Avsnitt
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Not only will April 20 (or 19, depending on which part of the world you are) mark the fourth Bitcoin halving, but also the launch of a new primitive on Bitcoin called Runes Protocol.
Charlie Spears, co-founder of Blackspace Media, joined Unchained to talk about all things Runes, which is a messaging protocol that allows for the creation of fungible tokens on Bitcoin. It is designed to fix some of the issues with the BRC-20 token standard, such as inefficiency and proliferation of unspent transaction outputs. Charlie believes that the launch of Runes will increase demand for Bitcoin's blockspace and potentially lead to higher transaction fees. He also discusses the potential for Runes to interact with Bitcoin covenants and layer two solutions.
Show highlights:
What Runes is and why Charlie believes that it is the hottest thing since Ordinals
The differences between Runes and BRC-20 fungible tokens
Runes’ unique features, with Charlie pointing out that this is “what the degens really want”
Whether the Runes Protocol will create a “burst of demand” and have a positive impact on miners
Whether the launch of Runes will be successful in the long-term and how Bitcoin’s blockspace could become more attractive
Whether Bitcoin L2s will help clear Bitcoin’s mempool, and why Charlie believes that they won’t reduce fee pressure on the base layer
The coolest things that Runes Protocol will enable, according to Charlie
How Taproot Assets and RGB differ from Runes and why they have not taken off
Why Casey, the founder of Runes, will claim the first inscription with Uncommon Goods
Thank you to our sponsors!
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Polkadot
Guest
Charlie Spears, cofounder of Blockspace Media
Links
Recent coverage on Unchained of the Bitcoin halving: Arthur Hayes and Will Clemente on How This Bitcoin Halving Is Different
Runes
Unchained: What Are Runes? A Guide to the New Fungible Token Protocol on Bitcoin
Bitcoin Runes Explainer by Charlie Spears
BRC-20s and Ordinals:
Unchained:
What Are BRC-20 Tokens? A Brief Introduction
Bitcoin’s BRC-20 Mania: Is It Sustainable?
How to Create a Bitcoin Ordinal
Bitcoin Ordinal NFTs Are Hot and Getting Hotter. What's the Hype About?
Halving
Unchained:
Bitcoin Halving: What Is It & How Is It Determined?
Here’s Why No One Agrees Exactly When The Bitcoin Halving Will Happen
Bitcoin Miners Diversify Their Revenue Streams as Halving Nears
Bitcoin L2s
Unchained:
Stacks’ Muneeb Ali On Why Bitcoin Is Exciting Once Again
Citrea: An Ethereum-Like Experience Built on Bitcoin?
How Botanix Aims to Enable Smart Contracts on Bitcoin
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The Bitcoin halving is just around the corner, expected to be on April 19 or April 20.
Arthur Hayes, CIO of Maelstrom, and Will Clemente, co-founder of Reflexivity Research discuss the rise in Bitcoin prices ahead of the halving, the impact of the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US, and the potential effects of the halving on the price trajectory post-halving. They also discuss the potential impact of a new class of investors on Bitcoin's price, volatility, and decentralization.
Learn more: Bitcoin Halving: What Is It & How Is It Determined?
Moreover, they dive into the impact of the macroeconomics, geopolitical, and demographic conditions for the crypto asset industry, the potential for L2s on Bitcoin, and their price predictions for bitcoin by year-end.
Show highlights:
How the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs altered the price trajectory of BTC before the halving
Whether the introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs impacts Bitcoin's decentralization and price volatility
Whether this cycle could be the "last cycle" or the "supercycle"
Why Arthur predicts a 90% drawdown in the future and how they determine when the markets are nearing the top of the cycle
The effect of high inflation, the election, and the termination of the bank term funding program on Bitcoin
How artificial intelligence is expected to trigger a productivity boom, according to Will
Why Will considers Coinbase to be mispriced
Whether Bitcoin L2s have a future and if security budgets are a concern
Their views on Bitcoin Ordinals and the Runes Protocol launch
Why Will views DOGE as a purer commodity than ETH
Arthur's rebuttal to claims that Ethena could follow in Terra/Luna’s footsteps
Arthur's and Will’s Bitcoin price projections for the end of the year and the cycle
Thank you to our sponsors!
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Guest:
Arthur Hayes, CIO of Maelstrom.
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Arthur Hayes on Why Bitcoin Is Money and ETH Is a Shitcoin He Loves
Arthur Hayes, Former Ethereum Skeptic, on Why the Merge Makes Him Bullish on ETH
Arthur Hayes of Bitmex on Why Countries Will Turn to Digital
The Chopping Block: Arthur Hayes on Why Crypto Needs to Ditch the Banks
How Crypto and Blockchain Technology Could Change Financial Services
Will Clemente, Co-founder of Reflexivity Research
Previous appearance on Unchained: Strong Hands Aren't Selling Bitcoin. So Who Is?
Links
This cycle
Naval’s tweet: “The narrative for this cycle is ‘this is the last cycle.’”
Unchained:
Here’s Why No One Agrees Exactly When The Bitcoin Halving Will Happen
Bitcoin Miners Diversify Their Revenue Streams as Halving Nears
Heatwave by Arthur Hayes
Dissecting Bitcoin's “4 Year Cycle,” guest post by Will Clemente on The Pomp Letter
Bitcoin ETFs:
Unchained:
The Best Spot Bitcoin ETFs for Different Types of Investors
Who Is Buying Into Spot Bitcoin ETFs? We'll Soon Start to Get an Idea
Bitcoin ETFs Explained: What Are They & How Do They Work?
Macroeconomic conditions
CNBC: Consumer prices rose 3.5% from a year ago in March, more than expected
FT: Investors lose hope of rapid US interest rate cuts this year
Block size wars
Bloomberg: The Block War Is Still a Sore Subject for ‘Bitcoin Jesus’
Bitcoin L2s
Unchained: Stacks’ Muneeb Ali On Why Bitcoin Is Exciting Once Again
Runes
Decrypt: Bitcoin Runes Launch at the Halving: Here's Everything You Need to Know
Ethena
Hayes’ tweet on Ethena
Unchained:
ENA Surges 20% to New All-Time High as Ethena Rolls Out Reward Boosts
Ethena’s USDe Grew to $2 Billion in 7 Weeks. Is It Safe?
What Is Ethena's USDe Synethic Dollar?
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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On Wednesday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Wells notice to Uniswap Labs, the team behind the prominent decentralized exchange (DEX) Uniswap, signaling a forthcoming enforcement action.
Amanda Tuminelli, Chief Legal Officer at the DeFi Education Fund, joined Unchained to unpack what the case could mean for Uniswap and the overall decentralized finance (DeFi) industry.
Amanda also talks about the DeFi Education Fund's recent lawsuit against the SEC over its airdrop policies and the industry’s need for a proactive counteroffensive approach in dealing with the SEC.
Show highlights:
Why Amanda thinks that the SEC is going to take a “kitchen sink approach” to their charges
How the SEC could make a case that some of the tokens traded via Uniswap are securities
What the next steps are in the case, with a lawsuit possibly coming soon
Whether there’s an inconsistency between the SEC’s position and Judge Failla’s rejection of the motion to dismiss the Coinbase lawsuit
How the different components of Uniswap make it hard to prove that Uniswap Labs is responsible for everything that happens on the protocol
Why the DeFi Education Fund recently filed a lawsuit against the SEC
Why Amanda believes in a “proactive counteroffensive strategy” with the SEC
How Amanda would like legislation to be implemented in the U.S.
Why the Tornado Cash developers are not liable for the actions of third parties such as North Korean hackers, according to Amanda
Why Amanda thinks Uniswap will ultimately win against the SEC
Thank you to our sponsors!
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Polkadot
Guest
Amanda Tuminelli, Chief Legal Officer at DeFi Education Fund
Previous appearance on Unchained: Is This the End of DeFi? Why the US Government Is Going After Tornado Cash
You’ve got a friend in me: How amicus briefs are helping the crypto industry win over the courts, Amanda’s op-ed for Fortune
Links
Wells Notice
Unchained: SEC Puts DeFi in Its Sights With Potential Uniswap Suit
Unchained: UNI Drops 16% as SEC Targets Uniswap Labs
Uniswap Blog Post on the Wells notice
Marvin Ammori Thread on Wells notice
Other cases:
Fortune: Don't blame Uniswap for crypto scams, judge rules—and she's right
The Block: Three crypto advocacy groups file amicus briefs in Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm's case
The DeFiant: SEC Faces Lawsuit Seeking To Exempt Airdrops From Securities Classification
Unchained: Court Rejects Coinbase's Bid to Dismiss SEC Charges Against It
Social media commentary:
Paul Grewal’s tweet on the potential inconsistencies with the Coinbase case.
Gabriel Shapiro’s tweet on how Uniswap AMM smart contracts are not run by the Uniswap company
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Welcome to The Chopping Block, where Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, and Robert Leshner dive into the crypto universe's hottest topics. In this episode, we have the CEO/Co-Founder of Monad to explore the fascinating world of Monad and its ambitious endeavor to revolutionize EVM scalability through innovative parallelization techniques. The discussion shifts gears to the recent turmoil in Solana, dissecting the network's congestion issues and the broader implications for blockchain efficiency and scalability challenges. As the conversation deepens, we pivot to the gripping courtroom drama surrounding Avi Eisenberg, challenging the foundational crypto principle of 'code is law' and sparking debate over the legality of smart contract exploitation. Through these discussions, we untangle the complex interplay between technological innovation, regulatory frameworks, and the ethical considerations that define the crypto industry. Join us as we navigate the intricate dynamics shaping the future of blockchain technology, providing insightful analysis on the strategic developments and moral dilemmas at the heart of the digital age. Tune in for a compelling journey through the strategic and ethical battlegrounds that are forging the path forward for crypto and blockchain.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show Highlights
🔹 Dive into Monad’s efforts to revolutionize Ethereum with parallelization for higher transaction throughput and efficiency.
🔹 Discussion on Solana's congestion issue, its impact on network performance, and lessons for future scalability.
🔹 Examination of Avi Eisenberg's courtroom saga, challenging the boundaries between legal systems and blockchain autonomy.
🔹 Insight into the scalability challenges facing blockchains and the innovative solutions proposed by new projects.
🔹 Analyzing the ethical considerations in exploiting blockchain vulnerabilities and the responsibility of the crypto community.
🔹 Debate on the future of smart contracts in light of legal challenges and the evolving concept of 'code is law'.
🔹 Perspectives on the balance between innovation and user protection in the rapidly evolving landscape of decentralized finance.
Special guest
⭐️ Keone Hon, Cofounder/CEO at Monad Labs
Hosts
⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Robert Leshner, Founder of Compound
Disclosures
Links
The Mango Markets Attacker on Whether His 'Trade' Was Ethical or Not - Ep. 413
https://unchainedcrypto.com/podcast/the-mango-markets-attacker-on-whether-his-trade-was-ethical-or-not-ep-413/
Nickel Blowup Made a Lot of Trouble by Matt Levine
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-03-14/nickel-blowup-made-a-lot-of-trouble
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Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron and co-founder Brendan Farmer discussed everything about the AggLayer, a decentralized protocol built by Polygon that enables fast, secure cross-chain interactions and allows different chains to use the same native bridge. This allows users to seamlessly move assets across chains in the AggLayer ecosystem.
The AggLayer aims to unify blockspace so that it feels like a single chain, improving user experience. Boiron and Farmer also discussed the potential for Layer 2 solutions to scale Ethereum, the benefits of zero-knowledge technology, and the future of Polygon's proof-of-stake chain.
Learn more: What Are Zero-Knowledge Proofs?
Show highlights:
Background of Brendan and Marc and how they joined Polygon
A brief description of what Polygon is overall
What the AggLayer is and how it aims to enable the best of monolithic and modular blockchains
How Brendan differentiates the AggLayer from its competitors, such as Optimism's Superchain or Cosmos and why he believes that zk-technology is such a game changer
How the interoperability experience gets better in such a system, according to Marc and Brendan, and what will become possible that's not now
Which chains can use the AggLayer and how it works to improve security across chains
The tradeoffs between the various types of zkEVM provers
How projects should decide their architecture and when it would make sense to tap the AggLayer
Why projects should build on the AggLayer, including layer 1s, according to Marc
How Layer 1s can still join the AggLayer and retain their own consensus and sovereignty
Why Polygon believes that zk-technology is the future of blockchain architecture
Why the Polgyon zkEVM suffered an outage on March 30
Whether Layer 3s are needed to scale the Ethereum ecosystem
Why Brendan believes that EigenLayer is not a good fit for rollups to use
The transition of the Polygon PoS chain to become an Ethereum L2 using the AggLayer
When EIP-4844/Dencun will go live on Polygon
Thank you to our sponsors!
Polkadot
Guests:
Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Gary Gensler vs. Crypto: What Will the SEC Attack Next?
The Chopping Block: The SEC Is Attacking Crypto – Will Gary Gensler Succeed?
Brendan Farmer, co-founder of Polygon and co-lead of Polygon Zero
Links
AggLayer
Polygon: Aggregated Blockchains: A New Thesis
More technical Agglayer explainer
CoinDesk:
Polygon Lands Astar Network as First User of New 'AggLayer’
Cosmos-Based Canto Blockchain Reverses Course on Polygon Layer-2 Plans, Unveils New Roadmap
Zaki on the comparisons with Cosmos
zk-Technology
Polygon: Upgrading Every EVM Chain to ZK: Introducing the Type 1 Prover
The different types of ZK-EVMs by Vitalik
Unchained: Why Zero-Knowledge Proofs Are Critical to Ethereum’s Future
Polygon zkEVM
Unchained: Polygon zkEVM Chain Goes Down for 10 Hours
Blockworks: Polygon unpacks zkEVM outage and ‘emergency’ upgrade
Layer 3s
Unchained: Layer 3s Only Exist to Take Value Away From Ethereum: Polygon Labs CEO
0xCygaar on L3s and L2s
Potuz on the benefit of L3s
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Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
This week, Ethena was in the spotlight after the airdrop of ENA, its new governance token. Ethena’s flagship product, the “synthetic dollar” USDe has amassed a $2 billion market cap in less than two months. Meanwhile, ENA’s market capitalization sits around $1.4 billion, with a fully diluted valuation of $15.5 billion.
In this episode, Guy Young, founder of Ethena Labs, discusses the risks associated with Ethena, including custodial risks and counterparty risks to exchanges. Young also talks about the use cases of Ethena's governance token, and discusses the potential for Ethena to be integrated with DeFi and CeFi.
Show highlights:
An introduction to what Ethena is and how USDe works
Why the team doesn't want to refer to USDe as a stablecoin, and prefers to use the term "synthetic dollar"
What the risks of USDe are, including custody, counterparties, and smart contracts
Why Guy is "pleased" with how the ENA airdrop went through
How ENA will be used and what its role will be in the governance of Ethena
Why Ethena is now onboarding Bitcoin as collateral
Why Guy thinks that there's been an "exaggeration" regarding the situation with Maker and Aave
Guy's response to the critics who say that Ethena is essentially Terra/Luna
Whether USDe would only work in a bull market
How the Ethena insurance fund works and what it aims to accomplish
What's next for Ethena after onboarding Bitcoin, with Solana potentially being the next asset
Thank you to our sponsors!
Polkadot
iTrustCapital
Guest
Guy Young, founder of Ethena Labs.
Previous appearance on Unchained: How Ethena's USDe Challenges Traditional Stablecoin Models
Links
Ethena:
Unchained: What Is Ethena’s USDe Synethic Dollar? A Beginner’s Guide
Decrypt: Ethena Just Launched to a $1.2 Billion Market Cap: Here’s What You Need to Know
Dust on Crust by Arthur Hayes
Airdrop:
Unchained: Airdrops From Wormhole and Ethena Labs Set to Inject $2.4 Billion Into Crypto Market This Week
Cointelegraph: Ethena will become highest revenue-generating crypto project — Delphi Labs CEO
ENA Airdrop and Season 2: Sats Campaign
Learn more: What Is a Crypto Airdrop? A Beginner’s Guide
MakerDAO/Aave controversy:
The Block: MakerDAO proposes allocating $600 million worth of DAI into USDe and sUSDe
The Defiant: DeFi Projects Clash After MakerDAO Adds Ethena’s USDe As Collateral,
Comparisons to Terra’s UST:
The Defiant: Ethena Stablecoin’s 27% Yield is Triggering Terra-Induced PTSD
Andre Cronje’s thoughts on USDe
Cointelegraph: Ethena Labs founder clarifies USDe stability amid high yield worries
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Welcome to The Chopping Block, where Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner dive into the crypto universe's hottest topics. In this episode, amidst the crypto bull market's fervor, the boys dissect the launch of Ethena and its repercussions, including a potential DeFi civil war spurred by integration disputes between MakerDAO and AAVE. The conversation then shifts to the broader implications of SBF's sentencing, exploring how this landmark legal decision could reshape the landscape of trust and regulation within the crypto community. Moreover, we tackle the ethical and operational dilemmas faced by Blast in response to a significant hack, debating the merits and risks of potential rollbacks and the preservation of user funds against the backdrop of decentralized ideals. As we navigate through these complex issues, we shed light on the dynamics between decentralization, regulation, and innovation, offering nuanced perspectives on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for crypto. Tune in for an insightful journey through the strategic battlegrounds and evolutions that are defining the future of blockchain technology.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show Highlights
🔹 Analysis of Ethena's token launch impact on the crypto bull market and the crypto ecosystem
🔹Insight into the ongoing DeFi civil war triggered by MakerDAO's integration of Ethena, extending into Aave's strategic response and the broader DeFi ecosystem.
🔹Examination of SBF's sentencing, exploring its repercussions for crypto regulation, investor trust, and the legal landscape of the crypto industry.
🔹Evaluation of Blast's response to a significant security breach, debating the implications of potential rollbacks for DeFi security and user trust.
🔹Exploration of the balance between DeFi innovation, regulatory challenges, and the need for a stable legal framework to support crypto growth.
🔹Analysis of the crypto community's response to the DeFi civil war, SBF's sentencing, and security issues in decentralized finance platforms.
Hosts
⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures
⭐️Robert Leshner, Founder of Compound
Disclosures
Links
MakerDAO Proposal: “Morpho Spark DAI Vault Update” - https://forum.makerdao.com/t/morpho-spark-dai-vault-update-1-april-2024/24006
AAVE’s Proposal: “Risk Parameters for DAI Update”
https://governance.aave.com/t/arfc-risk-parameters-for-dai-update/17211
Barbara Fried’s SBF sentencing submission
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.590939/gov.uscourts.nysd.590939.419.0_1.pdf
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On March 20, Fortune reported that the SEC was investigating the Ethereum Foundation and was looking for legal ways to label ETH as a security.Sam Enzer, partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel, and Greg Strong, partner at DLx Law joined Laura to discuss everything about the investigation and its implications. The guests speculate about the hidden motivations behind the SEC's investigation and discuss the likelihood of the approval of spot Ether ETFs. They also discuss the recent ruling in the SEC vs Coinbase case, where the judge dismissed claims that Coinbase's wallet was acting as an unregistered brokerage, but allowed the rest of the suit to proceed. Lastly, they touch on the devastating impact on the crypto industry if the SEC were to win a case alleging ETH is a security and what they are looking out for in the next couple of weeks and months.Show highlights:Whether the investigation into the Ethereum Foundation is confirmed and why the SEC would do thisWhy Sam Enzer believes that the SEC would be "utterly wrong and ridiculous" in alleging ETH is a securityWhether the number of people working on Ethereum could make the argument that it is decentralizedHow would the SEC justify that ETH is a security and whether the Foundation is running Ethereum’s managerial effortsWhether the SEC is looking for evidence to deny spot ether ETFsWhy SEC chair Gary Gensler has changed his mind on many of his previous stances regarding crypto assets and whether he's acting in good faithThe ongoing battle between the SEC and the CFTC and the need for Congress to regulate the industryWhat the possible outcome of this investigation could be, and whether we'll have a court case soonWhat the impact would be if ETH were classified a securityWhether Prometheum could launch its platform offering custody of ETH as a security before an SEC designationWhy Sam believes that the spot ETH ETFs will be denied on May 23rdHow the SEC has already made up its mind even before gathering the facts, according to SamWhether the recent judgment on Coinbase's case affects the potential case against the EFWhether Ethereum transactions are security transactions, and the difference between primary and secondary salesWhat to expect in terms of regulation and enforcement actions in the short term, given the number of cases at the momentThank you to our sponsors!PolkadotGuests:Sam Enzer, Partner at Cahill Gordon & ReindelPrevious appearances on Unchained:How 'a Criminal Choice' Got Sam Bankman-Fried a 25-Year Prison SentenceWhy the SEC’s Case Against Coinbase Is So Significant for CryptoWhy SBF’s Testimony So Far Has Likely Already Doomed HimAnother Bad Week for Sam Bankman-Fried in His Criminal TrialWhy These Lawyers Say It’s Over for SBF-But His Only Hail Mary Is to TestifySBF Trial: How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers Might Try and Win His CaseSBF’s Lawyers Could Be Annoying the Judge How Might That Impact the Trial?Greg Strong, partner at DLx LawPrevious appearance on Unchained: Why These Lawyers Say It's Over for SBF-But His Only Hail Mary Is to TestifyLinksEthereum Foundation investigation:Fortune: SEC probing crypto companies in Ethereum investigation as hopes for ETF dimCoinDesk: Ethereum Foundation Faces Inquiry From a Government; Fortune Says SEC Investigating ETHUnchained: Ex-CFTC Commissioner Says ETH Can Be Both a Commodity and a SecurityUnchained: SEC Investigating Ethereum Foundation Regarding Proof-of-Stake Transition: Report Ethereum’s security statusUnchained: Ex-CFTC Commissioner Says ETH Can Be Both a Commodity and a SecurityFortune: SEC’s Gensler seen telling hedge funds that Ethereum and Litecoin are ‘not securities’ in 2018 videoCNBC: SEC Chair Gary Gensler on potential Crypto regulation: It's within the securities lawsSEC Chair Gary Gensler discusses potential crypto regulation and stablecoinsFor more details and links, visit Unchained Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), FTX's co-founder, was sentenced to 25 years in prison and $11 billion in forfeiture for massive fraud, marking a historic moment in the crypto industry. Judge Lewis Kaplan emphasized the sentence's necessity due to Bankman-Fried's risk-oriented decision-making philosophy known as “expected value” and lack of remorse.
Sam Enzer joined Unchained to unpack the sentencing, discussing the fairness of the length, explaining how the $11 billion forfeiture would work and how it’s different from the bankruptcy proceedings. Additionally, Enzer provided insights into the kind of prison SBF would end up in and into the three-year supervised release SBF will face after his prison term. The conversation further delved into the broader impact of the sentencing on the crypto industry, suggesting it could signify the end of a dark chapter.
Show highlights:
Whether the 25-year sentence is fair, according to Sam
What the $11 billion in forfeiture means for SBF
Whether the assets of SBF actually belong to the FTX estate
Where SBF will likely go to prison and why Sam believes that SBF will not go to a maximum security prison
When the clock starts ticking for the 25-year sentence
Why SBF will not be eligible for parole and whether he could get "good time credit"
What the defense will attempt in appealing the conviction
What types of behavior could get SBF enough credit to appeal for a reduced sentence
Why SBF will have to be supervised for three years after his release
How SBF’s philosophy about “expected value,” was the theme of the crime, according to Judge Kaplan
Whether the co-conspirators, such as Caroline Ellison, will be sentenced and serve in prison
Why Sam says that the sentencing represented "the closing of a dark chapter" in crypto
Thank you to our sponsors!
iTrustCapital
Polkadot
Guest
Sam Enzer, Partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Why the SEC’s Case Against Coinbase Is So Significant for Crypto
Why SBF’s Testimony So Far Has Likely Already Doomed Him
Another Bad Week for Sam Bankman-Fried in His Criminal Trial
Why These Lawyers Say It’s Over for SBF-But His Only Hail Mary Is to Testify
SBF Trial: How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers Might Try and Win His Case
SBF’s Lawyers Could Be Annoying the Judge How Might That Impact the Trial?
Links
Unchained:
FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years for Historic Fraud
SBF’s Prison Sentencing Is Coming Up. How Many Years Will He Get?
Is Prison Crypto’s New Glow-Up? Post-Incarceration Do Kwon and SBF Are Admired
What to Expect from Sam Bankman-Fried’s Sentencing – and the Lessons We Should Learn
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Welcome to The Chopping Block, where Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner dive into the crypto universe's hottest topics. In this episode, we're tackling pressing questions: "Are Memecoins a Good Bet for Institutional Investors?" and "Can BASE Catalyze a Shift in Ethereum's DeFi Dominance?" Amidst Ethereum's upgrades, we explore the impact on scalability and the Layer 2 landscape. The legal entanglements of KuCoin with the DOJ and Beba's lawsuit against the SEC prompt a discussion on "What Do These Legal Challenges Mean for Crypto's Regulatory Future?" Additionally, we analyze the Blast Layer 2 security breach, questioning its implications for decentralized finance's security. Plus, a hypothetical scenario with Mr. Beast airdropping his own token leads us to ponder, "Can Celebrity-Endorsed Cryptocurrencies Create Real Value?" Join us as we dissect these pivotal developments, offering insights into the strategic maneuvers and policy shifts shaping crypto's future. Tune in for a compelling narrative on innovation and speculation in the rapidly evolving world of blockchain technology.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show Highlights
🔹 BASE's Growth and Challenges: Discussing BASE's explosive growth amidst Ethereum's upgrades, and how it's shaping the Layer 2 landscape amidst rising gas fees and scalability solutions.
🔹 Beba & DeFi Education Fund vs. SEC: Unpacking the lawsuit against the SEC for clearer airdrop regulations, highlighting its significance for future of airdrops.
🔹 KuCoin's Legal Battle: Insights into KuCoin's indictment by the DOJ, emphasizing the exchange's challenges and the broader implications for crypto regulations.
🔹 Blast L2 Security Incident: Analyzing the $62 million hack on Blast L2, exploring its impact on security perceptions and the debate over centralized control in DeFi.
🔹 Institutional Engagement with Memecoins: Exploring the surprising trend of reputable investment firms and family offices venturing into the volatile world of memecoins.
🔹 The Mr. Beast Coin Hypothesis: Exploring the theoretical impact of a Mr. Beast coin on the crypto economy, debating whether celebrity-backed coins can lead to genuine wealth creation.
Hosts
⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures
⭐️Robert Leshner, Founder of Compound
Disclosures
Links
BEBA LLC and DEFI EDUCATION FUND v. SEC - https://www.defieducationfund.org/_files/ugd/84ba66_3f7a8f2ca6614d7381122cb1beeed4a8.pdf
Prominent Global Cryptocurrency Exchange KuCoin And Two Of Its Founders Criminally Charged With Bank Secrecy Act And Unlicensed Money Transmission Offenses - https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/prominent-global-cryptocurrency-exchange-kucoin-and-two-its-founders-criminally
Tweet “Learn about that touch and the intersection of AI and blockchain” - https://twitter.com/NEARProtocol/status/1772494712525426865
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In this episode, Laura interviews Meg Lister, GM of Grants Labs at Gitcoin, and Kevin Owocki, co-founder of Gitcoin.
They discuss the evolution of Gitcoin from a centralized platform to a decentralized suite of protocols, Gitcoin 2.0, which allows any Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) based ecosystem to fund its public goods. They also talk about the various funding mechanisms available, including quadratic funding, retroactive public goods funding, and conviction voting.
Learn more: What Is Retroactive Public Goods Funding?
The team is also exploring more futuristic concepts such as private voting systems, angel investing 2.0, and impact attestations. The ultimate goal for Gitcoin is to create a capital allocation infrastructure that funds what matters to communities, whether they are towns, states, countries, or online interest groups.
Show highlights:
Kevin's background and how he came to found Gitcoin and why Meg joined the company
The differences between Gitcoin 1.0 and 2.0
What quadratic funding is and why it is important in the blockchain ecosystem
The problem of sybil attacks and how Gitcoin Passport aims to solve it
Why Gitcoin has changed its approach to put more focus on scaling Ethereum rather than other types of grants
How Gitcoin is trying to solve capital allocation efficiency with Allo (Capital Allocation) Protocol
What streaming quadratic funding is and how it differs from traditional quadratic funding
How retroactive public goods funding (RPGF) works
What conviction voting is and how it addresses some of the current problems in DAOs
Which projects are using Gitcoin Passport and what for
Why Gitcoin is so focused on the Ethereum ecosystem and whether they will launch in other chains
What the purposes of the GTC token are and how it could become a flywheel for Gitcoin
How Gitcoin can become sustainable long-term, since it's free to use at the moment
The features that are coming down the line for Gitcoin, including privacy and onchain "angel investing"
What the future could look like if Gitcoin succeeds in its mission, according to Kevin
Thank you to our sponsors!
Polkadot
Guests:
Kevin Owocki, Co-founder of Gitcoin
Meg Lister, GM of Grants Labs at Gitcoin
Links
Gitcoin
Gitcoin 2.0 Whitepaper, co-authored by Kevin Owocki and Meg Lister
Public Goods Funding: The New Meta | Kevin Owocki - Gitcoin, presentation at ETH Denver 2024
Gitcoin Entering the End Game
Gitcoin’s Citizen Grants program
Impact report
CoinDesk: Why Crypto’s Most Altruistic Project Is Going (Kinda) Corporate
Blockworks: Gitcoin is restructuring to focus on grants for the Ethereum ecosystem
Allo Protocol
Announcement thread
Web3 Ecosystem Funding
State of Web3 Grants Report
Web3 Innovations in Public Goods Funding
How To Fund Innovation: A Guide to Web3 Grants, Meg Lister for BeIn Crypto
Quadratic funding
ORIGINAL WHITE PAPER, co-authored by Vitalik Buterin
Retro PGF
Unchained: What Is Retroactive Public Goods Funding?
Passport
Introducing Passport - Digital Identity as a Public Good
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Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
On Wednesday, BlackRock, the world's leading asset management firm, announced the launch of a tokenized investment fund, the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity (BUIDL) Fund, developed in collaboration with Securitize.
Carlos Domingo, founder and CEO of Securitize, discusses the launch of the fund, which is native to the public Ethereum blockchain and aims to bring an institutional-grade cash management product to crypto institutions, offering faster token issuance, redemption, and transferability.
Learn more: What Is Real-World Asset (RWA) Tokenization? A Beginner's Guide
He also talks about how Blackrock has embraced crypto, how the launch of the fund was “front run” by crypto Twitter, and how Blackrock will deal with issues such as the fund being dusted with ETH tainted by sanctioned Tornado Cash ETH.
Show highlights:
What the BUIDL fund is, its essence and objectives
How the fund rewards its users, with a system similar to crypto airdrops
Whether they were worried about regulatory aspects of bringing this product onchain
Securitize's role in the partnership with BlackRock
How much money flowed into the fund on the first day and who the target investor is
Why BlackRock decided to build this product on Ethereum
What BlackRock's attitude towards crypto is, according to Carlos
How the launch of the fund was frontrun by crypto insiders
How a wallet associated with the fund received unintended funds from North Korean tied wallets and whether Ethereum should implement a mechanism for addresses to approve funds that are sent to it
Whether the contract is secure and what steps Securitize is taking to increase the safety of the users
The roadmap for the partnership between BlackRock and Securitize
Thank you to our sponsors!
iTrustCapital
Polkadot
Uniswap
Guest
Carlos Domingo, Founder and CEO of Securitize
Previous appearance on Unchained: Could Securitize Democratize Access to Different Asset Classes?
Links
Previous coverage on Unchained of real world assets:
The Catalysts for This Crypto Bull Market: AI, DeFi, Real World Assets?
The Chopping Block: Will Tokenizing RWAs Finally Click This Time?
MakerDAO Has Brought in Real World Assets. Is It Worth the Risk?
BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity (BUIDL) Fund
The Block: BlackRock to launch tokenized investment fund with Securitize
Unchained:
BlackRock's Institutional Fund Wallet Receives Unsolicited ETH From Tornado Cash Within Hours of Launch
BlackRock Receives Memecoins and NFTs After Putting $100 Million USDC Onchain
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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest news. In this week's episode, the squad dives into the riveting dynamics of meme coins and their undeniable sway over market sentiments, alongside a detailed exploration of BlackRock's groundbreaking leap into blockchain with its on-chain fund initiative. Is Solana redefining its role as the new haven for meme coin ventures, signaling a shift in blockchain platform dominance? And with Ethereum's recent 4844 and Dencun upgrades, can it hold its ground as the DeFi ecosystem's backbone amidst escalating competition? We delve into MakerDAO's ambitious 'Endgame' strategy, contemplating its potential to reshape governance within the DeFi sector. The conversation doesn't stop there; we untangle the complex web of crypto conspiracies and debate the evolving definition of 'fair launch' in the decentralized space. This episode is packed with analysis and insights as we navigate the speculative excitement of meme coins, the strategic moves of blockchain giants, and the transformative policies shaping the future of decentralized finance. Join us for a thought-provoking journey as we dissect these developments, with Robert Leshner shedding light on the alpha in Reg D filings, to unravel the narratives that could redefine the crypto ecosystem's future. Tune in for a compelling session that promises to peel back the layers of innovation, speculation, and strategic maneuvering in the ever-evolving crypto landscape.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show Highlights
🔹 Unraveling Crypto Conspiracies: Delving into the speculative theories surrounding the surge of memecoins and their potential orchestration by exchanges or other entities.
🔹 Redefining 'Fair Launch' in DeFi: A critique of the shifting meaning of 'fair launch' within the memecoin sector, highlighting the departure from traditional norms.
🔹 Solana as the New Memecoin Haven: Examining Solana's burgeoning role as the preferred platform for memecoin activity and what it signifies for blockchain innovation.
🔹 Ethereum's Technological Upgrades: Analyzing the implications of Ethereum's 4844 and Dencun upgrade for transaction fees, scalability, and the developer ecosystem.
🔹 Debating the Future of memecoins: Insights into the dynamic world of memecoins, from the rise of pre-sales on Solana to the broader implications for the crypto market.
🔹 The Evolution of MakerDAO: Discussion on MakerDAO's transformative 'Endgame' strategy, introducing new governance mechanisms and tokens to revitalize its ecosystem.
🔹 BlackRock's Entry into Crypto: A glimpse into BlackRock's strategic move to launch an on-chain fund, marking a significant step by a major institutional player into the crypto space.
Hosts
⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures
⭐️Robert Leshner, Founder of Compound
Disclosures
Links
Pump.fun - https://www.pump.fun
3AC’s Kyle Davies on Why He’s Crypto’s Lloyd Blankfein and Why He’s Not Sorry - https://unchainedcrypto.com/3acs-kyle-davies-on-why-hes-cryptos-lloyd-blankfein-and-why-hes-not-sorry/
MakerDAO Endgame: Launch Season - https://forum.makerdao.com/t/makerdao-endgame-launch-season/23857/1
What Is a Fair Launch in Crypto? - https://www.coingecko.com/learn/what-is-a-fair-launch-in-crypto
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Few crypto figures have been as vilified as Kyle Davies, the co-founder, along with Su Zhu, of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, which imploded in mid-2022, losing $3 billion and bringing many pillars of the crypto industry down with it. Davies and Zhu have been accused of, among other things, lying about 3AC’s assets as the firm was imploding, trying to borrow money when the firm was insolvent, and seeking funding from the Mafia, all of which Davies denies.
But he remains unapologetic about 3AC’s demise, saying most, if not all, companies eventually go bankrupt, and that 3AC had a “pretty spectacular” ten-year run. He joined Unchained to explain why he and Su Zhu were ordered to prison in Singapore for non-compliance with the liquidation proceedings, Zhu’s “six weeks meditating” (in prison), where he’s living now, why he and Zhu went to Bali after the bankruptcy, his $25,000-a-month fee for consulting for crypto bankruptcy exchange OPNX, his and Zhu’s current work advising crypto derivatives platform OX.FUN, and what he wishes he would have done differently in terms of 3AC’s wind down.
Show highlights:
Whether Kyle is cooperating with 3AC liquidator Teneo and his opinions of that firm
His and 3AC co-founder Su Zhu’s prison sentences in Singapore
Why Kyle says he didn’t know about the scheduled court date
Why Dubai levied fines against him, according to Kyle
Where he is living now
Whether or not he made misrepresentations about 3AC’s assets to lenders before its implosion, traded when the firm was insolvent, and borrowed money from the mafia
Why Kyle went to Bali after the bankruptcy
His defense of his $25,000 a month fee for consulting for OPNX
Why Kyle thinks his reputation post-3AC was still “huge” because all companies eventually go bankrupt
Gamified derivatives platform OX.FUN, where he is an advisor
His dreams of opening a cloud kitchen chicken restaurant
Why he filed a lawsuit against Sixth Man Ventures’ Mike Dudas
What he could have done differently at the time of 3AC’s collapse
Why Kyle is not sorry 3AC went bankrupt
Thank you to our sponsors!
Polkadot
Guest
Kyle Davies, OX.FUN advisor and co-founder of Three Arrows Capital
Links
Su Zhu’s Arrest
Unchained: Three Arrows Capital Cofounder Su Zhu Arrested in Singapore
3AC Founders’ Assets Frozen
CoinDesk: Court Freezes $1 Billion of Assets of Three Arrows Capital Founders
3AC Ventures
CoinDesk: Bankrupt Hedge Fund 3AC's Return as a VC Stirring Up Crypto Community
Davies and Su’s Post Bankruptcy Lives
New York Times: Their Crypto Company Collapsed. They Went to Bali
New York Magazine: ‘They Are Very Comfortable Lying’: How fallen crypto kingpins Su Zhu and Kyle Davies are dodging prison — and rebranding
OPNX
Wall Street Journal: Founders of Bankrupt Three Arrows Capital Plan Trading Platform for Distressed Crypto Debt
Cointelegraph: CoinFLEX creditors dissatisfied with restructuring to OPNX: Report
Unchained: 3AC Founders’ New Crypto Exchange OPNX to Shut Down
Cointelegraph: OPNX to shut down with mysterious new exchange as replacement
Decrypt: CoinFLEX Creditors React to OPNX Closure: 'They Have Left a Trail of Destruction'
OX.FUN
March 11 Twitter spaces on OX.FUN with Davies and Zhu
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Ethereum’s long-awaited Dencun upgrade finally went live this week, and many L2s immediately saw their transaction fees fall dramatically, as was the intention. Among them was the Coinbase-incubated Base, which was created by Jesse Pollak. Pollak joined Unchained to discuss the impact Dencun was having on Base; how he thinks Layer 1s and Layer 2s will start to differ from one another and eventually spawn a multitude of specialized Layer 3s; his response to criticisms of the increasing use of Layer 2s, what he’s focusing on now, and why he supports using the word “onchain” over “crypto” or “web3.”
Show highlights:
The problem that Dencun is trying to solve
The benefits of blobs and blobspace
How Dencun has already reduced Base’s fees, but also increased its transactions
How Jesse thinks Layer 1s and Layer 2s will start to become differentiated from each other
The rise of Layer 3s
How Jesse addresses criticisms of fragmentation and centralization arising from the increasing use of Layer 2s
Why Jesse is particularly excited about two features of the Dencun upgrade—transient storage and increased composability between L1s and L2s
What Jesse and the Base team are focusing on now
Why Jesse thinks that “onchain” is a better word to describe the industry than “crypto” or “blockchain” or “web3”
Thank you to our sponsors!
iTrustCapital
Polkadot
Uniswap
Guest
Jesse Pollak, creator of Base at Coinbase
Previous appearances:
The Chopping Block: All About That Base With Jesse Pollak
Links
Recent coverage on Unchained of the Dencun Upgrade and Base:
Dencun Day One: Ethereum Layer 2 Networks See Drastic Drop in Transaction Fees
Ethereum Completes Milestone Dencun Upgrade, Which Should Substantially Reduce Fees
How Much Will the Dencun Upgrade Really Reduce Ethereum Layer 2 Fees By?
Why Base’s Creator Thinks Social Apps Will Be a ‘Huge Part’ of the Layer 2 Blockchain’s Success
CoinDesk:
Debating Dencun: Will Ethereum's Big Update Help or Harm the Network?
Jesse’s tweets on Dencun
October 2022
January 2024
March 13, 2024
Blobs / Proto-danksharding
EIP-4844 proposal
Blobs unleashed: Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade activates on mainnet
Base says it will support EIP-4844 from 'day 1' following Dencun upgrade
Ethereum stans are putting the Bee Movie on blobs for as little as $5
Superchain
Decentralizing Base with the OP Stack and Optimism
Base’s Commitment to Decentralization with the Superchain
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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest news. In this week's episode the squad asks: Is MakerDAO setting a new precedent for DeFi protocols with its emergency rate hike? How significant is the role of meme coins in the crypto market's volatility, and what does Solana's prominence tell us about the future of blockchain platforms? Can Ethereum maintain its position as the backbone of DeFi amidst the growing competition from layer 1 and layer 2 solutions? This episode delves deep into the whirlwind discussions surrounding MakerDAO's sudden monetary policy adjustments, scrutinizing the balance between stability and adaptability in DeFi's fast-paced world. We explore the fascinating, yet often speculative, universe of meme coins, highlighting their impact on network activity and public perception of cryptocurrency's value. The conversation also navigates the evolving landscape of Ethereum as it faces challenges and opportunities in scalability and functionality. Join us as we tackle these thought-provoking questions, armed with Robert Leshner's expertise, to peel back the layers of complexity surrounding DeFi strategies, the meme coin craze, and Ethereum's strategic positioning. Tune in for a captivating session aimed at decoding these trends and offering insights into their potential to redefine the contours of the crypto ecosystem.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show Highlights
🔹 MakerDAO's Monetary Strategy Shift: Exploring the implications of MakerDAO's emergency rate hike and its potential to redefine monetary policy in DeFi.
🔹 The Meme Coin Madness: Diving into the dynamics of meme coins in the crypto ecosystem, focusing on their impact on market volatility and investor behavior.
🔹 Ethereum's Position in the DeFi Ecosystem: Analyzing Ethereum's challenges and opportunities as it continues to be the backbone of decentralized finance amid rising competition.
🔹 The Crypto Evolution and Reflection: Reflecting on the progress of the crypto industry by comparing current discussions to traditional banking models, highlighting the maturation of the sector.
🔹 Solana's Influence in the Crypto Market: Investigating Solana's growing prominence for meme coin activity and what it signals about blockchain platform developments.
🔹 DeFi Protocols as Financial Antidotes: Discussing the role of DeFi protocols in offering alternatives to traditional financial systems and their potential to disrupt.
🔹 Intellectual Property Rights in a Digital Age: Speculating on the future of IP rights in the era of digital creation and AI, questioning the sustainability of current legal frameworks.
🔹 The Crypto Market's Bullish Trends: Analyzing the current bullish trends in the cryptocurrency market, including Bitcoin and Ethereum's price movements and the factors fueling optimism.
🔹 Governance and DAOs in Crypto's Future: Delving into the significance of decentralized autonomous organizations and governance models for the future of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
Hosts
⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures
⭐️Robert Leshner, Founder of Compound
Disclosures
Links
Bitcoin Is Hitting All-Time Highs Around the World (CoinDesk) https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/02/29/bitcoin-is-hitting-all-time-highs-around-the-world/
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Sreeram Kannan, founder of EigenLayer, and Olaf Carlson-Wee, founder and CIO of Polychain Capital, an investor in EigenLayer, say that the developer ecosystem around EigenLayer is sprouting up very fast, which reminds Carlson-Wee of the developer excitement in Ethereum’s early days.
They discuss the potential of EigenLayer, which uses a restaking mechanism to allow ETH stakers to reallocate their staked ETH and Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) to bolster security for other protocols. They cover how it could turbocharge Ethereum's rollup scaling roadmap and enable Ethereum to become a stack of decentralized software as a service providers. Additionally, they discuss the potential risks associated with restaking as well as how EigenLayer could work with AI.
Read more: What Is EigenLayer? A Guide to the Decentralized ETH Restaking Protocol
Show highlights:
Sreeram's explanation of what EigenLayer is and what it allows on Ethereum
why Polychain invested in EigenLayer's seed round
why Sreeram believes that there are not just going to be three modules in blockchains, but thousands
the types of applications that can be built with actively validated services, according to Sreeram
why they both believe that EigenLayer will improve smart contracts
whether EigenLayer will help solve the liquidity fragmentation issue in Layer 2s
what Ethereum inclusion guarantees are and why they are important
the potential risks of EigenLayer and why Olaf doesn’t agree that EigenLayer results in rehypothecation
how attribution claims work in EigenLayer, allowing for "elastic scaling of security"
EigenLayer’s points program and the likelihood of a token
why Sreeram believes that an EigenLayer governance token wouldn't have the same issues as Lido's LDO
whether EigenLayer should be a core part of the Ethereum protocol itself
how AI and EigenLayer intersect and how to have permissionless innovation in the AI space
Thank you to our sponsors!
Polkadot
Guest:
Olaf Carlson-Wee, founder and CIO of Polychain Capital
Previous appearances on Unchained:
OG Olaf Carlson-Wee on Why His Crypto Thesis Is Stronger Than Ever
Olaf Carlson-Wee: 'If There Is a Money-Losing Exploit, the Money Is Gone'
Why The First Employee Of Coinbase Launched A Hedge Fund
To the Moon and Back With Polychain's Olaf Carlson-Wee
Special Episode with CNBC's Crypto Trader: Olaf Carlson-Wee on Why This Crypto Winter Is Different From Previous Ones
All Things Cryptoeconomics, Pt. 1, With Olaf Carlson-Wee and Ryan Zurrer of Polychain Capital
Sreeram Kannan, founder of EigenLayer
Previous appearance on Unchained: Do You Need to Think Twice Before Restaking Your Assets?
Links
EigenLayer
Unchained:
What Is Ethereum Restaking? A Beginner's Guide
ETHDenver’s 2024 Hackathon: Onchain Security, AI, and Gaming Fun Dominate the Winning Projects
A16z, Binance Labs Make Investments in EigenLayer Ecosystem
EigenDA Overview
Sreeram’s post on why “building on EigenLayer, therefore, doesn't negate the utility of an AVS token”
Points
DL News: Kelp DAO opens trading of the $340m EigenLayer airdrop market with KEP
CoinDesk: Omni Network Signs $600M Restaking Deal With Ether.Fi to Enhance Security
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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner dive into the hot topics stirring the cryptocurrency world. Could Uniswap's fee switch revolutionize DeFi's economic model? What's the real potential of decentralized AI in blockchain, and how close are we to seeing its practical applications? And in the whirlwind of the crypto market, what makes meme coins like Jeo Boden not just viral, but influential? This episode offers a detailed analysis of Uniswap's strategic move to potentially activate fee switches, exploring its implications for liquidity providers and the broader DeFi landscape. We also navigate the promising yet challenging terrain of Crypto AI, dissecting decentralized inference and the feasibility of verifiable training. The phenomenon of meme coins, with a spotlight on Jeo Boden, is dissected for its impact on community engagement and market dynamics. Join us as we probe these intriguing questions, equipped with Robert Leshner's insights, to unravel the complexities of DeFi innovations, Crypto AI's frontier, and the unique ecosystem of meme coins. Tune in for an enlightening session that aims to demystify these trends and provide a clearer understanding of their role in shaping the future of cryptocurrency.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show Highlights
🔹 Uniswap's Fee Switch Debate: Unpacking the implications of Uniswap's potential fee switch activation and its impact on DeFi's revenue models.
🔹 The Intricacies of Crypto AI: Diving deep into the world of Crypto AI, focusing on decentralized inference and the hurdles of verifiable training.
🔹 Meme Coin Phenomenon: Analyzing the cultural and economic forces behind meme coins like Jeo Boden and their sway in the crypto community.
🔹 Regulatory Winds in Crypto: Discussing the changing regulatory landscape and what Uniswap's move might signal about the future of DeFi regulation.
🔹 Market Predictions and Speculations: Exploring expert predictions on Bitcoin and Ethereum's price movements and the factors driving market optimism.
🔹 Technological Developments and Security: Delving into the significance of memory-safe programming and the White House's surprising tech endorsement.
🔹 Attested Data in the Age of Synthetic Media: Examining the role of cryptographically signed data in ensuring content authenticity in the blockchain era.
🔹 Decentralized Platforms' Disruption Potential: Probing the capability of decentralized platforms to reshape traditional social media models.
🔹 The Economic Model of DeFi: Discussing the potential transformation in DeFi's economic landscape post-Uniswap's fee switch implementation.
🔹 Crypto Culture and Community Dynamics: Investigating the unique cultural aspects of the crypto community, especially around meme coins and their market influence.
Hosts
⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures
⭐️Robert Leshner, Founder of Compound
Disclosures
Links
Bitcoin Is Hitting All-Time Highs Around the World (CoinDesk) https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/02/29/bitcoin-is-hitting-all-time-highs-around-the-world/
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Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
In this episode, Eric Balchunas, senior ETF Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, discussed the performance of Bitcoin ETFs since their launch two months ago.
Balchunas noted that the ETFs' performance exceeded his expectations, with a faster and more intense "second wind" than anticipated. He attributed this to a combination of asset managers buying in, retail interest, and the "ETF effect" where the knowledge of incoming flows encourages non-ETF investors to buy.
Balchunas also predicted that BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF would likely be the most successful of the nine new spot Bitcoin ETFs, while also doubting that any of the smaller issuers would bow out.
He also discussed the potential for spot Ether ETFs, but was less optimistic about their success compared to Bitcoin ETFs.
Learn more: Bitcoin ETFs Explained: What Are They & How Do They Work?
Show highlights:
Why the Bitcoin ETF performance in the past couple of weeks exceeded Eric's expectations
Whether Eric had ever seen the kind of hype around Bitcoin ETFs occur with other ETFs
How there has been a lot of retail interest in these past few weeks
Eric's insights into how bitcoin reached all-time highs again this week
Whether a good portion of the ETF volumes is sustainable and what's driving those large volumes
Whether it's safe to say that BlackRock is the winner among issuers
Whether the smaller issuers in terms of volume and AUM will close their ETFs
When options on Bitcoin ETFs will be approved
Whether in-kind redemptions will be allowed in the near future and the role of politics in that
Whether Grayscale will have to reduce its fees considering the huge outflows from GBTC
Why Eric believes that spot ether ETFs won't have as much demand as the bitcoin ETFs did
Reasons the SEC could use to reject spot ether ETFs
Whether issuers will rebalance their portfolios at the end of quarters
What Eric expects to see in terms of inflows by year’s end
Thank you to our sponsors!
iTrustCapital
Polkadot
Uniswap
Guest
Eric Balchunas, Senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Why Spot Bitcoin ETFs Are Likely to Finally Start Trading on Thursday
Will a Spot Bitcoin ETF Finally Get Approved?
Links
Recent coverage on Unchained of Bitcoin’s surge:
How the Bitcoins in Your ETF Get Sourced: The Real Story
Should You Sell Bitcoin Now That It’s Nearing Its All-Time High?
Miners Appear to Sell $69 Million Worth of Decade-Old Bitcoin
Bitcoin Hits New All-Time High Above $69,000, Presaging More Potential Gains
Previous coverage on the Unchained podcast of spot Bitcoin ETFs:
Bitcoin’s Price Is Way Up. And $48 Trillion in Wealth Just Got Access
Why Some Brokerage Firms Are Blocking Access to Spot Bitcoin ETFs
Why the SEC May Want Cash Creation of Spot Bitcoin ETFs
Why It Looks Like BlackRock Could Win America’s First Spot Bitcoin ETF
The 4 Factors That Will Determine Which Spot Bitcoin ETFs Win Market Share
How Much Money Will Flow Into Bitcoin ETFs? Here’s One Projection
Eric’s tweet on $IBIT smashing $788m
Ethereum spot ETF:
BitMEX Blog: Ethereum ETFs & Staking
Eric’s tweet on ether ETFs
Unchained:
Why Spot Ether ETFs Likely Won’t Steal Bitcoin’s Thunder — Even if Staking Is Included
Spot Ether ETFs Could Introduce New Concentration Risk in Ethereum: S&P Global
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In this episode of Unchained, Alex Pack, managing partner at Hack VC discusses the firm's recent $150 million fundraise, the challenges of raising capital in a bear market, and the firm's focus on early-stage Web3 infrastructure. He also shares his thoughts on the intersection of crypto and AI, the future of DeFi, and the importance of security in the crypto space. Pack believes that the current infrastructure of crypto is still in its early stages and needs significant improvement before it can reach mainstream adoption. He also sees potential in the development of more secure smart contracts and the integration of AI into decentralized applications.
Show highlights:
How Hack VC was able to raise $150 million in a bear market, especially after the blowups of FTX, 3AC, and Terra
Alex's interaction with SBF, whom he calls a "sociopath," and why he didn't invest in FTX
Hack VC's philosophy to "back hackers" in crypto
The goals behind Zuzalu, the new community that resembles Balaji Srinivasan's idea of a network state
What the main focus of Hack VC's investments are, including scalability, AI, and DeFi
Why Alex believes that "we are still so early"
How Alex believes crypto and artificial intelligence will intersect
The role of AI agents and how to use them in decentralized applications
Why he thinks that EigenLayer is a great solution for middleware applications
Alex's opinion on the modular vs. monolithic approach for scaling blockchains
How DeFi survived the last bear market, contrasted with the collapses of CeFi companies like Celsius, BlockFi and FTX
Whether algorithmic stablecoins can ever work and what Alex thinks of Ethena's USDe
How to improve security in crypto, according to Alex
Why the outcome of the Bitcoin ETFs exceeded Alex's expectations
What he believes the catalysts are for the next bull market
Thank you to our sponsors!
Polkadot
Guest:
Alex Pack, Managing partner at Hack VC
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Dragonfly Capital on Why Ethereum Is So Far in the Lead
‘The Last Big Whale’: Why the Crypto Contagion of 2022 Eventually Hit Genesis
Links
New fund
Bloomberg: Hack VC Raises $150 Million for Bets on Battered Crypto Industry
Hack VC Closes $150M Venture Fund I, Bringing AUM to $425M
Stablecoins:
Unchained:
What Is Ethena’s USDe Synethic Dollar? A Beginner’s Guide
What Is Terra and Why Did It Fail?
Why It's so Hard to Keep Stablecoins Stable
What Is Depegging in Crypto and Why Does It Occur?
What Is Real-World Asset (RWA) Tokenization? A Beginner's Guide
EigenLayer ecosystem
Unchained: What Is EigenLayer? A Guide to the Decentralized ETH Restaking Protocol
The Block: AltLayer closes $14.4 million strategic round co-led by Polychain and Hack VC
Modular vs. monolithic approach
Unchained:
What Are Modular Blockchains? A Beginner's Guide
Three Crypto Pioneers on Crypto’s Monolithic vs. Modular Debate
Crypto x AI crossover
io.net and Ritual Collaborate to Boost Global AI Compute Landscape
Ritual x EigenLayer: Restaking for AI
Unchained: 5 Use Cases of AI in Blockchain
Zuzalu
Decrypt: I Spent a Month Inside Vitalik Buterin’s Social Experiment—Here’s What It Was Really Like
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