Unchained: Big Ideas From The Worlds Of Blockchain And Cryptocurrency

Despite the doom and gloom, Placeholder VC partners Chris Burniske and Joel Monegro are highly bullish on the present moment. “We’re all going to look back on this period and remember it as fondly as we remember ‘18 and ‘19,” Monegro tells Laura Shin. The two long-term investors explain why the confluence of macroeconomic factors and crypto-native (and AI) innovations make this the ideal time to invest in a Web3 future. They cut their teeth on Bitcoin, they grew up with Ethereum; hear what they think is next. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights: why Chris says crypto’s four-year cycle will likely play out once again the role of interest rates in asset valuation whether the crypto industry has learned its lessons from the “crypto carnage” of 2022 whether there’s a future for KYC’d DeFi when failing in crypto should be considered a crime, as in the Do

If the SEC wants to appeal last week’s judgment in the Ripple case, it better act fast. So says Bill Hughes, regulatory chief at Ethereum booster ConsenSys and one of the many crypto policy pros assessing the ramifications of U.S. district judge Analisa Torres’ decision. The regulatory agency’s decision to appeal hinges on a number of factors, Hughes says, including that this Supreme Court will likely be unkind to SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s interpretation of how to regulate crypto. But of course, a political calculus is also in play, and suddenly U.S. lawmakers have a slew of crypto bills and amendments to choose from. How will it play out? Show highlights: whether the SEC is going to appeal the recent Ripple ruling and whether Judge Analisa Torres would allow it what the risks are for the SEC of taking the case to the Second Circuit why Bill believes that the SEC’s chances are not good at the Supreme Court what the motivation is behind the new DeFi bill in the U.S. Senate how that bill would impact the d

XRP isn’t itself a security; it depends on how it’s sold. So said a federal judge last Thursday in the SEC vs. Ripple case and the implications are significant. Jake Chervinsky, chief policy officer at the Blockchain Association, and lawyer Kayvan Sadeghi, partner at Jenner & Block, join the show to discuss two major ramifications. One: U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres dealt a major blow to the legal theory underpinning the SEC’s case against Coinbase. Two: This order really “lights a fire” under U.S. lawmakers to act on a pair of crypto bills in Congress. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights: why this is an “extraordinary victory” for the industry, according to Jake whether Judge Torres made the right decision how the SEC could seek an interlocutory appeal to halt the case, though it’s unlikely what are the pending items in the case that need to b

Welcome to “The Chopping Block” – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest news. This week, crypto lawyer Stephen Palley joins an emergency live show to unpack Thursday’s judgment in the Ripple case. Crypto markets are pumping after a judge handed Ripple Labs a partial victory in its fight against the SEC. But is the jubilation warranted? “I can understand why people are happy,” said Palley, a partner at Brown Rudnick LLP. “I’m just a little more cautious on what happens next.” Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights:  why Judge Analisa Torres ruled that retail sales of XRP do not violate U.S. securities laws how the court denied summary judgment on some issues relating to Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen why “Footnote 16” of the ruling was so “surprising,” according

The SEC and Ripple have been locked in a legal tug of war for years, stirring up waves of controversy and debate in the crypto community. Finally, Judge Analisa Torres has given an order establishing that XRP buyers trading on exchanges were not, in fact, engaging in a securities transaction, a decision that could have far-reaching implications for the industry. Lewis Cohen, co-founder of DLx Law, unpacks the details of this pivotal case and what it might mean for the future of cryptocurrency regulation. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights: why the SEC lawsuit against Ripple has such historical significance in the crypto industry how Judge Torres split the case into two categories  why the 'programmatic buyers' did not meet the four prongs of the Howey test why the institutional sales constituted an investment contract  what makes the Ripple case d

Welcome to “The Chopping Block” – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest crypto news. This week, the crew is joined by Goldfinch co-founder Blake West to talk about the momentum around asset tokenization. Whether it’s private credit (what Goldfinch specializes in) or U.S. Treasurys (what Robert’s new venture Superstate will tackle), real-world assets (RWAs) are en vogue among the crypto set. What’s driving this fresh interest in an old concept that has failed to take off? Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights:  how Blake got into RWAs why Robert launched his new company Superstate why Robert hates the term “real-world asset” why the only actual RWA in the blockchain space is the U.S. dollar, aka stablecoins why other non-native crypto assets have struggled to migrate onto

In recent months, ChatGPT, Bard and other new artificial intelligence (AI) products have revolutionized numerous industries. But how this nascent technology can work with crypto and blockchain technology is still relatively unexplored. In this episode, Illia Polosukhin and Jason Warner delve into the transformative potential of AI and crypto coming together.  They explore a wide array of applications, from AIs managing Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), to DAOs being used to help open source AIs, to blockchain technology making the inner workings of AIs more transparent.  Tune in to this episode for a deep dive into the fusion of AI and crypto. Show highlights: Illia's and Jason’s backgrounds, including how Illia’s work in artificial intelligence (AI) got him into crypto what AI actually encompasses and how to define it why Jason says that "it works right now, it's machine learning and if you're raising money, it's AI" how blockchains can facilitate the provision of resources for training data

In 2022, crypto crime hit an all-time high. A staggering $3.8 billion in crypto was stolen, with DeFi protocols bearing the brunt of these thefts, accounting for 82% of the total losses. Amid this alarming scenario, has a beacon of hope emerged in ERC-7265?  The proposal aims to create a 'circuit breaker' safety layer for DeFi contracts, potentially revolutionizing security measures in the crypto space. Could this be the key to bolstering security and paving the way for mass adoption of DeFi? Will it essentially centralize protocols? Tune in to find out. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights: what ERC-7265 is meant to do and why they called it a 'circuit breaker’ how the idea would actually work on chain how this ERC could make DeFi applications more centralized, rather than decentralized what can be done to prevent small teams from seizing funds how

The ERC-721 token standard on Ethereum ignited the frenzied world of NFTs. Yet, as the dust settled, their limitations became apparent. Enter ERC-6551, a new standard designed to overcome these challenges. Benny Giang and Jayden Windle, cofounder and founding developer of Future Primitive, respectively, delve into the transformative potential of ERC-6551, a standard which allows every NFT to have a smart contract wallet associated with it. They discuss the exciting new possibilities it unlocks in the spheres of gaming, the metaverse, identity, messaging, and more. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights: what ERC-6551 is and how the idea was born the differences between NFT token standards the four big categories of applications for this new token standard why Benny thinks that "network playable characters" will solve many of the problems in the digital

From “hush money” allegations to a prospective FTX relaunch, it’s been a crazy week for those following the legal saga of Sam Bankman-Fried’s collapsed crypto empire. Perhaps few are following it more closely than 507 Capital founder Thomas Braziel, who specializes in the trading of bankruptcy claims. He explains the significance of a spate of recent headlines and shares newsworthy tidbits from his meeting with new FTX honcho John J. Ray III. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights: what the Daniel Friedberg lawsuit revealed about the whistleblowers of FTX how FTX used allegedly false claims in its Series C funding round whether Friedberg’s former law firm, Fenwick & West, will suffer legal consequences how John Ray is prosecuting the allegedly fraudulent transactions made by FTX what stood out to Thomas in his personal dealings with John Ray what the

Welcome to “The Chopping Block” – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest crypto news.  Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights:  why the Azuki new NFT collection 'Elementals' caused such a controversy among holders why Robert bought an Elemental and what was he expecting who the Michael Milken of NFTs is, according to Tarun how BitGo 'pulled a Binance' on Prime Trust how Prime Trust, a crypto custodian, collapsed and was put into receivership whether what Prime Trust did can be considered fraud and how the situation highlights DeFi's 'long term advantage' why the majority of blockspace is EVM-compatible what the problems are with current Layer 2 rollups such as Optimism and Arbitrum why rollups are so 'political' in the Ethereum ecosystem what makes Arbitrum better tha

Aaron Kaplan, co-CEO of Prometheum, the trading platform that recently acquired a special-purpose broker dealer license for digital asset securities, has become a major lightning rod in the crypto community. Does the firm represent, as Kaplan has argued, a compliant path forward for crypto in the United States? Or, as Paradigm Special Counsel Rodrigo Seira maintains, does it only demonstrate that the SEC’s crypto regime is simply unworkable? The two join the show to debate the specifics – and it certainly gets heated. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights: whether it is even possible to compliantly register a crypto exchange in the U.S. following SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s recent public statements which tokens Prometheum can list, if any why Rodrigo and Aaron disagree over what constitutes a security whether the Howey Test applies in secondary ma

Welcome to “The Chopping Block” – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest crypto news. With BTC topping $30,000, the gang tackles the apparent surge in institutional bitcoin interest, with BlackRock’s spot ETF application spawning a bumper crop of similar bids. Why did all these TradFi players act at the same time? That, plus a look at the drama surrounding SEC-friendly Prometheum’s Congressional testimony and what Haseeb and Robert see as the trading platform’s many “red flags.” Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights:  the not-so logical reasons why the markets are up whether GBTC’s ETF conversion will also get approved if BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF gets the SEC go-ahead how all the applications were ready and were “waiting for some sign,” according to Robert whether Grayscale

The SEC has swatted down so many spot bitcoin ETF applications that crypto diehards simply gave up caring. Then comes TradFi giant BlackRock – at the height of the SEC’s crypto crackdown, no less – with an ETF application that has seemingly changed the calculus. Bloomberg Intelligence ETF watcher James Seyffart joins the show to unpack the odds of BlackRock being the first to win approval, and what it would mean for other players in the space chasing down TradFi’s “holy grail.” Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights: why the SEC rejected all of the previous bitcoin spot ETF applications what makes the application from BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, different  what a 19b-4 filing is and how it relates to the BlackRock application whether BlackRock “knows something,” considering the recent enforcement actions against major crypto ex

The announcement of the upcoming launch of Uniswap v4 sparked fresh versions of old debates. Is it OK for DeFi’s leading DEX to not be fully open source at launch? What counts as composability and what counts as plagiarism? Is Uniswap’s dominance a threat to decentralization? Founder Hayden Adams joins the show to respond to the critics and explain the novel features of Uniswap v4.  Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights: how Uniswap was born and how it has evolved since 2018 how the SushiSwap vampire attack was a win for Uniswap  whether the new version of Uniswap brings it closer to the true ethos of Ethereum what the problems were with the previous fee model and how the new v4 approaches fee tiers an explanation of “hooks,” the most important feature of the new code what Hayden thinks the most common uses of hooks will be how v4’s time-we

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce has a reputation in the industry for being more supportive of crypto than her peers. After a rough year for the industry, Peirce weighs in on whether the agency was right in recently naming several crypto tokens as securities, the state of the current regulatory framework, and the slow pace of change. “All I can say is that I’ve been at the agency for over five years, and it’s very frustrating to me that in that time we haven’t done something more productive,” Peirce tells Unchained.  Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights: what would Peirce do to regulate crypto if she were chair of the SEC whether the SEC was right in alleging that SOL, ADA, MATIC, and more are securities why Peirce says the SEC’s current approach will take many years to find a resolution whether special purpose broker-dealer licenses are a solut

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 episode, Robert stirs the debate over Hinman's 2018 speech and what it means for the debate at the SEC over whether BTC and ETH should be considered securities, the similarities between Ethereum and Solana, and how Binance.US is dealing with a move to freeze its assets. Moreover, the group kicks off with a brief history lesson on the infamous PEPE meme! Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights:  where the PEPE meme comes from whether Mark Zuckerberg and the project Libra played a role in the animosity toward crypto why Robert says that Hinman's speech in 2018 was crafted with broad inter-agency work, in contrast to what the SEC has been saying how the documents show that the SEC didn't bel

On June 1, Hong Kong implemented new crypto regulations to license exchanges. Two experts – Angelina Kwan, CEO of Stratford Finance (and former COO of BitMEX), and Adrian Lai, founder and managing partner of Newman Capital – weigh in on the new rules in Hong Kong, which tokens can be listed, recent reports that China may be sanctioning this activity, and how the crypto community is responding so far. Plus, they dissect the latest developments of the digital yuan, whether China will ever embrace public blockchains, and the shifting global regulatory landscape for crypto, and more. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights: Angelina’s and Adrian’s backgrounds in crypto in Hong Kong how crypto in Hong Kong has evolved over the years what the new Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) rules consist of, including which tokens will be allowed i

On Monday, it was Binance. On Tuesday, Coinbase. Electric Capital General Counsel Emily Meyers joins the show to read between the lines of an action-packed week for Gary Gensler’s SEC. Meyers lends her lawyerly eye to the key differences between the two lawsuits, the SEC’s potential strategy, and whether federal legislation will beat the courts in providing clarity.  Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights: why Emily thinks the SEC’s actions don’t represent the end of crypto in the U.S. what the similarities and differences are in the lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance why it’s fundamental to the SEC’s allegations that the court determines that at least one of the named tokens is in fact a security whether Coinbase and Binance will file motions to dismiss whether allegations against Binance are comparable to those against FTX whether Gary Ge

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 episode, the Blockchain Association’s Jake Chervinsky breaks down the cases against Binance and Coinbase – and how they are different from FTX – what it means for the crypto industry, and who may be next. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights:  Why Jake believes that the Binance lawsuit didn’t present major surprises Whether the SEC is trying to ban the crypto industry by enforcement How Binance has been allegedly doing a huge amount of wash trading Whether Gemini is next on the SEC’s enforcement action list How CZ and Coinbase CEOs have responded to the complaints How the market reacted to the lawsuits What the differences are between the Binance case and FTX Why the SEC is allegin