Episodes

  • 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.
    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!

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    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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  • 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.
    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!
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    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!

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    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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  • 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.
    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!
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    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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  • 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.
    After a week in which Bitcoin nearly hit its all-time high, Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy, joins Unchained to discuss the pivotal role of ETF inflows in Bitcoin's recent price surge, the nuanced behaviors of long-term versus short-term holders, and the potential impacts of upcoming halvings and institutional involvement on the market's future trajectory. 
    Alex offers deep insights into the market value to realized value Z-score, explaining its relevance in assessing Bitcoin's valuation. He also delves into the implications of major financial institutions like Merrill and Wells Fargo embracing Bitcoin ETFs for their clients. Furthermore, Thorn speculates on the timing and conditions for an "altcoin season" and shares his price predictions for Bitcoin by the end of the year.
    Learn more: Bitcoin ETFs Explained: What Are They & How Do They Work?
    Show highlights:

    The main drivers for Bitcoin's recent surge, according to Alex

    Whether long-term Bitcoin holders are selling due to the recent surge in price

    What the MVRV (market value to realized value) Z-score is and how Alex uses this metric to assess the Bitcoin market

    Why Alex believes this period in Bitcoin's history is distinct

    What the implications of Merrill and Wells Fargo offering Bitcoin ETFs to their customers are, and how this expands Bitcoin's institutional appeal

    How the upcoming halving could affect the price, especially since Bitcoin is already closer to all-time highs than previous times ahead of the halving

    Why Alex thinks this might be the first time that highs in bitcoin and ether do not lead to an "altcoin season"

    Alex's price prediction for Bitcoin by the end of the year

    Thank you to our sponsors!

    Uniswap

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    Guest

    Alex Thorn, Head of Firmwide Research at Galaxy

    Previous appearance on Unchained: How Much Money Will Flow Into Bitcoin ETFs? Here’s One Projection


    Links
    Recent coverage on Unchained of Bitcoin’s surge: 

    Should You Sell Bitcoin Now That It’s Nearing Its All-Time High?

    Bitcoin Watchers React to BTC Returning to the $60,000 Mark

    Coinbase App Crashes Amid Bitcoin’s Massive Rally

    Bitcoin Price Surges Past $61,000

    Others:

    The Block: JPMorgan says bitcoin price could drop towards $42,000 after April halving


    Bloomberg: BofA’s Merrill, Wells Fargo Offer Bitcoin ETFs to Wealth Clients



    Previous coverage on Unchained of spot Bitcoin ETFs:

    Why Some Brokerage Firms Are Blocking Access to Spot Bitcoin ETFs

    Why Spot Bitcoin ETFs Are Likely to Finally Start Trading on Thursday 

    Why the SEC May Want Cash Creation of Spot Bitcoin ETFs

    Why It Looks Like BlackRock Could Win America’s First Spot Bitcoin ETF

    Will a Spot Bitcoin ETF Finally Get Approved?

    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


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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.
    Well-known white hat hacker and head of security at Paradigm samczsun recently took the wraps off a new security organization called the Security Alliance (SEAL) that offers a 911 hotline for immediate response to security threats, runs war games to simulate potential security incidents, and provides a safe harbor agreement to protect white hat hackers from legal liabilities.
    He joined Unchained to discuss why he and his fellow white hat hackers decided to start the Security Alliance and how it operates, how the safe harbor agreement works, the measures he takes to maintain his anonymity and why, the top security measures people in crypto should take to protect themselves, and what attack areas in crypto Sam still considers “scary.”   
    Show highlights:

    How samczsun got into white hat hacking

    The most memorable saves and rescues sam was able to perform 

    Whether there's a reason why sam is so good at noticing bugs in crypto

    The origin of his samczsun handle

    What the Security Alliance is and why it was formed

    How SEAL would approach a bug or a hack

    Whether black hat hackers are trying to exploit open groups

    Why the work in the group is volunteered, not paid, and whether that's sustainable

    How the SEAL War Games help in training on how to respond to an incident in Web3

    What the Safe Harbor Agreement is and what it aims to accomplish for white hat hackers

    How sam protects his identity and whether his coworkers know what he looks like

    The top security measures people working in crypto should take

    How projects should approach the audit for their smart contracts given it's an expensive endeavor 

    What attack vectors still scare sam

    What is ‘White Hat Hacking’?
    White hat hacking, often referred to as ethical hacking, is a cybersecurity practice where skilled computer experts use their knowledge for good, employing the same methods as malicious hackers (black hat hackers) but with a significant difference: they do so with permission and for a constructive purpose. These ethical hackers identify vulnerabilities in computer systems, networks, or applications before malicious attackers can exploit them. By detecting and resolving these security weaknesses, white hat hackers help organizations strengthen their defenses against cyber threats. 
    Thank you to our sponsors!

    Popcorn Network

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    Guest:


    Samczsun, CEO of Security Alliance (SEAL) and Head of Security at Paradigm

    Previous appearances on Unchained: The Chopping Block: Top White Hat Hacker Samczsun Discusses the State of Crypto Security


    Links

    Introducing the Security Alliance

    Bloomberg: Paradigm’s Famed ‘White-Hat’ Hacker Unites Peers Against Crypto Attacks, 

    White Hat Safe Harbor [Github]

    Chainalysis: Funds Stolen from Crypto Platforms Fall More Than 50% in 2023, but Hacking Remains a Significant Threat as Number of Incidents Rises


    sam’s tweet on security practices 

    Halborn: Explained: The Nomad Hack (August 2022)



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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.
    Fifteen years after the birth of Bitcoin, the network is now entering an era of remarkable innovation and change, according to Stacks' co-creator Muneeb Ali.
    On this episode of Unchained recorded at the Bitcoin Builders conference, Muneeb explores the complexities and advancements within Bitcoin's Layer 1 and Layer 2. He shares his perspectives on what's fueling innovation in Bitcoin's Layer 1 and discusses the implications of Ordinal Inscriptions amid criticism of it by core developers. 
    He delves into the various scaling solutions within Bitcoin, highlighting how trust assumptions vary among them, and how BitVM could be a 'game changer'. He goes over the advantages of integrating smart contracts on Bitcoin, and why he considers BTC the only true form of monetary asset. 
    Show highlights:

    What's driving innovation in Bitcoin’s L1 

    How Muneeb feels about Ordinals Inscriptions in Bitcoin, considering the criticism from some core developers

    How, in the recent years, research and development in crypto happened outside of Bitcoin, and how that's changing now, according to Muneeb

    The different types of scaling solutions in Bitcoin and how the trust assumptions differ in each of them

    Why he feels like BitVM is a 'game changer' and what it enables

    What the Nakamoto upgrade is on Stacks

    The advantages of having smart contracts on Bitcoin, according to Muneeb

    Why he says that BTC is the only asset that is money

    The challenges to having privacy in Bitcoin

    Thank you to our sponsors!

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    Guest


    Muneeb Ali, co-creator of Stacks

    Previous appearances on Unchained: 

    Bitcoin Ordinal NFTs Are Hot and Getting Hotter. What's the Hype About? - NFT Crypto

    Blockstack On Getting Independence From Google, Facebook And Amazon

    Links
    Recent news:

    Unchained: 

    Stacks, a Bitcoin Layer 2 Protocol, Sees All-Time High in Total Value Locked

    A New Era for Bitcoin Is Here, Whether Bitcoin Maximalists Like It Or Not

    Bitcoin Passes the $1 Trillion Market Cap Mark; All Cryptos Combined Reach $2 Trillion

    Bitcoin L2s:

    Unchained: 

    Are Layer 2s on Bitcoin Having a Moment?

    How Botanix Aims to Enable Smart Contracts on Bitcoin

    An Ethereum-Like Experience Built on Bitcoin?

    Learn more:

    What Are Opcodes in Bitcoin? A Beginner's Guide

    What Are BRC-20 Tokens? 

    What Are ORC-20 Tokens? 

    How to Create a Bitcoin Ordinal


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  • Welcome to The Chopping Block, where crypto experts Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner bring you inside perspectives on critical topics in the crypto world. This week the boys dive deep into Starknet's airdrop controversies, the psychological toll of internet backlash on founders, and the groundbreaking Ethena project inspired by Arthur Hayes. This episode questions the effectiveness of airdrop strategies in user engagement, the resilience founders must muster against online criticism, and Ethena's potential to revolutionize crypto finance with its tokenized cash and carry trade. We also tackle the security threats on platforms like GitHub, the balance between egalitarian distribution versus market dynamics, and the transparency required in token economics. What legal challenges arise from token vesting schedules, and how does Ethena innovate in crypto finance inspired by traditional models? Join us for an insightful exploration of these critical topics, aiming to enrich our understanding of cryptocurrency airdrops, founder resilience, and Ethena's ambitious financial mechanisms within the evolving cryptocurrency 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
    🔹 Starknet Airdrop Controversy: Exploring the backlash and debates over its distribution mechanics.
    🔹 The Psychology of Founders Facing Internet Critique: Discussing the impact of public scrutiny on creators.
    🔹 Innovation in Airdrop Strategies: Highlighting the need for creativity to engage and retain users.
    🔹 GitHub and Security Risks: Addressing the increase in phishing attacks and noise on developer platforms.
    🔹 Efficacy of Airdrops in User Engagement: Evaluating how airdrops influence community involvement and loyalty.
    🔹 Egalitarianism vs. Market Dynamics: Debating the balance between fair distribution and economic incentives.
    🔹 The Complexities of Vesting Periods: Unpacking the discussions around token unlock schedules.
    🔹 Legal Nuances of Crypto Vesting: Exploring the regulatory implications and challenges.
    🔹 Transparency in Token Economics: The importance of clear policies for investor confidence.
    🔹 The Inspiration Behind Ethena: Tracing the origins and motivations for its creation.
    🔹 Cash and Carry Trade Basics: Simplifying the concept and its significance in crypto finance.
    🔹 Analyzing Ethena’s Yield Mechanisms: Delving into the strategies and risks of yield generation.
    🔹 Risk Mitigation in Ethena’s Protocol: Investigating novel approaches to safeguarding assets.
    🔹 The Potential Ripple Effects of Ethena: Speculating on the impact of layered financial products.

    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

    “Is the Short Team Lockup for STRK ‘Misaligned’? No, Says Starkware CEO - Ep. 609”: https://youtu.be/0D0Qyw9TeoY 

    The Uniswap Airdrop - Lessons for the Industry by jhackworth: https://dune.com/blog/uni-airdrop-analysis 

    “Dust on Crust” by Arthur Hayes: https://ehandbook.com/dust-on-crust-300d4b5cf3ec 


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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.
    Celestia, a data availability layer for blockchains, was launched last October to much fanfare. The platform takes a modular approach to blockchains, allowing developers to post data onto it without the need for smart contracts or execution. This makes it extremely useful for scaling roll-ups and other layer two technologies. 
    Celestia co-founder Mustafa Al-Bassam and COO Nick White join Unchained to discuss what Celestia is and how it works, how data availability sampling allows for more scalability, how Celestia compares with other data availability layers, whether Celestia could become a data availability layer for Bitcoin, and comparisons between Celestia and Solana. 
    Show highlights:

    Mustafa’s background and how his project called Lazy Ledger ended up becoming Celestia

    Nick’s vision for modular blockchains

    Why Mustafa believes in the “10,000 roll-up” endgame

    Why Mustafa thinks that gaming and NFT chains work better on a modular blockchain

    What Celestia is and how it resembles the publication of an article in a newspaper

    What data availability sampling (DAS) is and how it works to ensure that the data is available and accurate for validators

    How DAS allows for more scalability

    What types of applications can be built with this type of modular architecture

    Mustafa’s explanation of the concept of Blob stream and blob space

    How a roll-up can be an independent or sovereign layer, not just a layer 2 to a layer 1

    How Celestia competes with other DA layers, like the future EigenDA

    The role of the TIA token in the Celestia ecosystem 

    How Mufasa hacked the CIA when he was 16 years old and how he transitioned into crypto

    Whether Celestia could become a DA layer for Bitcoin layer 2 roll-ups

    Whether Solana could end up becoming an Ethereum layer 2 using Celestia for data availability 

    The proposal to extend the functionality of Celestia without smart contracts in the base layer 

    Thank you to our sponsors!

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    Guests:


    Nick White, COO at Celestia Labs

    Previous appearances on Unchained: Three Crypto Pioneers on Crypto’s Monolithic vs. Modular Debate



    Mustafa Al-Bassam, cofounder and CEO at Celestia Labs

    Links
    Modular vs. monolithic

    Alchemy: Modular vs. Monolithic Blockchains


    Visa: Monolithic vs. modular blockchain


    Chris Burniske’s tweet on modular vs monolithic


    “The horrific inefficiencies of monolithic blockchains” by polynya

    Blockworks: A spicy salvo launched in the monolithic vs modular debate


    Unchained: What Is the Blockchain Trilemma?


    Celestia

    Celestia’s explanation of modular blockchains

    Data availability

    Data availability sampling

    An introduction to sovereign roll-ups


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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.
    Starknet made news this week for announcing what will be the largest initial airdrop by number of eligible addresses ever. But it faced heavy criticism online for many of the details of the airdrop, from the fact that Ethereum solo takers received almost 22% of the distribution to eligibility requirements that users held at least 0.005 ETH in their wallets as of Nov. 15, 2023 to the fact that the token generation event took place almost two years before the unlock date.
    Starkware CEO Eli Ben-Sasson joined Unchained to respond to the multiple critiques of the airdrop and discuss why he and the Starknet Foundation decided on the details that they did.  
    Show highlights:

    What the airdrop criteria was and why they decided to make it that way

    Why they allocated so much $STRK to Ethereum solo stakers

    Eli’s response to the criticism about how little Starknet network participants got in the airdrop

    Why the STRK Token Generation Event (TGE) was done in 2022, only to be airdropped two years later

    Why Eli believes that even if the unlock of tokens is in two months, it does not indicate misalignment of incentives

    Whether Eli will sell his tokens when they become unvested

    Thank you to our sponsors!

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    Guest

    Eli Ben-Sasson, CEO of Starkware
    Links

    Recent coverage of Unchained on airdrops: Jupiter Founder Meow to Critics of JUP Airdrop: ‘Give Me a Break’


    Unchained: 

    Starknet’s Airdrop Plan Sparks Some Praise but Also Outrage

    Starknet’s First Token Distribution Will Be Available to Nearly 1.3 Million Addresses

    The Defiant: Starknet Faces Backlash Over Airdrop and Team Unlocks


    Loomdart’s tweet on the TGE


    Learn more:

    Do You Have to Pay Taxes on a Crypto Airdrop?

    What Is a Crypto Airdrop? A Beginner's Guide 


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  • Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and special guest Dan Romero, co-founder of Farcaster, engage in a riveting discussion on decentralized social media and the burgeoning meme coin trend within the cryptocurrency ecosystem. This episode offers an in-depth analysis of Farcaster's innovative mechanisms for user engagement and its significant role in shaping the future of social interactions in the crypto domain. We delve into the mechanics behind meme coins, examining their influence on community dynamics, market behavior, and the broader implications for digital asset valuation. Our conversation navigates through the intricacies of decentralized platforms like Farcaster, probing into their potential to disrupt conventional social media models and foster a new era of user-centric, blockchain-enabled online communities. Join us for a comprehensive exploration of these pivotal developments, enriched with Dan Romero's firsthand insights, as we dissect the evolving landscape of social media in the crypto age and the captivating allure of meme coins, all aimed at providing a deeper understanding of their impact on the global cryptocurrency market.
    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
    🔹 Decentralized Social Media Evolution: Exploring the growth and challenges of platforms like Farcaster in the decentralized web landscape.
    🔹 User Empowerment in Crypto: Analyzing how crypto-native features on platforms empower users through economic incentives and community building.
    🔹 The Rise of Social Tokens: Delving into the emergence of social tokens and their role in fostering online communities and creator economies.
    🔹 Interactive Crypto Features: Investigating innovative features like Farcaster's frames and their impact on user engagement and content sharing.
    🔹 Sustainable Tokenomics: Discussing the sustainability of token models in social platforms and the potential for long-term value creation.
    🔹 Behavioral Economics in Crypto: Understanding the psychological factors driving the speculative nature of meme coins and their market dynamics.
    🔹 Decentralization vs. Centralization: Debating the balance between decentralized ethos and the need for centralized governance in crypto platforms.
    🔹 The Future of Online Identity: Discussing the evolution of online identities in the context of decentralized platforms and blockchain technology.
    🔹 Celebrity and Crypto Synergies: Speculating on the future of celebrity involvement in crypto through personalized tokens and endorsements.
    🔹 Cross-Platform Crypto Integration: Exploring the possibilities and challenges of integrating crypto-native features across various social and digital platforms.
    🔹 Ethical Considerations in Crypto: Delving into the ethical implications of rapid token creation, distribution strategies, and their impact on unsuspecting users.
    Hosts
    ⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing partner at Dragonfly 
    ⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 
    ⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

    Guest
    ⭐️ Dan Romero, Farcaster Co-Founder

    Disclosures
    Links

    Eugene Wei’s “Status as a Service (StaaS)”: https://www.eugenewei.com/blog/2019/2/19/status-as-a-service 

    Vitalik Buterin’s forum post on DAICOs: https://ethresear.ch/t/explanation-of-daicos/465/1 


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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.
    In the two weeks since Farcaster introduced its Frames feature that allows developers to easily add mini apps to users’ posts, the decentralized social network has become the talk of Twitter, now X, and increased its user base by ten times, according to co-founder Dan Romero. 
    Romero joins Unchained to discuss why Frames has become so popular, the philosophy behind Farcaster and its client Warpcast, why the crypto component behind Farcaster is being kept to a minimum, how Apple’s new Vision Pro could lead to the creation of a 3D social network on Farcaster, how he and his fellow co-founder’s background at Coinbase helped shape their decisions about building Farcaster, and his vision for eventually getting Farcaster to a billion-plus users. 
    Show highlights:

    What Farcaster is and what problems it’s trying to solve

    How and why Farcaster uses blockchain technology in the background 

    How you can use ENS (Ethereum Name Services) for your handles on Farcaster

    How the recovery of accounts works on Farcaster and what the security implications are

    What Frames is and why it’s significant for developers and creators

    What’s controlled by the protocol vs. the client 

    What Dan imagines could be built with the new Apple Vision Pro

    Whether there’s potential for better economics and ways to monetize content in Farcaster

    Why Farcaster is on Optimism, an Ethereum Layer 2, and whether it could be moved to another network

    How they are working to build a more decentralized network

    What the future of Farcaster and Frames could look like

    How Dan’s background at Coinbase shaped the way in which he decided to build Farcaster

    What the strategy is for scaling the platform to the numbers more associated with Web2 social media


    Thank you to our sponsors!

    Popcorn Network

    Polkadot

    Guest:


    Dan Romero, Co-founder of Farcaster


    Coinbase’s Pragmatic Crypto Culture by Dan Romero

    Links

    Unchained: 

    Bounties to Build Frames on Farcaster Are Growing Rapidly

    Farcaster's User Base Skyrockets Nearly 500% After Frames Launch

    What Is SocialFi? A Beginner’s Guide

    The Chopping Block: Is Farcaster the Web3 Social Layer?

    Dan’s ideas for Farcaster



    Farcaster architecture

    Architecture

    Onchain password reset mechanism


    Why Farcaster Frames are important

    The layers of Farcaster

    Farcaster charges “rent”


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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.
    Crypto: The Game captivated a large swath of the crypto community this past week. The game, modeled after “Survivor,” was the brainchild of Dylan Abruscato, Tyler Cagle and Bryan Lee. The intention of the game, which was played virtually but also unfolded in real life, was to ruthlessly vote people off to determine a single winner. Throughout, multiple psy-ops operations created chaos. Despite all that, the competition ended up fostering numerous friendships (including for Unchained reporter Sage Young, whose coverage is below) and resulted in a shocking, but heartwarming ending. 
    On Friday afternoon, after the winner was announced, we hosted a Spaces with Dylan, the winner, and some of the more notable players, which we’re releasing here. In the discussion, we cover the inspiration for the game, some of the behind-the-scenes surprises, who was causing chaos for various teams and how, and why the winner may be one of the winning-est contestants ever. 

    Guest:

    Dylan Abruscato, founder of Crypto: The Game
    Links

    Unchained: 

    Day 6 of ‘Crypto: The Game’ Brutally Exposes the Problem of Trust in a Digital World

    Day 8 of ‘Crypto: The Game’ Puts Me on a Hit List for the Second Time

    Day 9: Cutthroat Contestants Put an End to My Time in “Crypto: The Game”


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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.

    On Tuesday, Solana suffered a network outage, just shy of a year since its last shutdown. The blockchain had to quickly get a new version out and notify its validators to upgrade to it and restart their systems before blocks could be produced again, resulting in downtime of roughly five hours. This was previously something that had happened regularly to the blockchain, but seemed to have been largely addressed over the past year.
    Lucas, the CEO of Jito Labs, which builds infrastructure for Solana and staged a highly successful airdrop last year that helped rejuvenate the blockchain, joined Unchained to discuss what caused the outage, whether it’s something that builders on Solana should be concerned about for the future, recent improvements Solana has made to its technology, whether the implementation of Firedancer would have prevented this incident, and the promise of the Solana phone. 
    Show highlights:

    What caused the Solana blockchain’s outage this week

    Whether Solana needs to have better quality control 

    Whether the halt of the network affects the builders in the space

    What recent developments in the infrastructure surrounding Solana give Lucas confidence in the network

    Whether the Firedancer client that’s now in development would have prevented this week’s outage

    The promise of the Solana phone

    Whether the network going down presents a setback for the Solana community in terms of recognition and momentum

    Whether financial companies will consider using Solana if these issues keep occurring

    Thank you to our sponsors!

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    Guest

    Lucas Bruder, CEO of Jito Labs
    Links

    Recent coverage of Unchained on Solana:

    Jupiter Founder Meow to Critics of JUP Airdrop: ‘Give Me a Break’

    Three Crypto Pioneers on Crypto’s Monolithic vs. Modular Debate

    Anatoly Yakovenko on Solana’s Astounding Recovery and Its Future Plans

    Outage

    Unchained: Solana Back Online Again After Suffering 5-Hour Outage


    Matthew Sigel’s explanation for why the outage happened

    Mert’s tweet on how Solana prioritizes security over liveness

    CoinDesk: Can We All Stop Pretending That Solana Is in Beta?



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  • Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest news and with special guest, and Farcaster aficionado Ted! This episode zooms in on Farcaster Frames: How are they revolutionizing the platform? We examine Farcaster's transformation and its impact on the future of social media: Can Farcaster redefine decentralized communication? Delving into its user base, we ask: What makes Farcaster's community unique? How do airdrop strategies and global hub distribution shape its ecosystem? And what's next for decentralized social networks like Farcaster? Join us for an insightful discussion on these pivotal questions impacting the crypto sphere.

    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
    🔹 Farcaster frames launch: Revolutionizing user engagement in crypto communities.
    🔹 Social Media Evolution: Farcaster's Rise from Niche Network to Powerhouse.
    🔹 Global dynamics: Farcaster's u.s. focus vs. Lens' worldwide appeal.
    🔹 Decentralized platforms: the unique soul of Farcaster and Lens communities.
    🔹 Airdrop strategies: boosting Farcaster's growth and user engagement.
    🔹 From social networks to media: Farcaster's balancing act.
    🔹 Overcoming adoption barriers: user reluctance vs. Farcaster's innovations.
    🔹 A shift in content, authenticity and interaction on Farcaster.
    🔹 Expanding Farcaster's ecosystem globally.
    🔹 Farcaster's vision: the future of decentralized social networks.
    🔹 Discovering Farcaster: overcoming hesitation, embracing curiosity.

    Hosts
    ➡️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly 
    ➡️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures
    ➡️Robert Leshner, Founder of Compound

    Guest
    ⭐️ Ted, the Farcaster Fangirl #1

    Disclosures
    Links
    Why Farcaster Frames are important: How a failed Facebook bet is coming to fruition in Web 3 By Antonio García Martínez
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  • Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

    Trying to regulate DeFi is a huge challenge because in a truly decentralized system, there should be no centralized actors to make and enforce rules for. This could make combating illicit finance challenging since traditionally, regulation has been targeted at centralized intermediaries. Yet Rebecca Rettig, Chief Legal and Policy Officer at Polygon Labs; Michael Mosier, the co-founder of boutique law firm Arktouros; and Katja Gilman, senior lead for public policy at Polygon Labs, published a paper last week that proposes to do just that. 

    Rebecca and Michael join Unchained to discuss what prompted them to write the paper, what the difference is between "onchain CeFi" and "genuine DeFi," how targeting high-risk wallets can be one part of the solution, how critical communications transmitters (CCTs) are another piece of the puzzle, and what next steps they are pursuing. 

    Show highlights:

    The motivations behind their paper and Michael and Rebecca’s legal backgrounds

    Why Michael views the Bank Secrecy Act as outdated in the context of DeFi

    How critical KYC and AML compliance is for the integrity of DeFi

    What Rebecca identifies as the principal risks in the DeFi sector

    Why their proposal targets the protocol layer for effective DeFi regulation

    How "onchain CeFi" differs fundamentally from "genuine DeFi"

    Whether a decentralized protocol can be effectively regulated when controlled by a DAO

    How if DeFi were to be classified as critical infrastructure by the Cyber and Information Security Agency (CISA), it would impact the sector

    Whether the critical components of blockchain networks, such as RPCs, can be regulated effectively

    How categorizing wallets based on risk can be one part of the solution to fighting illicit finance

    Why Rebecca considers Tornado Cash a prime example of “genuine DeFi”

    What steps Rebecca and Michael plan to take next following the publication of their paper


    Thank you to our sponsors!

    Popcorn Network

    Polkadot


    Guest:


    Rebecca Rettig, Chief Legal and Policy Officer at Polygon Labs

    Previous appearances on Unchained:

    Just a Coincidence? Coinbase and Polygon Lawyers See Bad Omens in SEC Crackdown

    Kik’s Surprising Move in Its Lawsuit With the SEC


    Michael Mosier, cofounder of Arktouros PLLC

    Links

    Previous coverage of Unchained on the topic: Could the Bank Secrecy Act Harm Crypto? Coin Center Thinks So 



    Full paper: Genuine DeFi as Critical Infrastructure: A Conceptual Framework for Combating Illicit Finance Activity in Decentralized Finance

    Rebecca’s thread


    Coin Center: Broad, Ambiguous, or Delegated: Constitutional Infirmities of the Bank Secrecy Act


    Tornado Cash
    Unchained: Given the Sanctions on Tornado Cash, Is Ethereum Censorship Resistant?

    Illicit funds in crypto:
    Unchained: How Much Money Are Terrorists Actually Raising in Crypto?


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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 and with special guest Aevo's Co-Founder - Julian Koh. This episode zeroes in on the latest buzz around the Jupiter ($JUP) airdrop: What's the real story behind Jupiter’s valuation and controversy? We peel back the layers of Jupiter's token strategy and its impact on market dynamics. The dialogue then shifts to the innovative approaches of Aevo (formerly Ribbon Finance) in pre-launch derivatives and the burgeoning trend of airdrop farming: How are Airdrop strategies altering the landscape of token valuation and investor behavior? The debate intensifies as we tackle the contentious battle between points systems and traditional airdrops: Are points a revolutionary engagement tool or a complex web of incentives? With the resurgence of ICOs and the strategic pivot of Ribbon Finance, we explore the implications of rebrands on the crypto ecosystem. Join us for an in-depth exploration of these critical topics and their profound impact on the world 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
    🔹 Jupiter Airdrop Deep Dive: Unraveling the complexities and controversies behind the Jupiter ($JUP) airdrop.
    🔹 Valuation Variance: Examining the fluctuations in Jupiter token valuation and their market repercussions.
    🔹 Community Engagement: Evaluating the effectiveness of @weremeow's live streams in shaping community perceptions.
    🔹 Airdrop Discontent: Analyzing the liquidity dynamics and user dissatisfaction stemming from airdrop strategies.
    🔹 Innovations in Derivatives: Exploring Aevo's unique approach to pre-launch derivatives in the DeFi space.
    🔹 The Airdrop Farmer's Dilemma: Discussing the strategies used by airdrop farmers to hedge against price volatility.
    🔹 Points vs. Airdrops Debate: Delving into the pros and cons of points systems compared to traditional airdrop mechanisms.
    🔹 Rebranding Strategies: Assessing the impact of token rebrands, with a focus on Ribbon Finance's evolution.
    🔹 Pre-IPO Markets and Crypto: Drawing parallels between traditional pre-IPO conversion markets and crypto points systems.
    🔹 The Uncertainty Factor: Considering how the allure of uncertainty influences engagement and investment in crypto.
    🔹 Protocol Dynamics: Investigating the effects of airdrop farmers on the health and engagement of blockchain protocols.
    🔹 ICO Resurgence: Discussing the potential comeback of Initial Coin Offerings and their role in the crypto funding landscape.
    🔹 Stress Testing with Points: Highlighting innovative uses of points for protocol stress testing like Eigenlayer.
    🔹 Referral Systems in Crypto: Analyzing the impact of referral-based points systems on protocol engagement and growth.


    Hosts
    ⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing partner at Dragonfly 
    ⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 
    ⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

    Guest
    ⭐️ Julian Koh, Aevo's Co-Founder

    Disclosures
    Links

    Jupiter LFG Launchpad Blog Article - https://station.jup.ag/blog/jupiter-lfg-launchpad 

    Blockworks: “Jupiter airdrop draws criticism, but support remains strong” - https://blockworks.co/news/jupiter-airdrop-draws-criticism 

    Proposal: “Merge Ribbon Finance into Aevo” - https://gov.ribbon.finance/t/rgp-33-merge-ribbon-finance-into-aevo/709 

    Weremeow’s Twitch Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/weremeow 


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  • While Solana DeFi protocol Jupiter staged what was by most measures a very successful airdrop launch on Wednesday, achieving a market cap of close to $800 million, the company’s critics pointed out numerous ways the company seemed to unfairly enrich itself in the process. While Jupiter’s founder, who goes by the pseudonym Meow, acknowledges he might have done some things differently, he finds the criticisms of the launch mostly based on “bad faith” and misinformation.  

    Meow joined Unchained to discuss the thinking behind the launch mechanics of JUP, how the prior launch of memecoin WEN served as a dry run for JUP, whether the aggressive pricing strategy of JUP was a mistake, and what he hopes to achieve with Jupiter next, including the possibility of enabling companies of all kinds to list themselves publicly on chain. 

    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.
    Show highlights:

    What Jupiter is and how it extends its functionality beyond mere token swapping

    What users are primarily utilizing the dollar-cost-average feature of Jupiter for

    Meow’s background in crypto and how he ended up in the Solana ecosystem

    Why a launchpad seemed the ideal choice for Jupiter's token launch

    What prompted the decision to release WEN, a memecoin, before launching JUP

    Meow's response to criticisms regarding the launchpad's mechanics

    Whether the aggressive pricing strategy for Jupiter was a misstep

    How Meow feels about being targeted for criticism

    What's on the horizon for Jupiter as a platform following the airdrop


    Thank you to our sponsors!

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    Guest:

    Meow, cofounder of Jupiter
    Links

    Unchained: 

    Jupiter Traders Claim Whopping 545 Million JUP Tokens in First 8 Hours of Airdrop

    Jupiter’s Airdropped Token JUP Debuts at a $878 Million Market Cap

    Pro-Ethereum Crowd Slams Solana-based Jupiter Airdrop as ‘Absolute Trash’

    Breakpoint 2023 Meow conference

    The Block: Solana DEX aggregator Jupiter confirms token release date



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