Silbert all the details disclosed in Barr...
What Does Mango Markets Exploiter Avi Eisenberg's Arrest in Puerto Rico Mean for DeFi? - Ep. 441
January 10, 2023 08:30 - 58 minutesGabriel Shapiro, general counsel at Delphi Labs, and Collins Belton, managing partner at Brookwood P.C., dive into the controversial case of Avi Eisenberg, the self-described “applied game theorist” who was arrested in Puerto Rico on Dec. 26 on market manipulation and fraud charges. The two crypto lawyers discuss the case’s potential impact on DeFi and DAO governance — and whether “code is law” stands a chance in the courtroom. Show highlights: whether Avi’s manipulation of the markets cons...
Gemini vs. DCG Is Heating Up. Could Gemini Force Genesis Into Bankruptcy? - Ep. 440
January 06, 2023 08:30 - 41 minutesRam Ahluwalia, CEO and cofounder at Lumida, talks about the ongoing dispute between Gemini and Digital Currency Group (DCG), specifically focusing on the actions and statements of DCG CEO Barry Silbert and Gemini’s cofounder Cameron Winklevoss. Ram discusses various aspects of the conflict, including the potential commingling of assets between DCG and its subsidiary Genesis and the options available to Gemini if DCG does not cooperate. Show highlights: how Cameron Winklevoss’s tweets attemp...
Could the Crypto Markets Revive in 2023? Two Researchers Discuss - Ep. 439
January 03, 2023 08:30 - 1 hourLucas Nuzzi, head of R&D at CoinMetrics, and Larry Cermak, VP of research at The Block, discuss the current state of the crypto market, including the potential for contagion effects and the challenges faced by VC companies. They also delve into the mining industry and the issues surrounding MEV and Ethereum. The conversation also touches on stablecoins, DeFi activity and NFT trading, and the potential dangers of Binance's dominance in the industry. Show highlights: how the collapse in 2022...
Why Martin Shkreli Thinks SBF's New Judge Could Still Be Lenient - Ep. 438
December 30, 2022 08:30 - 1 hourMartin Shkreli, entrepreneur, investor and convicted white-collar criminal, talks about the new judge assigned to the case against Sam Bankman-Fried, whether Sam’s going to plead guilty or not, and the potential involvement of his family in the lawsuit. Show highlights: whether Sam Bankman-Fried truly did not have money to post bail why the government did not restrict Sam's usage of the internet and social media why Martin thinks the new judge assigned to the case, Judge Lewis Kaplan, is ...
The Chopping Block Recaps 2022: Crypto's Biggest Winners and Losers and Best Memes - Ep. 437
December 28, 2022 08:30 - 1 hourWelcome to The Chopping Block! Crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Robert Leshner, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra chop it up about the year 2022 in the crypto industry and share their biggest winners and losers of the year, what were the best mechanisms, the biggest surprises and the best memes, and their predictions for the upcoming year. Show topics: why stablecoin bulls performed so well in 2022, as well as journalism, DeFi, and the EVM how the reputation of the industry suffered tremendo...
Collapses, Bankruptcies, and Fraud: How 2022 Became the Year of Crypto Carnage - Ep.436
December 27, 2022 08:30 - 49 minutesThis episode of Unchained looks back on a tumultuous year for the cryptocurrency industry in 2022. Significant events such as the bankruptcies of FTX, Three Arrows Capital, Celsius, Voyager, BlockFi, and the collapse of Terra/LUNA, led to billions being lost due to market plunges and also due to numerous hacks. This year also brought the Ethereum Merge, one of the most awaited events in crypto's short history. Amidst the turmoil, true believers like Chris Burniske saw a silver lining, while...
Martin Shkreli Explains Why Sam Bankman-Fried Got Lucky With His Judge - Ep. 435
December 23, 2022 08:30 - 1 hourMartin Shkreli, entrepreneur and investor, talks about what Sam Bankman-Fried’s potential life in prison could look like. As a former white-collar criminal, Martin had a lot to say about prison culture, how judge selection affects sentencing, and more. Show highlights: why Martin says that the prosecution part of the case is the most difficult to endure why he thought Sam had "no chance at bail" (although shortly after we recorded, news broke that Sam had been released on what is believed ...
2022 in Review + How Cobie and Chris Burniske Are Playing the New Year - Ep. 434
December 20, 2022 08:30 - 1 hourWhat a year. Cobie, crypto investor and host of UpOnly, and Chris Burniske, partner at Placeholder Ventures, sift through 2022’s rubble for clues as to what lies ahead in 2023. The two bright lights of Crypto Twitter weigh in on SBF’s fraud, how to succeed through the bear market, and what remains promising despite the gloom and doom. Show highlights: why 2022 is “the hangover of 2021” why this year’s big meltdowns were different and dispiriting why it was actually a year to remind us of ...
The Chopping Block: Was FTX a Scam From the Very Beginning? - Ep. 433
December 17, 2022 08:30 - 1 hourWelcome to The Chopping Block! Crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Robert Leshner, and Tarun Chitra were joined by Laura Shin to chop it up about the latest news. Show topics: the details of the SEC and CFTC complaints how crypto traders have always speculated about Alameda's preferential treatment whether many people knew about the mismanagement of funds and alleged fraud why Haseeb thinks SBF was a "f*cking psycho" how helpful Tarun believes a testimony from Sam Trabucco, former co-CEO of...
How Much Prison Time Is FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried Facing? - Ep. 432
December 16, 2022 08:30 - 42 minutesAri Redbord, head of legal and government affairs at TRM Labs, discusses all the charges that Sam Bankman-Fried is facing and their potential outcomes. Show highlights: the charges against SBF and why the criminal indictment is the most important whether SBF testifying in Congress would have complicated the DOJ's criminal case against him why it is complicated to state how much prison time Sam is facing the ways in which Bankman-Fried can reduce his sentence by cooperating with authorit...
How Will the FTX Collapse Affect Silvergate? A Bear and a Bull Debate - Ep. 431
December 13, 2022 08:30 - 1 hourRam Ahluwalia, CEO and cofounder of crypto-native investment advisor Lumida, and Marc Cohodes, individual investor and former hedge fund manager, have a heated debate about Silvergate, a crypto-friendly bank that plays a key role in integrating crypto with traditional finance and is currently under scrutiny due to its ties with FTX and Alameda. Both Marc and Ram have a vested interest in Silvergate. Marc is shorting the stock, while Ram is longing it. Show highlights: why Silvergate plays ...
Why the Legal Process for FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried Could Take Years - Ep. 430
December 09, 2022 08:30 - 46 minutesTuongVy Le, partner and head of regulatory & policy at Bain Capital Crypto, discusses how the legal process for Sam Bankman-Fried in the wake of the FTX scandal could play out. Show highlights: the allegations that Bankman-Fried manipulated the market during the Terra crash the motivations for Bankman-Fried's media appearances what the selection of Mark Cohen as a lawyer says about the potential charges and the case why SBF hasn't been arrested yet how the US investigating the potentia...
Genesis May Be Facing Bankruptcy. Could It Take DCG Down With It? - Ep. 429
December 06, 2022 08:30 - 1 hourRam Ahluwalia, CEO and co-founder of crypto-native investment advisor Lumida, and Samuel Andrew, crypto author and analyst, talk about the financial situation at Genesis and parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG). The collapse of FTX has dealt crypto lender Genesis another major blow, with the firm halting withdrawals and DCG stepping in to help. Now the two face a range of suboptimal outcomes in the face of massive debts. Ahluwalia and Andrew discuss what could come next, and what shoul...
The Chopping Block: SBF Wants to Win in the Court of Public Opinion. Will He? - Ep. 428
December 03, 2022 08:30 - 51 minutesWelcome to The Chopping Block! Crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Robert Leshner, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra chop it up about the latest news. Show topics: highlights of Sam Bankman-Fried's interview with the New York Times whether SBF knew what was going on in his companies, and how that impacts potential prosecution why Genesis and DCG are in financial trouble whether Genesis will file for bankruptcy or go through a restructuring process revelations from BlockFi's bankruptcy filing ...
Adam Cochran on Why Crypto Prices Will Be Down Bad for the Next Six Months - Ep. 427
December 02, 2022 08:30 - 37 minutesAdam Cochran, partner at Cinneamhain Ventures, talks about the collapses suffered during this year, their impacts on big traditional finance players, and what’s coming in the crypto markets in the near future. Show highlights: whether Sam Bankman-Fried lied during his interview at the Deal Book Summit why SBF kept the number of FTX's engineers at such a low number why Adam is optimistic about Genesis and DCG what options Genesis have to raise liquidity the significance of a potential m...
'The Last Big Whale': Why the Crypto Contagion of 2022 Eventually Hit Genesis - Ep. 426
November 29, 2022 08:30 - 1 hourMichael Jordan, founder at DBA and former co-head of investments at Galaxy Digital, and Alex Pack, managing partner at Hack VC, talk about the potential insolvency of Genesis and DCG, the cycle of credit expansion, and the importance of DeFi to prevent these situations. Show highlights: what will happen with Genesis and its parent company DCG where the insolvency of Genesis might have come from how the expansion of crypto lending in 2021 is impacting the markets and the role the Fed pla...
Gabriel Haines on How He Came to Make His Hilarious, Yelling Crypto Videos - Ep. 425
November 25, 2022 08:30 - 23 minutesGabriel Haines, a crypto content creator, comes on this 2022 Thanksgiving edition of Unchained to talk about his videos and leave a positive message for these holidays. Show highlights: how Gabriel started doing his very unique type of videos Gabriel's hummus eating competition how Gabriel's videos are "quite not professional" how Gabriel is monetizing some of his videos with NFTs whether NFTs are a solution for content creators how Lee, Gabriel's wife, has also started creating some ...
The Chopping Block on FTX/Alameda: Is Sam Bankman-Fried 'Crypto Kanye'? - Ep. 424
November 22, 2022 08:30 - 1 hourWelcome to The Chopping Block! Crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Robert Leshner, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra chop it up about the latest news concerning the collapse of FTX. Show topics: the statements of newly appointed CEO John Ray in the first day declaration why Tarun, Robert and Haseeb think SBF is possibly delusional or at least in denial whether the assets of FTX and Alameda were commingled from the beginning or whether they had been separate and at a certain point, FTX loaned mon...
Jesse Powell and Kevin Zhou on How FTX and Alameda Lost $10 Billion - Ep. 423
November 21, 2022 08:30 - 1 hourKevin Zhou, cofounder of Galois Capital, and Jesse Powell, cofounder of Kraken, talk about why FTX collapsed, the warning signs, and whether it’s a catalyst for self-custodial adoption. Show highlights: the root causes of the FTX collapse, according to Jesse and Kevin whether there were warning signs of all the risks that were to come the importance of learning from mistakes, even for new people in the space Kevin's response to the stuck funds in FTX the debate about utilitarianism and...
Did the Bahamian Government Direct SBF and Gary Wang to Hack FTX? - Ep. 422
November 18, 2022 08:30 - 40 minutesWassielawyer, a lawyer specializing in restructuring and insolvency, explains the first declaration from new FTX CEO John Ray in the company’s bankruptcy case. Show highlights: why CEO Ray said there's been a complete failure of corporate controls in FTX how there was no separation of accounts between Alameda and FTX whether FTX US customers are in a better position to recuperate their assets why FTX's Bahamas unit is seeking protection under chapter 15 of the US bankruptcy code why th...
The Chopping Block: Why Lenders Didn't Liquidate Alameda When It Was Underwater - Ep. 421
November 16, 2022 08:30 - 1 hourWelcome to The Chopping Block! Crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra were joined by Laura Shin, CEO of the show, to chop it up about the collapse of FTX. Show topics: Haseeb's explanation of the blowup of FTX whether FTX was a Ponzi scheme Sam Bankman-Fried's strategy to become a billionaire the weird sale of Serum, a project backed by SBF the lack of proper accounting practices in FTX and Alameda whether FTX did not have a proper and large enough security team...
Will FTX Customers Ever Recover Their Assets? Two Insolvency Experts Weigh In - Ep. 420
November 15, 2022 09:30 - 1 hourWassielawyer, a lawyer specializing in restructuring and insolvency, and Thomas Braziel, founder and CEO of 507 Capital, talk about the bankruptcy of FTX. Show highlights: what the bankruptcy process of FTX is expected to look like why FTX got to the the point of filing for bankruptcy protection why Wassie thinks Alameda is dead why FTX filed for bankruptcy in the US given that it's a Bahamian company how FTX's balance sheet is composed and whether it includes Alameda whether Justin S...
Erik Voorhees and Cobie on Why FTX Loaned Out Customers’ Assets - Ep. 419
November 11, 2022 08:30 - 1 hourErik Voorhees, founder of ShapeShift, and Jordan Fish, aka Cobie, crypto investor and host of UpOnly, talk about the collapse of FTX. Show highlights: the links between FTX and Alameda what kickstarted the blowup of FTX why Erik and Cobie think that Bankman-Fried's behavior was “sociopathic” why the $10 billion hole is so shocking to Cobie considering the advantages that FTX had as a company whether this would have ever happened if the prices hadn’t plummeted in the bear market the t...
The Chopping Block: FTX: The Biggest Collapse in the History of Crypto? - Ep. 418
November 09, 2022 20:00 - 1 hourWelcome to The Chopping Block! Crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi and Tom Schmidt were joined by Nic Carter, reformed Bitcoin Maxi, and Laura Shin, CEO of the show, to chop it up about Binance’s buyout of FTX. Show topics: Haseeb's tl;dr of Binance's possible acquisition of FTX whether Alameda is the new Three Arrows Capital the implications of FTX's collapse for regulators and lawmakers what will happen to all the companies that lent money to Alameda Sam Bankman-Fried's emergency effort t...
Does Maximalism Help or Hurt Bitcoin? Lyn Alden and Udi Wertheimer Debate - Ep. 417
November 08, 2022 08:30 - 1 hourLyn Alden, founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategy, and Udi Wertheimer, a recovering Bitcoin maxi, talk about Bitcoin Maximalism, how Bitcoin is developing, and what’s the future of Bitcoin’s security model. Show highlights: What the definition of Bitcoin maximalism is whether BTC maximalism is toxic whether Vitalik Buterin is still a bitcoiner and how Bitcoiners became the 'token police', according to Udi why Lyn thinks Bitcoin has been attacked by the media since the beginning the ...
The Chopping Block: Can Exchange CEOs Like SBF Be Crypto True Believers? - Ep. 416
November 05, 2022 07:30 - 58 minutesWelcome to The Chopping Block! Crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Robert Leshner, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra chop it up about the latest news in the digital asset industry. Show topics: Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter – and its effect on DOGE the irony that people working in centralized companies want to decentralize Twitter whether Twitter is going to become like Facebook why Twitter has been the most pro-crypto among big tech companies why Tarun thinks Binance Pay is an impressiv...
Bitcoin Miners Going Bankrupt? Here's How Crypto Winter Is Impacting the Industry - Ep. 415
November 04, 2022 07:30 - 35 minutesNick Hansen, cofounder and CEO of Luxor Technologies, talks about the Bitcoin mining industry, why some miners are struggling while others are succeeding, and the next steps for the industry. Show highlights: the current state of the Bitcoin mining industry why miners have the lowest margin environment ever why there are so many mining rigs sitting latent how to calculate the profitability of mining cryptocurrency why miners are not moving to other countries for lower energy prices w...
Are NFT Royalties the Way? How to Build a Sustainable Creator Economy - Ep. 414
November 01, 2022 07:30 - 1 hourSterling Crispin, artist and software developer and Holly Herndon, host of the Interdependence podcast, talk about the problems that creators face, some potential solutions, and the debate over creator royalties. Show highlights: how Holly and Sterling got into crypto how Holly used the Holly Plus Project to pay royalties how NFTs change the economic experience of being a creator how creators make money and why it is so difficult for most of them whether NFT royalties are necessary for...
The Mango Markets Attacker on Whether His 'Trade' Was Ethical or Not - Ep. 413
October 28, 2022 07:30 - 34 minutesAvraham Eisenberg, blogger at DeepFi Value – more commonly known as the Mango Markets attacker – shared his insights about the exploitation of code, his personal story, and why there’s hatred directed towards profitable traders. Show highlights: Laura’s description of the Mango Markets exploit the way in which code gets used in a different way from the original intention why Avi decided to return part of the funds he got from exploiting Mango Markets Avi’s clarification of a misconcept...
Eric Wall and Udi Wertheimer on Why Bitcoin Maximalism Is 'Like a Shitcoin Community' - Ep. 412
October 25, 2022 07:30 - 1 hourEric Wall, crypto blogger and investor, and Udi Wertheimer, a recovering Bitcoin maxi, discuss everything about Bitcoin Maximalism, whether BTC can survive, and whether Ethereum constitutes a threat for Bitcoin. Show highlights: how Eric and Udi got involved with Bitcoin what Bitcoin was like in the first days how Bitcoin maxis appear to have a script to engage in discussions the philosophy behind Bitcoin maximalism why Eric believes Bitcoin maximalism is like a “weird cult” how Eric...
The Chopping Block: 'Code Is Law' Is 'Obviously Not How Anything Works Ever' - Ep. 411
October 22, 2022 07:30 - 55 minutesWelcome to The Chopping Block! Crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Robert Leshner, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra chop it up about the latest news in the digital asset industry. Show topics: Everyone’s impression of Laura’s interview with Do Kwon The importance to differentiate failure and fraud The Mango Markets hack and whether code is law What happened with the BNB hack and the concerns it raised about decentralization Magic Eden’s decision to enable optional royalties and the debate abou...
Fat Man Terra Speaks: Do Kwon Is a ‘Sociopath’ and a ‘Charismatic Manipulator’ - Ep. 410
October 21, 2022 07:30 - 39 minutesFat Man Terra, the anonymous Twitter account dedicated to bringing Do Kwon to justice, reacts to my recent interview with Do Kwon and says what he thinks it revealed about his personality. Show highlights: why Fat Man Terra created the Twitter account whether Terra was used to enrich insiders how Fat Man believes Do Kwon evaded questions in the interview with Laura whether Do lied about Chai to misrepresent the success of UST and LUNA why Fat Man believes some people will never admit w...
The Chopping Block: Two on Two Debate: NFT Royalty Throwdown! - Ep. 409
October 19, 2022 07:30 - 1 hourWelcome to The Chopping Block! Host Haseeb Qureshi partnered with Zhuoxun Yin, cofounder of Magic Eden, to debate Unchained host Laura Shin and Li Jin, cofounder at Variant Fund, on the topic of NFT Royalties. Show highlights: What NFT royalties are Why Laura believes zero NFT royalties is a bad business decision prioritizing short-term needs over long-term ones and that it will turn creators off from the industry How charging royalties is not sustainable, according to Haseeb Why royalt...
Do Kwon of Terra: 'It Was Never Really About Money or Fame or Success' - Ep. 408
October 18, 2022 07:30 - 1 hourDo Kwon, cofounder of Terraform Labs, discusses the charges against him, gives a message to Terra victims, answers allegations about potential fraud and non-transparent business practices, and much more. Show highlights: whether Do finds the charges based on the Capital Markets Act legitimate why he doesn’t want to discuss his location whether the South Korean government is lying about the accusations against him what happened with the BTC held by the Luna Foundation Guard whether Do r...
Why the SEC Is Probing Yuga Labs and Coin Center �Is Suing Treasury - Ep. 407
October 14, 2022 07:30 - 40 minutesPeter Van Valkenburgh, director of research at Coin Center, comes to talk about the SEC probe into Yuga Labs, how to determine whether something is a security, and Coin Center’s lawsuit against the US Treasury over the sanctions on Tornado Cash. Peter Van Valkenburgh, director of research at Coin Center, comes to talk about the SEC probe into Yuga Labs, how to determine whether something is a security, and Coin Center’s lawsuit against the US Treasury over the sanctions on Tornado Cash. S...
Zaki Manian and Jack Zampolin on Why ATOM Is 'Dogecoin for Academics' - Ep. 406
October 11, 2022 07:30 - 58 minutesZaki Manian, cofounder of Sommelier Protocol and cofounder of Iqlusion and Jack Zampolin, founder of Strangelove Ventures, discuss everything about Cosmos, the new white paper, and how to improve MEV capture for ATOM holders. Show highlights: how Jack and Zaki got involved with crypto and Cosmos what the Sommelier protocol is, the role of Iqlusion, and what Strange Love does the basics of Cosmos and application-specific blockchains (ASB) why would a project choose to be an ASB rather than...
The Chopping Block: Was This Gary Gensler's Most Liked Tweet? - Ep. 405
October 08, 2022 07:30 - 1 hourWelcome to The Chopping Block! Crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra were joined by Laura Shin to chop it up about the latest news in the digital asset industry. Show topics: Whether crypto optimism is different in Asia than in the United States How Sam Bankman-Fried has been doing some work with US regulators How the CFTC lawsuit against Ooki DAO changed people’s perspectives about the regulator Whether the lawsuit could make all DeFi illegal and the role of DA...
Kristin Smith on Why Crypto Legislation Could Be Passed by Year's End - Ep. 404
October 07, 2022 08:30 - 37 minutesKristin Smith, Executive Director of the Blockchain Association, comes to talk about Tornado Cash, the lawsuit against Ooki DAO, the SEC charges against Kim Kardashian, and crypto legislation. Show highlights: whether regulators did not understand the implications of sanctioning smart contracts the necessity of having a conversation around financial privacy whether the government wants sanctions compliance at the base layer the reasons behind the CFTC lawsuit against Ooki DAO why the...
Sam Bankman-Fried on How to Prevent the Next Terra and 3AC - Ep. 403
October 04, 2022 07:30 - 1 hourSam Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of FTX, discusses his views on crypto regulation, macroeconomics, and the role of FTX in a decentralized industry. Show highlights: whether the market has already bottomed and the influence of macroeconomics why Sam thinks regulation could have a significant impact on the crypto industry the impact of the Terra collapse, Sam’s thoughts on stablecoins, and the importance of disclaimers what the industry can do to prevent high leverage from crypto compa...
Why the Ooki DAO Case Could Hurt Participation in DAOs - Ep. 402
September 30, 2022 09:30 - 37 minutesNikhilesh De, CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation, comes to talk about the CFTC lawsuit against Ooki DAO and the potential consequences across the crypto industry. Show highlights: the enforcement action against Ooki DAO and the CFTC’s arguments behind it whether bZx’s statements that the DAO would be beyond the reach of regulators made it a target for the CFTC whether the broader implication of these charges could mean that all DeFi is illegal whether the hacks...
How Will the Legal Case Against Do Kwon Play Out in South Korea? - Ep. 401
September 27, 2022 07:30 - 1 hourZack Guzman, journalist and Coinage host, and Jongbaek Park, partner specializing in blockchain and crypto assets at Bae, Kim & Lee, discuss how the case in South Korea against Do Kwon and TerraForm Labs will likely go, whether Do Kwon is on the run, and what his sentence could be. Show highlights: Jongbaek’s and Zack’s disclosures regarding Terra how big the Terra phenomenon was in South Korea and how Do Kwon was perceived in the country whether Do Kwon posed any conditions for his int...
The Chopping Block: Why ETH Dumped So Hard After the Merge - Ep. 400
September 24, 2022 17:46 - 59 minutesWelcome to The Chopping Block! Crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Robert Leshner, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra chop it up about the latest news in the digital asset industry. Show topics: Why the ETH price slumped after the Merge even though it was successful Whether the BTC security model is flawed and why Robert thinks Bitcoin will change Why Tarun thinks Bitcoin won’t change and why he’s bearish on Bitcoin development Whether the Lightning Network can succeed with so many competitors ...
Why Senator Pat Toomey Thinks SEC Chair Gary Gensler Is Wrong About Crypto - Ep. 399
September 23, 2022 08:30 - 41 minutesPat Toomey, U.S. Senator for Pennsylvania, talks about legislation in the crypto industry, how to determine if something is a security, the future of CBDCs, and much more. Show highlights: the structural differences between crypto tokens and securities why Sen. Toomey is demanding crypto legislation why “regulation by enforcement” does not provide clarity how to determine if a token is decentralized whether proof of stake consensus turns tokens into securities Sen. Toomey’s take on th...
Is Bitcoin Doomed to Fail? Eric Wall and Justin Bons Face Off - Ep. 398
September 21, 2022 19:12 - 1 hourIn a heated debate, Eric Wall, crypto blogger and investor, and Justin Bons, founder and chief investment officer of Cyber Capital, discuss Bitcoin’s security model, whether there are fundamental flaws in its design, and which is the best consensus mechanism. Show highlights: why Justin stopped believing in Bitcoin and why he calls it “technically one of the worst cryptocurrencies” how Eric’s views on Bitcoin changed over time the problems they see with Bitcoin’s security why Eric att...
Did the Merge Make Ethereum 'the Most Secure Blockchain in the World'? - Ep. 397
September 16, 2022 07:30 - 40 minutesJustin Drake, researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, talks about the Merge, how this transition affects Bitcoin, where Ethereum’s road map is going, and more. Show highlights: how Justin was feeling prior to and during the Merge whether the upgrade is complete or there are other things to watch out for why Ethereum has slashing and why it is a better form of removing any attackers the concern about centralization due to liquid staking derivatives providers, like Lido or Coinbase how t...