Avsnitt
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Erik Voorhees, a crypto OG, has launched Venice, a private, uncensorable, open-source competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claude, powered by a decentralized crypto network.
In the episode, Erik and Venice’s COO Teana Baker-Taylor delve into the problems with censorship and data in current AI agents, including how they create honeypots of information about users’ search history for hackers, or that they can be absurdly politically correct, such as refusing to create images of Caucasian people. As they point out, there’s also the risk that the companies managing them could be censoring the models to please the Chinese government, in order to access the market in that country. They talk about their plan for Venice to gain market share, considering that DuckDuckGo, a privacy-preserving competitor to Google, has a much smaller market share. And they explain why they intend for Venice to eventually use the compute of Morpheus, or other decentralized crypto-powered compute networks.
They also critique the SEC’s current regulatory approach to crypto, calling it “a joke.” Additionally, they explore the concept of AI agents using cryptocurrencies as their primary currency.
Show highlights:
Why Erik decided to move into artificial intelligence and merge it with crypto
What problems decentralized AI would solve and why it's hard to solve sexist and racist views in LLMs
The differences between ChatGPT and other similar products and Venice AI
Why privacy is so important for users, according to Erik, and how Venice doesn't store the users' information
How central governments could manipulate information to their own benefit and how to avoid it
Whether people will shift from using search engines to LLMs
What Morpheus is and its goal to provide decentralized computation for AI
How Erik and Teana believe crypto and AI will continue to work together
Erik's and Teana's thoughts on some of the recent government actions against founders of crypto privacy services such as Samourai Wallet andTornado Cash
Why Erik believes that the SEC has become a joke
Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com
First Bits + Bips episode: Bits + Bips: Does Macroeconomics Point to a Potential Crypto Supercycle?
Thank you to our sponsors!
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VaultCraft
Guests:
Erik Voorhees, Founder and CEO of Venice AI
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Erik Voorhees and Cobie on Why FTX Loaned Out Customers’ Assets
Why ShapeShift’s Erik Voorhees Thinks Toxic Bitcoin Maximalism Is Bullshit
Shapeshift’s Erik Voorhees on How Crypto Will Separate Money and State
Teana Baker-Taylor, COO at Venice AI
Links
Previous coverage on Unchained of crypto/AI:
When AI and Blockchain Meet, How Can Each Technology Benefit?
The Chopping Block: Why AI Will Change the Course of History in Crypto
5 Use Cases of AI in Blockchain
A Beginner's Guide to AI Tokens
Venice AI:
Erik’s thread announcing Venice
The Separation of Mind and State
Architecture:
About Morpheus.Network
Messari: What is Akash Network?
LLMs:
MIT Technology Review: LLMs become more covertly racist with human intervention
China Talk: Censorship’s Impact on China’s Chatbots - by Nicholas Welch
Recent cases on privacy:
CoinDesk: Samourai Wallet Founders Arrested and Charged With Money Laundering
Cointelegraph: DOJ’s Tornado Cash arguments show ‘obvious disdain for privacy’ — Lawyer
CNBC: North Korea crypto hacking activity soars to record high in 2023, new report shows
Reuters: Exclusive: UN experts investigate 58 cyberattacks worth $3 bln by North Korea
Erik’s post on the right to have privacy
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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and special guest Avichal Garg from Electric Capital dissect the latest trends in the crypto world. This episode dives deep into the buzz around EigenLayer’s airdrop: What sparked the controversy and how did EigenLayer respond to community backlash? We then explore LayerZero’s unique self-reporting strategy to combat Sybil farmers and analyze Friend.Tech’s bold, no-VC token launch. The discussion heats up with a look at ConsenSys’ proactive lawsuit against the SEC, setting the stage for a showdown over regulatory clarity. We also delve into Robinhood’s decision to challenge the SEC’s Wells Notice amidst soaring earnings, and tackle the ongoing debate between VC-backed tokens and memecoins: Which is captivating the market? Finally, we predict the future of SocialFi and its potential to revolutionize the crypto landscape. Join us for an insightful exploration of these pivotal topics shaping the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Show highlights
🔹 Breaking down the EigenLayer airdrop controversy and its impact on the community.
🔹 Exploring LayerZero's self-reporting mechanism to combat Sybil attacks.
🔹 Assessing Fantasy Top's growth and its significance in the NFT trading landscape.
🔹 Predicting the trajectory of SocialFi and its potential to reshape the crypto landscape.
🔹 Detailing Consensys’ proactive lawsuit against the SEC over regulatory clarity.
🔹 Robinhood's SEC Challenge and analyzing Robinhood's decision to fight the SEC’s Wells Notice amid record earnings.
🔹 VC Coins vs. Memecoins: Exploring the ongoing debate about the dominance and appeal of VC-backed tokens versus memecoins.
🔹 The Future of SocialFi: Predicting the trajectory of SocialFi and its potential to reshape the crypto landscape.
Hosts
⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures
Guest
⭐️ Avichal Garg, Co-Founder and General Partner at Electric Capital.
Disclosures
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Thomas Braziel, managing partner at 117 Partners, dives into the draft FTX bankruptcy plan, which was praised for paying out at more than 100% in dollar terms, but has a number of intricacies that are drawing criticisms from creditors—including a group that is urging creditors to vote not.
The episode delves into the nuances of the proposed payout, explaining how the estate was able to pay back more than 100% than the dollar value of the claims, why some creditors are being pitted against each other, and why it might get approved even “over the kicking and screaming” of some creditors.
Braziel gives his insights into the the rapid formation of this plan, the controversial role of Sullivan and Cromwell, and the logistical challenges posed by what may end up being paper check payouts.
Show highlights:
Why the plan that was filed this week is such big news
How it was never even possible for creditors to be made whole in crypto asset terms
How the majority of depositors actually had stablecoins on the FTX platform
Why there are “inter-creditor” disputes
What a "cramdown" is and why it's significant in this case
Criticisms of the plan, and why larger investors, especially with crypto holdings, are having their gains socialized
Whether the FTX estate made mistakes by selling some of its positions before they 10x’ed
Why FTX didn't reboot its platform
What conflicts of interest might arise from law firm Sullivan and Cromwell
The tax implications for creditors who are non-US taxpayers
How the claims are going to be distributed
Whether the creditors will favor the proposal and the next steps
Thank you to our sponsors!
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Polkadot
VaultCraft
Guest
Thomas Braziel, Managing Partner at 117 Partners
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Why FTX Might Try to Claw Back Funds From Retail Customers
Will FTX Reboot? Here’s John Ray’s Internal Deadline for Making a Decision
Will FTX Customers Ever Recover Their Assets? Two Insolvency Experts Weigh In
Will Celsius Survive the Bankruptcy Process?
How Crypto Bankruptcy Claims Buyers Will Profit From the Collapse of FTX
Links
Previous coverage on Unchained of the FTX bankruptcy:
Jesse Powell and Kevin Zhou on How FTX and Alameda Lost $10 Billion
Did the Bahamian Government Direct SBF and Gary Wang to Hack FTX?
The Chopping Block: Why Lenders Didn’t Liquidate Alameda When It Was Underwater
Erik Voorhees and Cobie on Why FTX Loaned Out Customers’ Assets
The Chopping Block: FTX: The Biggest Collapse in the History of Crypto?
Creditors plan:
Unchained: 98% of FTX Creditors to Receive 118% Claims Payout
Thomas’ summary of the plan
Dollarization:
Unchained: Is it Fair That Crypto Bankruptcies Are Denominated in Dollars? Here’s a Solution to Dollarization
Criticism of the plan:
Nicholas Hall’s thread
Sunil Kavuri’s opinion on X
Zach Guzman on the sale of Anthropic
Taxes:
Thomas’ thread on the taxes for creditors
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In this first episode of Bits + Bips, hosts James Seyffart, Alex Kruger, and Joe McCann explain why the macroeconomics could point to the markets actually being in a crypto supercycle.
They discuss the recent Federal Reserve meeting and its impact on the markets, as well as the irony that leveraged Ethereum futures ETFs will likely be approved while spot Ethereum ETFs will likely not. James also reveals his pet theory on where the SEC is going with its investigation into ETH. They cover why the bottoming of emerging market currencies in Asia is good for Bitcoin, dismiss the recent Wells notice issued to Robinhood, and speculate that Tether may be the most profitable company per employee in the world.
Agreeing that the current market cycle is different, Seyffart and McCann suggest that there is still a long way to go, and assert that the market may be underweighting the possibility that crypto goes to a $10 trillion market cap in the next few years.
Show highlights:
The Fed's recent decisions and how they lower the chances of more rate hikes
The importance of global liquidity in the performance of risk assets like Bitcoin and crypto assets
Why a bottoming in the value of the yen, yuan and other emerging markets currencies is good for Bitcoin and crypto, according to Joe
The irony that leveraged Ethereum futures ETFs are likely to be approved but spot ETFs are not
James’s pet theory about how the SEC will rule on whether ETH is a security
Whether trading in Hong Kong's crypto ETFs shows how little interest there would be in an ETH ETF compared to spot BTC ETFs
Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF
Whether people are underweight on a “crazy bonkers rise” in crypto
Why Robinhood's Wells Notice is a "minor story," according to Alex
Whether Tether is the most profitable business per employee in the world
Why James believes that it's not a good idea for the US Congress to be against stablecoins
CZ's sentence and whether it's a "good ending for the story"
Hosts:
James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence
Alex Kruger, Founder of Asgard
Joe McCann, Founder, CEO, and CIO of Asymmetric
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In this episode of Unchained, memecoin traders Ansem and Kelxyz unpack everything about memecoins, discussing what makes them valuable and how they evaluate their investment potential. They also address the criticisms and controversies surrounding them, including racism and sexism. (They have a surprising reaction to the latter.) Ansem and Kel argue that memecoins have substance and value, largely due to their popularity and the attention they receive on the internet.
They also discuss the importance of distribution and virality in the success of a memecoin, how the chain any coin is on affects its value, and give their opinions on Runes vs. BRC-20s vs. Solana and Ethereum.
Plus, they talk about their wildest memecoin stories (think: Dogwifhat) and provide their insights on what they think memecoins will become in the future.
Show highlights:
Ansem’s and Kel’s investment theses around memecoins
How Ansem and Kel got into trading memecoins and how they evaluate their potential
Why the coin distribution matters and whether tokenomics is important with memecoins
How to discern between memecoins with genuine vs. fake interest
How memecoins differ across blockchains such as Solana, Ethereum, and Bitcoin
Ansem and Kel’s responses to the criticisms of memecoins
Whether and how memecoins could become safer for users
Kel and Ansem’s surprising reaction to racist and sexist memecoins
Ansem's story on WIF and how a female friend of his fueled its popularity
Whether Bitcoin is “the original memecoin" and how they define memecoin
The future of memecoins and how they believe all memes will become coins
Thank you to our sponsors!
Polkadot
VaultCraft
Guests:
Ansem
Kelxyz
Links
Culture:
What else could memecoins be? by Vitalik Buterin
How bad policy favors memes over matter by Chris Dixon
Cointelegraph: Meme coins: Betrayal of crypto’s ideals… or its true purpose?
CoinDesk: The Memecoin Grift and How It Threatens Ethereum Culture
Investment:
CoinGecko: Top Crypto Narratives Gained 39% to 1313% in Q1 2024
Messari: Navigating Memecoin Mania
Kelxyz investment strategy
Decrypt: Crypto Influencer Ansem Explains His Meme Coin Thesis and Why He’s Bullish on Bitcoin Runes
Unchained: What Is Dogwifhat (WIF) and Why Is It Up so Much?
Safer memecoins
Unchained: Half of Solana Presale Tokens Rolled Out Between November and February Were Malicious: Blockaid Study
Cointelegraph: 1 in 6 new Base meme coins are scams, 91% have vulnerabilities
Andre Conje’s proposal
Racist memecoins
Unchained: Offensive Memecoins Proliferate on Solana, Sparking Debate
Crypto.news: Ethereum's Buterin slams Solana's racist meme coins, urges better projects
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Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
EigenLayer has been in the news this week after it announced its ‘stakedrop,’ where it will distribute EIGEN tokens to early users of the restaking platform.
Sreeram Kannan, founder and CEO of EigenLayer, and Robert Drost, CEO and executive director of the Eigen Foundation, discuss the launch of the token, a “universal intersubjective work token” and how it allows for slashing, or penalizing, for externally observable faults, such as data unavailability. The Eigen Foundation, a non-profit entity based in the Cayman Islands, was also recently established to grow the protocol and assist in creating a decentralized community.
They also address criticisms of the token's launch, including geoblocking and the initial non-transferability of stakedrops for the community and explain why they decided to allocate an additional 100 EIGEN tokens for all participants in the stakedrop. Plus, they reveal a target date by when a decision about the token unlock date should be made.
Show highlights:
The buzz around the universal intersubjective work token and what it was created for
What constitutes the digital commons and its two primary characteristics
How the EIGEN token is designed to prevent the necessity of forking an entire blockchain
Whether dapps should evolve into AVSes and EigenLayer’s complementary role to Ethereum, not replacing it
Why the Eigen Foundation was established and how it differs from Eigen Labs
Robert's response to the criticism regarding the exclusion of certain countries
Why EIGEN will be distributed linearly, despite it potentially favoring whales
EigenLayer's announcement of an updated stakedrop, after listening to community feedback
The critique of the vesting schedule and Robert's explanation of when the lock period actually starts
Why Sreeram believes that transfer restrictions are beneficial and empowering for users
What the next steps are for EigenLayer
Thank you to our sponsors!
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Polkadot
VaultCraft
Guests
Sreeram Kannan, founder of EigenLayer
Previous appearance on Unchained:
Why EigenLayer May Be the Most Innovative New Ecosystem Since Ethereum
Do You Need to Think Twice Before Restaking Your Assets?
Robert Drost, CEO and executive director of the Eigen Foundation
Links
Airdrop:
Introducing the Eigen Foundation, EIGEN token and Season 1 Stakedrop
Robert Drost’s thread on the Eigen Foundation
Viktor Bunin’s thread on the token
Unchained:
Eigen Foundation to Allocate an Additional $1,000 in EIGEN Tokens to Over 280,000 Users
Should You Sell ETH Before the Just-Announced EigenLayer Airdrop?
Reaction
CoinDesk: Why Eigenlayer’s Airdrop Is Controversial
Unchained: 5 Reasons E-Beggars Are Not Happy With EigenLayer’s Airdrop
Learn more:
Unchained:
What Is EigenLayer? A Guide to the Decentralized ETH Restaking Protocol
What Is Ethereum Restaking? A Beginner’s Guide
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In this episode, we dive deep into the controversy surrounding the EigenLayer airdrop, discussing the community’s backlash and its broader implications for token distributions in crypto. We also explore the ongoing debate over the efficacy and future of cryptocurrency points programs. The episode also delves into Martin Shkreli’s impactful campaign against Io.Net, highlighting how his public criticisms shed light on project valuations and investor trust. Additionally, we discuss CZ’s recent four-month sentencing, reflecting on the crypto community’s supportive response and considering the Department of Justice's approach to crypto leadership. Tune in to gain expert perspectives on the complex interplay between market movements, regulatory actions, and community reactions in the evolving world of crypto!
Show Highlights
🔹 EigenLayer Airdrop Controversy: Delve into the community's disappointment over the EigenLayer airdrop and explore its implications for future token distributions.
🔹 Debate on Crypto Points Programs: Analyze the effectiveness and future prospects of cryptocurrency points programs.
🔹 Impact of VCs on Market Dynamics: Consider the role of venture capitalists and how investor sentiment is shaped by their actions in the market.
🔹 Martin Shkreli's Campaign Against Io.Net: Discuss how Martin Shkreli significantly impacted Io.Net by publicly criticizing the project's overvaluation.
🔹 CZ's Four-Month Sentencing: Reflect on the crypto community's support for CZ following his four-month sentencing.
🔹 DOJ Sentencing and Prospects for Crypto Leaders: Examine the Department of Justice's approach to sentencing and what it means for future leadership in the cryptocurrency sector.
Hosts
⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Robert Leshner, Founder of Compound
⭐️Tarun Chitra, Giga-Brain & Grand Poobah at Gauntlet
Disclosures
Links
AI x Web3: Pioneering Decentralized Intelligence - TOKEN2049 Dubai 2024
https://youtu.be/zt_uEHcFiA4
EigenLayer Whitepapter https://github.com/Layr-Labs/whitepaper/blob/master/EIGEN_Token_Whitepaper.pdf
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In this episode of Unchained, host Laura interviews Alexei Zamyatin, co-founder of Build on Bitcoin, Willem Schroé, founder of Botanix Labs, and Orkun Kılıç, co-founder of Chainway Labs. They discuss their respective projects, all of which are focused on developing Layer 2 solutions for Bitcoin.
Zamyatin's Build on Bitcoin is a hybrid Layer 2 that connects to both Bitcoin and Ethereum, aiming to bring innovation back to the Bitcoin ecosystem. Schroé's Botanix Labs is developing a decentralized Layer 2 solution using the ‘Spiderchain,’ which uses a series of multi-signature wallets to secure the chain. Kılıç's Chainway Labs is building Citrea, a zk-rollup on Bitcoin that aims to create a Bitcoin-backed economy.
All three projects are in various stages of development and testing, with BOB’s mainnet launch expected shortly.
Show highlights:
Introduction to Build on Bitcoin (BOB), Botanix, and Citrea: How they aim to innovate and expand Bitcoin's capabilities, including their architectural designs that integrate Ethereum users and work toward decentralization and trustlessness
Security Aspects and Integration Strategies: What the security risks associated with BOB, Botanix, and Citrea are, and strategies to enhance decentralization over time
How these Layer 2s influence Bitcoin fees, and how Botanix's integration can leverage the Bitcoin ecosystem, with insights on the potential of Layer 3s and zk-rollups to transform Bitcoin's utility and fee dynamics
How these projects aim to attract Ethereum users and developers, and the reasons why this may be an attractive opportunity for them
How Runes, Ordinals, and BRC-20s operate on Citrea, Botanix, and BOB
How Bitcoin is always a derivative when it’s not in its Layer 1 and the pros and cons of different bridging solutions
The concept of forward secrecy and how it can help improve security in blockchains
Why Willem believes that Layer 3s are possible and bullish for Bitcoin
How "merged mining” resembles Ethereum’s restaking and why it’s positive for Bitcoin
Thank you to our sponsors!
Polkadot
Guests:
Willem Schroé, founder of Botanix Labs
Orkun Kılıç, cofounder of Chainway Labs
Alexei Zamyatin, cofounder of Build on Bitcoin
Links
Recent coverage on Unchained of Bitcoin L2s:
Stacks’ Muneeb Ali On Why Bitcoin Is Exciting Once Again
Build on Bitcoin
BOB learning documents
Announcement of mainnet on May 1st.
Unchained: Bitcoin DeFi App Sovryn to Deploy on Hybrid Layer 2 Network Build on Bitcoin
Alexei’s tweet on BitVM/rollups
Alexei went on a retreat with the inventor of BitVM
Citrea
Unchained: Here's What You Should Know About Citrea, Bitcoin's First ZK Rollup
Whitepaper
Orkun Mahir Kılıç’s interview on Unchained Premium
Citrea learning documents
Clementine -Citrea's BitVM Based Trust-Minimized Two-Way Peg Program
Botanix
CoinDesk: Willem Schroé: Building Botanix, a Bitcoin Layer 2 That Brings the EVM to Bitcoin
Botanix and the Future of Bitcoin
Bitcoin Magazine: Spiderchains: A Proof Of Stake Second Layer For Bitcoin
Willem Schroé’s interview on Unchained Premium
Learn More:
Unchained:
What Is the OP_CAT Bitcoin Improvement Proposal?
What Are Opcodes in Bitcoin? A Beginner's Guide
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On Thursday, Consensys sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a Texas federal court, seeking to prevent an impending SEC action against its MetaMask wallet and to clarify that ether is not a security.
The complaint calls out the agency for what Consensys describes as “regulatory overreach,” challenges its notion that ETH is a security, and says the SEC has violated the Constitutional requirement of fair notice under the due process clause. It notes that for years, the SEC and its sister agency, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, took the position that ETH is not a security.
The lawsuit also challenges the SEC’s recent focus on Ethereum's switch to proof of stake in 2022 as a basis for increased scrutiny, a stance Consensys CEO Joseph Lubin deemed "preposterous."
Laura Brookover, Senior Counsel & Head of Litigation and Investigations at ConsenSys, joined Unchained to unpack the lawsuit and what it means for the future of Ethereum and overall crypto in the US.
Show highlights:
Why Consensys sued the SEC and why Brookover feels like the SEC has gone too far
How they are looking for a Judge to declare that the ETH is not a security
Whether the switch to proof of stake turned ETH into a security
Why the SEC issued Consensys a Wells Notice, with one potential allegation being that it is operating an unregistered securities broker through its MetaMask wallet
How the major questions doctrine applies to what the SEC is doing in the industry, according to Brookover
Why Hinman’s speech is still relevant today, even after 6 years
Whether the moves by the SEC are related to a motivation to deny ether spot ETFs
How the several cases against the SEC show that the industry “has had enough”
Whether Texas is a jurisdiction favorable to crypto, given that many lawsuits are being filed there
The implications of a Consensys victory for the industry and what the next steps in the case are
Thank you to our sponsors!
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Polkadot
Guest
Laura Brookover, Senior Counsel & Head of Litigation and Investigations at Consensys
Links
The lawsuit:
Fortune: SEC sued over Ethereum, crypto firm asks court to state token is not a security
ConsenSys’s complaint
Bill Hughes’ thread on why Consensys sued the SEC
Consensys is suing the SEC to defend the Ethereum ecosystem
Hinman speech
CryptoLaw: The Hinman Speech Documents
Major questions doctrine
Unchained: Why the SEC vs. Ripple Order Is Now About 2 Things: Coinbase and Congress
Reuters: SEC argues Coinbase crypto case not barred by ‘major questions’ doctrine
Other SEC cases:
Coinbase
Unchained:
Why the SEC’s Case Against Coinbase Is So Significant for Crypto
Court Rejects Coinbase’s Bid to Dismiss SEC Charges Against It
Uniswap
Unchained:
Gary Gensler’s Case Against Uniswap: Does the SEC Even Stand a Chance?
SEC Puts DeFi in Its Sights With Potential Uniswap Suit
Uniswap Blog Post on the Wells notice
Marvin Ammori Thread on Wells notice
Ethereum Foundation
Unchained:
SEC Investigating Ethereum Foundation Regarding Proof-of-Stake Transition: Report
The Real Reason Why the SEC Might Be Going After Ethereum
Debt Box
Unchained: SEC Sanctioned for ‘Abuse of Power’ in Debt Box Lawsuit
Beba
DeFi Education Fund and Beba sue SEC over airdrop policies
Lejilex
Lawsuit document
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Welcome to The Chopping Block, where Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner dissect the crypto world’s topics of the day. In this episode, we delve into the SEC's recent scrutiny of Uniswap, exploring the potential legal and regulatory impacts on the DeFi landscape. We also discuss the unprecedented flooding in Dubai and its effects on the recent crypto conference, highlighting the resilience of the crypto community in the face of natural disasters. Shifting our focus to Bitcoin, we analyze the implications of the latest halvening event and what it means for Bitcoin’s inflation rate and market dynamics. Through these discussions, we unpack the intricate relationships between regulatory actions, environmental challenges, and technological advancements in cryptocurrency. Join us as we navigate through these complex topics, offering deep insights and expert analysis on the events that are shaping the future of blockchain and digital currencies. Tune in to understand how these pivotal moments are influencing the strategic direction and ethical considerations within the crypto space.
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
🔹The devastating floods in Dubai and their impact on the Token 2049 conference
🔹 Analysis of Bitcoin's halvening event, exploring whether it's a bullish signal or just market noise.
🔹 Examine the evolution and market impact of new Bitcoin protocols like ordinals and runes, assessing their effectiveness and reception within the community.
🔹 Explore the dynamics of the Asian market's influence on Bitcoin's secondary layers, discussing the integration of substantial Bitcoin deposits and yield strategies.
🔹 Dive into the SEC's Wells Notice to Uniswap and its broader implications for decentralized finance (DeFi).
Hosts
⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Robert Leshner, Founder of Compound
⭐️Tarun Chitra, Founder and CEO of Gauntlet
Disclosures
Links
Fighting for DeFi by Uniswap: https://blog.uniswap.org/fighting-for-defi
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Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Jake Chervinsky, chief legal officer of Variant, discusses the current state of crypto regulation, touching on several ongoing legal and regulatory issues in the crypto space, including Uniswap’s Wells notice, the Coinbase case, the Tornado Cash case, the Ethereum Foundation investigation and more. Chervinsky argues that the government's approach to these cases is often misguided, particularly in instances where they hold software developers liable for how third parties use their software. He also discusses the potential implications of the government's case against Tornado Cash, suggesting that it could have far-reaching consequences for all open-source software developers.
Chervinsky also delves into the SEC's ongoing investigations into the Ethereum Foundation, as well as the recent IRS draft form that lists unhosted wallets as a type of broker. He expressed concern about the potential impact of these investigations on the crypto industry, but remained optimistic about the future of DeFi in the US.
Show highlights:
How the Tornado Cash case could set a critical precedent for open-source software
How the government’s Tornado indictment reveals a fear of unsurveilled financial systems, according to Jake
What the implications of the Tornado Cash case could be for the broader DeFi space
What lessons can be learned from the $62 million hack of Munchables on Blast
How to address the challenge of malicious actors like North Korea using a permissionless system
Whether Coinbase's staking services are considered a securities offering
Whether Judge Failla’s ruling on Coinbase acting as a broker could be overturned
Why Jake thinks the SEC will face significant challenges in its potential case against Uniswap Labs
How the Debt Box case order impacts the SEC’s reputation, according to Jake
How the industry is pushing back against the SEC’s regulation by enforcement with its own lawsuits for Lejilex and Beba
The future of DeFi in the U.S. and its potential for success, according to Jake
Why Jake believes the SEC will deny Ether ETFs and why he disagrees with the latest stablecoin regulation bill by Lummis and Gillibrand
How the U.S. Presidential election could impact the future of the crypto industry
Thank you to our sponsors!
Polkadot
Guest:
Jake Chervinsky, Chief Legal Officer at Variant
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Why the SEC vs. Ripple Order Is Now About 2 Things: Coinbase and Congress
The Chopping Block: Jake Chervinsky on How the SEC Has Lost Credibility
All Things Crypto Regulation With Jake Chervinsky
Everything You Need to Know About the Looming Battle Over Privacy in Crypto
Can Crypto Be a Force in the Midterms? Yes, Say Kristin Smith and Jake Chervinsky
Links
Tornado Cash
Jake’s amicus brief with Amanda Tuminelli
Unchained: Given the Sanctions on Tornado Cash, Is Ethereum Censorship Resistant?
Unchained: Is This the End of DeFi? Why the US Government Is Going After Tornado Cash
Munchables exploit
Unchained: Blast-Based NFT Game Munchables Recovers $62.5 Million Lost in Exploit
SEC cases:
Coinbase
Unchained:
Why the SEC’s Case Against Coinbase Is So Significant for Crypto
Court Rejects Coinbase’s Bid to Dismiss SEC Charges Against It
Uniswap
Unchained:
Gary Gensler’s Case Against Uniswap: Does the SEC Even Stand a Chance?
SEC Puts DeFi in Its Sights With Potential Uniswap Suit
Uniswap Blog Post on the Wells notice
Marvin Ammori Thread on Wells notice
Ethereum Foundation
Unchained:
SEC Investigating Ethereum Foundation Regarding Proof-of-Stake Transition: Report
The Real Reason Why the SEC Might Be Going After Ethereum
Debt Box
Unchained: SEC Sanctioned for ‘Abuse of Power’ in Debt Box Lawsuit
Beba
DeFi Education Fund and Beba sue SEC over airdrop policies
Lejilex
Lawsuit document
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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 Blockspace 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
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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
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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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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
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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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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
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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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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!
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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!
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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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