Unchained: Big Ideas From The Worlds Of Blockchain And Cryptocurrency

Last Friday, billions evaporated in a liquidation cascade—and nobody knows exactly what happened because centralized exchanges won't share the data. In this sponsored episode recorded at Aptos' NYC event, Aptos CEO Avery Ching says if their Decibel perpetual exchange had been live, traders would have seen every order, every spread change, every liquidation in real-time onchain. But while critics argue existing perp DEXs like Hyperliquid are already decentralized, Ching says most still match orders off-chain in black boxes. Avery explains why Decibel (launching Q1 2026) will be different, how 500 million Indian users are coming to crypto through Reliance Jio's Jiocoin, and why Aptos partnered with World Liberty Financial despite VCs calling it "garbage in your living room." Guest: Avery Ching, CEO & Co-Founder, Aptos Links:  The Composable Global Exchange Engine, by Avery Ching, CEO Aptos Aptos Post: The fully onchain trading engine built by Decibel Foundation Previous coverage of

Kain Warwick, founder of Synthetix and Infinex, is returning to Ethereum Layer 1 with a bold new experiment: a perpetuals DEX built directly on mainnet. In this episode, he joins Laura to explain why Synthetix is taking this contrarian step, how its hybrid “optimistic order book” can run efficiently on Ethereum’s slower block times, and why he believes the future of trading will move fully on-chain. Warwick also discusses the tradeoffs behind using USDT, what it will take to match centralized exchange performance, and his “super app” vision for how DeFi platforms could finally outcompete CEXs. Thank you to our sponsor, ⁠Binance⁠! Guest: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Links: The Superapp Thesis by Kain Warwick Blockwork’s Dan Smith on Spreads for ETH-USD Timestamps:

When CJ Hetherington revealed the token listing terms Binance allegedly offered his startup, the crypto world exploded. In this episode, CJ, founder of prediction market app Limitless, and his investor Nick Tomaino of 1confirmation join Laura to discuss why he went public, how Binance responded, and what the incident reveals about the power dynamics between exchanges and builders. The conversation tackles how retail gets dumped on, why transparency is the next frontier for crypto, and why both guests agree that the “revolution won’t be centralized.” Guests: CJ Hetherington, CEO/CO-Founder at Limitless Labs Nick Tomaino, Founder and General Partner at 1confirmation Links: CJ’s tweet  Unchained:  Coinbase Adds Rival Binance’s BNB to Listing Roadmap Binance Claims It Does Not Profit From Token Listings Timestamps:

Welcome to The Chopping Block — where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, Doug Colkitt, Founder Ambient Finance & Founding Contributor at Fogo, joins us as one of the wildest weekends in crypto history drags us back on air: a record $19B+ in liquidations, gas spiking toward $400, exchange APIs wobbling, and ADL ripping through perps as hedges vanished. We unpack what ADL actually does, why delta-neutral farmers got nuked, and how Binance’s USDe and staked ETH/SOL pegs snapped amid index design and mint/redeem gaps—followed by refunds. We get into HLP vs. LLP (vaults vs. winning traders), the Hyperliquid “whale” short ahead of the tariff tweet, cross-margin reflexivity that torched alts, and why market makers wore outsized pain. Then we zoom out to infra: sequencers, force-inclusion in practice, and the case for on-chain clearing plus real insurance funds before the next Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spoti

Crypto just went through its biggest crash. In the wake of “Black Friday,” when $19 billion in positions were wiped out in hours, Bits + Bips hosts Steve Ehrlich and Ram Ahluwalia are joined by Carlos Guzman of GSR and YQ of AltLayer to dissect what really happened. Was it a coordinated attack exploiting Binance’s oracles? A failure of market structure? Or simply too much leverage waiting for a trigger? Or some combination of the three? The group breaks down how liquidity vanished, why hedges failed, how this flash crash echoed the worst moments of traditional markets, and why the industry urgently needs reform before it happens again. Sponsors: Aptos Hosts: Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida Steve Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained Guests: Carlos Guzman, Research Analyst at GSR  YQ, Co-founder of AltLayer Timestamps:

When Trump tweeted about 100% tariffs on China, crypto collapsed — $19 billion in liquidations in just hours.  Altcoins plunged 95%, exchanges froze, and stablecoins depegged. In this special episode, Diogenes Casares, founder of Klyra Protocol, joins Laura to break down the chain reaction: what really caused the crash, whether insiders knew it was coming, and how infrastructure failures and extreme leverage turned a policy tweet into crypto’s Black Friday. Thank you to our sponsor, ⁠Aptos⁠! Guest: Diogenes Casares, founder of Klyra Protocol and advisor at Patagon Management Links: Diogenes’s article on X: "Black Friday: What Happened?" Jordi Alexander on "What happened? Stani Kulechov on Aave’s performance Binance co-founder’s statement  Timestamps:

Polymarket scales with Wall Street’s blessing, Kalshi fires up KOLs, and BNB chain melts down as fast as it ran. We dissect Aster’s data drama, the new privacy wave lifting Zcash, and Galaxy One’s glossy yields—what’s smart strategy vs. old mistakes in new clothes? Welcome to The Chopping Block — where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, we unpack Polymarket’s jaw-dropper: a $2B raise at a $9B valuation led by ICE (parent of the NYSE), the token tease, and whether prediction markets will eat sportsbooks. We get into the KOL wars (Kalshi vs. Polymarket), the line between paid shilling and product marketing, and what “parlays” look like on prediction platforms. Then: Aster vs. Hyperliquid and DeFiLlama’s delist sparks transparency questions, while BNB Chain’s 72-hour meme-coin supercycle goes boom→bust. Privacy takes center stage as Zcash rips and the “privacy meta” returns. We close with Galaxy One’s 8% yield pitch — B

The stablecoin race is heating up. With the passage of the U.S. stablecoin law the floodgates have opened. Tether still dominates globally, but Circle, Stripe, and a wave of new “stablechains” are making their move. In this episode, Dragonfly partner Rob Hadick and Helius CEO Mert Mumtaz join Laura Shin to map out how this battle could reshape crypto and payments. Will ecosystem apps like Phantom and Jupiter keep their own stablecoins? Can Circle’s new Layer 1, Arc, compete with Tether’s network effect?  Don’t miss it! Thank you to our sponsors! Binance Aptos  Guests: Rob Hadick, General Partner at Dragonfly Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Helius Timestamps:

Bitcoin is hitting new all-time highs—but is this real euphoria, or just a prelude to it? In this double-header episode, we bring you a Bits + Bips roundtable and an in-depth interview on the five companies best positioned to bring crypto onchain. First, the Bits + Bips crew, Lumida’s Ram Ahluwalia, FalconX’s Joshua Lim, and NYU professor Austin Campbell, break down what’s really driving this crypto rally. Is it dollar debasement, asset revaluation, or just pure animal spirits?  They debate how close we are to a true blow-off top, how to spot a real market peak, and what shocks could shelve bitcoin in an instant. Plus, their takes on Zcash, Japan, Coinbase’s banking ambitions, and more. Then, Unchained’s Steven Ehrlich sits down with Ryan Yi, author of the Onchain 5 series, to discuss the five companies that are leading crypto’s push into real-world adoption.  From Coinbase’s Base app and token plans, to Robinhood’s play for tokenized assets, Stripe’s all-in crypto tech stack, Telegram’s TON-powered mini-

On Monday, bitcoin hit a new all-time high of over $126,000, but Bitcoin’s biggest fight right now isn’t about price; it’s about purpose.  Since 2023, image files and meme tokens have clogged the network, spiking fees and making everyday payments expensive. Bitcoin Core wants to lift an 80-byte data limit that's existed since 2014. Bitcoin Knots disagrees — and has built code to enforce a different limit. Should Bitcoin stay a payments network, or evolve into a platform that stores everything from NFTs to memecoins to experimental layer 2 protocols? Blockstream CEO Adam Back and Bitcoin and Lightning developer Chris Guida debate whether removing limits on OP_RETURN protects Bitcoin from what they call “spam,” or opens the floodgates to it. Plus: the real lesson from 2014 when Vitalik Buterin left Bitcoin, why miners can bypass any filter by renting hash rate, and whether 22% of nodes running different code actually matters in a decentralized network. Thank you to our sponsors! Mantle Aptos

Arthur Hayes & Tom Lee map the new crypto arms race—Hyperliquid vs Aster, Plasma’s stablecoin rails, and ETH’s DAT-fueled supercycle. Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. Live at Token2049 Singapore, we’re joined by Arthur Hayes (Maelstrom) and Tom Lee (Bitmine) to map two battles shaping the next cycle: the Perp DEX war—Hyperliquid’s moat vs. CZ-linked Aster, zero-fee experiments like Lighter, and whether ~$500M/year token unlocks can stay “bullish”—and the race to own stablecoin rails, from Tether-affiliated Plasma’s zero-fee USDT chain to distribution plays like Tempo and Codex. We dig into DATs, mNAV compression, and Tom’s “ETH supercycle,” plus prediction markets (Polymarket vs. Kalshi) crossing into the mainstream and a surprise Zcash revival. If crypto’s future is being decided in trading venues and in money itself, this is where the battle lines get drawn.  Show highlights

Is gold the ultimate hedge against inflation and sovereign risk? Or are stocks the better long-term wealth builder thanks to innovation and earnings growth? In this heated and highly entertaining episode, Ram Ahluwalia (Lumida Wealth) and Vinny Lingham (Praxos Capital) dive deep into the macro landscape to debate the relative merits of gold vs. the S&P 500. Along the way, they explore: Gold’s decentralization vs. Bitcoin Why share buybacks might be distorting wealth creation The role of inflation, AI, fiscal dominance, and central banks The logic behind each of their portfolios And to make things more interesting? They make a $10,000 bet on whether gold or the S&P 500 will perform better over the 9 months. Token2049 Binance Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida Vinny Lingham, Co-founder of Praxos Capital Timestamps:

Perp DEXs are on fire, with volumes topping $1 trillion a month for the first time.  Aster, backed by YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs), has suddenly vaulted to the top of volume charts, but is its rise organic, or manufactured?  But while everyone frames the battle as Aster vs. Hyperliquid, Syncracy’s Ryan Watkins and Sunny Shi argue the real fight is much bigger: decentralized exchanges versus centralized giants like Binance.  Plus: what role Solana will play in the next chapter in the perps DEX wars? And won’t Ethereum even compete?  Thank you to our sponsors! ⁠Binance⁠ Token2049 Guests: Ryan Watkins, Co-Founder of Syncracy Capital Sunny Shi, Investor at Syncracy Capital Links: Unchained:  Nearly $12 Billion in HYPE Token Unlocks Loom Ahead: Maelstrom Why Hyperliquid Should Cut Its Total Token Supply Nearly in Half Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DoubleZero just launched its mainnet-beta, offering a new type of high-performance fiber network for blockchains, live across 5 continents and already adopted by 20%+ of Solana stake. Co-founder Austin Federa joins Unchained to walk through: How DoubleZero creates a dedicated internet for crypto Who contributes fiber and why they earn the 2Z token What the SEC’s no-action letter means for crypto and DePIN specifically And what this could unlock for L2s, onchain trading, and more Thank you to our sponsors! ⁠Binance⁠ Token2049 Guest: Austin Federa, Co-founder of DoubleZero Timestamps:

This week on Unchained, we’ve got a double-header. First, Zach Abrams, CEO of Bridge (acquired by Stripe), unveils Open Issuance, a platform designed to let any company launch its own stablecoin. He explains why the stablecoin duopoly is ending, why fragmentation won’t slow adoption, and how stablecoins could pair with AI to reshape global money movement. Then, Kenny Li, co-founder of Manta Network, joins to reveal why Manta is pivoting away from being just another L2. He argues that the scaling wars are oversaturated, that mercenary users make infra battles a fight for crumbs, and that the real prize is at the application layer. Thank you to our sponsors! Mantle Aptos Guests: Zach Abrams, Co-Founder and CEO of Bridge Kenny Li, Co-Founder and Core Contributor of Manta Network Links: Unchained:  How New Stablecoin Startup Bridge Got Acquired by Stripe for $1.1B MetaMask Stablecoin mUSD Goes Live Why JPMorgan and Shopify Are Rolling Out New Products

Crypto’s bull run may be far from over, but the battleground is shifting.  On this week’s Bits + Bips, Bill Barhydt of Abra and Robert Leshner of Superstate join Ram Ahluwalia and Steven Ehrlich to debate:  The current state of the markets with a looming government shutdown  SWIFT’s move to build on Linea, an Ethereum layer 2 Hyperliquid vs Aster The future of perps vs. spot  Why some DATs are starting to look like grifts  Whether DeFi billionaires will ultimately eclipse their CeFi predecessors  Plus: Binance’s and Tether’s valuation, CZ as the entrepreneur of the decade, and why the industry may be entering an era of “perpification.” Thank you to Xapo for sponsoring this episode! Hosts: Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida Steven Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained Guests:  Bill Barhydt, Founder and CEO of Abra Robert Leshner, Co-founder & CEO of Superstate Links: Steve’s story on the DAT that claimed it raised much more

 Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, we’re joined by Farooq Malik, co-founder and CEO of Rain, as two parallel wars erupt across crypto: the Perp DEX war between Hyperliquid and the CZ-backed Aster, and the deepening battle for stablecoin dominance. As Aster rockets to $30B in daily volume, we debate whether it’s real adoption or points-fueled froth — and what it means for Hyperliquid’s lead. Then we dive into Tether’s shocking $500B valuation play, Circle’s shrinking moat, and how Rain is building real-world rails for stablecoin payments. If crypto has two new battlegrounds — trading venues and money itself — this is where the future is getting drawn. Show highlights

How do stablecoin-first blockchains win distribution? Does TVL actually map to value? And why speculation may become the default language of online culture. In this 3-part episode, we explore three different important stories. Segment 1: CoinFund’s Seth Ginns explains how newly launched stablecoin chain Plasma aims to compete, plus why the “stablecoin race” with Circle and Stripe is just beginning. Segment 2: Solana Foundation president Lily Liu lays out why revenue—not TVL—should be crypto’s north-star metric, whether TVL can be easily gamed, and what a better DeFi metric stack looks like. Segment 3: Figment Capital’s James Parillo makes the case for Pump.fun and “AudienceFi”: how creator coins can financialize streaming, whether token collapses are a feature, and why both perps and memecoins rhyme with gambling. Thank you to our sponsors! TOKEN2049 - Get 15% off with code UNCHAINED Binance Guests: James Parillo, General Partner at Figment Capital Lily Liu, P

Crypto investors love to throw around “FDV” as if it’s the ultimate measure of value. But what if that number is more misleading than helpful?  In this episode, DBA’s Jon Charbonneau explains his proposal to cut Hyperliquid’s supply by nearly half, why he believes FDV overstates real valuations, and how outdated tokenomics are holding projects back.  We also cover whether the Hyperliquid team should take smaller allocations if they cut the token supply and what Jon thinks of Arthur Hayes’ HYPE sale just weeks after saying the token would 10x. Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsor, ⁠Mantle⁠! Guest: Jon Charbonneau, Co-founder and General Partner of DBA Links: Proposal to Reduce HYPE Total Supply by 45% by Jon Charbonneau, Co-founder of DBA Maelstrom post: HYPE's Damocles Sword Unchained: Nearly $12 Billion in HYPE Token Unlocks Loom Ahead: Maelstrom  Timestamps:

Markets had a flood of liquidations on Monday, and traders lost over $1.5 billion in positions. So, why are liquidations spiking? Is this a warning or a blip?  Also, could a flood of DAT issuance be setting the stage for not just a crypto winter, but a crypto “nuclear” winter? If so, hedge funds and market structure could accelerate the pain.  This week on Bits + Bips, Steven Ehrlich, Ram Ahluwalia, Austin Campbell, and Vinny Lingham talk about why mNAVs could compress and whether even MicroStrategy’s stack is more fragile than it looks.  They debate the bull case for gold (yes, even at these ATHs), how tokenized stocks and changing reporting cadences could open new insider edges, and what the U.S. macro picture looks like.  Thank you to our sponsors! Walrus: Scalable storage that lets you publish, deliver, and program any data, onchain. Xapo: Where Global Banking Meets Bitcoin Hosts: Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida Steven Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained