Unchained

Episodes

• Is Binance Smart Chain Being Run 'Like the Project of a Stoned Teenager?' Two BSC Execs Answer - Ep.310

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  Jan 18 2022

  Binance Smart Chain is the third largest chain by TVL and its token, BNB, is the third-largest token by market capitalization. However, there are questions about hacks, centralization, lack of developer support, and sketch MEV transactions. On Unchained, Gwendolyn Regina, investment director of the Binance Smart Chain Growth Fund, and Samy Karim, ecosystem coordinator at Binance Smart Chain, give a candid interview discussing BSC, from its amazing growth in 2021 to some of the toughest questions surrounding the chain. Topics covered include: how and why BSC grew from 50,000 daily active users to about 7 million over the course of 2021 what differentiates Binance Chain and Binance Smart Chain why Binance Smart Chain decided to design its blockchain with only 21 validators how Gwen and Samy envision BSC fitting into a multichain future what plans BSC has to scale its throughput  why blockchain gaming is so important to BSC and how it will use its $1 billion growth fund to grow the gaming aspect of the chain how BSC’s relationship between Binance and BNB works    In the second half of the show, Sam and Gwendolyn respond to a few critiques, such as: is BSC really innovating, or is it just a copy and paste blockchain of Ethereum? why are there so many failed transactions on BSC? how is BSC addressing the numerous hacks on the blockchain? why has BSC’s share of total value locked among smart contract blockchains fallen from 20% in May to 6%?  how is BSC attempting to help developers, who, according to some critical posts, are struggling to work with BSC? why does it appear that some validators are front running without risk? does BSC have a future if Ethereum scales?  what does BSC have planned for 2022? Thank you to our sponsor! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021          Beefy Finance: https://beefy.finance Alchemy Pay:  https://alchemypay.org    Episode Links Gwendolyn Regina Twitter: https://twitter.com/gwendolynregina?lang=en Website: https://www.gwendolynregina.com/   Samy Karim LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samsulkarim/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/cryp7omaxi    Binance Smart Chain Website: https://www.binance.org/en  Documentation: https://docs.binance.org/index.html  Binance Validator Reqs: https://academy.binance.com/en/articles/a-quick-guide-to-bnb-staking-on-binance-smart-chain-bsc Whitepaper: https://dex-bin.bnbstatic.com/static/Whitepaper_%20Binance%20Smart%20Chain.pdf    Binance 2021 Recap https://twitter.com/gwendolynregina/status/1476089910498971648   Misc Top BSC apps: https://dappradar.com/rankings/protocol/binance-smart-chain    Criticisms “Stoned teenager:” https://github.com/binance-chain/bsc/issues/553  NullQubit: https://github.com/binance-chain/bsc/issues/658  Other Larry Cermak: https://twitter.com/lawmaster/status/1359426876440207361  Wilson Withiam: https://twitter.com/WilsonWithiam/status/1381420702918664194  Ryan Watkins: https://twitter.com/RyanWatkins_/status/1381421858675953665    BSC Research Nansen: https://www.nansen.ai/research/the-binance-smart-chain-scalability-in-action Bison Trails: https://bisontrails.co/guide-to-bsc/  Decrypt:  https://decrypt.co/58654/how-binance-put-the-smarts-in-its-smart-chain  https://decrypt.co/57420/binance-smart-chain-is-starting-to-rival-ethereum-heres-why  Messari (Pro): https://messari.io/article/exploring-the-binance-smart-chain-ecosystem  Galaxy Digital: https://docsend.com/view/tdgbf4sfmyd7sr3m    Twitter questions I received about Binance Smart Chain https://twitter.com/laurashin/status/1480582386677133313  ...more

  Episode

• Why Are NFTs the One Bright Spot in the Crypto Markets? - Ep.309

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  Jan 14 2022

  Avid NFT collector Aftab Hossain (aka @iamDCinvestor on Crypto Twitter) discusses why OpenSea and NFT volumes are popping to start 2022, how LooksRare’s vampire attack is a good thing for the NFT market, and how royalties affect a project’s trading potential. Show topics: why Aftab thinks NFT floor prices are rising and what role NFT “flippers” have to do with his theory whether the NFT industry could continue growing even if fungible crypto assets enter a bear market how the LooksRare vampire attack on OpenSea works why people are wash trading NFTs on LooksRare why Aftab would choose to list NFTs on LooksRare over OpenSea whether LooksRare’s vampire attack will force OpenSea to decentralize and/or tokenize what sort of NFT projects should have royalties… and which projects shouldn’t  Thank you to our sponsors! Avado: ava.do Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021    Episode Links   Aftab Hossain Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamDCinvestor   LooksRare LooksRare vampire attack + wash trading:  https://decrypt.co/90317/ethereum-nft-market-looksrare-wash-trading https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2022/01/11/one-day-after-launch-opensea-competitor-looksrare-sells-over-100m-in-nfts/  LooksRare: https://twitter.com/LooksRareNFT  LooksRare vs OpenSea data: https://dune.xyz/hildobby/LooksRare-VS-OpenSea   Background Links NFT volume to start the year: https://cryptopotato.com/opensea-records-over-2-billion-in-trading-volume-early-in-2022/  OpenSea metrics: https://dune.xyz/rchen8/opensea  Fred Ehrsam tweet: https://twitter.com/FEhrsam/status/1370414944265572353 The Chopping Block: https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-chopping-block-why-the-crypto-markets-have-been-down-this-week/  Nas NFTs:  ​https://decrypt.co/89881/rap-legend-nas-sells-2-songs-as-nfts-on-dj-3laus-royal-platform  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/130123/3lau-backed-platform-royal-crashes-during-first-music-nft-drop-mint-delayed  OpenSea IPO rumors: https://decrypt.co/87701/opensea-ipo-criticism-crypto-ethereum-token  SushiSwap vampire attack: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/76419/uniswap-fork-sushiswap-700-million-total-value-locked ...more

  Episode

• The Chopping Block: Why the Crypto Markets Have Been Down This Week - Ep.308

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  Jan 13 2022

  The Chopping Block is back! Crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra chop it up about the latest news in the digital asset industry. Show topics: why crypto assets experienced a drawdown after last week’s FOMC meeting that hinted at accelerated rate hikes which emerging assets Tarun, Haseeb, and Tom envision weathering a bear market which assets could be further hurt by a continued bear market the significance of Paradigm and Sequoia investing in Citadel Securities what aspects of Signal CEO Moxie Marlinspike’s web3 article Haseeb, Tom, and Tarun take umbrage with whether Cryptoland is crypto’s Fyre Festival or whether it’s the metaverse what the heck is going on with the Pudgy Penguins community the lessons from the CFTC’s fine of Polymarket (disclosure: a former sponsor of my shows)   Episode Links   Hosts Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly Capital https://twitter.com/hosseeb Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly Capital https://twitter.com/tomhschmidt Tarun Chitra, managing partner at Robot Ventures https://twitter.com/tarunchitra    Topics   FOMC = Crypto assets dip https://www.ar.ca/blog/debunking-more-overreactions-to-macro-a-ronin-case-study Paradigm + Sequoia invest in Citadel Securities https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/01/11/paradigm-sequoia-to-invest-115b-in-citadel-securities-bringing-trading-firm-closer-to-crypto/ Cryptoland https://thenextweb.com/news/welcome-to-cryptoland-real-island-cryptocurrency-fans-analysis Moxie Marlinspike’s first impressions of web3 https://moxie.org/2022/01/07/web3-first-impressions.html Pudgy Penguins drama https://thedefiant.io/fire-on-the-iceberg-pudgy-penguin-holders-eye-coup-amid-acquisition-talks/ Polymarket fined by CFTC ​​https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/01/03/cftc-fines-crypto-betting-service-polymarket-14m-for-unregistered-swaps/ ...more

  Episode

• Can Crypto Be a Force in the Midterms? Yes, Say Kristin Smith and Jake Chervinsky - Ep.307

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  Jan 11 2022

  Kristin Smith, executive director at Blockchain Association, and Jake Chervinsky, head of Policy at Blockchain Association, discuss the current state of crypto regulation. Show topics: why 2021 was a watershed year for crypto regulation and lobbying why Jake decided to move from Compound Labs to Blockchain Association what Kristin and Jake think about the current state of regulation in the crypto industry how crypto education will play a significant role in Blockchain Association efforts going forward how crypto will affect midterm elections why Kristin thinks crypto will not be a partisan issue long term what sort of budget Blockchain Association functions on what Kristin and Jake think about the President’s Working Group report on stablecoins why Jake does not think the US should issue a CBDC what Blockchain Association’s take is on SEC commissioner Hester Peirce’s “safe harbor” proposal why Kristin and Jake believes the idea of a “crypto czar” is not feasible how regulators are treating DeFi going into 2022 how crypto tax guidelines could be improved for centralized exchanges how Blockchain Association thinks tax code 6050I should be applied what issues could arise from DAOs in 2022+ what listeners can do to address the different regulatory topics discussed in this podcast Thank you to our sponsor! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021             Show Links   Guests Jake Chervinsky: https://twitter.com/jchervinsky  Kristin Smith: https://twitter.com/kmsmithdc Previous Unchained appearances: https://unchainedpodcast.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-looming-battle-over-privacy-in-crypto/ https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-congress-might-pass-laws-bad-for-proof-of-stake-and-defi/  ​​https://unchainedpodcast.com/all-things-crypto-regulation-with-jake-chervinsky/ https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-is-the-proposed-fincen-rule-for-unhosted-wallets-being-pushed-so-quickly/ https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-congress-might-pass-laws-bad-for-proof-of-stake-and-defi/ https://unchainedpodcast.com/what-the-crypto-industry-could-see-under-a-biden-administration/ https://unchainedpodcast.com/when-is-a-token-decentralized-enough-to-not-be-a-security-ep-056/     The Blockchain Association Website: https://theblockchainassociation.org/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlockchainAssn  2021 growth: ​​https://theblockchainassociation.org/crypto-industrys-leading-trade-association-more-than-doubles-membership-in-2021/ Jake joining the team: https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-influence/2021/11/09/blockchain-association-fills-out-its-washington-team-with-seasoned-hands-798774 Regulatory Topics Discussed: a16z  https://a16z.com/2021/10/13/an-agenda-for-the-future-of-the-internet/ Tax Code 6050i https://www.coincenter.org/congress-takes-its-war-on-cash-to-digital-assets/ https://unchainedpodcast.com/not-reporting-info-on-some-transaction-partners-could-soon-be-a-felony/  Infrastructure Bill https://twitter.com/jerrybrito/status/1461317078175072263 President’s Working Group stablecoin report https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/11/01/biden-administration-to-congress-put-stablecoins-under-federal-supervision-or-we-will/ FATF Guidance https://twitter.com/coincenter/status/1453700485484097537    Articles Jake Mentioned Jake on CBDCs: https://www.coindesk.com/layer2/2021/12/21/secure-americas-financial-strength-with-stablecoins-not-central-banks/  Gabriel Shapiro on DAOs: https://lexnode.substack.com/p/wyomings-legal-dao-saster  Morgan Harper thread: https://twitter.com/mh4oh/status/1463219384776806402    General Regulatory Information Messari Crypto Theses  pages 52-90 is an excellent summary of EVERYTHING going on in crypto regulation Page 29 talks about Kristin directly Page 56 talks about blockchain association directly  https://messari.io/pdf/messari-report-crypto-theses-for-2022.pdf CoinDesk → How the crypto regulatory scene has evolved https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/12/28/how-cryptos-regulatory-scene-might-evolve-in-2022/ Decrypt on Gensler’s 2021 https://decrypt.co/88966/crypto-person-of-the-year-201-gary-gensler-sec  Blockchain Association policy positions https://theblockchainassociation.org/policy-positions/  ...more

  Episode

• 65% of Active Developers Joined Web3 in 2021 - Ep.306

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  Jan 07 2022

  Electric Capital’s Maria Shen dives into her company’s recently published research report about Web3 open-source development in 2021 and shares her thoughts and insights on how developers are flocking to Web3 in a manner that goes far beyond just Bitcoin and Ethereum. Show topics: Maria’s biggest takeaways from the Electric Capital Developer Report how developer growth is affected by asset price which ecosystems are growing fastest why Maria thinks the growth in Bitcoin development has slowed down why Maria is so impressed by Ethereum’s performance in terms of retaining developers how closed-source development on, for example, Solana or Flow could affect the report’s findings the significance of Polkadot, Solana, NEAR, Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, and Terra growing faster than Ethereum did at similar points in its history developer growth in DeFi during 2021 why Electric Capital did not study developer growth for NFTs, DAOs, or gaming why Maria is so interested in studying community growth going forward what Maria will be watching for in 2022 Thank you to our sponsors! Avado: ava.do Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021    Episode Links   Maria Shen https://twitter.com/MariaShen  Previous Unchained appearance: https://unchainedpodcast.com/electric-capital-on-the-coins-punching-below-their-weight/    Electric Capital https://www.electriccapital.com/   Electric Capital Developer Report (2021) https://medium.com/electric-capital/electric-capital-developer-report-2021-f37874efea6d  Previous reports: https://medium.com/electric-capital  ...more

  Episode

• Crypto 2022 Outlook: Where Will the Markets Go This Year? Plus DeFi and NFTs - Ep.305

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  Jan 04 2022

  Larry Cermak, VP of research at The Block, and Igor Igamberdiev, director of research and data at The Block, recap the most significant trends of 2021 (BTC mining, L1s, NFTs, DeFi, venture funding) and discuss what might happen in 2022. Show topics: why 2021 was so significant for the crypto industry why the crypto markets didn’t see a blow-off top at the end of the calendar year the way they typically do about a year after a Bitcoin halving what Larry thinks about whether the crypto market is in a supercycle how the state of BTC and ETH mining changed in the past year why Igor thinks multichain technology was key to a record-breaking year for venture capital entering the crypto space in 2021 how the layer 1 (L1) ecosystem wars played out in 2021 and what it could look like in 2022 what Larry and Igor think of Ethereum layer 2s (L2s) how Ethereum’s shift to 2.0 could affect the L1 race what Larry thinks about DeFi tokens going into 2022 how DeFi trends, like decentralized exchange volume and lending, played out in 2021 why Igor thinks KYC-DeFi (know-your-customer decentralized finance) is inevitable what Larry thinks about NFTs going in 2022 and why he thinks PFPs are dead Larry and Igor’s outlook on the metaverse going into the new year Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021        Episode Links Guests Larry Cermak: https://twitter.com/lawmaster  Igor Igamberdiev: https://twitter.com/FrankResearcher   The Block’s 2022 Digital Asset Outlook Report https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/127723/the-block-research-2021-digital-asset-outlook-report ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: Song a Day NFTs With Jonathan Mann + Your 2022 Crypto Predictions! - Ep.304

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  Dec 31 2021

  Jonathan Mann has published a song a day for 13 years. On Unchained, he talks about his writing process, how he came up with the idea of publishing his songs as NFTs, his plans for a DAO he created called SongADAO, and more. Show topics: the significance and process of making a song a day for 13 years straight how Jonathan monetized his content in the early days (2009) of the internet what crypto event sent Jonathan down the rabbit hole and how Vitalik Buterin was involved why CryptoPunks piqued Jonathan’s interest in monetizing his content on-chain how being in the crypto world has changed Jonathan’s creative process where his song data is being uploaded in the context of web2 and web3  how SongADAO will work and how it could change the paradigm of the music industry the characteristics of his 12/31/2021 NFT drop, which will see over 3,000 songs minted  Jonathan plays “Mongoose Coin” for the Unchained audience, a song he made about Senator Brad Sherman’s comments about cryptocurrency in a recent hearing.  Thank you to our sponsors! Avado: ava.do Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021  Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ    Episode Links:   Jonathan Mann Twitter: https://twitter.com/songadaymann  Website: https://www.jonathanmann.net/  Instagram: ​​https://www.instagram.com/jonathanmann/   Song A Day: YouTube: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanmann/ Minting website: https://songaday.world/  OpenSea: https://opensea.io/collection/song-a-day    Tweet Thread on Song A Day + SongADAO (must read if you are interested in Jonathan’s work)  ​https://twitter.com/songadaymann/status/1475210923124178951    Jonathan at Devcon https://www.jonathanmann.net/devcon    Mongoose Coin https://decrypt.co/87904/congressional-hearing-spawns-mob-mongoose-based-meme-coins  ...more

  Episode

• The Chopping Block: 2021 in Crypto: The Biggest Winners, Biggest Losers, and Best Memes - Ep.303

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  Dec 30 2021

  Welcome to the inaugural episode of The Chopping Block, a new show on Unchained hosted by Haseeb Qureshi, Robert Leshner, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra, in which they discuss the latest juicy topics in crypto. This week, the four crypto heavyweights take a look back at 2021. Show topics: Biggest winners and losers Best mechanism  Biggest surprise Best meme Predictions for 2022   Without revealing too much, Haseeb, Robert, Tom, and Tarun cover a lot of ground, diving into “esoteric” subjects like Luna tokenomics, the Tezos NFT marketplace HEN, the origins of web3, the Grayscale arbitrage opportunity, OHM, Convex Finance, single-basis point liquidity pools on Uniswap, and Empty Set Dollar. They also tackle more popular topics like BTC, Dogecoin, NFT marketplaces, L1s, and more.    Episode Links   Hosts Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly Capital https://twitter.com/hosseeb Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly Capital https://twitter.com/tomhschmidt Robert Leshner, managing partner at Robot Ventures https://twitter.com/rleshner Tarun Chitra, managing partner at Robot Ventures https://twitter.com/tarunchitra    Biggest Winners: L1 performance in 2021: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/128603/in-2021-l1-blockchains-took-the-spotlight-thanks-to-defi  Coinbase IPO: https://unchainedpodcast.com/is-coinbase-stock-a-good-buy-this-analyst-says-yes/  Solana: https://www.notboring.co/p/solana-summer  OpenSea: https://www.readthegeneralist.com/briefing/opensea  Lido: https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/is-lido-undervalued  Dogecoin: https://docsend.com/view/vutymtgqjf99yrpu  Solana early investors:  ​https://www.theinformation.com/articles/solana-generates-1-billion-in-returns-for-early-backers    Mechanisms Uniswap V3: https://uniswap.org/blog/launch-uniswap-v3   Convex Finance (+ Curve): https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/11/11/curve-wars-heat-up-emergency-dao-invoked-after-clear-governance-attack/  OHM: https://www.coingecko.com/buzz/what-is-olympusdao-and-how-does-it-work  ESD: https://medium.com/@lewisfreiberg/empty-set-dollar-esd-a0abbfc5ecdb     Biggest Losers: Grayscale: https://dcresearch.medium.com/interpreting-grayscale-premiums-gbtc-ethe-a7261dd8cfca  Bitcoin: https://www.coindesk.com/price/bitcoin/ HEN: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/news+/126688/tezos-art-marketplace-hen  EOS: https://cryptonews.com/news/eos-down-as-community-forks-out-blockone.htm    Biggest Surprises Uniswap pool analytics:https://info.uniswap.org/#/pools  NFTs: https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/11/22325054/beeple-christies-nft-sale-cost-everydays-69-million + https://decrypt.co/89060/bored-ape-yacht-club-nfts-flip-cryptopunks-floor-price-in-ethereum  Luna: https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2021/11/10/terra-passes-highly-anticipated-proposal-to-burn-nearly-89m-luna/    Best Memes Dog coins: https://nypost.com/2021/12/27/santa-floki-cryptocurrency-surges-3500-after-elon-musk-tweet/   SBF shoes: https://twitter.com/zackseward/status/1468641558346059777  Grimes tweet: https://twitter.com/grimezsz/status/1449528005966000129  Web3: https://www.coindesk.com/learn/what-is-web-3-and-why-is-everyone-talking-about-it/    ...more

  Episode

• Why NFT OG Mitchell Chan Has Released Just One Project This Year - Ep.302

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  Dec 28 2021

  Mitchell F. Chan, who released one of the first NFT projects on Ethereum back in 2017, discusses his projects, making art on a blockchain, how NFTs are transforming the traditional art world, and more. Show topics: Mitchell’s art career before NFTs how Mitchell was inspired by Yves Klein’s 1950's work 'Zones of Immaterial Pictorial Sensibility’ the story behind Mitchell’s OG NFT art project: ‘Digital Zones of Immaterial Pictorial Sensibility’  what the traditional world thinks about NFTs who is collecting NFT art the story behind Mitchell’s 2021 NFT project: ‘LeWitt Generator Generator’ why Mitchell has not minted any more NFTs this year – even though the market has been on fire whether Mitchell thinks NFTs are changing the art world (hint: he thinks yes) NFTs and the financialization of art why Mitchell can empathize with some of the backlash about NFTs coming from the traditional art and gaming industries Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021        Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ         Brave: http://brave.com/Unchained     Episode Links   Mitchell Chan Twitter: https://twitter.com/mitchellfchan Discord: https://discord.com/invite/4QdtdZWMpN  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mitchellfchan/  Gallery: https://chan.gallery/    Content: DIGITAL ZONES OF IMMATERIAL PICTORIAL SENSIBILITY (Sotheby’s NFT - $1M+) Sotheby’s Sale: https://metaverse.sothebys.com/natively-digital/lots/digital_zone_of_immaterial_pictorial_sensibility  33 Page Essay: https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmcdKPjcJgYX2k7weqZLoKjHqB9tWxEV5oKBcPV6L8b5dD https://twitter.com/mitchellfchan/status/1465699544436330496  OpenSea: https://opensea.io/collection/ikb-cachet-de-garantie-1  TL;DR: https://twitter.com/LeonidasNFT/status/1470397221548052480  Video Essays on NFTs (super interesting) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtUGpOe-zE4&list=PLVRveZVaYYqHZKN_5oH8wC5QBRMMlXdBT&t=25s  Sol Lewitt Generator Generator https://medium.com/@mitchellfchan/nfts-generative-art-and-sol-lewitt-e99a5fa2b0cb  ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: What Could the Crypto Media Do Better? Four Journalists Discuss - Ep.301

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  Dec 24 2021

  Merry Christmas (Eve)! For this special episode of Unchained, three other crypto journalists and I discuss their favorite stories from the past twelve months, how they would grade crypto journalism in 2021, and what they are looking forward to covering in 2022. Show highlights: what stories Michael, Michael, Jeff, and I will remember from a ~busy~ 2021  why 2021 is “clearly the biggest year” yet for the industry how CoinDesk, Forbes, and Decrypt can improve their news coverage in 2022 what Michael, Michael, Jeff, and I think about all the negative energy directed at journalists from the crypto and tech space how mainstream media can do a better job covering crypto predictions for what the biggest stories of 2022 will be Thank you to our sponsors! Avado: ava.do Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021  Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ    Michael Casey  Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikejcasey CoinDesk: https://www.coindesk.com/ Unchained Appearances ​​Why Bitcoin Now: Michael Casey and Niall Ferguson on How Bitcoin Fits in the History of Money https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-michael-casey-and-niall-ferguson-on-how-bitcoin-fits-in-the-history-of-money/ Live from SXSW: Michael Casey and Paul Vigna, Co-Authors of The Truth Machine, on Why the SEC Has Issued Subpoenas to ICOs https://unchainedpodcast.com/live-from-sxsw-michael-casey-and-paul-vigna-co-authors-of-the-truth-machine-on-why-the-sec-has-issued-subpoenas-to-icos/   Michael del Castillo Twitter: https://twitter.com/delRayMan Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/   Jeff Roberts Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeffjohnroberts Decrypt: https://decrypt.co/  Unchained Appearances Will Coinbase Do a Token Offering When It Goes Public? https://unchainedpodcast.com/will-coinbase-do-a-token-offering-when-it-goes-public/ Coinbase’s S-1: The Number That May Make the Exchange Nervous https://unchainedpodcast.com/coinbases-s-1-the-number-that-may-make-the-exchange-nervous/ ...more

  Episode

• This Noble Family's Art Was Taken by Nazis, But Is Being Saved by NFTs - Ep.300

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  Dec 21 2021

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: $12 Billion Has Been Lost in DeFi Value to Crime. Here’s How - Ep.299

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  Dec 17 2021

  Jess Symington, research lead at Elliptic, a blockchain forensics company, discusses the massive upswing in DeFi hacks during 2021, resulting in over $10 billion of DeFi value lost. Show topics: the state of crime in DeFi how much value has been lost to exploits whether the majority of hacks are the result of user or developer error the various types of exploits how to confirm when a project did, in fact, rug pull which blockchains are most susceptible to having exploits what has been happening recently in ransomware how DeFi hackers cash out why ransomware attackers, who usually request payment in Bitcoin, have a tougher time cashing out than DeFi hackers  whether hackers trend towards a specific profile/demographics  how easy it is for law enforcement to find hackers  whether blockchain’s transparency is proving to be a helpful tool for regulators Jess’s advice on how to prevent hacks for both protocols and users   Thank you to our sponsors! Avado: ava.do Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021    Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ      Episode Links   Elliptic Website: https://www.elliptic.co/  Blog: https://www.elliptic.co/blog    Hack Coverage Elliptic Research DeFi: Risk, Regulation and the Rise of DeCrime: https://www.elliptic.co/resources/defi-risk-regulation-and-the-rise-of-decrime https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/14/common-defi-crypto-related-scams-and-how-to-protect-your-wallet.html  https://cryptobriefing.com/elliptic-estimates-12b-lost-to-defi-exploits/  Rekt Leaderboard (giving a dollar figure for recent hacks along with a summary of what happened) https://rekt.news/leaderboard/    Unchained Podcast on Ransomware https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-ransomware-evolved-into-a-big-business/   ...more

  Episode

• How Yield Guild Games Is Revolutionizing the Future of Work and Investment - Ep.298

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  Dec 14 2021

  Gabby Dizon, cofounder of Yield Guild Games, discusses his background in gaming, why he started Yield Guild Games, the performance of Axie Infinity, and more. Show topics: how Gabby fell down the crypto rabbit hole what inspired Gabby to co-found Yield Guild Games what Yield Guild Games does how blockchain games improve upon games in the traditional world a real-life story of Yield Guild Games improving a player’s life why it’s difficult for Yield Guild Games players to cash out earnings and how Yield Guild Games is trying to solve this issue via a partnership with XLD why Gabby thinks the value of $SLP in Axie Infinity is dropping what sort of game and tokenization mechanisms work best for blockchain games why Gabby wants a new Ethereum token standard what Gabby thinks makes an in-game NFT valuable why Axie Infinity is popular in the Philippines and Venezuela  where Yield Guild Games is attempting to expand next how Yield Guild Games built out the tokenomics for YGG, the guild’s native token what Gabby thinks about P2E games on chains outside of Ethereum how Yield Guild Games is decentralizing  how blockchain games are changing the nature of work  what sort of jobs exist in the metaverse why Gabby buys NFTs Gabby’s crypto prediction for 2022   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021      Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ      Brave: http://brave.com/Unchained     Episode Notes Gabby Dizon -- cofounder at Yield Guild Games Twitter: https://twitter.com/gabusch  Website: https://y.at/%F0%9F%95%B9%F0%9F%A5%8A%F0%9F%96%BC%F0%9F%A5%83   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabbydizon/  Cointelegraph profile https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/2021/04/15/gabby-dizon-making-computer-games-real  Metaverse job board https://twitter.com/gabusch/status/1416682528090460160   Yield Guild Games Twitter: https://twitter.com/YieldGuild  Discord: https://discord.com/invite/ygg Blog: https://medium.com/yield-guild-games  Primer: ​​https://cryptobriefing.com/defi-project-spotlight-yield-guild-games-dao-titan/  A16z investment into YGG https://a16z.com/2021/08/19/investing-in-yield-guild-games/  YGG whitepaper https://yieldguild.io/YGG-Whitepaper-English.pdf  Scholarships https://medium.com/yield-guild-games/yield-guild-explains-play-to-earn-and-scholarships-bb1e097c2a61  Summary of 8 new YGG games: https://coinyuppie.com/a-three-minute-overview-of-yggs-latest-8-games-included-in-the-investment-landscape/    Miscellaneous Axie Infinity documentary:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo-BrASMHU4  XLD Token = “real-world use case” https://twitter.com/gabusch/status/1467763722257301507 https://xld.medium.com/xld-finance-and-yield-guild-games-partner-to-enable-play-to-earn-gamers-to-pay-bills-with-crypto-d35c80d29a0d Play to Earn token economics https://twitter.com/mikojava/status/1459041371289841666  Axie Infinity + Filipino Workers Good:  https://twitter.com/kookoocryptotv/status/1461164984117784576 Declining wages:  https://twitter.com/larsiusprime/status/1459191090100244483    Unchained Episodes on Axie Infinity Axie Infinity’s July Revenue Tops $200 Million. Here’s How Filipinos Drove It (Leah Callon-Butler) https://unchainedpodcast.com/axie-infinitys-july-revenue-tops-200-million-heres-how-filipinos-drove-it/ How Axie Infinity Boosted Revenue 400%+ in 30 Days (Aleksander Larsen, Axie Infinity COO) https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-axie-infinity-boosted-revenue-400-in-30-days/  ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: 3 Things SushiSwap Needs to Get in Order, According to Arca - Ep.297

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  Dec 10 2021

  Jeff Dorman, the chief investment officer at Arca, discusses the recent events surrounding SushiSwap, including CTO Joseph Delong’s departure this week, Arca’s proposal to create a hierarchical management structure for SushiSwap, and why Jeff is still excited about Arca’s investment in SushiSwap. Show topics: what SushiSwap is and how it has performed since its inception how Jeff views SushiSwap’s performance from an investor’s perspective how the departure of 0xMaki affected SushiSwap what Jeff thinks about the decentralization versus centralization  why Jeff thinks SushiSwap is in a fantastic position in which to receive investment what happened with the controversy around Joseph Delong leading to his resignation this week  what Jeff thinks about how Joseph handled his departure what three factors SushiSwap needs to figure out in order to function why SushiSwap could benefit from creating a legal entity why Jeff is in favor of hierarchical governance structures versus flat governance structures how SushiSwap could become a trendsetter for DAOs in general   Thank you to our sponsors! Avado: ava.do Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021   Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ     Episode Links:    Jeff Dorman Twitter https://twitter.com/jdorman81  Arca https://www.ar.ca/    Joseph Delong’s Departure The Block’s coverage:  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/126411/sushiswap-cto-threatens-to-quit-as-infighting-escalates https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/126879/sushiswaps-cto-resigns-amid-infighting The Defiant: https://thedefiant.io/sushiswap-leadership-crisis/   Sushi Bickering on Twitter Screenshot of 0xMaki being ousted: https://twitter.com/makibacknow/status/1463078678724632576/photo/1 Joseph Delong on SushiSwap drama: https://twitter.com/josephdelong/status/1467498481573052427  Joseph Delong’s resignation: https://twitter.com/josephdelong/status/1468689021530427395  Boring Crypto on SushiSwap drama: https://twitter.com/Boring_Crypto/status/1467162233905893379    SushiSwap Proposals Arca https://forum.sushi.com/t/sushi-dao-restructure-proposal/6282  Bridge compensation https://forum.sushi.com/t/bridge-compensation-for-sushi-core/6217/3    Miscellaneous 0xMaki transitioning to an advisory role https://forum.sushi.com/t/transition-into-advisor/5533  SushiSwap on leadership tumult https://hackmd.io/ipJtfxhuQmqW9B8igew_AA?view     ...more

  Episode

• Crypto Philanthropy: How to Donate to Make Real-World Impact - Ep.296

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  Dec 07 2021

  Some of the biggest names in the crypto industry discuss their personal giving philosophies, how blockchain technology could change the dynamics of giving to charity, and which crypto projects are making a lasting real-world impact. Guests include Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly Capital; Caroline Ellison, co-CEO of Alameda Research; and Arthur Breitman, co-founder of Tezos. Show topics: the definition of effective altruism  why Haseeb thinks crypto is the best industry for effective altruism how Haseeb and Arthur differ in their philosophy of doing good why blockchain technology is less important than liquidity when donating money across borders whether Axie Infinity is making a real-world impact why Arthur thinks Axie’s impact will be short-term and not sustainable whether people should donate now versus later Haseeb’s and Arthur’s thoughts on how giving changes people what people working in crypto can do to give back Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021     Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ     Brave: http://brave.com/Unchained    Episode Links   GiveDirectly https://www.givedirectly.org/unchained — all donations made here will be matched! There are $50,000 in matching funds available!    https://www.givedirectly.org/crypto-for-good-2021/   Guests Caroline Ellison https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-ellison-309216a7 Haseeb Qureshi https://twitter.com/hosseeb  Arthur Breitman https://twitter.com/ArthurB    Miscellaneous Effective Altruism https://www.effectivealtruism.org/articles/introduction-to-effective-altruism/ Code to Inspire https://unchainedpodcast.com/crypto-actually-fixes-this-how-code-to-inspire-uses-crypto-in-afghanistan/  Pineapple Fund https://pineapplefund.org/ BitGive https://www.bitgivefoundation.org/ ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: How Ryan Zurrer Ended Up Spending the Most on a Single NFT Artwork - Ep.295

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  Dec 03 2021

  Ryan Zurrer, founder of Dialectic, a crypto wealth multi-family office, discusses his recent $29 million purchase of Beeple’s Human One and his experience at Art Basel in Miami, along with his thoughts on the NFT space in general. Show highlights: what Human One is and why Ryan purchased it how Ryan and Beeple’s personal relationship factored into the purchase of Human One why Human One is important to the metaverse how Ryan defied the odds in purchasing Human One how Miami’s Art Basel conference missed out by not capitalizing enough on NFTs what Ryan thinks about the NFT industry being described as a bubble how Ryan uses “proof-of-artwork” to determine which NFTs to buy Ryan’s experience visiting Beeple’s art studio/campus where Ryan thinks NFTs will go from here, and why he is so bullish on music NFTs in particular  Thank you to our sponsors! Avado: ava.do Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021  Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ    Episode Links:   Ryan Zurrer Twitter: https://twitter.com/kukulabanze Previous Unchained appearances: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-ryan-zurrer-would-like-to-see-a-new-dao/ https://unchainedpodcast.com/all-things-cryptoeconomics-pt-1-with-olaf-carlson-wee-and-ryan-zurrer-of-polychain-capital/    Human One Beeple x Christie’s interview: https://www.christies.com/features/Beeple-gets-real-with-human-one-11940-7.aspx Barron’s on Human One purchase: https://www.barrons.com/articles/beeples-human-one-video-sculpture-and-nft-sells-for-nearly-29-million-01636506472  Ryan Zurrer purchase: https://twitter.com/kukulabanze/status/1458236032818819075?s=20  Proof-of-Artwork: ​​https://www.decential.io/features/proof-of-artwork-ryan-zurer-on-his-29-million-purchase-of-beeples-human-one   Art Basel Miami https://artbasel.com/miami-beach    Beeple saying NFTs are a “bubble:” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-21/prices-in-a-bubble-beeple-says-after-his-69-million-nft-sale  ...more

  Episode

• Will Solana Be the Execution Layer and Ethereum the Settlement Layer? - Ep.294

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  Nov 30 2021

  On Unchained, two co-founders of Solana Labs, Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal, dive deeply into the Solana ecosystem, discussing everything from the price of SOL to the Solana network outage to the competition between Ethereum and Solana. Show highlights: why Raj thinks SOL’s market cap grew from $86 million to $68 billion in less than a year Anatoly’s and Raj’s background and how they found themselves working together to build Solana why Anatoly thinks Solana will be a general-purpose blockchain rather than specializing in gaming or high frequency trading Anatoly’s goal to make Solana the first billion-user blockchain why Raj thinks NFTs on Solana have been so popular why, in the opinion of Raj and Anatoly, Solana’s purpose has shifted away from high-frequency trading how NFTs could replace ads why “everything is DeFi” how Solana Labs plans to allocate the recent $314 million funding round it raised what lessons Anatoly learned from the 18-hour September network outage technically speaking, what happened to cause Solana’s network outage why Anatoly believes that outages, at this stage, aren’t necessarily a bad thing whether “trading mercenaries” dominated at Solana Breakpoint why developers are interested in building on Solana how Solana and Ethereum compare as execution and settlement layers why Raj doesn’t like framing competition between Solana and Ethereum as a fight how Anatoly views the competition between Ethereum and Solana whether the arrival of Neon Labs, which is bringing EVM to Solana, could lead to developers leaving Ethereum how NFTs and Phantom wallets are bringing in new users for Solana whether Raj and Anatoly would roll back Solana if something like Ethereum’s DAO hack were to occur why Solana has the competitive advantage in throughput, according to Anatoly what would happen if FTX cofounder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried gave up on Solana their predictions for Solana five years from now   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021      Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ      Brave: http://brave.com/Unchained   Episode Links:   Anatoly Yakovenko https://twitter.com/aeyakovenko    Raj Gokal https://twitter.com/rajgokal    Solana News Anatoly Yakovenko -- ​​ It ‘doesn’t really matter’ if the network goes down again https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/124887/solana-labs-ceo-it-doesnt-really-matter-if-the-network-goes-down-again  Neon Labs https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/123744/neon-labs-developer-of-ethereum-virtual-machine-on-solana-raises-40-million Aave + SushiSwap going to Solanas through Neon Labs https://twitter.com/joselitommutuc/status/1462043806207938563  Solana + Brave integration https://decrypt.co/85538/privacy-browser-brave-expands-beyond-ethereum-solana  ATH at $260 https://decrypt.co/85457/solana-hits-all-time-high-of-260  Solana Breakpoint https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/11/15/solana-throws-a-three-day-party-for-itself/  https://www.cryptoglobe.com/latest/2021/11/solana-network-highlights-from-breakpoint-conference-paint-a-very-healthy-picture/  https://decrypt.co/85934/the-view-from-solana-week-in-lisbon  FTX US + Solana NFTs https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/120044/ftx-us-launches-marketplace-for-trading-solana-based-nfts  Solana Outage The Block’s coverage https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/117711/solana-blockchain-validators-restart-network-after-transaction-stoppage  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/117624/solana-experiences-transaction-stoppage-as-developers-report-intermittent-instability  Why the mainnet went down https://twitter.com/buffalu__/status/1437792673784549383   Potential ramifications https://twitter.com/CometShock/status/1437870278684590091  Anatoly Yakovenko Solana outage tweets https://twitter.com/aeyakovenko/status/1437887482897518595 https://twitter.com/aeyakovenko/status/1437784552324358155 https://twitter.com/aeyakovenko/status/1438496595360862215 https://twitter.com/aeyakovenko/status/1438465508412739588 https://twitter.com/aeyakovenko/with_replies  Solana $314M Fundraise https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/107749/solana-labs-raises-314-million-funding-a16z-polychain-capital    Solana Topics Raj thinks Ethereum cannot be killed https://twitter.com/rajgokal/status/1458420316569489410 NFT Growth https://twitter.com/masonnystrom/status/1455556328404013057  https://twitter.com/masonnystrom/status/1459157853848195079  Pplpleasr https://decrypt.co/85964/the-collectoooooor-pplpleasr-latest-nft-art-solana-ethereum  Investment in gaming Forte https://decrypt.co/85966/cosmos-solana-ventures-join-725m-series-b-crypto-gaming-platform-forte  Alexis Ohanian investment https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/cryptocurrency/articles/why-reddit-co-founder-alexis-ohanian-will-invest-100-million-in-solana-social-media/  FTX + Solana https://decrypt.co/85302/ftx-solana-ventures-lightspeed-100m-crypto-gaming  Phantom wallet hits 1M+ users https://decrypt.co/85563/phantom-wallet-preps-mobile-launch-reaching-million-users-solana   Solana Basics CoinMonk: https://medium.com/coinmonks/solana-more-update-for-sol-becb65024877  Solana Labs: https://medium.com/solana-labs/proof-of-history-a-clock-for-blockchain-cf47a61a9274  The Tie: https://research.thetie.io/solana-ecosystem/  Binance.Research: https://research.binance.com/en/projects/solana  Genesis Block: https://genesisblockhk.com/what-is-solana/  Block Explorers: https://explorer.solana.com/supply + https://solanabeach.io/supply + https://solanalysis.com/  Messari: https://messari.io/article/the-perpetual-sol-rise ...more

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• Unconfirmed: Why Astrologer Maren Altman Believes 2023 Will Bring an Innovative 'Cyber Pandemic' - Ep.293

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  Nov 26 2021

  Maren Altman is a professional astrologer and crypto trader. On Unchained, she discusses her end-of-year price target for Bitcoin, how crypto fits into her natal chart, and how she uses planets to divine the price movement of crypto assets. Highlights: why Maren believes she was born to trade cryptocurrencies how long-term planetary transits explain the rise of cryptocurrency why the transits of Uranus, North Node, and Jupiter could lead to a big, extremely innovative “metaverse/cyber pandemic/internet of things” development in spring 2023 how Maren determines the “natal chart” (a birth chart that determines a person or entity’s astrological chart) for cryptocurrencies how Maren uses astrology to trade cryptocurrencies Maren’s price prediction for BTC for the end of the year what astrological factors make Maren think BTC could crash after December 30th Maren’s EOY projections for ETH what Maren thinks about crypto regulation why Maren thinks CBDCs are inevitable whether Maren feels giving alpha for free via TikTok hurts her trading   Thank you to our sponsors! Avado: ava.do Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021     Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ    Episode Links   Maren Altman TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marenaltman Twitter: twitter.com/marenaltman   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marenaltman/  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MarenAltman ...more

  Episode

• The Tokenomics Episode: Why ‘EIP 1559 Is Like Catnip for Investors’ - Ep.292

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  Nov 23 2021

  Two tokenomics experts, Yan Liberman, co-founder of Delphi Digital, and Viktor Bunin, protocol specialist at Coinbase Cloud, discuss their experiences building tokens, their thoughts on the recent ENS/PSP airdrops, and what “fair” token distribution looks like. Show highlights: the definition of tokenomics what factors (such as utility, fairness, liquidity, security, etc.) token designers are incentivizing for what Yan learned from helping design Astroport tokenomics what Vikor learned from helping design Threshold, the token that was built to facilitate the merge of NuCypher and Keep how the EIP 1559 burn has changed Ethereum’s tokenomics how EIP 1559 has improved investor outlook for Ethereum why Viktor is worried about people actually using Ethereum going forward what Viktor and Yan think about how the ENS airdrop farming issue was handled what Viktor and Yan think about ParaSwap’s PSP airdrop and why Viktor thinks ParaSwap made a “mistake” how Viktor and Yan would go about airdropping a token to good actors instead of bad actors how improvements in on-chain identity could help future airdrops  fair launch tokens versus VC-backed tokens what the definition of fair is in terms of tokenomics why Viktor thinks a token’s distribution is more important than a token’s launch what could be the optimal way to distribute liquidity mining rewards how community affects tokenomics how to incentivize NFT-based tokens, like the forthcoming Bored Ape Yacht Club token, for the right goals      Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021      Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ    Yan Liberman -- co founder at Delphi Digital LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanliberman Twitter: https://twitter.com/yanliberman    Viktor Bunin -- protocol specialist at Coinbase (Bison Trails) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/viktorbunin  Twitter: https://twitter.com/ViktorBunin    Tokenomics 101 Primers: The Tie: https://research.thetie.io/token-economics/  Smith and Crown: https://smithandcrown.com/research/issues-of-fairness-in-token-distribution/  A Timeline of Token Distributions: https://blog.coinlist.co/the-evolution-of-token-distribution-models/    Recent Airdrops + Airdrop farming PSP:   https://medium.com/paraswap/introducing-the-psp-token-to-make-paraswap-even-more-efficient-and-decentralized-c4730e50be72  ENS: https://twitter.com/ensdomains/status/1457862602239926274 https://twitter.com/nicksdjohnson/status/1456424366850281488    Airdrop Farming Potential airdrops coming up:  https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/11/09/missed-the-ens-airdrop-here-are-the-crypto-projects-rumored-to-decentralize-next/  https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-airdrops https://www.trustnodes.com/2021/11/14/ethereans-sneak-to-zksync-for-airdrop-farming  PSP drop w/ heavy requirements ​https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2021/11/15/dex-aggregator-paraswap-launches-psp-token-on-heels-of-ens-airdrop-excitement/   ENS Blacklist https://twitter.com/nicksdjohnson/status/1456048492141441027    Topics Mentioned Astroport tokenomics https://astroport.medium.com/hello-astro-announcing-the-astroport-governance-token-drops-a07a1bf3ed94 NuCypher + Keep merge https://decrypt.co/73800/forget-hard-fork-what-happens-after-kee-nucypher-hard-merge SushiSwap vampire attack https://finematics.com/vampire-attack-sushiswap-explained/  Tokemak tokenomics https://medium.com/the-capital/defi-2-0-is-it-the-next-wave-of-cryptocurrency-4499e838ea44    Miscellaneous What is liquidity mining? https://medium.com/coinmonks/what-is-liquidity-mining-and-how-does-it-work-d0ab491e607  The Internet of Money (recommended by Viktor) https://theinternetofmoney.info/    Other Fun Topics  How Token Governance Mechanisms can be implemented https://outlierventures.io/research/what-is-the-secret-to-building-valuable-tokens-part-2/ Crypto Gaming economics https://outlierventures.io/research/p2e-2-0-a-new-economic-model-for-gaming-based-on-crypto-tokens/  Does farming represent progress in token distribution? https://smithandcrown.com/research/adaptations-in-token-distribution-mechanisms-does-farming-represent-progress/  Should treasuries hold native tokens? https://twitter.com/AntonioMJuliano/status/1460278949867442182  ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: ConstitutionDAO Did Not Win the Auction. But It Demonstrated the Power of DAOs - Ep.291

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  Nov 19 2021

  Will Papper, SyndicateDAO co-founder and ConstitutionDAO contributor, tells the story of how a group of internet friends came together as a DAO to crowdfund a $41 million bid at a Sotheby’s auction for a physical copy of the US Constitution. Show highlights: how Will and other ConstitutionDAO members feel after losing the auction the significance of ConstitutionDAO despite its loss whether Will knows who the other bidder was why museums began reaching out to ConstitutionDAO and seem to be excited about DAOs moving forward why there was so much confusion over who was the bidder for the DAO and whether it had won why ConstitutionDAO did not bid more than $41 million -- even though the crowdfund was at nearly $50 million why ConstitutionDAO did not have a crypto-whale help keep the bidding war going how ConstitutionDAO plans to refund participants what Will thinks about using a layer 2 solution to refund ETH for ConstitutionDAO donations how the idea for ConstitutionDAO came about what role Will had in the formation of ConstitutionDAO what lessons can be learned from ConstitutionDAO what’s next for DAOs in general Thank you to our sponsors! Avado: ava.do Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021    Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ      Episode Links   Will Papper Twitter: https://twitter.com/WillPapper LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wpapper    ConstitutionDAO Twitter: https://twitter.com/ConstitutionDAO  Website: https://www.constitutiondao.com/  Contribution page: https://juicebox.money/#/p/constitutiondao    Sotheby’s Auction YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TBa-9Lx3vc    ConstitutionDAO’s Statement After Losing Auction ​​https://twitter.com/ConstitutionDAO/status/1461527516670316544  https://twitter.com/ConstitutionDAO/status/1461498841820192771    Press Not Boring: https://www.notboring.co/p/lets-buy-the-us-constitution  Stratechery: https://stratechery.com/2021/constitutiondao-the-need-for-trust-memes-and-reality/  New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/17/business/crypto-constitution-sothebys.html?smid=tw-share Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/crypto-investors-want-to-buy-rare-copy-of-u-s-constitution-at-sothebys-auction-11637071590  The Defiant: https://thedefiant.io/dao-constitution-4m/ CoinDesk: https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2021/11/15/i-think-were-doing-this-inside-one-daos-20m-plot-to-purchase-the-us-constitution/  William Lobkowicz tweet thread: https://twitter.com/WRLobkowicz/status/1461401142953402371  ...more

  Episode

• PayPal Would Need These Two Things In Order to Issue a Stablecoin - Ep.290

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  Nov 16 2021

  Jose Fernandez da Ponte, PayPal’s senior vice president and general manager of blockchain, crypto, and digital currencies, discusses PayPal’s crypto game plan, how CBDCs might be implemented, crypto regulations, and more. Show highlights: Jose’s path to becoming the GM of blockchain, crypto, and digital currencies at PayPal what factors led to PayPal’s decision to launch its crypto offering what sort of customer makes up PayPal’s crypto demographic how users are engaging with the various PayPal crypto services, like crypto-rewards cards whether the introduction of crypto had anything to do with Venmo’s 36% jump in volume during Q3 2021 how PayPal interacts with Paxos on the backend to settle crypto transactions why Jose thinks PayPal has decided to not add cryptocurrency to its balance sheet how crypto transactions work within PayPal’s internal ledger and how that might change once PayPal launches support for withdrawals off-platform  the three types of directions that Jose believes stablecoins and CBDCs could be built what solutions would need to be built before PayPal would consider issuing its own stablecoin what scaling technologies, be it L1 or L2, PayPal is interested in whether stablecoins and CBDCs can/will co-exist Jose’s thoughts on how long it will be before CBDCs are being issued why Jose thinks that new regulation might be necessary for cryptocurrencies whether PayPal will be participating in decentralized activities, such as on-chain governance why Jose thinks that PayPal’s crypto offering could help improve financial inclusion -- especially for smaller companies why Jose and PayPal are excited about NFTs how PayPal will decide to support new cryptocurrencies on its platform what Jose thinks PayPal’s crypto offering could look like in the future Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021     Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ   Episode Links Jose Fernandez da Ponte LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jose-fernandez-da-ponte-a46ba81/   PayPal Crypto Basics Homepage: https://www.paypal.com/us/digital-wallet/manage-money/crypto FAQs:  https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/cryptocurrency-on-paypal-faq-faq4398 https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/topic/MY_WALLET_PER  Terms + Conditions:  https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/cryptocurrencies-tnc Venmo Crypto:  https://venmo.com/about/crypto/     PayPal Crypto News CEO Dan Schulman on crypto The first purchase https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6vI8P5pOVU Time Magazine coverage https://time.com/5957001/paypal-cryptocurrencty-bitcoin-dan-schulman/ Financial Times coverage https://www.ft.com/content/398c5fa2-8ee5-4eaa-9fe7-04bb4ef996e5  Contribution to the WEF Crypto Regulation paper Paper:  https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Navigating_Cryptocurrency_Regulation_2021.pdf  Comments:  https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2021-09-09-Our-contribution-to-the-World-Economic-Forums-paper-on-cryptocurrency-regulation  Crypto withdrawals: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/05/26/paypal-will-let-customers-withdraw-crypto-exec-says/  Crypto services in the UK: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/22/paypal-crypto-service-launches-in-the-uk.html Launching crypto services: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/84398/paypal-opening-up-app-crypto-users  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/81794/paypal-to-enable-crypto-purchases-with-the-help-of-paxos  https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2020-10-21-PayPal-Launches-New-Service-Enabling-Users-to-Buy-Hold-and-Sell-Cryptocurrency  Exploratory talks regarding a stablecoin: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/103617/paypal-has-held-exploratory-talks-about-launching-a-stablecoin-sources  https://www.businessinsider.com/paypal-rumors-fuel-thoughts-of-stablecoin-support-2021-5  PayPal business unit: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/93668/paypal-crypto-business-unit-earnings-2021 https://blockworks.co/paypal-has-a-new-business-division-dedicated-to-crypto/ PayPal + Paxos: https://paxos.com/2020/10/21/paypal-paxos-bring-crypto-to-millions-of-users/  https://fortune.com/2020/12/17/paypal-investment-round-crypto-firm-paxos/    Misc. PayPal Q3 earnings: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/08/paypal-pypl-earnings-q3-2021.html Super-app: https://www.businessinsider.com/paypal-launches-redesigned-superapp-with-new-features-2021-9 Unchained episode w/ Visa’s Cuy Sheffield: https://unchainedpodcast.com/visa-is-building-infrastructure-for-nfts-smart-contracts-and-l2s-why/  ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: Alameda Research's Sam Trabucco: What Solana Does Better Than Ethereum - Ep.289

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  Nov 12 2021

  Sam Trabucco, co-CEO of Alameda Research, discusses the different price drivers that led to BTC, ETH, SOL, and LUNA reaching new all-time highs in the past week. Show highlights: why Sam believes no bad news from regulators is good news what effect leverage has on the crypto markets the significance of Bitcoin hitting a new all-time high and the crypto market cap reaching $3 trillion how the approval of a bitcoin futures ETF affected the crypto market what Sam thinks about the actions of US crypto regulators (hint: it’s probably not what you would think) why Sam thinks ETH’s price hit a new all-time this week what Sam thinks about the changes to ETH monetary policy and the upcoming merge to Ethereum 2.0  how Sam views the competition among layer 1 blockchains and why he is not a fan of maximalism what factors he believes are driving the price of SOL  what sort of projects are being built on Solana, and why people are excited about the ecosystem  what Sam thinks about Terra passing a proposal to burn LUNA   Thank you to our sponsors! Avado: ava.do Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021   Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ     Sam Trabucco LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-trabucco-79215263/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlamedaTrabucco   Alameda Research Website: https://www.alameda-research.com/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlamedaResearch    Recent all-time highs: BTC: https://www.yahoo.com/now/bitcoin-sets-time-high-above-152238016.html ETH: https://fortune.com/2021/11/08/ethereum-all-time-high-bitcoin-btc-ether-spot-etf/  SOL: https://decrypt.co/85457/solana-hits-all-time-high-of-260 LUNA: https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2021/11/10/terra-passes-highly-anticipated-proposal-to-burn-nearly-89m-luna/   Links mentioned: Alexis Ohanian’s Solana investment: https://www.forbes.com/newsletters/forbescryptoassetadvisor/2021/11/09/reddit-co-founder-alexis-ohanian-bets-big-on-solana-and-web-30/  Breakpoint conference: https://www.cryptoglobe.com/latest/2021/11/solana-network-highlights-from-breakpoint-conference-paint-a-very-healthy-picture/  Sam Bankman-Fried on Solana: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/solana-ethereum-rival-price-rising-bitcoin-000139765.html  Sam Trabucco on leverage trading: https://twitter.com/AlamedaTrabucco/status/1451281805584310273  ...more

  Episode

• NFCastle 2021: Art Controversy – NFTS: Nothing F**king There? - Ep.288

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  Nov 09 2021

  At Non-Fungible Castle 2021, an NFT exhibition in Prague, four NFT experts debate some of the hottest topics in the metaverse, like how to value NFTs, whether insider trading exists, what makes Ethereum-based NFTS so special, and the environmental impact of NFTs.  Guests include Maria Paula Fernandez, co-founder at JPG, Kavita Gupta, cofounder of FINTECH.TV, Oliver Halsman Rosenberg, artist, and Gmoney, an NFT collector. Show highlights: what an NFT is  why NFTs have value what the “myth of decentralization” has to do with NFT valuation why collectors like gmoney prefer to collect NFTs on Ethereum vs. other chains how provenance and IP rights interact with value why gmoney thinks Solana Punks are like fake Chanel bags what “owning an NFT” actually means whether newbies need to be protected from buying scam NFTs the “rite of passage” of falling pretty to a rug pull and the concept of “do your own research” (DYOR) what can be done about insider-trading-like activities in NFTs how to navigate public-facing blockchains when your address is doxed different ways to link off-chain assets to NFTs what the crypto industry can do to better understand the NFT impact on climate change   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021  Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ    Episode Links   Non-Fungible Castle 2021 Website: https://www.nfcastle.com/ Conference recordings: https://www.nfcastle.com/conference Twitter: https://twitter.com/nf_castle  Tweet thread of Laura’s experience at NFCastle 2021:  https://twitter.com/laurashin/status/1449731658928824320  Maria Paula Fernandez Medium: https://mariapaulafernandezneglia.medium.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mar%C3%ADa-paula-fern%C3%A1ndez-no-social-selling-please-a96a8034/   Kavita Gupta Twitter: https://twitter.com/KavitaGupta19  Oliver Halsman Rosenberg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oliver_halsman_rosenberg/?hl=en  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliver-halsman-rosenberg-940a0935  gmoney https://twitter.com/gmoneyNFT  ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: Legal Issues With NFTs: Would a Fractionalized Mona Lisa Be a Security? - Ep.287

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  Nov 05 2021

  At Non-Fungible Castle 2021, an NFT exhibition in Prague, four NFT experts discuss the legal implications of NFTs. Guests include Jonathan Victor, product/business development at Protocol Labs; Louis Baudoin, advisor at Monax; Diana Stern, product counsel at Stripe; and Shant Marootian COO at Fractional.art. Show highlights: what users are receiving with the purchase of an NFT how the terms of service for different NFT marketplaces change NFT rights how on-chain storage and off-chain storage affects NFT ownership what rights do creators need to mint an NFT what recourse creators have if someone mints their art as an NFT and profits from it whether NFT marketplaces should respect NFT royalty standards on resales how NFT marketplaces could make it easier for creators to clarify licensing and royalty standards whether NFTs should be regulated under existing laws and what gaps in regulation need to be filled when an NFT should be considered a security how different jurisdictions may work together to regulate NFTs why money laundering is a problem for NFTs how a DAO could go about owning an NFT or IP what would happen to NFTs and DAOs if Ethereum were to suffer a hard fork again why DAOs should stay compliant with traditional regulations how to improve licensing and industry standards for NFTs whether NFTs should be considered as financial objects what would happen if a museum fractionalized the Mona Lisa   Thank you to our sponsors! Avado: ava.do Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021  Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ    Episode Links:   Non-Fungible Castle 2021 Website: https://www.nfcastle.com/ Conference recordings: https://www.nfcastle.com/conference Twitter: https://twitter.com/nf_castle  Tweet thread of Laura’s experience at NFCastle 2021:  https://twitter.com/laurashin/status/1449731658928824320    Jonathan Victor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-victor-69a44255  Louis Baudoin LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lou-baudoin-5b847a151/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/MerkleData  Diana Stern Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianajstern  Shant Marootian LinkedIn: ​https://www.linkedin.com/in/smarooti/  ...more

  Episode

• Tor Bair of Secret on Why Private Smart Contracts Are Important - Ep.286

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  Nov 02 2021

  Secret Network is a privacy-first, permissionless layer 1 blockchain built for computational privacy. Tor Bair, founder of Secret Foundation, a developer of Secret Network, discusses what makes Secret Network unique, including smart contract privacy, private metadata for NFTs, and how regulators should treat privacy tech in blockchain. Show highlights: how Tor fell down the crypto rabbit hole what the Secret Network is and how it is bringing privacy to blockchain why public blockchains are problematic what makes Secret Network different from Monero or Zcash how Secret Network works from a technical perspective what type of applications Secret Network can support that public blockchains cannot why blockchain voting is probably a bad idea (for now) what attack vectors exist regarding Secret Network how Secret Network nodes work and why there are only 50 of them how Secret Network fixes miner extractable value (MEV) what DeFi applications are possible on Secret Network how NFTs on Secret Network are different from public blockchain NFTs how regulators should treat Secret Network   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021      Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ    Episode Links   Tor Bair Twitter https://twitter.com/TorBair   Website http://www.torbair.com/ Medium https://medium.com/@TorBai Secret Network Primers Messari:  https://messari.io/asset/secret-network/profile https://messari.io/article/shhhhh-it-s-a-secret-network  Decrypt:  https://decrypt.co/resources/what-is-secret-network-scrt-formerly-enigma  Coin Monks: https://medium.com/coinmonks/what-is-secret-network-bad9a233c481  Tech Crunch:  https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/03/in-the-race-towards-web-3-financial-privacy-secret-network-attracts-backing-from-key-players/  Introduction from Enigma/Secret Article: https://blog.enigma.co/introducing-secret-network-ed48621754ad  Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c70BBVUCxxk  Tech Smart contracts → Secret contracts https://scrt.network/blog/programmable-privacy/ Upcoming Supernova upgrade (November 9) https://scrt.network/blog/supernova-explosive-vision-future-secret-network  Secret NFTs (only the holder can view the NFT) https://scrt.network/blog/secret-opensea-partner-nfts-world-renowned-artist https://www.yahoo.com/now/secret-network-partners-opensea-launch-130000946.html  SCRT Tokenomics https://scrt.network/blog/secret-network-tokenomics-and-ecosystem-pool  https://scrt.network/about/about-scrt  Secret Network block-explorer/node explorer https://secretnodes.com/secret/chains/secret-3  Ecosystem https://scrt.network/ecosystem/overview  Graypaper https://scrt.network/graypaper  Node information https://docs.scrt.network/node-guides/secret-nodes.html    Enigma  Original ICO `https://icodrops.com/enigma/  Research https://picoloresearch.com/upload/attachment/14614.pdf  Enigma token swap https://medium.com/staky-io/how-to-swap-eng-enigma-to-scrt-secret-f80d855992ef  https://blog.enigma.co/enigma-announces-settlement-with-sec-and-successful-launch-of-enigma-mainnet-3811ef291705  https://beincrypto.com/privacy-token-enigma-files-with-sec-after-settlement/  ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: Why Terraform Labs Cofounder Do Kwon Is Unfazed by US Regulators - Ep.285

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  Oct 29 2021

  Do Kwon, cofounder of Terraform Labs, was recently served subpoenas by the US Securities and Exchange Commission during Messari’s mainnet event, leading Kwon and Terraform to preemptively sue the SEC. On Unconfirmed, Kwon discusses: what Terraform Labs does and how it is building its DeFi ecosystem around TerraUSD ($UST) why Terraform Labs created its synthetics protocol, Mirror, and how it works what Do thinks about the SEC’s investigation into Mirror what happened to Do at Messari’s mainnet event why the SEC’s approach to crypto regulation does not impact Do very much what Do thinks about how US regulators are treating crypto companies how Do would regulate the crypto industry why he believes the current state of crypto regulation doesn’t work in a global context why he says the SEC couldn’t do anything to TerraUSD -- even if it wanted to what two characteristics are critical in building a decentralized protocol how the crypto industry could improve security in light of the $130 million Cream Finance hack   Thank you to our sponsors! Avado: ava.do  Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021  Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ    Episode Links   Do Kwon Twitter: https://twitter.com/stablekwon    Terra Twitter: https://twitter.com/terra_money  Website: https://www.terra.money/  Terra ecosystem: https://docs.terra.money/Reference/ecosystem.html    SEC Lawsuit CoinDesk https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/10/23/terras-do-kwon-was-served-by-sec-new-lawsuit-shows/  Terraform V SEC https://www.scribd.com/document/534537134/Terraform-v-SEC  Stephen Palley https://twitter.com/stephendpalley/status/1451709816020348933    Messari Mainnet Serving https://twitter.com/gogoSlava/status/1439972015910408195    Miscellaneous SEC charging Abra https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-153 Stablecoin market cap comparison ​​https://coinmarketcap.com/view/stablecoin/  ...more

  Episode

• Not Reporting Info on Some Transaction Partners Could Soon Be a Felony - Ep.284

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  Oct 26 2021

  Remember the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which caused considerable backlash from the crypto community due to the language regarding “brokers?” Abe Sutherland, an adjunct professor at University of Virginia School of Law, believes another provision tucked inside the bill could end up being a far more significant issue for anyone transacting in digital assets. Show highlights: how Abe fell down the crypto rabbit hole what provision 6050I is and how it could affect anyone transacting with digital assets how 6050I works and when it would apply why violating 6050I would be a felony how 6050I discourages digital asset transactions how 6050I would apply to different transaction types, like peer-to-peer trades, NFT sales, and smart contract escrow accounts what information recipients of digital assets must verify from the sender how the government came up with the $10,000 reporting threshold and why Abe believes this number is outdated why Abe thinks proposing 6050I within the infrastructure bill is inappropriate what reasons the government has to want to put such stringent reporting requirements on digital asset transactions  how 6050I fits under the financial laws of the Bank Secrecy Act why Abe believes the amendment should be struck from the infrastructure bill what Abe thinks of the constitutionality of 6050I how Abe views 6050I as less about generating tax revenue and more about tracking people’s digital asset transactions what action steps he says the crypto community can take to fix the bill Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021         Nodle: http://nodle.io/unchained     Episode links   Abe Sutherland https://twitter.com/abesutherland   Medium Post: https://medium.com/@laurashin/why-not-reporting-info-on-your-crypto-trading-partner-could-become-a-felony-c6399998f113   Information on 6050I Abe’s research report  https://www.proofofstakealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Research-Report-on-Tax-Code-6050I-and-Digital-Assets-printable.pdf Tweet thread from Abe https://twitter.com/abesutherland/status/1438881314871156736 https://twitter.com/abesutherland/status/1443082205383696384 6050I article Abe wrote for Bitcoin Magazine https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/the-proposal-to-regulate-digital-asset-transactions-should-be-struck  Abe’s appearance on What Bitcoin Did to discuss 6050I https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/hidden-danger-in-the-infrastructure-bill Twitter spaces with Congressman Warren Davidson, Peter McCormack, and others regarding the infrastructure bill https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCq6BVLzF44 Miscellaneous 6050I links https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-crypto-industry-could-take-tax-fight-all-the-way-to-the-supreme-court-11632509009 https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/09/29/infrastructure-bills-crypto-surveillance-criticized-unconstitutional/ https://fortune.com/2021/09/21/crypto-transactions-report-to-government/ https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/09/17/crypto-lobbying-group-warns-of-another-tax-provision-in-senate-infrastructure-bill https://www.coincenter.org/an-unworkable-and-arguably-unconstitutional-tax-change-tucked-away-in-the-infrastructure-bill/ https://decrypt.co/81236/overlooked-part-senate-infrastructure-bill-renews-worries-crypto-lobby https://nickanthony.substack.com/p/last-minute-cryptocurrency-taxation https://www.cato.org/blog/infrastructure-bill-hangs-balance-so-does-crypto https://ambcrypto.com/what-is-the-u-s-infra-bill-crypto-amendment-really-all-about   Unchained coverage of the infrastructure bill How Congress Might Pass Laws Bad for Proof-of-Stake and DeFi https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-congress-might-pass-laws-bad-for-proof-of-stake-and-defi/    Coverage on the original amendment regarding “brokers:” https://decrypt.co/77838/rival-amendment-senate-infrastructure-bill-threatens-proof-stake  https://decrypt.co/77859/crypto-industry-mobilizes-to-stop-controversial-tax-plan  https://decrypt.co/77841/biden-crypto-infrastructure-bill-amendments  https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/08/16-civil-society-organizations-call-congress-fix-cryptocurrency-provision    https://decrypt.co/77681/senators-move-exempt-bitcoin-miners-tax-provision-infrastructure-bill  https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2021/08/04/senators-propose-change-to-new-crypto-rules-for-tax-reporting-heres-whos-affected/  https://twitter.com/BlockchainAssn/status/1422976741715361792  https://twitter.com/jerrybrito/status/1422002228102107142  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/113196/wyden-crypto-language-in-infrastructure-bill-fails-to-understand-how-the-technology-works  https://www.coindesk.com/new-infrastructure-bill-looks-to-raise-30b-through-crypto-taxes  https://twitter.com/jchervinsky/status/1421150344051048451  https://twitter.com/NeerajKA/status/1421242689148932105  https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/01/politics/bipartisan-infrastructure-bill-collins-manchin-senate-cnntv/index.html  https://www.coindesk.com/gop-lawmaker-janet-yellens-treasury-likely-behind-surprise-crypto-bill    ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: Bitcoin Projected to Reach $135,000 in December, According to PlanB - Ep.283

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  Oct 22 2021

  PlanB, a former institutional investor with 25 years of experience in financial markets turned anon Bitcoin analyst, discusses Bitcoin’s price action, from the macroeconomic drivers to what his models predict for the rest of 2021. Show highlights: PlanB’s background and how he got into Bitcoin what a stock-to-flow model is and how PlanB uses it to predict Bitcoin’s price why PlanB called for a $1 trillion market cap when Bitcoin was priced at sub $4K how the approval of a bitcoin futures ETF has affected Bitcoin’s price why institutions are more comfortable with bitcoin futures, rather than the underlying asset how to properly calculate gold’s stock-to-flow model why he believes the stock-to-flow models works -- even when detractors say it is flawed how the pandemic has affected Bitcoin’s price what PlanB thinks about China’s decision to effectively ban Bitcoin the three charts PlanB uses to model Bitcoin what the price floor for Bitcoin will be in October, November, and December whether PlanB thinks we are in a supercycle Thank you to our sponsors! Avado: ava.do  Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021  Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ    Episode Links   PlanB: Twitter: https://twitter.com/100trillionUSD Website: https://100trillionusd.github.io/   Topics Covered Stock-to-flow modeling https://medium.com/@100trillionUSD/modeling-bitcoins-value-with-scarcity-91fa0fc03e25  https://medium.com/@100trillionUSD/efficient-market-hypothesis-and-bitcoin-stock-to-flow-model-db17f40e6107 https://medium.com/@100trillionUSD/bitcoin-stock-to-flow-cross-asset-model-50d260feed12  Bitcoin RSI https://twitter.com/100trillionUSD/status/1451128329176768514 Worst-case scenario BTC prices https://twitter.com/100trillionUSD/status/1406577006230245376 Bitcoin futures ETF approved https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/10/15/sec-approves-bitcoin-etf-opening-crypto-to-wider-investor-base/ China’s decision to boot out crypto miners https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/10/13/us-claims-bitcoin-mining-crown-following-china-crackdown/  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/109315/bitcoin-hashrate-declines-50-percent-china-mining-crackdown Why stock-to-flow is not accurate https://francistapon.com/Work/WanderLearn-Podcast/8-Flaws-in-Bitcoin-s-Stock-to-Flow-Model-Will-Doom-It Bitcoin supercycle https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2021/06/17/the-supercycle-how-crypto-could-shape-the-decade-ahead/  ...more

  Episode

• Is the Metaverse Already Here? Two Experts Disagree - Ep.282

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  Oct 19 2021

  Andrew Steinwold, managing partner at Sfermion, and John Egan, CEO at L'Atelier BNP Paribas, discuss NFTs and debate the characteristics of the metaverse. Show highlights:  their backgrounds and how they got into NFTs how they each define the metaverse what NFTs have to do with the metaverse how John and Andrew’s depiction of the metaverse differs what John thinks about Facebook’s entrance into the metaverse whether Second Life is a metaverse game how blockchain technology allows for an open metaverse (and why Web2 is “communist”) what NFTs currently unlock for the metaverse whether the metaverse will necessarily have to be experienced through augmented reality whether there will be multiple metaverses across different blockchain platforms why John thinks NFT maxis and crypto maxis are destined to clash how the metaverse is changing how people generate income  how to make the metaverse more accessible whether regulators will force the metaverse to be siloed how the metaverse will handle jurisdictional disputes what happens when someone’s Web3 avatar/identity is stolen in the metaverse what John and Andrew predict will happen in the metaverse over the next 6-12 months.  Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021        Nodle: http://nodle.io/unchained    NFT Research John Egan Twitter:  https://twitter.com/iamjohnegan  Website:  https://www.iamjohnegan.com/  LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/johndegan/ Content NFTs are like gambling, but could be the bedrock of virtual economy https://decrypt.co/62809/buying-nfts-like-gambling-in-a-casino-analyst Wired article on NFTs https://www.wired.co.uk/article/crypto-tokens    L’Atelier  NFT Content How NFTs are changing ownership https://atelier.net/insights/nfts-art-ownership-collecting The Virtual economy https://atelier.net/virtual-economy Real estate NFTs https://atelier.net/insights/tech-real-estate-nfts-tokenisation  Metaverse Content Unified coms vs. the Metaverse https://atelier.net/insights/unified-communications-metaverse-tech Primer on the metaverse https://atelier.net/insights/primer-define-metaverse-fortnite Digital anthropology https://atelier.net/insights/nathalie-bechet-digital-anthropology    Andrew Steinwold Twitter https://twitter.com/AndrewSteinwold LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-steinwold/ Blog must-reads A quick overview of the NFT ecosystem  https://andrewsteinwold.substack.com/p/-quick-overview-of-the-nft-ecosystem  NFTs will introduce the world to crypto?  https://andrewsteinwold.substack.com/p/nfts-will-introduce-crypto-to-the  Why functional NFTs will gain value slower than crypto art https://andrewsteinwold.substack.com/p/-the-promise-effect-why-functional  History of NFTs https://medium.com/@Andrew.Steinwold/the-history-of-non-fungible-tokens-nfts-f362ca57ae10  NFT Value Drivers https://andrewsteinwold.substack.com/p/-nonfungible-token-nft-value-drivers  ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: What Is the Role of Investors in a Decentralized World? - Ep.281

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  Oct 15 2021

  Four investors talk about the decentralized web, explain how the crypto industry is improving upon Web 2, and discuss what can be done to increase diversity and financial inclusion within Web 3. Featuring Rik Willard, founder of Agentic Group, Thomas France, co-founder of Cygni Capital, Dylan Hixon, president of Arden Road Investments, and Nick Grossman,general partner at Union Square Ventures . Show highlights:   how funding rounds for decentralized protocols differ from investing in traditional companies what VC investors can do to 1) participate in the protocols they invest in, and 2) not take advantage of whale holdings in governance voting how Web 3 has the potential to displace the “plantation economy” the difference between crypto idealism (i.e., banking the unbanked) versus what has actually played out (i.e., Salvadorans being mandated to accept BTC) what area of blockchain is delivering on the promise of financial inclusion how to bring diversity to the blockchain + crypto industry what can be done to solve the gender imbalance in crypto how investors are navigating the murky waters of US regulations regarding crypto projects how institutions fit into the Web 3 landscape what I think about the state of sexism within the crypto industry   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021 Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ   Episode Links   Original Link: https://vimeo.com/showcase/8884996/video/614236078   Rik Willard Twitter: https://twitter.com/rik_willard?lang=en Agentic Group: https://www.agenticgroup.com/   Nick Grossman Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickgrossman?lang=en Website: https://www.nickgrossman.xyz/ Union Square Ventures: https://twitter.com/usv   Dylan Hixon LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylan-hixon-1887803 Arden Road Investments: https://www.ardenrd.com/   Thomas France Twitter: https://twitter.com/totofrance?lang=en LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasfrance/   Topics mentioned Fereshteh Forough on Unchained https://unchainedpodcast.com/crypto-actually-fixes-this-how-code-to-inspire-uses-crypto-in-afghanistan/ Discussing crypto’s gender disparity on Unchained https://unchainedpodcast.com/cryptos-gender-disparity-what-can-be-done-about-it-4-women-weigh-in/ she256 https://she256.org/ El Salvador and BTC https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/09/24/why-el-salvador-is-botching-its-bitcoin-experiment/  ...more

  Episode

• Visa Is Building Infrastructure for NFTs, Smart Contracts, and L2s. Why? - Ep.280

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  Oct 12 2021

  Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto, discusses Visa’s crypto game plan, stablecoin regulation, NFTs, and more. Show highlights: Cuy’s background and his journey down the crypto rabbit hole how Visa and cryptocurrency can coexist why crypto companies and fintech companies are similar what Visa is trying to solve for consumers regarding cryptocurrencies how cross-chain payment infrastructure would work why Visa requires enhanced diligence for crypto companies what countries can learn from stablecoins when building CBDCs why Visa is creating a universal payment channel for CBDCs and other cryptocurrencies why Visa chose USDC to begin making payments with the two main reasons why stablecoins are used (hint: it’s not for buying cups of coffee) how cryptocurrency is changing financial education and inclusion how crypto’s open-source ethos is helping underserved and emerging markets build financial infrastructure why NFTs are Cuy’s favorite topic how NFTs level the playing field for black artists (and artists in general) why Visa purchased a CryptoPunk and how other businesses could leverage NFTs Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021       Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ   Cuy Sheffield Twitter: https://twitter.com/cuysheffield LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cuy-sheffield-72082126/ NFT collection: https://tryshowtime.com/csheffield    Content: Medium https://medium.com/@cuysheffield  Tweets Thoughts on payroll deposits https://twitter.com/cuysheffield/status/1442571326447767554  DAOs as chaotic organizations https://twitter.com/cuysheffield/status/1441536551016534019   Visa Crypto Plays CryptoPunk purchase https://usa.visa.com/visa-everywhere/blog/bdp/2021/08/18/nfts-mark-a-1629328216374.html  First smart contract on Ropsten https://ropsten.etherscan.io/address/0xadb1f7e78a3ac3d0a006961f95d96bbb0ec14326#code NFT research report https://usa.visa.com/content/dam/VCOM/regional/na/us/Solutions/documents/visa-nft-whitepaper.pdf  Cross-chain Interoperability https://usa.visa.com/visa-everywhere/blog/bdp/2021/09/29/making-digital-currency-1632954547520.html https://arxiv.org/pdf/2109.12194v2.pdf  Visa + USDC https://usa.visa.com/about-visa/newsroom/press-releases.releaseId.17821.html  https://www.forbes.com/sites/ninabambysheva/2021/03/29/visa-to-start-settling-transactions-with-bitcoin-partners-in-usdc/  Digital currency whitepaper https://usa.visa.com/content/dam/VCOM/regional/na/us/Solutions/documents/visa-digital-currency-overview.pdf  ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: Why It Doesn’t Make Sense to Compare Lightning to DeFi - Ep.279

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  Oct 08 2021

  Ryan Gentry, business development lead at Lightning Labs, discusses the latest updates on the Lightning Network, the layer 2 solution for Bitcoin. Highlights: how Lightning Network is bringing Bitcoin to the masses through partnerships with Twitter, Substack, and Paxful what the significance of El Salvador adopting Bitcoin means for the Lightning Network how many nodes are running Lightning Network nodes why the capacity on the Lightning Network has grown rapidly how Ryan has seen interest in Lightning has changed since the El Salvador announcement earlier this year what stage of adoption Ryan thinks the Lightning Network is why Lightning Network total-value-locked should not be compared to Ethereum L2s or other DeFi protocols  how Lightning Network differs from DeFi what metric Ryan believes is the best way to measure adoption on Lightning Network how El Salvador has changed the types of transactions being made on Lightning Network what’s next for Lightning Network and how Lightning micropayments could affect how podcasts (like Unchained!) are distributed Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021         Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ   Sorare: https://sorare.com            Episode Links   Ryan Gentry Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryanthegentry   The Summer of Lightning: Reaching the Tipping Point https://lightninglabs.substack.com/p/the-summer-of-lightning-reaching    Lightning Labs Twitter: https://twitter.com/lightning Website: https://lightning.engineering/    Lightning Enabled Tips Twitter: https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/product/2021/bringing-tips-to-everyone  Substack: https://decrypt.co/79215/substack-accept-bitcoin-payments-lightning-network   Paxful Integration https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/paxful-integrates-bitcoin-lightning-network    Arcane Research Paper Paper: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60377b34e7791c1277aaae97/t/615cb9aeaab8c63e1a732771/1633466815710/The+State+of+Lightning.pdf Tweet thread: https://twitter.com/ArcaneResearch/status/1445749299703205894   Lightning Network stats https://studio.glassnode.com/metrics?a=BTC&c=native&category=Lightning&chartStyle=column&contractExpiration=1640908800&ema=0&m=lightning.NetworkCapacitySum&mAvg=0&mMedian=0&resolution=24h&zoom=all https://1ml.com/statistics   Lightning Network Resources https://www.lopp.net/lightning-information.html    Preston Pysh episode with BTC Sessions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5bBJjVEg1U  ...more

  Episode

• How the Greatest Decentralizing Force for Crypto Projects Is the SEC - Ep.278

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  Oct 05 2021

  How does the SEC determine if a token is a security? Why is DeFi particularly hard to regulate? What will regulators do about stablecoins? On Unchained, Greg Xethalis, chief compliance officer at Multicoin Capital, and Collins Belton, founding partner at Brookwood P.C., dive into crypto regulation, discussing securities laws, DeFi regulation, and why the US should be promoting stablecoins rather than trying to shut them down. Highlights: why the SEC and CFTC have not announced bigger crypto enforcement news at the end of their fiscal years why the SEC is going after DINO (decentralized in name only) companies what the Howey and Reves tests areand how the SEC uses themto determine whether an asset is a security or not why Collins and Greg think the SEC has recently begun been applying Reves more often why they think centralized crypto lending products should not be considered securities under the Howey test whether new legislation needs to be written for cryptocurrency-based products what makes Collins think the SEC is being “disingenuous” regarding the SEC registration process for crypto companies, like Coinbase how regulators will end up handling DeFi and why both Greg and Collins are long-term optimistic how the US government has a “great history” of respecting privacy and encryption why regulatory pressure is likely to build up around centralized crypto exchanges and what we can learn from the EtherDelta case why Collins thinks most cryptocurrency companies should be regulated  why the SEC is the best motivator for forcing protocols to fully decentralize how smart contracts could theoretically be used to standardize SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce’s Safe Harbor proposal how blockchain data makes cryptocurrency companies more transparent and easier to regulate than centralized entities what Collins and Greg think will happen with stablecoin regulation going forward why the US should be pushing to make dollar-pegged stablecoins more prominent   Take the Unchained survey! Have idea son how we can improve at Unchained? Let us know. This is the last week in which you can take the Unchained survey and be entered to win a BTC Candle. Be sure to end by EOD Friday. We'll be announcing the winners in next week's show.  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/unchained2021    Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021      Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ    Episode Links   Greg Xethalis Twitter: https://twitter.com/xethalis  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xethalis/    Collins Belton Twitter: https://twitter.com/collins_belton  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/collins-belton-10226283/   Cases Mentioned SEC charged DeFi Money Market  https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2021/08/06/sec-charges-so-called-defi-company-for-allegedly-fraudulent-30m-offering/  SEC charged EtherDelta https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2018/11/08/sec-charges-etherdelta-founder-over-unregistered-securities-exchange/  Howey Test and Reves Test https://securities-law-blog.com/2014/11/25/what-is-a-security-the-howey-test-and-reves-test/ https://skrypto.sewkis.com/howeys-cousin-reves-may-be-another-way-for-the-sec-to-argue-that-tokens-are-securities  https://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2021/09/coinbase-and-the-sec-.html  DINO https://twitter.com/hesterpeirce/status/1423637816492318722?lang=en    Regulatory Stories   SEC SEC Chair Gary Gensler indicated that crypto lending and staking platforms most likely fall under US securities law https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/117675/crypto-lending-staking-custody-gensler-sec  Gensler noted that Coinbase lists “dozens of tokens that might be securities.”  https://decrypt.co/80924/gensler-coinbase-sec-securities  Gensler thinks crypto exchanges need to register with SEC https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/117524/before-senate-chair-gensler-will-argue-that-many-crypto-trading-platforms-need-to-register-with-sec  dYdX airdrops token, but not to US customers https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/09/08/users-celebrate-massive-dydx-token-airdrop-as-transfer-restrictions-lift/  Uniswap Labs investigation ​https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/116633/how-the-secs-reported-uniswap-labs-investigation-could-signal-a-new-era-of-enforcement    Treasury Preparing a stablecoin report https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/09/16/us-treasury-turns-its-gaze-to-stablecoin-issuers/    Lending Platforms BlockFi NJ extension https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/09/22/blockfi-gets-another-extension-from-nj-regulators-on-new-interest-accounts-ban/ NJ, TX, AL move against Celsius https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/09/17/3-states-alabama-securities-commission-also-claims-celsius-violated-securities-laws/  BlockFi CEO wants federal regulators to weigh in on crypto lending regulation https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/09/13/blockfi-ceo-wants-sec-to-weigh-in-on-crypto-lending/  Preston Bryne believes lending products are securities https://twitter.com/prestonjbyrne/status/1435452184607576066    CFTC Investigation of Binance https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-17/u-s-s-binance-probe-expands-to-examine-possible-insider-trading?sref=f8taTPHn   Coinbase Contract with the Department of Homeland Security https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/09/20/coinbase-signs-deal-with-homeland-security-to-provide-analytics-software/ Coinbase will not be launching Lend https://blog.coinbase.com/sign-up-to-earn-4-apy-on-usd-coin-with-coinbase-cdad79e5f5eb Original blog post: https://blog.coinbase.com/the-sec-has-told-us-it-wants-to-sue-us-over-lend-we-have-no-idea-why-a3a1b6507009 Collin’s tweet: https://twitter.com/collins_belton/status/1440009283291078656 Coinbase is prepping a pitch for regulators https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/09/21/coinbase-to-propose-crypto-regulations-to-us-officials-sources/  Filing with National Futures Association https://decrypt.co/81022/coinbase-files-application-trade-crypto-futures Armstrong tweetstorm referencing “sketchy” SEC behavior https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1435439291715358721    Other Possible stablecoin regulations proposed by NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/business/economy/federal-reserve-virtual-currency-stablecoin.html  Wall Street Journal article on stablecoins https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-administration-seeks-to-regulate-stablecoin-issuers-as-banks-11633103156  a16z on stablecoin regulation https://future.a16z.com/stablecoins-stability-and-financial-inclusion/  Former regulators joining a16z https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/117098/fresh-out-of-the-cftc-brian-quintenz-joins-a16z-cryptos-advisory-team https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/109661/andreessen-horowitz-new-crypto-vc-hires Former regulators joining Binance https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/crypto-binance-jay-clayton-fireblocks-regulators-sec-cftc-wild-west-2021-08  Sam Bankman-Fried on the importance of USD to crypto markets: https://twitter.com/SBF_FTX/status/1427179474538287104?s=20  ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: People Expected a Big SEC Enforcement Action This Week. What Happened? Days - Ep.277

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  Oct 01 2021

  Stephen Palley, partner at Anderson Kill, discusses a few hot-button crypto regulatory issues like lending products, whether DeFi protocols fall under the SEC’s purview, and more. Show highlights: why Stephen thinks the SEC and CFTC did not announce more extensive crypto enforcement news this week what areas the SEC Chair Gary Gensler and the SEC as a whole are focused on regulating what Stephen has heard about whether stablecoins that are not fully-backed are securities why Coinbase decided to drop its Lend product why Stephen is skeptical that decentralized protocols should be regulated under existing securities laws how securities law is contrary to consumer protection in light of DeFi protocols and airdrops why DeFi AMMs should be regulated differently than centralized market books whether companies running a front-end for a DeFi protocol should be considered an exchange why crypto devs are “going Satoshi” because of US securities laws   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021        Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ  Sorare: https://sorare.com         Episode Links   Stephen Palley Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephendpalley Unchained podcast appearance speaking about Ripple: https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-secs-lawsuit-against-ripple-and-2-execs-what-you-need-to-know/    Topics Covered   Lending Products Coinbase blogs regarding Lend https://blog.coinbase.com/the-sec-has-told-us-it-wants-to-sue-us-over-lend-we-have-no-idea-why-a3a1b6507009  https://blog.coinbase.com/sign-up-to-earn-4-apy-on-usd-coin-with-coinbase-cdad79e5f5eb Lend overview: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/a-september-to-remember-coinbase-avoids-7608131/  Brian Armstrong angry tweet storm https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1435439291715358721 BlockFi and Celsius overview https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/09/17/3-states-alabama-securities-commission-also-claims-celsius-violated-securities-laws/    SEC + Gary Gensler How SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s Views on Crypto Have Changed Since His MIT Days https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-sec-chair-gary-genslers-views-on-crypto-have-changed-since-his-mit-days/ SEC Chair Gary Gensler Washington Post Q&A https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2021/09/21/transcript-path-forward-cryptocurrency-with-gary-gensler/  Gary Gensler + Elizabeth Warren letters https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-releases-response-from-sec-chair-gensler-affirming-need-to-regulate-cryptocurrency-exchanges-and-protect-investors-and-our-financial-system  Other Uniswap delisting certain tokens through its front end https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/112399/uniswap-labs-culls-synthetic-stock-and-derivatives-citing-evolving-regulatory-landscape  ...more

  Episode

• Crypto Actually Fixes This: How Code to Inspire Uses Crypto in Afghanistan - Ep.276

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  Sep 28 2021

  Fereshteh Forough is the founder and CEO of Code to Inspire, a coding school for girls in Afghanistan. She discusses her background as a refugee, how she uses crypto to fund the school and pay students, and how the US military’s departure has affected student life. Topics include: Fereshteh’s journey from refugee to computer science professor to founder and CEO of Code to Inspire what Code to Inspire offers to young Afghan women and what risks they take by getting an education how Code to Inspire success stories are changing the attitudes of student’s families and communities the importance of Afghan Hero Girl, a video game created by Code to Inspire students why crypto payments are a better alternative to PayPal and Western Union for Code to Inspire and its students how Code to Inspire and its students exchange crypto to fiat what the perception of crypto is in Afghanistan how the Taliban is stifling the education of women and how Code to Inspire is attempting to continue its curriculum how crypto companies can offer assistance to Code to Inspire what features and products Fereshteh thinks would the crypto industry actually bank the unbanked how listeners can help Code to Inspire and where to find more information on Fereshteh Thank you to our sponsors!   Ledger: ​https://www.ledger.com/start-your-crypto-journey/?utm_source=Unchained&utm_medium=Partnership_Podcast&utm_campaign=14-09-Ledger-US-Brand-Paid&utm_content=subj_Global__msg_brand_convenience__targ_Crypto  Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021   Digital Asset Research: https://www.digitalassetresearch.com/       Episode Links   Fereshteh Forough Twitter: https://twitter.com/f_forough LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fereshtehforough/    Code to Inspire Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/codetoinspire/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/CodeToInspire  Website: https://www.codetoinspire.org/  Donating crypto: https://www.codetoinspire.org/donate-crypto/  Services offered: https://www.codetoinspire.org/hire-a-cti-graduate/    Code to Inspire Coverage Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenehrlich/2021/08/17/taliban-resurgence-could-threaten-afghan-school-teaching-women-to-code-and-build-ethereum-apps/?sh=465a8208197d The Giving Block https://thegivingblock.com/donate/Code-to-Inspire/ Code to Inspire students are coding at home https://cointelegraph.com/news/amid-taliban-takeover-aspiring-crypto-miner-flees-afghanistan  CoinDesk on Code to Inspire + ETH https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2018/06/12/forget-prices-ethereum-is-offering-a-different-value-in-afghanistan/  Coinbase https://blog.coinbase.com/fereshteh-forough-interview-1e73a684788f Inverse https://www.inverse.com/innovation/57129-fereshteh-forough-afghanistan-bitcoin Afghan Hero Girls https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-04-19-code-to-inspire-is-creating-afghan-hero-girls-through-education   US Military leaving Afghanistan https://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghanistan-withdrawal-united-states-troops-pentagon/ https://www.wsj.com/articles/last-u-s-troops-leave-afghanistan-after-nearly-20-years-11630355853  ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: How SEC Chair Gary Gensler's Views on Crypto Have Changed Since His MIT Days - Ep.275

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  Sep 24 2021

  Nik De, managing editor for global policy and regulation at CoinDesk, stops by Unconfirmed to discuss the current state of crypto regulation, including recent comments by SEC Chair Gary Gensler on stablecoins and why Coinbase decided to sideline its Lend product. Highlights: Nik’s biggest takeaway from Gary Gensler’s interview with the Washington Post  why Nik thinks Gensler has escalated his rhetoric regarding stablecoins and DeFi  how crypto exchanges are currently regulated and how that might change what it would take to convince crypto exchanges to register with the SEC whether the SEC has the purview to regulate stablecoins Nik’s thoughts on Coinbase’s Lend product and the SEC’s stance on lending products what the overall picture of crypto lending is in the US whether the SEC will go after DeFi protocols what to expect from the SEC going forward, especially with the end of its fiscal year coming up next week Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021       Digital Asset Research: https://digitalassetresearch.com    Sorare: https://sorare.com          Episode Links   Nikhilesh De CoinDesk articles: https://www.coindesk.com/author/nikde/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/nikhileshde    Content Coinbase blogs regarding Lend https://blog.coinbase.com/the-sec-has-told-us-it-wants-to-sue-us-over-lend-we-have-no-idea-why-a3a1b6507009  https://blog.coinbase.com/sign-up-to-earn-4-apy-on-usd-coin-with-coinbase-cdad79e5f5eb SEC Chair Gary Gensler Washington Post Q&A https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2021/09/21/transcript-path-forward-cryptocurrency-with-gary-gensler/ Brian Armstrong tweet storm https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1435439291715358721 BlockFi and Celsius overview https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/09/17/3-states-alabama-securities-commission-also-claims-celsius-violated-securities-laws/  Read my latest Medium post, “The Reason Crypto Regulation Is Turning Out to Be So Difficult,” which takes take a deeper dive into some of the topics addressed in this pod :) https://medium.com/@laurashin/the-reason-crypto-regulation-is-turning-out-to-be-so-difficult-788cc134958d ...more

  Episode

• How OG Crypto Artist Rhea Myers Sold a Never-Seen Artwork at Sotheby's - Ep.274

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  Sep 21 2021

  Rhea Myers, artist, hacker, writer, and senior smart contract developer at Dapper Labs, has been making crypto art before NFTs were a thing. Check out this episode to learn about Rhea’s work as an OG crypto artist, why she believes concerns over NFT energy consumption are overblown, and how NFTs are changing the art world. Show highlights Rhea’s experience entering the crypto space what inspired her to make Bitcoin-based transaction art what blockchain art she was creating in 2014 how she helped Coin Artist create crypto puzzles what Rhea thinks about Cadence, the programming language for Flow what conceptual art and blockchain art have in common how Rhea minted her soul on a Dogecoin fork how Rhea came up with the idea of Secret Artwork (Content), which was recently sold at a Sotheby’s auction what cryptographic elements influenced Secret Artwork (Content) why Rhea was wrong about how the NFT industry would evolve why Rhea believes concerns over NFT energy usage are overblown how NFTs are changing the art world  what Rhea thinks about the NFT DAO movement what about NFTs make them so fascinating, in a legal sense, to Rhea   Read the sidebar — and see Rhea's artwork! If you'd like to see the art discussed in the show, be sure to check out the sidebar I wrote on Medium:  https://medium.com/@laurashin/how-rhea-myers-made-blockchain-art-before-nfts-were-a-thing-e6ac52d3abf9   Thank you to our sponsors! Ledger: ​https://www.ledger.com/start-your-crypto-journey/?utm_source=Unchained&utm_medium=Partnership_Podcast&utm_campaign=14-09-Ledger-US-Brand-Paid&utm_content=subj_Global__msg_brand_convenience__targ_Crypto Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021  Digital Asset Research: https://www.digitalassetresearch.com/      Episode Links   Rhea Myers Twitter: https://twitter.com/rheaplex Website: https://rhea.art/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertmyers/ Example Art Secret Artwork (Content) https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/natively-digital-a-curated-nft-sale-2/secret-artwork-content  MYSOUL https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/nft-joke-1234588596/  Is Art https://rhea.art/is-art  Proof Of Existence 2, 2014, Bitcoin Transaction https://rhea.art/proof-of-existence  Art examples https://rhea.art/art   Other Artists Rethinking the Blockchain (book) https://torquetorque.net/publications/artists-rethinking-the-blockchain/  Generative art (featuring Rhea Myers) https://medium.com/@mitchellfchan/nfts-generative-art-and-sol-lewitt-e99a5fa2b0cb  Blockade games + crypto puzzles ​​https://blockade.games/press/index.html https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-friday-edition-1.4528357/this-painting-is-actually-a-bitcoin-puzzle-worth-more-than-40k-and-someone-finally-solved-it-1.4529176  Unchained Episode: What Exactly Do You Get When You Buy an NFT? Three Lawyers Discuss https://unchainedpodcast.com/what-exactly-do-you-get-when-you-buy-an-nft-three-lawyers-discuss/ ...more

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• Unconfirmed: Solana's Outage Lasted 17 Hours. What Does This Mean for Decentralization? - Ep.273

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  Sep 17 2021

  Aidan Mott, research analyst at Messari, discusses Solana’s network restart that resulted in the blockchain going dark for 17 hours earlier this week. Show highlights: when Solana validators noticed something was wrong and how they responded what initial dex offering (IDO) caused the network to be flooded with transactions how a surge in bot transactions pushed validators to decide to restart the network how Solana’s outage compares to similar incidents on other chains why the Solana community was most likely not surprised by the 17-hour restart how Solana validators and the Solana Foundation coordinated the network restart how Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko communicated with the community during the outage whether Solana is still vulnerable to a similar flood of transactions what the network restart means in terms of Solana’s centralization why Solana validators running the same client could be an issue   Check Out the Related Article In addition to the analysis from Aidan, I did an interview with a Solana validator about his experience of the outage, and his concerns for the network going forward. Check out "The Experience of One Validator: What Happened During Solana's 17-Hour Outage?" in my Facebook Bulletin newsletter here -- and subscribe today! https://laurashin.bulletin.com/178076467796725 Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021      Digital Asset Research: https://digitalassetresearch.com   Sorare: https://sorare.com       Episode Links Aidan Mott Twitter: https://twitter.com/KidKrypt0 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aidan-mott-77665267/  Messari https://messari.io/   Solana Outage The Block’s coverage https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/117711/solana-blockchain-validators-restart-network-after-transaction-stoppage https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/117624/solana-experiences-transaction-stoppage-as-developers-report-intermittent-instability CoinDesk coverage https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2021/09/14/solana-validators-ready-potential-restart-amid-blockchain-outage/  Decrypt coverage https://decrypt.co/81004/solana-back-online-following-downtime-network-restart  Why the mainnet went down https://twitter.com/buffalu__/status/1437792673784549383  Potential ramifications https://twitter.com/CometShock/status/1437870278684590091 Neha Narula tweet https://twitter.com/neha/status/1438487308433494022  Solana Status -- the Twitter account that sent information out on the state of the network https://twitter.com/SolanaStatus Anatoly Yakovenko Solana outage tweets https://twitter.com/aeyakovenko/status/1437887482897518595 https://twitter.com/aeyakovenko/status/1437784552324358155 https://twitter.com/aeyakovenko/status/1438496595360862215 https://twitter.com/aeyakovenko/status/1438465508412739588 https://twitter.com/aeyakovenko/with_replies ...more

  Episode

• Can Bitcoin Be Secured Only by Transaction Fees? Two Researchers Sound Off - Ep.272

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  Sep 14 2021

  Once the block reward diminishes greatly, can Bitcoin be secured only by transaction fees? On Unchained, Bitcoin writer Vijay Boyapati and Ethereum Foundation’s Justin Drake debate the merits of Bitcoin’s security model, which Drake says will largely rely on transaction fees as soon as within 20-30 years, not in 100+ years. Highlights: Justin’s and Vijay’s professional backgrounds why Justin thinks Bitcoin cannot survive solely on fees how Bitcoin is currently secured what makes Bitcoin’s security subjective rather than binary how much it would cost in dollars to 51% attack Bitcoin what the Bitcoin network could do in response to a 51% attack how to calculate Bitcoin’s security budget why Bitcoin's price can’t go exponential forever whether a “nuclear option” for Bitcoin miners could protect against a 51% attack why nation-states could be either pro or anti-Bitcoin why a Bitcoin Standard could be similar to the Gold Standard how Bitcoin will change going forward, and why Vijay thinks transaction fees will increase why Justin does not think transaction fees will increase enough to secure Bitcoin’s base layer how Justin would fix Bitcoin’s security model -- and why he thinks the 21 million hard cap is a meme why Vijay does not think Bitcoin’s security model will ever change -- especially the 21 million hard cap what Justin thinks Ethereum is doing better than Bitcoin why Vijay thinks Ethereum will fail Take the annual Unchained survey!  Hey all, the Unchained survey is out now, and we'd so appreciate it if you could give us your thoughts on how Unchained is doing and what we could do better. Plus, we've got some questions for you about Laura's upcoming book launch and the articles that she's already starting to write! Two lucky survey respondents will receive a BTC candle, which is scented with "satoshiwood, musk musk, tulip bulbs and finite minerals."    Head to surveymonkey.com/r/unchained2021 to fill out the survey today!    Subscribe to my Facebook Bulletin Newsletter!   Hey all, I'm excited to announce that I'll be writing a Facebook Bulletin newsletter , joining the likes of Malcolm Gladwell, Malala Yousafzai and Adam Grant, among others. My first post is already up.   Thank you to our sponsors! Digital Asset Research: https://www.digitalassetresearch.com/  Ledger: https://www.ledger.com/  Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021    Episode Links   Justin Drake Twitter: https://twitter.com/drakefjustin LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drakefjustin/ Recent Unchained appearance: https://unchainedpodcast.com/is-eth-on-its-way-to-becoming-ultra-sound-money-yes-says-justin-drake/    Vijay Boyapati Twitter: https://twitter.com/real_vijay LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vijayboyapati  The Bullish Case for Bitcoin: https://vijayboyapati.medium.com/the-bullish-case-for-bitcoin-6ecc8bdecc1    Bitcoin’s Security Model Hasu https://ark-invest.com/podcast/bitcoins-security-model-with-hasu/ Dan Held https://danhedl.medium.com/bitcoins-security-is-fine-93391d9b61a8  Nic Carter https://medium.com/@nic__carter/bitcoin-bites-the-bullet-8005a2a62d29 https://www.docdroid.net/C7uTY1R/mit-expo-slides-nic-carter-pdf#page=12 Paul Sztorc https://www.truthcoin.info/blog/security-budget/  Donal McIntyre https://etherplan.com/2019/05/17/why-the-bitcoin-fee-model-will-work/7587/ Phil Geiger https://unchained-capital.com/blog/21-million-is-non-negotiable/  Jordan McKinney https://medium.com/coinmonks/bitcoin-security-a-negative-exponential-95e78b6b575 https://medium.com/coinmonks/bitcoin-security-in-one-chart-694ee3ed8c2d  Lyn Alden https://www.lynalden.com/bitcoin-security-modeling/  Princeton https://www.cs.princeton.edu/~arvindn/publications/mining_CCS.pdf  Doomsday economics of PoW https://www.bis.org/publ/work765.pdf    Basic Info How BTC fees work https://river.com/learn/how-bitcoin-fees-work/ https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Miner_fees  What will happen when all BTCs are mined? Decrypt: https://decrypt.co/33124/what-will-happen-to-bitcoin-after-all-21-million-are-mined River: https://river.com/learn/what-will-happen-after-all-bitcoin-mined/    Bitcoin Fees https://studio.glassnode.com/metrics?a=BTC&category=&ema=0&m=fees.VolumeSum&mAvg=365&mMedian=0&modal=loginForm  ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: Was Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Entitled to a Meeting With the SEC? - Ep.271

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  Sep 10 2021

  Ephrat Livni, a DealBook business and policy reporter at the New York Times, discusses Coinbase’s fight with the SEC over its Lend product and El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender. Show highlights: why Coinbase is unhappy with what it calls the SEC’s “sketchy” behavior how Coinbase’s Lend product is structured and why it might be a security why Ephrat considers Coinbase’s reaction to the SEC’s decision on Lend to be “trolling” what we can learn from SEC chair Gary Gensler’s letters with Senator Elizabeth Warren what legal precedence the SEC is leaning on in its decision about Lend how to explain the SEC’s choice to not meet with Coinbase in Washington why Ephrat thinks Brian Armstrong sounds entitled Why even pro-Bitcoin groups in the US take issue with El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender why Ephrat thinks Bitcoin is not a practical payment mechanism for El Salvadorans how El Salvadorans have reacted to the law why Ephrat believes El Salvador’s mandate to accept BTC is philosophically problematic for Bitcoiners   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021    Digital Asset Research: https://digitalassetresearch.com  Sorare: https://sorare.com        Episode Links   Ephrat Livni Twitter: https://twitter.com/el72champs  New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/by/ephrat-livni    Coinbase Brian Armstrong tweet thread: https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1409555338836078592 Coinbase blog: https://blog.coinbase.com/the-sec-has-told-us-it-wants-to-sue-us-over-lend-we-have-no-idea-why-a3a1b6507009  Coinbase Lend: https://www.coinbase.com/lend  Howey and Reves test: https://securities-law-blog.com/2014/11/25/what-is-a-security-the-howey-test-and-reves-test/    Bitcoin and El Salvador CoinDesk coverage: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/09/07/as-el-salvador-enacts-bitcoin-law-locals-remain-confused-about-implementation/  Wall Street Journal coverage: https://www.wsj.com/articles/bitcoin-comes-to-el-salvador-first-country-to-adopt-crypto-as-national-currency-11631005200 CNN coverage: https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/06/business/bitcoin-price-el-salvador-intl-hnk/index.html CBS coverage: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bitcoin-el-salvador-legal-currency/#:~:text=As%20legal%20tender%20in%20El,subject%20to%20capital%20gains%20tax.  Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/technology/it-guy-in-chief-president-tries-fix-el-salvadors-bitcoin-woes-2021-09-08/  Jerry Brito’s opinion: https://twitter.com/jerrybrito/status/1405660809024393221  Survey results: ​​https://www.reuters.com/technology/majority-salvadorans-do-not-want-bitcoin-poll-shows-2021-09-02/  ...more

  Episode

• How Crypto Streaming Service Audius Hit Six Million Monthly Active Users - Ep.270

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  Sep 07 2021

  Audius, a blockchain native music streaming platform, hit six million monthly active users in August and announced a partnership with TikTok. Roneil Rumburg, co-founder and CEO of Audius, talks about how Audius works, AUDIO tokenomics, the give and take of decentralization, and more. Show highlights: what problems Audius is solving for creators how artists are utilizing crypto to connect with fans how the crypto components of Audius fit together what three utilities AUDIO, the native token of Audius, offers holders why Audius requires over $500K in AUDIO tokens to run a node why AUDIO’s inflation rate is higher than other popular tokens like Ethereum or Bitcoin which portions of Audius are centralized versus decentralized where the majority of Audius’s listens come from (hint: it’s not the app) how Audius has created a “password” system to make blockchain technology easier to use for non-crypto natives why Audius uses both Solana and Ethereum how big-name artists like Diplo found their way onto Audius how Audius makes it easier to upload music to TikTok what’s next for Audius Take the annual Unchained survey!  Hey all, the Unchained survey is out now, and we'd so appreciate it if you could give us your thoughts on how Unchained is doing and what we could do better. Plus, we've got some questions for you about Laura's upcoming book launch and the articles that she's already starting to write! Two lucky survey respondents will receive a BTC candle, which is scented with "satoshiwood, musk musk, tulip bulbs and finite minerals."    Head to surveymonkey.com/r/unchained2021 to fill out the survey today!    Follow Laura on Medium!  Hey everyone, some news: I've begun writing news and features again. I’m now a Medium Partner, one of a group of writers I have long admired, such as Susan Orlean, Cory Doctorow, James Surowiecki and Will Leitch, among others. You can already check out my first post, which is on my career trajectory and why I still love covering crypto six years in. To find all my writing on Medium, please follow me at Medium.com/@laurashin.  Thank you to our sponsors! Digital Asset Research: https://www.digitalassetresearch.com/ Ledger: https://www.ledger.com/ Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021     Episode Links   Roneil Rumburg Twitter: https://twitter.com/roneilr    Audius Website: https://audius.co/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/AudiusProject  Whitepaper: https://whitepaper.audius.co/AudiusWhitepaper.pdf  Discord: https://discord.com/channels/557662127305785361/806017242734395413    What is Audius? Decrypt: https://decrypt.co/resources/what-is-audius-the-decentralized-music-sharing-and-streaming-service Messari: https://messari.io/asset/audius/profile Coindesk: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2020/11/11/audius-has-big-numbers-by-crypto-standards-but-can-it-take-on-soundcloud/    TikTok + Audius Coverage Audius: https://twitter.com/AudiusProject/status/1427299274325323779  Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/tiktok-sounds-streaming-crypto-blockchain-nfts-audius-1211699/   General Coverage 6M monthly users https://twitter.com/AudiusProject/status/1433248161443684356 Moving to Solana (Oct 2020): https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2020/10/29/audius-the-decentralized-spotify-is-moving-part-of-its-service-to-solana-blockchain/ 5M monthly users (Aug 5): https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2021/08/05/blockchain-based-music-streaming-service-audius-up-to-5m-monthly-users/  Copyright nightmare (The Verge 2019) https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/9/20905384/audius-blockchain-music-streaming-service-copyright-infringement-piracy  NFTs (April 2021) https://decrypt.co/65808/crypto-streaming-music-service-audius-nfts Token Drop (Oct 2020): https://medium.com/audius/welcome-audio-to-mainnet-409009bc130c  https://decrypt.co/46390/audius-distributes-crypto-rac-deadmau5-listeners Youtube + Audius project https://youtubetoaudius.com/  Music Racer: https://store.steampowered.com/app/893030/Music_Racer/  Raises https://musically.com/2020/10/26/decentralised-streaming-service-audius-raises-another-1-25m/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/08/audius/ https://musically.com/2020/08/03/blockchain-music-service-audius-raises-3-1m-funding-round/  Node requirements: https://blog.audius.co/posts/a-primer-on-audio-staking#:~:text=All%20node%20operators%20are%20required,cost%20slightly%20more%20to%20operate.  ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: Why the FTX.US/LedgerX Deal Indicates Crypto M&A Might Start Booming - Ep.269

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  Sep 03 2021

  Steven Ehrlich, director of research for digital assets at Forbes, discusses the FTX.US-LedgerX merger, what to expect from FTX going forward, DeFi regulation, and more. Show highlights: why the FTX.US acquisition of derivatives platform LedgerX is significant how FTX.US stacks up against other US cryptocurrency exchanges who should use crypto derivative products how regulators might handle FTX.US and crypto derivative ETFs what to expect from FTX going forward how long FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried spends talking to regulators every day why Steven thinks crypto mergers and acquisitions will be a trend going forward what Steven learned from his conversations with Polygon and Hermez how Fereshteh Forough, a woman living in Afghanistan, is using crypto to help teach women to build dapps, smart contracts, and use crypto   Thank you to our sponsors!   Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021   Polymarket: https://polymarket.com   Sorare: https://sorare.com       Episode Links   Steven Ehrlich https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenehrlich/?sh=fb976542ce44 https://twitter.com/Steven_Ehrlich  https://www.forbes.com/newsletters/forbescryptoassetadvisor/?sh=55678b72dec8   FTX.US Merger https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenehrlich/2021/08/31/us-bitcoin-exchange-backed-by-billionaire-sam-bankman-fried-moves-into-crypto-derivatives/   M&A Trend https://www.forbes.com/newsletters/forbescryptoassetadvisor/2021/08/31/exploring-voyagers-900-million-token-merger/?sh=29f4f16851b4    Interview with Sam Bankman-Fried https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenehrlich/2021/08/30/billionaire-sam-bankman-fried-pushes-back-against-critics-of-crypto-derivatives/?sh=6428141b5cbd    Polygon-Hermez Deal https://www.coindesk.com/polygon-merges-with-hermez-network-in-250m-deal    Fereshteh Forough Coverage https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenehrlich/2021/08/17/taliban-resurgence-could-threaten-afghan-school-teaching-women-to-code-and-build-ethereum-apps ...more

  Episode

• How Pplpleasr Helped Fortune Magazine Sell More Than $1 Million in NFTs - Ep.268

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  Aug 31 2021

  Pplpleasr, the artist behind Fortune magazine’s recent crypto cover and Uniswap’s V3 announcement animation, talks about her crypto journey and how NFTs are changing the game for creators. Show highlights: how not getting a job at Apple changed her life forever how the Pplpleasr-Uniswap collaboration came about what goes into her creative process how Pplpleasr got hired for the Fortune magazine cover why she chose to represent anon-avatars on the Fortune cover why Pplpleasr was surprised by Fortune’s response to her artwork (and crypto in general) what sort of crypto personas are represented on the Fortune cover and why how NFTs are changing the paradigm of monetization for creators compared to the traditional art world what pplpleasr is looking forward to in future NFT smart contracts why NFTs are still limited right now why institutions, like Budweiser and Visa, are suddenly interested in NFTs what Fortune is doing to grow its NFT collection how DAOs are changing art curation and collecting why Pplpleasr was surprised that a DAO (bearing her name) purchased the Uniswap V3 animation where Pplpleasr thinks the NFT space will go in the next year or so   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021  Polymarket: https://polymarket.com    Episode Links:   Pplpleasr Twitter: https://twitter.com/pplpleasr1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pplpleasr/  Website: https://pplplsr.com/    Pplpleasr Content: Fortune op-ed on crypto https://fortune.com/2021/08/06/nft-art-pplpleasr-fortune-cover-ethereum-defihow-crypto-changed-my-life/ Her previous work for DeFi protocols https://pplplsr.com/Crypto Fortune cover https://fortune.com/2021/08/05/nft-drop-pplpleasr-cover-art-opensea-auction-ethereum/  https://twitter.com/pplpleasr1/status/1423359319639212037?s=20    Miscellaneous Links PleasrDAO  https://pleasr.org/  https://pleasr.mirror.xyz/D9wIadL-5EEkt17glTtar21m3RDqfgkhkr__OEE2mOE  OpenSea’s post-mortem on Chad sale https://twitter.com/opensea/status/1424866514558128130  Business of business write up https://www.businessofbusiness.com/articles/defi-crypto-meme-hustler-yield-farmer-finance-blockchain-art-nft-pplpleasr-memetic-markting/ Manifold https://www.manifold.xyz/  ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: How Another NFT Trend, .eth Names, Has Attracted the Likes of Budweiser - Ep.267

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  Aug 27 2021

  Nick Johnson, lead developer at the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), talks about making Ethereum human-readable, why Budweiser purchased an NFT, how purchasing an ENS works, and more. Show highlights: what ENS does and why it is important why Budweiser bought “beer.eth” how ENS names can be used to make Ethereum easier to use what business use cases ENS names make possible what made Nick want to create a naming service on Ethereum how people are using their ENS names why people are purchasing ENS names what privacy issues arise from people attaching their name to an ETH address what happens when Ethereum addresses get spammed with unwanted tokens how to buy an ENS name and how much it costs how ENS handles squatters what happens when you lose access to an address holding an ENS name how ENS is integrating normal domains (ex: “.com”) to Ethereum what ENS has planned for L2 launches   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021  Polymarket: https://polymarket.com  Sorare: https://sorare.com      Episode Links:    Nick Johnson Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicksdjohnson Website: http://blog.notdot.net/  Ethereum Domain Service Twitter: https://twitter.com/ensdomains Website: https://app.ens.domains/    Miscellaneous links Budweiser ENS purchase: https://decrypt.co/79397/from-visa-to-budweiser-big-brands-are-taking-nfts-seriously Unwanted tokens being sent to addresses https://decrypt.co/79406/budweiser-dick-pic-nft-ethereum-wallet  https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2021/05/12/vitaliks-regift-of-unsolicited-doge-knockoffs-sends-memecoin-prices-plunging/  DNS (.com) integration with ENS: https://twitter.com/ensdomains/status/1430933399745798155   ...more

  Episode

• BitGo on Why the Travel Rule Should Not Apply to Digital Assets - Ep.266

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  Aug 24 2021

  BitGo CEO Mike Belshe and COO Jeff Horowitz talk about one of the hottest topics facing the crypto industry today: regulation. They discuss... what BitGo does why Jeff left his successful TradFi career to go crypto how crypto compliance and custody differs from the traditional finance world the state of crypto education amongst regulators why Jeff and Mike think the infrastructure bill is a win for the crypto industry what FinCEN is doing to regulate crypto why they think the infrastructure bill’s goal of raising billions in crypto taxes could only bring in millions what FATF guidance regarding VASPs requires of crypto companies why the travel rule could lead to US customer data being shared overseas how digital assets change the implications of the travel rule how regulators are attempting to deal with DeFi what the FATF guidance means for FATF countries, like the US why DeFi is not ready for strict regulations Jeff’s views on Brian Brooks’s departure from BinanceUS the Galaxy Digital acquisition of BitGo what security issues a trillion-dollar wallet presents why BitGo refused to put a “freeze” function in its WBTC contract why Tesla and MicroStrategy purchased BTC and why other companies have been slow to follow suit whether BitGo will offer NFT solutions going forward   Thank you to our sponsors!   Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2    Polymarket: https://polymarket.com/    Episode links   Mike Belshe -- CEO BitGo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikebelshe/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikebelshe  Previous Unchained appearance: https://unchainedpodcast.com/mike-belshe-on-what-bitgos-kingdom-trust-acquisition-means-for-crypto-and-how-security-will-develop-in-the-future/  Jeff Horowitz -- CCO BitGo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-horowitz-3381977   BitGo Website: https://www.bitgo.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/BitGo Blog: https://blog.bitgo.com/  Galaxy Digital purchase: https://www.coindesk.com/galaxy-digital-to-buy-bitgo-for-about-1-2-billion-in-stock-cash  FATF solution: https://www.coindesk.com/us-crypto-giants-build-first-version-of-fatf-compliant-travel-rule-tool New York Trust Charter: https://decrypt.co/60110/bitgo-new-york-trust-charter-crypto-wall-street    Infrastructure bill and its implications for crypto https://twitter.com/mikebelshe/status/1424163820726009861  https://www.wsj.com/articles/bitcoin-fans-are-suddenly-a-political-force-11629115380 https://www.coindesk.com/infrastructure-bill-house-politics https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/16/tax-foundation-infrastructure-bill-crypto-tax-provision-is-unworkable.html https://decrypt.co/78198/senate-passes-infrastructure-bill-crypto-tax-house https://www.taxnotes.com/featured-analysis/proposal-regulate-digital-asset-transactions-should-be-struck/2021/08/13/775gf#.YRfX9GEX2GI.twitter https://twitter.com/vtg2/status/1426264859071627266 https://twitter.com/BlockchainAssn/status/1427276559052910599  Unchained coverage:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-congress-might-pass-laws-bad-for-proof-of-stake-and-defi/ https://unchainedpodcast.com/crypto-got-screwed-what-happens-next-in-the-senate/ https://unchainedpodcast.com/this-bill-looks-very-bad-for-crypto/   FATF and the travel rule https://sumsub.com/blog/what-is-the-fatf-travel-rule/ Unchained coverage: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-the-travel-rule-is-one-of-the-most-significant-regulations-in-crypto/ https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-proposed-fatf-rules-could-be-a-shock-for-defi/ FinCEN reporting https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/99898/what-comes-next-for-the-us-treasury-departments-plans-to-monitor-crypto-wallets  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/88347/treasury-crypto-wallets-reporting-rule  Unchained coverage: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-proposed-fatf-rules-could-be-a-shock-for-defi/   Miscellaneous links Brian Brooks’s BinanceUS departure: https://www.coindesk.com/binance-us-ceo-brian-brooks-quits-cites-strategic-differences Poly Network hack: https://www.elliptic.co/blog/the-poly-network-hack-600-million-in-crypto-stolen-and-returned-in-24-hours WBTC: https://www.bitgo.com/newsroom/press-releases/wbtc-brings-bitcoin-to-ethereum/  ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: SOL Is Up 3,800% YTD. Could It Eventually Displace Ethereum? - Ep.265

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  Aug 20 2021

  SOL is up 75% over the past seven days, 205% in the past month, and 3,800% YTD. On Unchained, Multicoin Capital’s Kyle Samani discusses the DeFi projects fueling Solana’s growth, why he thinks Solana could make Ethereum obsolete, and the spectrum of decentralization. Show highlights: what factors have contributed to SOL’s growth this year what two milestones occurred last week that Kyle thinks supercharged SOL’s popularity why Kyle thinks the issues with the Degen Ape Academy NFT drop were not actually a problem with the Solana blockchain what projects will be possible on Solana that are impracticable on Ethereum why Kyle thinks some combination of NFTs and social token apps will be the first breakout app on Solana why Solana decreases the risk of massive liquidations -- like the crypto industry saw on Black Thursday in March 2020 how Solana and Ethereum differ in regards to composability and fragmentation what BitClout has to do with Kyle’s Solana investment thesis why Solana could be the basis for the next crypto bull run why Kyle thinks the Ethereum merge as it completes transition to Ethereum 2.0 will not really affect Solana how the competition between Solana and Ethereum could play out in the next 12 months why Kyle is not overly concerned about Solana being more centralized than Ethereum what the Solana versus Ethereum competition will look like going forward, and why Solana may have the upper hand what Kyle learned from his investment in EOS   Thank you to our sponsors! Sorare: https://sorare.com    Polymarket: https://polymarket.co/unconfirmed  Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021     Episode links   Kyle Samani Twitter: https://twitter.com/KyleSamani  Multicoin Capital: https://multicoin.capital/    Previous Unchained appearances: May 2021: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-solana-and-binance-smart-chain-could-take-ethereums-lead/  April 2020: https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-most-forkable-defi-protocols-on-ethereum/ March 2020: https://unchainedpodcast.com/teetering-on-the-edge-how-black-thursday-exposed-the-flaws-in-the-crypto-markets/  January 2020: https://unchainedpodcast.com/kyle-samani-on-how-2020-will-be-the-year-of-small-success-stories/  March 2019: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-binance-could-become-the-first-decentralized-autonomous-corporation/  June 2018: https://unchainedpodcast.com/multicoins-kyle-samani-on-why-he-believes-bitcoin-governance-doesnt-accommodate-the-real-world-ep-025/  May 2018: https://unchainedpodcast.com/multicoin-on-the-1-thing-crypto-teams-miss-in-their-quests-for-success/    Solana  Twitter: https://twitter.com/solana  Recent updates: https://solana.com/news/solana-ecosystem-news/  Website:  https://solana.com/    Recent SOL boom https://twitter.com/JohnStCapital/status/1427088119870935047 https://www.ar.ca/blog/11-thoughts-during-a-digital-assets-bull-market https://www.forbes.com/sites/ninabambysheva/2021/08/16/solana-hits-new-all-time-high-above-60/  https://twitter.com/KyleSamani/status/1425282669630328841    Projects Saber (AMM/DEX) growth https://twitter.com/Saber_HQ/status/1428062812228759564  Audius https://www.coindesk.com/crypto-powered-audius-wins-tiktok-tie-up-for-streaming-music-direct-to-platform Degenerate Ape Academy https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/114703/solana-hits-all-time-high-as-market-watchers-say-institutional-interest-is-growing https://twitter.com/Pentosh1/status/1427034066784763904  https://twitter.com/samecwilliams/status/1426828830552084482  Mango Markets https://www.coindesk.com/solanas-mango-markets-dex-raises-70m-in-mngo-token-sale Wormhole https://www.coindesk.com/solana-launches-cross-chain-wormhole-for-shuttling-assets-from-ethereum-bsc    Multicoin’s Solana material https://multicoin.capital/2021/05/04/announcing-venture-fund-ii/ https://multicoin.capital/2019/03/14/on-value-capture-at-layers-1-and-2/ https://multicoin.capital/2019/07/30/the-world-computer-should-be-logically-centralized/    Solana overview https://thedefiant.io/solana-defi-ecosystem-overview/ https://research.thetie.io/solana-ecosystem/ https://research.binance.com/en/projects/solana https://medium.com/coinmonks/solana-more-update-for-sol-becb65024877 https://genesisblockhk.com/what-is-solana/   Block explorers https://explorer.solana.com/ https://solanabeach.io/ https://solanaproject.com/    Submitted questions from Unchained listeners https://twitter.com/Unchained_pod/status/1428136429805264898  ...more

  Episode

• On-Chain Analytics Show ETH Accumulation Is Greater Than That of BTC - Ep.264

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  Aug 17 2021

  NFTs are the talk of the metaverse, EIP 1559 just went live, and DeFi stats are rebounding. On Unchained, Fredrik Haga, cofounder and CEO at Dune Analytics, along with Richard Chen, general partner at 1confirmation, discuss the booming Ethereum ecosystem through the lens of on-chain data, diving into NFTs, DeFi, ETH, and their favorite layer 2s. Show highlights: why Ethereum is on such a pronounced upswing why on-chain metrics lead to superior information reporting  mind-blowing OpenSea statistics why NFTs are so hot at the moment how Richard explains NFTs to normies whether the NFT market is sustainable what makes an NFT drop pop and why profile pics (PFPs) matter how Polygon NFTs compare to Ethereum NFTs the main driving force behind DeFi usage  how Richard measures the total amount of DeFi users what brings new users into DeFi what DEX trends Fredrik is keeping his eye on why structured products are crucial to DeFi’s continued success how Ethereum is doing since the London hard fork why NFT drops are like 2017 ICOs what metric shows ETH adoption outpacing BTC adoption among institutions which layer 2 solutions are Fredrik and Richard excited about why Richard considers Binance Smart Chain a centralized blockchain why Fredrik likes what Solana is building Richard and Fredrik’s predictions for the NFTs, DeFi, and ETH going forward   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2   Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero   Polymarket: https://polymarket.com/    Episode Links   Richard Chen Twitter: https://twitter.com/richardchen39 1confirmation: https://www.1confirmation.com/ Dune Analytics dashboards: https://dune.xyz/rchen8 Fredrik Haga Twitter: https://twitter.com/hagaetc Dune Analytics: https://dune.xyz/home  Dune Analytics dashboards: https://dune.xyz/hagaetc  On-chain dashboards Stablecoins: https://dune.xyz/hagaetc/stablecoins Lending: https://dune.xyz/hagaetc/lending DEXs: https://dune.xyz/hagaetc/dex-metrics  ETH 2.0 deposits: https://dune.xyz/hagaetc/eth2-0-deposits OpenSea: https://dune.xyz/rchen8/opensea DeFi users: https://dune.xyz/rchen8/defi-users-over-time  NFT prices: https://dune.xyz/rchen8/NFT-prices  SuperRare: https://dune.xyz/rchen8/superrare_4  Nexus Mutual: https://dune.xyz/eliasimos/Nexus-Mutual-Financials  ETH fees burned: https://dune.xyz/rchen8/ETH-fees-burned-in-1confirmation-portfolio  Base Fees: https://dune.xyz/msilb7/EIP1559-Base-Fee-x-Tip-by-Block Unchained episodes mentioned Ultra Sound Money: https://unchainedpodcast.com/is-eth-on-its-way-to-becoming-ultra-sound-money-yes-says-justin-drake/ EIP 1559: https://unchainedpodcast.com/ethereums-eip-1559-will-solve-some-problems-but-big-ones-will-remain/  OpenSea: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-nft-platform-opensea-plans-to-maintain-its-competitive-advantage-ep-232/    Miscellaneous Zed Run: https://zed.run/ Axie Infinity: https://axieinfinity.com/ Qiao Wang tweet: https://twitter.com/QwQiao/status/1425773846418821125 Ethereum burning: https://ultrasound.money/  ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: Why Did the Poly Network Attacker Return Half the Money They Stole? - Ep.263

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  Aug 13 2021

  Poly Network, a cross-chain DeFi protocol, recently suffered a $600M hack -- the largest DeFi exploit in crypto history. Mudit Gupta, security researcher and SushiSwap dev, breaks down the attack, explaining how it occurred, why the hacker is returning the funds, and what Poly Network should do next. Show highlights: how Poly Network works what specific mechanism the hacker attacked on Poly Network why many people (including myself) had never heard of Poly Network before the hack how “keepers” failed to protect Poly Network why a failed transaction was the key to pulling off the hack what SlowMist claims to have discovered about the hacker what could be motivating the hacker to return the stolen funds how the hacker is communicating with Poly Network why Tether was able to freeze funds while USDC and BSC allowed the hacker to get away with their tokens how Poly Network should handle negotiations with the hacker   Thank you to our sponsors! Sorare: https://sorare.com   Polymarket: https://polymarket.co/unconfirmed Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021    Episode Links   Mudit Gupta Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mudit__Gupta Blog: https://mudit.blog/ SushiSwap: https://twitter.com/SushiSwap    Poly Network hack Poly Network response: https://twitter.com/PolyNetwork2/status/1425870262067548163  Mudit’s analysis: https://mudit.blog/poly-network-largest-crypto-hack/  Kelvin Fichter thread: https://twitter.com/kelvinfichter/status/1425217046636371969 Hacker Q&A: https://twitter.com/tomrobin/status/1425487745166753794 Tether blacklist: https://twitter.com/paoloardoino/status/1425090760609832978 ETH tip: https://twitter.com/HsakaTrades/status/1425093301691195407 The Block’s coverage: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/114189/poly-hack-attacker-return-funds-id-slowmist  ​​Returning funds: https://www.coindesk.com/poly-network-hacker-starts-to-return-funds...more

  Episode

• Is ETH on Its Way to Becoming Ultra-Sound Money? Yes, Says Justin Drake - Ep.262

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  Aug 10 2021

  Ethereum just went through its most complex upgrade ever. Justin Drake, researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, discusses what the upgrade, aka the London hard fork, means for ether’s future as what he calls "ultra-sound money." At the end of the episode, he also drops a few Bitcoin hot takes. Show highlights: his background and how he got involved in crypto how EIP 1559 will affect Ethereum now that it is live why burning ether is good for the Ethereum economy what two concepts are crucial to understanding money what three ways ether is used as money why he believes ether will become “ultra sound money,” when gold and silver are just “sound money” what the main drivers of ETH’s value are how the merge from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake will happen for Ethereum  how much more efficient Justin calculates proof-of-stake will be compared to proof-of-work why people are saying Ethereum is going through a “triple halvening” what factors influence how much Ethereum is issued and burned how Ethereum could become deflationary why net sell pressure is about to decrease what projects are burning the most ETH now that EIP 1559 is live why Justin is worried about Bitcoin’s future what Bitcoin could do to survive once it only subsists on transaction fees whether Justin considers himself a bitcoiner how ETH as ultra-sound money is becoming a meme   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2   Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero    Episode Links   Justin Drake Twitter: https://twitter.com/drakefjustin   Written content June 23 Ethereum Foundation ETH 2.0 Research AMA (command F for Justin Drake responses) https://www.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/o4unlp/ama_we_are_the_efs_research_team_pt_6_23_june_2021/ “If capped-supply gold is sound money decreasing-supply ether is ultra sound money” https://twitter.com/drakefjustin/status/1396796596281614339   Math Modeling ETH based on EVM fees https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1U9cGxGY3_t7m4MEIpjKWtRcA2zRajywaxMCZYqbF9eI/edit#gid=0  Calculating ETH supply https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZN444__qkPWPjMJQ_t6FfqbhllkWNhHF-06ivRF73nQ/edit#gid=0 Podcast appearances Bankless “Modeling Ultra Sound Money” (April 28) https://shows.banklesshq.com/p/-sotn-44-modeling-ultra-sound-money Bankless “Ultra Sound Money” (Mar 23) https://twitter.com/drakefjustin/status/1374049775474114562 Bankless “Bull Case for Cryptography” (Jan 25) https://shows.banklesshq.com/p/-moon-math-the-bull-case-for-cryptography   London/EIP 1559/Ethereum 2.0 Resources Unchained content Episodes Ethereum’s EIP-1559 Will Solve Some Problems But Big Ones Will Remain https://unchainedpodcast.com/ethereums-eip-1559-will-solve-some-problems-but-big-ones-will-remain/  Ethereum 2.0: What You Need to Know https://unchainedpodcast.com/ethereum-2-0-what-you-need-to-know/ Why Ethereum 2.0 Could Fail and How It Could Be Fixed https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-ethereum-2-0-could-fail-and-how-it-could-be-fixed/  Previous resources EIP 1559 links (Tim Beiko) https://hackmd.io/@timbeiko/1559-resources  Messari Research https://messari.io/pdf/messari-report-eth2-the-next-evolution-of-cryptoeconomy.pdf  Staked ETH address https://etherscan.io/address/0x00000000219ab540356cBB839Cbe05303d7705Fa#analytics DETH of Ethereum https://medium.com/ideo-colab/the-deth-of-ethereum-98553866e81b   Various research Ethereum: The Triple Halving https://squish.substack.com/p/ethereum-the-triple-halving  Bankless https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/how-ethereum-can-democratize-eth2 https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/eth-the-worlds-most-capital-efficient Coinmonks -- talks about Justin Drake a ton! https://medium.com/coinmonks/is-ethereum-really-ultra-sound-money-bee2c8129d40  The Defiant https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUifPoqhAOI Ultra Sound Money content Longer analysis https://every.to/almanack/ultra-sound-money   https://twitter.com/ricburton/status/1388825596294275078  Briefings https://news.bitcoin.com/the-future-of-ethereum-in-a-meme-ultrasound-money/ https://cryptobriefing.com/eth-becoming-ultra-sound-money-says-vitalik-buterin/ Twitter/Website: https://twitter.com/ultrasoundmoney https://ultrasound.money/  ETH 2 Vision (Ethereum.org) https://ethereum.org/en/eth2/vision/ The Block’s coverage https://www.theblockcrypto.com/daily/54776/everything-you-need-to-know-about-whats-coming-for-ethereum-2-0-in-2020 https://www.theblockresearch.com/ethereum-2-0-the-exchange-dilemma-67695 Decrypt https://decrypt.co/resources/what-is-ethereum-2-0 https://decrypt.co/77511/how-will-eip-1559-ethereum-triple-halving-affect-eth-price  Tim Roughgarden EIP 1559 economic analysis http://timroughgarden.org/papers/eip1559.pdf ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: How Congress Might Pass Laws Bad for Proof-of-Stake and DeFi - Ep.261

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  Aug 06 2021

  Kristin Smith, executive director at the Blockchain Association, discusses the latest news on a provision in the infrastructure bill that seeks to raise $28B from the crypto industry in taxes. Show highlights: how the original crypto provision within the infrastructure bill came to be why the expansion of the term “broker” is problematic in the original language of the bill what the Treasury and the White House have to do with this bill and how they, along with Senator Portman, are resisting change how Senators Ron Wyden, Pat Toomey, and Cynthia Lummis are attempting to change the language of the provision through an amendment how the crypto community rallied around Wyden's amendment  why Kristin believes a rival amendment put forward by Senators Warner and Portman and supported by the White House late Thursday is worse than the bill’s original language  when the Senate will be voting on the amendments how the amendment the White House supports seems harmful to proof-of-stake networks and bad for DeFi whether this is part of a master plan to regulate crypto in the US what Kristin hopes happens during the vote how the crypto community can have its voice heard how to fix the issues within the crypto policy world so this doesn’t happen again   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021    Episode Links Kristin Smith: https://twitter.com/KMSmithDC Blockchain Association: https://theblockchainassociation.org/   Infrastructure Bill Information Latest Coverage: https://decrypt.co/77838/rival-amendment-senate-infrastructure-bill-threatens-proof-stake https://decrypt.co/77859/crypto-industry-mobilizes-to-stop-controversial-tax-plan https://decrypt.co/77841/biden-crypto-infrastructure-bill-amendments https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/08/16-civil-society-organizations-call-congress-fix-cryptocurrency-provision  https://decrypt.co/77681/senators-move-exempt-bitcoin-miners-tax-provision-infrastructure-bill https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2021/08/04/senators-propose-change-to-new-crypto-rules-for-tax-reporting-heres-whos-affected/ https://twitter.com/BlockchainAssn/status/1422976741715361792 https://twitter.com/jerrybrito/status/1422002228102107142 https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/113196/wyden-crypto-language-in-infrastructure-bill-fails-to-understand-how-the-technology-works https://www.coindesk.com/new-infrastructure-bill-looks-to-raise-30b-through-crypto-taxes https://twitter.com/jchervinsky/status/1421150344051048451 https://twitter.com/NeerajKA/status/1421242689148932105 https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/01/politics/bipartisan-infrastructure-bill-collins-manchin-senate-cnntv/index.html https://www.coindesk.com/gop-lawmaker-janet-yellens-treasury-likely-behind-surprise-crypto-bill  ...more

  Episode

• Can a DeFi Smart Contract Be Regulated? Two CFTC Commissioners Discuss - Ep.260

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  Aug 03 2021

  CFTC Commissioners Dan Berkovitz and Brian Quintenz discuss the difficulties of regulating crypto derivatives and DeFi. Show highlights: their backgrounds what the CFTC’s duties are regarding crypto how the CFTC’s jurisdiction has evolved over the years why Commissioner Quintenz believes SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce’s safe harbor proposal is “brilliant” what relationship the CFTC and SEC have when making decisions on crypto assets why the commissioners believe CFTC’s complaints regarding BitMEX are “well-founded” why formal regulation for crypto derivatives is unlikely to be produced by the CFTC why leveraged derivatives products are a “concern” to the CFTC what makes regulating DeFi platforms so difficult when it comes to DeFi, who is a natural entity for the CFTC to regulate, if any whether the CFTC would ever go after DeFi "market participants," who the CFTC also regulates why smart contracts involving futures could be illegal  how the possibility that smart contracts could be illegal squares with the view that software development is a form of free speech  whether the CFTC could prosecute developers who write smart contracts whether the CFTC needs to re-write its laws in light of DeFi innovation why Commissioner Berkovitz thinks the DeFi “winners” will be protocols that focus on meeting regulatory requirements why the CFTC approved Bitcoin futures in 2017 while the SEC has not yet approved a Bitcoin ETF how a Bitcoin ETF could solve Bitcoin’s accounting issue, which currently gives companies no upside for adding BTC to its balance sheet   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2  Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero  Conjure: https://conjure.finance    Episode Links   People Dan Berkovitz, CFTC Commissioner (Sep 2018+) CFTC website: https://www.cftc.gov/About/Commissioners/CommissionerDanMBerkovitz/index.htm Twitter: https://twitter.com/CFTCberkovitz  Brian Quintenz, CFTC Commissioner (Aug 2017+) CFTC website: https://www.cftc.gov/About/Commissioners/BrianQuintenz/index.htm Twitter: https://twitter.com/CFTCquintenz    Related Links CFTC digital asset resources: https://www.cftc.gov/digitalassets/index.htm Commissioner Berkovitz DeFi speech: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/107769/cftc-commissioner-criticizes-defi-decries-lack-of-intermediaries Commissioner Quintenz smart contracts/blockchain speech: https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/opaquintenz16 CFTC jurisdiction over digital assets: https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/giancarlostatement010418  CFTC BitMEX complaint: https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8270-20 FTX and Binance remove high leverage: https://decrypt.co/76858/ftx-and-binance-remove-high-leverage-from-exchanges SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce’s safe harbor proposal: https://www.sec.gov/news/public-statement/peirce-statement-token-safe-harbor-proposal-2.0  Bitcoin futures approval from CFTC in 2017: https://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-price-futures-trading-exchanges-cftc-2017-12...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: Axie Infinity's July Revenue Tops $200 Million. Here's How Filipinos Drove It - Ep.259

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  Jul 30 2021

  Leah Callon-Butler, director of Emfarsis, discusses her documentary, “Play-to-Earn: NFT Gaming in the Philippines,” and the real-world impact that crypto is having in the Philippines. Show highlights: how the Axie Infinity movement started in the Philippines how much money players can earn through Axie Infinity compared to normal wages in the Philippines how Filipino crypto exchanges are catering to Axie Infinity players to make it easier to cash out their earnings what percentage of Axie Infinity players live in the Philippines why the game is so popular in rural areas what about Axie Infinity is bringing in non-crypto native players why Axie Infinity now has high barriers to entry how players have created their own system for helping bring new users into Axie Infinity how Axie Infinity scholarships work what Leah thinks about Yield Guild Games’s relationship with Axie Infinity Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021  Oasis: https://oasisprotocol.org/  NEAR: https://near.org    Episode Links Leah Callon-Butler: https://twitter.com/leah_cb  Emfarsis: https://emfarsis.com/ Axie Infinity: Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo-BrASMHU4  Coverage https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/14/people-in-philippines-earn-cryptocurrency-playing-nft-video-game-axie-infinity.html https://venturebeat.com/2021/05/13/how-a-rural-filipino-community-is-earning-a-living-playing-an-nft-game/ https://hypebeast.com/2021/5/axie-infinity-nft-cryptocurrency-game-philippines-documentary https://www.esquiremag.ph/money/industry/axie-infinity-mobile-game-cryptocurrency-nft-a00289-20210521   Leah’s NFT/Axie Infinity writings: https://www.coindesk.com/the-metaverses-emerging-economics  https://www.coindesk.com/how-axie-infinity-creates-work-in-the-metaverse https://www.coindesk.com/nft-game-filipinos-covid  https://www.coindesk.com/artists-who-now-make-a-living-because-of-nfts https://www.coindesk.com/for-filipinos-axie-infinity-is-more-than-a-crypto-game https://www.coindesk.com/here-comes-the-virtual-real-estate-boom https://www.coindesk.com/vindicatio-nft-pioneer-looks-ahead  ...more

  Episode

• Why ShapeShift's Erik Voorhees Thinks Toxic Bitcoin Maximalism Is Bullshit - Ep.258

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  Jul 27 2021

  ShapeShift recently announced an intent to decentralize -- a move that would transition the one-time centralized exchange to a full-on DAO. Erik Voorhees, founder and CEO of ShapeShift, comes onto the show to talk about decentralizing the exchange, along with his thoughts on Bitcoin maximalism and crypto regulation. Show highlights: why ShapeShift is decentralizing the company  how ShapeShift used to work what needs to happen for ShapeShift to decentralize why user experience should not change during the transition how the FOX token works what parts of a company cannot be decentralized yet how ShapeShift’s forthcoming foundation will function how ShapeShift decided upon the allocations for the FOX token airdrop why ShapeShift employee and shareholder FOX tokens are locked up for three years what Erik’s role will be going forward how ShapeShift plans to attract devs why Erik believes FOX is not a security how Erik wants the SEC to handle crypto why he believes THORChain is one of the most critical projects in crypto why he is opposed to Bitcoin maximalism Erik’s thoughts on BitMEX’s and Binance’s regulatory issues what he thinks about stablecoin regulation Why Erik believes ShapeShift and Uniswap are not competitors   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2  Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero  Conjure: https://conjure.finance    Episode Links Erik Voorhees Twitter: https://twitter.com/ErikVoorhees Previous Unchained appearance: https://unchainedpodcast.com/shapeshifts-erik-voorhees-on-how-crypto-will-separate-money-and-state/ ShapeShift: https://beta.shapeshift.com/  Decentralizing Tweet thread: https://twitter.com/ErikVoorhees/status/1415339998740508674 Blog post: https://erikvoorhees.medium.com/shapeshift-is-decentralizing-639bb4c82fc8 Airdrop info: https://shapeshift.com/shapeshift-decentralize-airdrop FOX token contract: https://etherscan.io/token/0xc770eefad204b5180df6a14ee197d99d808ee52d  CoinDesk write-up: https://www.coindesk.com/shapeshift-to-shut-down-airdrop-fox-tokens-to-decentralize-itself-out-of-existence  FOX token analysis: https://www.coindesk.com/shapeshift-fox-token-rally-yield-play-daos  Other THORChain: https://erikvoorhees.medium.com/an-introduction-to-thorchain-for-bitcoiners Getting booed at Miami BTC Conference: https://twitter.com/finematics/status/1401498099441405953 Paxos stablecoin blog: https://www.paxos.com/a-regulated-stablecoin-means-having-a-regulator/ Circle reveals reserves: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/112001/circle-reveals-majority-of-usdc-reserves-are-in-cash-and-cash-equivalents  CFTC and BitMEX: https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8270-20 ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: MIT's Neha Narula on Why Building DeFi on Bitcoin Is a Great Idea - Ep.257

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  Jul 23 2021

  Neha Narula, director of the Digital Currency Initiative at the MIT Media Lab, discusses Elon Musk’s appearance at ‘The B Word’ conference, along with a few current events in the Bitcoin world. Show highlights: her main takeaway from ‘The B Word’ conference why governance plays an essential role in Bitcoin’s block size arguments what Neha thinks of proof-of-work mining and Bitcon’s environmental concerns why Neha is skeptical of Dogecoin becoming a serious cryptocurrency why Jack Dorsey’s new Bitcoin platform business is a good idea what Bitcoin’s dip in hashrate due to China’s crackdown could affect network security going forward what questions Neha has about Bitcoin’s adoption in El Salvador why Neha thinks cryptocurrencies and CBDCs will coexist what DCI has planned for the rest of 2021   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021  Oasis: https://oasisprotocol.org/  NEAR: https://near.org    Episode Links: Neha Narula: https://twitter.com/neha MIT Media Lab: ​​https://twitter.com/medialab  Digital Currency Initiative https://dci.mit.edu/ CBDC research https://dci.mit.edu/cbdc-central-bank-digital-currency  Bitcoin network development https://dci.mit.edu/cbdc-central-bank-digital-currency  The B Word conference Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey, Cathie Wood conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwx_7XAJ3p0  Neha’s appearance: https://www.thebword.org/c/track-3-Supporting-the-Developer-Ecosystem Miscellaneous Square’s Bitcoin DeFi platform https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/16/square-is-building-a-decentralized-finance-business-for-bitcoin.html Bitcoin and El Salvador https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/05/el-salvador-becomes-the-first-country-to-adopt-bitcoin-as-legal-tender-.html Bitcoin hashrate drop https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/15/chinas-bitcoin-miner-exodus-.html  ...more

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• How Ransomware Evolved Into a Big Business - Ep.256

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  Jul 20 2021

  Gurvais Grigg, Chainalysis public sector CTO, and Kim Grauer, director of research at Chainalysis, review the ransomware landscape. Show Highlights: their backgrounds and roles at Chainalysis how a ransomware attack works what types of businesses are usually targeted in ransomware attacks why ransomware as a service (RAAS) is a booming business why Kim and Gurvais believe the hacking group REvil is becoming more sophisticated what characteristic of REvil hints that the group could be affiliated with Russia how the RAAS business model works how ransomware payments can be tracked why ransomware reporting has a data problem why Bitcoin is the preferred method of payment amongst ransomware attackers what two factors makes BTC preferable to privacy coins how ransomware groups teach victims to transfer BTC how ransomware groups cash out of their BTC how counter-terrorism tactics can help fight ransomware attacks how the Department of Justice may have partially recovered part of the Colonial Pipeline ransomware payment what tools and strategies governments can and will use to battle ransomware Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2  Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero  Conjure: https://conjure.finance    Episode Links   People Kim Grauer - Director of Research at Chainalysis https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-grauer-a9501144 Gurvais Grigg - Global Public Sector Chief Technology Officer at Chainalysis https://www.linkedin.com/in/gurvais-grigg-b1027a153/    Chainalsysis Ransomware Data https://go.chainalysis.com/rs/503-FAP-074/images/Ransomware-2021-update.pdf   https://go.chainalysis.com/rs/503-FAP-074/images/Chainalysis-Crypto-Crime-2021.pdf   https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/applying-counterterrorism-strategies-to-ransomware   https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/eastern-europe-cryptocurrency-market-2020    Ransomware Attacks Kaseya https://decrypt.co/75246/what-the-revil-ransomware-attack-means-for-crypto https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-03/ransomware-attack-us-revil/100265656  Colonial Pipeline https://ciphertrace.com/ransomware-seizure-blockchain-analytics-helps-us-authorities-seize-over-2-million-in-darkside-ransom-paid-by-colonial-pipeline/  https://www.elliptic.co/blog/us-authorities-seize-darkside  JBS Holdings https://www.wsj.com/articles/jbs-paid-11-million-to-resolve-ransomware-attack Other Chainalysis  Twitter: https://twitter.com/chainalysis Website: https://www.chainalysis.com/ Who is REvil?  https://fortune.com/2021/07/07/what-is-revil-ransomware-attack-kaseya/ https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/revil-threat-actors/  Combating ransomware: https://securityandtechnology.org/ransomwaretaskforce/report/  Why Gurvais joined Chainalysis: https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/gurvais-grigg-chainalysis  ...more

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• Unconfirmed: Why It Might Be Too Late for Binance to Avoid Regulatory Action - Ep.255

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  Jul 16 2021

  Christine Parker, partner at Reed Smith, summarizes the slew of regulatory headlines facing Binance and how such scrutiny may affect the exchange going forward. Show highlights: which countries are investigating Binance why it has been difficult for governing bodies to regulate Binance whether the reports that regulatory bodies, like the CFTC/IRS/DOJ, coming after Binance are correct when Christine expects regulators to make a move against Binance how hiring ex-regulators might help Binance in Congress whether Binance’s strategy of leaving countries with tight regulations helped or hurt the exchange what Christine thinks of Binance’s strategy to localize its business model  whether or not it is too late to avoid regulatory penalties for Binance why transitioning to a DAO business model would not absolve Binance of prior infractions how the BitMEX situation could inform Binance whether criminal charges could be in Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao’s future Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021  Oasis: https://oasisprotocol.org  NEAR: https://near.org     Episode Links   Christine Parker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-parker-b09a31/   Binance Investigations https://www.coindesk.com/state-of-crypto-binance-is-firmly-in-the-regulatory-crosshairs  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/110380/thailand-sec-binance-crypto-exchange-criminal-complaint https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/104836/binance-crypto-irs-us-government-investigation-report https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/110510/barclays-customers-in-the-u-k-can-no-longer-transfer-funds-to-binance https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/110617/binance-suspends-deposits-from-key-european-payments-network https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/111482/italy-binance-consob-warning   Binance Material CZ letter https://www.binance.com/en/blog/421499824684902301/A-Letter-from-Our-CEO-Reflecting-on-Progress-and-the-Road-Ahead CZ Unchained appearance https://unchainedpodcast.com/listen-to-cz-compare-binance-to-bitcoin/  Binance’s compliance hiring spree https://www.radicalcompliance.com/2021/07/08/binance-compliance-hiring-spree/ ...more

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• Can a DAO Go to Court? According to Two DAO Legal Experts… Probably - Ep.254

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  Jul 13 2021

  Aaron Wright, co-founder of OpenLaw and Professor at Cardozo Law, and Ross Campbell, SushiSwap core developer and LexDAO contributor, discuss the latest breakthroughs and legal implications in the burgeoning world of DAOs. Show highlights: how Aaron and Ross fell down the crypto rabbit hole whether a DAO, like Curve, could sue to protect its IP when a governance token might be considered a security who owns the copyright to a DAO how SushiSwap handles its open-source licenses why Ross views Uniswap’s business license as a good thing what an DAO is and how the idea stems from Bitcoin how Wyoming’s DAO law works what makes a Wyoming DAO different from a DAO registered as a Delaware LLC how an algorithmically managed DAO might work in the future why Aaron thinks a DAO should not be allowed to be manager-managed why wrapping a DAO into an LLC could be advantageous the difference between private and public ordering Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2 Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero Conjure: https://conjure.finance    Episode Links   People Ross Campbell Social Twitter: https://twitter.com/r_ross_campbell Medium: https://medium.com/@rosscampbell9  Career OpenLaw: https://www.openlaw.io/ LexDAO: https://lexdao.substack.com/people/867851-ross-campbell SushiSwap: https://app.sushi.com/swap    Aaron Wright Social Twitter: https://twitter.com/awrigh01 Career OpenLaw: https://www.openlaw.io/ Cardozo Law: https://cardozo.yu.edu/directory/aaron-wright Content The Rise of DAOs: https://stanford-jblp.pubpub.org/pub/rise-of-daos/release/1   DAO Information Basics: https://ethereum.org/en/dao/  https://1729.com/daos  Kain Warwick: DAO First Capital Formation https://blog.synthetix.io/dao-first-capital-formation/  https://twitter.com/kaiynne/status/1287961077041393664 DAO Stats https://deepdao.io/  Wyoming: https://www.wyoleg.gov/2021/Engross/SF0038.pdf https://lexnode.substack.com/p/wyomings-legal-dao-saster https://twitter.com/prestonjbyrne/status/1370002015644962816?s=20 https://www.coindesk.com/wyoming-dao-llc-law-passed  https://twitter.com/lex_node/status/1407668599205027843?s=20 https://decrypt.co/75222/americas-first-dao-approved-in-wyoming  Delaware: https://ricardian.gitbook.io/ricardian-llc/is-ricardian-legal  Curve IP:  https://gov.curve.fi/t/cip-xx-enforce-curves-ip-rights/1890 https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/108561/the-first-dao-lawsuit-proposal-asks-if-curve-should-protect-its-ip https://www.coindesk.com/curve-dao-contemplates-its-intellectual-property  https://twitter.com/SamMiorelli/status/1405141398479847426 https://twitter.com/lex_node/status/1405251782574497799  Uniswap V3 https://www.coindesk.com/uniswap-v3-introduces-new-license-to-spoil-future-sushis  https://twitter.com/jchervinsky/status/1374738548239314951 https://defiprime.com/uniswap-v3-explained ...more

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• Unconfirmed: How Axie Infinity Boosted Revenue 400%+ in 30 Days - Ep.253

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  Jul 09 2021

  Aleksander Larsen, co-founder and COO of Axie Infinity, discusses Axie Infinity’s recent growth, which has seen the platform do 20X the volume of NBA Top Shot in recent days. Show highlights: what is Axie Infinity? why there has been such an uptick in network activity and profitability how the Axie Infinity team came together  how Axie Infinity uses blockchain technology within its game how Axie Infinity leverages the ‘play to earn’ mania sweeping across Web3 applications what problems may arise as Axie Infinity starts to decentralize  how Axie Infinity is attempting to lower the expensive barrier to entry that comes with blockchain-based games why the Philippines is going crazy for Axie Infinity why building out a sidechain has been such a positive development for the company the two ways Axie Ininity makes money what’s next for Axie Infinity   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021  Oasis: https://oasisprotocol.org  NEAR: https://near.org    Episode Links   Aleksander Larsen: https://twitter.com/Psycheout86 Axie Infinity: https://axieinfinity.com/    Content Philippines: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/14/people-in-philippines-earn-cryptocurrency-playing-nft-video-game-axie-infinity.html Sidechain: https://medium.com/axie-infinity/introducing-ronin-axie-infinitys-ethereum-sidechain-8745e31eaef1 The Game That Helps Pay Bills: https://startups.my/the-game-that-helps-pay-bills-axie-infinity/ CoinDesk write up: https://www.coindesk.com/axie-infinity-token-quadruples-nfts Play-to-earn: https://metaportal.substack.com/p/the-memetic-power-of-play-to-earn Unchained Axie Infinity write-up: https://unchainedpodcast.com/this-nft-marketplace-does-20x-the-volume-of-nba-top-shot/ ...more

  Episode

• The Bitcoin Hash Rate Has Dropped. How Long Will It Take to Return? - Ep.252

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  Jul 06 2021

  Kevin Zhang, vice president of business development at Foundry, breaks down the latest developments surrounding China and bitcoin mining. Show highlights:  how he came across crypto and which Bitcoin OG he joined at Bitcoin.com to help start its mining operations arm what Foundry does and its relationship with Digital Currency Group (DCG) why DCG wanted to build out a mining infrastructure business what news from China in early March kickstarted the process of the mining ban how China’s Central Television broadcasting company might have brought extra scrutiny to cryptocurrencies  what the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party has to do with its Bitcoin mining ban why the Inner Mongolia and Sichuan Bitcoin mining bans were especially disruptive for Chinese miners how much of China’s hash rate Kevin estimates has been shut down since May where are miners relocating to  why Chinese mining equipment will not be allowed to turn on in the US whether or not China’s Bitcoin mining ban will stick why China banning bitcoin mining will be good for the network in the long run  what significant risk to Bitcoin’s network is solved by China banning bitcoin mining how much Bitcoin’s hash rate will drop and what effect this will have on miner revenue why Kevin thinks that Bitcoin is good for renewable energy how immersion cooling technology works what tangible benefits miners could find by moving to North America if El Salvador’s volcanic bitcoin mining plan is feasible what Kevin predicts will happen in the Bitcoin mining industry for the latter half of 2021 Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2      Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero      Conjure: https://conjure.finance     Episode Links   Kevin Zhang Twitter: https://twitter.com/SinoCrypto  Mining tweet storms: https://twitter.com/SinoCrypto/status/1407524150885994497 https://twitter.com/SinoCrypto/status/1409227438262046723  Content from previous work experience: Greenridge Generation https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/57943/a-power-plant-in-new-york-is-reportedly-mining-roughly-50000-in-bitcoin-each-day  Project Spokane https://medium.com/@derekbrouwer/the-bitcoin-barons-how-a-marketer-and-a-money-launderer-sold-montana-on-digital-gold-2a255c96c981    Foundry, Subsidiary of DCG Twitter: https://twitter.com/foundryservices Website: https://foundrydigital.com/  Foundry USA Pool Bit Digital: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bit-digital-joins-foundry-usa-pool-with-5-679-machines-adding-up-to-280-phs-of-compute-power-to-the-pool-301283792.html  Bitfarms partnership: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/04/23/2215897/0/en/Bitfarms-Partners-with-Foundry-to-Expand-Bitcoin-Mining-Fleet-and-Join-Foundry-USA-Pool-Instantly-Boosts-Operating-Hashrate-By-15.html  China’s Bitcoin Mining Ban Travis Kling noted 25 different announcements from China in June alone: https://twitter.com/Travis_Kling/status/1410630499748388865  Glassnode: mining difficulty to face its largest decrease ever https://insights.glassnode.com/the-week-on-chain-week-26-2021/  The Block: hash rate dropped 50%, Foundry up while everyone else is hurting https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/109315/bitcoin-hashrate-declines-50-percent-china-mining-crackdown Nic Carter: breaking down the hashrate migration https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-unpacking-hashrate-nic-cart-migration Secondhand mining equipment prices are spiking https://www.coindesk.com/chinese-logistics-firm-airlifting-bitcoin-mining-machines-to-maryland-report https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/109301/secondhand-bitcoin-miner-supply-spiking-bitmain Bitcoin miners shut down, 26 farms affected after Sichuan bans BTC mining https://www.coindesk.com/sichuan-becomes-latest-chinese-province-to-order-bitcoin-miner-shutdown https://decrypt.co/74075/bitcoin-hashrate-falls-17-overnight-after-china-mining-crackdown China’s Inner Mongolia announced eight measures in its crypto ban https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/105973/china-inner-mongolia-crypto-bitcoin-mining-ban-measures  Hash rate hits yearly low https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-mining-hashrate-drops-low Miners are moving to Kazakhstan https://www.coindesk.com/chinese-bitcoin-mining-company-delivers-first-machines-to-kazakhstan Tweet thread on how bitcoin miners reacted to the PRC’s May crackdown  https://twitter.com/MustafaYilham/status/1396574185598590979 ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried Gives the Tom Brady/Gisele Bundchen Backstory - Ep.251

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  Jul 02 2021

  Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO and founder of FTX, explains FTX’s sports-centric advertising model and talks about what is on his regulatory wish list going forward. Show highlights: why Sam is so excited to bring Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen onto the FTX team how FTX decides on who to sponsor why so many of FTX’s sponsorship are targeting US customers what makes the sports industry such an attractive place to advertise for FTX how FTX’s tokenized stocks work what Sam learned from the GameStop/Robinhood situation what makes FTX’s tokenized stocks different from Binance’s offering how FTX is dealing with regulatory obstacles what item is on the top of Sam’s regulatory wishlist whether FTT is a security   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021     Oasis: https://oasisprotocol.org  NEAR: https://near.org     Episode Links   Sam Bankman-Fried Twitter: https://twitter.com/SBF_Alameda  Previous Unchained appearance: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-the-gamestop-insanity-is-so-similar-to-crypto/    FTX Website: https://ftx.com Carbon credits: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/ftx-bitmex-to-become-carbon-neutral  Tokenized Stocks FTX guidelines: https://help.ftx.com/hc/en-us/articles/360051229472-Tokenized-Stocks  CoinDesk: https://www.coindesk.com/ftx-follows-binances-lead-with-move-into-tokenized-stocks    FTX Sports Deals NBA: https://www.coindesk.com/ftx-miami-heat-nfts  Tom Brady: https://decrypt.co/74771/tom-brady-and-gisele-bundchen-invest-in-ftx  TSM FTX: https://www.sporttechie.com/tsm-esports-signs-210-million-sponsorship-with-ftx-crypto-exchange MLB: https://www.coindesk.com/ftx-sponsors-mlb-umpires-to-wear-crypto-exchanges-logo ...more

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• Ethereum's EIP-1559 Will Solve Some Problems But Big Ones Will Remain - Ep.250

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  Jun 29 2021

  Taylor Monahan, CEO of MyCrypto, and Tim Beiko, Ethereum Foundation core-dev facilitator, discuss the upcoming upgrade to the Ethereum network, EIP 1559. Show highlights: why Tim believes EIP 1559 is necessary what narrative is driving EIP 1559 what problems the network upgrade will solve how Ethereum transactions/fees work whether gas prices are correlated with ETH/USD the 3 main protocol changes that EIP 1559 proposes why Taylor, as the CEO of a wallet provider, is wary of EIP 1559 how EIP 1559 will affect Ethereum’s block size what changes wallet providers are considering due to EIP 1559 whether ‘Black Swan’ events will be more or less likely after the network upgrade how EIP 1559 will affect miners whether Tim or Taylor believes that miners could fork Ethereum to stop EIP 1559 how EIP 1559 will change the state of miner extractable value (MEV) how Taylor and Tim feel about the Ethereum as sound money narrative in light of EIP 1559 when EIP 1559 will go live Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2     Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero     Conjure: https://conjure.finance      Episode Links   Taylor Monahan Twitter: https://twitter.com/tayvano_ MyCrypto: https://mycrypto.com/    Tim Beiko Twitter: https://twitter.com/TimBeiko Ethereum Foundation: https://ethereum.org/en/foundation/    EIP 1559 Resources: https://hackmd.io/@timbeiko/1559-resources Taylor Monahan tweets https://twitter.com/tayvano_/status/1397725861575421953 https://twitter.com/tayvano_/status/1408000351916093441 https://twitter.com/tayvano_/status/1407853518493413379 Actual proposal: https://github.com/ethereum/EIPs/blob/master/EIPS/eip-1559.md  Research: http://timroughgarden.org/papers/eip1559.pdf  ...more

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• Unconfirmed: Strong Hands Aren't Selling Bitcoin. So Who Is? - Ep.249

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  Jun 25 2021

  Will Clemente, author of the BTC by WC3 newsletter, breaks down the current state of Bitcoin’s on-chain activity and explains why he believes the market is in a mid-cycle lull rather than turning bearish. Show highlights:  why Will is not worried about a bear market what indicators make Will believe BTC is in a mid-cycle consolidation who is selling and driving the recent market downturn why Will thinks the unwinding of derivatives is a significant factor in Bitcoin’s move below $30K what Will believe institutions are waiting on before entering the market again how Bitcoin cycles can be broken down into mini hype-cycles how long-term holders are acting on-chain the difference between long-term holders versus short-term holders during bear and bull markets why Will is interested in finding data on Latin American Bitcoin users how long the consolidation process might take what metrics Will has his eyes on for the latter half of 2021   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021    Oasis: https://oasisprotocol.org NEAR: https://near.org    Episode Links:   Will Clemente Twitter: https://twitter.com/WClementeIII Newsletter: https://btcbywc3.substack.com/   Miscellaneous Links Unchained w/ Willy Woo and Raphael Shultze-Kraft: https://unchainedpodcast.com/will-bitcoins-price-go-up-again-yes-according-to-on-chain-analytics/  Willy Woo and Will Clemente ratio: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1407403983023460354...more

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• Is Quadriga's Gerald Cotten Still Alive? The 'Exit Scam' Podcast Aims to Answer - Ep.248

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  Jun 22 2021

  Aaron Lammer, author and host of the Exit Scam podcast, recounts the mysterious and controversial death of QuadrigaCX’s founder Gerald Cotton. Show highlights: A quick recap of QuadrigaCX why Aaron felt compelled to create a series on QuadrigaCX how Gerald Cotton, a lifelong Ponzi-addict, came to be the CEO of Canada’s largest crypto exchange what Ponzi-schemes Gerald ran before starting Quadriga CX why customers trusted QuadrigaCX and what red flags were readily apparent looking back the sketchy tactic Gerald used to single-handedly boosted QuadrigaCX’s trading volume by 30%  a new wife, empty wallets, a hastily written will, and the circumstances surrounding Gerald’s shocking death how Gerald’s dark web background might have prepared him to fake his own death what the chances are that Canadian authorities exhume Gerald’s body  why Aaron is skeptical Gerald’s widow was “in” on the QuadrigaCX fiasco   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2    Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero    Conjure: https://conjure.finance     Episode Links   Aaron Lammer   Co-founder of Longform.org + co-host of Longform Podcast (2010+) Treats Media -- podcast platform (2018+) Exit Scam CoinTalk: https://medium.com/s/cointalk      Podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/exitscampod    Episodes:  The Lost Password https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lost-password/id1565845318?i=1000521095118  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-ii-the-co-founder/id1565845318?i=1000521984138  The Co-Founder https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-iii-the-ponzi-schemer/id1565845318?i=1000522885172 The Ponzi Schemer https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-iv-the-chris-markay-account/id1565845318?i=1000523624957  The Chris Markay Account https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-v-the-old-friend/id1565845318?i=1000524470802 The Old Friend https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-vi-the-coffin/id1565845318?i=1000525407259  The Coffin Quadriga Deep Dives:  CBC News https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/bitcoin-gerald-cotten-quadriga-cx-death  Vanity Fair https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/11/the-strange-tale-of-quadriga-gerald-cotten  Amy Castor timeline https://amycastor.com/2019/02/12/how-the-hell-did-we-get-here-a-timeline-of-quadrigacx-events/  Ontario Securities Commission https://www.osc.gov.on.ca/quadrigacxreport/    Details Ontario Securities Commission deems Quadriga an “old fashioned fraud” + “Ponzi” https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/11/the-strange-tale-of-quadriga-gerald-cotten https://www.coindesk.com/quadriga-was-a-ponzi-scheme-ontario-securities-regulator-says  Crypto officially recognized as property in Canada due to this case https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=728711fd-5d3c-43ea-91b4-efb8c02f4bec Fun Reddit stuff Is a Gerald Cotten alive? -- a poll: https://www.reddit.com/r/QuadrigaCX/comments/m17kip/is_gerald_cotten_really_dead/ Graphic connecting Michael Patryn to Omar Dhanani https://www.reddit.com/r/BitcoinCA/comments/828dnr/quadrigacx_cofounder_michael_patryn_is_a/  Lawyers publicly request that RCMP exhume Gerald Cotten’s body https://www.coindesk.com/lawyers-ramp-up-pressure-to-exhume-quadriga-ceos-body  Report on Gerald Cotten transferring funds into a personal account https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/28259/quadrigacx-co-founder-transferred-user-funds-into-personal-accounts-ey ...more

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• Unconfirmed: Polygon: The Layer 2 Solution Doing 8 Times as Many Transactions a Day as Ethereum - Ep.247

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  Jun 18 2021

  Jaynti Kanani, cofounder and CEO of Polygon, discusses why the layer 2 solution has seen so much success during a down crypto market. Show highlights: what factors have led to Polygon’s and MATIC's impressive performance YTD how Polygon is scaling Ethereum what types of projects are taking off on Polygon how Polygon is attempting to address the issue of layer 2 composability  how Polygon plans to use its latest funding why Jaynti is confident Polygon will still be necessary after ETH 2.0 launches Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021   Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero   NEAR: https://near.org     Episode Links   Jaynti Kanani Twitter: https://twitter.com/_jdkanani   Polygon Website:  https://polygon.technology/  Overview: https://www.theblockresearch.com/polygon-a-technical-overview-105799 https://www.theblockresearch.com/mapping-out-polygons-ecosystem-105540 Popularity: https://www.coindesk.com/defi-projects-continue-flocking-to-layer-2-solution-polygon  https://www.coindesk.com/institutional-investors-have-arrived-on-polygon-amid-rising-ethereum-layer-2-demand-blockchain-data https://www.coindesk.com/polygons-matic-token-ended-may-up-120-despite-bitcoins-price-crash  Investments: https://www.coindesk.com/au21-capital-opens-polygon-fund https://www.coindesk.com/mark-cuban-invests-in-ethereum-layer-2-polygon   Miscellaneous: https://www.coindesk.com/okcoin-integrates-polygon-reduce-users-ethereum-gas-fees https://polygon.technology/lightpaper-polygon.pdf  https://www.coindesk.com/kyber-network-announces-polygon-integration-and-liquidity-mining-program https://defiwatch.net/second-letter-to-polygon/  https://www.coindesk.com/google-cloud-now-provides-blockchain-insights-for-polygon-network https://www.coindesk.com/decentralized-exchange-aggregator-1inch-network-expands-to-polygon ...more

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• Unchained 5-Year Anniversary: AMA With Laura on Her Favorite Guests, Predictions and More - Ep.246

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  Jun 15 2021

  To celebrate the 5th anniversary of Unchained, I answer some questions submitted to me by the audience. In this episode, I cover: what I think about the relationship between psychedelics and crypto the most entertaining guest I’ve interviewed on Unchained why Coinbase founders may have a more impactful future on crypto than Ethereum founders which show has been the most impactful why I am a “nocoiner” where I believe DAOs fit into the future of crypto who my favorite guests have been over the years what I am most fearful and most hopeful about in the crypto space why I think user-friendly products are so important moving forward which DeFi projects I find the most interesting what sort of expenses go into producing Unchained which topics I would like to cover in the future the most surprising answers I have received in an interview (feat. CZ and Vitalik) what three cryptos I think will be most important three years from now if I think I have interviewed Satoshi :) my advice for anyone looking to change careers and go crypto who has been the hardest person to book on Unchained what crypto trend has surprised me the most in the past five years Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2   Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero   Keychain: https://conjure.finance    Episode Links   Twitter: https://twitter.com/Unchained_pod  Daily Newsletter: https://unchainedpodcast.com/    Podcasts mentioned during the show: Vitalik Buterin on Ethereum’s Five-Year Anniversary https://unchainedpodcast.com/vitalik-buterin-on-ethereums-five-year-anniversary/ Listen to CZ Compare Binance to Bitcoin https://unchainedpodcast.com/listen-to-cz-compare-binance-to-bitcoin/  Mark Cuban on Why He Thinks ETH Is a Better Store of Value Than Bitcoin https://unchainedpodcast.com/mark-cuban-on-why-he-thinks-eth-is-a-better-store-of-value-than-bitcoin/  Meltem Demirors and Jill Carlson on the Shitcoin Waterfall – Ep.74 https://unchainedpodcast.com/meltem-demirors-and-jill-carlson-on-the-shitcoin-waterfall-ep-74/ Yeonmi Park on Why Doing Business With North Korea Is Like Buying a Ticket to a Concentration Camp https://unchainedpodcast.com/yeonmi-park-on-why-doing-business-with-north-korea-is-like-buying-a-ticket-to-a-concentration-camp/  Andre Cronje of Yearn Finance on YFI and the Fair Launch: ‘I’m Lazy’ https://unchainedpodcast.com/andre-cronje-of-yearn-finance-on-yfi-and-the-fair-launch-im-lazy/  Nick Tomaino on 1confirmation’s $125 Million Fund and What Future NFTs Will Look Like https://unchainedpodcast.com/nick-tomaino-on-1confirmations-125-million-fund-and-what-future-nfts-will-look-like/  Why Bitcoin’s December Price Target Is Now ‘Above $300,000’ (Willy Woo) https://unchainedpodcast.com/charting-bitcoins-growth-with-willy-woo-and-peter-brandt/ What Makes a CryptoKitty Worth $140,000? – Ep.75 (Roham Gharegozlou) https://unchainedpodcast.com/what-makes-a-cryptokitty-worth-140000-ep-75 Why I don’t own crypto: https://twitter.com/laurashin/status/1376211065772576770...more

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• Unconfirmed: Want Crypto in Your 401(k)? It's Finally Possible -- With This Provider - Ep.245

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  Jun 11 2021

  ForUsAll recently announced a new product that will allow cryptocurrency investments to be made inside 401(k) retirement accounts. Jeff Schulte, CEO of ForUsAll, discusses why putting crypto in a 401(k) is such a game changer, how this differs from Bitcoin IRAs, and more! Show highlights:  how bringing crypto into a 401(k) with ForUsAll will work what “guardrails” ForUsAll is placing on investors who choose to invest in crypto the tax advantages of purchasing crypto within a 401(k) whether ForUsAll is offering a Roth IRA why nobody has offered crypto within a 401(k) before now what differentiates a crypto 401(k) from a self-directed IRA what are the fees for the 401(k), who it will be available to, and when it will launch how security and keys are being handled why ForUsAll is not offering every token available on Coinbase how ForUsAll is determining which cryptos will be available to trade  why offering crypto ETFs through a 401(k) may cause problems regarding the fiduciary risk of employers what new crypto features ForUsAll is excited to roll out   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021  Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero   NEAR: https://near.org     Episode Links   Jeff Schulte: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffschulteproductmanagment/    ForUsAll: https://www.forusall.com/ + https://twitter.com/ForUsAll401k    Coinbase partnership: https://www.wsj.com/articles/coinbase-teams-up-with-401-k-provider-to-offer-crypto https://fortune.com/2021/06/10/coinbase-crypto-401k-roth-offering-forusall/ https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/108034/coinbase-forusall-401k-advisor-crypto-retirement-accounts...more

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• Will Bitcoin's Price Go Up Again? Yes, According to On-Chain Analytics - Ep.244

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  Jun 08 2021

  Willy Woo, on-chain Bitcoin analyst and writer of the Bitcoin Forecast, a market intelligence newsletter, and Rafael Schultze-Kraft, co-founder and CTO of Glassnode, discuss Bitcoin and what the on-chain metrics tell us about the price. Here to discuss is. Episode highlights: what factors pushed the price of BTC down in May why Elon’s Twitter account hold so much sway over the market why Willy believes Bitcoin is good for renewable energy who sold during the last month which type of BTC investors stopped purchasing in Feb/March what trends Willy and Rafael have noticed from coins moving to/from exchanges their thoughts on exchange-traded products, like GBTC and Canadian ETFs how derivatives trading has played a role in Bitcoin’s price why stablecoins were trading above their peg in the months leading up to the Coinbase direct listing how Willy values Bitcoin (specifically using NVT ratio) whether the trend of corporate treasuries investing in Bitcoin will continue how they expect Ethereum's adoption of a deflationary monetary policy to impact the price of Bitcoin when the market could turn bullish once again and predictions for the rest of the year   Thank you to our sponsors! E&Y: https://ey.com/globalblockchainsummit  Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2  Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero    Episode Links   Willy Woo Twitter: https://twitter.com/woonomic Substack: https://willywoo.substack.com/ Charts: http://charts.woobull.com/    Rafael Schultze-Kraft Twitter: https://twitter.com/n3ocortex  Glassnode Blog: https://insights.glassnode.com/author/rafael/ Medium (no posts in 2021): https://medium.com/@neocortex    Glassnode Website: https://glassnode.com/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/glassnode  Crunchbase: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/glassnode    Willy on BTC trends: NVT 2021 re-hash: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1399644889596370950  User growth on BTC network: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1396716391940575232  Exchange flows are bullish: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1395350421187690500  The movement to strong holders is unprecedented: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1391209800252358658  BTC undervaluation: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1389145220432859144    Rafael on BTC trends: Investors becoming fearful: https://twitter.com/n3ocortex/status/1394922200923312132 Bear market?: https://twitter.com/n3ocortex/status/1394312942678679559 Why on-chain exchange metrics are difficult to analyze: https://insights.glassnode.com/exchange-metrics/  BTC ownership is not highly concentrated: https://insights.glassnode.com/bitcoin-supply-distribution/  BTC illiquidity: https://insights.glassnode.com/bitcoin-liquid-supply/    Glassnode on BTC trends: May 31 recap: https://insights.glassnode.com/the-week-on-chain-week-22-2021/  May 24 recap: https://insights.glassnode.com/the-week-on-chain-week-21-2021/  December buyers approaching cost basis: https://twitter.com/glassnode/status/1399757635512066052  Battle of Bulls vs. Bears: https://twitter.com/glassnode/status/1399231089764360192  Grayscale discount: https://twitter.com/glassnode/status/1397059742019686400 Deleveraging futures market: https://twitter.com/glassnode/status/1395771367958581251...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: How Taproot Could Improve Bitcoin -- If It Gets Adopted - Ep.243

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  Jun 04 2021

  Jeremy Rubin, a Bitcoin Core contributor and founder of Judica, a Bitcoin R&D Lab, joins Unchained from the Miami Bitcoin Conference (2021) to discuss all things Taproot. Show highlights: a general update on the Miami Bitcoin Conference  what Taproot will do for the Bitcoin network how Taproot will make Bitcoin transactions more private what effect Taproot might have on on-chain analytics companies what parts of Bitcoin transactions will be public if/when Taproot goes live what new wallet features Taproot will unlock for Bitcoin how Bitcoin vaults might work a user-friendly definition of MASTs (Merklized Abstract Syntax Tree) how Taproot signaling works when/if Taproot will lock-in why network updates strain the relationship between miners and users   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021  Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero  NEAR: https://near.org    Episode Links:  Jeremy Rubin Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeremyRubin  Judica: https://judica.org/  Personal website: https://rubin.io/    Taproot Signaling status of Taproot: https://taproot.watch/  Bitcoin Magazine on Taproot: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/taproot-coming-what-it-and-how-it-will-benefit-bitcoin  Why Taproot matters: https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoins-privacy-and-scaling-tech-upgrade-taproot-just-took-a-big-step-forward  Marathon lifts block mining censorship: https://www.coindesk.com/marathon-wont-censor-bitcoin-transactions-says-mining-ceo  MASTs: https://bitcointechtalk.com/what-is-a-bitcoin-merklized-abstract-syntax-tree-mast-33fdf2da5e2f...more

  Episode

• Nick Tomaino on 1confirmation's $125 Million Fund and What Future NFTs Will Look Like - Ep.242

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  Jun 01 2021

  Nick Tomaino, general partner of 1confirmation, discusses his firm’s recently announced third fund of $125 million and gives his perspective on many hot crypto topics, such as NFTs, Layer 2 solutions, Polkadot, DAOs, and more. Show highlights: why Nick became interested in crypto and his background what drives 1confirmation’s investment thesis why he Nick believes NFTs have taken off in popularity this year why NFTs are currently in a bubble what we might do with NFTs in the future how competition between different NFT marketplaces will shake out how music NFTs could work the feasibility of charging royalties in the secondary sale of NFTs why environmental concerns over crypto mining to only be a short-term issue why Nick is not an Ethereum maxi and how he feels about the fragmentation of Layer 2 solutions on ETH why Polkadot is such an exciting project whether, as an early Coinbase employee, he would say the fat protocols thesis is true what new trend Nick is keeping an eye on for 2021 and beyond Thank you to our sponsors! E&Y: https://ey.com/globalblockchainsummit  Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2  Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero    Episode Links   Nick Tomaino   Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/NTmoney  Recommended Content: Writing Introducing 1confirmation Fund 3 https://thecontrol.co/1confirmation-fund-iii-4633d18273e  NFTs + Mimetic Desire https://thecontrol.co/stories-scarcity-and-mimetic-desire-c4a344fa74e1  Twitter Threads Has crypto “earned it?”  https://twitter.com/NTmoney/status/1391782884202061824 Ethereum + decentralized identity https://twitter.com/NTmoney/status/1389608747924742157 WSB optimism https://twitter.com/NTmoney/status/1356036385287720960 The crypto perfect storm https://twitter.com/NTmoney/status/1352301464060760064  His journey from Coinbase to 1confirmation  https://twitter.com/NTmoney/status/1353405899990155264  Guest Appearances/Quotes “Digital art has a chance to exceed $3 trillion in total value and flip traditional art” https://fortune.com/2021/03/30/nft-crypto-superrare-art-market/ “It's not going to look the same as the crypto booms and busts, but there are going to be a lot of these sales that maybe don't have buyers in the future” https://cheddar.com/media/nfts-facing-bubble-but-crypto-art-platforms-see-long-term “It's clear we're in some type of NFT bubble” https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/25/technology/cryptocurrency-mainstream.html  Old Unchained Appearances https://unchainedpodcast.com/nick-tomaino-on-why-he-is-skeptical-libra-will-be-significant/ https://unchainedpodcast.com/icos-why-people-are-investing-in-this-380-million-phenomenon/    1confirmation   Basics Website/Portfolio https://www.1confirmation.com/portfolio  Twitter https://twitter.com/1confirmation  Recently announced fund https://thecontrol.co/1confirmation-fund-iii-4633d18273e    Recently, 1confirmation has funded...  Notional Finance https://www.coindesk.com/notional-raises-10m-to-grow-defi-lending-protocol-with-real-world-potential  SuperRare series A https://decrypt.co/63295/nft-marketplace-superrare-9m-funding-mark-cuban Nexus Mutual https://decrypt.co/57844/vc-firms-invest-2-7-million-in-defi-insurer-nexus-mutual dYdX series B https://integral.dydx.exchange/dydx-closes-10m-series-b-investment/  Acala https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/76313/polkadot-based-defi-project-acala-raises-7-million-saft    Miscellaneous Meebits https://meebits.larvalabs.com/ Polkadot governance https://polkadot.network/polkadot-governance/ Unchained podcast discussing the petrodollar https://unchainedpodcast.com/bitcoin-vs-the-petrodollar-which-is-more-environmentally-friendly/ Fat Thesis https://www.usv.com/writing/2016/08/fat-protocols/  ZED Run https://zed.run/  ...more

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• Unconfirmed: Rep. Tom Emmer, One of the Most Active Crypto Congress Members, on Taxes and DeFi - Ep.241

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  May 28 2021

  House Representative Tom Emmer, of Minnesota, is one of the most active voice for crypto and blockchain in the US government. In this episode, he discusses: what book made Tom fall down the crypto rabbit hole  why Tom believes the Financial Accounting Standards Board needs to set clear accounting standards for cryptocurrencies why the current way of accounting for Bitcoin on balance sheets may be a detriment to companies in the future how he feels about the acting head of the OCC putting together a “sprint team” of federal regulators to establish overarching crypto standards why he is fighting to change tax rules for forked coins what problems the Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act might solve why he is so passionate about the Securities Clarity Act, which would explicitly separate digital tokens from securities how DeFi should be regulated and why he is not a fan of FATF’s recently proposed guidance Tom’s prediction for when these bills may actually become law    Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021  Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero   NEAR: https://near.org    Episode Links   Tom Emmer Twitter: https://twitter.com/RepTomEmmer  Website: https://emmer.house.gov/  Documents Mentioned FASB letter https://emmer.house.gov/2021/5/emmer-urges-fasb-to-issue-clear-accounting-standards-for-virtual-currencies Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbrett/2021/04/22/us-house-passes-bill-to-create-first-crypto-task-force-on-digital-assets/ Safe Harbor for Taxpayers with Forked Assets Act https://emmer.house.gov/2021/5/emmer-introduces-legislation-to-protect-taxpayers-with-digital-assets-pending-further-irs-guidance Securities Clarity Act https://emmer.house.gov/2020/9/emmer-introduces-legislation-to-provide-clarity-for-digital-assets-under-securities-law Proposed FATF Guidance (quick breakdown) https://www.coincenter.org/a-quick-analysis-of-fatfs-2021-draft-cryptocurrency-guidance/    Miscellaneous Congressional Blockchain Caucus https://congressionalblockchaincaucus-schweikert.house.gov/members US Regulatory “sprint” https://decrypt.co/71975/us-agencies-sprint-align-on-bitcoin-regulations  Michael Saylor episode https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-michael-saylor-on-the-best-way-for-companies-to-buy-bitcoin/ Age of Cryptocurrency https://www.amazon.com/The-Age-of-Cryptocurrency ...more

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• How Solana and Binance Smart Chain Could Take Ethereum's Lead - Ep.240

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  May 25 2021

  Kain Warwick, founder of Synthetix, and Kyle Samani, managing partner at Multicoin Capital, debate the merits of Ethereum, Solana, and Binance Smart Chain. In this episode, they discuss: why Ethereum is losing market share to Solana and BSC whether decentralization matters and at what point decentralization becomes redundant why they think Solana and Binance Smart Chain need to be taken seriously as competitors to EThereum whether BSC or Solana is the bigger long-term threat to Ethereum the biggest obstacle to Ethereum’s success (and it’s not gas fees) how Ethereum will navigate fragmented Layer 2 solutions Solana and its lack of developers what differentiates DeFi from CeFi why Solana has an edge on Ethereum in terms of composability  how Ethereum will onboard new users why Kain is such an ardent backer of Ethereum why both Kyle and Kain think EIP 1559 and the potential for higher ETH prices is bad for Ethereum if Synthetix would ever consider launching a cross-chain product the viability of a multi-chain world why Kyle believes the future holds a winner-take-most blockchain ecosystem   Thank you to our sponsors! E&Y: https://ey.com/globalblockchainsummit  Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2  Kyber Network: Dmm.exchange    Episode Links   People Kyle Samani Twitter: https://twitter.com/KyleSamani  Multicoin Capital: https://multicoin.capital/  Kain Warwick Twitter:  https://twitter.com/kaiynne Synthetix: https://synthetix.io/    Content Kain’s tweet that instigated this pod: https://twitter.com/kaiynne/status/1387266949302734852 Multicoin Blogs: New $100m fund focused on Solana https://multicoin.capital/2021/05/04/announcing-venture-fund-ii/  BNB Investment + valuation https://multicoin.capital/2019/02/19/binance-coin-analysis-and-valuation/  Investment in Solana https://multicoin.capital/2019/07/30/the-world-computer-should-be-logically-centralized/  Ethereum analysis https://multicoin.capital/2019/05/24/the-unbundling-of-ethereum/ Value Capture at Layers 1 and 2 https://multicoin.capital/2019/03/14/on-value-capture-at-layers-1-and-2/  Kain Warwick and Sam Bankman Fried podcast https://www.cryptonotes.org/2020/10/sbf-kain-blockcrunch-117/  Comparing AMMs on different blockchains https://www.coindesk.com/pancakeswap-uniswap-sushiswap-crypto-defi-exchange  BSC and Solana NFT platforms https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/102959/binance-is-launching-its-own-nft-marketplace-in-june https://www.coindesk.com/banksy-burners-raise-3m-to-build-nft-platform-on-solana  Overview of Layer 2 solutions on Ethereum https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/scaling/layer-2-rollups/ Binance Smart Chain guide https://defiprime.com/binance-smart-chain Solana guide https://thedefiant.io/solana-defi-ecosystem-overview/...more

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• Unconfirmed: Mike Novogratz on the 5 Reasons the Crypto Markets Plummeted - Ep.239

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  May 21 2021

  Mike Novogratz, founder, CEO, and chairman of Galaxy Digital, digs into the drivers behind this week’s market selloff. Show highlights: the five factors Mike believes led to this week’s dip  what Mike thinks about the environmental concerns surrounding Bitcoin how Ethereum will perform in 2021 whether centralized blockchains will survive regulatory scrutiny why Galaxy Digital made its $1 billion acquisition of BitGo what sort of projects Galaxy Digital is mulling in the DeFi space when Mike thinks a bitcoin ETF could be approved Mike’s 2021 bitcoin price prediction   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021  Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero  NEAR: https://near.org    Episode Links   Mike Novogratz: https://twitter.com/novogratz    Galaxy Digital: https://www.galaxydigital.io    Recommend Reads:  Galaxy Digital BitGo purchase https://www.coindesk.com/galaxy-digital-to-buy-bitgo-for-about-1-2-billion-in-stock-cash SEC skepticism regarding bitcoin ETF https://www.coindesk.com/sec-warns-mutual-fund-investors-of-bitcoin-futures-risks Galaxy Digital 2021 Q1 results https://www.coindesk.com/galaxy-digital-q1-aum-rose-58-net-comprehensive-income-more-than-doubles Galaxy Digital bitcoin ETF https://www.coindesk.com/galaxy-digital-files-for-us-bitcoin-etf  Youtube energy consumption https://www.iea.org/commentaries/the-carbon-footprint-of-streaming-video-fact-checking-the-headlines  https://thefactsource.com/how-much-electricity-does-youtube-use/ Dapper Labs lawsuit https://www.forbes.com/sites/andreatinianow/2021/05/17/no-slam-dunk-for-plaintiffs-in-nba-top-shot-moments-class-action-lawsuit/?sh=be89ec3df3da...more

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• Bitcoin vs. the Petrodollar: Which Is More Environmentally Friendly? - Ep.238

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  May 18 2021

  Last week, Tesla announced they will no longer accept Bitcoin as payment for vehicles. In a timely episode, Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation, and James McGinniss, CEO and co-founder of David Energy, come onto the show to discuss Bitcoin, the petrodollar, and how to contextualize the energy usage of the first cryptocurrency (BTC) versus the leading fiat currency (USD). Show highlights: their backgrounds and how they became interested in the intersection of currency and energy usage why Alex and James really think Tesla stopped accepting BTC as payment why James thinks Bitcoin’s energy intensity is a “feature, not a bug”  Alex on the history of the petrodollar and how the USD in recent decades has been tied to fossil fuel production comparing the carbon cost of a dollar to Bitcoin’s energy consumption what both James and Alex think of the Square and Ark Invest research paper saying renewable energy production could be tied with Bitcoin mining why measuring Bitcoin’s energy usage is difficult how Bitcoin mining in China is changing for the better how the Biden administration might impact Bitcoin where to find more information on Bitcoin and energy consumption   Thank you to our sponsors!   E&Y: https://ey.com/globalblockchainsummit  Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2  Kyber Network: Dmm.exchange    Episode Links   People: Alex Gladstein Twitter: https://twitter.com/gladstein Human Rights Foundation: https://hrf.org/  James McGinniss Twitter: https://twitter.com/James_McGinniss David Energy: https://www.davidenergy.com/    Recommended Reads: “Uncovering the Hidden Cost of the Petrodollar” by Alex Gladstein https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/the-hidden-costs-of-the-petrodollar  “Think BTC is a Dirty Business? Consider the Carbon Cost of a Dollar” by Susan Su https://susanfsu.medium.com/think-btc-is-a-dirty-business-consider-the-carbon-cost-of-a-dollar-c38122fb55c5  “Bitcoin is Key to an Abundant, Clean Energy Future” by Square and Ark Invest https://assets.ctfassets.net/2d5q1td6cyxq/2D2BnksJjavw4a6SUvAPwZ/c42a9e3a520b0cc3b230cda3b43eead5/BCEI_White_Paper_.pdf  Elisabeth Steyn thread on Tesla and energy credits https://twitter.com/Elisabeth_Steyn/status/1392799067986554880 “Tesla seeks entry into U.S. renewable fuel credit market” by Reuters https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/exclusive-tesla-seeks-entry-into-us-renewable-fuel-credit-market-sources-2021-05-12/ “Debt” by David Graeber https://www.amazon.com/Debt-First-5-000-Years/dp/1612191290  Others: Bitcoin energy consumption index https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption/ Cambridge study on cryptoassets https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2021-ccaf-3rd-global-cryptoasset-benchmarking-study.pdf Triffin Dilemma https://dailyreckoning.com/the-triffin-dilemma/   Alex Gladstein’s Recommended Follows: Nic Carter https://twitter.com/nic__carter Lyn Alden https://twitter.com/LynAldenContact Susan Su https://twitter.com/susanfsu Luke Gromen https://twitter.com/LukeGromen Michael Hudson https://twitter.com/michaelwhudson ...more

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• Unconfirmed: How Elon Musk Pushed DOGE Up and BTC Down, With Arca's Jeff Dorman - Ep.237

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  May 14 2021

  Jeff Dorman, the chief investment officer at Arca, comes on the show to give a macro perspective on the crypto environment. In this episode, he discusses: how economic data and real-world events have affected digital assets how Jeff classifies the different types of assets within crypto what market forces have pushed ETH to new all-time highs above $4k whether EIP 1559 will have the same effect on ether price as the Bitcoin halving has on BTC price what is happening with Dogecoin and other meme-coins why the market’s reaction to Tesla’s halt of BTC vehicle purchases was healthy whether environmental concerns surrounding Bitcoin will have long-term consequences on crypto as an asset class   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021    Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero    NEAR: https://near.org    Episode Links   Jeff Dorman Twitter  https://twitter.com/jdorman81 Arca https://www.ar.ca/ Blog post titled “How Economic Data Affects Digital Assets” https://www.ar.ca/blog/crypto-market-recap-05-10-21  Blog post titled “The Four Types of Digital Assets” https://www.ar.ca/blog/crypto-market-recap-06-29-20    Miscellaneous Links Dogecoin SNL clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5RCfQyTDFI SHIB token + dog meme-coins https://decrypt.co/70587/shiba-inu-shib-what-why-price-dogecoin https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/104676/vitalik-buterin-donates-more-than-60m-to-charity-after-selling-meme-tokens-including-shiba-inu  https://twitter.com/lawmaster/status/1392533724814876680/photo/1  Nic Carter on Bitcoin mining https://www.coindesk.com/the-last-word-on-bitcoins-energy-consumption Tesla’s announcement on halting BTC vehicle purchases https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1392602041025843203   Link to the Crypto News Recap: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-an-elon-tweet-sent-bitcoin-below-50k/  ...more

  Episode

• Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev and Paxos CEO Charles Cascarilla on How to Avoid Another GameStop - Ep.236

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  May 11 2021

  In this discussion I moderated for Paxos, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev and Paxos CEO Charles Cascarilla discuss GameStop, the broken traditional financial infrastructure, and how blockchain technology may change the future of settlements. Show highlights:   why Robinhood stopped trading on GameStop and AMC stock earlier this year what both Charles and Vlad think the feasibility of T+0 settlements versus Citadel’s and the DTCC’s aim of T+1 settlements  how the GameStop scenario would have been different in a T+0 environment  what it would look like if certain markets used T+0 settlements while others still settled on T+1 why Robinhood decided to add crypto back in early 2018 how Robinhood’s crypto operations work on the back end why Robinhood does not allow users to move crypto off-platform whether securities trading or crypto will be a larger portion of both Paxos’ and Robinhood’s business model what Paxos and Robinhood have planned for the near future   Thank you to our sponsors! E&Y: https://ey.com/globalblockchainsummit  Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2   Kyber Network: Dmm.exchange     Episode Links:   People:   Charles Cascarilla   Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlescascarilla/  Coindesk Profile https://www.coindesk.com/charles-cascarilla-most-influential-2020  Previous interview with Laura https://unchainedpodcast.com/chad-cascarilla-on-paxoss-partnership-with-paypal/  Blog post on the GameStop saga  https://www.paxos.com/what-lehman-brothers-gamestop-and-the-next-financial-crisis-have-in-common/    Vlad Tenev   Twitter https://twitter.com/vladtenev  CNN Article https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/01/investing/robinhood-gamestop-vlad-tenev/index.html  Tweet Thread on T+2 https://twitter.com/vladtenev/status/1356687248746455041    Companies: Paxos Twitter https://twitter.com/PaxosGlobal   Paxos Settlement Service https://www.paxos.com/securities/ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currencies-paxos/paxos-to-launch-settlement-of-u-s-listed-equities-after-secs-no-action-letter-idUSKBN1X727M   Wall Street Journal write-up https://www.wsj.com/articles/blockchain-makes-inroads-into-the-stock-markets-1-trillion-plumbing-system-11573131600    Robinhood   Twitter https://twitter.com/RobinhoodApp Robinhood Crypto https://robinhood.com/us/en/about/crypto/ Public offering https://blog.robinhood.com/news/2021/3/23/robinhood-markets-inc-confidentially-submits-draft-registration-statement    Miscellaneous Links   Citadel on settlements https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/95326/citadel-robinhood-shorter-settlements-congress DTCC on settlements https://www.dtcc.com/news/2021/february/24/dtcc-proposes-approach-to-shortening-us-settlement-cycle-to-t1-within-two-years    Other:   Caitlin Long Unchained episode: https://unchainedpodcast.com/caitlin-long-why-avanti-will-be-a-new-kind-of-crypto-bank/   ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: Should NYC’s Pension Funds Invest in Crypto? This Comptroller Candidate Says Yes - Ep.235

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  May 07 2021

  Reshma Patel, a Democratic candidate for New York City’s Comptroller position, talks about her “future proof” plan for the city, which centers on investing in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. In this episode, she discusses: what duties the New York City Controller performs how Reshma thinks crypto and blockchain tech can help New York City, which she calls her “future proof” plan how a city comptroller would go about investing 1%-3% of the city’s pension funds into crypto what type of crypto investment vehicles would be appropriate for the city to invest in  why Reshma became interested in crypto in the first place  what sort of real-world issues blockchain technology could solve in NYC, particularly in its procurement system whether Reshma envisions an NYC blockchain solution for its procurement system being on a private or public blockchain  how the Comptroller could influence the state of New York to make the BitLicense more accessible for entrepreneurs  why NYC must compete in the blockchain/crypto space with Miami and Wyoming  how crypto could help NYC recover post-COVID  what comes next for Reshma’s campaign and why she is not allowed to receive crypto donations    Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021  Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero  NEAR: https://near.org    Episode Links   Reshma Patel Twitter: https://twitter.com/reshmapatelnyc?lang=en  Blockchain campaign: https://www.reshma2021.com/blockchain  CoinDesk profile: https://www.coindesk.com/city-comptroller-candidate-says-blockchain-is-in-new-yorks-future  The Block article: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/102122/candidate-nyc-comptroller-crypto-blockchain Miscellaneous Links BitLicense https://ciphertrace.com/new-york-bitlicense/ https://www.coindesk.com/bitlicense-timeline  Duties of NYC Comptroller https://comptroller.nyc.gov/about/duties-of-the-comptroller/  Link to the Crypto News Recap: https://unchainedpodcast.com/doge-up-13000-ytd/...more

  Episode

• Crypto's Gender Disparity: What Can Be Done About It? 4 Women Weigh In - Ep.234

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  May 04 2021

  Crypto sits at the intersection of two male-dominated industries: tech and finance. I was asked to moderate a panel for the Amber Group with four leading women in crypto to discuss the role of gender in the crypto industry and what can be done to bring more women into the space. Panelists include Mia Deng, partner at Dragonfly Capital; Amy Zhang, vice president of sales at Fireblocks; Alexis Gauba, cofounder at Opyn; and Annabelle Huang, partner at Amber Group. Show highlights: how each panelist got into crypto, what it is they do, and which company they work for why women have been somewhat reluctant to speak on crypto gender disparity in public what the main obstacles to bringing about better gender diversity in crypto whether the crypto space is harder to break into than traditional finance for women how gender issues in the U.S. are different than in Asia why more women have begun trading cryptocurrencies and how to increase that interest which crypto explanations are most effective for female friends why there are so few female crypto co-founders good hiring practices for bringing more women into the space advice for women trying to break into crypto    Thank you to our sponsors! E&Y: https://ey.com/globalblockchainsummit  Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2  Kyber Network: Dmm.exchange    Episode Links   Panelists Mia Deng Crypto career cofounder at TR Lab ---- NFT Platform (2021) partner at Dragonfly Capital - https://medium.com/dragonfly-research  Head of biz Development + Venture partner @ Amber Group - https://www.ambergroup.io/about  Social link https://twitter.com/miagegedeng?lang=en   Amy Zhang Crypto career vice president of sales at Fireblocks - https://www.fireblocks.com/  head of sales/investor relations at Diginex - https://www.diginex.com/  Social link https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyzwzhang/?originalSubdomain=hk    Alexis Gauba Crypto career cofounder at Opyn - https://www.opyn.co/#/  cofounder at she256 - https://she256.org/  Social link https://twitter.com/AlexisGauba   Annabelle Huang Crypto career partner at Amber Group  - https://www.ambergroup.io/about  founding member at KeeperDAO - https://twitter.com/Keeper_DAO  risk lead at AirSwap - https://www.airswap.io/  Social Link https://twitter.com/_annabellehuang?lang=en...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: How MetaMask Grew Its Monthly Active Users By 5X in the Last 6 Months - Ep.233

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  Apr 30 2021

  Dan Finlay, co-founder of MetaMask, talks about the meteoric growth of monthly active users of the crypto wallet, which has quintupled in the past seven months. In this episode, he discusses: which crypto use case drove MetaMask’s active user base to grow 5x in under a year what types of scaling solutions are drawing users to MetaMask how MetaMask works what kind of customers are using MetaMask  how MetaMask has grown without targeted marketing  whether the type of crypto usage in developing nations differed from developed nations which feature MetaMask released in 2020 that is bringing in revenue what pivotal moments in crypto over the past six years have brought new users to MetaMask why scalability and security are the most important challenges facing MetaMask in the short term  how MetaMask is trying to make online wallets more secure  how much volume users have traded via MetaMask's new swap feature  what new features are coming up for MetaMask wallets    Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021  InterPop: https://hellointerpop.io/?utm_source=Unchained&utm_medium=episode-sponsorship&utm_campaign=interpop-launch&utm_content=interpop  NEAR: https://near.org    Episode Links MetaMask Dan Finlay: https://twitter.com/danfinlay MetaMask: https://metamask.io/ $5 Million Monthly Active Users: https://consensys.net/blog/metamask/metamask-surpasses-5-million-monthly-active-users/ MetaMask in Emerging Markets: https://twitter.com/MetaMask/status/1387114770923466755 Filecoin in MetaMask: https://medium.com/metamask/developer-preview-metamask-snap-for-filecoin-c28b01dfdcb    Miscellaneous Robbie Ferguson on Unchained: https://unchainedpodcast.com/this-layer-2-solution-processed-more-nft-trades-in-24-hours-than-ethereum-did-in-1-week/ Marguerite deCourcelle on Unchained: https://unchainedpodcast.com/all-the-ways-crypto-can-make-gaming-more-fun/ Charles Cascarilla + Vlad Tenev conversation: https://t.co/2AG0y5j36B?amp=1   Link to the Crypto News Recap: https://unchainedpodcast.com/a-bitcoin-standard/  ...more

  Episode

• How NFT Platform OpenSea Plans to Maintain Its Competitive Advantage - Ep.232

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  Apr 27 2021

  Devin Finzer, co-founder and CEO of NFT marketplace OpenSea, talks all things non-fungible. Check out the whole show to hear Devin answer the following questions:   First Half: Breaking Down NFTs Why did he become so interested in NFTs ?  What is an NFT? Why have NFTs become so popular recently?  Who is creating NFTs? Who is purchasing NFTs?  Are we in an NFT bubble?  How is the NFT ecosystem going to evolve over the next few years?  What are people purchasing when they buy an NFT?    Second Half: OpenSea Q+A What is OpenSea?  How will OpenSea maintain its competitive advantage in the open-source blockchain ecosystem?  How does OpenSea make money?  Are artists making money on OpenSea?  How is OpenSea planning on integrating with layer 2 solutions on Ethereum and other blockchains?  How do royalties work on OpenSea? Why are they hard to enforce?  What can be done about content being minted on OpenSea without an artist’s permission?  What issues in the NFT world still need to be resolved?  How is OpenSea handling the environmental concerns surrounding NFTs?  What’s next for OpenSea?    Thank you to our sponsors! E&Y: https://ey.com/globalblockchainsummit Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2  Kyber Network: Dmm.exchange   Episode Links   Basic Links Devin’s Twitter https://twitter.com/dfinzer?lang=en  OpenSea https://opensea.io/    Devin Finzer Content Podcast appearances https://www.owltail.com/people/YzIoa-devin-finzer/appearances  The NFT Bible https://opensea.io/blog/guides/non-fungible-tokens/ Blockchain gaming (2018) https://www.coindesk.com/the-emerging-trends-in-the-blockchain-gaming-world    OpenSea Profiles Fortune https://fortune.com/2021/03/18/nft-art-crypto-marketplace-opensea-amazon/ CoinDesk 50 for 2020 (#47) https://www.coindesk.com/the-coindesk-50  Recent announcements scaling solution w/ Immutable X (Mar 31) https://www.coindesk.com/nft-opensea-immutable-layer-2-protocol-ethereum  https://decrypt.co/65828/immutable-x-ethereum-nft-gods-unchained  A16z investment (Mar 18th) https://a16z.com/2021/03/18/investing-in-opensea/  updating terms of service (Mar 13) https://twitter.com/opensea/status/1370895902068637697  taking down the hacker NFT (Mar 9) https://www.coindesk.com/hacker-selling-cybersecurity-exploit-nft unlockable content (early March) https://twitter.com/opensea/status/1366780226416631817  Tezos collab (Feb 10) https://twitter.com/opensea/status/1359519631275352064  creating NFTs for free (Dec 29) https://opensea.io/blog/announcements/introducing-the-collection-manager/  https://twitter.com/xanderatallah/status/1358848443356221445  recent usage: https://duneanalytics.com/rchen8/opensea 2018 investing round https://www.coindesk.com/ebay-cryptokitties-raises-2-million-star-vcs  https://opensea.io/blog/announcements/opensea-raises-2-million/  Other Terms of service talk https://www.reddit.com/r/opensea/comments/m12uh4/do_i_keep_the_rights_to_any_nft_i_sell_on_opensea/ Stats https://www.forbes.com/sites/youngjoseph/2021/03/29/nft-market-rages-on-nfts-market-cap-grow-1785-in-2021-as-demand-explodes/?sh=2974862a7fdc  https://duneanalytics.com/rchen8/opensea ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: This Layer 2 Solution Processed More NFT Trades in 24 Hours Than Ethereum Did in 1 Week - Ep.231

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  Apr 23 2021

  Robbie Ferguson, co-founder and president of Immutable, talks about how Immutable is transforming the NFT industry through its layer 2 solution, Immutable X, which just launched April 8. In this episode, he discusses:  what sort of problems Immutable is solving by creating a layer 2 solution (1:21) why scalability is especially an issue for NFTs in gaming (1:59) how Immutable X, built with partner Starkware, addresses the problems with scaling NFTs (3:28) how Immutable is scaling Ethereum and the definition of a layer 2 solution (5:46) the Immutable business model and how the company makes money (6:40) how validity proofs like ZK-rollups differ from fraud proofs like Optimistic rollups (7:52) how Gods Unchained has performed since the April 8th launch of Immutable X (8:27) why building on Ethereum is so important to Immutable (10:54) why Immutable is obsessed with bringing liquidity to NFTs (14:54) what sort of partners Immutable is looking to attract and how Immutable X is different from a traditional marketplace (18:00) why Immutable decided to purchase carbon credits to offset the gas the protocol consumes on Ethereum (21:33) what we might see from Gods Unchained, Immutable X, and NFT gaming in general by the end of this  year (23:32 ) weekly news recap (26:22)   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021  InterPop: https://hellointerpop.io/?utm_source=Unchained&utm_medium=episode-sponsorship&utm_campaign=interpop-launch&utm_content=interpop  NEAR: https://near.org    Episode Links   Robbie Ferguson https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbieferguson/?originalSubdomain=au   Immutable Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Immutable?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor  Website for Immutable X https://market.x.immutable.com/assets/0xacb3c6a43d15b907e8433077b6d38ae40936fe2c  Layer 2 https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/101092/ethereum-startup-immutable-aims-to-cut-nft-costs-with-new-layer-2-scaling-protocol https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/100084/opensea-nft-layer-2-immutable-x https://twitter.com/Immutable/status/1385263903450484741  Gods Unchained https://www.coindesk.com/james-ferguson-on-decentralized-gamings-next-moves https://decrypt.co/65828/immutable-x-ethereum-nft-gods-unchained Previous Unconfirmed interview: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-the-hong-kong-protests-gave-a-boost-to-gods-unchained/   Miscellaneous Links Hearthstone link https://decrypt.co/48379/gods-unchained-review-and-beginners-guide  Carbon Credits https://twitter.com/immutable/status/1377099577178779659?lang=en  StarkWare relationship https://medium.com/starkware/starkware-immutable-8896aabab4e5 StarkWare’s recent Unchained appearance https://unchainedpodcast.com/can-dydx-become-a-decentralized-bitmex-how-it-is-scaling-with-starkware/    Link to the Crypto News Recap: https://unchainedpodcast.com/2600-eth/  ...more

  Episode

• Thanks, Forbes: Laura on How the Unchained Podcast Came to Be - Ep.230

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  Apr 20 2021

  In a fun change of pace, I was interviewed by the On Deck Podcaster Fellowship about the origins of Unchained pod, how my background as a journalist prepared me for podcasting, and tips for aspiring creators. Episode highlights: why I believe the Unchained podcast has been successful and how my penchant for asking tough questions came about (1:48) how my background in journalism prepared me for hosting a podcast (6:35) how I choose guests for the show and how they feel about being asked difficult questions (9:10) why I feel my background in traditional media is so important (15:46) whether my podcast helped me land a book deal (20:35) the Unchained podcast origin story (26:37) how I’ve brought my sense of journalistic integrity and ethics to podcasting (33:56) the top tips for choosing a good podcast title (41:58) advice for aspiring podcasters on sifting through BS answers and warming up shy guests (48:19) who I look up to in the podcast space (53:25) what future creators and podcasters from underrepresented backgrounds can learn from my experience breaking into the world of finance and technology (57:33)   Thank you to our sponsors: E&Y: https://ey.com/globalblockchainsummit Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2  Kyber Network: Dmm.exchange   Episode Links On Deck: https://www.beondeck.com/    Laura Shin: https://twitter.com/laurashin    Unchained Podcast: https://twitter.com/Unchained_pod...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: Why This Analyst Puts Coinbase in the Most Exclusive Club of Stocks - Ep.229

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  Apr 16 2021

  Gil Luria, director of research at D.A. Davidson, talks about Coinbase’s performance on its first day as a public company. In this episode, Gil discusses: the significance of Coinbase going public (1:05) why doing a direct listing was a risky move (1:31) why he revised his price target for COIN from $440 to $650 (3:17) how investing in COIN as a “pure play” crypto company compares to buying stock in companies like MicroStrategy and Square (5:06) why some people are disrupting Coinbase’s actual market cap (7:11) whether Coinbase can smooth out revenue over the long term and not be so correlated to the crypto markets themselves(10:45) what sort of statistics Gil is looking for in valuing Coinbase (13:08) why Gil thinks Coinbase can meet its goal of growing non-transaction revenue from 4% to 50% in five to ten years (15:32) how Coinbase could navigate the compression of fees that will occur as competition increases among exchanges (17:33) whether Coinbase’s stance as an apolitical company could affect the stock price in an era in which companies are getting involved in issues like voting rights (19:45) whether the Bitcoin price and COIN stock price will always be highly correlated (21:18) which other crypto companies are good candidates for going public as well (22:35) weekly news recap (24:03)   Thank you to our sponsors! Download the Crypto.com app and get $25 with the code “Laura”:  https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021    Check out InterPop, a superteam redefining the future of NFTs and fandom! https://hellointerpop.io/?utm_source=Unchained&utm_medium=episode-sponsorship&utm_campaign=interpop-launch&utm_content=interpop    Episode links:   Gil Luria Twitter profile: https://twitter.com/gilluria   Introducing Crypto’s Amazon Moment (written by Gil): https://unchainedpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/DA-Davidson-Coinbase-Initiation-20210302.pdf  2013 Quote from Gil on Bitcoin: https://www.streetinsider.com/Analyst+Comments/Bitcoin+Could+Be+Worth+10-100x+Current+Price+-+Analyst/8936836.html Previous Unchained Appearance: https://unchainedpodcast.com/is-coinbase-stock-a-good-buy-this-analyst-says-yes/    Related Content Ellie Frost Blog: https://frostbyte.substack.com/p/coinbase-earnings-some-less-obvious  https://frostbyte.substack.com/p/coinbase-earnings-will-blow-you-away Tweet Thread on Market Cap Discrepancy w/ Comment From Jeff Dorman https://twitter.com/laurashin/status/1382746574577668111 https://twitter.com/jdorman81/status/1382749674105237507 Forbes Coverage of Coinbase Direct Listing: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2021/04/14/coinbase-skyrockets-in-nasdaq-listing-landing-105-billion-valuation-on-first-day-of-trading/?sh=3afb44928dc1  https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2021/04/14/coinbases-ipo-creates-a-multibillion-dollar-windfall-for-founders-now-it-faces-five-big-threats/?sh=13405d8e61ff  Brian Armstrong CNBC Interview on Transaction Fees: https://twitter.com/SquawkCNBC/status/1382279472599162880?s=20 ...more

  Episode

• Why Bitcoin’s December Price Target Is Now ‘Above $300,000’ - Ep.228

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  Apr 13 2021

  In an interview I moderated at Real Vision’s “Crypto Gathering,” Peter L Brandt, veteran trader and publisher of the Factor Report, and Willy Woo, prominent on-chain Bitcoin analyst and author of the “The Bitcoin Forecast,” a market intelligence newsletter, discuss Bitcoin charts, trading, and how Bitcoin is evolving as an asset. They cover: why Peter believes that, with Bitcoin, we are watching history in the making and what a “parabolic advance” has to do with that belief (2:02) the differences in trading Bitcoin, which trades 24/7/365, in comparison to a normal asset -- like a stock or commodity (6:36 ) Willy’s price target for the top of this bull run (8:37) why Willy thinks there is a Bitcoin supply shock (12:12) the reason Peter does not think Bitcoin is a bubble (15:09) why Willy believes we are witnessing the birth of a new monetary system (17:23) the state of Bitcoin adoption and how fast adoption will grow (21:24) Peter’s crypto journey and why he measures wealth in Bitcoin instead of dollars (27:02 ) why Peter thinks we are prisoners of war to the fiat system and how Bitcoin fixes this (31:33) what sort of volatility both Peter and Willy expect going forward from Bitcoin (33:43) how Peter feels about the laser eyes trend on Crypto Twitter (39:35) tips for aspiring chartists and traders (41:33)   Thank you to our sponsors! Download the Crypto.com app and get $25 with the code “Laura”: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2  Indexed Finance: https://indexed.finance/  Kyber Network: Dmm.exchange   Episode Links   Willy Woo Twitter: https://twitter.com/woonomic Website: http://charts.woobull.com/  Content Unchained podcast appearances https://unchainedpodcast.com/willy-woo-on-why-its-an-extremely-great-time-to-buy-bitcoin/ https://unchainedpodcast.com/willy-woo-how-bitcoin-reaches-up-to-300000-by-end-of-year/ Tweets https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1347127159538688002?s=20 https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1345221723751206912?s=20  https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1346827893322616833  https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1356310219215699968  https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1379804421823942656  Peter L. Brandt Twitter https://twitter.com/PeterLBrandt Website: https://www.peterlbrandt.com/about-us/  Content Book https://www.amazon.com/Trading-Commodity-Futures-Classical-Patterns/ Tweets BTC https://twitter.com/PeterLBrandt/status/1372380949695053824 https://twitter.com/PeterLBrandt/status/1374816381837799424 https://twitter.com/PeterLBrandt/status/1368593967059767297  Crypto https://twitter.com/PeterLBrandt/status/1366810037084020736  USD https://twitter.com/PeterLBrandt/status/1368903818201600009 https://twitter.com/PeterLBrandt/status/1368383829098913795 ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: What $1.8 Billion in Q1 Revenue Means for Coinbase’s Direct Listing - Ep.227

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  Apr 09 2021

  Larry Cermak, director of research at The Block, discusses the upcoming Coinbase direct listing in light of the exchange’s recently released Q1 revenue hitting an impressive $1.8 billion. In this episode, Larry talks about: significant takeaways from Coinbase’s Q1 results (1:04) how Coinbase was able to increase its non-transaction revenue in Q1 and why he thinks the exchange gets away with charging higher fees than its competitors (4:14) why retail consumers are investing in crypto at such a high clip (8:36) how Coinbase compares to its competition -- and why competition will drive transaction fees down (11:23) whether it matters that Coinbase has so little Bitcoin on its balance sheet (14:52) what he still wants to know about Coinbase after its S-1 filing and Q1 results 15:36) products and services that Coinbase should acquire to round out its crypto offering (17:10) his expectations for Coinbase’s stock performance (17:50) why investors may not be interested in NFTs (19:37) how the crypto markets will perform in 2021 and how that might affect the COIN price (20:43) Crypto New Recap (22:40)    Thank you to our sponsors! Download the Crypto.com app and get $25 with the code “Laura”:  https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021   Check out InterPop, a superteam redefining the future of NFTs and fandom! https://hellointerpop.io/?utm_source=Unchained&utm_medium=episode-sponsorship&utm_campaign=interpop-launch&utm_content=interpop   Episode links:   Larry Cermak https://twitter.com/lawmaster   Coinbase Q1 Results Coinbase Details https://investor.coinbase.com/news/news-details/2021/Coinbase-Announces-First-Quarter-2021-Estimated-Results-and-Full-Year-2021-Outlook/default.aspx  Larry Cermak Analysis https://twitter.com/lawmaster/status/1379527265021743110  The Block https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/100749/final-notes-ahead-of-the-coinbase-direct-listing?utm_source=research&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2021-04-08 John Street Capital https://twitter.com/JohnStCapital/status/1379526362692788227   Direct Listing Information https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/01/coinbase-direct-listing-set-for-april-14-after-sec-approval.html https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-sec-form-s-1   Related Podcasts Gil Luria https://unchainedpodcast.com/is-coinbase-stock-a-good-buy-this-analyst-says-yes/ Jeff Roberts https://unchainedpodcast.com/coinbases-s-1-the-number-that-may-make-the-exchange-nervous/   Link to the Crypto News Recap: https://unchainedpodcast.com/happy-birthday-satoshi1/...more

  Episode

• Mark Cuban on Why He Thinks ETH Is a Better Store of Value Than Bitcoin - Ep.226

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  Apr 06 2021

  Mark Cuban -- billionaire investor, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and Shark Tank “shark” -- shares his thoughts on the Ethereum vs. BTC debate, issues with DeFi, and how NFTs could change content distribution. Tune in to hear Mark talk about... why ETH is a better store of value than BTC (1:08) why bitcoin as an inflation hedge is a bananas narrative 6:29) his opinion on EIP-1159 and the idea of proof of stake mining (9:06) why minting an NFT was a crypto-lightbulb moment for him (11:36) how his background in technology prepared him to invest in crypto (13:55) the main problem with the DeFi user experience and his advice for new DeFi users (16:34) what might happen to the centralized banking system if DeFi becomes the norm (20:46) how putting private data on a blockchain could work (25:53) why CBDC’s make “perfect sense” (32:11) how he evaluates decentralized business models and governance structures (41:13) his NFT investment thesis (47:09) who he believes will be the NFT winners in the long term (52:09) why Mavs tickets are a perfect example for how NFTs may be used in the future (54:55) industries that are ripe for NFT disruption (59:45) the many use cases for NFTs (1:01:48) why he is advising against minting social tokens (1:04:15)   Thank you to our sponsors!  Download the Crypto.com app and get $25 with the code “Laura”: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2    Indexed Finance: https://indexed.finance/    Kyber Network: Dmm.exchange   Episode Links   Mark Cuban Personal website: https://markcubancompanies.com/marks-bio/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mcuban    NFT Investment Lazy.com https://lazy.com/  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/98974/mark-cuban-digital-art-gallery-nft Mintable https://cryptoslate.com/mark-cuban-invests-undisclosed-sum-in-nft-platform-mintable/ Esprezzo https://blog.esprezzo.io/esprezzo-raises-round-to-bring-no-code-automation-to-crypto-investors-nft-creators-collectors-defi-users OpenSea https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/18/nft-marketplace-opensea-raises-23-million-from-a16z/  SuperRare https://www.coindesk.com/cuban-chamath-back-nft-marketplace-superrares-9m-series-a Other https://markcubancompanies.com/blockchain/   Other Links Defiant Podcast (“ETH Has An Advantage Over Bitcoin”)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdGseBuuq_I Why DeFi is the Future | Mark Cuban on the Bankless Podcast https://shows.banklesshq.com/p/-why-defi-is-the-future-mark-cuban Mark Cuban: The Billionaire Crypto Degen on the Delphi Podcast https://www.delphidigital.io/reports/mark-cuban-the-billionaire-crypto-degen/ NFTs as ticketing disruptor https://cryptoslate.com/forget-overvalued-artwork-mark-cuban-sees-nft-ticketing-as-the-mass-market-disruptor/ Bananas video (2:16-3:49) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWBlN9o6Azc  CoinDesk interview https://www.coindesk.com/mark-cuban-bitcoin-nfts-blockchain-dallas-mavericks ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: Why Proposed FATF Rules Could Be a Shock for DeFi - Ep.225

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  Apr 02 2021

  Dave Jevans, CEO of Cipher Trace, talks about what the new draft guidance from the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) means for DeFi, NFTs, and crypto in general. In this show, he breaks down: the six main areas the draft guidance covers, including the expansion of KYC regulatory standards into DeFi (1:07) how a dex like Uniswap would operate under the proposed draft guidance, and which types of companies or services providers would have to take identifying customer information (3:54) why DeFi applications might start requiring customers to create an account to use their platforms (7:03) how the crypto community has reacted to the FATF draft guidance (8:59) whether NFTs are affected by the proposed draft guidance (11:01) who the FATF recommendations apply to (13:54) how to reach out to FATF to comment on the draft guidance (15:32) the nuances of the travel rule and how DeFi developers may now be forced to include KYC mechanisms in their applications (17:29) how the crypto community would likely want to tweak the guidance to align the philosophy of DeFi (21:27) Crypto News Recap (23:42)    Thank you to our sponsors! Download the Crypto.com app and get $25 with the code “Laura”:  https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021   Check out InterPop, a superteam redefining the future of NFTs and fandom! https://hellointerpop.io/?utm_source=Unchained&utm_medium=episode-sponsorship&utm_campaign=interpop-launch&utm_content=interpop   Episode Links   Dave Jevans Twitter: https://twitter.com/davejevans Cipher Trace: https://ciphertrace.com/ Previous Unchained episode:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-the-travel-rule-is-one-of-the-most-significant-regulations-in-crypto/ FATF Website: https://www.fatf-gafi.org/ Updated FATF draft guidance: http://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/recommendations/March%202021%20-%20VA%20Guidance%20update%20-%20Sixth%20draft%20-%20Public%20consultation.pdf Analysis of draft guidance: CoinDesk: https://www.coindesk.com/fatfs-new-guidance Decrypt: https://decrypt.co/62600/fatf-money-laundering-rules-defi-nfts Coin Center: https://www.coincenter.org/a-quick-analysis-of-fatfs-2021-draft-cryptocurrency-guidance/ Cipher Trace: https://ciphertrace.com/analysis-proposed-fatf-guidance-for-virtual-assets-and-vasps/  Miscellaneous Links Travel Rule: https://www.coindesk.com/is-the-travel-rule-good-or-bad-for-crypto-both FinCEN: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/fincen-looks-to-rein-in-cryptocurrency-6821323/    Link to the Crypto News Recap: https://unchainedpodcast.com/michael-jordans-nft-investment/...more

  Episode

• What Exactly Do You Get When You Buy an NFT? Three Lawyers Discuss - Ep.224

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  Mar 30 2021

  Olta Andoni, fintech and IP Attorney at Zlatkin Wong and adjunct professor at Chicago Kent College of Law, Tonya Evans, visiting Full Professor of Law at Penn State Dickinson Law School and host of the podcast Tech Intersect, and Stuart Levi, co-head of the Intellectual Property and Technology practice at Skadden Arps and coordinator of the firm's Blockchain and Digital Asset practice, break down the legal issues surrounding NFTs. In this episode, they discuss: how the law looks at non-fungible tokens (1:25) why owning an NFT is different from owning the rights to the underlying asset making up the NFT (3:12) problems that blockchain solves for creators  (5:09) how corporations (aka content intermediaries) are handling NFTs (6:53) what rights the purchase of an NFT gives a buyer (11:51) derivative artwork, the fair use copyright law, moral rights, and how U.S. law views NFTs (15:53) how to determine the jurisdiction of an NFT (25:00) what type of legal recourse is available to artists whose art has been stolen and redistributed as an NFT (32:37) the differences in the terms of services between NFT marketplaces  (36:26) why the first sale doctrine may not apply to digital assets (43:16) what a buyer is getting when purchasing a blockchain license (46:12) how NFT creators should protect their work (51:43) whether a fractionalized NFT is a security (55:25) how NFTs will change the business of content creation (58:44)   Thank you to our sponsors!  Download the Crypto.com app and get $25 with the code “Laura”: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2    Indexed Finance: https://indexed.finance/    Episode Links   People Tonya Evans Twitter: https://twitter.com/IPProfEvans Penn State Dickinson Law: https://dickinsonlaw.psu.edu/tonya-m-evans  Relevant content: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-intersect-59-ping-prof-2-non-fungible-tokens-nfts/id1493143898?i=1000512485580 https://clarivate.com/darts-ip/blog/copyright-blockchain/  https://clarivate.com/darts-ip/blog/intro-to-ip-and-blockchain/  Olta Andoni Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndoniOlta?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Zlatkin Wong: https://zlatkinwong.com/en/  Relevant content: https://www.coindesk.com/stop-tokenizing-art-you-dont-own  Stuart Levi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartlevi/ Skadden: https://www.skadden.com/  Relevant content:  https://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/fin-tech/799182/emerging-discovery-issues-in-blockchain-litigation    Legal Links Fair Use Doctrine: https://pitt.libguides.com/copyright/fairuse#:~:text=The%20doctrine%20of%20Fair%20Use,teaching%2C%20scholarship%2C%20and%20research. First Sale Doctrine: https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-1854-copyright-infringement-first-sale-doctrine#:~:text=The%20first%20sale%20doctrine%2C%20codified,interests%20of%20the%20copyright%20owner Moral Rights: https://www.copyright.gov/policy/moralrights/ Digital Millennium Copyright Act https://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf  Visual Artists Rights Act http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/martin/art_law/esworthy.htm    Miscellaneous Links Banksy https://www.cbsnews.com/news/banksy-nft-injective-destroy-art-digital-token/ Fractionalized NFTs https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/sec-crypto-mom-hester-peirce-selling-nft-fragments-illegal-2021-3-1030250153 Dapper Labs License https://medium.com/dapperlabs/nft-license-2-0-why-a-nft-can-do-what-mickey-mouse-never-could-27673d5f29aa  TechnoLlama Blog https://www.technollama.co.uk/can-copyright-teach-us-anything-about-nfts...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: Why Miami Mayor Francis Suarez Calls Crypto 'the Wave of the Future' - Ep.223

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  Mar 26 2021

  Miami Mayor Francis Suarez talks about how Miami plans to be the crypto capital of the world. In this show, he discusses: what Miami is doing to become the crypto capital of the world (1:40) why he feels so strongly about bringing crypto to Miami (3:09) the relationship between cryptocurrencies and government (4:08) why he believes that, in the future, governments will transaction in crypto, not fiat currency (5:26) his feelings about the FTX sponsorship proposal and how he convinced city officials to move past crypto’s tumultuous past (6:51) whether city of Miami employees have expressed interest in being paid in bitcoin (10:06) what needs to happen for Miami to be able to hold BTC in its treasury (11:25) how Mayor Suarez balances his interest in Bitcoin against his interest in mitigating the effects of climate change on Miami (14:24) Crypto News Recap (18:00)   Thank you to our sponsors!  Download the Crypto.com app and get $25 with the code “Laura”:  https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021   Check out InterPop, a superteam redefining the future of NTFs and fandom! https://hellointerpop.io/?utm_source=Unchained&utm_medium=episode-sponsorship&utm_campaign=interpop-launch&utm_content=interpop   Episode Links:   Francis Suarez - Mayor of Miami Twitter: https://twitter.com/FrancisSuarez    Miami and Crypto  Overview New York Times: https://www.nytimes3xbfgragh.onion/2021/03/23/business/dealbook/miami-suarez-crypto.html  CNBC interview: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/02/17/miami-mayor-francis-suarez-on-push-to-accept-bitcoin-attract-big-tech.html  Forbes Coverage: https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerhuang/2021/02/01/miamis-mayor-leads-the-charge-to-bring-bitcoin-to-americas-largest-cities/?sh=5bbbbf68c6c9 https://www.forbes.com/sites/leeorshimron/2021/02/07/miami-mayor-francis-suarez-talks-bitcoin--building-a-tech-innovation-hub/?sh=1d1c40691a53  FTX Naming Rights Press Release: https://www.miamidade.gov/releases/2021-03-23-mayor-arena-agreement.asp  The Block: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/99134/report-ftx-miami-heat-stadium-vote  Bitcoin paying employees in BTC + investing treasury in BTC: https://twitter.com/francissuarez/status/1360069847971954690?lang=en   Link to the Crypto News Recap: https://unchainedpodcast.com/tesla-is-a-hodler/  ...more

  Episode

• Financial Advisors Control $5 Trillion in Investor Wealth. Are They Buying Bitcoin? - Ep.222

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  Mar 23 2021

  Ric Edelman, founder of Edelman Financial Engines, and Matthew Kolesky, president at Arbor Capital, discuss the state of Bitcoin adoption amongst financial advisors, who control $5 trillion in investor wealth. In this episode, they talk about: their background and why they got into crypto (1:25) how most RIAs (registered investment advisors) view digital assets and the hassle of buying crypto on a client’s behalf (8:59) what percentage of financial advisors have already invested in bitcoin and how many more will come into the space by next year (18:20) how RIADAC -- the RIA Digital Assets Council -- is educating financial advisors about crypto (21:59) their favorite methods to explain Bitcoin and other digital assets (25:22) the different ways financial advisors are getting bitcoin/crypto exposure for their clients (35:32) why RIAs use investment vehicles to purchase Bitcoin rather than spot-buying the actual asset (39:58) why GBTC is trading at a deficit to the bitcoin price and their thoughts on a bitcoin ETF (44:40) the percent allocation to crypto they feel comfortable with for their clients (54:26) how they rebalance crypto holdings, whether they use yield-bearing crypto products yet, and projections for 2021 (57:35)   Thank you to our sponsors!  Download the Crypto.com app and get $25 with the code “Laura”: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2    Indexed Finance: https://indexed.finance/    Episode links: Ric Edelman Twitter: https://twitter.com/ricedelman?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor RIADAC: https://riadac.com/   Matt Kolesky Twitter: https://twitter.com/mkolesky  Arbor Capital: https://www.acminc.com/ + https://digital.arbor.capital/    Helpful Links: Bitwise ETF Trends + Survey of Financial Advisors https://static.bitwiseinvestments.com/Research/Bitwise-2021-Benchmark-Survey-Financial-Advisor-Attitudes-Toward-Cryptoassets.pdf Fidelity’s Bitcoin Investment Thesis https://www.fidelitydigitalassets.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/FDAS/bitcoin-alternative-investment.pdf  RIADAC’s 12 Predictions for 2021 https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2021/01/07/ric-edelman-12-predictions-for-bitcoin-other-cryptos-in-2021/ RIADAC 1% Allocation strategy https://riadac.com/digital-assets-are-now-mainstream/its-still-early-with-tremendous-upside-potential/ Arbor Capital’s “True Digital Asset SMA” https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arbor-digital-and-blockchange-partner-on-digital-asset-sma-for-registered-investment-advisors-301219459.html  Grayscale BTC Premium Flips Negative https://www.coindesk.com/grayscale-negative-premium-bitcoin Blockchange https://blockchange.ai/ ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: MetaKovan on Why He Spent $69 Million on a Jpeg - Ep.221

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  Mar 19 2021

  MetaKovan, the pseudonymous buyer of Beeple’s Everydays NFT and founder of MetaPurse, talks about his recent $69 million purchase. In this episode, he discusses: why he bought Everydays: The First 5000 Days for $69 million (1:57) Beeple’s 13-year “proof of effort” process of creating art and why Beeple has the potential to become a generational artist (4:38) why he believes NFTs are “10x” better than physical art (9:40) his vision of the metaverse (13:57) the reasons for hiding his identity behind the Metakovan avatar (17:09) how he made his fortune in crypto and why he felt comfortable spending $69 million on something that might be a fad (19:12) why he started Metapurse and how its native B20 token works (24:31) crypto news recap (28:57)   Thank you to our sponsor! Download the Crypto.com app and get $25 with the code “Laura”: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2    Episode Links   MetaKovan: https://twitter.com/metakovan?lang=en   Metapurse:  https://metapurse.fund/   Everydays: The First 5000 Days Purchase: https://www.coindesk.com/metakovan-buyer-of-record-setting-beeple-nft-explains-why-he-spent-69-3m https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/12/arts/beeple-nft-buyer-ether.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/12/buyer-of-69-million-beeple-nft-is-a-crypto-investo-metakovan.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/03/17/nft-beeple-metakovan-christies/ https://slate.com/technology/2021/03/metakovan-beeple-christies-auction-nfts.html    B20 Tokens: https://www.playtoearn.online/2021/01/13/metapurse-to-share-ownership-beeple-collection/ https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/21/03/20195109/69m-beeple-nft-artwork-may-have-been-used-to-pump-b-20-token-price-by-6200-reports-suggest   Link to the Crypto News Recap: https://unchainedpodcast.com/3-publicly-traded-crypto-exchanges/  ...more

  Episode

• How NFTs Are Revolutionizing How Creators Make Money - Ep.220

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  Mar 16 2021

  Jamie Burke, CEO of Outlier Ventures, and Mason Nystrom, a research analyst at Messari, discuss the NFT craze that has enveloped the crypto world over the past few weeks. In this episode, they talk about: their backgrounds, and how they became involved in crypto (1:19) the major catalysts -- specifically Beeple and NBA Top Shot -- that have brought NFTs into the mainstream (5:29) why NFTs are a “megatrend” and not just another ICO-like bubble (13:35) how to explain non-fungible tokens to normies (18:06) what someone is actually purchasing when they buy an NFT (24:46) the reasons behind NBA Top Shot's success and why it is so difficult to withdraw money from its platform (36:27) the best way to scale NFTs and why Ethereum, despite severe storage limitations, will most likely remain the most popular blockchain on which to mint NFTs (41:44) why the gaming, fashion, and music industries will be disrupted by NFTs (49:37) when the current subscription-based business model for content creators will transition to the ownership economy (55:10) the differences between the marketplaces and platforms that make up the NFT economy (57:06) whether NFT valuations will go to zero and the challenges of appraising digital art (1:03:39) their predictions for the market capitalization of NFTs by the end of 2021 (1:15:23)   Thank you to our sponsors!  Download the Crypto.com app and get $25 with the code “Laura”: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021    Square: https://square.com/go/unchained    Episode Links:    Jamie Burke Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamie247  Outlier Ventures: https://twitter.com/OVioHQ  Content: the open metaverse: https://outlierventures.io/research/the-open-metaverse-os/  100xARt: https://art.art/blog/jamie-burke-and-100xart-a-true-story-of-the-rising-art-order  podcast: https://outlierventures.io/podcasts/    Mason Nystrom Twitter:  https://twitter.com/masonnystrom  Messari: https://messari.io/  Content: NFTs as an investment strategy: https://twitter.com/masonnystrom/status/1310942572429312010  evolution of content: https://twitter.com/masonnystrom/status/1361692703025729536  psychology of crypto art collecting: https://twitter.com/masonnystrom/status/1365028848509870080  the current state of NFTs: https://twitter.com/masonnystrom/status/1363283887691038720    NFT Sales Mentioned Beeple: https://www.cnn.com/style/article/beeple-first-nft-artwork-at-auction-sale-buyer-intl-scli/index.html  Previous Unconfirmed interview with Beeple: https://unchainedpodcast.com/beeple-on-how-and-why-he-raked-in-3-5-million/ Taco Bell: https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/8/22319868/taco-bell-nfts-gif-tacos-sell  3LAU: https://edm.com/gear-tech/3lau-record-breaking-nft-sale  Jack Dorsey Tweet: https://v.cent.co/tweet/20  Kings of Leon album: https://www.maxim.com/entertainment/kings-of-leon-releases-album-in-nft  NBA Top Shot: https://www.actionnetwork.com/news/nba-top-shot-blockchain-nba-highlight-marketplace    NFT Guides New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/22/business/nft-nba-top-shot-crypto.html?utm_source=morning_brew  DappRadar: https://dappradar.com/blog/what-are-non-fungible-tokens-nfts  Andrew Steinwold: https://andrewsteinwold.substack.com/p/-quick-overview-of-the-nft-ecosystem  Decrypt: https://decrypt.co/resources/non-fungible-tokens-nfts-explained-guide-learn-blockchain CoinDesk: https://www.coindesk.com/nfts-became-art-everything-nft    Miscellaneous Links:  Chris Dixon blog: https://a16z.com/2021/02/27/nfts-and-a-thousand-true-fans/  NFT market cap: https://nonfungible.com/market/history  Outlier Ventures decentralized accelerator program: https://outlierventures.io/base-camp/  Top NFT marketplaces (DappRadar): https://decrypt.co/resources/non-fungible-tokens-nfts-explained-guide-learn-blockchain  Jesse Walden’s “Ownership Economy”: https://variant.mirror.xyz/T8kdtZRIgy_srXB5B06L8vBqFHYlEBcv6ae2zR6Y_eo  Flow blockchain: https://www.onflow.org/primer...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: Why This Environmentalist Doesn’t Blame Creators for the Carbon Footprint of NFTs - Ep.219

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  Mar 12 2021

  Brendan McGill, co-founder of Offsetra and Carbon.fyi, a company focused on reducing carbon emissions, talks about the environmental impact of NFTs. In this episode, Brendan discusses: his career as an environmentalist and how his sites intersect with crypto (1:07) why online art platform ArtStation canceled its plans to create an NFT program (3:21) what the environmental impact of NFTs actually is and why minting and transacting with NFTs has a greater environmental impact than for normal Ethereum transactions (5:21) misconceptions surrounding the environmental impact of NFT minting and why he believes artists should not be blamed for the carbon footprint calculated by Offsetra (6:57) what accounts for the emissions in NFT transactions and why it’s hard to calculate the exact environmental impact of any specific NFT, and why minting NFTs doesn’t necessarily increase emissions (7:32)  why NFTs aren’t really responsible for the bulk of emissions from Ethereum and why Brendan thinks the backlash against NFT creators for the environmental impact is unfair (12:02) how Offsetra and Carbon.fyi attempt to calculate the amount of ‘clean’ energy vs. fossil fuels used in PoW mining and what assumptions they use (13:59) the methods (and blockchains) artists are using to create “clean NFTs” (16:17) Crypto New Recap (16:17)   Thank you to our sponsor!  Download the Crypto.com app and get $25 with the code “Laura”: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021   Episode links: Brendan McGill: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanmc6/   Offsetra:  website: https://offsetra.com/ Ethereum CO2 footprint calculator: https://carbon.fyi/ carbon.fyi methodology: https://carbon.fyi/learn    Reading Material: guide to ecofriendly NFTs https://github.com/memo/eco-nft fixing NFTs’ carbon pollution problem https://earther.gizmodo.com/how-to-fix-crypto-art-nfts-carbon-pollution-problem-1846440312 Other: statement from ArtStation https://magazine.artstation.com/2021/03/a-statement-from-artstation/ CryptoArt.wtf http://cryptoart.wtf/   Link to the Crypto News Recap: https://unchainedpodcast.com/a-69-million-nft/...more

  Episode

• Can dYdX Become a Decentralized BitMEX? How It Is Scaling With StarkWare - Ep.218

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  Mar 09 2021

  Antonio Juliano, founder of the decentralized exchange dYdX, and Eli Ben-Sasson, cofounder of StarkWare, discuss the recent launch of dYdX on Ethereum layer 2 using StarkWare’s scaling technology. In this episode, they cover: what cross-margin perpetual trading is and why dYdX chose StarkWare to be its scaling partner (1:13) ZK rollups and how they contrast with optimistic rollups (8:49) how many transactions per second StarkWare can handle through its layer 2 solution (16:57) lessons learned and critical takeaways from their six months spent working together (20:15) the similarities between Ethereum and StarkNet (26:07) why Antonio believes that scalability is more important than composability (27:30) the benefits of decentralized exchanges and how dYdX fits into the dex marketplace (31:54) why dYdX chose Chainlink as its oracle provider, and how it got oracle prices onto layer 2, which previously had none (38:11) why Cairo, StarkWare’s Turing-complete programming language and platform, can be the “one verifier to rule them all” (42:10) what it was like for StarkWare to compete in the Great Reddit Scaling Bake-Off (45:41) whether or not DeFi could handle a GameStop/Robinhood situation (48:56) fair launch tokens versus VC tokens (54:12) the likelihood of dYdX and StarkWare each creating a token (58:19) upcoming developments and projects for both companies (1:02:14)   Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021  Download the Crypto.com app here: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/laurashinpodcasttesla   Square: https://square.com/go/unchained   Episode Links: Antonio Juliano Twitter: https://twitter.com/AntonioMJuliano  Eli Ben-Sasson Twitter: https://twitter.com/EliBenSasson  dYdX Twitter: https://twitter.com/dydxprotocol Website: https://dydx.exchange/  Exchange: https://alpha.dydx.exchange/trade/BTC-USD  Reading Material Recent funding: https://www.coindesk.com/big-guns-back-10m-investment-in-defis-dydx  2020 in review: https://dydx.exchange/2020.pdf  Decrypt profile: https://decrypt.co/resources/dydx-ethereum-margin-trading-platform-explained-learn  Medium post: https://medium.com/dydxderivatives/introducing-dydx-2d0f0f326fd StarkWare Twitter: https://twitter.com/StarkWareLtd  Website: https://starkware.co/  Reading Material: ZK roll-up explainer: https://medium.com/starkware/on-the-road-to-starknet-a-permissionless-stark-powered-l2-zk-rollup-83be53640880  Understanding Cairo: https://medium.com/starkware/hello-cairo-3cb43b13b209  Funding: https://www.coindesk.com/paradigm-leads-30-million-funding-for-crypto-privacy-startup-starkware dYdX and StarkWare Relationship Original Twitter announcement (2020):  https://twitter.com/dydxprotocol/status/1295791012552597507?s=20  The Block’s original coverage:  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/75209/dex-dydx-starkware-layer-2  Layer 2 is live announcement:  https://twitter.com/dydxprotocol/status/1364591430447091719  Blog post on why dYdX is moving to Layer 2 (2021):  https://dydx.exchange/blog/alpha  CoinDesk’s coverage:  https://www.coindesk.com/defi-tech-cefi-speed-dydx-touts-new-starkware-integration    Other CoinDesk on Ethereum Layer 1 vs. Ethereum Layer 2: https://www.coindesk.com/value-layer-one-layer-two Roll-ups as throughput solutions: https://www.coindesk.com/ethereum-dapps-rollups-heres-why Vitalik on optimistic rollups vs. ZK-rollups:  https://vitalik.ca/general/2021/01/05/rollup.html Antonio showing how dYdX works: https://twitter.com/AntonioMJuliano/status/1364760651579551744 Optimistic Rollup Dilemma (written by StarkWare) https://medium.com/starkware/the-optimistic-rollup-dilemma-c8fc470ca10c ChainLink Tweet on dYdX + StarkWare relationship: https://twitter.com/chainlink/status/1364726829702148102  The Great Reddit Scaling Bake-Off https://www.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/hbjx25/the_great_reddit_scaling_bakeoff/...more

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• Unconfirmed: Is Coinbase Stock a Good Buy? This Analyst Says Yes - Ep.217

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  Mar 05 2021

  Gil Luria, director of research at D.A. Davidson, talks about the upcoming Coinbase direct listing and his recent research note, “Introducing Crypto’s Amazon Moment.” In this episode, Gil discusses: his crypto background, including his experience as the first Wall Street analyst to cover Bitcoin back in 2013 (1:27) why the Coinbase IPO is going to be an inflection point for the crypto industry (3:02) why he gave Coinbase's upcoming stock a “buy” rating (4:14) who Coinbase's biggest competitors are (5:13) why Gil believes Coinbase is the “gold standard” in crypto (6:29) how investing in Coinbase stock compares to investing in actual crypto assets (8:13) how he came to $195 price target for COIN (10:39) why a $2 billion revenue estimate for Coinbase in 2021 might be conservative (12:01) how Coinbase is generating money outside of transaction fees (14:19) whether he expects the institutional adoption trend to grow (15:49) what his expectations are for the price of COIN on the day it opens (17:20) why GBTC is no longer trading at a premium to the spot price of bitcoin (18:20) whether Gil will continue to cover crypto (20:05) crypto News Recap (20:53)    Thank you to our sponsor! Crypto.com: https://bit.ly/3jzkTAD  Download the Crypto.com app here: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/laurashinpodcasttesla   Episode links: Gil Luria’s Twitter profile: https://twitter.com/gilluria    Crypto’s Amazon Moment: https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/coinbase-direct-listing-public-coverage-stock-price-amazon-cryptocurrency-dadavidson-2021-3-1030150896    Introducing Crypto’s Amazon Moment: https://unchainedpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/DA-Davidson-Coinbase-Initiation-20210302.pdf   Coinbase S-1 Filing: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1679788/000162828021003168/coinbaseglobalincs-1.htm    2013 Quote from Gil on Bitcoin: https://www.streetinsider.com/Analyst+Comments/Bitcoin+Could+Be+Worth+10-100x+Current+Price+-+Analyst/8936836.html    Link to the Crypto News Recap: https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-irs-clarifies-its-position-on-crypto-purchases/  ...more

  Episode

• Caitlin Long: Why Avanti Will Be a New Kind of Crypto Bank - Ep.216

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  Mar 02 2021

  Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Avanti Financial Group, talks about the issues plaguing the current state of technology in traditional finance and how her background as a 22-year Wall Street veteran, gubernatorial appointee to the Wyoming Blockchain Task Force, and crypto pioneer is helping her shape Avanti into a bridge between conventional banking and crypto. Tune in to hear Caitlin discuss: the current state of crypto adoption on Wall Street (1:09) how her entrepreneurial spirit galvanized a career spanning Wall Street, the Wyoming Legislature, and, now, crypto banking (2:07) why Caitlin fell in love with Bitcoin (4:57) fractional reserves and why the current financial system is a “violation of property rights” (7:00) how stablecoin technology will change banking leverage and what effects faster settlement times will have on inflation (11:30) why corporate treasurers have been using BTC since 2014 in foreign exchange transactions (17:14) what issues Wyoming is trying to solve through crypto legislation and why banks might be closing down customer accounts linked to crypto exchanges (19:18) a proposed Wyoming bill that would prohibit judges from disclosing private cryptographic keys (28:32) where the idea for Avanti came from and how it will be different than other banks (32:50) existing problems with stablecoin regulation and a deep-dive into GAAP accounting for crypto (46:51) why Wall Street’s accounting system is to blame for the GameStop and Robinhood situation (52:32) whether or not a blockchain could work for settling securities (52:32) her thoughts on pension funds and endowments directly owning crypto (59:54) what it is going to take for Avanti to successfully bridge the gap between traditional finance and crypto (1:02:38)   Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://bit.ly/3jzkTAD Download the Crypto.com app here: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/laurashinpodcasttesla   Square: http://square.com/go/unchained   Episode links:  Caitlin Long Twitter: https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_  Personal website: https://caitlin-long.com/  CoinDesk profile: https://www.coindesk.com/most-influential/2019/caitlin-long    Avanti Website:  https://avantibank.com/  Twitter announcement: https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1231958552790482950  Avit: https://www.coindesk.com/unpacking-the-avit-avanti-banks-new-digital-asset-being-built-with-blockstream  Banking charter: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeldelcastillo/2020/10/28/avanti-unanimously-wins-bitcoin-banking-charter/?sh=50db610816aa  Wyoming and blockchain: https://www.coindesk.com/haven-blockchain-case-wyoming GAAP accounting and crypto: https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1356759511856410624  Trust charter vs. SPDI: https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1349850451374587907  Special purpose depository institutions: https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1194022779730968577  Bailment: https://www.forbes.com/sites/andreatinianow/2019/03/07/a-split-emerges-in-blockchain-law-wyomings-approach-versus-the-supplemental-act/?sh=49635109719a  Caitlin on GameStop: https://www.coindesk.com/first-mover-crypto-gamestop-bitcoin-dogecoin    Previous Episodes   On How 'Utility Tokens' Are Now Legal in Wyoming, 2018 Why the ICE/BAKKT News Makes Some Crypto Investors Nervous, 2018 How Avanti Will Be a 'Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins' Bank, Feb 2020...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: Coinbase's S-1: The Number That May Make the Exchange Nervous - Ep.215

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  Feb 26 2021

  Jeff Roberts, executive editor at Decrypt and author of “King of Crypto: One Startup’s Quest to take Cryptocurrency Out of Silicon Valley and Onto Wall Street” talks about Coinbase going public. In this episode we discuss: Jeff's biggest takeaways from Coinbase’s S-1 filing (0:56) why institutions are choosing Coinbase (2:42) how Coinbase going public feels like validation for bitcoiners (4:37) issues Coinbase may face as a business that currently generates 96% of revenue through transaction fees (6:25) Why Surojit Chatterjee has so much equity in Coinbase (11:29) why Coinbase has only invested $130 million in crypto through its corporate treasury (12:26) whether or not decentralized exchanges like Uniswap pose a threat to Coinbase, and whether unregulated centralized exchanges might squeeze them from the other end (15:41) challenges Coinbase will face going forward (19:13) how well the stock will do once it's listed (20:05) Crypto News Recap (20:59)    Thank you to our sponsor! Crypto.com: https://bit.ly/3jzkTAD  Download the Crypto.com app here: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/laurashinpodcasttesla   Episode Links Jeff Roberts Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeffjohnroberts Personal Website: https://jeffjohnroberts.com/  Decrypt: https://decrypt.co Kings of Crypto: https://store.hbr.org/product/kings-of-crypto-one-startup-s-quest-to-take-cryptocurrency-out-of-silicon-valley-and-onto-wall-street/10436   Coinbase S-1 Filing Information S-1 Form: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1679788/000162828021003168/coinbaseglobalincs-1.htm Coinbase Profit: https://decrypt.co/59347/coinbase-big-profit-for-2020-ahead-of-milestone-ipo-direct-listing S-1 Deep Dive: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/95921/coinbases-s-1-public-filing-is-now-public-setting-stage-for-a-direct-listing-on-nasdaq Sending to Satoshi Nakamoto: https://decrypt.co/59509/coinbase-s-1-filing-bitcoin-satoshi-nakamoto + https://twitter.com/laurashin/status/1364954956571279369  Share Distribution: https://decrypt.co/59439/coinbase-insiders-very-rich-goes-public Pre-IPO Shares: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/96057/coinbase-pre-ipo-shares-ftx-s1  Armstrong Income: https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-sec-form-s-1  Balance Sheet: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/96021/coinbase-says-holds-bitcoin-btc-on-balance-sheet  Transaction Revenue: https://twitter.com/lawmaster/status/1364972834167148548   Link to the Crypto News Recap: https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-one-figure-in-the-coinbase-s-1/...more

  Episode

• Paxos's Charles Cascarilla - How Blockchain Tech Could Prevent Another GameStop/Robinhood - Ep.214

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  Feb 23 2021

  In this episode of Unchained, Charles Cascarilla, CEO and cofounder of Paxos, explains how the 2008 financial crisis led him to crypto, what financial plumbing has to do with GameStop, and how Paxos is leveraging blockchain technology to change financial services. In this episode Charles discusses: his work experience prior to Paxos and how the financial crisis in 2008 opened his eyes to Bitcoin and blockchain (01:07) what it was like to work in Bitcoin during the early days compared to now (4:02a) why Paxos decided to focus on building solutions for institutions rather than targeting the retail market like Coinbase (11:38) the relationship between Paxos and PayPal + why PayPal customers can’t send crypto directly to their wallets or crypto addresses yet (19:37) how Microstrategy and Tesla are bringing Bitcoin mainstream (25:31) what really happened with GameStop and Robinhood and why financial plumbing matters (30:34) how the Paxos Settlement Service is bringing greater transparency to financial markets by using blockchain technology (39:02) what other assets he thinks will be tokenized (50:32) stablecoin regulation and why this might be as good as it gets for Tether (58:36) why Paxos chose to pursue a New York State trust company charter instead of a BitLicense (1:06:15) what changes he would make to crypto regulation for 2021 and beyond (1:09:28) what’s next for Paxos (1:15:12)   Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://bit.ly/3jzkTAD Download the Crypto.com app here: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/laurashinpodcasttesla Square: https://square.com/go/unchained   Episode links:  Charles Cascarilla Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlescascarilla/  Coindesk Profile: https://www.coindesk.com/charles-cascarilla-most-influential-2020 Previous interview with Laura: https://unchainedpodcast.com/chad-cascarilla-on-paxoss-partnership-with-paypal/ Presentation at Microstrategy’s Bitcoin for Corporation’s conference: https://www.microstrategy.com/en/bitcoin/videos/paxos Blog post on the GameStop saga: https://www.paxos.com/what-lehman-brothers-gamestop-and-the-next-financial-crisis-have-in-common/ Interview with Frank Chaparro: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/61823/the-scoop-paxos-cascarilla-coronavirus    Paxos Twitter: https://twitter.com/PaxosGlobal + https://twitter.com/PaxosStandard  Paxos Settlement Service: https://www.paxos.com/securities/ + https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currencies-paxos/paxos-to-launch-settlement-of-u-s-listed-equities-after-secs-no-action-letter-idUSKBN1X727M Series C Fundraising: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/88133/142-million-series-c-paxos-crypto-stablecoins  Wall Street Journal write-up: https://www.wsj.com/articles/blockchain-makes-inroads-into-the-stock-markets-1-trillion-plumbing-system-11573131600 Plans to tokenize precious metals: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/15413/paxos-plans-to-put-precious-metals-on-the-blockchain   Other Links Paypal’s crypto-focused business unit: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/93668/paypal-crypto-business-unit-earnings-2021 Paypal’s Q4 earnings: https://www.coindesk.com/paypal-2020-results-outstanding-finish-to-a-record-year  Stablecoin rankings: https://stablecoinstats.com/ Tether whitepaper: https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TetherWhitePaper.pdf BitLicense: https://www.dfs.ny.gov/apps_and_licensing/virtual_currency_businesses/regulation_history...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: Girl Gone Crypto: How These Wildly Entertaining Crypto Videos Get Made - Ep.213

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  Feb 19 2021

  Lea Thompson, aka Girl Gone Crypto, talks about what goes into producing her popular “The Crypto Minute” vlog, what initially got her into crypto, and her recent decision to quit her day job and go full time crypto. In this episode we discuss: what “The Crypto Minute” is all about, and all the crypto video content she produces (2:37) how Lea comes up with creative content such as wearing a whale costume to portray Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor (5:04) how long it actually takes to create “The Crypto Minute” (6:36) what goes into producing “The Crypto Minute” and which family member is behind the camera (7:05) the biggest challenges Lea faces when creating her videos and how she decides which stories make the final cut (8:56) Lea’s favorite bloopers including, but not limited to, rug pulls, sushi, an Amazon money printer, and a few fake $100 bills (10:28) how Girl Gone Crypto fell down the crypto rabbit hole and why her ukulele skills were instrumental to her crypto journey (12:54) the time when JK Rowling tweeted about Bitcoin, resulting in Lea’s viral “A Muggle’s Guide to Bitcoin” video (17:31) what type of crypto content works best on different social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok  (20:00) when Girl Gone Crypto stopped being a hobby and how it is going now that Lea is full-time crypto (21:46) how Lea is trying to educate people about crypto in a simple and approachable way… one ninja suit at time (22:34) Crypto News Recap (26:12)   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://bit.ly/3jzkTAD Download the Crypto.com app here: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/laurashinpodcasttesla The Sun Exchange: http://thesunexchange.com/unconfirmed   Episode links: Lea Thompson: https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto Her YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GirlGoneCrypto Her TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@girlgone_crypto?source=h5_m Lea's personal website: https://www.lealovescrypto.com/   Video Examples 2020 Year in Review… News Vlog Style: https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto/status/1344384717466914817?s=20  A Muggle’s Guide to Bitcoin: https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto/status/1261445010832015361?s=20 Hardware Wallets Explained: https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto/status/1329580439820849153?s=20   Miscellaneous Information Fair Use: https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html Money Printer: https://www.amazon.com/Printing-Machine-Magician-Close-Up-Accessories/dp/B07XRBDCL8   Link to the Crypto News Recap: https://unchainedpodcast.com/a-300k-btc-by-eoy/  ...more

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• Stani Kulechov on Why Aave Is So Successful - Ep.212

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  Feb 16 2021

  Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave, comes onto the show to discuss the lending protocol and second-biggest DeFi project by total value locked. Here are some of the highlights:  How Stani’s background studying law and his passion for fintech led him to the world of smart contracts (1:53) Why he decided to transition ETHLend to Aave, and how that eliminated the “meme” narrative (5:55) How Stani would explain Aave to a five-year-old, or your normie friend (9:04) What new features were released in Aave v2 (15:54) reducing overall gas costs aTokens swapping collateral debt tokens What Aavenomics is and how the “safety module” attempts to keep the protocol secure (20:39) How AAVE works as a governance token Active versus passive risk in governance staking How Aave is transitioning from a centralized to a decentralized protocol (25:01) what he's finding difficult about this process issues with voting and an over-reliance on the Aave team delegating voting power to what he calls “protocol politicians” and whether this is good or bad for DeFi Who is using Aave and how they are using it? (37:27) what OpenLaw is and how OpenLaw contracts work how credit delegation, or unsecured loans enforced by law, differ in v2 vs V1 how people could use lending protocols to build credit What Aave plans to do with the E-Money (EMI) license it obtained in the UK (50:51) Since Aave was a pioneer in flash loans, which are responsible for the majority of DeFi attacks, whether Stani would do anything differently (53:12) Aave’s partnership with tokenized real estate project RealT and how Aave manages it given that, in the US, RealT tokens are securities and can only be sold to accredited investors (58:42) How Aave has been thinking about scaling given the high fees on Ethereum (1:03:57) Why building a moat in DeFi is impossible (1:07:16) What is next for Aave (1:11:40)   Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/   Episode links:  Stani Kulechov: https://twitter.com/StaniKulechov Aave: https://aave.com Aave stats: https://aavewatch.com   Protocols mentioned ETHLend: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ethlend-announces-launch-of-new-parent-company-aave-300713825.html Aavegotchi: https://www.coindesk.com/defi-game-aavegotchi-preps-for-jan-4-mainnet-launch-with-nft-auctions RealT: https://medium.com/aave/realt-market-coming-to-the-aave-protocol-da4499a1e965 Yearn: https://yearn.finance/ Uniswap: https://uniswap.org/ Sushiswap: https://sushiswap.fi/ Kyber: http://kyber.network/ Balancer: https://balancer.finance/ $LINK: https://chain.link/ Aavenomics Aave’s documentation: https://docs.aave.com/aavenomics/ Safety Module: https://docs.aave.com/aavenomics/safety-module Summary: https://aave.com/aavenomics/ More background: https://defirate.com/aavenomics-upgrade/ Decentralization concepts Handing off admin keys: https://decrypt.co/46544/aave-officially-hands-over-governance-keys-to-defi-community + https://medium.com/aave/aave-admin-key-handover-3e09e603d348 OpenLaw: https://www.openlaw.io/ Protocol Governance: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/73336/defi-lending-aave-token + https://docs.aave.com/developers/protocol-governance/governance Other topics Electronic Money Licence: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/75845/aave-uk-fca-emi-license-defi Unsecured Loans: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/70678/aave-launches-new-service-for-unsecured-peer-to-peer-loans-on-ethereum Flash Loans: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/93740/flash-loans-as-a-capital-boost-tool Aave Version 2: https://medium.com/aave/the-aave-protocol-v2-f06f299cee04 + https://github.com/aave/protocol-v2/blob/master/aave-v2-whitepaper.pdf...more

  Episode

• Lyn Alden and Raoul Pal: Is Ethereum a Good Investment? - Ep.211

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  Feb 09 2021

  Lyn Alden, CEO and founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategies, and Raoul Pal, CEO & cofounder  of Real Vision Group & Global Macro Investor, explain their thinking about Ethereum and its native token, and talk about their perspective on GameStop. In this episode, we discuss: why Raoul views ether as similar to bitcoin at a macro level (1:25) why Lyn decided ETH was not currently investable (5:06) an analysis of utility protocols (John Pfeffer’s paper) (6:55) counterarguments to John Pfeffer’s paper (9:31) how to allocate between BTC and ETH (11:22) why Raoul also invested in other coins beyond BTC and ETH (11:47)  whether Metcalfe's law applies equally to all kinds of networks (13:35) why Lyn views Ethereum’s use case as circular, and why that makes it less investable (15:09) whether Ethereum 2.0 and Ethereum Improvement Proposal 1559, and whether that could make ETH more investable (21:20) the impact of fees on the value of Ethereum (23:36) Raoul's views on what S-Curves and the Lindy Effect indicate about the development of a currency (25:22) how high fees make DApps less attractive, while low fees potentially decrease demand for ETH (27:06) how Lyn believes demand for DeFi is to circumvent compliance and know-your-customer processes, and she doesn't also see that as a downside for Bitcoin (33:10) how the regulators are behind innovation in cryptocurrencies, particularly around taxation (36:32) Raoul's and Lyn's predictions for the ETH price by end of 2021 (41:45) what GameStop says about the democratization of financial information (45:32) whether smart contracts could play in preventing situations similar to what happened with GameStop and/or Robinhood (49:03) how blockchain technology could be used to prevent a situation in which the hedge funds could short more shares than existed (54:03) how the GameStop/Robinhood saga is a giant advertisement for self-custody (54:53) whether r/WallStreetBets' behavior was market manipulation or not (56:53)   Thank you to our sponsor!  Crypto.com: http://crypto.com   Episode links:  Lyn Alden: https://twitter.com/LynAldenContact Lyn Alden Investment: https://www.lynalden.com/   Raoul Pal: https://twitter.com/RaoulGMI Real Vision: https://www.realvision.com/contributor/raoul-pal Global Macro Investor: https://www.globalmacroinvestor.com   Raoul's tweet storm on Ethereum: https://twitter.com/RaoulGMI/status/1347013567799848961?s=20 Lyn Alden’s research paper on Ethereum: https://www.lynalden.com/ethereum-analysis/ Raoul Pal’s tweet: ETH equals BTC: https://twitter.com/raoulgmi/status/1347013567799848961?lang=en John Pfeffer’s paper: https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/john-pfeffer/An+Investor's+Take+on+Cryptoassets+v6.pdf Network effects and Metcalfe’s Law: https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_developing-new-products-and-services/s04-12-there-is-power-in-numbers-netw.html Quantity Theory of Money: https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_economics-theory-through-applications/s30-01-the-quantity-theory-of-money.html How Will the Government React to GameStop?: https://www.coindesk.com/gamestop-regulators-response GameStop and Crypto trading: https://cryptonews.com/exclusives/are-gamestop-style-surges-in-crypto-any-different-from-old-p-9151.htm Robinhood Raises Extra funds: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/93258/report-robinhood-billions-raised-investors-1 Possible role of blockchain in trading: https://cointelegraph.com/news/cardano-foundation-ceo-says-blockchain-could-prevent-gme-type-showdowns Caitlin Long: https://www.forbes.com/sites/caitlinlong/2019/05/16/naked-shorting-in-the-uber-ipo-it-couldnt-happen-on-a-blockchain/?sh=f2a0dcd4737d...more

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• Everything You Need to Know About Your 2020 Crypto Taxes - Ep.210

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  Feb 02 2021

  In this episode, Shehan Chandrasekara, head of strategy at CoinTracker, and Dan Hannum COO at Zen Ledger, take a deep dive into the world of crypto taxes. Over an hour and fifteen minutes they tackle a bevy of topics ranging from why the IRS is asking about your crypto history to explaining the proper way of reporting yield farming income. Shehan and Dan give up their hard-earned tax secrets and tips learned through building their respective cutting-edge crypto tax software. Here is a list of talking points covered in the discussion: how the IRS is handling crypto this year (1:20) where to start with reporting crypto and what constitutes a taxable event (5:59) bitcoin corner cases: mining, with a description of calculating cost basis (19:48)  wages (27:01) peer-to-peer transactions outside of exchanges (28:23) defi and taxes: yield farming — and how it's like Russian nesting dolls (31:45) how the IRS taxes earned interest (36:32) airdrops (40:15) crypto transactions that are not taxable: purchases, withdrawals, and stablecoins (46:28) navigating tax documents (51:24-58-10) NFT’s and social tokens (57:14) tax loss harvesting (1:03:09) how having coins on platforms like Robinhood and Paypal can have an effect on your taxes (1:05:05) proposed tax changes (1:06:50) crypto tax software and tips for the upcoming year (1:10:29)   Thank you to our sponsor!  Crypto.com: http://crypto.com   Episode links:    Guests Shehan Chandrasekara: https://twitter.com/TheCryptoCPA Dan Hannum: https://twitter.com/DHannum8    Software CoinTracker: cointracker.io ZenLedger: zenledger.io   Accounting LIFO, HIFO, FIFO: https://www.forbes.com/sites/shehanchandrasekera/2020/09/17/what-crypto-taxpayers-need-to-know-about-fifo-lifo-hifo-specific-id/?sh=7077f8e936aa (written by Shehan) 1040 Question: https://fortune.com/2020/09/28/the-irs-is-adding-a-cryptocurrency-question-to-form-1040-for-2020/ 1099 Misc: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1099msc.pdf 1099 B: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1099-b   Regulatory research: 2014 IRS Tax Guidance: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-14-21.pdf IRS Virtual Currency page: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/virtual-currencies IRS gains and losses: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p550.pdf Equipment write-offs: https://www.section179.org/section_179_deduction/ IRS sues Coinbase: https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/29/16717416/us-coinbase-irs-records How holding crypto at PayPal or Robinhood or any platform that does not allow you to transfer to an address off-platform could affect your taxes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/shehanchandrasekera/2021/01/28/exiting-robinhood-could-create-a-tax-nightmare-for-crypto-users/?sh=106b74a84ad6 De minimis exemption: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/09/series63-050509.asp#:~:text='The%20De%20Minimis'%20exemption%20means,period%20with%20a%20physical%20address. FinCEN intends to apply FBAR to cryptocurrency held offshore: https://www.coindesk.com/fincen-foreign-crypto-exchange-disclosure-rule   Backstory: Bitcoin Cash Fork: https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-cash-has-split-into-two-new-blockchains-again   Yield farming and social tokens: https://decrypt.co/resources/what-is-yield-farming-beginners-guide https://www.cointracker.io/blog/defi-yield-farming-crypto-tax-guide (written by Shehan) Alex Masmej: https://www.coindesk.com/man-who-sells-himself-now-wants-buyers-to-control-his-life   Crypto tax guides BlockFi: https://blockfi.com/crypto-tax-laws Coinbase: https://www.coinbase.com/learn/tips-and-tutorials/crypto-and-bitcoin-taxes-US Nerd Wallet: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/bitcoin-taxes...more

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• Why Bitcoin Now: Michael Saylor on the Best Way for Companies to Buy Bitcoin - Ep.209

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  Jan 26 2021

  Michael Saylor, CEO and founder of Microstrategy, explains how he decided the publicly traded business data firm needed to put its excess cash in bitcoin and what happened afterward. In this episode, we discuss:  why Microstrategy decided to buy Bitcoin, and how the pandemic spurred that whether his previous experience with Microstrategy stock imploding after accounting irregularities were revealed had any bearing on the company's decision to buy bitcoin the reactions of the officers and board members to his suggestion to invest in bitcoin why they put all the excess cash into bitcoin as opposed to some percentage what parts of the bitcoin industry could be improved to better serve corporate interests whether Microstrategy intends to take any money off the table at the top of any future bubbles and reinvest when the price hits a new low whether it hurts Microstrategy that GAAP rules require the company to mark Bitcoin down to the lowest price it traded at during the quarter how his life has changed since Microstrategy bought bitcoin what he thought of Citi downgrading Microstrategy stock what he thinks of Renaissance Technology being the third-largest buyer of Microstrategy stock since the summer what will happen to Microstrategy stock in a bitcoin bear market whether or not there was any further conversation after his tweets with Elon Musk what types of companies, and how many, have been talking with him, expressing interest in buying bitcoin what will happen at the Bitcoin for Companies conference what type of bitcoin data products they are contemplating offering what he thinks will happen to the USD’s global reserve currency status what it would take for him to sell any bitcoin   Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: http://crypto.com 1inch: http://1inch.exchange   Episode links:  Michael Saylor: https://twitter.com/michael_saylor Microstrategy: https://www.microstrategy.com/en Bitcoin for Corporations: https://www.microstrategy.com/en/resources/events/world-2021/bitcoin-summit   Microstrategy purchases an additional $10 million in bitcoin: https://www.microstrategy.com/en/investor-relations/financial-documents/microstrategy-acquires-an-additional-10m-in-bitcoin  https://www.microstrategy.com/content/dam/website-assets/collateral/financial- documents/financial-document-archive/Form-8-K_jan-22-2021.pdf   Unchained interview with Saifedean Ammous: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-saifedean-ammous-on-why-bitcoin-is-the-most-advanced-form-of-money/   August 11, 2020: Microstrategy adopts Bitcoin as its primary reserve asset: https://ir.microstrategy.com/news-releases/news-release-details/microstrategy-adopts-bitcoin-primary-treasury-reserve-asset   August 11, 2020: Microstrategy makes tender offer to purchase up to $250 million of its common stock: https://ir.microstrategy.com/news-releases/news-release-details/microstrategy-announces-commencement-modified-dutch-auction   September 11, 2020: Microstrategy to purchase $60.5 million of common stock: https://ir.microstrategy.com/news-releases/news-release-details/microstrategy-announces-final-results-modified-dutch-auction   Plan to offer $550 million in convertible notes: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/87120/microstrategy-550m-convertible-notes-bitcoin   Microstrategy announces over $1 billion in Bitcoin purchases in 2020: https://www.microstrategy.com/en/company/company-videos/microstrategy-announces-over-1b-in-total-bitcoin-purchases-in-2020   Michael Saylor’s 2013 tweet on Bitcoin: https://twitter.com/michael_saylor/status/413478389329428480?s=20   Forbes expose on unusual accounting practices by Microstrategy back in 2000: https://www.forbes.com/global/2000/0306/0305024a.html?sh=46312df01674 April 2000 profile of Michael in The New Yorker: https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/2000-04-03/flipbook/034/ SEC enforcement action against Microstrategy: https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/34-43724.htm Forbes profile after the SEC enforcement action: https://www.forbes.com/2000/12/18/1218faces.html?sh=523061e03bf9 Forbes announcing Microstrategy would restate earnings after its expose: https://www.forbes.com/2000/03/20/mu3.html?sh=21efe89d1ee6 Summary of SEC action: https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/15/business/microstrategy-chairman-accused-of-fraud-by-sec.html   Citi downgrading MSTR: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/87054/citi-microstrategy-stock-downgrade-bitcoin   Renaissance Technologies has been third-largest buyer of Microstrategy’s stock since the summer: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/87194/renaissance-technologies-microstrategy-bitcoin  Microstrategy contemplating bitcoin data products: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/85310/microstrategy-bitcoin-data-products...more

  Episode

• The SEC's Lawsuit Against Ripple and 2 Execs: What You Need to Know - Ep.208

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  Jan 19 2021

  Stephen Palley, partner at Anderson Kill. and Gabriel Shapiro, partner at BSV Law, discuss the SEC's lawsuit against Ripple and two executives, Chris Larsen and Bard Garlinghouse. In this episode, they explain: what was so "egregious" that the SEC went after two executives, Chris Larsen and Brad Garlinghouse, were charged  why their sales showed an information asymmetry, and why that matters why the complaint comes close to being a fraud case, but why the SEC didn't charge them with fraud why the idea that XRP is a currency and therefore cannot be a security will likely not fly why it's unlikely the case will go to the Supreme Court the SEC's case for why XRP is a security, and Ripple's role in it how even on a technical level, the XRP network is centralized how strong the SEC's case is against Larsen and Garlinghouse Stephen's and Gabriel's predictions on how the lawsuit will play out how this will likely impact XRP investors whether or not Ripple could become an SEC-reporting company and XRP a security what happened with Ripple's lead investor in its most recent fundraising round whether or not the SEC might go after exchanges or other players who made money off XRP or collaborated with Ripple around XRP trading what this means for Coinbase, in particular, because it's going public later this year what Ripple's defense, in its summarized Wells submission, was  how this case compares to some of the other big SEC/crypto securities cases, Kik/Kin and Telegram whether there might ever be a digital token that is determined to be a security for specific transactions but not others what the wider implications of the case are for the rest of the crypto industry    Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: http://crypto.com 1inch: https://1inch.exchange   Episode links:  Stephen Palley: https://twitter.com/stephendpalley Gabriel Shapiro: https://twitter.com/lex_node   SEC lawsuit against Ripple: https://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2020/comp-pr2020-338.pdf   SEC lawsuit against Ripple being close to a fraud case: https://twitter.com/stephendpalley/status/1341523294344896515?s=20   Former SEC commissioner Joe Grundefest on the case: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/89164/former-sec-commissioner-says-ripple-lawsuit-will-cause-multi-billion-dollar-losses-to-innocent-third-parties   Other lawsuit against Ripple: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.334410/gov.uscourts.cand.334410.115.0.pdf   Technical assessment of Ripple network: https://cryptobern.github.io/noconsensusripple/   Tetragon’s case against Ripple: https://twitter.com/stephendpalley/status/1346531087971999749?s=20   What the case means for exchanges: https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-delist-xrp-exchanges-dilemma   Coinbase suspends trading in XRP: https://blog.coinbase.com/coinbase-will-suspend-trading-in-xrp-on-january-19-2e09652dbf57 https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-suspends-xrp-trading   Lawsuit against Coinbase: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-30/coinbase-sued-over-xrp-commissions-after-sec-pursues-ripple?sref=m9L277rN https://twitter.com/stephendpalley/status/1344352455895691269?s=20   People in the industry thinking for a while that XRP is a security: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/57366/xrp-is-probably-a-security-dont-at-me   Mary Jo White: https://www.coindesk.com/former-sec-chair-represents-ripple-xrp-lawsuit Ripple’s Wells submission: https://ripple.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Ripple-Wells-Submission-Summary.pdf...more

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• Willy Woo: How Bitcoin Reaches up to $300,000 by End of Year - Ep.207

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  Jan 12 2021

  Willy Woo, a prominent on-chain Bitcoin analyst and author of the “The Bitcoin Forecast,” a market intelligence newsletter, explains the parabolic activity of Bitcoin in the past month. We cover:  why he thinks Bitcoin has more than doubled in the last month what the "double pump" market is and why Bitcoin may see two rallies this cycle what stage of the Bitcoin bull market we are currently in who is buying, and how they've differed from previous investors who still is yet to buy this cycle why Bitcoin hitting new all-time highs mean that we're in "uncharted price discovery" how his "top cap model" shows Bitcoin could be around $95k by end of year and how if certain trends accelerate, it could reach $200,000-$300,000 by year's end how the pandemic impacted Bitcoin’s price what on-chain movements he's seeing that make him call the current cycle of Bitcoin "whale spawning season”  how to gauge the increasingly rapid investor activity  what to expect from Bitcoin and Ethereum in 2021   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: http://crypto.com 1inch: http://1inch.exchange    Episode links:  Willy Woo: https://twitter.com/woonomic Woobull.com: http://charts.woobull.com   Willy on Unconfirmed: https://unchainedpodcast.com/willy-woo-on-why-its-an-extremely-great-time-to-buy-bitcoin/   Fibonacci traces tweet: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1347433551906500614?s=20   Bitcoin reflexivity: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1344189627997949952/photo/1   Who has been buying recently: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1347127159538688002?s=20   Double pump bull market: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1346889817792004096?s=20   Buying by long-term holders: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1346827893322616833/photo/1   What percentage of the Bitcoin supply is liquid: https://insights.glassnode.com/bitcoin-liquid-supply/   Premium above NVT Price: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1346797291668029440/photo/1   Accumulation of BTC before the OCC announcement: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1346296294797582336/photo/1   Will never see a $20k BTC again: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1345660018541019138?s=20   Bitcoin as investment vs. tech: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1345221723751206912?s=20 NVT Ratio: http://charts.woobull.com/bitcoin-nvt-ratio/...more

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• Central Bank Digital Currencies: How Should Privacy Be Built In? - Ep.206

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  Jan 05 2021

  This panel, from a panel for the fifth anniversary of Hyperledger, features Rob Palatnick, managing director of global head of technology research and innovation at the DTCC and chairman of the Hyperledger board, Matthieu Saint Olive, Codefi payments product manager and CBDC advisor at ConsenSys, and Robert Bench, assistant vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. In this discussion on the current outlook on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), they cover:  what main problems CBDCs can solve whether CBDCs should be open sourced why building a new technology for CBDCs is preferred over using existing tech how concerns over CBDCs and their privacy implications differ across countries what possible pain points or opportunities CBDCs pose for central banks whether CBDCs should be blockchain-based to what extent CBDCs will be distributed and open networks, and whether fees would be charged for transactions how central banks are thinking about methods of adoption, like whether they will bank directly with retail customers or still use commercial banks  how developers balance the drawbacks and benefits of blockchain-based CBDCs with different stakeholders whether stable coins will be replaced by or coexist with CBDCs and what the future holds for the continued development of CBDCs   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: http://crypto.com 1inch: http://1inch.exchange    Episode links:  Rob Palatnick: https://www.dtcc.com/our-experts/robert-palatnick Brian Behlendorf: https://twitter.com/brianbehlendorf?lang=en  Matthieu Saint Olive: https://twitter.com/msaintolive?lang=en  Robert Bench: https://www.bostonfed.org/home/people/bank/robert-bench.aspx...more

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• 2020 Highlights: The Biggest News Stories of the Year in Crypto - Ep.205

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  Dec 29 2020

  Host Laura Shin recaps the biggest stories of the year in crypto, with clips from shows throughout the year. In this episode, we cover how the pandemic drove Bitcoin to new all-time highs, how regulation began to come for the crypto space in a big way, plus new trends in DeFi, corporate structures, and how ETH will change as an asset.    Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: http://crypto.com 1inch: https://1inch.exchange   Episode links:  Meltem Demirors on Bitcoin’s behavior during the recession https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-meltem-demirors-and-lyn-alden-on-the-perfect-conditions-for-bitcoin/   Mike Novogratz and Raoul Pal on Bitcoin’s relation to fiat https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-mike-novogratz-and-raoul-pal-on-the-single-greatest-brand-of-the-last-10-years/   Chamath Palihapitiya on Bitcoin as a financial hedge https://unchainedpodcast.com/chamath-palihapitiya-why-bitcoin-will-be-the-category-winner/   Cathie Wood and Dan Tapiero on corporate adoption of Bitcoin https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-bitcoin-under-a-biden-administration/   Dave Jevans and Siân Jones on regulation and VASPs https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-the-travel-rule-is-one-of-the-most-significant-regulations-in-crypto/    Jake Chervinsky and Kristin Smith on the Swiss Rule and self-hosted wallets https://unchainedpodcast.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-looming-battle-over-privacy-in-crypto/   Jeremy Allaire and Kristin Smith on Mnuchin’s proposed FinCEN rule https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-is-the-proposed-fincen-rule-for-unhosted-wallets-being-pushed-so-quickly/   Jessi Brooks and Zia Faruqui on cryptocurrencies facilitating illicit activity https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-this-doj-strike-force-hunts-down-cryptocurrency-criminals/    Brian Brooks on Americans accepting more privacy restrictions https://unchainedpodcast.com/acting-comptroller-of-the-currency-brian-brooks-on-crypto-banks/   Meltem Demirors on privacy being under attack https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-meltem-demirors-and-lyn-alden-on-the-perfect-conditions-for-bitcoin/   Haseeb Qureshi on the maturation of DeFi https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-decentralized-trading-has-10xed-in-a-few-months/    Vitalik Buterin on risks that still exist in DeFi https://unchainedpodcast.com/vitalik-buterin-on-ethereums-five-year-anniversary/   Taylor Monahan and Dan Guido on DeFi security https://unchainedpodcast.com/defi-security-with-so-many-hacks-will-it-ever-be-safe/    Vitalik Buterin reflecting on the last five years of Ethereum https://unchainedpodcast.com/vitalik-buterin-on-ethereums-five-year-anniversary/    Ryan Watkins on Ethereum 2.0 https://unchainedpodcast.com/ethereum-2-0-what-you-need-to-know/    Olaf Carlson-Wee on DeFi impacting the traditional corporate structure https://unchainedpodcast.com/olaf-carlson-wee-if-there-is-a-money-losing-exploit-the-money-is-gone/ Andrew Cronje on shifting corporate structures https://unchainedpodcast.com/andre-cronje-of-yearn-finance-on-yfi-and-the-fair-launch-im-lazy/...more

  Episode

• Why Is the Proposed FinCEN Rule for Unhosted Wallets Being Pushed So Quickly? - Ep.204

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  Dec 22 2020

  Jeremy Allaire of Circle Pay and Kristin Smith of the Blockchain Association explain the impact of and motivation behind Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s proposed FinCEN rule that targets “unhosted” wallets. In this episode, they cover: what the new FinCEN rule says, and how it would impact unhosted or self-hosted wallets, as well as crypto businesses why they believe this is really politically motivated and unilateral midnight rule making by Secretary Mnuchin  what other bureaucrats and policymakers think should be done instead  whether the rule only affects businesses rather than individuals  what information will be recorded according to the rule ways to circumvent compliance  how the rule affects DeFi and Web3 the procedural hurdles Mnuchin took to propose the rule, and what they recommend the crypto community to do try to stop the implementation of the rule  how the rule comports with European GDPR regulations  which government entities will be tasked with making the regulatory changes the space needs  why President-Elect Joe Biden’s administration may be more favorable for the space   Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: http://crypto.com 1inch: http://1inch.exchange    Episode links:  Jeremy Allaire: https://twitter.com/jerallaire  Kristin Smith: https://twitter.com/kmsmithdc   Circle: https://www.circle.com/en/ The Blockchain Association: https://theblockchainassociation.org   Stories on proposed rule:  https://www.coindesk.com/fincen-proposes-kyc-rules-for-crypto-wallets https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/88347/treasury-crypto-wallets-reporting-rule   Effect on DeFi: https://twitter.com/jerallaire/status/1340060806088671232?s=20   https://twitter.com/jchervinsky/status/1340050400871911424?s=20   Coin Center response: https://www.coincenter.org/a-midnight-rule-for-cryptocurrency-transaction-reports/   Brian Armstrong’s earlier tweet thread: https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1331745196887867393 Collins Belton’s tweet thread: https://twitter.com/collins_belton/status/1340051986008350721?s=20...more

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• All the Ways Crypto Can Make Gaming More Fun - Ep.203

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  Dec 15 2020

  Marguerite deCourcelle is co-founder and CEO of Blockade Games, which is releasing the role-playing game game Neon District the day this episode comes out. She discusses her background in art, how her love of video games led her to discover Bitcoin in the early days of the cryptocurrency, and how she helps create the next phase of web 3.0 content creation and distribution. Topics include: how Marguerite became involved in crypto and what led her to co-found Blockade Games her work on Pineapple Arcade and Plasma Bears the problems she sees with gaming and how blockchain technology can solve them how Blockade Games is utilizing blockchain tech Neon District, a blockchain-based RPG game with active gameplay and animation that uses NFTs and farming the difference between ERC-721 and ERC-1155 tokens and how each is utilized in Neon District how they have been marrying NFTs with DeFi through the NIFTEX exchange how an open economy challenges the dynamics of gameplay and how they account for this in their game design why a decentralized profile can be so powerful in gaming the types of users Blockade Games hopes to attract with Neon District why they are using the Matic Network how blockchain tech within a game changes the business model for Blockade as opposed to a traditional gaming company whether she thinks conventional gaming companies will be disrupted by blockchain technology the problems in content creation business models and distribution and how she thinks blockchain can solve them her personal token, COIN, how it is connected to CRED and how the two work together and people earn them what Coin Artist Liquidity Mining is and how it works   Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: http://crypto.com 1inch: http://1inch.exchange   Episode links:  Marguerite: https://twitter.com/coin_artist Coin Artist: https://coinartist.io   Yield farming NFTs: https://www.coindesk.com/nfts-yield-farming-defi-buzz-explained   Crypto puzzles: https://www.coindesk.com/theres-more-money-to-win-in-the-310-bitcoin-challenge-heres-some-hints   Blockade Games's seed round: https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-puzzle-artists-blockchain-gaming-startup-valued-at-13-million   CoinDesk podcast network with Marguerite: https://www.coindesk.com/what-artists-love-about-crypto   Delphi Digital podcast with Marguerite: https://www.delphidigital.io/podcasts/marguerite-decourcelle-building-towards-a-neon-future/   Delphi Digital report on Coin's E-den syndicate: https://www.delphidigital.io/reports/social-tokens-the-rise-of-the-coins-e-den-syndicate/   OpenSea store for Alex Botez chess pieces: https://opensea.io/collection/get-pwnd   Blog post about the Alexandra Botez collaboration: https://coin-artist.medium.com/bringing-chess-to-ethereum-5969d9cfa07a...more

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• Can Gavin Wood's Polkadot 'Make Blockchain Great Again'? - Ep.202

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  Dec 08 2020

  Gavin Wood, founder of Polkadot, Kusama, and Parity, discusses what he calls the "meta-protocol," Polkadot. In this episode, he talks about: his vision for Polkadot and the problems he set out to solve when conceiving it why he considers Polkadot a meta-protocol the implementation of parachains and parathreads, how they are defined and how they differ parachain auctions and candle auctions how DDoS attacks can be prevented on parachains initial parachain offerings and how they differ from initial coin offerings and avoid the regulatory problems that were so common with ICOs on-chain governance on Polkadot and how it works how immediate implementation of proposals that pass consensus will prevent forks his answer to those who point to Parity's history with security lapses as cause for concern about Polkadot's security how he sees Polkadot co-existing with Ethereum whether Polkadot is working toward composability how the Web3 Foundation and Parity plan to use their collective stake of DOTs within the network how he plans to address the possibility that DOT could be labeled a security how he imagines Polkadot will serve the enterprise world and how Polkadot will benefit enterprise blockchains   Thank you to our sponsors!  1inch: https://1inch.exchange Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com   Episode links:  Gavin Wood: https://twitter.com/gavofyork Polkadot: https://polkadot.network Kusama: https://kusama.network...more

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• Ethereum 2.0: What You Need to Know - Ep.201

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  Dec 01 2020

  Ryan Watkins and Wilson Withiam, senior research analysts at Messari, explain the nuts and bolts of Ethereum 2.0, including how it will transform ETH as an asset and why they believe it will be Ethereum’s most ambitious upgrade yet. Topics include: the different phases of Ethereum 2.0 and the functions they serve the problems Ethereum hopes to solve with this upgrade the technical requirements needed to ensure the launch can happen the new proof of stake consensus and why Ethereum is leaving proof of work behind the requirements necessary to maintain a validator node on the Ethereum 2.0 network why users won’t be able to use their ETH once it is staked on Ethereum 2.0 the incentives and services that will allow users staking on Ethereum 2.0 to continue using their ETH on Ethereum 1.0 whether the appeal of DeFi is a threat to Ethereum 2.0 staking how Ethereum 2.0 incentivizes client diversity the monetary policy of “minimum necessary issuance” that supports Ethereum 2.0 how Ethereum 2.0 will allow ETH to achieve the unprecedented combination of a store of value, a capital asset, and a commodity what will be done in the short term to help ease the scaling problem while ETH 2.0 is being built whether scalability can be efficiently addressed in time to prevent migrations to other blockchains and the most significant risks Ethereum 2.0 is facing   Thank you to our sponsor! Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com   Episode links: Ryan Watkins: https://twitter.com/RyanWatkins_ Wilson Withiam: https://twitter.com/wilsonwithiam   Messari Crypto: https://messari.io/   Messari report on Ethereum 2:0: https://messari.io/road-to-eth2     Amount of ETH in the Ethereum 2.0 Deposit Contract: https://etherscan.io/address/0x00000000219ab540356cBB839Cbe05303d7705Fa#analytics https://www.stakingrewards.com/earn/ethereum-2-0   ETH issuance based on amount staked: https://docs.ethhub.io/ethereum-basics/monetary-policy/#proof-of-stake-impact Dan Elitzer article on DETH: https://medium.com/ideo-colab/the-deth-of-ethereum-98553866e81b...more

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• What Fidelity Is Doing With the Bitcoin It's Mined - Ep.200

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  Nov 24 2020

  Christine Sandler, head of sales and marketing at Fidelity Digital Assets, talks about how 30 years in traditional finance and an early retirement led her to Coinbase, and, eventually, Fidelity Digital Assets. She discusses the history of Fidelity's involvement in crypto, how they became one of the first to enter the space, and what the future holds. Topics include: what Fidelity Digital Assets is and Christine's role there Christine's background in traditional finance, how she was drawn into the world of cryptocurrencies, eventually working at Coinbase, and how she found her way to Fidelity Digital Assets the role Fidelity sees itself playing in the digital asset space how the client base for digital assets has changed over time how Fidelity approaches the difficulties around explaining what bitcoin and crypto is, and the most common questions they receive how the pandemic has changed the conversation around digital currencies the types of services and products Fidelity is considering for the future the differences Fidelity sees in how international investors are approaching digital currency Fidelity's plans for a Bitcoin index fund and whether they are considering offering futures how financial institutions and institutional investors fit into a world of decentralized finance founded with the ethos of excluding them the regulatory improvements Fidelity is hoping to see what a Bitcoin ETF would mean for Fidelity how Fidelity might use a central bank digital currency in its business Fidelity's thoughts on offering proof of stake services whether a more deflationary Ethereum might attract more institutional investors and whether Fidelity will offer Ethereum in the future   Thank you to our sponsor!  Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com   Episode links:  Christine Sandler: https://twitter.com/shoegalnyc Fidelity Digital Assets: https://www.fidelitydigitalassets.com/overview Twitter: https://twitter.com/DigitalAssets   Christine leaves Coinbase for FDAS: https://www.coindesk.com/fidelity-poaches-coinbase-institutional-sales-head-christine-sandler   Fidelity Center for Applied Technology: https://fcatalyst.com/overview   Fidelity Digital Assets looking to become prime broker: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/daily/68920/fidelity-digital-assets-eyes-service-for-introducing-crypto-funds-to-big-investors   How the client profile has changed: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/daily/42342/the-client-profile-is-changing-fidelity-digital-assets-exec-says-new-players-are-entering-the-crypto-fold   How to Explain Cryptocurrencies and Blockchains to the Average Person Unchained episode: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-to-explain-cryptocurrencies-and-blockchains-to-the-average-person/   Fidelity expands crypto business to Europe: https://www.coindesk.com/fidelity-to-expand-institutional-crypto-business-to-europe   Fidelity obtains New York Trust Charter: https://www.coindesk.com/fidelity-gets-a-new-york-trust-charter-to-custody-bitcoin-for-institutions   Bitcoin Index Fund: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeldelcastillo/2020/08/26/fidelity-president-files-for-new-bitcoin-fund/?sh=13aa335445c9   Fidelity survey of 800 institutional investors: https://www.fidelitydigitalassets.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/FDAS/institutional-investor-study.pdf   FDAS hiring: https://www.fidelitydigitalassets.com/articles/engineering-hiring-initiative?ccmedia=owned&ccchannel=social&cccampaign=hiring_blog&cctactics=twitter   Kingdom Trust:  https://www.coindesk.com/fidelity-digital-assets-to-custody-bitcoin-in-kingdom-trust-retirement-accounts  ...more

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• Everything You Need to Know About the Looming Battle Over Privacy in Crypto - Ep.199

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  Nov 17 2020

  Jake Chervinsky, general counsel at Compound Labs, and Kristin Smith, executive director of The Blockchain Association, talk about the storm brewing in the cryptosphere involving self-custody and privacy. In this episode, they cover: the differences between hosted and self-hosted wallets and how transactions between them differ why the ability to transact from self-hosted wallets is so important compliance and regulation in the traditional financial world and how it could affect self-custody the “Swiss rule” and what it could mean for the rest of the world the proposal by FinCEN to lower the threshold for collecting data on transactions from $3,000 to $250 how regulators might achieve their goals without “dragnet” surveillance how the amount of crime and money laundering in the traditional financial system compares to that in the crypto world why OTC brokers are considered the most significant money laundering risk in crypto, and how that risk might be mitigated how different political environments can influence the value of peer to peer transactions whether Americans should be willing to give up some of their financial privacy in favor of security what the recent statement by the DOJ's cryptocurrency enforcement framework labeling anonymous transactions as "high-risk activity indicative of possible criminal conduct" could mean for privacy coins like Monero and Zcash Gary Gensler's appointment as head of Biden's financial policy transition team and whether to view it as a positive or negative for crypto whether they think the incoming Congress will be in favor of more surveillance or more privacy whether there might eventually be regulations for developers who write code for self-hosted wallets how potential rules regarding self-custody could affect non-monetary items like NFTs and the next big developments they are watching out for regarding this issue   Thank you to our sponsor!  Crypto.com: http://crypto.com   Episode links:  Jake Chervinsky: https://twitter.com/jchervinsky Compound Labs: https://compound.finance   Kristin Smith: https://twitter.com/kmsmithdc The Blockchain Association: https://theblockchainassociation.org/ https://twitter.com/BlockchainAssn   FinCen NPRM: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/10/27/2020-23756/threshold-for-the-requirement-to-collect-retain-and-transmit-information-on-funds-transfers-and   Coin Center commentary on lowering FinCEN threshold: https://www.coincenter.org/app/uploads/2020/10/Coin-Center-Comment-FinCEN-FRB-250-threshold.pdf    Unchained episode about the FATF travel rule: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-the-travel-rule-is-one-of-the-most-significant-regulations-in-crypto/    The choice of Gary Gensler to lead the financial policy transition team:  https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/trump-biden-election-day-2020/card/peMRHGPJasECSPLezSFx   https://www.coindesk.com/biden-confirms-gary-gensler-will-lead-financial-policy-transition-team   Shapeshift delists Zcash: https://www.coindesk.com/shapeshift-delists-privacy-coin-zcash-over-regulatory-concerns Jessie Liu interview on Unchained: https://unchainedpodcast.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-dojs-cryptocurrency-enforcement-framework/...more

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• Why Bitcoin Now: Bitcoin Under a Biden Administration - Ep.198

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  Nov 10 2020

  In this episode, Dan Tapiero, founder of 10T Holdings and Gold Bullion International, and Cathie Wood, CEO and CIO at ARK Invest, discuss the long election week in the U.S. and how they believe Bitcoin will behave in a post-election world. They also talk about: how a changeover from a Trump to a Biden administration could affect Bitcoin how the prospect of legal challenges from the Trump administration might affect Bitcoin whether they think the presidential election influenced Bitcoin’s precipitous price jump in the first week of November what it takes to change the mind of a Bitcoin skeptic in the investment world whether gold investors are becoming more resistant or more embracing of Bitcoin whether Democratic control of the Senate would affect Bitcoin how they expect the new wave of rising coronavirus cases and lockdowns to affect economies and Bitcoin the new inflation policy introduced by Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell and how it will affect Bitcoin the recent Bitcoin halving and how they expect Bitcoin to perform over the next year how banking will change over the next few years and how that will affect Bitcoin their thoughts on central bank digital currencies and how an increase in CBDCs might affect Bitcoin what factors they are looking at right now when thinking about what could happen with Bitcoin over the next year   Thank you to our sponsor!  Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com   Episode links:  Cathie Wood: https://twitter.com/cathiedwood Ark Invest: https://ark-invest.com/ Yassine Elmandjra: https://twitter.com/yassineARK   Dan Tapiero: https://twitter.com/DTAPCAP 10T Holdings: https://10tfund.com/ Gold Bullion International: https://bullioninternational.com/   Unchained with Brian Brooks: https://unchainedpodcast.com/acting-comptroller-of-the-currency-brian-brooks-on-crypto-banks/   Jerome Powell speech on targeting inflation of 2%: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/27/powell-announces-new-fed-approach-to-inflation-that-could-keep-rates-lower-for-longer.html   Bitcoin-gold correlation: https://coinmetrics.io/correlation-charts/#assets=btc-gld   Bitcoin-S&P 500 correlation: https://coinmetrics.io/correlation-charts/#assets=btc-s&p   Forbes profile on Cathie Wood: https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoinegara/2020/10/05/how-cathie-wood-beat-wall-street-by-betting-tesla-is-worth-more-than-1-trillion/?sh=12d44f813d45   ARK Invest Bitcoin white papers: https://ark-invest.com/white-papers/bitcoin-part-one/ https://ark-invest.com/white-papers/bitcoin-part-two/  ...more

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• Why Bitcoin Now: Meltem Demirors and Lyn Alden on the Perfect Conditions for Bitcoin - Ep.197

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  Nov 03 2020

  In this seventh installment of the Why Bitcoin Now series, Meltem Demirors, the chief strategy officer at Coinshares, and Lyn Alden, the founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategy, discuss the state of Bitcoin since June, amidst the presidential election – which takes place on the date of publication of the show -- and a global pandemic. Topics discussed include: the significance of bitcoin staying above $10k for over three months why the pandemic has created the conditions for which Bitcoin was designed how the markets may react to a Trump or Biden win why they believe, no matter which party wins, there will be massive deficits and a money-printing debt spiral why other countries see opportunities to erode the supremacy of the US dollar why Bitcoin has shown that it’s possible to have money without state how the current record unemployment and massive stimulus efforts during the pandemic have impacted Bitcoin the increasing interest in Bitcoin from traditional investors the IMF’s recent call for a “New Bretton Woods moment”  and how it may impact crypto China’s DCEP central bank digital currency and the effects it may have on increasing China’s trade leverage why the pandemic has made clear the importance of bringing more Bitcoin mining onshore whether or not Bitcoin will be able to remedy growing wealth inequality why privacy/encryption will be the main issue Bitcoiners need to watch from the coming administration   Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com   Episode links:  Lyn Alden: https://twitter.com/LynAldenContact Lyn Alden Investment Strategy: lynalden.com Meltem Demirors: https://twitter.com/Melt_Dem Coinshares: https://www.coinshares.com/   Lyn’s post on how the economy and stock market perform under Democratic vs. Republican presidents: https://www.lynalden.com/presidential-elections/   US stimulus spending: https://datalab.usaspending.gov/federal-covid-funding/#section-tracking   IMF New Bretton Woods speech: https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/10/15/sp101520-a-new-bretton-woods-moment   Stocks in a bubble: https://www.longtermtrends.net/sp500-price-earnings-shiller-pe-ratio/   Meltem on the financialization of internet infrastructure: https://medium.com/coinshares/the-financialization-of-compute-connectivity-66beaffe7501   BitOoda report on Bitcoin mining: https://bitooda.medium.com/bitcoin-mining-hashrate-and-power-analysis-bitooda-research-ebc25f5650bf   Bloomberg wealth report: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-08/top-50-richest-people-in-the-us-are-worth-as-much-as-poorest-165-million   Cash app’s Bitcoin sales: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/74001/square-q2-bitcoin-cash-app   JPMorgan research note on Bitcoin: https://fortune.com/2020/10/26/jp-morgan-chase-bitcoin-predictions-analyst-jpm-cryptocurrency/ https://twitter.com/DTAPCAP/status/1319703750450302980?s=20 Forbes interview with Daniel Masters of Coinshares: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeldelcastillo/2020/10/24/jp-morgan-veteran-daniel-masters-explains-how-blockchain-will-end-commercial-banks/#77ec4f6a6bdd...more

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• Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks on Crypto Banks - Ep.196

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  Oct 27 2020

  Brian Brooks got his start in traditional finance before joining Coinbase in 2018 and is currently the acting comptroller of the currency. In this episode, he discusses: how his background in traditional financial services led him to take a position at Coinbase whether the role blockchain and crypto will likely play in the financial future is being recognized at the federal level whether or not banks have always had the authority to custody crypto for their customers how he expects things to unfold in the coming years as banks begin to become more involved in crypto custody his thoughts on Kraken and others launching crypto banks and whether it will lead to the founding of other crypto banks how his office is pushing for a national fintech charter, and how it could affect less crypto-friendly states whether banks that work with crypto companies supporting unhosted wallets are prohibited from holding stablecoin reserves whether or not OCC regulations cover DeFi, and the regulatory challenges that open source protocols present whether he sees a time when governments and regulators participate in the governance of crypto platforms what roles he thinks public and private sectors, as well as commercial banks, should play in the creation of a central bank digital currency what stance the OCC might take around privacy in blockchain transactions how U.S. regulators can offer more clarity to the crypto industry and how he thinks the pandemic, its effect on the economy, and the government’s response through stimulus will affect the crypto industry   Thank you to our sponsor! Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com   Episode links:  Brian Brooks: https://twitter.com/BrianBrooksOCC Office of the Comptroller of the Currency: https://www.occ.gov   Letter to authorize banks to provide crypto custody services for customers: https://www.occ.gov/topics/charters-and-licensing/interpretations-and-actions/2020/int1170.pdf   The significance of the letter for banks and crypto companies: https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthougan/2020/07/27/the-occs-notice-on-crypto-is-a-really-big-deal/#13aad8806301   The OCC’s statement on federally chartered banks and crypto custody: https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2020/nr-occ-2020-98.html   His support for a federal licensing framework for crypto companies: https://www.coindesk.com/us-banking-regulator-suggests-federal-licensing-framework-for-crypto-firms   Questions about the OCC’s stablecoin guidance https://www.coindesk.com/questions-occ-first-guidance-stablecoins   CSBS “One Company, One Exam” policy: https://www.coindesk.com/csbs-firms-explained   Battle with states over federal licensing program: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/31/currency-comptroller-reshape-banking-406393    FinCEN’s 2019 Regulatory Guidance: https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/new-fincen-guidance-affirms-its-longstanding-regulatory-framework-virtual   Federal Reserve says it is exploring a central bank digital currency: https://www.coindesk.com/fed-reserve-evaluating-digital-dollar-but-benefits-still-unclear-says-chairman    His view that a CBDC should be designed by the private sector:  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/69216/heres-how-brian-brooks-disagrees-with-fed-chair-jerome-powell-on-the-digital-dollar The OCC’s Financial Inclusion Project: https://www.occ.gov/topics/consumers-and-communities/minority-outreach/project-reach.html...more

  Episode

• How This DOJ Strike Force Hunts Down Cryptocurrency Criminals - Ep.195

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  Oct 20 2020

  Magistrate judge Zia Faruqui, and Jessi Brooks, assistant U.S. attorney in the national security section at the United States Attorney’s Office, have prosecuted several cryptocurrency-related cases, many of them amongst the most well-known. In this episode, they talk about: how they came to be involved in the prosecution of so many cases involving cryptocurrency the nature of civil forfeiture cases the Al-Qassam Brigades case, which led to the largest ever seizure of a terrorist organization’s cryptocurrency accounts, and the terrorist organization’s use of dynamic addresses in an attempt to elude detection by authorities. how Al Qaeda used Telegram to pursue cryptocurrency donations the case involving ISIS and counterfeit PPE for COVID the process of seizing funds from unhosted wallets the North Korean affiliated Lazarus Group, and how they were able to amass $2580 million worth of cryptocurrency the methods hackers will use to cash out stolen crypto funds to fiat how different government agencies in the U.S., as well as in other countries, are coordinated when tackling these cases the Welcome to Video case and how they went about prosecuting a person in a foreign country how they’ve seen the use of cryptocurrencies by criminals evolve over time and whether or not they think decentralized exchanges will make it easier for criminals and hackers to cash out   Thank you to our sponsor!  Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com   Episode links:  Jessi Brooks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-brooks-8289ab32/ Zia’s Faruqui: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zia-faruqui-a73ba11a5/   Three terror-finance cybercrime cases: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/global-disruption-three-terror-finance-cyber-enabled-campaigns   The Al-Qassam Brigades case: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/global-disruption-three-terror-finance-cyber-enabled-campaigns   Scam PPE site: https://www.wired.com/story/isis-allegedly-ran-a-covid-19-ppe-scam-site/   Civil forfeiture complaint against North Korea-affiliated hackers, Lazarus Group:  https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/united-states-files-complaint-forfeit-280-cryptocurrency-accounts-tied-hacks-two https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/press-release/file/1310411/download https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/lazarus-group-north-korea-doj-complaint-august-2020   Welcome to Video indictment: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/south-korean-national-and-hundreds-others-charged-worldwide-takedown-largest-darknet-child   Dark Scandals: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2020/03/13/dark-deja-vu-irs-announces-charges-in-takedown-of-multi-million-dollar-child-exploitation-website-funded-by-bitcoin/#4a09b2ac28ae https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/press-release/file/1257581/download Jonathan Levin from Chainalysis on Unchained: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-bitcoin-led-to-the-demise-of-the-largest-child-porn-site/...more

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• SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce on BitMEX, DeFi and a Token Safe Harbor - Ep.194

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  Oct 13 2020

  Hester Peirce, AKA “Crypto Mom,” was just confirmed to a second term as SEC Commissioner of the Securities Exchange Commission in August. In this episode, she talks about: the reasons for her dissent in the Unikrn Settlement and what she believes would have been a proper penalty the current status of her token safe harbor proposal her thoughts on fair launch projects as opposed to traditional VC-backed tokens her view on how the SEC should view airdrops her thoughts on whether existing securities laws could be tweaked as opposed to implementing a safe harbor whether she thinks DeFi governance tokens should be considered securities her thoughts on DeFi playing its own regulatory role her thoughts on the Securities Clarity Act introduced in Congress the chances of a Bitcoin ETF being approved by the SEC in the future the charges against BitMEX and the effect it may have on the industry in general stablecoins, and how they might raise securities issues and whether she thinks that all securities could one day be tokenized Thank you to our sponsor! Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com   Episode links:  Hester Peirce: https://twitter.com/HesterPeirce SEC: https://www.sec.gov   Her dissent on the Unikrn settelement: https://www.sec.gov/news/public-statement/peirce-statement-settlement-charging-token-issuer   Unconfirmed interview on her safe harbor proposal: https://unchainedpodcast.com/sec-commissioner-hester-peirce-on-her-safe-harbor-proposal/ Her token safe harbor proposal: https://www.sec.gov/news/speech/peirce-remarks-blockress-2020-02-06   Unchained interview with Cmr. Peirce: https://unchainedpodcast.com/sec-commissioner-hester-peirce-come-talk-to-the-sec/   Proposal in The Block on ways to amend existing securities law instead of issuing a token safe harbor: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/57207/case-for-reg-a-response-commissioner-peirce-sec-token   Is UNI a security: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/78231/uniswap-token-security-debate   FCA banning crypto derivatives and ETNs: https://www.coindesk.com/fca-bans-sale-of-cryptoderivatives-to-retail-consumers-in-uk https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/79911/uk-regulator-fca-bans-crypto-derivatives-retail-users   Securities Clarity Act: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/78231/uniswap-token-security-debate   Statement on ATS’s: https://www.sec.gov/divisions/marketreg/mr-noaction/2020/finra-ats-role-in-settlement-of-digital-asset-security-trades-09252020.pdf   SEC chairman Jay Clayton says all stocks could be tokenized: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/79783/all-stocks-tokenized-sec-chairman-clayton...more

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• Can Solana Seize Marketshare From Ethereum With Serum? - Ep.193

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  Oct 06 2020

  Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of FTX and Alameda Research,  and Anatoly Yakovenko,  the co-founder and CEO of Solana Labs, discuss the Project Serum ecosystem that they are building on the Solana blockchain, and the unique approach to scaling the Solana blockchain is taking. In this episode, they talk about: their backgrounds, and how they became involved in crypto why Solana takes a different approach to scaling and how it is implemented why they think a relatively lower number of nodes is sufficient to protect from attacks or collusion what the vision for Solana is, who they see using it, and how Serum fits into that vision why they think there haven’t been more crypto projects migrating to Solana yet Solana’s proof-of-history algorithm and how it works how Solana plans to attract DeFi developers why Serum was made interoperable with Ethereum the types of traders they are hoping to attract with Serum, and what their experience will be like on the platform why Project Serum is an ecosystem and not just an order book exchange how high-frequency trading firm Jump Trading came to adopt Serum how Serum will manage trading tokens from different chains the purpose of Serum’s two tokens, SRM and MSRM and what’s in store for Project Serum in the future   Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.Com: https://www.crypto.com Gods Unchained: https://playgu.co/unchainedpod   Episode links:  Anatoly Yakovenko: https://twitter.com/aeyakovenko Solana: Solana.com Sam Bankman-Fried: https://twitter.com/SBF_Alameda Project Serum: https://www.projectserum.com Project Serum on Twitter: https://twitter.com/projectserum   Solana CoinList auction in March: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/59952/blockchain-project-solana-raises-1-76m-from-its-launch-auction-on-coinlist   Solana network stats: https://explorer.solana.com   The Block Research on Solana: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/76615/solana-blockchain-overview   Proof of history:  https://medium.com/solana-labs/proof-of-history-a-clock-for-blockchain-cf47a61a9274   Serum: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/daily/72924/ftx-dex-serum-solana-blockchain   Tether: https://medium.com/solana-labs/tether-to-bring-usdt-to-the-solana-network-77864184b20 Jump Capital: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/76826/veteran-market-maker-jump-trading-forays-into-defi-to-provide-liquidity-for-ftxs-solana-based-dex...more

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• Why Bitcoin Now: Andreas Antonopoulos and Dan Held on Bitcoin’s Monetary Policy - Ep.192

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  Sep 29 2020

  Andreas M. Antonopoulos, speaker, educator, and the author of Mastering Bitcoin, Mastering Ethereum, and The Internet of Money, Volumes 1, 2, and 3, and Dan Held,  growth lead at Kraken Digital Asset Exchange, discuss the core features of Bitcoin's monetary policy, including how it differs from traditional central bank monetary policy, what gives it value and yet how it seems to have derived value from thin air. Plus, we talk about how the coronavirus pandemic will affect Bitcoin. In this episode, we cover: how monetary policy in general is defined the core feature of Bitcoin’s monetary policy, and how it differs from previous forms of money the similarities and differences between Bitcoin and gold why the hard cap on Bitcoin is unique and so important the difficulties in analyzing and classifying Bitcoin whether or not transaction fees alone can sustain the network once all 21 million Bitcoin have been minted if Bitcoin will be able to fulfill its original vision of democratizing finance and serving as an everyday medium of exchange why they think Bitcoin has recently been more correlated with the stock market their thoughts on the stock to flow model and whether it works for Bitcoin how they think the coronavirus, unprecedented quantitative easing, and increasing inflation will impact Bitcoin’s adoption and price how crypto banks that don’t conduct fractional reserve banking or lending might change the economy   Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: http://crypto.com Gods Unchained: https://playgu.co/unchainedpod   Episode links:  Andreas Antonopoulos: https://aantonop.com On Twitter: https://twitter.com/aantonop YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/aantonop/ Dan Held: https://www.danheld.com On Twitter: https://twitter.com/danheld   Dan Held on Bitcoin's monetary policy: https://medium.com/the-bitcoin-times/information-theory-of-money-36247aebdfe1   Dan Held on Bitcoin's security model: https://www.danheld.com/blog/2019/6/16/bitcoins-security-is-fine   Unchained interview with Saifedeam Ammous: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-saifedean-ammous-on-why-bitcoin-is-the-most-advanced-form-of-money/   Mises’ Regression Theorem: https://mises.org/library/bitcoin-regression-theorem-and-emergence-new-medium-exchange   Stock to flow model: https://medium.com/@100trillionUSD/modeling-bitcoins-value-with-scarcity-91fa0fc03e25   https://medium.com/@100trillionUSD/bitcoin-stock-to-flow-cross-asset-model-50d260feed12   Why the stock-to-flow model is wrong: https://www.coindesk.com/why-the-stock-to-flow-bitcoin-valuation-model-is-wrong   Federal Reserve announcement about letting inflation run higher than normal to achieve a 2% target rate of inflation: https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20200827a.htm Kraken launching the first crypto bank: https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-first-crypto-bank-what-kraken-financial-will-do-and-how/...more

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• How Matthew Leising Confronted His Suspects in the DAO Attacks - Ep.191

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  Sep 22 2020

  Matthew Leising, a reporter at Bloomberg who began covering crypto in 2015, is out with a new book Out of the Ether: The Amazing Story of Ethereum and the $55 Million Heist that Almost Destroyed It All. In this episode, he discusses: the catalyst that led to him writing his new book, which covers the early history of Ethereum and the DAO attack of 2016 why he thought the story of the DAO hack was compelling enough to make a book, and how he went about reporting it the surprising things he learned about Ethereum’s early days and Vitalik the twists and turns during his quest to discover the identity of the DAO attacker why he thinks separate people were responsible for the two biggest DAO attacks his meeting in Tokyo with one of the prime suspects of a copycat DAO attack why he decided to end his story at the Ethereum hard fork and chose not to write about Ethereum Classic  what he feels the long-term significance of the DAO and the hard fork has been for Ethereum why he thinks the lessons of the DAO are not being heeded today what he thinks the next chapter of Ethereum will be and how it will unfold the differences he’s found as a journalist covering crypto as opposed to covering more traditional finance and how the book is about more than just the DAO   Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com Gods Unchained: https://playgu.co/unchainedpod   Episode links:  Matthew Leising: https://twitter.com/mattleising Out of the Ether: The Amazing Story of Ethereum and the $55 Million Heist that Almost Destroyed It All: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Out+of+the+Ether%3A+The+Amazing+Story+of+Ethereum+and+the+%2455+Million+Heist+that+Almost+Destroyed+It+All-p-9781119602934   Matt's original Bloomberg article on the DAO attack, "The Ether Thief": https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2017-the-ether-thief/   Excerpt in Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-16/a-trip-down-the-crypto-rabbit-hole-in-search-of-the-dao-hacker   Excerpt in CoinDesk: https://www.coindesk.com/55m-hack-ethereum-down Decrypt's interview with Matt about the book: https://decrypt.co/41952/book-sheds-new-light-on-ethereums-55-million-dao-hack...more

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• Andre Cronje of Yearn Finance on YFI and the Fair Launch: 'I'm Lazy' - Ep.190

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  Sep 15 2020

  Andre Cronje, the developer of yearn.finance, talks about all things DeFi and the past, present, and future of yEarn. In this episode, he discusses:   what Yearn Finance is, and what led him to develop it and eventually open it to the public his history and background, leading up to the development of Yearn the processes and mechanisms involved in yEarn v1 and yEarn v2 why he decided to do a "fair launch" of the YFI token, despite being in debt as a result of building Yearn why he felt that a Decrypt article about him in August was a "horrible hatchet job" why he disagrees with what he sees as the current anti-VC narrative his thoughts on the phenomenal rise in YFI's price and why the price of a YFI token still doesn't matter how and why he decided governance participation would be a requirement for earning tokens in the Balancer/yCurve/YFI pool the governance processes in Yearn and his thoughts on whether or not a Compound-style form of governance would be better how he might mitigate whales dominating the vote what he means by "I test in prod" and how people have misinterpreted his meaning why he briefly walked away from DeFi whether he agrees that YFI could be a new structure to replace existing traditional business structures his response to the allegations by XAR Network whether he would consider moving Yearn to another blockchain his vision for what Yearn can become and how much YFI he currently owns personally   Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: http://crypto.com Gods Unchained: https://playgu.co/unchainedpod   Episode links:  Andre Cronje: https://twitter.com/AndreCronjeTech Yearn Finance: https://yearn.finance https://docs.yearn.finance   CoinDesk on Yearn: https://www.coindesk.com/what-is-yearn-finance-yfi-defi-ethereum   The Block report on yEarn Finance: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/75189/defis-yield-aggregator-dao-yearn-finance   Post introducing $YFI: https://medium.com/iearn/earning-yfi-y-curve-fi-53b5fd347f0f   Delegated vaults: https://medium.com/iearn/delegated-vaults-explained-fa81f1c3fce2 V2: https://medium.com/iearn/yearn-finance-v2-af2c6a6a3613   Delphi Digital report on yETH yVault: https://www.delphidigital.io/reports/yeth-now-do-you-understand/   yETH collateralization ratio: https://defiexplore.com/cdp/13972   Tony Sheng newsletter: https://tonysheng.substack.com/p/yfi-ponzinomics   Yearn Governance: https://medium.com/iearn/yearn-governance-forum-7b7c9d0300ac   yInsure Finance: https://medium.com/iearn/yinsure-finance-a-new-insurance-primitive-77d5d4217896   Delegated funding DAO vaults: https://medium.com/iearn/delegated-funding-dao-vaults-7ab05a63d7ba    Siege Rhino question about governance: https://twitter.com/SiegeRhino2/status/1303415750238101504?s=20   Andre’s “Building in DeFi Sucks” post: https://medium.com/@andre_54855/building-in-defi-sucks-b8fdfda0ef58?source=---------17------------------ Andre quits in February: https://decrypt.co/21068/founder-of-promising-defi-project-abandons-the-toxic-cryptosphere Andre close to quitting in August: https://decrypt.co/37995/exclusive-yfi-andre-cronje-broke-quitting-defi   What Andre wishes he had known before building Ethereum dapps: https://medium.com/iearn/things-i-wish-i-knew-before-building-ethereum-defi-dapps-cd6bf0f07a16   ...more

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• Olaf Carlson-Wee: 'If There Is a Money-Losing Exploit, the Money Is Gone' - Ep.189

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  Sep 08 2020

  Olaf Carlson-Wee, the founder and CEO of Polychain Capital, goes deep into yield farming, fair launches and how decentralization will upend the traditional notion of the corporation. In this episode, he talks about: when it makes sense for a team to introduce a liquidity mining scheme, and when it doesn't the difference between yield farming and ICOs when it comes to investing his thoughts on YFI, as well as YAM, and the pace at which unaudited DeFi projects are moving forward the three advantages he sees in automated market makers as opposed to centralizedexchanges his thoughts on Uniswap and SushiSwap and why he's not sure Uniswap will make a token his thoughts on fair launches and whether he thinks they will threaten traditional crypto VCs whether the CRV token launch really was instigated by someone unrelated to the team his thoughts on the yEarn yETH vault and what it says about where the DeFi space is going what he sees as the pros and cons of rebasing why he sees projects like YFI as a new kind of corporation whether he thinks Ethereum will scale fast enough to meet the demand already being put on it why he thinks systems like Polkadot are going to expand what is possible in the same way that Ethereum expanded beyond what was possible with Bitcoin whether he thinks the yields from yield farming will pull investors away from staking on Ethereum 2.0 what he thinks DeFi teams should do to improve security Bitcoin on Ethereum and what he believes it could mean for DeFi in the future the chatter around a potential public offering from Coinbase, and what's in store for Polychain in the future   Thank you to our sponsor!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/   Episode links:  Olaf Carlson-Wee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olafcw/ Polychain Capital: https://polychain.capital   Previous interviews with Olaf on Unchained and Unconfirmed: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-the-first-employee-of-coinbase-launched-a-hedge-fund/   https://unchainedpodcast.com/to-the-moon-and-back-with-polychains-olaf-carlson-wee/   https://unchainedpodcast.com/special-episode-with-cnbcs-crypto-trader-olaf-carlson-wee-on-why-this-crypto-winter-is-different-from-previous-ones-ep-028/   https://unchainedpodcast.com/all-things-cryptoeconomics-pt-1-with-olaf-carlson-wee-and-ryan-zurrer-of-polychain-capital/   Why trading on automated market makers has risen so quickly: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-decentralized-trading-has-10xed-in-a-few-months/    Launch of yEarn/YFI: https://medium.com/iearn/yfi-df84573db81   Dex volume over time: https://defiprime.com/dex-volume   YAM recap: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/74810/yam-token-market-cap-collapses-by-more-than-90-flaw   YAM team’s plans going forward: YAM Post-Rescue Attempt Update. At approximately 6PM UTC, on Wed August… | by Yam Finance | Aug, 2020 | Medium   SushiSwap vs. Uniswap: https://unchainedpodcast.com/sushiswap-takes-on-uniswap-which-should-win-and-why/   Ian Lee of IDEO CoLab Ventures on fair launches vs. VC coins: https://synthesis.substack.com/p/fair-launches-will-disrupt-crypto   And on fast-follower forks: https://synthesis.substack.com/p/fast-follower-forks-in-defi   CRV token launch: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/74921/the-story-of-the-botched-crv-launch   yEarn's yETH vault: https://www.coindesk.com/yearn-finance-yeth-vault-defi-triforce   Ethereum's transition to 2.0: https://unchainedpodcast.com/vitalik-buterin-on-ethereums-five-year-anniversary/   Security in DeFi: https://unchainedpodcast.com/defi-security-with-so-many-hacks-will-it-ever-be-safe/ Whether Coinbase will do a token offering when it goes public: https://unchainedpodcast.com/will-coinbase-do-a-token-offering-when-it-goes-public/...more

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• Why Decentralized Trading Has 10Xed in a Few Months - Ep.188

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  Sep 01 2020

  Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly Capital, and Dan Robinson, research partner at Paradigm, discuss the explosion in decentralized exchange activity on automated market makers from $1 billion earlier this year to more than $10 billion in August.  Why trading in automated market makers has 8xed in a few months how automated market makers work, and how specific dexes can specialize for the assets being traded on them why traders would prefer to trade on a dex vs. a centralized exchange how incentivized pools have drawn traders and liquidity  why trading on a dex seems can be more appealing than on a centralized exchange why trading on dexes now mirrors trading on Binance in 2017 how "DeFi is the hottest coolest place where people are making a lot of money" the difference between the metrics of liquidity, trading volume and total value locked for a dex why AMMs are capital inefficient what it means that fees paid on Uniswap are about half of those paid on Bitcoin  what the purpose of liquidity mining is why Haseeb doesn't think that dexes have network effects and that once professional market makers come in the space, Uniswap will lose market share whether users will use DeFi directly through the dexes or through another interface why Dan thinks that DeFi is now comparable to financial investment in the 1970s  whether or not yield aggregators like yEarn make it harder for AMMs to compete what happened with the CRV token launch initial dex offerings or initial DeFi offerings, like the UMA token launch whether, because of the high fees on Ethereum and the how long its transition to Ethereum 2.0 will take, DeFi activity could move to another blockchain such as Solana where DeFi will go over the next few years   Thank you to our sponsor!  Crypto.com: http://crypto.com   Episode links:  Haseeb Qureshi: https://twitter.com/hosseeb Dan Robinson: https://twitter.com/danrobinson   Haseeb’s post on the rise of AMMs: https://medium.com/dragonfly-research/what-explains-the-rise-of-amms-7d008af1c399   Haseeb's post on how Uniswap could be un-bundled: https://medium.com/dragonfly-research/unbundling-uniswap-the-future-of-on-chain-market-making-1c7d6948d570   Dex volume: https://defiprime.com/dex-volume   Trading volume on centralized exchanges: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/74539/july-by-the-numbers-a-look-at-crypto-exchange-volumes-open-interest-and-miner-revenue   Incentivized pools: https://pools.fyi/#/?tag=incentivized   Top dexes by trading volume: https://www.coingecko.com/en/dex   Ethereum transaction fees: https://bitinfocharts.com/comparison/ethereum-transactionfees.html    Uniswap website visits 15x in July: https://messari.io/article/uniswap-total-website-visits-grew-15x-in-july   Website traffic to DeFi platforms explodes in July: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/74231/defi-platforms-web-traffic-july   Fees paid to various crypto projects: https://cryptofees.info   Curve reaches $1 billion in TVL: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/75014/curve-becomes-third-defi-protocol-to-hit-1-billion-in-total-value-locked   The Block on dex aggregators: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/69468/dex-aggregators-user-experience   Delphi Digital on aggregators and why dexes will be like airlines: https://www.delphidigital.io/reports/dex-wars-and-aggregation-theory/ https://www.delphidigital.io/reports/are-amms-the-airlines-of-crypto/ https://twitter.com/ZeMariaMacedo/status/1298589417855168518?s=20   Mooniswap: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/74454/1inch-launches-automated-market-maker-mooniswap   Yield aggregators: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/75189/defis-yield-aggregator-dao-yearn-finance   How DeFi is affecting OTC desks: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/daily/75870/defi-otc-desks-lunch   Serum on Solana: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/daily/72924/ftx-dex-serum-solana-blockchain   CRV launch: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/74921/the-story-of-the-botched-crv-launch   UMA token launch: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/63611/uma-token-sale-retrospective   Serum on Solana: https://medium.com/solana-labs/ftx-chooses-solana-for-serum-a-high-speed-non-custodial-decentralized-derivatives-exchange-c346a27c1f2b   https://www.coindesk.com/uniswap-ftx-perpetual-futures  ...more

  Episode

• Why Bitcoin Now: Saifedean Ammous on Why Bitcoin is the Most Advanced Form of Money - Ep.187

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  Aug 25 2020

  Saifedean Ammous is an economist and the author of The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking, which has been translated into 20 languages. In this episode, he discusses: the basic tenets of Austrian economics and why it is the only school where Bitcoin is possible historical examples of currencies and how they lost their monetary value the stock-to-flow model and how Bitcoin fits into that model the three functions, or descriptive properties, of money and why Bitcoin fulfills these functions the concept of sound money the idea of time preference in economics and why he believes it is so important the distinction between debt and money, and why they are not the same the significance of difficulty adjustment and why he believes it is the crowning achievement of Bitcoin why he views Bitcoin as the best store of value humanity has ever invented the metrics he watches when assessing Bitcoin what he thinks is in store for Bitcoin in the future, and whether he still thinks central banks will buy Bitcoin as a reserve currency his thoughts on Ethereum and other digital currencies and his predictions for Bitcoin in the next year   Thank you to our sponsor!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/   Episode links:  Saifedean Ammous: https://twitter.com/saifedean Saifedean’s website: https://saifedean.com   The Bitcoin Standard: https://saifedean.com/book/   Invest Like the Best episode with Saifedean: http://investorfieldguide.com/ammous/   What Bitcoin Did episode with Saifedean: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/saifedean-ammous-on-understanding-bitcoin-economics   Plan B’s stock-to-flow model applied to Bitcoin: https://medium.com/@100trillionUSD/modeling-bitcoins-value-with-scarcity-91fa0fc03e25 https://medium.com/@100trillionUSD/bitcoin-stock-to-flow-cross-asset-model-50d260feed12 Essay on why the stock-to-flow model is wrong: https://www.coindesk.com/why-the-stock-to-flow-bitcoin-valuation-model-is-wrong...more

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• Why Bitcoin Now: David Chaum and Adam Back Reflect on the Crypto Wars - Ep.186

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  Aug 18 2020

  David Chaum, the inventor of eCash and CEO of xx network, and Adam Back, the inventor of Hashcash and the cofounder and CEO of Blockstream, discuss their involvement in digital currency well before Bitcoin existed. In this episode, they discuss: how they each became enamored with the idea of digital currency years before such an idea was widely discussed the crypto wars of the 1990s and the U.S. government’s attempts to control access to advanced cryptography Digicash, the creation of eCash, and the difficulties of implementing the system with the technology available at the time the innovation of blind signatures used in eCash what caused the demise of Digicash, and David's role in that the development of Hashcash and the problems Adam was trying to solve by creating it their initial reactions to learning about Bitcoin for the first time how they think Bitcoin might improve in the future the stock-to-flow Model, and where they believe the Bitcoin price might go next why the Hashcash proof-of-work mechanism became so widely used    Thank you to our sponsor!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/   Episode links:  Adam Back: https://twitter.com/adam3us Blockstream: https://blockstream.com  Adam's website: http://www.cypherspace.org   David Chaum: https://twitter.com/chaumdotcom Elixxir: https://elixxir.io  XX Network: https://xx.network   Previous Unchained episode on the history of digital currency: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-the-history-of-digital-currency/   Wired article on “e-money”: https://www.wired.com/1994/12/emoney/     Translated Dutch article on why DigiCash failed:  https://cryptome.org/jya/digicrash.htm   Aaron Van Wirdum's Bitcoin Magazine series on the history of digital currency:  https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/the-beginners-guide-to-bitcoin-part-3-bitcoins-pre-history-and-the-cypherpunks-with-aaron-van-wirdum    David Chaum's e-Cash: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/genesis-files-how-david-chaums-ecash-spawned-cypherpunk-dream Hashcash: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/genesis-files-hashcash-or-how-adam-back-designed-bitcoins-motor-block...more

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• Why Bitcoin Now: The History of Digital Currency - Ep.185

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  Aug 11 2020

  Aaron van Wirdum is the technical editor at Bitcoin Magazine. Finn Brunton is the author of “Digital Cash: The Unknown History of the Anarchists, Utopians, and Technologists Who Created Cryptocurrency.” In this episode, they tackle the history of digital currency. Topics include: the motivations behind the earliest attempts to create digital currencies, and who was behind those attempts the Extropian philosophy and how digital currency was born out of it how the cypherpunks came together and eventually began implementing tools that would lead to the creation of digital currencies the problems faced during the development of digital money, from double-spending to privacy, centralization, and spam the development of a public key protocol and why it was so significant the characteristics of earlier forms of digital currency like e-cash, hashcash, b-money, and bit gold, as well as their differences the original purpose of proof-of-work and how it was developed Hal Finney’s essential contributions to the creation of earlier digital currencies, and later, Bitcoin previous implementations of blockchain and how Bitcoin came to reinvent and utilize it which previous digital currencies come closest to Bitcoin and who they think Satoshi Nakamoto is …    Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com   Episode links:  Aaron Van Wirdum: https://twitter.com/AaronvanW Finn Brunton: http://finnb.net   Digital Cash: The Unknown History of the Anarchists, Utopians, and Technologists Who Created Cryptocurrency: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691179490/digital-cash   Aaron's Bitcoin magazine series on the early days of digital currency: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/genesis-files-how-david-chaums-ecash-spawned-cypherpunk-dream https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/genesis-files-hashcash-or-how-adam-back-designed-bitcoins-motor-block https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/genesis-files-if-bitcoin-had-first-draft-wei-dais-b-money-was-it https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/genesis-files-bit-gold-szabo-was-inches-away-inventing-bitcoin   Aaron on What Bitcoin Did discussing the stories: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/the-beginners-guide-to-bitcoin-part-3-bitcoins-pre-history-and-the-cypherpunks-with-aaron-van-wirdum  Breaker Mag Interview with Finn Brunton about his book: https://breakermag.com/new-book-reveals-cryptos-radical-origins/...more

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• Why The Travel Rule Is One Of The Most Significant Regulations In Crypto - Ep.184

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  Aug 04 2020

  Dave Jevans, CEO of CipherTrace, and Siân Jones, Senior Partner at XReg Consulting, give the lowdown on the Financial Action Task Force’s travel rule and how it applies to businesses in the crypto space. They discuss: their background and journey into crypto what the travel rule is the consequences for countries that are not compliant whether the regulation will apply to staking providers in the future the type of companies and transactions that will be covered under the travel rule the type of information that has to be provided  how banks comply with the travel rule and whether crypto companies can use the same system the different open standards available for sharing information how the information will get shared between entities who use different travel rule solution providers the “sunrise problem” in which different companies implement their compliance systems at different times the security of user data being shared between different entities how it applies to central bank digital currencies and centralized stablecoins how the rule would affect privacy coins the inherent contradiction between the cypherpunk philosophy and regulatory compliance unintended consequences of the travel rule how the travel rule may play out in the coming years A glossary of terms discussed in the episode:  FATF: Financial Action Task Force, an intergovernmental organization that develops policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing VASP: virtual asset service providers, who are custodial entities that run fiat-to-crypto or crypto-to-crypto exchanges, or run businesses related to transfer and safekeeping of virtual assets and financial services. FinCEN: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the United States federal bureau that analyzes information about financial transactions in order to fight money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes FCA: Financial Conduct Authority, the financial regulatory body of the UK   Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com  Tezos: https://tquorum.com/   Episode links:  Dave Jevans: https://twitter.com/davejevans CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/ Sian Jones: https://twitter.com/COINSULT XReg Consulting: https://www.xreg.consulting/ Financial Action Task Force (FATF): https://www.fatf-gafi.org/   The Osaka conference where crypto got serious about FATF’s travel rule: https://www.coindesk.com/inside-the-osaka-conference-where-crypto-got-serious-about-fatfs-travel-rule   Will Osaka be crypto’s Bretton Woods moment? https://forkast.news/will-osaka-be-cryptos-bretton-woods-moment/   InterVASP Messaging Standard: https://intervasp.org OpenVASP: https://openvasp.org OpenVASP white paper: https://openvasp.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/OpenVasp_Whitepaper.pdf?cache=1   FATF report on “so-called stablecoins”: http://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/recommendations/Virtual-Assets-FATF-Report-G20-So-Called-Stablecoins.pdf   OKEx’s Korea arm delisted privacy coins: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/39724/okex-korea-delisting-all-privacy-coins-including-monero-zcash-and-dash-as-these-violate-fatfs-travel-rule   Some of the potential FATF compliance solutions:  Travel Rule Information Sharing Alliance (TRISA): https://trisa.io/ Coinbase’s messaging board solution: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/daily/72293/coinbase-exchanges-fatf-travel-rule-solution CoolBitX: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/56853/coolbitx-raises-16-75m-series-b-to-help-crypto-exchanges-comply-with-fatfs-travel-rule Notabene: https://www.coindesk.com/crypto-identity-startup-notabene-launches-trust-framework-for-fatf-travel-rule ING: https://www.coindesk.com/in-banking-first-ing-develops-fatf-friendly-protocol-for-tracking-crypto-transfers https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/fatf-12-month-virtual-asset-review-2020 Recent travel rule meeting: https://www.coindesk.com/fatf-meets-wednesday-to-discuss-travel-rule-for-digital-assets Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) 75: https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0075.mediawiki  ...more

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• Vitalik Buterin on Ethereum's Five-Year Anniversary - Ep.183

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  Jul 28 2020

  Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, shares his thoughts on the five-year anniversary of Ethereum, challenges with ETH 2.0 and criticisms about DeFi. We discuss: his thoughts and feelings ahead of Ethereum’s five-year anniversary how to address the high gas fees on the Ethereum network whether the complexity of Ethereum 2.0 creates a risk for the security of the network whether staking will lead to a higher focus on ETH price and issues such as monetary policy  how he looks at the ETH price with its significance for security in Ethereum 2.0 how proof of stake systems can be more democratic whether staking lends itself to the kind of securitization that looks similar to mortgage-backed securities his concerns about DeFi the most optimal way for DeFi projects to distribute their tokens his thoughts about Bitcoin on Ethereum inherent risks to Ethereum users connected to China’s Blockchain Service Network (BSN) his views on DCEP, other CBDCs and Libra the indictment of Ethereum Foundation staff member Virgil Griffith for allegedly helping North Korea to circumvent sanctions how he plans to make the Ethereum Foundation more transparent whether lack of diversity would impact the success of Ethereum in the long term where he would like to see Ethereum in the next five years Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com  Tezos: https://tquorum.com/   Episode links:  Vitalik Buterin: https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin Ethereum: https://ethereum.org/en/ Vitalik’s blog: https://vitalik.ca   Median gas price: https://blockchair.com/ethereum/charts/median-gas-price Average gas price: https://blockchair.com/ethereum/charts/average-gas-price   Solutions to gas price problem: https://www.coindesk.com/ethereum-developers-consider-new-fee-model-as-gas-costs-climb   Reddit AMA with the Ethereum 2.0 Research team, including Vitalik: https://old.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/ho2zpt/ama_we_are_the_efs_eth_20_research_team_pt_4_10/   Paper on how DeFi lending could undermine security in a POS system: https://arxiv.org/abs/2001.00919   Vitalik tweet on yield farming: https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin/status/1278337657194655744   Abra settlement with SEC and CFTC: https://www.coindesk.com/sec-cftc-hit-crypto-app-abra-with-300k-in-penalties-over-illegal-swaps   Maya Zehavi’s comments on what this could mean for DeFi: https://twitter.com/mayazi/status/1282696180741414918   China’s BSN using public chains, including Ethereum: https://www.coindesk.com/chinas-blockchain-infrastructure-to-extend-global-reach-with-six-public-chains   Unchained interview about DCEP: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-china-aims-to-replace-cash-with-the-digital-yuan/   Charges against Virgil Griffith: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-announces-arrest-united-states-citizen-assisting-north-korea   More on Virgil Griffith case: https://www.coindesk.com/usa-v-virgil-griffith-what-we-know-and-dont-in-the-bombshell-crypto-sanctions-case   Unchained interview with human rights activist Yeonmi Park on what life is like in North Korea: https://unchainedpodcast.com/yeonmi-park-on-why-doing-business-with-north-korea-is-like-buying-a-ticket-to-a-concentration-camp/   Unchained interview on why North Korea is interested in cryptocurrency: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-north-korea-is-interested-in-cryptocurrency/   Case against Steven Nerayoff: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/two-arrested-extortion-startup-cryptocurrency-company...more

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• Camila Russo on the Most Pivotal Moments in Ethereum's History - Ep.182

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  Jul 21 2020

  Camila Russo, founder of The Defiant and author of a new book on Ethereum, "The Infinite Machine," speaks about how currency controls in Argentina got her interested in crypto and explains why she chose to tell the Ethereum story. She discusses: how she started covering the crypto space what it was like living through currency controls in Argentina why she started focusing on Ethereum instead of Bitcoin what’s in her new book, The Infinite Machine the most pivotal moments in Ethereum’s history possible risks to Ethereum 2.0 because of delays whether competing protocols could take market share away from Ethereum the most surprising aspect of the Ethereum story starting her own DeFi-focused media platform, The Defiant why she launched ‘CAMI’ tokens and how they are used the significance of ERC-20 tokens having a higher market cap than ETH her predictions about trends and promising projects in the DeFi space   Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com  Tezos: https://tquorum.com/   Episode links:  Camila Russo: https://twitter.com/CamiRusso The Infinite Machine: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-infinite-machine-camila-russo The Defiant: https://thedefiant.substack.com/   Excerpt from The Infinite Machine on CoinDesk: https://www.coindesk.com/sale-of-the-century-the-inside-story-of-ethereums-2014-premine   Decrypt review: https://decrypt.co/35466/the-incredible-story-of-ethereum-the-infinite-machine   Camila on what Ethereum has accomplished in five years: https://www.coindesk.com/five-years-on-ethereum-really-is-the-minecraft-of-crypto-finance   Hidden Forces podcast with Camila:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rise-ethereum-future-defi-transformation-crypto-media/id1205359334?i=1000484635053   Camila in the Keen On podcast: https://lithub.com/camila-russo-on-ethereum-and-the-future-of-the-internet/ Ethereum 2.0 phase 0 may not go live until 2021: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/71155/eth-2-phase-0-ama-2021...more

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• Why Bitcoin Now: Michael Casey and Niall Ferguson on How Bitcoin Fits in the History of Money - Ep.181

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  Jul 14 2020

  Niall Ferguson, Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and the author of numerous books including The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World and most recently, the Square and the Tower: Networks and Power from the Freemasons to Facebook, and Michael Casey, chief content officer at CoinDesk and coauthor of two books on crypto, The Age of Cryptocurrency and The Truth Machine, discuss the history of money and the macro environment for Bitcoin. We cover: how they became involved in crypto historically, what has made things money, or how people have decided that something is money the difficulty of managing fiat currency modern monetary theory and the role of the state in the financial system Satoshi’s message in BTC’s genesis block and what that indicates about Satoshi's intentions with Bitcoin  whether a more transparent, blockchain-based financial system could eventually lead to a new financial order how Bitcoin behaves like an option on digital gold, and when it will behave like digital gold whether Bitcoin is simply a reversion to previous forms of money that weren’t controlled by the state how crypto/blockchain and fintech innovation from startups and the Chinese government will affect the USD how a hypothetical war between the US and China would affect the dollar's dominance how China's DCEP could disintermediate banks  how Bitcoin fits into all of the different macro conditions facing the global economy whether Libra is going to be the initial gateway getting people into our digital currency world how well the recovery from coronavirus will go, and how it will affect the development of the crypto space in the near-term   Thank you to our sponsors!   Crypto.com: https://crypto.com   Tezos: https://tquorum.com/   Episode links:    Niall Ferguson: http://www.niallferguson.com   The Ascent of Money: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/302900/the-ascent-of-money-by-niall-ferguson/   Michael Casey: https://www.michaeljcasey.com   Money Reimagined: https://www.coindesk.com/tag/money-reimagined The Age of Cryptocurrency: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250081551   The first episode in the Why Bitcoin Now series: Mike Novogratz and Raoul Pal on 'the Single Greatest Brand' ofo the Last 10 Years:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-mike-novogratz-and-raoul-pal-on-the-single-greatest-brand-of-the-last-10-years/   How Niall got into Bitcoin: http://www.niallferguson.com/journalism/finance-economics/bitcoin-may-go-pop-but-its-revolution-will-go-on   Niall and Michael at Consensus: https://www.coindesk.com/disruption-money-and-a-world-of-change-feat-niall-ferguson   Unchained interview with Chamath Palihapitiya, who believes Bitcoin is a hedge on everything blowing up: https://unchainedpodcast.com/chamath-palihapitiya-why-bitcoin-will-be-the-category-winner/   Carlota Perez at CoinDesk's Consensus: https://www.coindesk.com/video/carlota-perez-on-blockchains-and-technological-revolutions   Unchained interview about the DCEP: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-china-aims-to-replace-cash-with-the-digital-yuan/   Unchained interview with Christopher Giancarlo about a digital dollar: https://unchainedpodcast.com/christopher-giancarlo-why-the-us-needs-to-have-a-digital-dollar/   Unconfirmed episode with Michael about Libra: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-it-would-be-good-if-libra-rivaled-the-us-dollar/ Unchained episode with a co-creator of Libra: https://unchainedpodcast.com/a-libra-co-creator-on-how-facebook-will-make-money-from-calibra/...more

  Episode

• DeFi Yield Farming: Why It's All the Rage But Risky - Ep.180

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  Jul 07 2020

  Dan Elitzer, investor at IDEO CoLab Ventures, and Will Price, data scientist at Flipside Crypto, discuss the yield farming craze. In this episode, we cover: the goals of protocols offering liquidity mining the goals of users yield farming right now whether users of Compound will have much awareness of COMP in the future how Compound is trying to dampen inorganic activity and properly align incentives  how incentives in one DeFi protocol can screw up another's such as changes in Compound's liquidity mining program causing Dai to lose its peg whether the activity created by liquidity mining is sustainable and how whether Compound is overvalued and how to determine valuations for DeFi tokens the security risks that come with trying yield farming how teams can keep their protocols safe given the composability of DeFi and the growing number of developments in the space whether the yield farming craze will cause the price of ETH to rise and why the prevalence of stablecoins might prevent that whether new DeFi tokens could push flagging layer 1s out of the top 10 what will happen if even more Bitcoin comes to DeFi how the next big thing in DeFi might be trying to stack yield across protocols and eventually prime brokerage protocols Thank you to our sponsor! Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com   Episode links:  Dan Elitzer: https://twitter.com/delitzer IDEO CoLab Ventures: https://www.ideocolab.com/ventures/ Will Price: https://twitter.com/will__price Flipside Crypto: https://flipsidecrypto.com   Total value locked in Compound: https://defipulse.com/compound   What liquidity bootstrapping pools are: https://medium.com/balancer-protocol/building-liquidity-into-token-distribution-a49d4286e0d4    Dan on earning more from borrowing USDT than lending it on Compound: https://twitter.com/delitzer/status/1272642107128164354    Tony Sheng on how yield farming works and how much you can earn from it: https://twitter.com/tonysheng/status/1274393189231689728   And his followup on the risks of yield farming: https://twitter.com/tonysheng/status/1274780457729617920   The purpose of COMP for governance: https://medium.com/compound-finance/compound-community-ownership-ee0ed1252cc3  https://medium.com/compound-finance/expanding-compound-governance-ce13fcd4fe36   Risks of so much BAT being held in Compound: https://twitter.com/spencernoon/status/1276897377446776832?s=20 https://twitter.com/defiprime/status/1277026665952980992?s=20 https://twitter.com/devops199fan/status/1274732220192829441?s=20   Cyrus of MakerDAO concerned about the risks COMP poses to the Dai peg: https://forum.makerdao.com/t/upcoming-comp-farming-change-could-impact-the-dai-peg/2965   Dan Guido and Taylor Monahan on Unchained discussing DeFi security: https://unchainedpodcast.com/defi-security-with-so-many-hacks-will-it-ever-be-safe/   Twitter discussion on whether ETH price will rise due to yield farming: https://twitter.com/RyanSAdams/status/1274781676875452421   What will happen to other Layer 1s? https://twitter.com/Shaughnessy119/status/1274376237239189504?s=20  Aquaponic yield farming: https://bankless.substack.com/p/aquaponic-yield-farming...more

  Episode

• Why Bitcoin Now: Mike Novogratz and Raoul Pal on 'the Single Greatest Brand' of the Last 10 Years - Ep.179

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  Jun 30 2020

  This episode is the first in a series, Why Bitcoin Now, that takes a deeper dive into Bitcoin and the history of money in the macroeconomic environment of the coronavirus. Mike Novogratz, founder, CEO and chairman of Galaxy Digital, and Raoul Pal, founder and CEO of Global Macro Investor and Real Vision Group, tell us where they think Bitcoin is going amidst this macro uncertainty and the global crisis due to the coronavirus. We discuss:  why Bitcoin’s price hasn't risen in price due to the global turmoil, and instead fell with the rest of the market on Black Thursday  why quantitative easing is the catalyst for institutional investors to turn to Bitcoin, but why that takes time, and why registered investment advisors may be on the cusp why they think retail investors will continue to buy Bitcoin despite record unemployment why Bitcoin will benefit from social unrest why any particular country's success in dealing with the coronavirus won’t really lessen the economic impact there whether China's first-mover advantage with the DCEP and its comprehensive enterprise blockchain initiatives will undermine the global dominance of the US dollar  why they believe there will ultimately be a dollar-based stablecoin  why they believe Libra will be a strong player in the future of stablecoins  how election outcomes, and in particular a potential movement to break up Big Tech, could affect Bitcoin and the vision for Web3 whether Ethereum, and staking, will see more adoption from institutional investors  why they believe yield farming is ultimately not sustainable, but still profitable the impact the Bitcoin halving will have in this macroeconomic environment Unchained is hiring!  Check out our job listing for a remote editorial assistant here! Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com Kelman Law: https://crypto.law  Stellar: https://www.stellar.org  Episode links:  Mike Novogratz: https://twitter.com/novogratz Galaxy Digital: https://www.galaxydigital.io Raoul Pal: https://twitter.com/RaoulGMI Real Vision: https://www.realvision.com Unchained interview with Kyle Samani on what happened in the crypto markets on Black Thursday: https://unchainedpodcast.com/teetering-on-the-edge-how-black-thursday-exposed-the-flaws-in-the-crypto-markets/ Unconfirmed interview with Antoine Le Calvez on what happened on BitMEX during Black thursday: https://unchainedpodcast.com/what-happened-on-bitmex-during-black-thursday/ Unchained interview with Chamath Palihapitiya on Bitcoin: https://unchainedpodcast.com/chamath-palihapitiya-why-bitcoin-will-be-the-category-winner/ Brian Armstrong tweet about deposits to Coinbase the same size as the $1,200 stimulus check: https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1250907110730170370?s=20 China's DCEP and blockchain initiative: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-china-aims-to-replace-cash-with-the-digital-yuan/ Unchained interview on Libra: https://unchainedpodcast.com/a-libra-co-creator-on-how-facebook-will-make-money-from-calibra/ Unconfirmed interview with the Libra Association's Dante Disparte: https://unchainedpodcast.com/libras-dante-disparte-on-why-we-should-trust-a-financial-system-designed-by-facebook/ Unconfirmed interview with Michael Casey on why it would it would be good if Libra rivaled the USD: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-it-would-be-good-if-libra-rivaled-the-us-dollar/ Christopher Giancarlo's digital dollar project: https://unchainedpodcast.com/christopher-giancarlo-why-the-us-needs-to-have-a-digital-dollar/ Ethereum 2.0 staking: https://www.coindesk.com/3-ways-staking-will-upend-the-economics-of-ethereum Unconfirmed with Kain Warwick on COMP's launch: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-comp-5xed-on-day-1-and-what-this-means-for-a-defi-bull-market/ Unconfirmed interview with Tony Sheng on yield farming: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-you-can-double-your-money-or-lose-everything/...more

  Episode

• Chamath Palihapitiya: Why Bitcoin Will Be 'the Category Winner' - Ep.178

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  Jun 23 2020

  Chamath Palihapitiya, the CEO of Social Capital and chairman of Virgin Galactic, talks about a wide range of issues, including Bitcoin, COVID, civil unrest, and broad economic trends and forecasts. We discuss: Whether his economic forecasts have shifted throughout COVID Why he believes a debt crisis will occur How he views the success of BTC as a hedge against the ruling class How the economic pendulum will swing back toward consumers Why he doesn't mind if big corporations and hedge funds get wiped out Whether he subscribes to the thesis that Bitcoin is uncorrelated  Why the pandemic has not spurred institutional adoption of crypto Why he sees no merit in Ethereum How the economy will become more decentralized in the future and whether blockchain will be a part of it  Why he prefers SPACs over ICOs Why he started capital as a service  Why he believes the government should bust up large corporations Unchained is hiring! I'm looking for a remote editorial assistant. If you love crypto and have journalism experience, get in touch! https://unchainedpodcast.com/seeking-remote-editorial-assistant/ Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com Stellar: https://www.stellar.org  Kelman Law: https://www.kelman.law  Episode links:  Chamath Palihapitiya: https://twitter.com/chamath Social Capital: https://www.socialcapital.com/ Turmoil at Social Capital: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/social-capital-founder-gives-his-account-of-turmoil-at-firm https://observer.com/2018/09/chamath-palihapitiya-social-capital-turmoil/ https://medium.com/@chamath/the-reports-of-our-death-have-been-greatly-exaggerated-11bcc80ee4ab 2019 interview with Kara Swisher: https://www.vox.com/podcasts/2019/3/4/18247010/chamath-palihapitiya-social-capital-happiness-identity-crisis-kara-swisher-teddy-schleifer-podcast Chamath on Recode Decode in 2020: https://podcastnotes.org/recode-decode/chamath-palihapitiya-kara-swisher-investing/ Fed buying up to $250 billion in individual corporate bonds: https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/federal-reserve-begins-individual-corporate-bond-purchases-secondary-market-relief-2020-6-1029309910 CNBC interview where he says Bitcoin is an uncorrelated hedge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2gDmcU8bDw  https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/12/12/social-capitals-palihapitiya-bitcoin-is-going-to-1-million-in-the-next-20-years.html SPAC: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-modern-ipo-is-useless-lets-reinvent-it-1506361770?mod=searchresults&page=2&pos=13 China’s blockchain efforts: https://www.coindesk.com/from-banking-giants-to-tech-darlings-china-reveals-over-500-enterprise-blockchain-projects Capital as a service:  https://caas.socialcapital.com  https://medium.com/social-capital/from-experiment-to-product-capital-as-a-service-one-year-later-6d8b4b9c038b 2019 investor letter: https://www.socialcapital.com/annual-letters/2019 At Stanford GSB: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMotykw0SIk...more

  Episode

• Christopher Giancarlo: Why the US Needs to Have a Digital Dollar - Ep.177

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  Jun 16 2020

  At an event at the NYU Stern School of Business, Christopher Giancarlo, former CFTC Chairman and co-founder of the Digital Dollar Foundation, discusses his proposal for a US central bank digital currency (CBDC), and how that fits into the broader geopolitical environment. We cover: Why he has focused on pushing for a US digital dollar after leaving the CFTC How a US CBDC would be different from other stablecoins How the proposal is designed to build off of the traditional banking infrastructure What pilot programs would look like How a digital dollar would foster economic inclusion even though using the digital dollar requires owning a smartphone How it would handle privacy How the network would be secured Whether the US is falling behind China in terms of central bank digital currencies and blockchain exploration Whether Libra will be a proxy for the digital dollar How COVID-19 has affected the discourse around a digital dollar Whether the election will affect the future of the digital dollar Unchained is hiring! Check out our job listing for a remote editorial assistant here! https://unchainedpodcast.com/seeking-remote-editorial-assistant/ Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com Kelman Law: https://crypto.law   Stellar: https://www.stellar.org Episode links:  Chris Giancarlo: https://twitter.com/giancarlo Digital Dollar Project : https://www.digitaldollarproject.org Previous Unchained interview with Chris: https://unchainedpodcast.com/christopher-giancarlo-on-the-craziness-of-becoming-crypto-dad/  Chris and Daniel Gorfine’s WSJ op-ed advocating for a digital dollar: https://www.wsj.com/articles/we-sent-a-man-to-the-moon-we-can-send-the-dollar-to-cyberspace-11571179923 Digital dollars in stimulus bills — March: https://www.coindesk.com/house-stimulus-bills-envision-digital-dollar-to-ease-coronavirus-recession  April: https://www.coindesk.com/digital-dollar-reintroduced-by-us-lawmakers-in-latest-stimulus-bill Pew Research on smartphone adoption: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/ FDIC survey on the unbanked and underbanked: https://www.fdic.gov/householdsurvey/2017/2017execsumm.pdf Banks keeping some of customers’ stimulus money: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/16/business/stimulus-paychecks-garnish-banks.html Why a digital dollar is politically more feasible at this moment than before: https://www.coindesk.com/the-overton-window-opens-for-a-digital-dollar Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown also proposes digital dollar: https://www.coindesk.com/us-senate-floats-digital-dollar-bill-after-house-scrubs-term-from-coronavirus-relief-plan  Philadelphia Fed paper: https://www.philadelphiafed.org/-/media/research-and-data/publications/working-papers/2020/wp20-19.pdf Receptivity in Congress to the idea of a digital dollar: https://www.coindesk.com/how-a-flurry-of-digital-dollar-proposals-made-it-to-congress Libra white paper: https://libra.org/en-US/white-paper/#cover-letter Congressional hearing on using FedAccounts and for stimulus: https://financialservices.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=406612...more

  Episode

• Rep. Warren Davidson: 'I Think Bitcoin Is a Great Store of Value' - Ep.176

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  Jun 09 2020

  U.S. House Representative, Warren Davidson, contextualizes the state of crypto legislation in terms of widespread civil unrest, COVID-19, and global shifts in power. He explains where crypto plays a role in these paradigm shifts and talks about: Why he believes in crypto, and how he came into the space How his Token Taxonomy Act creates regulatory clarity for token issuers What four conditions tokens would have to meet to not be considered securities Other features of the Token Taxonomy Act, including a de minimus exemption for taxes and no taxation of crypto-to-crypto trades How the pandemic and coronavirus-related fiscal stimulus affects the prospects for the Token Taxonomy Act What he thinks about China's blockchain push and its DCEP digital yuan Whether and how that creates a credible threat to US dominance in global markets Whether Libra could be a counterweight How a shift toward digital currencies could undermine the global reserve status of the USD and whether that affects the US's ability to enforce sanctions How outcomes of the upcoming election will affect the potential passage of crypto-friendly regulation Why it is easier for crypto legislation to be more bi-partisan than other bills   What help he needs from the industry right now to push along crypto-friendly bills Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com Kelman Law: https://crypto.law   Stellar: https://www.stellar.org Episode links:  Rep. Warren Davidson: https://twitter.com/WarrenDavidson His House page: https://davidson.house.gov Press release on the Token Taxonomy Act: https://davidson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/token-taxonomy-act-address-blockchain-innovation-flight-america Token Taxonomy Act on GovTrack: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/116/hr2144 Text of the Token Taxonomy Act: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/116/hr2144/text Letter requesting IRS clarify some crypto tax policies: https://www.coindesk.com/us-lawmakers-ask-irs-to-clarify-crypto-tax-rules-around-airdrops-forks-in-new-letter Congressman Patrick McHenry on Unchained discussing his “permanent beta testing” idea for crypto: https://unchainedpodcast.com/congressman-patrick-mchenry-bitcoin-will-be-of-enormous-value/ Unchained interview on the DCEP: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-china-aims-to-replace-cash-with-the-digital-yuan/ Unchained interview with Libra co-creator Christian Catalini: https://unchainedpodcast.com/a-libra-co-creator-on-how-facebook-will-make-money-from-calibra/ Unchained with Christopher Giancarlo on his proposal for a digital dollar: https://unchainedpodcast.com/christopher-giancarlo-on-the-craziness-of-becoming-crypto-dad/ Secretary Steve Mnuchin on Libra and a digital dollar: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-05/mnuchin-powell-see-no-need-for-fed-to-issue-digital-currency Video in which Rep. Davidson says “shitcoin”: https://www.coindesk.com/lawmakers-amp-up-pressure-on-facebook-to-halt-libra-cryptocurrency-development Meltem Demirors and Jill Carlson on the Shitcoin Waterfall on Unchained: https://unchainedpodcast.com/meltem-demirors-and-jill-carlson-on-the-shitcoin-waterfall-ep-74/taxes...more

  Episode

• How to Decentralize a Crypto Project Without Harming Security - Ep.175

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  Jun 02 2020

  Jesse Walden of Variant Fund, and Robert Leshner of Compound explain all of the problems associated with the decentralizing process in terms of governance and compliance, pulling from their own lessons and their commentary on other projects. We cover: Why projects must start with some level centralization How projects can both monetize and not put their code at risk of being forked How they can decentralize while also maintaining security, especially for composable DeFi projects that may become vulnerable as new technology and new protocols are introduced How and when to distribute the token so as not to attract only speculators and also not trip regulatory wires  How Compound’s current governance works, how it is decentralizing, why they decided to use a governance token, and what Compound (the company) will do after full decentralization  Why open-sourced projects are still able to extract profits, even after a fork Whether or not teams should have admin keys, such as what was used in response to the bZx attacks Whether or not projects should be upgrade-able What Block.One, which raised $4 billion in an ICO, did right to only pay a $24 million fine to the SEC  Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com Kelman Law: https://crypto.law   Stellar: https://www.stellar.org Episode links:  Jesse Walden: https://twitter.com/jessewldn Robert Leshner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rleshner/ A16z Crypto startup school: https://a16z.com/crypto-startup-school/ Compound: https://compound.finance Progressive Decentralization playbook: https://jessewalden.com/progressive-decentralization-a-playbook-for-building-crypto-applications/ What recent moves by the SEC say about mutability when it comes to crypto networks: https://a16z.com/2019/10/22/mutability-sec-recent-cases/ Compound’s $COMP token: https://medium.com/compound-finance/compound-governance-5531f524cf68 More on Compound’s governance token: https://www.coindesk.com/compound-extends-defi-ethos-to-itself-launches-governance-token Unchained discussion about bZx attacks: https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-bzx-attacks-unethical-or-illegal-2-experts-weigh-in/ Eric Wall tweet storm on admin keys: https://twitter.com/ercwl/status/1229198599264907264?s=20 tBTC shutting down: https://twitter.com/keep_project/status/1262483526437556228 More on tBTC: https://www.coindesk.com/bug-forces-shutdown-of-bitcoin-backed-ethereum-token-tbtc Unchained interview about tBTC in which Matt Luongo explains the admin key: https://unchainedpodcast.com/tbtc-what-happens-when-the-most-liquid-crypto-asset-hits-defi/ Is the SEC trying to kill the SAFT? https://www.coindesk.com/with-kik-and-telegram-cases-the-sec-tries-to-kill-the-saft  Block.One settlement with SEC: https://www.coindesk.com/eos-maker-block-one-settles-with-sec-over-unregistered-securities-sale...more

  Episode

• Ready Layer One: Who Competes With Ethereum? - Ep.174

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  May 26 2020

  This week’s Unchained is my panel at Ready Layer One! We talk everything layer one with four key players and projects -- Illia Polosukhin of NEARprotocol, Zaki Manian of Cosmos, Rob Habermeier of Polkadot, and Arthur Breitman of Tezos — to find out how these projects plan to compete with Ethereum and attract developers and users. We discuss:  What platforms they are building and at which stage in development they are  How they differentiate themselves from Ethereum, and what problems they believe need to be solved  How they plan to attract devs in an industry of network effects  Whether or not Bitcoin and Ethereum are direct competitors Whether, in the long run, crypto will be more winner-take-all or there will be multiple, interoperable chains   How they plan to bring new users into the space How they think the transition to ETH2.0 will shake up the existing blockchain space Take our survey! Tell us what would you like to see from Unchained! Please take a moment to fill out the survey to let us know what you'd like from the show: surveymonkey.com/r/unchained2020. Crypto.com has offered our survey respondents a chance to win a metal MCO Visa card -- and Crypto.com will stake these cards indefinitely! Ten lucky winners will enjoy card benefits including free Spotify, free Netflix and 3% back on all spending, and they’ll earn extra interest on their crypto deposit and more!  Thanks, Crypto.com! Again, take the survey now: surveymonkey.com/r/unchained2020. Unchained is hiring! Come work at Unchained! We have an opening for a remote editorial assistant — find out more about the gig and apply here: https://unchainedpodcast.com/seeking-remote-editorial-assistant/ Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com Stellar: https://www.stellar.org/ Episode links:  Illia Polosukhin: https://twitter.com/ilblackdragon Near protocol: https://near.org Zaki Manian: https://twitter.com/zmanian Cosmos: https://cosmos.network Rob Habermeier: https://twitter.com/rphmeier Polkadot: https://polkadot.network Arthur Breitman: https://twitter.com/ArthurB Tezos: https://tezos.com Near protocol on mainnet: https://near.org/blog/near-mainnet-genesis/ Electric Capital report on the number of developers in Ethereum: https://unchainedpodcast.com/electric-capital-on-the-coins-punching-below-their-weight/...more

  Episode

• Listen to CZ Compare Binance to Bitcoin - Ep.173

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  May 19 2020

  Changpeng Zhao, aka CZ, cofounder and CEO of Binance, and I kicked off the Ethereal Virtual Summit with a fun fireside chat! He talked about Binance’s current operations, its plans for the future, and the crypto industry as a whole. He explains:  Why he thought the questions I asked him in our first interview were misleading Whether Libra’s new plans are affecting Binance’s strategy for Venus What impact China’s DCEP will have on crypto Why the confluence of circumstances caused by COVID are a “perfect storm” for crypto, and how this will affect crypto in the long-term Whether the Binance Smart Chain will leech away Ethereum developers and users Why he thinks competition in the industry only grows it How Binance can own CoinMarketCap without affecting its objectivity  What he says to the class-action lawsuit against Binance, him and the other cofounders of Binance accusing them of offering unregistered securities How he views the role of Binance in governance in delegated proof-of-state systems, such as when Binance flip-flopped on a contentious hard fork in Steem Where Binance is headquartered Unchained is hiring! Check out the job posting here! https://unchainedpodcast.com/seeking-remote-editorial-assistant/ Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com Stellar: https://www.stellar.org/ Episode links: CZ: https://twitter.com/cz_binance Binance: https://www.binance.com/en My first interview with CZ: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-binance-became-the-most-popular-crypto-exchange-in-5-months-ep-84/ Details on BUSD: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/38607/binance-launching-its-own-usd-pegged-stablecoin-busd-with-paxos-as-custodian Binance announcement about BUSD: https://binance.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032604131-Binance-Announces-Open-Blockchain-Project-Venus-  BUSD marketshare: https://www.coindesk.com/binance-stablecoin-busd-tops-100m-but-lags-behind-rivals Venus as the One Belt, One Road initiative of Libra: https://twitter.com/DoveyWan/status/1163364542233006082?s=20  Venus focusing on developing countries: https://www.coindesk.com/binance-is-pitching-its-stablecoin-as-a-government-friendly-libra-competitor Binance’s acquisition of CoinMarketCap: https://www.coindesk.com/binances-coinmarketcap-acquisition-is-a-bet-that-crypto-really-is-for-the-masses 125x leverage: https://www.binance.com/en/blog/393707200802271232/5-Things-You-Need-to-Know-About-Binance-Futures-125x-Leverage The Block report on BNB’s latest token burn: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/62306/a-closer-look-at-binances-bnb-burns Lee et al. vs. Binance: https://www.scribd.com/document/455203877/Lee-et-al-vs-Binance Estimate that Binance earned $46 million in profit in 2018:  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/10491/analysis-binance-brought-in-446-million-in-profits-in-2018-despite-the-bear-market Binance used Steem tokens on its exchange to help vote out Steem validators: https://steempeak.com/witness/@ura-soul/ura-soul-witness-update-anarchy-vs-empire-tron-replaces-top-witnesses-and-takes-over-the-steem-blockchain  CZ’s initial tweet about the how Binance handled the Steemit fork: https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1234565384327585792?s=20 Binance reverses course: https://www.coindesk.com/steem-will-hard-fork-in-just-hours-over-community-fears-of-justin-sun-power-grab Binance not authorized to operate in Malta: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/56603/binance-is-not-authorised-to-operate-in-malta-says-the-countrys-financial-regulator  CZ on Binance not being based in Malta and decentralized: https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1230860647086338048 Binance shut down Shanghai offices: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/47922/binances-shanghai-office-shut-down-following-police-raid-sources-say Links to topics we did not have time to cover: Binance removes all references to Visa from its credit card: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/60886/binance-quietly-scrubs-visa-mentions-from-its-payment-card-website Opening mining pool: https://www.coindesk.com/binance-crypto-exchange-is-launching-its-first-bitcoin-mining-pool Investment in startups in Africa: https://www.coindesk.com/binance-backed-crypto-payments-app-as-race-for-africa-heats-up In-browser trading: https://www.coindesk.com/brave-partners-with-binance-to-develop-in-browser-crypto-trading https://brave.com/binance/...more

  Episode

• The Third Bitcoin Halving Just Happened: What Now? - Ep.172

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  May 12 2020

  Amanda Fabiano, director of Bitcoin mining at the Fidelity Center for Applied Technology, and Christopher Bendiksen, head of research at CoinShares, discuss the third Bitcoin halving, which occurred hours before the publication of this episode. They discuss: the significance of the halving what effect it could have on price and what Amanda and Christopher think of Dan Morehead's projection that it could reach $115,000 next year how macroeconomic events like the coronavirus and quantitative easing could impact uptake of Bitcoin how the halving could affect miners and hash rate how the halving could influence the environmental impact of Bitcoin why mining was the first activity Fidelity pursued with Bitcoin what they think needs to happen in Bitcoin to foster more adoption why hash rate derivatives will be a crucial step what the outlook is for institutional adoption of Bitcoin plus, is it halving or halvening? Take the 2020 Unchained Podcast survey!  I'm doing another survey to find out what you want from the podcasts and how I can make them better! Please take a moment to fill it out here and to tell us at Unchained what you'd like from the show: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/unchained2020 Plus, Crypto.com has offered our survey respondents a chance to win a metal MCO Visa card -- Crypto.com will stake these cards indefinitely! Ten lucky winners will enjoy card benefits including free Spotify, free Netflix, 3% back on all spending, earn extra interest on their crypto deposit and more!  Thanks, Crypto.com! Again, take the survey now! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/unchained2020 Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com Stellar: https://www.stellar.org/ Episode links:  Amanda Fabiano: https://twitter.com/_amanda_fab Fidelity Center for Applied Technology: https://www.fidelitylabs.com Christopher Bendiksen: https://twitter.com/C_Bendiksen Coinshares: https://coinshares.com Coinshares’ 5 Popular Bitcoin Halving Theories: https://coinshares.com/research/5-popular-btc-halving-theories Coinshares’ December 2019 Bitcoin Mining Report: https://coinshares.com/assets/resources/Research/bitcoin-mining-network-december-2019.pdf Unconfirmed episode with Dan Morehead: https://unchainedpodcast.com/a-bitcoin-price-of-115000-next-year/ Bitcoin stock-to-flow ratio: https://medium.com/@100trillionUSD/modeling-bitcoins-value-with-scarcity-91fa0fc03e25 Fidelity opens trading to institutional customers: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-06/fidelity-said-to-offer-cryptocurrency-trading-within-a-few-weeks Fidelity Digital Assets signs first exchange: https://www.coindesk.com/fidelity-digital-assets-to-sign-up-its-first-crypto-exchange-by-end-of-the-year...more

  Episode

• El Auge de MakerDAO: Un Viaje Personal - Ep.171

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  May 06 2020

  Hi everyone, this is an essay by Mariano Conti of MakerDAO that was so popular, personal and relatable, especially to those living in Latin America, that we decided to have Mariano translate it and read it in Spanish. Share it with your Spanish-speaking friends who still don’t understand what crypto is about, to show how it solved real-world problems for at least one person.  Mariano Conti, jefe de contratos inteligentes de MakerDAO, nos lee su ensayo sobre su experiencia personal con criptomonedas, desde el punto de vista de un Argentino cuya familia ha experimentado períodos de hiperinflación, y de un freelancer que recibe pagos por su trabajo desde varios países. Mariano describe la evolución de Maker desde Dai de Colateral Único (ahora Sai) hasta Dai Multi Colateral, y también brinda su perspectiva de los eventos del Jueves Negro y las subastas de deuda subsecuentes que el protocolo debió llevar a cabo para regularizar su situación....more

  Episode

• DeFi Security: With So Many Hacks, Will It Ever Be Safe? - Ep.170

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  May 05 2020

  Dan Guido, cofounder and CEO of Trail of Bits, and Taylor Monahan, founder and CEO of MyCrypto, discuss all the recent hacks in DeFi, how it can be made more safely and who is responsible.  We tackle:  the Hegic security incident: whose responsibility it was to make sure the contract was secure — the auditor (Trail of Bits) or the team (Hegic) — what Trail of Bits was saying in its audit summary, and how to read between the lines of an audit summary how long an audit should be upgradeability: particularly around when more advanced technology and contracts interface with older technology/contracts centralization vs. decentralization: whether contracts can be made safely while maintaining adhering to the principle of decentralization, why Taylor would prioritize centralization and security, and how teams can create different levels of risk for users  bug bounties: why asking what amount they should be is the wrong question the security threats posed by oracles and what a checklist for DeFi teams might look like Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com  Kraken: https://www.kraken.com  Stellar: https://www.stellar.org Episode links:  Dan Guido: https://twitter.com/dguido Trail of Bits: https://www.trailofbits.com Taylor Monahan: https://twitter.com/tayvano_ MyCrypto: https://mycrypto.com Initial tweet by Hegic calling the security issue a typo: https://twitter.com/HegicOptions/status/1253937104666742787?s=20 Hegic tweet saying, “It’s not a security issue”: https://twitter.com/HegicOptions/status/1253954145113038849?s=20   Trail of Bits saying it will no longer work with Hegic: https://twitter.com/dguido/status/1254260725431894020?s=20  Taylor breaks down the audit summary: https://twitter.com/MyCrypto/status/1254058121342803968?s=20 Molly Wintermute’s Medium post on requesting a week audit vs. three-day review: https://medium.com/@molly.wintermute/post-mortem-hegic-unlock-function-bug-or-three-defi-development-mistakesthat-i-feel-sorry-about-5a23a7197bce  Unconfirmed episode with Haseeb Qureshi on the Lendf.me attack: https://unchainedpodcast.com/haseeb-qureshi-on-the-unbelievable-story-of-the-25-million-lendf-me-hack/ Unchained interview showing Matt Luongo's approach to kill switches and upgradeability with tBTC: https://unchainedpodcast.com/tbtc-what-happens-when-the-most-liquid-crypto-asset-hits-defi/ Discussion of the bZx attacks on Unchained: https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-bzx-attacks-unethical-or-illegal-2-experts-weigh-in/ Issue with Curve contract: https://blog.curve.fi/vulnerability-disclosure/  Compound bug bounty program: https://compound.finance/docs/security#bug-bounty Taylor on “upgradeability makes things more insecure”: https://twitter.com/tayvano_/status/1222564979657723904?s=20  Synthetix oracle incident, allowing a bot to profit $1 billion: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-synthetix-became-the-second-largest-defi-platform/ Taylor’s tips on how to get more ROI on an audit: https://twitter.com/MyCrypto/status/1254061500244713474?s=20 Tips to follow before getting an audit: https://blog.openzeppelin.com/follow-this-quality-checklist-before-an-audit-8cc6a0e44845/  Resources for security in DeFi:  crytic/building-secure-contractsGuidelines and training material to write secure smart contracts - crytic/building-secure-contractsgithub.com https://consensys.github.io/smart-contract-best-practices/  https://forum.openzeppelin.com https://swcregistry.io https://diligence.consensys.net/blog/2020/03/new-offering-1-day-security-reviews/...more

  Episode

• tBTC: What Happens When the Most Liquid Crypto Asset Hits DeFi? - Ep.169

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  Apr 28 2020

  Matt Luongo, CEO of Thesis, the parent company of Fold and Keep, describes the just-launched tBTC, his plan for a censorship-resistant Bitcoin-Ethereum bridge. He explains his personal reasons for wanting such a platform, why tBTC is different from other versions of Bitcoin on Ethereum, and how it works -- including the process of becoming a signer in minting tBTC, how the system will handle crises, the reason for high collateralization levels, why staking assets are limited, and the necessity of a work token, Keep. He also discusses the economics behind tBTC-backed tBTC, his vision for DeFi, how tBTC could buffer an ETH crash, and the reasoning behind minimal governance mechanisms -- playing into why institutions trust BTC more than ETH. Plus, he contrasts the Bitcoin and Ethereum communities and talks about the possibility of tBTC2.0.   Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com Episode links:  Matt Luongo: https://twitter.com/mhluongo Thesis: https://thesis.co/ Keep: https://keep.network/ Fold App: https://foldapp.com/ tBTC white paper: https://docs.keep.network/tbtc/index.pdf Initial reveal: https://twitter.com/mhluongo/status/1162481737525583873?s=20 Announcement on Keep blog: https://blog.keep.network/bridging-bitcoin-and-ethereum-b2f9923630a7?gi=5c9040ed3a72 Some criticism of tBTC: https://twitter.com/peterktodd/status/1162728205607985152?s=20 Matt on the Breakdown podcast: https://www.coindesk.com/will-defi-matter-in-a-post-coronavirus-world-feat-matt-luongo Matt on Sendwyre podcast: https://blog.sendwyre.com/announcing-tbtc-with-james-prestwich-and-matt-luongo-of-cross-chain-group-c424e2b0b40c?gi=d1e8b53ca80e How tBTC works: https://defipulse.com/blog/what-is-tbtc/ The Block on tBTC: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/daily/55284/inside-tbtc-the-bitcoin-backed-erc-20-token-that-could-go-live-in-march Keep raises $7.7 million: https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinoconnell/2020/04/03/coinbase-co-founder-invests-in-project-to-bridge-bitcoin-and-ethereum/#368a6f737df4...more

  Episode

• Why Nothing Is More Viral Than a Store of Value - Ep.168

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  Apr 21 2020

  Cathie Wood, CEO and CIO of ARK Invest, and Yassine Elmandjra, ARK's thematic analyst, discuss their investment strategy with disruptive innovation, and how blockchain technology, especially Bitcoin, plays a major role in it. They explain why the unique market circumstances due to the coronavirus have led to more correlation between crypto and the traditional financial markets, but also why, in the long-term, it will ultimately be uncorrelated. We cover why they think crypto in the age of COVID-19 will see new opportunity, and when there will be a recovery of the larger economy. They also share, from an investor standpoint, their growing conviction in Bitcoin due to its long-term value proposition compared to other chains like Ethereum. Plus, we talk about the future outlook for central bank digital currencies, and how Libra will launch, albeit differently, than expected.  Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com Episode links:  Cathie Wood: https://twitter.com/cathiedwood?lang=en Yassine Elmandjra: https://twitter.com/yassineARK  Yahoo Finance interview on ARK’s big ideas for 2020: https://finance.yahoo.com/video/cathie-wood-talks-ark-invests-222723696.html Keynote on State of Digital Assets at Volt Capital summit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2729&v=c50TMCKsktA&feature=emb_logo ARK’s Q&A video conference on COVID-19: https://ark-invest.com/research/bis2020?utm_campaign=BIS%202020&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--kCZDJ0VuIxNViHjN7KR7qOryEusndZqMfNp7JMkD4AIZJCv8otUtZm8YgPdmVYTZb3ylv4ysbxt8fRIUvngkRLcyvIw&_hsmi=85729999&utm_source=hs_email&utm_content=85729999&hsCtaTracking=14ee7e75-5bf4-46f8-8c8c-f5aeb84b32a7%7C5f5d3a43-f10e-4792-92de-96ef495eb5c6  Feature on Cathie Wood: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-02-18/cathie-wood-s-tesla-bet-puts-ark-invest-in-spotlight Her views on Zcash: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/12660/cathie-wood-on-the-block-the-crypto-revolution-is-coming-jump-on-or-get-out-of-the-way...more

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• The Rise of MakerDAO: A Personal Journey - Ep.167

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  Apr 14 2020

  Mariano Conti of MakerDAO, head of smart contracts at MakerDAO, reads from his essay about his personal experience with cryptocurrency, particularly as an Argentine whose family has experienced periods of hyperinflation, and as a freelancer accepting payment from foreign countries. He describes the evolution of Maker from single-collateral Dai (now Sai) to multi-collateral Dai, and also gives his perspective on the events of Black Thursday and the subsequent debt auctions the protocol undertook to right itself.  Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com Episode links:  Mariano Conti: https://twitter.com/nanexcool Linda Xie’s essay about crypto memes on Unchained : https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-memes-can-help-crypto-go-mainstream/...more

  Episode

• The Most Forkable DeFi Protocols on Ethereum - Ep.166

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  Apr 07 2020

  Kyle Samani of Multicoin Capital reads from his essay on how defensible each of the major DeFi protocols on Ethereum are, and what that says about Ethereum's defensibility.  He evaluates how easy it would be from an effort and capital standpoint to fork each of the major DeFi protocols, and makes a strong case for how and why he thinks protocols like Maker are quite defensible, and why he believes certain dexes are less so. Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com...more

  Episode

• Why Decentralization Isn’t as Important as You Think - Ep.165

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  Mar 31 2020

  In this essay, Haseeb Qureshi of Dragonfly Capital explains why he thinks the focus on decentralization can be overhyped. He looks at why decentralization can be important but then makes it clear, by dissecting when it is important and when it’s not, and to whom it does and doesn’t matter, that it isn’t the be-all end-all goal for every endeavor. He talks about which questions we should be asking beyond just, “is it decentralized,” and also explains why that question doesn’t even make sense.  Thank you to our sponsors!  CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com...more

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• Teetering on the Edge: How Black Thursday Exposed the Flaws in the Crypto Markets - Ep.164

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  Mar 24 2020

  Kyle Samani, managing partner at Multicoin Capital, dissects Black Thursday, March 12, the day the crypto markets plunged twice amid the wider sell-off in the markets due to the coronavirus. He offers several theories for the first price drop that day, how that set off a series of liquidations on various exchanges, and then why liquidations stopped for about 12 hours before the next wave, which triggered the next price slump. He also describes why, at that point, the crypto market structure broke, as arbitrageurs attempted to move collateral from one exchange to another but could not because both the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains became congested, setting off a downward spiral particularly in Bitcoin, as miners began turning off equipment due to the falling BTC price. This led, ultimately, to there being $200 million worth of positions to liquidate on BitMEX, but only $20 million worth of bids on the entire BitMEX order book. Then we cover what happened next that ultimately saved the price of BTC dropping to $0 on BitMEXT. Next, we discuss the second fall in prices that day, and how that affected MakerDAO, with congestion on the Ethereum blockchain preventing keepers from being able to liquidate undercollateralized vaults. A clever keeper sent a bid to liquidate a vault with a higher gas price, but realizing that there was no competition, bid $0, walking away with $4.5 million, and a total of $8 million being won this way. We covered how the price of ETH fell to $88 but because oracles weren't properly updating, the last price of ETH on MakerDAO was at $101 — a dollar higher than the $100 where a bunch of liquidations would have occurred, which would have likely put more downward pressure on ETH, resulting in another downward spiral.  Kyle also evaluates some of the technical options for preventing these issues in future times of volatility, why many of them aren't promising but what is.  Thank you to our sponsors!  CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com Episode links:  https://multicoin.capital/2020/03/20/march-12-the-day-crypto-market-structure-broke-part-2/ Links from news recap: Kyle Samani: https://twitter.com/KyleSamani Multicoin Capital: https://multicoin.capital/ Multicoin blog part 1: https://multicoin.capital/2020/03/17/march-12-the-day-crypto-market-structure-broke/ Part 2: https://multicoin.capital/2020/03/20/march-12-the-day-crypto-market-structure-broke-part-2/ Theory that BitMEX’s maintenance was to prevent a collapse in Bitcoin: https://twitter.com/SBF_Alameda/status/1238306306043162625 https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/58918/money-2-0-stuff-free-price-auctions How traders took advantage of the roiling markets: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/59172/surfing-the-spread-crypto-market-turmoil-arbitrage More on the liquidations in MakerDAO: https://medium.com/@whiterabbit_hq/black-thursday-for-makerdao-8-32-million-was-liquidated-for-0-dai-36b83cac56b6 https://blog.makerdao.com/usdc-approved-by-maker-governance-as-the-third-collateral-type-of-the-maker-protocol/ MakerDAO weighs emergency shutdown: https://www.coindesk.com/defi-leader-makerdao-weighs-emergency-shutdown-following-eth-price-drop MakerDAO adds USDC as collateral: https://www.coindesk.com/makerdao-adds-usdc-as-defi-collateral-following-black-thursday-chaos Kain Warwick on USDC as Dai collateral: https://twitter.com/kaiynne/status/1239795250882740225?s=20 Eva Beylin on USDC as Dai collateral: https://twitter.com/evabeylin/status/1240039492985085952?s=20 Huobi’s derivatives platform introduces circuit breaker:  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/59210/huobis-derivative-platform-now-includes-a-circuit-breaker-function Debate over circuit breakers in crypto:  https://twitter.com/TusharJain_/status/1238311534767595520 https://www.coindesk.com/does-crypto-need-circuit-breakers-last-weeks-price-crash-ignites-a-debate...more

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• Chris Burniske: A Blank Slate of State - Ep.163

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  Mar 17 2020

  In this essay, Chris Burniske of Placeholder Capital talks about what kind of world crypto entrepreneurs are creating and want to be creating with the systems they build. He talks about different kinds of values, the dangers of only pursuing market values, and why crypto has a unique opportunity now to recalibrate those market values and incorporate more of the societal virtues we hold dear. Then he dives into which values he hopes to imbue into crypto networks and how that informs his thinking as a VC in the space. Thank you to our sponsors!  CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com...more

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• Why Africa Is Poised to Be the Next Hub for Crypto Development - Ep.162

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  Mar 10 2020

  Soona Amhaz, general partner at Volt Capital, and Yele Bademosi, founder of Microtransaction, explain why they believe Africa is poised to become a hub for crypto development. They give some interesting stats on how crypto is currently used and traded on the continent, plus talk about how these factors interplay with the region’s unique demographics and the status of some of the continent’s fiat currencies to create what could be a unique environment for increased crypto activity. They end with what they think crypto entrepreneurs should be working on to help further that development. Thank you to our sponsors!  CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com Episode links:  Soona Amhaz: https://twitter.com/soonaorlater Yele Bademosi: https://twitter.com/YeleBademosi...more

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• ETH Denver Fireside Chat With 2 of the Most Crypto-Friendly Governors in the Nation - Ep.161

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  Mar 03 2020

  In this fireside chat from ETH Denver, crypto-friendly governors Jared Polis of Colorado and Mark Gordon of Wyoming discuss how they each became interested in crypto and blockchain, how their states became friendly to the industry and how to resolve some of the thornier problems in crypto regulation, such as the state-by-state money transmission licensing regime. We also dive into the details on some of the regulations in their states, such as the regulations that make it possible to hold state-specific ICOs, what types of companies are taking advantage of those, and whether there's a bipartisan attitude toward crypto regulation.  Thank you to our sponsors!  CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com Episode links:  CO Governor Jared Polis: https://twitter.com/jaredpolis WY Governor Mark Gordon: https://governor.wyo.gov/ CO Governor Jared Polis’s background:  https://gazette.com/election/profile-entrepreneur-jared-polis-sees-governor-s-race-as-a/article_af2d0222-c1b2-11e8-8b2b-afa916b3b182.html Governor Polis’s letter to SEC chairman Jay Clayton and then-CFTC chairman Christopher Giancarlo on crypto regulation: https://www.coindesk.com/lawmakers-renew-calls-us-lead-crypto-innovation Colorado’s Digital Token Act: https://www.coindesk.com/colorado-could-be-next-in-the-race-to-bank-crypto-and-cannabis https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/2019a_023_signed.pdf https://thetokenist.io/colorado-signs-digital-token-act-into-law-some-digital-assets-exempt-from-securities-requirements/ Wyoming passes three crypto-friendly laws: https://www.coindesk.com/wyoming-lawmakers-pass-three-bills-in-boost-for-states-crypto-industry Wyoming laws: https://www.wyoleg.gov/Legislation/2018/HB0070 https://www.forbes.com/sites/caitlinlong/2019/03/04/what-do-wyomings-new-blockchain-laws-mean/amp/...more

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• The bZx Attacks: Unethical or Illegal? 2 Experts Weigh In - Ep.160

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  Feb 25 2020

  Maya Zehavi, blockchain consultant, and Zubin Koticha, cofounder and CEO of Opyn, discuss the two recent bZx attacks, whether they were hacks or arbs and whether they were unethical or illegal. They also look at whether flash loans are to blame, how much transparency DeFi teams should have about vulnerabilities on their platforms, how much bug bounties should be for DeFi, and whether flash loans means the amount of bug bounties should be higher. We also talk about  whether DeFi should institute circuit breakers, when those would make sense, and whether these attacks could happen to anybody or whether bZx isn't up to the standards needed in this community. We also cover how bZx should handle the under-collateralized loans left on their platform, whether Chainlink will be a sufficient solution to prevent these attacks in the future, and whether DeFi insurance should cover these kinds of attacks. Plus, Maya and Zubin explains why they're happy the attacks happened and have made them more optimistic. And Maya reveals why she has a pizza slice emoji in her Twitter profile. Thank you to our sponsors!  CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com Episode links:  Maya Zehavi: https://twitter.com/mayazi Zubin Koticha: https://twitter.com/snarkyzk Opyn: https://opyn.co/ Description of first attack: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/56171/bzx-exploit-former-google-engineer-explains-how-an-attacker-made-350k-in-single-transaction  Description of second attack: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/56171/bzx-exploit-former-google-engineer-explains-how-an-attacker-made-350k-in-single-transaction https://www.theblockcrypto.com/daily/56413/experts-weigh-in-on-bzx-attacks-flash-loans-highlight-the-need-to-improve-defi-security-models https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/56134/defi-lending-protocol-bzx-exploited-a-portion-of-eth-lost Unconfirmed episode about the attacks: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-2-defi-attacks-made-almost-1-million-in-profit/ 1inch.exchange blog post: https://medium.com/@1inch.exchange/yes-we-hacked-bzx-fulcrum-but-one-month-ago-3f7e5c437ee3 1inch exchange-Fulcrum dispute: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/56579/bzx-attacks-and-1inch-exchange-allegations-heres-what-the-teams-have-to-say  Nexus Mutual payouts: https://defirate.com/nexus-mutual-first-payouts/ Nexus Mutual blog post: https://medium.com/nexus-mutual/bzx-flash-loan-event-55753d19e52b...more

  Episode

• Democracy in the Age of Cryptography - Ep.159

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  Feb 18 2020

  Santiago Siri, the cofounder and president of Democracy Earth, reads from his essay on how governance and identity change in the age of cryptography. Thank you to our sponsors!  Kraken: https://www.kraken.com CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/

  Episode

• Alex Gladstein on a World Without Bitcoin - Ep.158

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  Feb 11 2020

  Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation, reads his essay, A World Without Bitcoin.  Thank you to our sponsors!  CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/  Kraken: https://www.kraken.com

  Episode

• How Memes Can Help Crypto Go Mainstream - Ep.157

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  Feb 04 2020

  Linda Xie, cofounder at Scalar Capital, reads her essay on how the crypto community can successfully use memes to help people understand the technology. Thank you to our sponsors!  CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Crypto.com: http://crypto.com/ Kraken: http://kraken.com/ Episode links:  Linda Xie: https://twitter.com/ljxie Scalar Capital: https://scalar.capital/ Read Linda's full essay at: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-memes-can-help-crypto-go-mainstream/

  Episode

• The Rogue 100: How Cryptocurrency Criminals Cash Out - Ep.156

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  Jan 28 2020

  Jonathan Levin, co-founder and CSO of Chainalysis, and Kim Grauer, head of research, discuss the company's 2020 Crypto Crime Report, which explores how cryptocurrency criminals, who perpetrate hacks and scams and send out ransomware and more, cash out. We cover how criminals are turning their illicit crypto into fiat currency, why exchanges are a prime avenue for money laundering, and how over-the-counter brokers are playing a large role. They talk about a group of OTC brokers they describe as the Rogue 100, what their transactions look like, and what can be done to help stop criminals from cashing out. Jonathan and Kim talk about the PlusToken scam, the largest Ponzi scheme in crypto and how Chainalysis determined that it was likely driving down the price of Bitcoin. They also explain the trends in exchange hacks and how the most prolific hackers have grown more sophisticated, giving some examples of how the Lazarus Group, a cybercriminal syndicate linked to the North Korean government has become more advanced. Finally, we also discuss ransomware and terrorism financing and what trends they are seeing there. Thank you to our sponsors!  CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/unchained Kraken: https://www.kraken.com Crypto.com: https://crypto.com Episode links:  Chainalysis: https://www.chainalysis.com/ Jonathan Levin: https://twitter.com/jony_levin Kim Grauer: https://twitter.com/KimberlyGrauer Previous Unchained interview with Jonathan: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-chainalysis-helps-solve-crimes-jonathan-levin-tells-all-ep-62/ Unconfirmed episode on how Bitcoin led to the demise of the largest child porn site: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-bitcoin-led-to-the-demise-of-the-largest-child-porn-site/ Money laundering report: https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/money-laundering-cryptocurrency-2019  https://fortune.com/2020/01/15/crypto-criminals-brokers-launder-billions/ Exchange hacks report: https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/cryptocurrency-exchange-hacks-2019 Unchained interview with Priscilla Moriuchi on why North Korea is interested in cryptocurrency: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-north-korea-is-interested-in-cryptocurrency/ Plus Token report: https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/plustoken-scam-bitcoin-price Terrorism financing report: https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/terrorism-financing-cryptocurrency-2019...more

  Episode

• Brendan Eich on How Brave Is Working to Decentralize - Ep.155

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  Jan 21 2020

  Brendan Eich, CEO and president of Brave, discusses his history in tech prior to crypto, including working at Netscape, how he created Javascript in 10 days and his short stint as CEO of Mozilla, what problems with ads that Brave is trying to solve, and why Brave needs the Basic Attention Token. He explains why Bitcoin wouldn't work for cryptocurrencies on the platform, why they use BAT over stablecoins, and how Brave strips ads from publishers' webpages, but doesn't from Facebook or Google, and how it causes collateral damage to publishers. He talks about how the browser is a middleman, how Brave works with Uphold and why it doesn't require KYC unless the users wants to cash out on his or her Brave rewards. He also explains why he isn't worried that BAT could meet the four prongs of the Howey test, what it will look like when Basic Attention Token is decentralized and why he doesn't know if publishers are earning back in BAT the ad revenue that Brave blocks. Thank you to our sponsors!  CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Crypto.com: http://crypto.com/ Kraken: https://kraken.com/ Episode links:  Brendan Eich: https://twitter.com/BrendanEich Brave: https://brave.com/ Basic Attention Token: https://basicattentiontoken.org/ BAT white paper: https://basicattentiontoken.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/BasicAttentionTokenWhitePaper-4.pdf Brave Rewards: https://support.brave.com/hc/en-us/articles/360027276731-Brave-Rewards-FAQ Brave privacy policy: https://brave.com/privacy/ https://brave.com/privacy/#dev-detail  BAT Growth: https://batgrowth.com Publishers on BAT: https://batgrowth.com/publishers/website Brendan Eich admits Brave is semi-decentralized: https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2018/11/23/brave-blockchain-cryptocurrency-browser/ How Brave hurts publishers: https://practicaltypography.com/the-cowardice-of-brave.html Publishers send cease and desist to Brave: https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-browser-brave-responds-cease-desist Whether BAT is necessary for Brave: https://micky.com.au/just-3-9-of-brave-browser-users-have-bat-in-their-wallets/ BAT ICO: https://www.coindesk.com/35-million-30-seconds-token-sale-internet-browser-brave-sells Vitalik blog post on token sales: https://vitalik.ca/general/2017/06/09/sales.html BAT roadmap: https://basicattentiontoken.org/bat-roadmap-1-0/...more

  Episode

• Why Catherine Coley Isn't Worried About BNB Being a Security - Ep.154

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  Jan 14 2020

  Catherine Coley, the CEO of Binance US, talks about her background as a foreign exchange trader, how and why she made the leap into crypto, and how she became the CEO of Binance US. We discuss how Binance US differs from Binance, who Binance US's target customers are, how Binance decides which coins to list, what's on Catherine's wish list to regulators, and whether Binance US will be connected to or cut off from the global, open financial system Binance is building. We also cover why Binance US launched with Tether as its stablecoin, why the company is also focusing on BUSD, how they became comfortable using BNB token on the exchange, whether or not they worry that BNB could be considered a security. Catherine talks about whether the company will offer leverage, lending, staking, etc., and where Binance US's future revenue could come from as exchange fees trend to zero. We also cover what Catherine has learned from working customer support for Binance US and and how she compares the US and Asian crypto markets.  Thank you to our sponsors!  CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/unchained  Kraken: https://www.kraken.com/ Crypto.com: http://crypto.com/ Episode links:  Catherine Coley: https://twitter.com/cryptocoley Binance US: https://www.binance.us/en  Binance US on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BinanceAmerica Binance US blog: https://www.binance.us/en/blog Crypto Rating Council: https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-led-crypto-ratings-council-draws-skepticism-from-legal-experts Telegram notice about Grams and Ton: https://telegram.org/blog/ton-gram-notice  CZ’s 2020 New Year’s message: https://www.binance.com/en/amp/blog/419417682154909696/Binance-2020-New-Year-Message-Building-Foundations--  Binance US joins Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee: https://www.binance.us/en/blog/419943835304939520/BinanceUS-Joins-the-Executive-Committee-of-the-Chamber-of-Digital-Commerce Multicoin Capital report, Binance is Blitzscaling: https://multicoin.capital/2019/11/07/binance-is-blitzscaling/ ...more

  Episode

• Dragonfly Capital on Why Ethereum Is So Far in the Lead - Ep.153

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  Jan 07 2020

  Alex Pack, founding partner of Dragonfly Capital, and Haseeb Qureshi, Dragonfly managing partner, talk about why Dragonfly has a global focus, how they choose investments, and why they try to be as agnostic as possible about asset type. They also discuss why most protocols, including Bitcoin, still look like venture bets, why, at the moment, Bitcoin looks like a better investment than anything built on top of Bitcoin, and why Lightning hasn't yet taken off and why they think it won't. We also cover what the future holds  for Bitcoin. They explain what they think will happen in the smart contract platform race, why Ethereum is so far in the lead and whether anything will become an Ethereum killer. We also cover Libra, and how Libra affects their investments in stablecoins, why Xi Jinping's "blockchain, not crypto" emphasis is a dead end, whether blockchain-based identity is an investable area, what they think the killer app is or will be and their predictions for 2020. Also, Haseeb, a former professional poker player, describes how poker playing is similar to crypto trading. Thank you to our sponsors!  CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/unchained  Kraken: https://kraken.com/ Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/ Episode links:  Alex Pack: https://twitter.com/alpackap Haseeb Qureshi: https://twitter.com/hosseeb Dragonfly Capital: https://www.dcp.capital/ Dragonfly Capital’s blog: https://medium.com/dragonfly-research Forbes on Dragonfly Capital’s $100 million initial raise: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2018/10/09/new-fund-dragonfly-bridges-china-us-crypto/#572aeb953c9a Venture Beat story: https://venturebeat.com/2018/10/09/dragonfly-capital-partners-scoops-up-100-million-for-cryptocurrency-investments/ https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/10/09/1618445/0/en/Dragonfly-Capital-Partners-Unveils-100-Million-Inaugural-Fund-for-Cryptocurrencies-Bridges-Gap-between-East-and-West.html DeFi cannibalizing POS security: https://medium.com/dragonfly-research/how-defi-cannibalizes-pos-security-84b146f00697 Mimblewimble blog post: https://medium.com/dragonfly-research/breaking-mimblewimble-privacy-model-84bcd67bfe52 Haseeb’s 2020 article on CoinDesk: https://www.coindesk.com/what-defi-needs-next-year-three-priorities...more

  Episode

• Unchained Year in Review: The Best of 2019 - Ep.152

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  Dec 31 2019

  In this Best of 2019 episode, I selected the clips that seemed most representative of what crypto was about this year, which I call, The Year Things Got Geopolitical. My only regret is that none of the clips about DAOs lent themselves well to this episode. However, years from now, after we’ve got global stablecoins pinging around the world at a high transactions-per-second rate, the crypto community has made peace with U.S. regulators, and more of our lives seems to take place in the borderless digital world, perhaps we'll find it ironic that DAOs were burbling up right around the same time. Thank you to our sponsors!  Kraken: https://www.kraken.com Crypto.com: http://crypto.com/ CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links:  Unchained Interview with Vitalik Buterin: https://unchainedpodcast.com/vitalik-buterin-on-whether-or-not-ethereum-is-blowing-it/ Unchained Interview with Hester Peirce: https://unchainedpodcast.com/sec-commissioner-hester-peirce-come-talk-to-the-sec/ Unchained Interview with Ted Livingston: https://unchainedpodcast.com/kin-sets-up-5-million-defendcrypto-org-to-take-on-the-sec/ Unchained Interview with Glen Weyl and Santiago Siri: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-blockchains-can-help-create-little-democracies-everywhere/ Unchained Interview with Christian Catalini: https://unchainedpodcast.com/a-libra-co-creator-on-how-facebook-will-make-money-from-calibra/ Unchained Interview with Martin Chorzempa and Dovey Wan: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-china-aims-to-replace-cash-with-the-digital-yuan/ Unchained Interview with Emily Parker: https://unchainedpodcast.com/crypto-in-china-what-it-really-looks-like/ Unchained Interview with Sandra Ro: https://unchainedpodcast.com/sandra-ro-why-crypto-friendly-laws-are-coming-in-the-us/  Unchained Interview with Patrick McHenry: https://unchainedpodcast.com/congressman-patrick-mchenry-bitcoin-will-be-of-enormous-value/ Unchained Interview with David Andolfatto: https://unchainedpodcast.com/fed-economist-on-the-prospect-of-the-usd-losing-global-reserve-status-who-cares/ Unchained Interview with Yeonmi Park: https://unchainedpodcast.com/yeonmi-park-on-why-doing-business-with-north-korea-is-like-buying-a-ticket-to-a-concentration-camp/ Unchained Interview with Alex Gladstein: https://unchainedpodcast.com/alex-gladstein-of-the-human-rights-foundation-on-the-3-reasons-bitcoin-matters/  ...more

  Episode

• For Your Normie Friends: Answers to the Most Basic Crypto Questions - Ep.151

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  Dec 24 2019

  This fall, I had an idea to do a crypto show for my normie friends, and figured I’d release it over the holidays, when maybe my regular listeners would be with the very people in their lives who could benefit from such an episode.  I solicited questions from my own real-life friends, edited down the repeats and tried my best to make the explanations as simple as possible. I cover basic explanations of Bitcoin, blockchain and Ethereum, plus we go into questions around mining and electricity usage, and why anyone would use cryptocurrency. I hope this clears things up for some of your friends and family — and gets some of them to go down the crypto rabbit hole. Thank you to our sponsors!  Givewell: http://givewell.org/unchained CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained  Kraken: http://kraken.com Crypto.com: http://crypto.com Episode links:  Previous beginner episodes:  Crypto 101: https://unchainedpodcast.com/crypto-101-everything-you-need-to-know-about-bitcoin-ethereum-blockchains-icos-and-more/ How to Explain Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain to the Average Person: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-to-explain-cryptocurrencies-and-blockchains-to-the-average-person/ Interviews with Vitalik Buterin: 2017: https://unchainedpodcast.com/vitalik-buterin-creator-of-ethereum-on-the-big-guy-vs-the-little-guy/ 2019: https://unchainedpodcast.com/vitalik-buterin-on-whether-or-not-ethereum-is-blowing-it/ Episode with Wences Casares: https://unchainedpodcast.com/xapos-wences-casares-on-how-bitcoin-makes-a-fairer-world/ Lolli: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-to-get-7-of-your-purchases-back-in-bitcoin/ Cryptocurrency to evade surveillance: https://unchainedpodcast.com/alex-gladstein-of-the-human-rights-foundation-on-the-3-reasons-bitcoin-matters/ KHmap.live interview: https://unchainedpodcast.com/an-interview-with-the-anonymous-developer-of-hkmap-live/ North Korea's interest in cryptocurrency: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-north-korea-is-interested-in-cryptocurrency/ Bitwise: https://unchainedpodcast.com/bitwises-latest-plans-to-get-a-bitcoin-etf-approved/...more

  Episode

• Why North Korea Is Interested in Cryptocurrency - Ep.150

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  Dec 17 2019

  Priscilla Moriuchi, director of strategic threat development at Recorded Future and non-resident fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, explains North Korean usage of the internet and how it has changed over time, how it is reserved only for the few most senior people in the regime, and what the mobile devices of the other 25 million citizens connects to, and who is watching the activity on those devices. She also describes the various ways North Korea has shown an interest in cryptocurrency, how it's been determined that North Korea is engaging in those activities, such as cryptocurrency exchange hacks and malware, and its seeming interest in Monero. We also discuss how they convert crypto to fiat, and how well the government seems to have connected its cryptocurrency activities with its other real-world criminal networks used for other activities such as smuggling, drugs and counterfeiting cigarettes and US dollars. We also talk about which North Koreans have been trained to carry out such attacks and how and why they carry them out abroad rather than in North Korea. She also covers why Ethereum researcher Virgil Griffith's visit to North Korea, even if he were dispensing "public" information, would have been helpful in a country where everyone but a tiny elite is denied access to the internet. Thank you to our sponsors!  Givewell: http://givewell.org/unchained CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Kraken: https://www.kraken.com Crypto.com: http://crypto.com Episode links:  Priscilla Moriuchi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/priscilla-moriuchi-410297127/  Recorded Future: https://www.recordedfuture.com Recorded Future on North Korea’s internet activity: https://www.recordedfuture.com/north-korea-internet-activity/ Full report: https://go.recordedfuture.com/hubfs/reports/north-korea-activity.pdf Recorded Future report on North Korea’s interest in cryptocurrency: https://www.recordedfuture.com/north-korea-cryptocurrency/ Full report: North Korea targeting South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges: https://www.recordedfuture.com/north-korea-cryptocurrency-campaign/ Full report: https://go.recordedfuture.com/hubfs/reports/cta-2018-0116.pdf  Podcast: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/recorded-future-inside-threat-intelligence/e/52982550 Priscilla on why Virgil’s attendance at a blockchain conference in North Korea was helpful to the regime: https://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-virgil-griffith-cryptocurrencies-bad-idea-analyst-2019-12 Priscilla on how North Korea uses cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions: https://www.vox.com/world/2018/2/28/17055762/north-korea-sanctions-bitcoin-nuclear-weapons North Korea’s interest in Monero: https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-north-korea-hackers-mine-cryptocurrency-abroad-1515420004 North Korea’s plan to build its own version of the Petro, I mean, Bitcoin: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/9ke3ae/north-korea-is-building-its-own-bitcoin  DOJ Complaint against Virgil: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1222646/download Virgil’s Facebook post inviting others to North Korea: https://www.facebook.com/virgil.gr/posts/10112756681859159...more

  Episode

• Yeonmi Park on Why Doing Business With North Korea Is Like Buying a Ticket to a Concentration Camp - Ep.149

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  Dec 10 2019

  In light of the questions around whether or not Virgil Griffith's talk at a blockchain conference in Pyongyang could have helped everyday North Koreans, Yeonmi Park, a North Korean defector, human rights activist, board member of the Human Rights Foundation and author of “In Order to Live, A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom,” talks to Unchained. She tells us about her life growing up in North Korea, how she thought the "dear leader" could read her thoughts, why freedom of thought is not allowed in North Korea, and how a South Korean had to teach her that Kim Jong Il was fat and not starving for the North Koreans, as she had been taught. She talks about what happened after her father was sent to a prison camp for selling copper, silver and nickel, how three generations of her family were then tainted and put in the "hostile" class of the caste system, and how watching the movie Titanic introduced her to the concept of romantic love. She tells the story of how, because of hunger, she fled to China — right into the hands of human traffickers, but decided to stay because of what trash cans in China signified to her, and describes the first time she heard the word "free." She also covers the difficulty of her transition to freedom and how reading George Orwell's Animal Farm was a turning point for her.  We discuss why the strategy for liberating North Korea is mostly about getting outside information in, who benefits from tours to North Korea and why lifting sanctions would only help the regime. She also explains why the only people who would have benefited from Griffith's talk would have been North Korean elite, and how any actions in line with what the dictator wants help him maintain power. She says the best ways to improve the situation in North Korea are to boost awareness of what is happening, empower the people there by getting outside information in and helping during the rescue, as 300,000 defectors, most of them women and girls living as sexual slaves, are hiding in China.  Thank you to our sponsors!  Givewell: http://givewell.org/unchained Kraken: https://www.kraken.com Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/ CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links:  Yeonmi Park: https://yeonmi.com/ Yeonmi Park on Twitter: https://twitter.com/YeonmiParkNK Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialYeonmiPark/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yeonmi_park/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpQu57KgT7gOoLCAu3FFQsA Human Rights Foundation: https://hrf.org/ In Order to Live: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/318940/in-order-to-live-by-yeonmi-park-with-maryanne-vollers/ One of the first speeches by Yeonmi that went viral: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei-gGvLWOZI Yeonmi's TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/yeonmi_park_what_i_learned_about_freedom_after_escaping_north_korea New York Times video op-ed with Yeonmi's message for President Trump: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/11/opinion/north-korea-trump-kim-human-rights.html DOJ complaint against Virgil Griffith: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-announces-arrest-united-states-citizen-assisting-north-korea Economist video on the efforts to get outside information into North Korea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVRQpfXGQyc&app=desktop Guardian article on North Korean defector activist groups attempting to get outside information into North Korea: https://amp.theguardian.com/global/2016/aug/27/north-korea-defectors-ian-birrell Wired article on getting outside information in: https://www.wired.com/2015/03/north-korea/ The story of Otto Warmbier: https://www.gq.com/story/otto-warmbier-north-korea-american-hostage-true-story South Korean woman shot for crossing line at a resort in North Korea: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jul/12/korea Unchained interview with Alex Gladstein of the Human Rights Foundation: https://unchainedpodcast.com/alex-gladstein-of-the-human-rights-foundation-on-the-3-reasons-bitcoin-matters/ Unconfirmed interview with Alex Gladstein: https://unchainedpodcast.com/alex-gladstein-of-the-human-rights-foundation-on-the-first-crypto-war-ep-021/...more

  Episode

• How Synthetix Became the Second-Largest DeFi Platform - Ep.148

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  Dec 03 2019

  Kain Warwick, founder of Synthetix, talks about synthetic asset issuance platform, which enables people to create tokens that track the price of assets in traditional and crypto finance. We discuss the various types of assets available, why changing the monetary policy helped the ecosystem take off, why people would buy synthetic Bitcoin over Bitcoin itself, and why Uniswap has been pivotal to Synthetix's success. He covers the role the SNX token plays, why people minting synths must be over-collateralized by about 700%, and some of the changes coming down the pike, including futures, tweaks to the inflation rate, and a new oracle system. He also explains what happened when a trader made the system insolvent — and how they negotiated with the trader to keep it alive — how he thinks about decentralization and why the system's governance might one day be handled by a DAO. Thank you to our sponsors!  GiveWell: http://givewell.org/unchained Kraken: https://kraken.com/ CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Crypto.com: http://crypto.com/ Episode links:  Synthetix: https://www.synthetix.io/ Synthetix on Twitter: https://twitter.com/synthetix_io Kain Warwick: https://twitter.com/kaiynne Havven transforming into Synthetix: https://blog.havven.io/havven-is-transforming-into-synthetix-2fdf727b8892 Synthetix overview: https://blog.havven.io/synthetix-overview-f4a5a6c41210 How Synthetix works: https://www.synthetix.io/how-it-works/ Synthetix lite paper: https://www.synthetix.io/uploads/synthetix_litepaper.pdf Changing monetary policy: https://blog.synthetix.io/synthetix-monetary-policy-changes/ Oracle hack: https://www.coindesk.com/synthetix-trader-rolls-back-broken-trades-that-netted-1-billion-profit Synthetix response to oracle incident: https://blog.synthetix.io/response-to-oracle-incident/ How staking works on Synthetix:  https://www.stakingrewards.com/asset/synthetix-network-token https://help.synthetix.io/hc/en-us/articles/360020245314-How-can-I-earn-Synth-exchange-rewards- Reddit complaint by trader who initially made the system insolvent: https://www.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/d4edxm/the_synthetix_dapp_deleted_my_balance/ Efforts to resolve the front running problem: https://sips.synthetix.io/sips/sip-6 Synthetix and Chainlink: https://blog.synthetix.io/synthetix-and-chainlink/ Kain’s tweets on the censorship vector stack: https://twitter.com/kaiynne/status/1197265019169169409?s=20 https://twitter.com/kaiynne/status/1197265044204998656?s=20 Unconfirmed episode on Uniswap: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-uniswap-quickly-became-one-of-the-most-popular-dexes/ Defiant interview: https://thedefiant.substack.com/p/theres-a-pipeline-of-etf-like-tokens...more

  Episode

• Why CoinMarketCap Launched Its Liquidity Metric - Ep.147

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  Nov 26 2019

  Carylyne Chan, chief strategy officer at CoinMarketCap, and Gerald Chee, head of research, discuss the history of CoinMarketCap, why the founder Brandon Chez initially focused on circulating supply to calculate market cap, how the ICO craze has changed the way CoinMarketCap defines circulating supply and how the kimchee premium on the Bitcoin price in Korea at the end of 2017 is influencing the future direction of the website. We cover why CoinMarketCap is branching out into other areas such as metrics, blockchain explorers, hosting conferences and more, how the site has made money historically, the demographics, geographical distribution and behaviors of users on the site, and how CoinMarketCap's web traffic is 90% correlated to the Bitcoin price. We talk about the fake volume problem, how CoinMarketCap decided to address it with a new liquidity metric, the new Data Accountability and Transparency Alliance they formed, and why they are working with some of the exchanges identified by Bitwise as being the most egregious in faking volumes, and how those exchanges fare when it comes to CMC's new liquidity metric. We also cover some of the other ways companies have tried to address the fake volume issue, how CoinMarketCap tries to identify the "true price" for any cryptocurrency (and why USDT makes this hard), and what the circulating supply of Ripple should be. Thank you to our sponsors!  Kraken: https://kraken.com/ CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Crypto.com: http://crypto.com/ Episode links:  CoinMarketCap: https://coinmarketcap.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/CoinMarketCap Carylyne Chan: https://twitter.com/carylyne Gerald Chee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerald-chee-8340a0161/ History of CoinMarketCap: https://blog.coinmarketcap.com/2019/05/01/happy-6th-birthday-data-alliance-block-explorers-and-more/ Incident in which CoinMarketCap shaved $100 billion off the total market cap of crypto assets when Chez decided to remove South Korean exchanges from its calculations: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-programmer-at-the-center-of-a-100-billion-crypto-storm-1516708800   CoinMarketCap's new interest for crypto loans  page: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/43460/coinmarketcap-now-publishes-interest-rates-on-cryptocurrencies-allowing-users-to-compare-and-choose Bitwise report on fake trading volume: https://www.sec.gov/comments/sr-nysearca-2019-01/srnysearca201901-5164833-183434.pdf The 10 exchanges Bitwise says have real volume: https://www.bitcointradevolume.com/ CryptoCompare Q3 Exchange Benchmark Report: https://www.cryptocompare.com/media/36569367/cryptocompare_exchange_benchmark_2019_11pdf.pdf DATA: https://coinmarketcap.com/data-transparency-alliance/  Messari benchmarks: https://messari.substack.com/p/more-reliable-cryptoasset-benchmarks Messari report on Ripple’s “circulating supply”: https://messari.io/article/messari-research-ripple-s-market-cap-is-likely-overstated-by-6-1-billion Ripple’s response to Messari report: https://www.coindesk.com/xrp-market-cap-may-be-overstated-by-billions-messari-report-estimates...more

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• Why China Aims to Replace Cash With the Digital Yuan - Ep.146

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  Nov 19 2019

  Martin Chorzempa, research fellow the Peterson Institute, and Dovey Wan, founding partner at Primitive Ventures, discuss China's new blockchain push and the forthcoming DCEP. They cover how the blockchain initiative is part of an effort to set global blockchain standards, how it fits into the larger U.S.-China trade war as well as the threat from Facebook's Libra, and why part of the motivation behind the DCEP may stem from the shadow banking system in China. They also talk about how the DCEP might work, why it aims to be like cash, and ways in which a successful digital currency could be used to help internationalize the renminbi, but why other countries will likely still resist becoming more dependent on China's currency. We also explore what "controlled anonymity" will look like in the DCEP, why it might actually be preferable to transacting via WeChat Pay or Alipay and whether or not Chinese people will become interested in Bitcoin due to this exposure to blockchain technology. Thank you to our sponsors!  Kraken: https://kraken.com/ Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/ CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links:  Martin Chorzempa: https://www.piie.com/experts/senior-research-staff/martin-chorzempa https://twitter.com/ChorzempaMartin Dovey Wan: https://twitter.com/DoveyWan Xi Jinping’s speech: https://www.coindesk.com/president-xi-says-china-should-seize-opportunity-to-adopt-blockchain Cryptography law: https://www.coindesk.com/chinas-congress-passes-cryptography-law-effective-jan-1-2020  China’s 500 enterprise blockchain projects: https://www.coindesk.com/from-banking-giants-to-tech-darlings-china-reveals-over-500-enterprise-blockchain-projects Changchun Mu, the deputy director of the payment and settlement department of the PBOC, on how DC/EP aims to replace the M0 money supply (banknotes and coins): http://www.cf40.org.cn/uploads/newsletter/20190803.pdf Dovey’s article on how the digital yuan will affect the M0 money supply: https://www.coindesk.com/digital-renminbi-a-fiat-coin-to-make-m0-great-again China’s already very digital economy: https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economic-issues-watch/who-likes-facebooks-libra-currency-not-chinese Reaction of Chinese dissident to China’s blockchain push: https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-dissident-sees-dark-warnings-in-chinas-blockchain-push Unconfirmed interview with Alex Gladstein of the Human Rights Foundation: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-the-digital-yuan-could-one-day-be-seen-as-a-blunder/ The commercial entities involved in helping to release the DCEP: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeldelcastillo/2019/08/27/alibaba-tencent-five-others-to-recieve-first-chinese-government-cryptocurrency/#95e9d351a516 How they will be involved: https://twitter.com/DoveyWan/status/1191807688570626048?s=20 ”Controlled anonymity“: https://twitter.com/ChorzempaMartin/status/1162071943568338944?s=20 Problems that could arise with the DCEP: https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3035797/blockchain-endorsement-chinas-xi-jinping-could-lead-fraud-and People with poor social credit banned from buying plane and train tickets: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/01/china-bans-23m-discredited-citizens-from-buying-travel-tickets-social-credit-system The FT on why China’s currency will not replace the USD: https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2018/09/19/1537329600000/China-s-currency-will-not-replace-the-US-dollar/  2000 speech by Bill Clinton: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/world/asia/030900clinton-china-text.html?mcubz=2&module=inline Change in plans to eliminate the Bitcoin mining industry: https://www.coindesk.com/sichuan-should-work-to-remain-attractive-to-crypto-mining-policy-advisor...more

  Episode

• Christopher Giancarlo on the Craziness of Becoming 'Crypto Dad' - Ep.145

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  Nov 12 2019

  Former CFTC chairman Christopher Giancarlo talks about how his experience of the financial crisis piqued his interest in blockchain technology, why the CFTC thought the introduction of Bitcoin futures would help pop the 2017 Bitcoin bubble, and how "there's no simple answer" to explain when a token goes from being a security to a commodity. He discusses why he believes there needs to be a "refresh" of regulations written decades ago that are difficult to apply in a digital world, why he thinks Libra represents a fundamental generational change and why he thinks the project should be allowed to go forward. We also cover the Chinese digital yuan, why the USD should not assume that its global dominance today will translate into global dominance tomorrow, and his own proposal for a digital dollar, which he dubs "Zelle + JPMorgan Coin." Plus, he gives the behind-the-scenes look at why he decided to speak "as a dad" in the Congressional hearing that made him an overnight crypto celebrity. Thank you to our sponsors!  Kraken: https://www.kraken.com CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Crypto.com: http://crypto.com Episode links:  Christopher Giancarlo: https://twitter.com/giancarloMKTS  https://www.cftc.gov/About/Commissioners/JChristopherGiancarlo/index.htm CFTC: https://www.cftc.gov/ Chamber of Digital Commerce: https://digitalchamber.org/ Let the technology evolve before regulating/CFTC is behind on regulating: https://www.coindesk.com/cftc-chair-says-regulator-is-behind-on-blockchain Popping the Bitcoin bubble: https://www.coindesk.com/trump-administration-popped-2017-bitcoin-bubble-ex-cftc-chair-says  Talks with Facebook pre-Libra launch: https://www.coindesk.com/facebook-holds-talks-with-cftc-over-globalcoin-cryptocurrency-report The introduction of Bitcoin futures helping to pop the crypto bubble: https://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/publications/economic-letter/2018/may/how-futures-trading-changed-bitcoin-prices/ Wall Street Journal op-ed proposing a digital dollar: https://www.wsj.com/articles/we-sent-a-man-to-the-moon-we-can-send-the-dollar-to-cyberspace-11571179923 Initial confusion over LedgerX not receiving approval or disapproval within 180 days to launch Bitcoin futures: https://www.coindesk.com/what-happened-why-the-first-us-physical-bitcoin-futures-contracts-havent-launched CoinDesk article with emails from LedgerX on CFTC dispute: https://www.coindesk.com/ledgerx-claims-personal-animus-drove-ex-cftc-chair-to-stall-approvals Commodity Exchange Act: https://legcounsel.house.gov/Comps/Commodity%20Exchange%20Act.pdf Emails sent from LedgerX to the CFTC:  https://static.coindesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/19-00104-FOIA-Records.pdf Paul Chou’s blog post summarizing what happened: https://blog.ledgerx.com/let-me-set-the-record-straight/ More context from Noelle Acheson on the dispute: https://www.coindesk.com/derivatives-drama-the-unintended-consequences-of-crypto-regulation...more

  Episode

• A Libra Co-Creator on How Facebook Will Make Money From Calibra - Ep.144

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  Nov 05 2019

  Christian Catalini, co-creator of Libra and chief economist at Calibra, explains why Facebook made the design choices it made for Libra, reveals whether the team was prepared for the regulatory blowback it received after publishing the white paper, and talks about what it means for Libra now that nearly all the initial payment company members have left the Association. He describes how Facebook defined stability for Libra, whether the Chinese renminbi could ever be added to the reserve the way it is part of the IMF special drawing rights basket, and if so, what the Libra or Calibra would do if the Chinese government tried to censor individuals or transactions in the system. We also cover the tension between the desire to have strong know-your-customer and anti-money laundering processes on the platform but then also to bank the unbanked, who often don't have strong government identification. We also discuss how Facebook will make money from Calibra, what it would take for Facebook to let the Libra Association go forward without it, and why Facebook, which not too long ago was trying to woo China to enter the Chinese market, now says it is the best counterweight to a Chinese digital yuan. Plus, he answers how Facebook and Calibra will handle privacy.  Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com/ CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links:  Christian Catalini: https://twitter.com/ccatalini Libra: https://libra.org/en-US/ Calibra: https://calibra.com/ Libra white paper: https://libra.org/en-US/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2019/06/LibraWhitePaper_en_US.pdf Letters to payment companies from Congress: https://www.schatz.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Signed%20Letters%20re%20Libra%20to%20Patrick%20Collison,%20Ajaypal%20Banga,%20and%20Alfred%20Kelly.pdf Mark Zuckerberg's testimony in front of Congress: https://www.c-span.org/video/?465293-1/facebook-ceo-testimony-house-financial-services-committee Reported breakdown of the Libra reserve: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-libra-basket/u-s-dollar-to-be-main-currency-underpinning-facebooks-libra-spiegel-idUSKBN1W522K Calibra — can send money at low to no cost: https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2019/06/coming-in-2020-calibra/ Chargebacks in Libra: https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/18/18682838/facebook-digital-wallet-calibra-libra-cryptocurrency-kevin-weil-david-marcus-interview Asian central banks not too open to Libra: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-10-22/facebook-scaling-back-libra-will-please-asian-central-banks Unconfirmed interview about UN work with blockchain-based vouchers: https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-un-world-food-programmes-blockchain-based-food-vouchers-for-syrian-refugees-with-robert-opp/...more

  Episode

• Bitwise's Latest Plans to Get a Bitcoin ETF Approved - Ep.143

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  Oct 29 2019

  Hunter Horsley, cofounder and CEO of Bitwise Asset Management, and Matt Hougan, global head of research at Bitwise, describe their vision for Bitwise, its current funds and indices, as well as how it handles things like forks and airdrops. Then they give their reaction to and interpretation of the SEC disapproval of their Bitcoin ETF proposal, as well as what their focus will be now to try to get a Bitcoin ETF approved. We also discuss their general thesis around how the crypto space will develop, whether or not indices and funds around the top 100 assets will ever make sense, their ideas on how to value these networks and whether or not the company would ever try to compete in the DeFi space. Plus, don't miss our conversation on Bitcoin IRAs.  Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: http://crypto.com/ Kraken: https://kraken.com CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links:  Bitwise: https://www.bitwiseinvestments.com/ Hunter Horsley: https://twitter.com/HHorsley Matt Hougan: https://twitter.com/Matt_Hougan Unchained interview with Spencer Bogart: https://unchainedpodcast.com/spencer-bogart-on-the-20-trillion-in-store-of-value-assets/ Bitwise 10 Private Fund fact sheet: https://static.bitwiseinvestments.com/FactSheet/bitwise10/Bitwise-10-Private-Index-Fund-Investor-Class-Fact-Sheet.pdf  Bitwise 10 Offshore Index Fund: https://static.bitwiseinvestments.com/FactSheet/bitwise10-offshore/Bitwise-10-Index-Offshore-Fund-Investor-Fact-Sheet.pdf Grayscale Bitcoin Investment Trust: https://grayscale.co/bitcoin-trust/ Bitwise Ethereum Fund: https://static.bitwiseinvestments.com/FactSheet/ethereumFund/Bitwise-Ethereum-Fund-Investor-Class-Fact-Sheet.pdf  SEC order disapproving the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF proposal: https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nysearca/2019/34-87267.pdf Matt on CNBC discussing the Bitcoin ETF proposal: https://twitter.com/CNBC/status/1181309471349526530?s=20 Bitstamp/BitMEX trading manipulation: https://twitter.com/DoveyWan/status/1129246233917382656 Jake Chervinsky’s tweet about how the SEC is unlikely to approve a Bitcoin ETF under Chair Jay Clayton: https://twitter.com/jchervinsky/status/1182149164177608704?s=20  Unchained interview with Jake: https://unchainedpodcast.com/all-things-crypto-regulation-with-jake-chervinsky/ SEC commissioner Hester Peirce’s dissent to the disapproval of the Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF: https://www.sec.gov/news/public-statement/peirce-dissent-34-83723 Van Eck’s withdrawal of the Bitcoin ETF proposal: https://www.coindesk.com/vaneck-solidx-withdraw-bitcoin-etf-proposal-from-sec-review Chris Burniske on how to value these networks: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-to-value-a-crypto-asset/...more

  Episode

• Congressman Patrick McHenry: 'Bitcoin Will Be of Enormous Value' - Ep.142

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  Oct 22 2019

  Congressman Patrick McHenry, or 'Mr. Fintech' to his peers in the House, is announcing the reintroduction of the Financial Services Innovation Act, a bill that would create what he calls "permanent beta testing," or many jurisdictions call "regulatory sandboxes," in which entrepreneurs can apply for regulatory approval to conduct innovative experiments. The bill is intended to get regulators into a position where their default leans more toward yes than no. He describes how this would affect teams that want to conduct ICOs, how it would square with the phenomenon of some token teams trying to raise through Reg A+, and whether it would allow exchanges without BitLicenses to operate in New York. He also discusses what type of digital currency he believes is best suited to compete against a Chinese digital yuan, and says the government is currently looking into whether or not the Federal Reserve has the authority to issue a digital dollar. Thank you to our sponsors!  CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Crypto.com: https://crypto.com Kraken: https://www.kraken.com Episode links:  Congressman McHenry: https://mchenry.house.gov/ On Twitter: https://twitter.com/PatrickMcHenry The House Libra hearings from July 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-ZTkCNW0w8 Financial Services Innovation Act explainer: https://www.alta.org/file.cfm?name=McHenry-Bill-Explainer Introduction of the bill in 2016: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-house-bill-aims-to-set-up-sandbox-for-fintech-innovation-1474539893 https://www.natlawreview.com/article/financial-services-innovation-act-us-wants-sandbox-too Congressman McHenry’s interest in fintech: https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2016/09/patrick-henry-mr-fintech-interview-000214 CNBC article on how Libra is being slowed by regulation while China’s central bank digital currency speeds ahead: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/15/china-races-to-launch-a-cryptocurrency-that-could-rival-facebooks.html Fortune article: https://fortune.com/2019/10/16/if-libra-fails-china-wins-the-ledger/...more

  Episode

• Think a DAO Will Automate Things? Think Again - Ep.141

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  Oct 15 2019

  Mariano Conti, the head of smart contracts for MakerDAO and creator of SelloutDAO, and Peter Pan, the summoner for Metacartel DAO, discuss all things DAOs, including how Peter started Metacartel DAO after being rejected from MolochDAO, and why Mariano initially voted against Peter joining. (Peter eventually joined.) They also discuss how they came to form YangDAO, why Mariano almost rage quit MolochDAO after the YangDAO formed, and how other MolochDAO members felt about SelloutDAO, which Mariano describes as an experiment in "on-chain corruption." We discuss how DAOs are actually heavily built on trust and why they require a lot of social coordination off-chain. They also discuss funding for LAOs, which have a legal entity such as an LLC affiliated with them, why Metacartel is launching a LAO, and which types of projects should be funded by DAOs vs traditional corporate structures. We also cover governance issues at MakerDAO, why it has a CEO, and what role leadership in general plays in a DAO.  Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links:  Mariano Conti: https://twitter.com/nanexcool Peter Pan: https://twitter.com/pet3rpan_ MakerDAO: https://makerdao.com/en/ https://chat.makerdao.com Metacartel DAO: https://www.metacartel.org/ https://twitter.com/meta_cartel SelloutDAO: https://selloutdao.com/ Unchained interview with Ameen Soleimani of MolochDAO: https://unchainedpodcast.com/molochdao-could-this-decentralized-autonomous-organization-help-ethereum-scale-faster/ Unchained interview with Santiago Siri: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-blockchains-can-help-create-little-democracies-everywhere/ DAO Revival: https://www.coindesk.com/in-berlin-a-dao-renaissance-begins https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-10-05/crypto-rebels-trip-over-each-other-en-route-to-financial-utopia Andy Milenius’s account of MakerDAO’s change from a decentralized to a centralized project: https://www.scribd.com/document/407743542/Zandy-s-Story CoinDesk story on the rift: https://www.coindesk.com/darkest-days-yet-purple-pill-tell-all-details-years-long-rift-at-heart-of-makerdao-stablecoin-project Two most recent MakerDAO votes:  https://vote.makerdao.com/executive-proposal/keep-the-stability-fee-set-to-a-total-of-105-per-year https://vote.makerdao.com/executive-proposal/lower-the-stability-fee-by-2-to-a-total-of-85-per-year https://vote.makerdao.com/polling-proposal/qmpem83sxjjwe1jvn2csdtetn4r3j95ejuzpbmtxef4lu5 Unchained interviews with Rune Christensen of MakerDAO: Part 1: https://unchainedpodcast.com/rune-christensen-of-makerdao-part-1-how-to-keep-a-crypto-collateralized-stablecoin-afloat/ Part 2: https://unchainedpodcast.com/rune-christensen-of-makerdao-part-2-how-dai-stayed-at-1-while-eth-crashed-from-1400-to-85/ MakerDAO vulnerabilities:  ETH could have been stolen: https://hackerone.com/reports/684092 https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2019/10/03/makerdao-security-vulnerability-ethereum-dai-stablecoin-collapse-theft-cryptocurrency/  The LAO: https://medium.com/openlawofficial/the-lao-a-for-profit-limited-liability-autonomous-organization-9eae89c9669c Critique of the LAO: https://prestonbyrne.com/2019/09/03/the-lao-demystified/ MakerDAO launching multi-collateral Dai: https://www.coindesk.com/makerdaos-multi-collateral-dai-token-is-launching-nov-18 https://blog.makerdao.com/breaking-launch-date-of-multi-collateral-dai-announced-at-devcon-5/ Are DAO’s legal? https://www.coindesk.com/new-interest-in-daos-prompts-old-question-are-they-legal Unconfirmed interview with Uniswap: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-uniswap-quickly-became-one-of-the-most-popular-dexes/ Unconfirmed episode with Ryan Zurrer about resurrecting the DAO: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-ryan-zurrer-would-like-to-see-a-new-dao/ Unchained interview with Aragon: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-aragon-hopes-to-improve-on-democracy/...more

  Episode

• Fed Economist on the Prospect of the USD Losing Global Reserve Status: 'Who Cares?' - Ep.140

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  Oct 08 2019

  David Andolfatto, senior vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, gives his thoughts on Facebook's Libra, including why regulatory issues will make it hard to compete with the US dollar, and why Bitcoin wouldn't have such issues. He also says, "who cares?" about the US dollar losing global reserve status, pointing out that many prosperous countries have currencies that don't function as global reserves. He tells us how he would design a central bank digital currency, and why, even if central banks enabled citizens to open accounts with them, thus bypassing commercial banks, it wouldn't drive banks out of business. We also cover how that could affect fractional reserve banking and credit creation, the People's Bank of China's soon-to-be-issued digital yuan, and why blockchains haven't yet substantially helped the unbanked, as they were originally touted to do. Thank you to our sponsors!  Kraken: https://www.kraken.com CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Crypto.com:  https://crypto.com Episode links:  St. Louis Federal Reserve: https://www.stlouisfed.org David Andolfatto: https://research.stlouisfed.org/econ/andolfatto/sel/ David's blog: http://andolfatto.blogspot.com Letter from House Reps to Fed Chair Jerome Powell: https://static.coindesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Foster-Hill-US-Crypto.pdf Talk on blockchain, cryptocurrency and central banks: https://www.stlouisfed.org/dialogue-with-the-fed/blockchain https://www.stlouisfed.org/~/media/files/pdfs/dwtf/blockchain_082918.pdf?la=en Blog post on cost efficiency of a centrally managed ledger: http://andolfatto.blogspot.com/2017/12/fedcoin-and-blockchain.html?spref=tw David’s paper on the impact of central bank digital currency private banks: https://s3.amazonaws.com/real.stlouisfed.org/wp/2018/2018-026.pdf Raskin and Yermack paper: https://ccl.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Raskin_Max_and_Yermack_David_The%20Future%20of%20Central%20Banking.pdf David on FedCoin: http://andolfatto.blogspot.com/2015/02/fedcoin-on-desirability-of-government.html  Philadelphia Federal Reserve banker Patrick Harker on a G20 CBDC being inevitable: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-harker-digital/feds-harker-digital-central-bank-currency-inevitable-idUSKBN1WH1L4 Related Unchained interview: Dong He and Yan Liu on central bank digital currencies: https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-imf-on-how-to-design-central-bank-digital-currencies/...more

  Episode

• Crypto in China: What It Really Looks Like - Ep.139

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  Oct 01 2019

  Emily Parker, cofounder of Longhash, describes what the company, which has an Asia-focused incubator and data media site does, how she ended up launching an Asia-focused company, why she’s seeing US crypto teams and ICOs going to Singapore, why the Chinese government cracked down on crypto, and what misconceptions she sees about crypto in China. She explains how the Chinese still trade Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies despite the ban, why Tether plays a big role, how the China ban has affected crypto entrepreneurship and how the upcoming People's Bank of China digital currency could impact crypto. We also discuss how the attitude toward crypto has changed in Japan over time, why so many crypto teams are settling in Singapore, and whether or not the philosophies of censorship-resistance or decentralization resonate in China.  Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com Kraken: https://www.kraken.com CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links:  Longhash: LongHash.com Longhash's Twitter: https://twitter.com/longhashdata Emily Parker: Emilyparkerwrites.com Emily Parker on Twitter: https://twitter.com/emilydparker Emily Parker on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-parker-738034142/ Longhash's incubator: https://incubator.longhash.com BTC trading by US EST and PST vs. China: https://www.longhash.com/news/american-traders-lead-on-bitcoin-rally-while-asian-traders-not-so-bullish Bitcoin metrics on Longhash: https://www.longhash.com/livecharts/bitcoin-social-metrics Emily's interview with SEC commissioner Hester Peirce: https://www.longhash.com/news/in-cryptocurrency-will-asia-surpass-the-us-exclusive-interview-with-sec-commissioner-hester-peirce Unchained interview with commissioner Peirce: https://unchainedpodcast.com/sec-commissioner-hester-peirce-come-talk-to-the-sec/ Longhash article showing more ICOs in Singapore than in US in Q1 2018: https://www.longhash.com/news/how-singapore-became-asias-ico-hub Longhash's graphic showing money transmitter laws in the US: https://www.longhash.com/news/is-cryptocurrency-money-depends-on-your-state Longhash on ICOs fleeing the US: https://www.longhash.com/news/after-years-of-regulatory-uncertainty-icos-are-fleeing-the-united-states Unchained interview with Primitive Ventures: https://unchainedpodcast.com/asia-edition-mining-a-crypto-yuan-and-the-two-main-reasons-the-chinese-are-interested-in-crypto-ep-102/ Unchained interview with Da Hongfei and Patrick Dai (not Lai!): https://unchainedpodcast.com/from-blockchains-to-mooncakes-two-chinese-crypto-founders-on-the-ico-and-bitcoin-exchanges-ban/ Unchained interview with CZ of Binance: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-binance-became-the-most-popular-crypto-exchange-in-5-months-ep-84/ Emily's interview with Coincheck's president: https://www.longhash.com/news/lessons-from-the-largest-crypto-hack-in-history-exclusive-interview-with-coincheck-president-toshihiko-katsuya Longhash deck of cards of crypto players: https://www.longhash.com/news/fiftyfour-players-in-the-blockchain-industry-transformed-into-a-real-deck-of-cards...more

  Episode

• Spencer Bogart on the $20 Trillion in Store-of-Value Assets - Ep.138

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  Sep 24 2019

  Spencer Bogart, general partner at Blockchain Capital, the first VC firm to tokenize one of its funds, talks about how well offering tokenized shares has worked out, why it didn't do so for the following fund, the appeal of security tokens generally and what advantages tokenized securities offer over non-blockchain platforms like Second Market, in which investors can trade shares in private companies. He also explains what entrepreneurs are looking for from VCs now that they have more ways to raise from the crowd, how Blockchain Capital decides between investing in equity vs. tokens when there is an option, and why the firm believes there will only be five or fewer dominant blockchains. He describes why he thinks it's likely Bitcoin will take the lion's share of the market, noting its $200 billion market cap vs. the $20 trillion in other store-of-value assets such as gold, real estate and art, and whether or not it's possible to invest in Lightning, the second layer built on top of Bitcoin. We also cover the Bitcoin ETF proposals, stablecoins, how crypto might take off in video games and its 66x return within two years on its investment in Block.One.  Thank you to our sponsors! Simbachain: https://simbachain.com Kraken: https://kraken.com CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links:  Blockchain Capital: https://blockchain.capital/ Spencer Bogart: https://twitter.com/CremeDeLaCrypto Unchained interview with Brock Pierce: https://unchainedpodcast.com/this-vc-is-sure-venture-capital-is-about-to-be-disrupted/ BCAP Q2 Nav: https://blockchainloop.com/blockchain-capital-releases-q2-2019-bcap-token-nav/ Upgrading of BCAP to Securitize platform: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/09/04/1565117/0/en/BCAP-Tokens-to-be-Upgraded-Utilizing-Securitize-Platform.html Funding of Securitize: https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-backs-security-token-startups-12-75-million-funding-round Blockchain Capital’s fourth fund: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blockchain-capital-closes-fund-iv-at-150-million-300617495.html Story about Blockchain Capital trying to separate itself from Brock Pierce: https://decrypt.co/6876/is-blockchain-capital-trying-to-scrub-co-founder-and-mighty-ducks-star-brock-pierce-from-its-history Interview with Brock Pierce in which he describes leaving Blockchain Capital: https://hackernoon.com/brock-pierce-interview-tales-from-the-bitcoin-floor-e479693a49bd Lightning Network statistics: https://bitcoinvisuals.com/lightning Tweets from LNBig on how they earned $0.10-$0.30 a day on Lightning fees: https://twitter.com/lnbig_com/status/1163055682964348934?s=20 https://twitter.com/lnbig_com/status/1159538637597487104?s=20 LNBig on how they spent $1,000 or so to open their Lightning channels: https://www.reddit.com/r/btc/comments/bxh0ny/lightning_network_capacity_takes_a_sudden_dive/eq9x4i9/ Profitability of running a lightning node: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/a9dmzw/how_profitable_is_running_a_lightning_node/ Letter to the SEC: https://blockchain.capital/examining-bitcoins-valued-attributes-a-letter-to-the-sec/ Blog post about Bitcoin’s likely dominance: https://blockchain.capital/the-past-future-of-blockchain-where-were-going-and-why/ Spencer's Reddit post with questions/concerns about MakerDAO: https://www.reddit.com/r/MakerDAO/comments/asb9n6/a_couple_questions_concerns_about_maker_and_mkr/ + tweetstorm: https://twitter.com/cremedelacrypto/status/1103428046621618178...more

  Episode

• Olga Feldmeier on Why Switzerland Has Welcomed Crypto - Ep.137

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  Sep 17 2019

  Olga Feldmeier, CEO of SmartValor, describes how her upbringing in Ukraine when it was undergoing 10,000% and 5,000% annual inflation helped her understand the potential in Bitcoin years later, and helped her connect with Wences Casares, CEO of Xapo. She also talks about how Xapo was able to get regulated in Switzerland, without having to get a banking license, and why she believes Switzerland has been open to the crypto industry. She explains why she is now focused on security tokens and tokenizing other real-world assets with her venture SmartValor, why it is also licensed in Lichtenstein, why it is aiming to make South Korea its second home, and what her view is on Facebook's Libra.  Thank you to our sponsors! Simbachain: https://simbachain.com Kraken: https://www.kraken.com CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links:  Smart Valor: https://smartvalor.com/en/ Olga Feldmeier: https://twitter.com/OlgaFeldmeier Forbes interview with Olga: https://www.forbes.com/sites/montymunford/2018/07/30/qa-with-olga-feldmeier-cryptoqueen-and-ceo-smart-valor/#e3a3c9f3bcd1 Untold Stories interview with Olga (episode 14): https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/untoldstories?selected=BWG5775450315 Xapo receives approval to operate as a financial intermediary in Switzerland: https://blog.xapo.com/xapo-regulatory-status-in-switzerland/ SmartValor white paper: https://res.smartvalor.com/public/SMART-VALOR-WhitePaper.pdf SmartValor launches in Switzerland: https://www.coindesk.com/smart-valor-launches-regulated-crypto-exchange-in-switzerlandBusiness Insider interview on tokenizing physical objects:  https://www.businessinsider.com/smart-valor-ceo-tokenization-of-everything-icos-bitcoin-future-value-2018-1 Smart Valor makes South Korea its second home: https://news.smartvalor.com/korea-update/...more

  Episode

• Why LocalBitcoins Stopped Cash Trades and Has a New CEO - Ep.136

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  Sep 10 2019

  Sebastian Sonntag, the new CEO of LocalBitcoins, and Mika Impola, software developer at LocalBitcoins, explain why the peer-to-peer bitcoin trading company has a new CEO, why it stopped cash trades and what kind of response they've received from the community about it. They describe how the service works, how it has changed over time, the range of payment options available amongst sellers on the site, and how peer-to-peer trading differs from country to country. Plus, we cover why it suspended buying in Iran, how regulation is changing the site in general, how it handles forks and what Sonngtag's plans are for the company. Thank you to our sponsors! Simbachain: https://simbachain.com/ Kraken: https://kraken.com/ CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: LocalBitcoins: https://localbitcoins.com/ LocalBitcoins blog: https://localbitcoins.com/blog/ LocalBitcoins names a new CEO: https://localbitcoins.com/blog/localbitcoins-names-a-new-ceo/ LocalBitcoins stops cash trades: https://www.coindesk.com/localbitcoins-removes-cash-for-crypto-trading-option New Finnish AML regulations: https://localbitcoins.com/blog/aml-features-update/  LocalBitcoins’ new ID verification system: https://localbitcoins.com/blog/id-verification-update/  LocalBitcoins trading volume across countries: https://coin.dance/volume/localbitcoins LocalBitcoins trading in Venezuela: https://coin.dance/volume/localbitcoins/VES/BTC LocalBitcoins suspends buying in Iran: https://www.coindesk.com/localbitcoins-bans-bitcoin-buying-in-iran-in-blow-to-rising-crypto-commerce Bitcoin Cash hard fork decision: https://localbitcoins.com/blog/bitcoin-bcash/ Bitcoin Maven: https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-bitcoin-sentencing-20180709-story.html Hack on LocalBitcoins forums: https://www.coindesk.com/localbitcoins-reveals-security-breach-with-some-crypto-wallets-affected...more

  Episode

• How Aragon Hopes to Improve on Democracy - Ep.135

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  Sep 03 2019

  Luis Cuende, the CEO of Aragon One, describes the Aragon Network, how it aims to create new systems better for human coordination and the roles of the various parts of the ecosystem, such as Aragon One, the Aragon Association, the Aragon Court, Aragon Nest and the Aragon Network token. He describes the various parts of the Aragon Network, such as a finance app and voting app, how the network can be used both by decentralized organizations as well as centralized companies, and how he thinks decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) interact with real-world legal jurisdictions. We discuss how disputes are handled in Aragon, what the token, ANT, is used for, and why Aragon is contemplating building its own blockchain instead of sitting atop Ethereum, as it currently does. We also talk about how Aragon is governed, how it hopes to someday decentralize its governance and other ways Aragon can reach Cuende's ideal governance. Plus, we cover a few controversial votes in Aragon and the role of whales in such systems.  Thank you to our sponsors! Simbachain: https://simbachain.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com/ CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Aragon Network: https://aragon.org/network/ Luis Cuende: https://twitter.com/licuende?lang=en Aragon white paper: https://github.com/aragon/whitepaper Breaker Mag article about Aragon: https://breakermag.com/can-aragon-make-decentralized-autonomous-governance-work/ Vitalik Buterin's proposals on DAICOs: https://ethresear.ch/t/explanation-of-daicos/465 Aragon Governance Proposals (AGP): https://github.com/aragon/AGPs/blob/master/AGPs/AGP-1.md Vote against funding Polkadot: https://www.coindesk.com/voters-on-ethereum-app-veto-proposal-to-fund-polkadot-blockchain Unchained episode about Polkadot: https://unchainedpodcast.com/paritys-jutta-steiner-and-gavin-wood-on-polkadot-substrate-and-the-frozen-funds/ Unchained episode about Ethereum 2.0: https://unchainedpodcast.com/vitalik-buterin-on-whether-or-not-ethereum-is-blowing-it/ Unchained episode with Ameen Soleimani of MolochDAO: https://unchainedpodcast.com/molochdao-could-this-decentralized-autonomous-organization-help-ethereum-scale-faster/ Stats on Aragon: https://scout.cool/aragon/mainnet Unchained episode about Melon protocol: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-melon-could-make-asset-management-easier/ Autark, the decentralized SpaceX: https://www.autark.xyz...more

  Episode

• After Years of Secret Work, Decred Adds a New Feature: Privacy - Ep.134

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  Aug 27 2019

  Jonathan Zeppettini, international ops lead and chief evangelist for Decred, aka "Decred Jesus," announces the launch of the coin's privacy feature. He first describes how Decred came out of some developers' frustrations of trying to work with Bitcoin Core developers, and how that led them to realize a couple of issues with Bitcoin's governance around the funding of development and giving other stakeholders a say in the development of the coin. He explains how Decred addresses those issues, how governance in Decred works, what tickets are used for in the system and why it uses a hybrid POW/POS system. We discuss the comparatively high participation rates in Decred, how it's resistant to contentious hard forks, and what Politeia is. Plus, he gives the scoop on Decred's new privacy feature, how it works, why it was developed in secret, and how the plan to make it more decentralized in the future. Plus, he talks about how Decred plans to decentralize its own governance.  Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com Kraken: https://www.kraken.com CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Decred: https://decred.org Jonathan Zeppettini: https://twitter.com/jz_bz Decred in brief: https://decred.org/brief/ Jacob’s 2015 post on the challenges with Bitcoin: https://blog.companyzero.com/2015/11/bitcoins-biggest-challenges/ Placeholder VC on why it invested in Decred: https://www.placeholder.vc/blog/2018/5/12/decred-investment-thesis?rq=decred Smith and Crown's Decred report: https://sci.smithandcrown.com/research/decred-report Voting in Decred: https://storage.googleapis.com/smithandcrown-asset-engine-prod/images/voting-cycle.original.png Politeia: https://blog.decred.org/2017/10/25/Politeia/ CoinDesk article on Politeia: https://www.coindesk.com/one-of-investors-favorite-governance-blockchains-is-handing-over-20-million DiceMix “paper”: https://www.ndss-symposium.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/ndss201701-4ruffingSlides.pdf  Brave New Coin post: https://bravenewcoin.com/insights/decred-price-analysis-a-sustained-increase-in-mining-activity-2  Coinbase may list Decred: https://blog.coinbase.com/coinbase-continues-to-explore-support-for-new-digital-assets-4d2ecbcbd38c ...more

  Episode

• Sandra Ro: Why Crypto-Friendly Laws Are Coming in the US - Ep.133

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  Aug 20 2019

  Sandra Ro, the CEO of the Global Blockchain Business Council and former head of digitization at CME, explains what the GBBC does, how it chooses partners, and what level of involvement they have with projects under the GBBC umbrella. We discuss some of the more controversial projects, such as the Voatz pilot that conducted election voting using blockchain technology, as well as how she responds to people saying many "blockchain" projects could instead use a database. She also reveals why she believes that the US will eventually lead the world on crypto regulation, why she thinks that there's strength in the fragmentation in US regulations and what she thinks is the best way forward on the BitLicense. Plus, she gives us the inside scoop on what it took for her to get CME to launch Bitcoin futures.  Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Sandra Ro: https://twitter.com/srolondon GBBC: https://gbbcouncil.org/ Previous Unchained interview with Sandra: https://unchainedpodcast.com/what-is-one-of-the-worlds-largest-derivatives-exchanges-doing-with-bitcoin/  Controversy over Voatz: https://slate.com/technology/2019/07/west-virginia-blockchain-voting-voatz.html Episode with Jake Chervinsky: https://unchainedpodcast.com/all-things-crypto-regulation-with-jake-chervinsky/ Jeremy Allaire on Unconfirmed on why the US needs a new category for digital assets: https://unchainedpodcast.com/jeremy-allaire-on-why-the-us-government-needs-a-new-category-for-digital-assets/ Fred Wilson on crypto regulation in the US: https://avc.com/2019/05/defendcrypto-org/ Ted Livingston on why Kik set up DefendCrypto.org: https://unchainedpodcast.com/kin-sets-up-5-million-defendcrypto-org-to-take-on-the-sec/ Unchained interview with Juthica Chou: https://unchainedpodcast.com/ledgerx-on-the-reasons-to-trade-bitcoin-options/ Patent for physically settled cryptocurrency derivatives contracts: https://www.coindesk.com/cme-explores-cryptocurrency-derivatives-contracts-in-patent-filing Ro named to New York State Digital Currency Task Force: https://www.coindesk.com/new-york-legislature-names-initial-members-to-crypto-task-force The Libra Association's Dante Disparte on Unconfirmed: https://unchainedpodcast.com/libras-dante-disparte-on-why-we-should-trust-a-financial-system-designed-by-facebook/...more

  Episode

• The IMF on How to Design Central Bank Digital Currencies - Ep.132

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  Aug 13 2019

  Dong He, deputy director of the monetary and capital markets department of the IMF, and Yan Liu, Assistant General Counsel at the legal department of the IMF, talk about central bank digital currencies (CBDCs): the current level of interest among central banks in issuing them, what concerns they need to address when designing them, and how commercial banks might be affected, depending on the design of the CBDC. We discuss how privacy could be built into such a currency while also fulfilling anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financial regulations and how a CBDC could affect the IMF's ability to achieve its goal of financial inclusion. Plus, we also cover how crypto assets being widely adopted could influence economies, as well as Facebook's Libra.   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: IMF: https://www.imf.org/  Dong He: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donghe Yan Liu: https://blogs.imf.org/bloggers/yan-liu/  Speech by IMF managing director Christine Lagarde on the case for new digital currency: https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2018/11/13/sp111418-winds-of-change-the-case-for-new-digital-currency  He’s speech on monetary policy in the digital age: https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2018/06/central-bank-monetary-policy-and-cryptocurrencies/he.htm Article on how crypto assets could reduce the demand for central bank money: https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2018/06/central-bank-monetary-policy-and-cryptocurrencies/he.pdf   The IMF on Libra: https://www.imf.org/~/media/Files/Publications/FTN063/2019/English/FTNEA2019001.ashx Unconfirmed episode with Michael Casey on why it would be good if Libra rivaled the US dollar: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-it-would-be-good-if-libra-rivaled-the-us-dollar/ Also check out this Unchained episode from the Oslo Freedom Forum, which dived deeply into the issues around privacy vs. keeping out bad actors: https://unchainedpodcast.com/oslo-freedom-forum-2019-protecting-financial-freedoms-in-the-digital-age/ And this Unchained episode with Alex Gladstein of the Human Rights Foundation, which covered similar issues: https://unchainedpodcast.com/alex-gladstein-of-the-human-rights-foundation-on-the-3-reasons-bitcoin-matters/...more

  Episode

• All Things Crypto Regulation With Jake Chervinsky - Ep.131

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  Aug 06 2019

  Jake Chervinsky, general counsel at Compound, goes over a plethora of crypto regulatory issues, such as those related to securities law such as the SEC vs. Kik case, Ripple, stablecoins, no-action letters, Blockstack and more. We also discuss whether there should be one regulator for crypto matters in the US, whether it makes sense to create a new category for digital assets instead of applying laws for securities, commodities, etc., to digital tokens, and why he thinks Libra will likely not launch in its proposed form. He also gives his odds on a Bitcoin ETF being approved soon, talks about the tension between privacy and financial regulation and  reveals what he thinks is the biggest regulatory issue in DeFi that no one's talking about. Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links:  Jake Chervinsky: https://twitter.com/jchervinsky Compound: https://compound.finance/ Unchained interview with Compound CEO Robert Leshner: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-youll-earn-interest-on-your-crypto-with-compound-ep-82/  Unchained with Ted Livingston of Kik about its intention to fight the SEC in court: https://unchainedpodcast.com/kin-sets-up-5-million-defendcrypto-org-to-take-on-the-sec/ Kik's Wells response: https://www.kin.org/wells_response.pdf  SEC no-action letter to Quarters: https://www.coindesk.com/sec-clears-blockchain-gaming-startup-to-sell-quarters-tokens  SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce on the first no-action letter for a token: https://www.sec.gov/news/speech/peirce-how-we-howey-050919  Unconfirmed episode on Blockstack’s Reg A+ filing: https://unchainedpodcast.com/blockstacks-reg-a-filing-and-the-future-of-token-offerings%e2%80%8b/   Decrypt article on issues with issuing a token under Reg A+: https://decrypt.co/7839/blockstack-token-offering-historic-but-dance-with-sec-far-from-over  How much Ripple has sold recently: https://twitter.com/lawmaster/status/1154276254775947264?s=20 Jake’s tweet storm on the Libra hearings in Congress: https://twitter.com/jchervinsky/status/1151875713903005697?s=20 Jeremy Allaire’s testimony to Congress: https://www.banking.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Allaire%20Testimony%207-30-19.pdf Unchained interview with Jeremy Allaire on regulations: https://unchainedpodcast.com/jeremy-allaire-on-why-the-us-government-needs-a-new-category-for-digital-assets/ Push for new crypto regulations:  https://www.wsj.com/articles/lawmakers-push-for-new-bitcoin-rules-11562405401 Tax issues: https://fortune.com/2019/07/29/here-comes-the-irs-the-ledger/ Bitcoin ETF: https://twitter.com/jchervinsky/status/1111734963798458369?s=20  Jake’s tweet storm on Bakkt: https://twitter.com/jchervinsky/status/1059828623471972354?fbclid=IwAR259I8Q2NSNmQ_PEb6l__XatWhmqj9U8gocHRoeb-JXizviI9T62rMuQC8 The latest on Bakkt: https://www.coindesk.com/bakkt-is-supposed-to-start-testing-its-bitcoin-futures-contracts-today Sanctions coming to crypto: https://www.coindesk.com/get-ready-for-crypto-sanctions-enforcement ...more

  Episode

• LedgerX on the Reasons to Trade Bitcoin Options - Ep.130

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  Jul 30 2019

  Juthica Chou, chief operating officer of LedgerX, talks about the company's new license to offer its derivatives to retail investors and the resulting platform, Omni. She walks through what call and put options are, how they work and why people and companies purchase them as opposed to just buying or selling bitcoin directly. We discuss why LedgerX believes physically settled bitcoin options are superior to cash-settled ones, how LedgerX handles hard forks, and other contracts focused on the technicals of crypto networks it could offer such as its halving contract. Plus, she describes what it was like to be building a Bitcoin-centered company during the "blockchain not Bitcoin" era.  Sign up for the Virtues of the Crypto Revolution retreat with me, Meltem Demirors of CoinShares and Jalak Jobanputra of Future Perfect Ventures at Omega Institute!! Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links:  LedgerX: https://www.ledgerx.com Juthica Chou: https://twitter.com/juthica  LedgerX blog posts introducing Omni: https://blog.ledgerx.com/the-long-game/ https://blog.ledgerx.com/introducing-omni-powered-by-ledgerx/ https://www.coindesk.com/cftc-approves-ledgerx-to-settle-futures-in-real-bitcoin https://www.coindesk.com/ledgerx-reveals-bid-to-beat-bakkt-to-physical-bitcoin-futures-launch CNBC interview with Ari Paul about why he bought $50,000 Bitcoin call option: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/12/26/man-behind-massive-bet-that-bitcoin-could-hit-50000.html Cheddar interview: more opportunity with the retail market:  https://cheddar.com/media/ledgerx-wins-u-s-regulatory-approval-to-trade-bitcoin-futures Bitcoin halving contract: https://blog.ledgerx.com/a-new-type-of-contract-for-a-new-type-of-asset/ https://www.coindesk.com/ledgerx-unveils-betting-market-for-2020s-bitcoin-block-reward-halving Ledger on how to it would handle the Bitcoin Gold hard fork: https://www.ledgerx.com/s/LedgerX-LLC-Notice-to-Participants-2017-10.pdf Call option for $100k Bitcoin by December 2020: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-16/anybody-can-now-bet-on-bitcoin-100-000-with-new-call-options Unchained interview with Dan Morehead of Pantera Capital: https://unchainedpodcast.com/pantera-capital-how-bitcoin-could-reach-356000-in-a-few-years/ Cboe stops listing Bitcoin fuures: https://www.coindesk.com/cboe-puts-brakes-on-bitcoin-futures-listing https://www.wsj.com/articles/cboe-abandons-bitcoin-futures-11552914001 Why CME’s futures saw more volume than Cboe’s: https://www.coindesk.com/cme-cboe-bitcoin-futures How Bitcoin futures will be taxed: https://blog.ledgerx.com/less-taxation-with-digitization/ Doomschain clock/attitude toward private blockchains: https://blog.ledgerx.com/updating-the-doomschain-clock/ Oracle blog post: https://blog.ledgerx.com/how-to-talk-to-the-oracle/...more

  Episode

• Pantera Capital: How Bitcoin Could Reach $356,000 in a Few Years - Ep.129

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  Jul 23 2019

  Dan Morehead, founder and CEO of Pantera Capital, and Joey Krug, co-chief investment officer of Pantera and founder of Augur, discuss where we are in the development cycle of blockchain technology, how Bitcoin, if stays on past trend lines, could hit $42,000 by year's end and $356,000 a couple years after that, and why the biggest challenges now are around scaling and onboarding. We also cover what the adoption of the technology will mean long-term — how creating assets and markets will no longer be the realm of a privileged view — but why payments may be one of the last areas to be disrupted. Morehead and Krug also talk about how Libra walks the line between decentralized and centralized, and it's unclear how Libra will become decentralized. Plus, hear how they respond to questions about the SEC vs. Kik.  Sign up for the Virtues of the Crypto Revolution retreat with me, Meltem Demirors of CoinShares and Jalak Jobanputra of Future Perfect Ventures at Omega Institute!!  Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com/ Kraken: https://www.kraken.com CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Pantera Capital: https://www.panteracapital.com Dan Morehead: https://twitter.com/dan_pantera Joey Krug: https://twitter.com/joeykrug Dan Morehead on Unconfirmed: https://unchainedpodcast.com/dan-morehead-of-pantera-capital-on-why-this-crypto-winter-is-different/ Unchained with Joey Krug: https://unchainedpodcast.com/joey-krug-on-how-augur-is-like-any-other-tool-ep-79/ A Crypto Thesis: https://medium.com/@PanteraCapital/a-crypto-thesis-47eaacf861ca Unconfirmed about Congressional hearings on Libra: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-the-congressional-hearings-on-facebooks-libra-were-good-for-bitcoin/ Unconfirmed about why it would be good if Libra rivaled the USD: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-it-would-be-good-if-libra-rivaled-the-us-dollar/ Unconfirmed with Dante Disparte of the Libra Association: https://unchainedpodcast.com/libras-dante-disparte-on-why-we-should-trust-a-financial-system-designed-by-facebook/ Some crypto industry players fed up with US regulators: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2019/05/29/crypto-companies-and-investors-fed-up-with-the-sec/#3f348ad7701c The SEC vs. Kik: https://unchainedpodcast.com/kin-sets-up-5-million-defendcrypto-org-to-take-on-the-sec/ Bitcoin ETF: https://www.cryptoglobe.com/latest/2018/10/pantera-capital-ceo-sec-doesnt-want-widows-and-orphans-buying-bitcoin-etfs-i-think-an-etf-is-years-away/...more

  Episode

• How to Keep Your Crypto From Being Stolen Via Your Phone - Ep.128

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  Jul 16 2019

  Rich Sanders, cofounder and chief security officer of CipherBlade, and Harry Denley, director of security of MyCrypto.com, discuss the phone porting phenomenon: who's behind these thefts, how they perpetrate them, who is targeted, how to recognize the signs you're a victim and how to the hackers are adapting to people protecting themselves. They cover how you can protect yourself, which accounts to protect, what kinds of email addresses and numbers to set up, how to set them up, how to separate them from anything valuable, and which two-factor authentication methods could work instead. Plus, they go over how to report a theft, to whom you should report, and what information to include. Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.com Kraken: https://kraken.com CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links:  MyCrypto: https://mycrypto.com/ https://twitter.com/MyCrypto https://medium.com/mycrypto CipherBlade: https://cipherblade.com The SIM Swapping Bible: https://medium.com/mycrypto/what-to-do-when-sim-swapping-happens-to-you-1367f296ef4d My Forbes story covering the phone hijacking phenomenon: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2016/12/20/hackers-have-stolen-millions-of-dollars-in-bitcoin-using-only-phone-numbers/#1964ddb738ba Michael Terpin, awarded $75 million in case after losing $24 million in crypto: https://www.coindesk.com/crypto-investor-awarded-over-75-million-in-sim-swapping-hack-case Cody Brown who lost $8,000 on Coinbase due to a phone hijacking: https://medium.com/@CodyBrown/how-to-lose-8k-worth-of-bitcoin-in-15-minutes-with-verizon-and-coinbase-com-ba75fb8d0bac BitGo engineer losing his money via SIM porting: https://medium.com/coinmonks/the-most-expensive-lesson-of-my-life-details-of-sim-port-hack-35de11517124...more

  Episode

• How the Caribbean Got on the Road to Central Bank Digital Currencies - Ep.127

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  Jul 09 2019

  Gabriel Abed, founder of Bitt.com and Vice President of the board of directors, describes how he went from mining Bitcoin to persuading governors of central banks to not quash Bitt's goal to create central bank digital currencies in the Caribbean and getting the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank to pilot one starting next year. He tells the tale of how Overstock came to invest in Bitt, how he brought on a new CEO to take over the company he founded, and how he teamed up with Polymath to create a new company that became the single largest shareholder of the Barbados Stock Exchange. He also describes Digital Asset Capital Management, an investment firm he launched, and why he's still a Bitcoin maximalist despite working on and investing in other types of cryptocurrencies.  Virtues of the Crypto Revolution retreat with Meltem Demirors of CoinShares and Jalak Jobanputra of Future Perfect Ventures: https://www.eomega.org/workshops/virtues-of-the-crypto-revolution Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com Kraken: https://www.kraken.com/ CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Bitt.com: https://www.bitt.com/ Gabriel Abed: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielabed/ mMoney in Barbados: https://www.mmoneybb.com/ Digital Asset Capital Management: https://dacm.io/ Overstock announces $4 million investment in Bitt.com, to total $16 million over time: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/overstock-invests-in-bitt-to-launch-official-digital-currencies-in-the-caribbean-islands-1459961581 Second Overstock investment in Bitt.com of $3 million: https://www.coindesk.com/overstock-venture-arm-invests-3-million-in-blockchain-payments-startup CoinDesk on the meaning of Bitt's work with the Barbadian digital dollar: https://www.coindesk.com/how-a-tiny-island-could-give-cryptocurrency-a-big-boost Bitt’s pilot with Eastern Caribbean Central Bank: https://www.coindesk.com/eastern-caribbean-central-bank-takes-step-toward-digital-currency-roll-out Partnership with Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten (CBCS) to look into issuing a central bank-backed digital currency for Curaçao and Sint Maarten: https://www.coindesk.com/bitt-partners-with-dutch-caribbean-islands-to-explore-central-bank-crypto Bitt's identity work: https://www.coindesk.com/bitt-reveals-big-plans-blockchain-powered-caribbean-settlement-network Crypto activity in Bermuda and the Caribbean:  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/29/technology/cryptocurrency-bermuda-malta-gibraltar.html Bermuda's crypto regulatory framework:  https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-bermuda-is-going-crypto-with-new-regulatory-framework-130512103.html Unchained interview with CZ of Binance: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-binance-became-the-most-popular-crypto-exchange-in-5-months-ep-84/ Unchained interview with Bitfury: https://unchainedpodcast.com/bitfury-on-the-ways-it-collaborates-with-governments-and-why-its-partnered-with-a-public-company/ Unchained interview with Sandra Ro: https://unchainedpodcast.com/what-is-one-of-the-worlds-largest-derivatives-exchanges-doing-with-bitcoin/ Unconfirmed interview with Dante Disparte: https://unchainedpodcast.com/libras-dante-disparte-on-why-we-should-trust-a-financial-system-designed-by-facebook/...more

  Episode

• How Asia's Trading Culture Results in a Vastly Different Crypto Scene - Ep.126

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  Jul 02 2019

  Luis Buenaventura, founder of Bloom Solutions, and Leo Weese, president of Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong, discuss the crypto scene in Asia — how it differs from that of the West, and how it differs within the region. We also cover the regulatory climate there, how Korean traders occasionally stuff their pockets with cash and hop flights to Hong Kong, and whether the Hong Kong protests have had any impact on interest in BItcoin. Leo and Luis also talk about Binance and what they think are the top crypto projects in the region. Plus, they reveal Asia's perception of Tron. LAST WEEK to take the Unchained Podcast survey! Help make Unchained better! Take our survey and enter the giveaway for a free Bitcoin lightning node and a yearlong Casa Gold membership, — including a multisig security app for iPhone and Android, a Trezor hardware wallet, a Casa faraday bag, and 24/7 support! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/unchainedsurvey2019 Thank you to our sponsors! Kraken: https://www.kraken.com CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Luis Buenaventura: https://twitter.com/helloluis Bloom: https://www.bloom.solutions/ Leo Weese: https://twitter.com/LeoAW The Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong: https://www.bitcoin.org.hk/ On Twitter: https://twitter.com/bitcoinorghk?lang=en Panel from the Oslo Freedom Forum, where I met Leo and Luis: https://unchainedpodcast.com/alex-gladstein-of-the-human-rights-foundation-on-the-3-reasons-bitcoin-matters/ Previous Asia scene episode: https://unchainedpodcast.com/asia-edition-mining-a-crypto-yuan-and-the-two-main-reasons-the-chinese-are-interested-in-crypto-ep-102/ Crypto Garage: https://cryptogarage.co.jp/en Bitspark: https://www.bitspark.io...more

  Episode

• Alex Gladstein of the Human Rights Foundation on the 3 Reasons Bitcoin Matters - Ep.125

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  Jun 25 2019

  In recent years, the Human Rights Foundation and Alex Gladstein, its chief strategy officer, have become forces in the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency community. In this episode, he discusses why Bitcoin is important for human rights, its three most important characteristics, and why Facebook's Libra project should be helpful to the adoption of the technology, at least in the short-term. He also describes how Bitcoin is just part of other movements that have become more open, such as governments shifting toward democracies and information becoming freer via the internet. He talks about how he thinks the technology can get wider adoption, why HRF supports the Open Money Initiative, and whether or not Bitcoin can help the North Korean people, rather than enriching its government, which has been the case so far.  Read the full show notes on Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2019/06/25/how-bitcoin-can-help-in-the-fight-for-human-rights/ Take the Unchained Podcast survey! Help make Unchained better! Take our survey and enter the giveaway for a free Bitcoin lightning node and a yearlong Casa Gold membership, — including a multisig security app for iPhone and Android, a Trezor hardware wallet, a Casa faraday bag, and 24/7 support! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/unchainedsurvey2019 Thank you to our sponsors! Kraken: https://www.kraken.com CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: The Human Rights Foundation: https://hrf.org/ Alex Gladstein: https://twitter.com/gladstein Last year's Unconfirmed episode with Alex: https://unchainedpodcast.com/alex-gladstein-of-the-human-rights-foundation-on-the-first-crypto-war-ep-021/ This year's panel discussion on finances and freedom from the Oslo Freedom Forum: https://unchainedpodcast.com/oslo-freedom-forum-2019-protecting-financial-freedoms-in-the-digital-age/ Alex's essay for Time on why Bitcoin matters for freedom: https://time.com/5486673/bitcoin-venezuela-authoritarian/ Alex's response to Bitcoin critics: https://medium.com/@alexgladstein/a-human-rights-activists-response-to-bitcoin-critics-d50e6760ee80 The Open Money Initiative: https://www.openmoneyinitiative.org/ https://www.coindesk.com/whats-holding-back-bitcoin-in-venezuela-this-group-is-investigating How Bitcoin could help improve foreign aid: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/23/perspectives/bitcoin-foreign-aid/index.html Unchained episode with Bill Tai:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/maitai-globals-bill-tai-on-why-blockchain-is-the-6th-wave-of-technology/ Eric Wall's posts on Bitcoin privacy and wallets: https://medium.com/human-rights-foundation-hrf/privacy-and-cryptocurrency-part-i-how-private-is-bitcoin-e3a4071f8fff https://medium.com/human-rights-foundation-hrf/privacy-and-cryptocurrency-part-ii-bitcoin-wallets-2f68099b055f What Bitcoin Did episode with Mahsa Alimardani: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/wbd-live-bitcoin-around-the-world-panel-at-the-oslo-freedom-forum Thae Yong Ho, the highest-ranking North Korean defector, at the Oslo Freedom Forum 2019: https://youtu.be/HmnBvsHl0qY?t=2662 Unchained episode with Jimmy Song: https://unchainedpodcast.com/jimmy-song-on-why-bitcoin-will-be-the-winning-cryptocurrency-ep-69/...more

  Episode

• Not Sure a Cryptoeconomic System Will Work? Gauntlet Can Help - Ep.124

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  Jun 18 2019

  Tarun Chitra, cofounder and CEO of Gauntlet, describes how his company enables crypto teams to run through simulations to see how their design choices will affect the project once it is trading. Using the cofounders' background in quantitative finance and high-frequency trading, Gauntlet uses tools from behavioral economics as well as game theory, plus real-world information such as exchange data to model outcomes after 100,000 blocks. We discuss how it makes its assumptions, how proof of stake differs from proof of work, and how the initial token distribution can affect the eventual concentration of tokens. He also reveals what design choice tends to have the greatest impact, as well as what main factor crypto teams aren't  thinking about that they should be. Plus, he talks about his involvement in the launch of Facebook's Libra project, and gives us his thoughts on the design choices Facebook made regarding the consensus algorithm, programming language and the structure of the coin. See the full show notes on Forbes! http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2019/06/18/how-to-make-cryptoeconomics-work-in-live-trading/ Take the Unchained Podcast survey! Help make Unchained better! Take our survey and enter the giveaway for a free Bitcoin lightning node and a yearlong Casa Gold membership, — including a multisig security app for iPhone and Android, a Trezor hardware wallet, a Casa faraday bag, and 24/7 support! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/unchainedsurvey2019 Thank you to our sponsors! Kraken: https://www.kraken.com CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode Links: Gauntlet: https://gauntlet.network Tarun Chitra: https://twitter.com/tarunchitra?lang=en Gauntlet blog posts: https://medium.com/gauntlet-networks?source=logo-23cfbaf25c9a Unchained episode with Olaf Carlson-Wee of Polychain from Consensus 2019: https://unchainedpodcast.com/to-the-moon-and-back-with-polychains-olaf-carlson-wee/ Zero Knowledge podcast episode with Tarun Chitra: https://www.zeroknowledge.fm/61...more

  Episode

• Oslo Freedom Forum 2019: Protecting Financial Freedoms in the Digital Age - Ep.123

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  Jun 11 2019

  In this panel, recorded at the Oslo Freedom Forum 2019, I moderated what an attendee described as a "lively" discussion on the relationship between finances and freedom with Bitcoin author and educator Jimmy Song; Alena Vranova, Head of Strategy at Casa; and Coin Center founder Jerry Brito. We talked about what it's like to live under a regime where people don’t have a lot of financial freedom, how the move to a cashless society is leading to a surveillance state, and how we're seeing the emergence of a corporate surveillance state. We talked about how cryptocurrency could bring us more financial freedom, how crypto is/should be regulated, privacy coins and the imminent Financial Action Task Forces rules that require crypto exchanges and other services send each other information on customers for each transaction. Plus, we discuss bad state actors using crypto. Read the show notes on Forbes! http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2019/06/11/how-bitcoin-and-cryptocurrencies-can-further-financial-freedom/ Help make Unchained better! Take our survey and enter the giveaway for a free Bitcoin lightning node and a yearlong Casa Gold membership, -- including a multisig security app for iPhone and Android, a Trezor hardware wallet, a Casa faraday bag, and 24/7 support! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/unchainedsurvey2019 Those of you interested in learning more about Casa, or about protecting your Bitcoin investment generally, should check out my interview with CEO Jeremy Welch. https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-casa-makes-it-harder-for-someone-to-steal-your-bitcoins/ Thank you to Casa for donating! Thank you to our sponsors! Kraken: https://www.kraken.com CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Oslo Freedom Forum: https://oslofreedomforum.com Human Rights Foundation: https://hrf.org Jimmy Song: https://twitter.com/jimmysong Alena Vranova: https://twitter.com/AlenaSatoshi Jerry Brito: https://twitter.com/jerrybrito Programming Blockchain: https://programmingblockchain.com Casa: https://keys.casa Coin Center: https://coincenter.org FATF rules: https://www.coindesk.com/beyond-kyc-global-regulators-appear-set-to-adopt-tough-new-rules-for-crypto-exchanges How regulation could spur the development of technology in the crypto space toward more P2P: Vitalik blog post on this: https://vitalik.ca/general/2019/05/09/control_as_liability.html Michael Casey on the topic: https://www.coindesk.com/the-cat-and-mouse-game-of-crypto-regulation-enters-a-new-phase...more

  Episode

• Peter Smith, CEO of Blockchain, on Its Dark Pool, Crypto Lending Operation and Intention to Go Public - Ep.122

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  Jun 04 2019

  Peter Smith, the CEO of Blockchain, discusses how the company got started, why the company is focused on users owning their own private keys and how that is what enables all the most interesting applications of blockchain technology. He talks about the full range of customers and markets they serve, their lending business and their dark pool. We also discuss regulation, SegWit, nation-states getting involved in crypto and why Blockchain plans to go public. Read more on Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2019/06/04/everything-interesting-in-crypto-relies-on-having-a-private-key/ Thank you to our sponsors! Kraken: https://www.kraken.com CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Peter Smith: https://twitter.com/OneMorePeter Blockchain: https://www.blockchain.com Wired article on the short period when cofounder Ben Reeves worked with Brian Armstrong: https://www.wired.com/2014/03/what-is-bitcoin/ Dovey Wan tweet on manipulative trade on Bitstamp/Bitmex: https://twitter.com/DoveyWan/status/1129246233917382656 Fortune article on Blockchain launching an exchange: http://fortune.com/2018/02/15/blockchain-google-coinbase/ SEC guidance mentioning airdrops: https://www.sec.gov/files/dlt-framework.pdf FinCen guidance mentioning hosted vs. unheated wallets: https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/2019-05/FinCEN%20Guidance%20CVC%20FINAL%20508.pdf Blockchain's Airdrop of XLM: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/2018/11/06/stellar-is-airdropping-125-million-to-blockchain-wallet-users/ The Wall Street exodus from crypto: https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2019/01/143834-is-the-exodus-from-wall-street-to-crypto-reversing-jamie-selway-leaves-blockchain/...more

  Episode

• Kin Sets Up $5 Million DefendCrypto.org to Take on the SEC - Ep.121

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  May 28 2019

  Ted Livingston, CEO of Kik and the founder of the Kin Foundation, and Patrick Gibbs, partner at Cooley, announce the formation of the $5 million DefendCrypto.org fund at Coinbase Custody to fight the SEC in court. Kik and Kin are hoping that a lawsuit would eventually result in a new Howey test for crypto tokens, to determine which ones are a security. In this episode, they explain has happened so far between them and the SEC to bring them to this point and what their main arguments are. Plus they defend themselves against some of the evidence against their case and we discuss what they can expect going forward. Read the full show notes on Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2019/05/28/kin-launches-5-million-defendcrypto-fund-to-take-on-the-sec/ Thank you to our sponsors! Kraken: Https://www.kraken.com CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: DefendCrypto: https://www.defendcrypto.org Kik: https://www.kik.com Kin: https://www.kin.org Ted Livingston: https://twitter.com/ted_livingston Patrick Gibbs of Cooley: https://www.cooley.com/people/patrick-gibbs Kik’s Wells response: https://www.kin.org/wells_response.pdf Kin white paper: https://www.kin.org/static/files/Kin_Whitepaper_V1_English.pdf The DAO report: https://www.sec.gov/litigation/investreport/34-81207.pdf Kathryn Haun of A16z Crypto's blog post: https://a16z.com/2019/05/15/kik-and-the-sec-whats-going-on-and-what-does-it-mean-for-crypto/ Importance of the Kik and Kin Foundation case by the Blockchain Association:  https://medium.com/@BlockchainAssoc/the-potential-kik-and-the-kin-foundation-case-has-major-consequences-for-the-open-blockchain-de8ed616a1c Breaker Mag on Kik's fight with the SEC: https://breakermag.com/how-kiks-looming-sec-fight-could-unfold-and-why-it-will-define-blockchains-future/ Video of Ted at the San Francisco Meetup: https://youtu.be/rqN7srwqRf8 https://www.theblockcrypto.com/2019/01/31/video-shows-kik-ceo-discussing-ico-pre-sale-it-will-become-super-valuable/ Kik chooses Stellar: https://www.coindesk.com/two-chains-no-more-kik-selects-stellar-over-ethereum-for-crypto-token-launch Kik chooses Stellar and Ethereum: https://www.coindesk.com/ethereum-and-stellar-mobile-messenger-kik-embraces-two-blockchains Next Web story: https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2018/12/06/kik-kin-cryptocurrency-blockchain-2/ Kik pre-sale: https://www.coindesk.com/mobile-messenger-kik-raises-50-million-ahead-75-million-ico https://www.coindesk.com/why-big-investors-are-betting-real-money-on-a-kik-cryptocurrency SEC Framework: https://www.sec.gov/corpfin/framework-investment-contract-analysis-digital-assets Token Taxonomy Act: https://medium.com/@BlockchainAssoc/the-token-taxonomy-act-is-back-and-we-need-it-more-than-ever-d2cbf0154776...more

  Episode

• How to Trade on Crypto Exchanges Without Fear of Hacks - Ep.120

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  May 21 2019

  Sharon Goldberg, CEO of Arwen and Boston University computer science professor, describes how the protocol enables people to trade on crypto exchanges without making their coins vulnerable to exchange hacks, how this differs from trading on a decentralized exchange, and how Arwen would function if the exchange you were using on was hacked during a trade. She also discusses how Arwen works with any custody solution, how they choose which coins to support and what other features they are considering adding in the future. Read the full show notes on Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2019/05/21/how-to-trade-on-crypto-exchanges-without-your-coins-getting-hacked/ On May 27th I will be hosting a conversation about the future of finance and human rights at the Oslo Freedom Forum in Norway. As the world continues to move toward a cashless society, paper currency is disappearing. Companies like Facebook, Apple, and TenCent are becoming increasingly influential in the digital payment space. We'll discuss how individuals and companies can preserve and protect financial freedoms in the digital age. I'll be joined by Bitcoin author and educator Jimmy Song; Casa chief technology officer Alena Vranova; and CoinCenter founder Jerry Brito. To register to attend, you can visit oslofreedomforum.com today -- use discount code "unchained25" to get 25% off your ticket price! Thank you to our sponsor: CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Arwen: https://www.arwen.io Sharon Goldberg: https://twitter.com/goldbe How Arwen prevents exit scams: https://medium.com/arwensecure/how-arwen-prevents-exit-scams-55d1a9de32b How Arwen protects traders from a hacked exchange: https://medium.com/arwensecure/unleashing-mt-fox-4e8b20a11dea Forbes article on Arwen: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ktorpey/2019/01/28/this-startup-is-fixing-the-biggest-security-hole-in-bitcoin-exchanges/#5f68d5905812 The Block on Arwen: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/2019/02/05/a-startup-is-launching-a-solution-that-protects-users-from-exchange-hacks/ https://www.coindesk.com/crypto-startup-wants-you-to-trade-on-exchanges-without-trusting-them Kucoin launching Arwen: https://www.coindesk.com/kucoin-exchange-traders-can-now-self-custody-their-crypto-assets...more

  Episode

• Parity's Jutta Steiner and Gavin Wood on Polkadot, Substrate and the Frozen Funds - Ep.119

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  May 14 2019

  Jutta Steiner, CEO of Parity, and Gavin Wood, who goes by the title "chief white space officer," describe the network Parity plans to launch later this year, Polkadot, how it aims to solve scalability, interoperability and security and when a developer would choose to build a dapp on Ethereum vs. a parachain on Polkadot. We also discuss another one of their products, Substrate, which enables developers to easily customize blockchains, and perceived competition between Ethereum and Polkadot. Plus, we talk about the frozen funds of Parity and other crypto teams, and why Jutta and Gavin think the community should upgrade in a way that would enable the funds to be unlocked. Be sure to check out the full show notes on Forbes! http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2019/05/12/how-polkadot-hopes-to-help-blockchains-scale/ Thank you to our sponsors! CoinDesk/Consensus: Since 2015, Consensus has been recognized as the most influential blockchain and digital assets event of the year. Hot-button topics such as adoption challenges, privacy,blockchain innovation, capital formation and more take centerstage as experts and pioneers give voice to the new developments and innovations occurring around the globe. Don’t miss this three-day experience! Register today: www.consensus2019.com. Use promo UNCHAINED300 to save $300 on your pass. CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Parity: https://www.parity.io Jutta Steiner: https://twitter.com/jutta_steiner Gavin Wood: https://twitter.com/gavofyork Polkadot light paper: https://polkadot.network/Polkadot-lightpaper.pdf Polkadot Wiki: http://wiki.polkadot.network/en/latest/ Gavin's 2014 blog post on Web 3: https://gavwood.com/dappsweb3.html Gav’s keynote on the journey to Web 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH1pEE0W3ug Chain Fibers article in the Ethereum Wiki: https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/Chain-Fibers-Redux Web 3.0 vision: https://medium.com/@gavofyork/why-we-need-web-3-0-5da4f2bf95ab More explanation of Polkadot, Substrate, Consensus, Governance, etc.: http://wiki.polkadot.network/en/latest/polkadot/learn/relevant-links/ Upgradeability without hard forks via Substrate https://medium.com/polkadot-network/never-fork-again-438c5e985cd8 Controversy around Afri Schoedon’s tweet: https://breakermag.com/exclusive-afri-schoedon-on-his-contentious-split-from-ethereum/ Dothereum: https://twitter.com/dothereum?lang=en https://www.reddit.com/r/dothereum/ Gavin and Vitalik Buterin discussing competition between Ethereum and Polkadot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=vRqJK16t4-I Why not to fork for the frozen funds: https://medium.com/@avsa/avoid-evil-twins-every-ethereum-app-pays-the-price-of-a-chain-split-e04c2a560ba8...more

  Episode

• How Tagomi Makes Large Crypto Trades Cheaper and More Efficient - Ep.118

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  May 07 2019

  Jennifer Campbell and Kevin Johnson, cofounder and COO, respectively, of Tagomi, describe how Tagomi helps institutional players make larger crypto trades more efficiently and at the best price possible, plus analyze how that was executed. They contrast it with the pre-Tagomi process for doing large crypto trades, how their software, which functions as a sort of "Kayak.com" for crypto trading, works on the backend, and how they keep funds held on exchanges secure. Plus, we compare today's crypto trading infrastructure to the early days of electronic trading in traditional financial markets, and look down the road at how they'll accommodate trends such as staking and decentralized exchanges. For more, check out the full show notes on Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2019/05/07/how-to-make-large-crypto-trades-without-moving-the-market/ Thank you to our sponsors! ConsenSys/Ethereal: Head to Etherealsummit.com with my discount code LAURA20 to get 20% off tickets to Ethereal Summit New York, May 10th to 11th at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn. CoinDesk/Consensus: Since 2015, Consensus has been recognized as the most influential blockchain and digital assets event of the year. Hot-button topics such as adoption challenges, privacy,blockchain innovation, capital formation and more take centerstage as experts and pioneers give voice to the new developments and innovations occurring around the globe. Don’t miss this three-day experience! Register today: www.consensus2019.com. Use promo UNCHAINED300 to save $300 on your pass. CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Tagomi: https://tagomi.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/tagomisystems Forbes article on Tagomi: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2019/02/15/crypto-finance-grows-up-tagomis-new-tools-could-draw-institutions-into-the-crypto-market/#6c9bf98c13a0 Bloomberg video featuring Jennifer and Greg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2019-03-04/meet-tagomi-the-end-to-end-crypto-solution-video Bloomberg article on comparisons to early days of electronic trading in equities: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-17/former-goldman-electronic-trading-head-sees-parallels-in-crypto WSJ Article on Tagomi: https://www.wsj.com/articles/peter-thiel-backed-venture-to-help-big-investors-bet-on-bitcoin-1525176121 Tagomi receiving BitLicense: http://fortune.com/2019/03/27/bitcoin-peter-thiel-tagomi-bitlicense/...more

  Episode

• Want to Connect Blockchains? Cosmos Has Tools for Coders - Ep.117

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  Apr 30 2019

  Jae Kwon, founder and CEO of Tendermint and president of the Interchain Foundation, and Ethan Buchman, cofounder of Tendermint and Cosmos and technical director of the Interchain Foundation, discuss the various technologies that form the Cosmos/Tendermint system. When the Cosmos network launched on March 13, it was built on what is the blockchain equivalent of an operating system, a consensus algorithm called Tendermint, Cosmos is like the world wide web (for blockchains) built on top, and the Cosmos Hub is a specific blockchain that exists in the system that can be used to connect other blockchains. We discuss all the above, as well as how secure the chain is, and how governance works in the system. Check out the full show notes on Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2019/04/30/cosmos-a-world-wide-web-for-blockchains/ Thank you to our sponsors! CoinDesk/Consensus: Since 2015, Consensus has been recognized as the most influential blockchain and digital assets event of the year. Hot-button topics such as adoption challenges, privacy,blockchain innovation, capital formation and more take centerstage as experts and pioneers give voice to the new developments and innovations occurring around the globe. Don’t miss this three-day experience! Register today: www.consensus2019.com. Use promo: UNCHAINED300 to save $300 on your pass. ConsenSys/Ethereal: Head to Etherealsummit.com with my discount code LAURA20 to get 20% off tickets to Ethereal Summit New York, May 10th to 11th at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn. CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Cosmos: Cosmos.network Cosmos.network/launch Luni: Luni.io Tendermint: Tendermint.com - company and product Interchain Foundation: Interchain.io Cosmos intro/FAQ: https://cosmos.network/intro Cosmos white paper: https://cosmos.network/resources/whitepaper Chart showing number of transactions vs. validators: https://medium.com/paradigm-fund/cosmos-network-the-internet-of-blockchains-is-coming-9ce956c7b78 The Control on Cosmos: https://thecontrol.co/into-the-cøsmos-433586b82865 Paradigm’s description of Cosmos: https://medium.com/paradigm-fund/cosmos-network-the-internet-of-blockchains-is-coming-9ce956c7b78 Bitfish’s response to Game of Stakes, in which it grew to 55% of the network: https://medium.com/bitfishlabs/bitfish-response-to-gos-5-24eaeeea9876 CoinDesk on Cosmos launch: https://www.coindesk.com/a-blockchain-to-connect-all-blockchains-cosmos-is-now-officially-live Cosmos vs. Polkadot: https://tokeneconomy.co/the-state-of-crypto-interoperability-explained-in-pictures-654cfe4cc167...more

  Episode

• Charlie Lee on How Litecoin Can Be Truly Successful - Ep.116

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  Apr 23 2019

  Charlie Lee, the creator of Litecoin and aka SatoshiLite, discusses how he came to launch Litecoin, how the "fair" launch may have helped its success, why he didn't work on it for a stretch, and what inspired him to devote all of his time to it — but not own any litecoins. We also discuss his vision for Litecoin, why he believes stablecoins aren't superior, why he's considering enabling private Litecoin payments, and how he feels about the perception that he sold his litecoins near the all-time high, leaving others holding the bag. Read the full show notes on Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2019/04/23/charlie-lee-on-why-litecoins-goal-is-to-be-used-for-payments/ Read Charlie’s additional answers: https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-cutting-room-floor-charlie-lee/ Thank you to our sponsors! CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/unchained CoinDesk: Since 2015, Consensus has been recognized as the most influential blockchain and digital assets event of the year. Hot-button topics such as adoption challenges, privacy,blockchain innovation, capital formation and more take centerstage as experts and pioneers give voice to the new developments and innovations occurring around the globe. Don't miss this three-day experience! Register today: www.consensus2019.com. Use promo: UNCHAINED300 to save $300 on your pass. Episode links: Litecoin: http://litecoin.org Charlie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SatoshiLite Charlie on Unconfirmed, discussing the 10th anniversary of the Bitcoin white paper: https://unchainedpodcast.com/charlie-lee-aka-satoshi-lite-on-the-10-year-anniversary-of-the-bitcoin-white-paper-ep-044/ Charlie on Unconfirmed, discussing the Ethereum Classic 51% attack: https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-ethereum-classic-51-attack-how-it-happened-and-why-the-price-didnt-crash-ep-055/ Unchained interview with Charlie's brother, Bobby Lee: https://unchainedpodcast.com/bobby-lee-ceo-of-btcc-on-why-the-chinese-probably-arent-using-bitcoin-to-evade-capital-controls/ CoinDesk on Charlie’s work after Coinbase: https://www.coindesk.com/life-coinbase-can-charlie-lee-keep-litecoins-revival-alive CoinDesk profile: https://www.coindesk.com/coindesk-most-influential-2017-3-charlie-lee Charlie selling his LTC: https://www.reddit.com/r/litecoin/comments/7kzw6q/litecoin_price_tweets_and_conflict_of_interest/ WSJ article on selling his LTC: https://www.wsj.com/articles/cryptocurrency-founder-tries-a-new-play-sell-it-all-1513873355?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=3 Multicoin Capital report on Litecoin: https://multicoin.capital/2018/09/14/debunking-market-narratives-litecoin-ltc-edition/ Magical Crypto Friends: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVVDsIYJBQ_C7Bh_aI3ZMxQ...more

  Episode

• Why Beam Thinks Businesses Will Use Its Cryptocurrency - Ep.115

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  Apr 16 2019

  Alexander Zaidelson, the CEO of Beam, a cryptocurrency being built on the MimbleWimble protocol, talks about how he came to start Beam, how it differs from Grin, another cryptocurrency being built on MimbleWimble and what types of users the cryptocurrency is targeting. See the full show notes at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2019/04/16/how-businesses-might-one-day-use-cryptocurrency/ Interested in a weekend of yoga, nature, healthy food and talking crypto? Then join me, Meltem Demirors of CoinShares and Jalak Jobanputra of Future Perfect Ventures at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, from September 20-22. Sign up today! https://www.eomega.org/workshops/virtues-of-the-crypto-revolution Thank you to our sponsor! CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Beam: https://www.beam.mw Medium: https://medium.com/beam-mw Overviews of Grin vs. Beam: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/battle-privacycoins-what-we-know-about-grin-and-beams-mimblewimble/ https://www.coindesk.com/grin-and-beam-a-tale-of-two-coins-being-built-on-mimblewimble Comparisons of Beam to Zcash and Monero: https://medium.com/beam-mw/whats-the-difference-between-monero-zcash-and-beam-953eafd89354 Beam Roadmap: https://medium.com/beam-mw/mimblewimble-beam-roadmap-2019-b2c7f38fc106 Beam emission schedule: https://medium.com/beam-mw/mimblewimble-emission-schedule-215551948259 Beam FAQ: https://www.beam.mw/faq The Block on Mimblewimble: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/2019/01/08/mimblewimble-history-technology-and-the-mining-industry/ Wallet vulnerability: https://medium.com/beam-mw/mimblewimble-wallet-vulnerability-report-7b8e88dc7e Blockchain stoppage: https://www.coindesk.com/beam-cryptocurrency-experiences-brief-blockchain-stoppage...more

  Episode

• Grin: A More Private, Lighter Bitcoin - Ep.114

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  Apr 09 2019

  Daniel Lehnberg and Michael Cordner, core team members of Grin, discuss the first implementation of the MimbleWimble protocol, named after a tongue-tying curse in Harry Potter. We discuss the many ways in which Grin is similar to Bitcoin: its origin story, its goal to be "digital cash," as Satoshi's paper was subtitled, and even its emission schedule. We discuss how Grin is private, how it is lighter weight than the Bitcoin blockchain, and the philosophy behind Grin, which stands in stark contrast to the many ICOs. For the full show notes, go to http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2019/04/09/a-nimbler-more-private-version-of-bitcoin/ Thank you to our sponsor! CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Grin: https://grin-tech.org Grin newsletter: https://grinnews.substack.com Daniel Lehnberg: https://twitter.com/lehnberg?lang=en Michael Cordner: https://twitter.com/yeastplume?lang=en MimbleWimble white paper: https://scalingbitcoin.org/papers/mimblewimble.txt Grin Intros: https://github.com/mimblewimble/grin/blob/master/doc/intro.md https://github.com/mimblewimble/grin/blob/master/doc/grin4bitcoiners.md Circle Research report on MimbleWimble technology: https://research.circle.com/crypto-reports/mimblewimble Grin's monetary policy — visually, easier to see how its similar in effect to Bitcoin's: https://github.com/mimblewimble/docs/wiki/Monetary-Policy https://www.tokendaily.co/blog/on-grin-mimblewimble-and-monetary-policy Questions about whether Grin got the incentives right: https://twitter.com/nlw/status/1091319888562532355 https://twitter.com/TusharJain_/status/1091316903346429952 Tracking YeastPlume’s funding: https://grin-tech.org/yeastplume Ignotus Peverell post noting his disappointment in funding for YeastPlume: https://www.grin-forum.org/t/solved-early-disappointments/3682 Interview with Ignotus Peverell: https://breakermag.com/grin-founder-ignotus-peverell-on-life-after-launch-and-the-path-forward/ Conversation with Grin developers: https://medium.com/@BHEXOfficial/bhex-original-ignotus-grin-as-bitcoins-younger-more-nimble-brother-612efadd0478...more

  Episode

• SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce on Why You Shouldn't Have to Be Rich to Get Rich - Ep.113

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  Apr 02 2019

  In a fireside chat I moderated with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce held by the Blockchain Digital Asset Forum, in conjunction with the NYU Stern Executive MBA program, on March 26, 2019, she explained where her reputation as 'Crypto Mom' comes from — a desire to look at the world with fresh eyes and say, are there things we can do things better? We also discussed a Bitcoin ETF and the prospects for one after Bitwise released a report showing a health legitimate market, as well as initial coin offerings and what will happen to the hundreds of ICO issuers that had initial coin offerings that look much like the ICOs that have already had enforcement actions against them. She described the process that occurs when something like an application for a Bitcoin ETF is submitted to the SEC, whether or not there's a lot of disagreement amongst the commissioners about how to regulate crypto, how much they work to persuade each other to come over to their side and whether Chairman Jay Clayton's opinion overrules everyone else's or whether majority rules. Plus, we covered dexes, stablecoins and security tokens. View the full show notes on my Forbes page: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2019/04/02/sec-commissioner-hester-peirce-on-why-you-shouldnt-have-to-be-rich-to-get-rich/ Thank you to our sponsor! CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce: https://twitter.com/HesterPeirce SEC: https://www.sec.gov Event link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fireside-chat-with-sec-commissioner-hester-peirce-and-laura-shin-tickets-58327939437 Hester's dissent to the Bitcoin ETF disapproval: https://www.sec.gov/news/public-statement/peirce-dissent-34-83723 Bitwise's report: https://www.sec.gov/comments/sr-nysearca-2019-01/srnysearca201901-5164833-183434.pdf SEC enforcement action against Munchee: https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2017/33-10445.pdf SEC enforcement action against Paragon: https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2018/33-10574.pdf SEC enforcement action against Airfox: https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2018/33-10575.pdf SEC enforcement action against Gladius: https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2019/33-10608.pdf Speech by William Hinman, SEC director of the Division of Corporate Finance, on ether not being a security: https://www.sec.gov/news/speech/speech-hinman-061418 Token Taxonomy Act: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/7356 Unchained episode with CZ: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-binance-became-the-most-popular-crypto-exchange-in-5-months-ep-84/ SEC enforcement action against Zachary Coburn of EtherDelta: https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2018/34-84553.pdf DTC report on blockchains for securities: http://www.dtcc.com/news/2019/march/13/dtcc-outlines-guiding-principles-for-post-trade-processing-of-tokenized-securities Thank you to Lawson Baker at TokenSoft (disclosure: a previous sponsor) for helping me think through some of the issues for this episode....more

  Episode

• Vitalik Buterin on Whether or Not Ethereum Is 'Blowing It' - Ep.112

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  Mar 26 2019

  At the first Unchained Live, Vitalik explained why he thought it was "inevitable" Ethereum would lose some of its lead, when he would be upset if Ethereum were overtaken by a competitor, and whether the Ethereum 2.0 road map was too long. We also discussed why a strain of Ethereum maximalism is emerging, how the foundation sets its funding priorities, whether or not the community should adopt inflation funding for development of the blockchain and why he thinks the MolochDAO experiment likely won't garner much investment. For the full summary, go to http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2019/03/26/vitalik-buterin-on-why-ethereum-has-lost-some-of-its-lead/. Thank you to our sponsors! Quantstamp, the venue sponsor for Unchained Live: http://quantstamp.com/unchained Columbia School of Professional Studies, the networking sponsor: http://sps.columbia.edu/podcast CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Previous Unchained interview with Vitalik Buterin: https://unchainedpodcast.com/vitalik-buterin-creator-of-ethereum-on-the-big-guy-vs-the-little-guy/ Unchained episode about MolochDAO: https://unchainedpodcast.com/molochdao-could-this-decentralized-autonomous-organization-help-ethereum-scale-faster/ Zcash interview: https://unchainedpodcast.com/zcashs-zooko-wilcox-on-why-he-believes-privacy-coins-will-be-used-more-for-good-than-bad/ Unchained interview with Glen Weyl and Santiago Siri referencing radical markets: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-blockchains-can-help-create-little-democracies-everywhere/ 0x interview: https://unchainedpodcast.com/will-warren-of-0x-on-why-decentralized-exchanges-are-the-future/ Augur interview: https://unchainedpodcast.com/joey-krug-on-how-augur-is-like-any-other-tool-ep-79/ Dharma interview: https://unchainedpodcast.com/nadav-hollander-on-how-dharma-could-create-new-forms-of-debt-ep-80/ Compound interview: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-youll-earn-interest-on-your-crypto-with-compound-ep-82/ dYdX interview: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-dydx-allows-you-to-take-a-short-position-in-one-token-ep-86/ Unchained episode on MakerDAO, part 1: https://unchainedpodcast.com/rune-christensen-of-makerdao-part-1-how-to-keep-a-crypto-collateralized-stablecoin-afloat/ Part 2: https://unchainedpodcast.com/rune-christensen-of-makerdao-part-2-how-dai-stayed-at-1-while-eth-crashed-from-1400-to-85/ Unconfirmed episode about superfluid collateral and echoes of the 2008 financial crisis: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-to-earn-money-on-collateral-in-defi-and-why-thats-risky/ Unconfirmed episode about Uniswap: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-uniswap-quickly-became-one-of-the-most-popular-dexes/ Dfinity interview: https://unchainedpodcast.com/dfinitys-dominic-williams-on-how-its-blockchain-nervous-system-is-not-an-ai-ep-78/ 100th episode of Unchained featuring a poem about crypto and the podcast: https://unchainedpodcast.com/100th-episode-past-guests-and-listeners-take-over-the-show-ep-100/...more

  Episode

• MolochDAO: Could This Decentralized Autonomous Organization Help Ethereum Scale Faster? - Ep.111

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  Mar 19 2019

  Ameen Soleimani, CEO of Spankchain, comes on the show to discuss his latest effort to fund Ethereum development through the decentralized autonomous organization MolochDAO. He describes how it works, plus we cover competition in the smart contract space and whether we're seeing the emergence of Ethereum maximalism. Full show notes are back on Forbes.com! See the full recap of this week's recap of the episode at  http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2019/03/18/how-could-ethereum-development-be-funded-perhaps-through-this-decentralized-autonomous-organization/. Thank you to our sponsor! CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: MolochDAO website: MolochDAO.com MolochDAO on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MolochDAO MolochDAO white paper: https://github.com/MolochVentures/Whitepaper/blob/master/Whitepaper.pdf Moloch Github: https://github.com/molochventures/moloch State of Ethereum 2.0 report: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PS0k9MaKPdPwEw3Uh9rq7USjq7LcSpT6ICQUXRij4YE/edit#heading=h.kdbgcss2wsc Ameen's tweet storm on MolochDAO: https://twitter.com/ameensol/status/1084652403889065989?s=19 MolochDAO tweetstorm with update on members, etc.: https://twitter.com/MolochDAO/status/1100516720563806209?s=19 MolochDAO presentation at ETHDenver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abTRJZcmPwI  Post by Dino Mark, Vlad Zamfir and Emin Gun Sirer, A Call for a Temporary Moratorium on the DAO: http://hackingdistributed.com/2016/05/27/dao-call-for-moratorium/ Ameen on the importance of ETH price: https://twitter.com/ameensol/status/1090319128810815489 Ryan Zurrer's position on ether fund recovery: https://medium.com/@rzurrer/evolution-dogma-a-proposed-path-towards-ether-fund-recovery-9810f213e8ee r/Ethereum decision on moderators: https://www.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/azyqdu/a_statement_call_for_discussion_from_some_of_the/ Ameen on the timeframe for developing Ethereum 2.0 relative to development on potentially competitive chains like Polkadot: https://www.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/ajc9ip/ama_we_are_the_eth_20_research_team/eewscyf/...more

  Episode

• How Binance Could Become the First Decentralized Autonomous Corporation - Ep.110

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  Mar 12 2019

  Tushar Jain and Kyle Samani, managing partners of Multicoin Capital, discuss Binance, Binance Chain and BNB token, and why they believe Binance will become the first centralized company to successfully decentralize itself and migrate the value in itself to its token. We cover what Binance, the centralized company has so far achieved in terms of trading volume, fiat on-ramps, and regulatory arbitrage, and whether the company has any more regulatory risk than any other exchange. We also look at the features of Binance Chain, how they compare to other decentralized exchanges such as 0x, and why Multicoin believes that it will have more liquidity than previous dexes. We then explore BNB token — how it works now, the regulatory risk for BNB token, and how it will function on the dex. Finally, we touch on Binance's decentralization strategy overall and how it could fail. Thank you to our sponsor! CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Multicoin Capital: https://multicoin.capital Kyle Samani: https://twitter.com/KyleSamani Tushar Jain: https://twitter.com/TusharJain_ Multicoin Capital BNB report: https://multicoin.capital/2019/02/19/binance-coin-analysis-and-valuation/ Unchained episode with CZ: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-binance-became-the-most-popular-crypto-exchange-in-5-months-ep-84/...more

  Episode

• Venue Announcement for Unchained Live

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  Mar 10 2019

  Get your tickets now for Unchained Live with Vitalik Buterin! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/unchained-live-with-vitalik-buterin-tickets-56189456176   It will take place March 20th at 6pm at Columbia Journalism School in the Joseph D. Jamail Lecture Hall. Hope to see you there!

  Episode

• How Melon Could Make Asset Management Easier - Ep.109

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  Mar 05 2019

  Mona El-Isa, the cofounder and CEO of Melonport, explains how Melon, the asset management protocol which recently launched on Ethereum, makes launching a fund easier and less expensive, plus gives investors even more transparency into the manager's decisions. She describes who will be using Melon, how the funds using Melon access liquidity if the protocol only connects to decentralized exchanges, what happens if bugs are found in the protocol's smart contracts, and how know-your-customer processes are handled. Noting that the company Melonport will now be winding down, she talks about how the protocol will be managed going forward. Plus, we dive into the MLN token. Thank you to our sponsor! http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Melonport: https://melonport.com Launch of Melon 1.0: https://medium.com/melonport-blog/melon-v1-0-zahreddino-60105f51988d Front and back office functions in a traditional fund vs. a Melon-based fund: https://medium.com/melonport-blog/what-is-melon-2018-edition-3437f3d064d8 Management fees in Melon: https://medium.com/melonport-blog/management-and-performance-fees-in-a-melon-fund-f1df2a26abd9 Integration with Kyber: https://medium.com/melonport-blog/kyber-network-melon-3f6bcfa2d328 Melonport will not exist by DevCon V: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTLSnS4DTak&t=882s Melon governance: https://medium.com/melonport-blog/introduction-to-the-melon-governance-system-f6ff73c70eb0 MLN token: https://medium.com/melonport-blog/everything-you-always-wanted-to-know-about-melon-but-were-too-afraid-to-ask-9ea3fda6d71f Melonomics 1: https://medium.com/melonport-blog/melonomics-part-1-aligning-interests-through-token-unification-d0b98a02de46 Melonomics 2:  https://medium.com/melonport-blog/melonomics-part-2-the-melon-engine-48bcb0dae65 Melonomics 3:  https://medium.com/melonport-blog/melonomics-part-3-counting-melons-7632afad844c...more

  Episode

• How Blockchains Can Help Create Little Democracies Everywhere - Ep.108

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  Feb 26 2019

  Glen Weyl, a political economist and social technologist, the coauthor of Radical Markets and a principal researcher at Microsoft, and Santiago Siri, the founder of Democracy Earth, discuss how blockchains can be used to create borderless democracies that can reach any citizen on earth and can be used not just by nation-states but in all kinds of communities such as the workplace, church or a social network like Facebook. We cover concepts such as quadratic finance and quadratic voting, and look at how forcing voters to have a budget for their votes changes voting behavior. We also dive into what needs to be put in place for blockchain-based voting systems to work, why identity solutions are crucial but also so hard to get right, and how we can prevent token-based governance systems from becoming plutocracies. Plus, we surmise that blockchain-based governance might be the 21st century political experiment and that someday, we may all be citizens of multiple communities. Thank you to our sponsors! CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Microsoft: https://twitter.com/MSFTBlockchain and https://aka.ms/unchained Episode links: Democracy Earth:  https://www.democracy.earth Santiago Siri: https://twitter.com/santisiri Radical Xchange: https://twitter.com/RadxChange Glen Weyl: https://twitter.com/glenweyl Radical Xchange conference in March: radicalxchange.org Radical Markets: https://press.princeton.edu/titles/11222.html Democracy Earth white paper: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sifogl4zimwkkei/Democracy%20Earth%20-%20Social%20Smart%20Contract%20-%20Paper%20v0.2.pdf?dl=0 Democracy Earth cofounder Pia Mancini on early work with digital democracy: https://www.ted.com/talks/pia_mancini_how_to_upgrade_democracy_for_the_internet_era?language=en Santi on how blockchains could revolutionize democracy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UajbQTHnTfM Wired article on Democracy Earth: https://www.wired.com/story/santiago-siri-radical-plan-for-blockchain-voting/ CoinDesk feature on Glen Weyl: https://www.coindesk.com/coindesk-most-influential-blockchain-2018-glen-weyl Vitalik Buterin blog post on Radical Markets: https://vitalik.ca/general/2018/04/20/radical_markets.html Paper by Vitalik, Zoe Hitzig and Glen on quadratic financing: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3243656...more

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• Unchained Live With Vitalik Buterin

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  Feb 20 2019

  In case you haven’t heard, I’m doing a live podcast recording with Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Ethereum. What is a live podcast recording? It's a podcast performed by me and the guest on a stage, in front of an audience.  Vitalik and I will be discussing Ethereum 2.0, Polka Dot, Substrate, what happened with Afri this week and more. And you’ll have an opportunity to ask questions.  It’ll be in New York City the evening of March 20th, which is one month from today. The doors open at 6, the show starts at 7. We will be announcing the venue soon.  Get your tickets here! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/unchained-live-with-vitalik-buterin-tickets-56189456176...more

  Episode

• Why Future Perfect Ventures Did Not Invest in ICOs - Ep.107

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  Feb 19 2019

  Jalak Jobanputra, founder and managing partner of Future Perfect Ventures, talks about how, in 2014, her experience as an investment bank and VC, her global background, and her observation that new streams of data were becoming available led her to launch her first fund, which ended up being 70% invested in blockchain. She describes what it was like selling LPs on the nascent technology in 2014, how her latest fund, which will be more than $50 million, is different and how it's drawing LPs who thought they could make money through liquid hedge funds invested in tokens. She talks about why she thinks early-stage technologies can't be IPO'ed -- and why FPV shied away from ICOs -- but why her second fund is capable of investing in tokens. She also explains how the space is still lacking in early-stage VCs with knowledge of the blockchain sector, why New York launched the New York Blockchain Center and whether crypto is becoming more diverse. Come See Unchained Live With Vitalik Buterin! Wednesday, March 20th, doors at 6, show at 7, venue TBD Get your tickets now! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/unchained-live-with-vitalik-buterin-tickets-56189456176 Thank you to our sponsors! CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Tokensoft: https://www.tokensoft.io Microsoft: https://twitter.com/MSFTBlockchain and https://aka.ms/unchained Episode links: Future Perfect Ventures: Futureperfectventures.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/jalak Blog: Thebarefootvc.com Jalak op-ed on Bitcoin at $10,000 in Recode: https://www.recode.net/2017/11/29/16716014/bitcoin-price-10k-ethereum-blockchain-cryptocurrency-value-creation-global Profile of Jalak in Breaker Mag: https://breakermag.com/why-one-of-blockchains-first-vcs-thinks-the-developing-world-will-lead-the-way/ Jalak on the 10th birthday of the Bitcoin white paper: https://breakermag.com/remembering-the-bitcoin-whitepaper-part-3-the-thinkers/ New York Blockchain Center: https://www.nycedc.com/press-release/nycedc-open-nyc-s-public-private-blockchain-center Wired story on the Collective Future: https://www.wired.com/story/for-women-in-cryptocurrency-a-new-effort-to-grow-their-ranks/ Unconfirmed episode with Bill Barhydt of portfolio company Abra: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-abra-enables-you-to-buy-5-of-an-etf-like-token-of-the-top-10-cryptos-ep-040/ Unchained episode with Elizabeth Rossiello of portfolio company Bitpesa: https://unchainedpodcast.com/bitpesas-elizabeth-rossiello-on-necker-island/ Unchained episode with Vinny Lingham of portfolio company Civic: https://unchainedpodcast.com/civics-vinny-lingham-on-when-crypto-demand-will-catch-up-with-the-technology/ Unchained episode with Josh Stein of portfolio company Harbor: https://unchainedpodcast.com/harbor-and-trusttoken-on-why-they-dont-mind-being-unsexy-ep-77/ Unchained episode with Riccardo Spagni of portfolio company Tari: https://unchainedpodcast.com/moneros-riccardo-spagni-aka-fluffypony-on-how-he-feels-about-monero-being-used-for-crime-ep-93/...more

  Episode

• How Casa Makes It Harder for Someone to Steal Your Bitcoins - Ep.106

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  Feb 12 2019

  Jeremy Welch of personal key security system Casa describes the company's various services and products, including its $10,000-a-year premium service for HODLers of at least $500,000 worth of cryptocurrency and the Casa node. He explains how he came to start Casa, why using seed phrases for managing security of crypto hardware devices is so problematic, and how customers should set up the keys in their possession for the company's multi-signature solution, in which any transaction requires the use of three of five keys. We go on at length at about potential ways in which an attacker could still force a target, say, at gunpoint, to move money to the hacker's wallet. We also discuss why the company doesn't offer a multi-sig solution for ether, why people choose to run Casa's Bitcoin/Lightning node and where people are using Lightning. Unchained Live With Vitalik Buterin in New York City: Get your tickets here! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/unchained-live-with-vitalik-buterin-tickets-56189456176 Thank you to our sponsors! CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/unchained Microsoft: https://twitter.com/MSFTBlockchain and https://aka.ms/unchained TokenSoft: https://www.tokensoft.io Episode links: Casa: https://keys.casa Jeremy Welch: https://twitter.com/jeremyrwelch The Cutting Room Floor: Jeremy Welch of Casa, in which Jeremy answers by email the remaining questions we didn't get to: https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-cutting-room-floor-jeremy-welch-of-casa/ Casa blog post on the evolution of Bitcoin key management: https://blog.keys.casa/the-evolution-of-bitcoin-key-management/ Ways to store your crypto: https://blog.keys.casa/crypto-101-storing-your-cryptocurrency/ Forbes on Casa's $2 million seed funding: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2018/03/02/bitcoin-thieves-beware-super-secure-wallet-maker-casa-raises-2-million/#4c5b2e544230 Casa's seven guiding principles: https://medium.com/casa/seven-guiding-principles-at-casa-92f43e5e546a Announced after we recorded: Casa's new browser extension: https://blog.keys.casa/casa-browser-extension/...more

  Episode

• Rune Christensen of MakerDAO Part 2: How Dai Stayed at $1 While ETH Crashed From $1,400 to $85 - Ep.105

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  Feb 05 2019

  Rune Christensen, CEO and cofounder of MakerDAO, explains how multicollateral Dai will work, what happens if one type of collateral fails, and what happens when someone's collateralized debt position with multicollateral Dai needs to be liquidated. He also discusses who gets to participate in the various levels of governance with the MKR token, who owns those tokens and what the purpose of the Maker Foundation is. We also cover whether the CFTC would consider collateralized debt positions to be derivatives and therefore under its purview, how Dai is being used and how much education is required for people to use the system. Thank you to our sponsors! CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Microsoft: https://twitter.com/MSFTBlockchain Tokensoft: https://www.tokensoft.io Episode links: MakerDAO: https://makerdao.com/en/ Rune Christensen: https://twitter.com/RuneKek Previous Unchained episode on stablecoins with Rune and Philip Rosedale of High Fidelity: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-its-so-hard-to-keep-stablecoins-stable/ Unconfirmed episode with Rune on Andreessen Horowitz’s $15 million investment: https://unchainedpodcast.com/rune-christensen-of-makerdao-on-its-15-million-from-andreessen-horowitz-ep-039/ Part 1 of my interview with Rune: https://unchainedpodcast.com/rune-christensen-of-makerdao-part-1-how-to-keep-a-crypto-collateralized-stablecoin-afloat/ Digital Asset Research report on MakerDAO: https://www.digitalassetresearch.com/our-products/#in-depth-research CFTC smart contracts primer prohibiting derivatives contracts that are traded on exchanges that are supposed to be registered with the CFTC and are not.  https://www.cftc.gov/sites/default/files/2018-11/LabCFTC_PrimerSmartContracts112718.pdf Nice recap of how Dai has performed as ETH has dropped in price: https://medium.com/@mikeraymcdonald/single-collateral-dai-9-months-in-review-b9d9fbe45ab MKR Tools website: https://mkr.tools/tokens/dai Description of Maker Tools: https://medium.com/@mikeraymcdonald/announcing-the-new-mkr-tools-e32466f1c3db Maintaining its peg as ETH dropped: https://medium.com/makerdao/volatile-times-dai-as-a-safe-haven-2f017453e9f1 MakerDAO and Wyre partnership: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/makerdao-and-wyre-give-businesses-immediate-access-to-dai-stablecoin-in-over-thirty-countries-including-usa-300696400.html ETH in DeFi projects: https://mikemcdonald.github.io/eth-defi/ Placeholder VC blog post: https://www.placeholder.vc/blog/2019/1/23/maker-investment-thesis...more

  Episode

• Rune Christensen of MakerDAO Part 1: How to Keep a Crypto-Collateralized Stablecoin Afloat - Ep.104

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  Jan 29 2019

  Rune Christensen, CEO and cofounder of MakerDAO, explains the intricacies of the MakerDAO system, which includes the stablecoin Dai, which is pegged to $1, backed by collateral, and whose governance is managed by holders of the MKR token. He describes how the current version of "single-collateral" Dai, is backed by ether, how Dai is created with a collateralized debt position and what happens when the value of the collateral falls too low. He also talks about the roles of various players in the system, such as keepers, oracles and MKR token holders. We also cover how the system handles black swan events or other emergencies. The MakerDAO system is so complex, however, that we will reconvene for a part 2 to describe the rest of the system and how a multi-collateral Dai will function. Thank you to our sponsors! Tokensoft: https://www.tokensoft.io Microsoft: https://twitter.com/MSFTBlockchain CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: MakerDAO: https://makerdao.com/en/ Rune Christensen: https://twitter.com/RuneKek Previous Unchained episode on stablecoins with Rune and Philip Rosedale of High Fidelity: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-its-so-hard-to-keep-stablecoins-stable/ Unconfirmed episode with Rune on Andreessen Horowitz's $15 million investment: https://unchainedpodcast.com/rune-christensen-of-makerdao-on-its-15-million-from-andreessen-horowitz-ep-039/ MakerDAO white paper: https://makerdao.com/en/whitepaper/ Decreasing the stability fee: https://medium.com/makerdao/decreasing-the-stability-fee-1f9fe50cf582 Unchained episode on generalized mining with Jake Brukhman and Tushar Jain: https://unchainedpodcast.com/coinfunds-jake-brukhman-and-multicoins-tushar-jain-on-generalized-mining-ep-92/ Laura's TEDx talk: https://unchainedpodcast.com/lauras-tedx-talk-how-crypto-could-allow-more-people-to-be-their-own-boss-ep-047/ USD Coin's banking partners: https://support.usdc.circle.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015278272-Who-are-the-banking-and-financial-partners-you-are-using-for-USDC- TrueUSD's trust companies and their correspondent banks: https://blog.trusttoken.com/who-are-the-correspondent-banks-and-trustee-partners-for-trueusd-e12508f0d5a2...more

  Episode

• Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss on Being the 'Fastest Tortoise in the Race' - Ep.103

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  Jan 22 2019

  Gemini's Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who serve as chief executive and president, respectively, discuss their new ad campaign -- what they mean when they say crypto needs rules, why they agree in certain respects with some of their critics, and what the general reaction has been. They discuss why they launched a stablecoin, why they chose the stablecoin structure of dollar reserves and GUSD's role in an arbitrage involving a Chinese exchange and a competing stablecoin. They also explain how they intend to make a Bitcoin ETF a reality, what they think of SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce's dissent and what they intend for the Virtual Commodity Association. Plus, the brothers talk about why their goal is to be "the fastest tortoise in the race." Thank you to our sponsors! Tokensoft: https://www.tokensoft.io Microsoft: https://twitter.com/MSFTBlockchain CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Gemini's new ad campaign: https://www.wsj.com/articles/winklevosses-cryptocurrency-exchange-says-the-revolution-needs-rules-11546599600 Negative reaction to Gemini ad campaign from crypto community: Erik Voorhees: https://twitter.com/ErikVoorhees/status/1081204430857416706 Gemini USD gets approval of New York Department of Financial Services: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-10/controversial-crypto-coin-tether-to-get-regulated-competitors Past episodes with other stablecoin projects: USDC/Circle: https://unchainedpodcast.com/circles-jeremy-allaire-and-sean-neville-on-why-crypto-will-be-bigger-than-the-web-ep-71/ TrueUSD: https://unchainedpodcast.com/harbor-and-trusttoken-on-why-they-dont-mind-being-unsexy-ep-77/ MakerDAO: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-its-so-hard-to-keep-stablecoins-stable/ https://unchainedpodcast.com/rune-christensen-of-makerdao-on-its-15-million-from-andreessen-horowitz-ep-039/ Bloomberg reporter Matt Leising on Tether: https://unchainedpodcast.com/bloombergs-matt-leising-on-why-it-appears-tether-has-sufficient-dollar-reserves-ep-052/ Trading of GUSD for Pax and cashing out via Huobi: https://medium.com/paxos/regulation-in-the-crypto-world-part-i-leading-the-way-into-the-light-11e54d16b035 https://www.theblockcrypto.com/2019/01/04/gemini-gave-trading-firms-a-stablecoin-discount-and-it-caused-big-headaches-for-one-of-its-rivals/ GUSD distribution on Etherscan: https://etherscan.io/token/tokenholderchart/0x056fd409e1d7a124bd7017459dfea2f387b6d5cd Cameron and Tyler's AMA on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/adk0ua/we_are_cameron_and_tyler_winklevoss_cofounders_of/edhlb3b/ SEC commissioner Hester Peirce's dissent on Bitcoin ETF decision: https://www.sec.gov/news/public-statement/peirce-dissent-34-83723 Bitcoin Cash launch on Gemini: https://medium.com/gemini/bitcoin-cash-is-now-available-on-gemini-cc75299d892f The 51% attack on Ethereum Classic: https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-ethereum-classic-51-attack-how-it-happened-and-why-the-price-didnt-crash-ep-055/ Gemini year in review https://medium.com/gemini/geminis-2018-year-in-review-1cd0815dd45e Virtual Commodity Association: https://medium.com/gemini/joining-the-virtual-commodity-association-8bdf3b2f803e Gemini's new mobile app: https://medium.com/gemini/introducing-the-gemini-mobile-app-crypto-on-the-go-1448d2ae74fa USD Coin's banking partners: https://support.usdc.circle.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015278272-Who-are-the-banking-and-financial-partners-you-are-using-for-USDC-    TrueUSD's trust companies and their correspondent banks: https://blog.trusttoken.com/who-are-the-correspondent-banks-and-trustee-partners-for-trueusd-e12508f0d5a2...more

  Episode

• Asia Edition: Mining, a Crypto Yuan and the Two Main Reasons the Chinese Are Interested in Crypto - Ep.102

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  Jan 15 2019

  In this wide-ranging episode, Eric Meltzer and Dovey Wan of Primitive Ventures describe how Asia is weathering the crypto downturn: how have the low prices affected miners, how has this affected Bitmain's prospects for an IPO and how, despite a ban on crypto exchanges, Chinese crypto users have been trading. We also discuss more broadly how crypto projects and startups differ between China and the U.S., how crypto is upending Silicon Valley's dominance, and how differences in regulation are affecting entrepreneurship in the space. Plus, Eric and Dovey address whether or not the surveillance state is motivating Chinese interest in crypto. Thank you to our sponsors! Tokensoft: https://www.tokensoft.io Microsoft: https://twitter.com/MSFTBlockchain CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Primitive Ventures: http://primitive.ventures Eric Meltzer: https://twitter.com/wheatpond Dovey Wan: https://twitter.com/DoveyWan Binance was more profitable than Deutsche Bank in quarter 1 of 2018: https://www.ccn.com/binance-surpassed-germanys-biggest-bank-deutsche-in-profitability/ Bitmain and Huobi layoffs: https://www.scmp.com/tech/blockchain/article/2179513/chinas-cryptocurrency-giants-bitmain-and-huobi-plan-lay-offs-amid Hong Kong regulators reluctant to allow crypto firms to IPO: https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2178747/hong-kong-regulators-say-ipos-cryptocurrency-businesses-are Report that China wants an "orderly exit" from crypto mining: https://qz.com/1174091/china-wants-an-orderly-exit-from-bitcoin-mining/ Chinese op-ed on why the People’s Bank of China should consider a yuan-pegged cryptocurrency: https://www.coindesk.com/pboc-op-ed-pushes-use-case-for-yuan-pegged-crypto-stablecoins...more

  Episode

• Ledger on How Consumers and Institutions Should Be Safeguarding Their Private Keys - Ep.101

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  Jan 08 2019

  Eric Larcheveque, cofounder and CEO of Ledger, and Demetrios Skalkotos, global head of Ledger Vault, describe the company's three main offerings: its hardware wallets, the new software-as-a-service product for institutions, and an Internet of Things offering for transactions involving physical assets. They also describe how the company scaled for a massive increase in demand in 2017, who their customers are and how the company has responded to vulnerabilities found in its products. Plus, they explain why they don't put tamper-proof packaging on their hardware wallets. Thank you to our sponsors! TokenSoft: https://www.tokensoft.io Microsoft: https://twitter.com/MSFTBlockchain CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Ledger: https://www.ledger.com Eric Larcheveque: https://twitter.com/EricLarch Demetrios Skalkotos: https://twitter.com/DemoSkalkotos Introduction of Ledger Vault: https://medium.com/ledger-on-security-and-blockchain/ledger-vault-nyc-office-brings-crypto-security-to-institutional-investors-ec9ee3445850 Three part-series on hardware wallets: https://medium.com/ledger-on-security-and-blockchain/ledger-101-part-1-do-you-really-need-a-hardware-wallet-7f5abbadd945 Ledger's description of BOLOS: https://medium.com/ledger-on-security-and-blockchain/a-closer-look-into-ledger-security-our-custom-operating-system-bolos-ab608bcb0839 Blog post from Saleem Rashid: https://saleemrashid.com/2018/03/20/breaking-ledger-security-model/ Demonstration of attacks on hardware wallets at 35c3: https://wallet.fail Ledger's response: https://medium.com/ledger-on-security-and-blockchain/chaos-communication-congress-in-response-to-wallet-fails-presentation-17bcd166a052 Ledger Donjon: https://medium.com/ledger-on-security-and-blockchain/ledger-donjon-3e04e0ce49a9...more

  Episode

• 100th Episode: Past Guests and Listeners Take Over the Show - Ep.100

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  Jan 01 2019

  To celebrate the 100th episode of Unchained, I talk a little about what this podcast means to me and thank everyone who's helped me with it. Then I let past guests and listeners take it away with their comments and predictions for 2019. Thank you to everyone who sent in submissions -- and to the listeners and sources who've helped me along the way! Thank you to our sponsors! TokenSoft: https://www.tokensoft.io Microsoft: https://twitter.com/MSFTBlockchain CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: My TEDx talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-Ew7PW4LCo Facebook working on a stablecoin: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-21/facebook-is-said-to-develop-stablecoin-for-whatsapp-transfers...more

  Episode

• RERUN: Xapo's Wences Casares on How Bitcoin Makes a Fairer World - Ep.99

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  Dec 25 2018

  Growing up in Argentina, Wences Casares saw his family lose all their money three times due to actions by the government. The so-called "patient zero" of Bitcoin in Silicon Valley explains why he believes that experience predisposed him to seeing the potential in Bitcoin earlier than most people, why it's so hard to explain Bitcoin to Americans and why the company he founded, Xapo, isn't just a Bitcoin vault and wallet company but his best effort at helping to ensure that Bitcoin succeeds. He talks about why he isn't scared of all the new competitors to his service, including Coinbase Custody, why Xapo hasn't branched out into any other crypto assets, and why he believes there's a more than 50% chance that Bitcoin is worth $1 million in five to ten years. Additionally, he still believes the attempt to accommodate more transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain with the SegWit2x fork, which he backed, was wrong -- even though the fees after its failure skyrocketed to as high as $60. Plus -- he reveals what it would look like if Bitcoin became a global standard of value, and why that vision doesn't threaten governments. Thank you to our sponsors! CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Microsoft: https://twitter.com/MSFTBlockchain Episode links: Wences Casares: https://twitter.com/wences Xapo: https://xapo.com/ Wences's Facebook Live with Dan Schulman of PayPal: https://www.facebook.com/DanSchulmanPayPal/videos/1419329821528449/ To learn more about Wences, read New York Times reporter Nathaniel Popper's book, Digital Gold: https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062362506/digital-gold/...more

  Episode

• Mike Novogratz on Why Bitcoin, "a Big FU to the System," Needs Institutions - Ep.98

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  Dec 18 2018

  Mike Novogratz, founder and CEO of Galaxy Digital Holdings, describes the company's services and products, why it's launching a credit offering, and why he pivoted from his original intention to launch a crypto hedge fund and then pivoted again from working with ICOs to serving institutional players. He talks about why, if he had the chance to go public again, he wouldn't do it, why Galaxy's stock fell so precipitously one day that trading was halted, and why he thinks the SEC has made it clear the ICO markets are closed. He also talks about why, on the way to democratizing finance, the crypto markets need to "take a step back" and start with institutions, why decentralization is important, and why he thinks the launch of Bakkt is the most important news in the crypto space this year. Plus, Mike surmises as to how consumers will start using crypto, but believes it won’t replace fiat in the Western world. Thank you to our sponsors! Microsoft: aka.ms/unchained CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/unchained Episode links: Galaxy Digital: https://www.galaxydigital.io Galaxy Digital's losses so far this year: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-28/novogratz-s-crypto-trading-desk-lost-136-million-in-nine-months https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-26/novogratz-s-galaxy-digital-sees-134-million-loss-on-crypto-drop Unchained episode about security tokens: http://unchainedpodcast.co/harbor-and-trusttoken-on-why-they-dont-mind-being-unsexy-ep77 Unchained interview with Philip Rosedale of High Fidelity: http://unchainedpodcast.co/why-its-so-hard-to-keep-stablecoins-stable Unconfirmed episode with Tom Jessop of Fidelity Digital Assets: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/fidelity-digital-asset-services-tom-jessop-on-why-its-serving-institutional-clients-first-ep043 Unchained podcast with Arthur Hayes of Bitmex: http://unchainedpodcast.co/arthur-hayes-of-bitmex-on-why-countries-will-turn-to-digital-cash-ep63...more

  Episode

• How Crypto and Blockchain Technology Could Change Financial Services - Ep.97

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  Dec 16 2018

  This is a special episode of Unchained from the CME Global Leadership Conference in Naples, Florida. There, I spoke with Arthur Hayes, CoFounder and CEO of Bitmex, Dan O’Prey, chief marketing officer of Digital Asset, and Alexis Ohanian, Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, Reddit and Co-Founder of Initialized Capital. We cover how public and permissioned chains will compete or complement each other, how blockchain technology will affect incumbent financial services, and how it has already proven itself (hint: as a store of value is one answer). We discuss whether or not crypto represents a new asset class, why the crypto winter is helping to improve the space, and what the launch of Bakkt and Fidelity Digital Assets could mean going forward. Thank you to our sponsors! CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/unchained Microsoft: https://twitter.com/MSFTBlockchain Episode links CME's Global Financial Leadership Conference: https://www.gflc.com Arthur Hayes: https://twitter.com/cryptohayes Bitmex: https://www.bitmex.com Dan O'Prey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danoprey/ Digital Asset: https://www.digitalasset.com Alexis Ohanian: https://twitter.com/alexisohanian Initialized Capital: https://initialized.com Unconfirmed episode with Tom Jessop's Fidelity Digital Assets: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/fidelity-digital-asset-services-tom-jessop-on-why-its-serving-institutional-clients-first-ep043...more

  Episode

• Coinbase's Listing Process: Why It's Adding Many More Coins and How It Decides - Ep.96

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  Dec 11 2018

  Coinbase has departed from its conservative roots and begun adding many more coins. Dan Romero, vice president of Coinbase, explains how its listing process works, how it tries to prevent insider trading, and why it's listed coins that had ICOs, even though the SEC has indicated all coins that were offered in ICOs at least started off as securities. He also talks about Coinbase's international expansion, how regulations around crypto differ in Japan vs. the U.S., and the importance of banking relationships for crypto companies. Plus, we dive into how Coinbase plans to weather competition on multiple fronts -- from Robinhood, Square and Binance on its consumer side, and from Fidelity and Bakkt on the institutional side -- how its decentralized projects could affect its current revenues and how it is staffing now for any future hype cycles that could increase crypto adoption by an order of magnitude. Thank you to our sponsors! Microsoft: aka.ms/unchained CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/unchained Altlending:  https://altlending.com Episode links: Coinbase: https://www.coinbase.com/ Dan: https://twitter.com/dwr Coinbase Listing: https://listing.coinbase.com Digital Asset Framework: https://listing.coinbase.com Coinbase's new listing process: https://blog.coinbase.com/new-asset-listing-process-a83ef296a0f3 Announcement that they were exploring adding Cardano, Basica Attention Token, Stellar Lumens, Zcash and 0x: https://blog.coinbase.com/coinbase-is-exploring-cardano-basic-attention-token-stellar-zcash-and-0x-9e44f0eb823f News announced after we recorded: Coinbase considering offering 31 new assets: https://blog.coinbase.com/coinbase-continues-to-explore-support-for-new-digital-assets-92ba4ab7f465 Interview with Will Warren of decentralized exchange 0x: http://unchainedpodcast.co/will-warren-of-0x-on-why-decentralized-exchanges-are-the-future Coinbase investigates insider trading of Bitcoin Cash: http://fortune.com/2017/12/20/coinbase-bitcoin-insider-trading/ Coinbase finds no insider trading of Bitcoin Cash: http://fortune.com/2018/07/24/coinbase-insider-trading/ Unchained episode on Coinbase/IRS case: http://unchainedpodcast.co/is-the-irs-justified-in-demanding-information-on-millions-of-bitcoin-users Link to Alistair Milne's tracking of total Coinbase customer base: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NgvD2kFT69mSXuJPzPDu-Qv9SS1ck2iPt6Kw9a55z0k/edit#gid=0 Coinbase adding USDC: https://blog.coinbase.com/coinbase-and-circle-announce-the-launch-of-usdc-a-digital-dollar-2cd6548d237 Unchained episode with Circle: http://unchainedpodcast.co/circles-jeremy-allaire-and-sean-neville-on-why-crypto-will-be-bigger-than-the-web-ep71 Unchained episode with Rune Christensen of MakerDAO: http://unchainedpodcast.co/why-its-so-hard-to-keep-stablecoins-stable Unconfirmed episode with Rune: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/rune-christensen-of-makerdao-on-its-15-million-from-andreessen-horowitz-ep039...more

  Episode

• Ari Paul on Why Bitcoin Is a Good Value Buy Today - Ep.95

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  Dec 04 2018

  Ari Paul, CIO of BlockTower Capital, explains why he likes how short-term trades concentrate risk in investment, why, "no matter what," he thinks Bitcoin is a good-value buy today, and how big university endowments investing in crypto now could eventually lead institutions to go from having a fear-of-loss attitude about crypto to having FOMO. He also dives into why he's not as excited about generalized mining as some of BlockTower's crypto fund peers and who he thinks is really well-poised in that space. We also discuss why Bitcoin futures didn't have a positive impact on the price and what effect Bakkt and Fidelity launching their crypto products could have. Plus, he responds to people who accused him of insider trading when a private conversation in which he mentioned Stellar was acquiring enterprise blockchain startup Chain was released. Thank you to our sponsors! CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/unchained Altlending: https://altlending.com Episode links: Ari Paul: https://twitter.com/AriDavidPaul BlockTower Capital: https://www.blocktower.com Harvard, Stanford, MIT endowments invest in crypto: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/harvard-stanford-mit-endowments-invest-in-crypto-funds Yale endowment invests in a16z and Paradigm: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/05/yale-investment-chief-david-swensen-jumps-into-crypto-with-bets-on-two-silicon-valley-funds.html Bitcoin Cash hard fork recap: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/week-2-how-bitcoin-cash-hash-war-came-and-went-and-not-much-happened/ Unconfirmed episode on Bitcoin Cash hard fork with Aaron Van Wirdum: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/the-bitcoin-cash-hard-fork-bitcoin-abc-vs-bitcoin-sv-ep046 Unchained episode with Riccardo Spagni of Monero: http://unchainedpodcast.co/coinfunds-jake-brukhman-and-multicoins-tushar-jain-on-generalized-mining-ep92 Unchained episode with Jake Brukhman and Tushar Jain of Multicoin Capital: http://unchainedpodcast.co/coinfunds-jake-brukhman-and-multicoins-tushar-jain-on-generalized-mining-ep92 Unconfirmed episode with Fidelity's Tom Jessop: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/fidelity-digital-asset-services-tom-jessop-on-why-its-serving-institutional-clients-first-ep043 Ari's private conversation in which he mentioned Stellar was acquiring Chain: https://hackernoon.com/ten-questions-for-ari-david-paul-of-blocktower-capital-dcd8d81ef27e IMF managing director Christine Lagarde's talk on the case for central bank digital currencies: https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2018/11/13/sp111418-winds-of-change-the-case-for-new-digital-currency...more

  Episode

• How Donating Crypto Can Help You Save on Taxes - Ep.94

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  Nov 27 2018

  Connie Gallippi, the founder and executive director for BitGive, and Joe Waltman, the executive director of GiveCrypto.org, discuss charitable giving in crypto -- what problems in philanthropy it solves, what level of transparency they can achieve and how they measure impact. Connie explains why she has chosen to work with existing non-profits and Joe, why GiveCrypto is working on its own initiatives, and why its working thesis is that crypto will be especially helpful in places with broken money or broken government. They also dive into the tax implications of donating crypto directly -- namely that donors can offset taxes on gains, particularly by donating their oldest coins before the end of the calendar year. Connie talks about how BitGive needs to ensure it doesn't hold or convert money in order to avoid money transmitter regulations, and Joe, how GiveCrypto has to ensure it's not giving money to bad people, such as money launderers or people or entities under economic sanctions. Plus, the two discuss why a space that so often espouses the ideals of democratization of finance gives so little and what it will take for it to donate more. Thank you to our sponsors! CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/unchained WeTrust: Donate in crypto and have your donation matched by WeTrust through Giving Tuesday, November 27! http://wetrust.io/unchained Episode links: Bitgive: https://www.bitgivefoundation.org GiveTrack: https://www.givetrack.org BitGive Twitter: https://twitter.com/BitGiveOrg GiveCrypto: https://www.bitgivefoundation.org GiveCrypto Twitter - https://twitter.com/givecrypto?lang=en BitGive's five-year report: https://d1i1964a5wuyjt.cloudfront.net/2018/11/5-year-deck-021118_compressed-1.pdf Joe's work trial for GiveCrypto: https://medium.com/givecrypto/givecrypto-work-trial-a-new-financial-system-a-new-opportunity-7f564b65aff5 GiveCrypto's October report: https://medium.com/givecrypto/givecryptos-october-monthly-report-5c191bc03b56 Unconfirmed episode with Robert Opp of the UN World Food Programme: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/the-un-world-food-programmes-blockchain-based-food-vouchers-for-syrian-refugees-with-robert-opp-ep017 Episode with Elizabeth Rossiello of Bitpesa: http://unchainedpodcast.co/bitpesas-elizabeth-rossiello-on-necker-island...more

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• Monero's Riccardo Spagni, aka Fluffypony, on How He Feels About Monero Being Used for Crime - Ep.93

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  Nov 20 2018

  Riccardo Spagni, the lead maintainer for Monero, describes the four pillars of Monero's privacy, makes the case for why it would still be valuable even if BItcoin were to adopt privacy, and explains the ways in which its privacy is stronger and weaker than Zcash's. He also discusses his new project, Tari, and how it could enable a new world of natively digital assets such as tickets, loyalty points and in-game assets, and how it will relate to Monero. He also explains his view on the fact that Monero is one of the top currencies used on the dark web and appears to have been in demand by bad state actors such as North Korea. Plus, he gives us his backstory, which includes gel-based nail polish and bikinis, and the origin of his nickname, Fluffypony. Thank you to our sponsors! CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/unchained Altlending: https://altlending.com Abra: Click this special link for a free $25 in Bitcoin! https://www.abra.com/unchained Episode links: Riccardo Spagni: https://twitter.com/fluffypony?lang=en Monero: https://getmonero.org Tari: https://www.tari.com Wired article on Monero's traceability: https://www.wired.com/story/monero-privacy/ Laura's listener mail episode: http://unchainedpodcast.co/listener-mail-laura-answers-your-questions-on-the-markets-velocity-privacy-and-more-ep88 Unchained episode with Zooko Wilcox of Zcash: http://unchainedpodcast.co/zcashs-zooko-wilcox-on-why-he-believes-privacy-coins-will-be-used-more-for-good-than-bad...more

  Episode

• CoinFund's Jake Brukhman and Multicoin's Tushar Jain on Generalized Mining - Ep.92

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  Nov 13 2018

  Jake Brukhman of CoinFund and Tushar Jain of Multicoin Capital discuss a new trend among crypto funds: generalized mining, also called mining 2.0, in which investors participate in the networks in order to seed activity on them. For instance, an investor might offer disk space on a file storage network or provide capital on a decentralized lending network. They explain why it makes more sense to do this in the early days of a network than when it's matured, whether this will lead away from a peer-to-peer vision for crypto toward more professionalization and how this affects the basic premise of the fat protocols thesis. We also discuss how this impacts how crypto funds hire, do their accounting and reporting and structure their LP agreements. Thank you to our sponsors! Abra: Click this special link for a free $25 in Bitcoin! https://www.abra.com/unchained Altlending: https://altlending.com WeTrust: WeTrust: Donate in crypto and have your donation matched by WeTrust through Giving Tuesday, November 27! http://wetrust.io/unchained Episode links: Jake Brukhman: https://twitter.com/jbrukh?lang=en CoinFund: https://coinfund.io Tushar Jain: https://twitter.com/TusharJain_ Multicoin Capital: https://multicoin.capital Jake's post on crypto borrowing: https://blog.coinfund.io/crypto-borrowing-and-staking-networks-e7d2d64a81a4 Tushar's post on generalized mining: https://multicoin.capital/2018/10/23/the-evolving-role-of-crypto-investors/ Jake on LivePeer as a case study: https://blog.coinfund.io/livepeer-cryptoeconomics-as-a-case-study-of-active-participation-in-decentralized-networks-19a932415e0e Unchained episode with MakerDAO: http://unchainedpodcast.co/why-its-so-hard-to-keep-stablecoins-stable Unconfirmed episode with Rune Christensen of MakerDAO: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/rune-christensen-of-makerdao-on-its-15-million-from-andreessen-horowitz-ep039 Initial witness offerings, by Jake's partner Alexsandr Bulkin: https://blog.coinfund.io/iwos-with-adapt-a-creative-technological-solution-to-a-regulatory-problem-513b0bc811ff Jake's post on fat protocols not being an investment thesis: https://blog.coinfund.io/fat-protocols-are-not-an-investment-thesis-17c8837c2734 Unchained interview with Joel Monegro, the author of the fat protocols thesis: http://unchainedpodcast.co/placeholders-joel-monegro-on-the-fat-protocols-thesis-today-ep65 Videos that Jake mentions at the end of the show: Generalized Mining, An Introduction & Primer by Jake Brukhman, CEO of CoinFund: https://youtu.be/ceex9CN2YZU Panel #1: Supply Side Services | Generalized Mining and The Third-Party Economy: https://youtu.be/Cr6H2FcidjY Panel # 2: New Role of Crypto Investors | Generalized Mining and The Third-Party Economy:  https://youtu.be/zakQc07GRXA Panel #3: Staking Economic Design |  Generalized Mining and The Third-Party Economy:  https://youtu.be/ydViUpTZens...more

  Episode

• Down 94% Since Winter, What Has Happened to ICOs? - Ep.91

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  Nov 06 2018

  After the ICO craze of 2017, such offerings have raised extremely little so far this fall, with total sales in October down 94% since February, according to Token Data. Why? And where to next? Andy Bromberg, president of CoinList, and Marco Santori, president and chief legal officer of Blockchain, discuss the changing nature of token sales. Andy reveals how the projects approaching CoinList have changed over the last year, how investors are changing their approach to due diligence in the space, and how CoinList complies with various regulations. Marco explains the origin of the SAFT framework, what laws would apply outside of securities regulation and why rulings in civil lawsuits and no-action letter are likely the next way we'll get regulatory clarity. We also discuss why the Civil token sale failed, why airdrops could be a better than ICOs for seeding usage on networks and how to figure out which wallets to target in an airdrop. Plus: Marco and Andy disagree on one aspect or how regulation could apply to airdrops. Thank you to our sponsors! WeTrust: Donate in crypto and have your donation matched by WeTrust through Giving Tuesday, November 27! http://wetrust.io/unchained Abra: Click this special link for a free $25 in Bitcoin! https://www.abra.com/unchained Episode Links Andy Bromberg: https://twitter.com/andy_bromberg CoinList: https://coinlist.co Marco Santori: https://twitter.com/msantoriESQ Blockchain: https://www.blockchain.com Autonomous Next data on September ICOs down 90% since January: https://next.autonomous.com/thoughts/crypto-september-icos-90-down-from-january-but-venture-funding-is-ray-of-hope Token Data on October ICOs down 94% since February: https://twitter.com/TokenData/status/1057953301440983040 SAFT project: https://saftproject.com Previous episode with Marco and Joshua Ashley Klayman including her concerns about the SAFT framework: http://unchainedpodcast.co/how-crypto-and-blockchain-technology-should-be-regulated SEC Director of Finance Bill Hinman's comments that ether is not a security (5:25): https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sec-announces-ether-not-security-162658147.html Jay Clayton's comments that every ICO he's seen is a security: https://www.coindesk.com/sec-chief-clayton-every-ico-ive-seen-security/ Civil token sale: https://tokenfoundry.com/projects/civil Blockchain's Airdrop program: https://www.blockchain.com/airdrop CoinList's Airdrops program: https://airdrops.coinlist.co...more

  Episode

• Reflections on the 10-Year Anniversary of the Bitcoin White Paper - Ep.90

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  Oct 30 2018

  For this episode on the eve of the Bitcoin white paper's 10-year anniversary, Nathaniel Popper and Paul Vigna, reporters who cover Bitcoin and crypto for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, respectively, and who have written books about it, discuss wide-ranging questions regarding the first cryptocurrency. We explore why it succeeded where previous digital currencies failed, what role the financial crisis and Satoshi's disappearance played in its success and how it compares to the development of the internet. We also look at the "blockchain, not Bitcoin" debate, the scaling debate and the merits of on-chain governance, and how scandals involving centralized services such as the Equifax hack and the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica breach will affect its development. Finally, we discuss its potential as a global reserve currency, potential abuse of crypto assets by bad state actors, and whether and how regulators can regulate decentralized technologies. Plus, Paul and Nathaniel give their thoughts on the next 10 years. Thank you to our sponsors! Abra: Click this special link for a free $25 in Bitcoin! https://www.abra.com/unchained Onramp: http://www.thinkonramp.com WeTrust: Donate in crypto and have your donation matched by WeTrust through Giving Tuesday, November 27! http://wetrust.io/unchained Episode links: Bitcoin white paper: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf Nathaniel Popper: https://twitter.com/nathanielpopper https://www.nytimes.com/by/nathaniel-popper?8qa Digital Gold: https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062572066/digital-gold/ Paul Vigna: https://twitter.com/paulvigna https://www.wsj.com/news/author/7296 Age of Cryptocurrency: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250081551 The Truth Machine: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250114570 Edward Bernays' Propaganda: http://www.igpub.com/propaganda/ CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz's speech discussing how they would prosecute illegal prediction markets: https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/opaquintenz16...more

  Episode

• Numerai's Richard Craib on How to Crowdsource Good Predictions - Ep.89

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  Oct 23 2018

  While many companies like to use buzzwords like crypto, blockchain, AI and encryption, Numerai actually combines all these technologies in a novel way. Founder Richard Craib discusses how his hedge fund started off crowdsourcing good financial models from data scientists to optimize its trading strategies in global equities. He then explains how it airdropped a token, the Numeraire, to those data scientists, giving them the option to stake some Numeraire for models they were especially confident in, and how staked models have higher returns. He also describes Numerai's new Erasure protocol, which helps build a marketplace for predictions for sellers who could profit more from selling their predictions than trading on them, and for buyers who can now use the signal of staking to filter between good and bad data. We dive into the protocol's "griefing" process, in which buyers can punish sellers, as well as the thorny issue of whether selling predictions based on proprietary information could constitute insider trading. Plus, we explore whether or not other hedge funds would really want to buy a token created by another hedge fund, and what Numerai's plans are to become more decentralized. Thank you to our sponsor! Onramp: http://www.thinkonramp.com Episode links: Numerai: https://numer.ai Richard Craib: https://twitter.com/richardcraib My Forbes article on the Numeraire: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/02/21/this-is-the-worlds-first-cryptocurrency-issued-by-a-hedge-fund/#3cda45f360b6 Erasure: https://erasure.xxx Announcement about Erasure: https://medium.com/numerai/numerai-reveals-erasure-unstoppable-peer-to-peer-data-feeds-4fbb8d92820a Unchained episode with Olaf Carlson-Wee of Polychain Capital: http://unchainedpodcast.co/why-the-first-employee-of-coinbase-launched-a-hedge-fund Unchained episode with Joey Krug of Augur: http://unchainedpodcast.co/joey-krug-on-how-augur-is-like-any-other-tool-ep79...more

  Episode

• Listener Mail: Laura Answers Your Questions on the Markets, Velocity, Privacy and More! - Ep.88

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  Oct 16 2018

  This week, because I was busy with my TEDx talk and my book, I decided to do an episode in which I answer your questions. Thank you to everyone who submitted one, and I'm so sorry I didn't get to all your questions. In this episode, I talk about what's necessary to gain wider adoption, how I think the next bull run will manifest and how Bitcoin would behave in a serious financial crisis. Plus, I reveal which areas of the industry I think will blossom, and which areas I'm less optimistic about. I also answer what people who are just getting into the technology can do in the space, why the oracle problem is so challenging and how it can be resolved, and what the velocity problem is, and whether it applies especially to Ethereum. I also delve into privacy coins, whether or not the lower overall crypto market volatility we're seeing now will continue, and where this trend with stablecoins is going. There are a LOT of episode links -- be sure to check them out! Thank you to our sponsors! Altlending: https://altlending.com Blockdaemon: http://blockdaemon.com/unchained/ Episode links: Senate hearing on cryptocurrencies: https://www.c-span.org/video/?452837-1/senate-banking-panel-explores-cryptocurrencies-blockchains Tweets with me, Nouriel and Vitalik: https://twitter.com/laurashin/status/1050782831859752960 My conversation with Soona Amhaz of Token Daily about Nouriel Roubini on Unconfirmed: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/how-were-misusing-the-word-decentralization-ep041 Milken Institute panel featuring Nouriel Roubini: http://www.milkeninstitute.org/videos/view/cryptocurrencies-irrational-exuberance-or-brave-new-world Skeptics' Episodes: Preston Byrne & Angela Walch: http://unchainedpodcast.co/the-skeptics-episode-preston-byrne-and-angela-walch-on-what-the-industry-and-regulators-get-wrong-in-crypto Meltem Demirors & Jill Carlson: http://unchainedpodcast.co/episode-74 Singularity University episode discussing usbaility: http://unchainedpodcast.co/singularity-university-global-summit-how-do-we-get-consumer-adoption-ep83 My Forbes article on phone hijacking: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2016/12/20/hackers-have-stolen-millions-of-dollars-in-bitcoin-using-only-phone-numbers/#2ada233b38ba USV blog post on apps and infrastructure: https://www.usv.com/blog/the-myth-of-the-infrastructure-phase CryptoKitties episode: http://unchainedpodcast.co/what-makes-a-cryptokitty-worth-140000-ep75 Token Foundry standards: https://blog.tokenfoundry.com/token-foundry-standards/ Civil: https://civil.co Forbes magazine feature on blockchain not Bitcoin, featuring Chain: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2015/09/09/bitcoins-shared-ledger-technology-moneys-new-operating-system/#66bb2f4c7dd1 Recent episode with Barry Silbert: http://unchainedpodcast.co/barry-silbert-on-what-wall-street-says-privately-about-crypto-vs-what-it-says-publicly-ep87 Decentralized Finance series: 0x: http://unchainedpodcast.co/will-warren-of-0x-on-why-decentralized-exchanges-are-the-future Dharma: http://unchainedpodcast.co/nadav-hollander-on-how-dharma-could-create-new-forms-of-debt-ep80 Compound: http://unchainedpodcast.co/how-youll-earn-interest-on-your-crypto-with-compound-ep82 dYdX: http://unchainedpodcast.co/how-dydx-allows-you-to-take-a-short-position-in-one-token-ep86 Institutional money: The Information article on university endowments investing in crypto: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/harvard-stanford-mit-endowments-invest-in-crypto-funds Unchained episode with Tuur Demeester: http://unchainedpodcast.co/tuur-demeester-on-why-hes-a-bitcoin-maximalist-and-bearish-on-ethereum-ep81 Fortune article on Bakkt: http://fortune.com/longform/nyse-owner-bitcoin-exchange-startup/ Custody solutions: BitGo becomes a qualified custodian: https://www.coindesk.com/bitgo-receives-regulatory-approval-to-custody-crypto-assets/ Unchained episode with Mike Belshe of BitGo: http://unchainedpodcast.co/mike-belshe-on-what-bitgos-kingdom-trust-acquisition-means-for-crypto-and-how-security-will-develop-in-the-future Coinbase Custody opens: https://blog.coinbase.com/coinbase-custody-is-officially-open-for-business-182c297d65d9 Potential recession: Oslo Freedom Forum episode on uptake of bitcoin in Venezuela: http://unchainedpodcast.co/the-oslo-freedom-forum-in-new-york-why-decentralization-matters-ep85 Fortune article on Chainalysis: http://fortune.com/2018/10/10/can-the-whales-of-bitcoin-tank-the-market/?ref=tokendaily Trends I think will blossom: First Unchained episode with Kathryn Haun: http://unchainedpodcast.co/federal-prosecutor-kathryn-haun-on-how-criminals-use-bitcoin-and-how-she-catches-them Unchained episode with Chris Dixon of a16z crypto: http://unchainedpodcast.co/chris-dixon-on-how-trust-is-the-best-lego-block-ep70 Unchained episode with Zooko Wilcox of Zcash: http://unchainedpodcast.co/zcashs-zooko-wilcox-on-why-he-believes-privacy-coins-will-be-used-more-for-good-than-bad JPMorgan Chase using Zcash technology: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/05/22/jpmorgan-chase-to-integrate-zcash-technology-to-its-enterprise-blockchain-platform/ Enterprise blockchains: NYT article I wrote on enterprise blockchains: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/27/business/dealbook/industries-blockchains-efficiency.html Oracles: Ether flash crash on GDAX: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/22/ethereum-price-crash-10-cents-gdax-exchange-after-multimillion-dollar-trade.html Medium article on oracles:  https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/22/ethereum-price-crash-10-cents-gdax-exchange-after-multimillion-dollar-trade.html Episode with Joey Krug of Augur: http://unchainedpodcast.co/joey-krug-on-how-augur-is-like-any-other-tool-ep79 Episode with Danny An of TrustToken: http://unchainedpodcast.co/harbor-and-trusttoken-on-why-they-dont-mind-being-unsexy-ep77 Velocity problem: Chris Burniske on how to value a crypto asset, on Unchained: http://unchainedpodcast.co/how-to-valuate-a-crypto-asset-s3e08 Ethereum post on reducing block reward: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/22/ethereum-price-crash-10-cents-gdax-exchange-after-multimillion-dollar-trade.html Privacy coins: Good post on Monero vs. Zcash: https://medium.com/digitalassetresearch/zec-best-in-class-privacy-in-a-public-blockchain-1df2a3728739 Episode on illicit use of cryptocurrencies: http://unchainedpodcast.co/how-widespread-is-money-laundering-in-crypto-ep72 Carlotta Perez book, Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: http://www.carlotaperez.org/pubs?s=tf&l=en&a=technologicalrevolutionsandfinancialcapital Unchained episode on stablecoins: http://unchainedpodcast.co/why-its-so-hard-to-keep-stablecoins-stable Unconfirmed episode with Rune Christensen of MakerDAO: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/rune-christensen-of-makerdao-on-its-15-million-from-andreessen-horowitz-ep039 Unchained episode with Circle that describes their stablecoin: http://unchainedpodcast.co/circles-jeremy-allaire-and-sean-neville-on-why-crypto-will-be-bigger-than-the-web-ep71...more

  Episode

• Barry Silbert on What Wall Street Says Privately About Crypto Vs. What It Says Publicly - Ep.87

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  Oct 09 2018

  Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group, which has invested in 130 crypto ventures worldwide, describes his company, its strategy for investing in the crypto space, and how his perspective on the development of the space has changed since he first launched in 2014. He also explains why he's not a big believer in decentralization, like many others in the space, why he's not bullish on ICOs, and why he also is a bigger proponent of Ethereum Classic than Ethereum. We also touch on regulation and how he thinks that will affect the development of crypto, why Grayscale launched an investment vehicle for a little-known cryptocurrency, and why he's excited about Decentraland. Plus, he reveals what Wall Street says publicly about crypto vs. what it says privately and reflects on his role in the New York Agreement -- a failed attempt to bridge a divide in the Bitcoin community. Thank you to our sponsors! Altlending: https://altlending.com Blockdaemon: http://blockdaemon.com/unchained/ If you're interested in sponsoring Unchained or Unconfirmed, email Raelene at laurashinpodcast@gmail.com. Episode Links: DCG: https://dcg.co Barry Silbert: https://twitter.com/barrysilbert Grayscale: https://grayscale.co Genesis: https://genesistrading.com CoinDesk: https://www.coindesk.com New York state Bitlicense: https://www.dfs.ny.gov/legal/regulations/bitlicense_reg_framework.htm Decentraland: https://decentraland.org GBTC: https://grayscale.co/bitcoin-investment-trust/ Radar Relay: https://www.radarrelay.com The Unchained interview with 0x, the decentralized exchange with which Radar Relay works: http://unchainedpodcast.co/will-warren-of-0x-on-why-decentralized-exchanges-are-the-future Blog post announcing the New York Agreement: https://medium.com/@DCGco/bitcoin-scaling-agreement-at-consensus-2017-133521fe9a77 Unchained podcast on the failure of the compromise: http://unchainedpodcast.co/what-bitcoins-history-says-about-its-future...more

  Episode

• How dYdX Allows You to Take a Short Position in One Token - Ep.86

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  Oct 02 2018

  Antonio Juliano, founder of dYdX, explains how this protocol for derivatives will enable you to take a short position in a single token, why they are starting with protocols shorting and margin lending and how these protocols work vs. how shorting and margin lending work today. The former employee of Coinbase also discusses how the protocol determines the prices of the assets involved, how low liquidity affects the trading of the derivatives and who dYdX's users will be. He also talks about how the company, which has raised money from Andreessen Horowitz, Polychain Capital and others, plans to make money despite not currently having a token. Plus, we discuss dYdX's plans to create protocols for derivatives that are not fully collateralized and the risks that come with that. Thank you to our sponsor! Blockdaemon: http://blockdaemon.com/unchained/ Interested in sponsoring Unchained or Unconfirmed? Reach out to Raelene at laurashinpodcast@gmail.com. Episode links: dYdX: https://dydx.exchange Antonio Juliano: https://twitter.com/antoniomjuliano dYdX white paper: https://whitepaper.dydx.exchange Expo: https://www.expotrading.com https://medium.com/dydxderivatives/introducing-expo-ffe74a328f85 Investments in dYdX: https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/03/short-ethereum/ Unchained episode about decentralized exchange protocol 0x: http://unchainedpodcast.co/will-warren-of-0x-on-why-decentralized-exchanges-are-the-future Unchained episode about decentralized debt protocol Dharma: http://unchainedpodcast.co/nadav-hollander-on-how-dharma-could-create-new-forms-of-debt-ep80 Unchained episode about decentralized money market protocol Compound: http://unchainedpodcast.co/how-youll-earn-interest-on-your-crypto-with-compound-ep82 Unchained interview with Josh Stein of Harbor: http://unchainedpodcast.co/harbor-and-trusttoken-on-why-they-dont-mind-being-unsexy-ep77 Unchained interview with CryptoKitties: http://unchainedpodcast.co/what-makes-a-cryptokitty-worth-140000-ep75...more

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• The Oslo Freedom Forum in New York: Why Decentralization Matters - Ep.85

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  Sep 28 2018

  In this fascinating and compelling panel on Why Decentralization Matters at the Oslo Freedom Forum in New York, I spoke with Alejandro Machado, a researcher at Zcash; Amber Baldet, founder and CEO of Clovyr, a decentralized software and developer tools company; Andy Bromberg, cofounder and president of CoinList, a compliant token offering platform; and Megha Rajagopalan, correspondent for Buzzfeed and former China bureau chief. In this discussion, we cover what is happening in authoritarian regimes like China and Venezuela that highlight the importance of decentralized technologies, how people in those countries are using crypto assets, and how technologists think about decentralization and censorship-resistance. We also talk about the usability issues of decentralized technologies and how people in authoritarian regimes can even get access to them. Plus, we also look at how bad state actors are also using the same technology to oppress people or evade sanctions. Thank you to our sponsors! StartEngine: https://www.startengine.com Episode links: PC Mag story on how cryptocurrency is both "an oppressor and a lifeline" in Venezuela: https://www.pcmag.com/feature/362486/in-venezuela-cryptocurrency-is-an-oppressor-and-a-lifeline Naval on Unchained talking about how money is now speech: http://unchainedpodcast.co/naval-ravikant-on-how-crypto-is-squeezing-vcs-hindering-regulators-and-bringing-users-choice Google's Dragonfly project: https://theintercept.com/2018/09/14/google-china-prototype-links-searches-to-phone-numbers/ For more on how decentralization and blockchain technology can help Alex Gladstein of the Human Rights Foundation on Unconfirmed: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/alex-gladstein-of-the-human-rights-foundation-on-the-first-crypto-war-ep021 A previous interview with Amber Baldet on Unconfirmed: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/sxsw-episode-amber-baldet-blockchain-program-lead-at-jpmorgan-on-the-potential-clash-between-blockchains-and-the-right-to-be-forgotten A previous interview with Andy Bromberg on Unconfirmed: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/coinlists-andy-bromberg-on-the-one-big-regulatory-issue-facing-crypto-ep030...more

  Episode

• How Binance Became the Most Popular Crypto Exchange in 5 Months - Ep.84

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  Sep 25 2018

  In this fast-paced and exhilarating conversation, Changpeng Zhao, aka "CZ," tells the pivotal business decisions that led users to flock to the brand-new Binance in the summer and fall of 2017, catapulting it from obscurity to become the world's most popular crypto exchange within five months. He also describes his regulatory stance, why he focuses on small jurisdictions and why he lets token teams hire their own lawyers to determine whether their coins are securities or not.  He explains the company's insider trading and market manipulation policies and how BNB coin works. Plus, he disputes the notion that stocks have better information due to disclosure rules, lays out Binance's current mission and delineates the differences in the crypto communities in North America, Europe and Asia. Thank you to our sponsors! Altlending: https://altlending.com Blockdaemon: https://blockdaemon.com/unchained/ If you're interested in sponsoring Unchained or Unconfirmed, reach out to Raelene at laurashinpodcast@gmail.com. Episode links: Binance: https://www.binance.com CZ: https://twitter.com/cz_binance Binance white paper: https://www.binance.com/resources/ico/Binance_WhitePaper_en.pdf Unchained interview with Bobby Lee: http://unchainedpodcast.co/bobby-lee-ceo-of-btcc-on-why-the-chinese-probably-arent-using-bitcoin-to-evade-capital-controls Unchained interview with Da Hongfei on China bad on ICOs: http://unchainedpodcast.co/from-blockchains-to-mooncakes-two-chinese-crypto-founders-on-the-ico-and-bitcoin-exchanges-ban Epicenter BTC's interview with CZ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEaxQneanIY Binance's "creative" approach to regulation: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-28/crypto-s-billionaire-trading-king-has-suddenly-run-into-problems Unchained interview on crypto regulation in the US: http://unchainedpodcast.co/the-chamber-of-digital-commerces-perianne-boring-and-amy-kim-on-why-us-crypto-regulation-is-complicated-and-confusing Unchained interview with Coin Center: http://unchainedpodcast.co/how-coin-center-is-helping-define-the-big-fuzzy-gray-area-of-blockchain-and-cryptocurrency-law Binance's purchase of TrustWallet: http://fortune.com/2018/07/31/binance-trust-wallet-acquistion/ Binance's $1 billion investment fund: https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/01/binance-1-billion-investment-fund/ Forbes cover story on CZ: https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamelaambler/2018/02/07/changpeng-zhao-binance-exchange-crypto-cryptocurrency/...more

  Episode

• Singularity University Global Summit: How Do We Get Consumer Adoption? - Ep.83

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  Sep 21 2018

  This is a recording of the full "blockchain block" of the Singularity University Global Summit in late August. It features a talk by me on the power of decentralization, Abra CEO Bill Barhydt on the evolution of Bitcoin, and Atlas Holdings Group CEO Mickey Costa on distributed autonomous organizations. Following are two panels. The first is on where we are in the development of crypto and how we get consumer adoption with Bill and Galia Benartzi of Bancor. The second is on blockchain for good, with Cara LaPointe of the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation at Georgetown University and Anne Connelly of Singularity University. It was a great day for a lot of stimulating discussion on where we are in crypto's development and how we can steer it in the direction we want. Thank you to our sponsor! StartEngine: https://www.startengine.com/unchained Episode links: Singularity Global Summit: https://su.org/summits/su-global-summit/ Singularity University Global Summit 2018 program: https://su.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/SUGS_PROGRAM_2018_AUGUST-21_V4-1.pdf Bill Barhydt: https://twitter.com/billbarhydt Abra: https://www.abra.com Mickey Costa: https://twitter.com/mickeycosta Atlas: https://atlas.money Galia Benartzi: https://www.bancor.network Bancor: https://www.bancor.network Cara LaPointe: http://beeckcenter.georgetown.edu/cara-lapointe/ Anne Connelly: https://su.org/about/faculty/anne-connelly/...more

  Episode

• How You'll Earn Interest on Your Crypto With Compound - Ep.82

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  Sep 18 2018

  Robert Leshner, founder of Compound, describes how its protocol will enable people to earn interest on crypto assets, and why he thinks this will be crucial to crypto becoming mainstream. He also describes how the company is currently building an interest rate model -- a task so difficult that an early version "blew up" the Ethereum virtual machine -- and why using one of its smart contract-based money markets is both riskier and less risky than using an exchange. We talk about who will use Compound and how, which coins they're going to launch with, and how Compound plans to make money. Thank you to our sponsors! AltLending: https://altlending.com StartEngine: https://www.startengine.com/unchained Episode links: Compound: https://compound.finance Robert Leshner: https://twitter.com/rleshner Intro to Compound: https://medium.com/compound-finance/introducing-compound-the-money-market-protocol-4b9546bac87 TechCrunch article on Compound: https://techcrunch.com/2018/05/16/cryptocurrency-compound-interest/ Unchained interview with Nadav Hollander of Dharma: http://unchainedpodcast.co/nadav-hollander-on-how-dharma-could-create-new-forms-of-debt-ep80 Unchained interview with Joey Krug of Augur: http://unchainedpodcast.co/joey-krug-on-how-augur-is-like-any-other-tool-ep79 Unchained interview with Danny An of TrustToken, which is creating TrueUSD: http://unchainedpodcast.co/harbor-and-trusttoken-on-why-they-dont-mind-being-unsexy-ep77 Unchained interview with Will Warren of 0x: http://unchainedpodcast.co/will-warren-of-0x-on-why-decentralized-exchanges-are-the-future Unchained interview with Vitalik Buterin: http://unchainedpodcast.co/vitalik-buterin-creator-of-ethereum-on-the-big-guy-vs-the-little-guy...more

  Episode

• Tuur Demeester on Why He's a Bitcoin Maximalist and Bearish on Ethereum - Ep.81

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  Sep 11 2018

  Founder and CEO of Adamant Capital Tuur Demeester explains what factors he considers when valuing crypto assets, why this has led him to become a Bitcoin maximalist, and why he doesn't think Ethereum can scale. We also discuss why he doesn't have much faith in any of the smart contract platforms that are vying in this space. He also describes why he believes proof of work is superior to proof of stake, and why he's excited about the Lightning Network and the apps being built on top. Thank you to our sponsors! StartEngine: https://www.startengine.com/unchained The Sun Exchange: https://thesunexchange.com Episode Links: Tuur Demeester: https://twitter.com/TuurDemeester Tuur's critique of proof of stake: https://medium.com/@tuurdemeester/critique-of-buterins-a-proof-of-stake-design-philosophy-49fc9ebb36c6 Why Tuur is bearish on Ethereum: https://medium.com/@tuurdemeester/im-not-worried-about-bitcoin-unlimited-but-i-am-losing-sleep-over-ethereum-b5251c54e66d https://medium.com/@tuurdemeester/why-im-short-ethereum-and-long-bitcoin-aee5b1c198fd Unchained interview with David Vorick of Siacoin, Nebulous and Obelisk: http://unchainedpodcast.co/why-asics-may-be-better-than-gpus-even-if-they-tend-toward-mining-centralization-ep67 For a recap of the battle between big and small block factions in Bitcoin: http://unchainedpodcast.co/what-bitcoins-history-says-about-its-future...more

  Episode

• Nadav Hollander on How Dharma Could Create New Forms of Debt - Ep.80

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  Sep 04 2018

  Nadav, founder of Dharma protocol, explains how it enables the borrowing and lending of crypto assets, what would happen in the case of default, and why it would make sense to do it in a decentralized fashion rather than using one of the many fintech companies in the lending space. He talks about what effect he thinks decentralized credit markets could have on the market capitalization of all debt, why it will likely enable forms of debt currently unimaginable, and who could benefit most from this protocol. He also dives into why Dharma doesn't currently have a token, how or whether it could work on a non-Ethereum blockchain and ways the for-profit company could someday make money. Thank you to our sponsors! StartEngine: https://www.startengine.com/unchained The Sun Exchange: https://thesunexchange.com Episode links: Nadav Hollander: https://twitter.com/NadavAHollander Dharma protocol: https://dharma.io The Dharma white paper: https://github.com/dharmaprotocol/WhitePaper/blob/master/DharmaWhitepaper.pdf To understand the similarities with Dharma, check out the 0x interview with Will Warren: http://unchainedpodcast.co/will-warren-of-0x-on-why-decentralized-exchanges-are-the-future New types of debt possible with Dharma: https://twitter.com/NadavAHollander/status/1032754247341756416...more

  Episode

• Joey Krug on How Augur Is Like Any Other Tool - Ep.79

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  Aug 28 2018

  Joey Krug, cofounder of Augur and co-chief investment officer at Pantera Capital, talks about what Augur is and is not, why it’s difficult to create new financial markets today and whether or not Augur markets could curb fake news. He explains why the teams burned its escape hatch key and whether he’s worried that Augur’s crowdsale would be considered an unregistered securities offering, plus answers whether he would benefit financially if assassination markets pop up on Augur. We also discuss what he sees happening in the market in his role as co-chief investment officer at Pantera Capital, what problems he think need to be resolved before Augur and dapps can take off, and which projects he believes have the greatest potential to democratize finance. Thank you to our sponsors! Start Engine: https://www.startengine.com/unchained The Sun Exchange: https://thesunexchange.com/ Episode Links: Joey Krug: https://twitter.com/joeykrug?lang=en Augur: https://www.augur.net/ Pantera: https://www.panteracapital.com/ Joey on Unconfirmed: https://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/joey-krug-on-how-to-create-a-regular-cryptocurrency-ep022 Augur FAQ: https://www.augur.net/faq/ Predictions Global: https://predictions.global/ Assassination markets on Augur: https://www.coindesk.com/the-first-augur-assassination-markets-have-arrived/ SEC action against Sand Hill Exchange: https://www.sec.gov/news/pressrelease/2015-123.html Listen to the Unchained interview with 0x: http://unchainedpodcast.co/will-warren-of-0x-on-why-decentralized-exchanges-are-the-future...more

  Episode

• Dfinity's Dominic Williams on How Its Blockchain Nervous System Is Not an AI - Ep.78

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  Aug 21 2018

  Dfinity's Dominic Williams talks about how Dfinity is an internet computer that can host our software and data, instead of it being held by centralized services. He describes the consensus algorithm, threshold relay, and why he believes Dfinity will be much more secure than Bitcoin. We also dive into Dfinity's governance mechanism, the "blockchain nervous system." Williams, who has written about the "AI-managed environment provided by the blockchain nervous system" and talked about how Dfinity upgrades the "code is law paradigm" to "the AI is law paradigm," explains on the show that the blockchain nervous system is not an AI and is manually controlled by users. Thank you to our sponsors! StartEngine: https://www.startengine.com/unchained The Sun Exchange: https://thesunexchange.com Episode links: Dfinity: https://www.dfinity.org Dominic: https://twitter.com/dominic_w?lang=en Dfinity as decentralized cloud: https://medium.com/dfinity/the-decentralized-cloud-vision-of-the-dfinity-blockchain-f68449c49be2 Dfinity consensus algorithm: https://medium.com/dfinity/dfinity-white-paper-our-consensus-algorithm-a11adc0a054c Threshold relay: https://dfinity.org/pdf-viewer/pdfs/viewer?file=../library/threshold-relay-blockchain-stanford.pdf Posts where Dominic has described Dfinity's governance system as an AI: https://medium.com/dfinity/dfinity-in-a-nutshell-a-non-technical-introduction-ec45ec5967c1 https://medium.com/dfinity/the-dfinity-blockchain-nervous-system-a5dd1783288e Phi: https://dfinity.org/pdf-viewer/pdfs/viewer?file=../library/phi-dfinity-extended-v2.pdf...more

  Episode

• Harbor and TrustToken on Why They Don't Mind Being Unsexy - Ep.77

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  Aug 14 2018

  Josh Stein, CEO of Harbor, and Danny An, cofounder and CEO of TrustToken, talk about security tokens and tokens backed by real-world assets, often called an unsexy area of crypto. They explain the strategies their teams are using to tackle the tokenization of what currently constitute $250 trillion in assets, what kinds of new behaviors and business opportunities "faster, cheaper, more liquid" assets could open up, and how they'll comply with regulations across all jurisdictions for markets that are global and trade 24/7/365. Thank you to our sponsors! StartEngine: https://www.startengine.com/unchained The Sun Exchange: https://thesunexchange.com Episode links: Harbor: https://harbor.com Trust Token: https://www.trusttoken.com True USD: https://www.trusttoken.com/trueusd/ An overview of security tokens: https://medium.com/@apompliano/the-official-guide-to-tokenized-securities-44e8342bb24f More on Harbor and security tokens: http://fortune.com/2018/05/18/security-token-harbor-ce More on True USD: https://venturebeat.com/2018/07/18/trusttoken-readies-sale-of-more-trueusd-asset-based-tokens/ The PICO: https://medium.com/harborhq/introducing-the-private-ico-pico-3e8b782924c1 Episode with Meltem Demirors and Jill Carlson: http://unchainedpodcast.co/episode-74...more

  Episode

• Live From Distributed: Amber Baldet, Matthew Roszak and Lily Liu on 'Innovate or Reinvent?' - Ep.76

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  Aug 08 2018

  In July in San Francisco, I moderated a panel at "Distributed 2018: Unlocking the Global Power of Decentralized Business." The title of our discussion was "Innovate or Reinvent?" and the panelists were Amber Baldet, cofounder and CEO of Clovyr, Matt Roszak, cofounder and chairman of Bloq, and Lily Liu, cofounder of Earn.com. We had a wide-ranging discussion, which included topics such as how the "Crypto 50" combined have more budget for blockchain development services than Fortune 50 companies,  how developing in the blockchain space and revolutionize an existing market requires that the new offering be many times better than existing options, and why enterprise needs to wait to get permission rather than ask for forgiveness, which doesn't hinder new projects. We also discussed how government is also a competitor in the space, that building entities don't include only decentralized projects and corporations, and how regulation could affect the development of the space. Thank you to our sponsors! DACC: https://www.digitalassetcustody.com Quantstamp: https://www.quantstamp.com The Sun Exchange:  https://www.thesunexchange.com Episode links: Distributed conference: https://2018.distributed.com Amber Baldet: https://twitter.com/AmberBaldet Clovyr: https://clovyr.io Matt Roszak: https://twitter.com/MatthewRoszak Bloq: https://www.bloq.com Lily Liu: https://twitter.com/calilyliu Earn.com: https://earn.com...more

  Episode

• What Makes a CryptoKitty Worth $140,000? - Ep.75

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  Aug 07 2018

  Roham Gharegozlou, CEO of Dapper Labs, the company behind CryptoKitties, and Benny Giang, Dapper Labs’ head of Asia, describe how employees at venture studio AxiomZen came up with the idea for CryptoKitties, what problems it exposed in crypto (beyond scaling!), and how CryptoKitties can teach people the value of decentralization. They also defend the $140,000 price tag on one kitty, explain how they plan to grow from the current 300 users per day that the blockchain is logging, and surmise that if it weren't for user experience issues, CryptoKitties could have been 100 times bigger. Plus, they talk about the Kittyverse. Thank you to our sponsors! DACC: https://www.digitalassetcustody.com Quantstamp: https://quantstamp.com The Sun Exchange: https://thesunexchange.com Episode links: CryptoKitties: https://www.cryptokitties.co AxiomZen/Dapper Labs: https://www.axiomzen.co Roham Gharegozlou: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roham Benny Giang: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennygiang/ The $140,000 CryptoKitty: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/18/style/cryptokitty-auction.html Fundraising news: https://techcrunch.com/2018/03/20/cryptokitties-raises-12m-from-andreessen-horowitz-and-union-square-ventures/ CryptoKitties on HTC's new phone: http://fortune.com/2018/07/11/cryptokitties-app-htc/ Listen to previous episodes of Unchained with these CryptoKitties investors: Chris Dixon: http://unchainedpodcast.co/chris-dixon-on-how-trust-is-the-best-lego-block-ep70 Naval Ravikant: http://unchainedpodcast.co/naval-ravikant-on-how-crypto-is-squeezing-vcs-hindering-regulators-and-bringing-users-choice Bill Tai: http://unchainedpodcast.co/maitai-globals-bill-tai-on-why-blockchain-is-the-6th-wave-of-technology William Mougayar: http://unchainedpodcast.co/icos-why-people-are-investing-in-this-380-million-phenomenon "Developers all the way down" -- Unchained episode with Meltem Demirors and Jill Carlson: http://unchainedpodcast.co/episode-74 Listen to my previous interview with Arianna Simpson on Unconfirmed about CryptoKitties: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/arianna-simpson-of-autonomous-partners-on-privacy-cryptokitties-and-crypto-regulation...more

  Episode

• Meltem Demirors and Jill Carlson on the Sh*tcoin Waterfall - Ep.74

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  Jul 31 2018

  In this hilarious skeptics' episode, Meltem Demirors, chief strategy officer of CoinShares, and Jill Carlson, an independent consultant, explain why they think crypto needs fewer moral arguments and more empirical evidence, and how there's too much focus on financial engineering, but not enough focus on winning hearts and minds. They also explain why people are not machines where "you put in a token and get out an action," what the "sh*tcoin waterfall" is, and why cryptoeconomics isn't anything new. Plus, they give their tips for working in the space. Thank you to our sponsors! DACC: https://www.digitalassetcustody.com Preciate: https://preciate.org/recognize/ Quantstamp: https://quantstamp.com Episode links: Meltem on Twitter: https://twitter.com/melt_dem On Medium: https://medium.com/@Melt_Dem Jill on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_jillruth AirTM: https://www.airtm.io Fat protocols thesis: http://www.usv.com/blog/fat-protocols Amber Baldet's tweet about the finger guns guy: https://twitter.com/amberbaldet/status/1006286345122275331 Meltem's tips on working in crypto: https://medium.com/@Melt_Dem/so-you-want-to-work-in-crypto-57961ca074c4 Jill's tips on working for yourself: https://medium.com/@jillcarlson/working-alone-165ababeafc2...more

  Episode

• Kathleen Breitman and Ryan Jesperson of Tezos on Why They Wouldn't Do Its Token Sale Differently - Ep.73

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  Jul 24 2018

  Kathleen Breitman, CEO of Dynamic Ledger Solutions, the company behind the Tezos protocol, and Ryan Jesperson, president of the foundation, discuss the Tezos initial coin offering, which was the largest ICO at the time of sale. Kathleen explains why she wouldn't do anything differently, except for the choice of foundation head, Johann Gevers, with whom Kathleen and her co-creator and husband, Arthur Breitman, ended up in multiple disputes. She muses as to why many people initially praised Gevers and then later revealed that he was not liked or that he'd defrauded them when they'd worked for him. Ryan and Kathleen also explain how they will attempt to help Tezos compete in the competitive smart contract platform space, despite the fact that Tezos is built in less well-known computer languages, and they explain why they've chosen delegated proof of stake as their consensus protocol, despite the criticism that it could create a plutocracy. Tezos: https://tezos.com Kathleen Breitman: https://twitter.com/breitwoman Ryan Jesperson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-jesperson-23b0053a/ Thank you to our sponsors! Preciate: https://preciate.org Quantstamp: https://quantstamp.com The Sun Exchange: https://www.thesunexchange.com Podcast links: Wired story on Tezos: https://www.wired.com/story/tezos-blockchain-love-story-horror-story/ Unconfirmed episode with Gideon Lewis-Kraus, author of the Wired cover story: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/behind-the-tezos-scandal-conflicts-of-interest-self-dealing-and-bullying-ep024 Unconfirmed with Caitlin Long on Wyoming blockchain laws: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/behind-the-tezos-scandal-conflicts-of-interest-self-dealing-and-bullying-ep024...more

  Episode

• How Widespread Is Money Laundering in Crypto? - Ep.72

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  Jul 17 2018

  Yaya Fanusie, director of analysis at the Center on Sanctions and Illicit Finance at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and Tom Robinson, chief data officer and cofounder of blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, discuss how common money laundering is in crypto, how jihadist groups are using it, and how privacy coins (really Monero) affect their work. (The reason why the dark markets haven't much used Zcash surprised me.) We also discuss bad state actors using cryptocurrency, such as Venezuela's efforts with the metro and North Korea's alleged Bitcoin ransomware attacks, and how, leaving aside bad state actors, central bank cryptocurrencies would compete with decentralized ones. Plus, we discuss what impact OFAC blocked addresses list will have. Thank you to our sponsors! Preciate: https://preciate.org Quantstamp: https://quantstamp.com Yaya Fanusie: https://twitter.com/SignCurve Center on Sanctions and Illicit Finance at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies: http://www.defenddemocracy.org/csif Tom Robinson: https://twitter.com/tomrobin    Elliptic: http://www.elliptic.co Yaya and Tom's report on Bitcoin laundering: http://www.defenddemocracy.org/content/uploads/documents/MEMO_Bitcoin_Laundering.pdf New AML regulations on cryptocurrencies in Europe: https://www.elliptic.co/our-thinking/5th-aml-directive-eu-regulation-cryptocurrency Money laundering in ICOs: https://www.elliptic.co/our-thinking/ico-risk-why-aml-compliance-matters Yaya's op-ed on the Venezuelan metro in CoinDesk: https://www.coindesk.com/crypto-investors-stay-away-venezuelas-petro/ Russia's blockchain plans: http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/technology/346476-blockchain-technology-may-give-russia-its-next-sputnik-moment What jihadists are doing with crypto assets: https://www.thecipherbrief.com/article/exclusive/international/terrorist-networks-eye-bitcoin-cryptocurrencys-price-rises https://www.thecipherbrief.com/column/private-sector/the-new-frontier-in-terror-fundraising-bitcoin Yaya's essay on self-policing in CoinDesk: https://www.coindesk.com/crypto-community-must-use-blockchain-self-police/...more

  Episode

• Circle's Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville on Why Crypto Will Be Bigger Than the Web - Ep.71

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  Jul 10 2018

  Jeremy Allaire, cofounder and CEO of Circle, and Sean Neville, cofounder and president, discuss why they think the internet of value will be even bigger than the internet of information and how all assets will be tokenized. They also talk about why they're launching a stable coin, how their services in payments, exchange and investing will compete against decentralized versions of the same, and how they chose the assets for Circle Invest -- and why XRP didn't make the cut. They also address the investor presentation circulated that claimed the SEC would not pursue enforcement against Poloniex for prior activity and explain why Circle took investment from Bitmain despite negative sentiment against the mining equipment manufacturer. And they explain how Circle could compete once Wall Street incumbents begin to offer competitive services in crypto. Thank you to our sponsors! Clarity PR: http://clarity.pr Preciate: https://preciate.org/recognize/ Links: Circle.com: https://www.circle.com/en/ Circle's plans around a federal banking license and brokerage and trading registration: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-06/circle-in-talks-with-u-s-to-become-licensed-bank-trading-venue Acquisition of Poloniex: https://blog.circle.com/2018/02/26/circle-acquires-poloniex/ XRP in a screenshot of Circle Invest, but offered after launch: https://www.coindesk.com/circle-adds-monero-crypto-investment-app/ The Circle Asset Framework: https://www.circle.com/marketing/pdfs/en/circle-asset-framework.pdf Nathaniel Popper's tweet showing the Circle investor deck indicating the SEC won't pursue action against Poloniex: https://twitter.com/nathanielpopper/status/968202570719117313?lang=en Circle's stable coins + Bitmain investment: https://blog.circle.com/2018/05/15/circle-announces-usd-coin-bitmain-partnership-and-new-strategic-financing/ Unchained episode on stable coins: http://unchainedpodcast.co/why-its-so-hard-to-keep-stablecoins-stable Unchained episode with David Vorick, which includes some comments on Bitmain: http://unchainedpodcast.co/why-asics-may-be-better-than-gpus-even-if-they-tend-toward-mining-centralization-ep67...more

  Episode

• Chris Dixon on How Trust Is the Best Lego Block - Ep.70

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  Jul 03 2018

  Chris Dixon, partner at Andreessen Horowitz, talks about the new $300 million crypto fund he is leading with Kathryn Haun, the new general partner of Andreessen, and how a16z came to hire its first female GP. The long-time crypto entrepreneur also discusses his theory of how crypto will grow -- and why Cryptokitties was one example of how that might happen -- his nights-and-weekend theory of technological change, and his view that writing software and smart contracts is similar to writing a novel. Additionally, he explains how someday, it will seem funny we didn't have concepts of ownership and money in the digital world, why Andreessen is investing almost exclusively in crypto-first projects and why he believes that the ability to create trust software will be the best Lego block for building things like money, finance, digital goods and more. Thank you to our sponsors! Blockchain Warehouse: https://www.blockchainwarehouse.com Clarity PR: http://clarity.pr Preciate: https://preciate.org LINKS: The a16z $300 million crypto fund: https://a16zcrypto.com Katie Haun's appointment as GP: https://a16z.com/2018/06/25/katie-haun/ My previous interviews with Katie Haun -- Unchained: http://unchainedpodcast.co/federal-prosecutor-kathryn-haun-on-how-criminals-use-bitcoin-and-how-she-catches-them Unconfirmed: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/sxsw-episode-former-doj-prosecutor-kathryn-haun-on-what-the-sec-subpoenas-and-fincen-letter-likely-mean Chris on decentralization: https://medium.com/@cdixon/why-decentralization-matters-5e3f79f7638e On how tokens can reverse the centralization of the internet: https://medium.com/@cdixon/crypto-tokens-a-breakthrough-in-open-network-design-e600975be2ef Chris mentioned Placeholder Ventures -- if you haven't heard my interview with the firm's Joel Monegro, check it out: http://unchainedpodcast.co/placeholders-joel-monegro-on-the-fat-protocols-thesis-today-ep65...more

  Episode

• Jimmy Song on Why Bitcoin Will Be the Winning Cryptocurrency - Ep.69

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  Jun 26 2018

  In an episode of strong positions, Blockchain Capital  partner and Bitcoin educator Jimmy Song explains why private blockchains will never work, why smart contracts will never work, and why Bitcoin will be the one and only valuable cryptocurrency. He also gives his definition sound money, describes why Bitcoin is sound money, and talks about how he finds new companies to invest in if he believes Bitcoin is already the winner. Plus, he recounts the story of his buzz-generating debate with ConsenSys's Joe Lubin at the Consensus conference, which ended with a challenge to come up with a bet in Bitcoin, and what terms Jimmy would like to make the bet on. Lubin, it's your move. Jimmy Song on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jimmysong Medium: https://medium.com/@jimmysong Blockchain Capital: http://blockchain.capital/ Programming Blockchain: http://programmingblockchain.com Off Chain with Jimmy Song on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEFJVYNiPp8xeIUyfaPCPQw Medium post on smart contracts: https://medium.com/@jimmysong/the-truth-about-smart-contracts-ae825271811f Jimmy's rebuttal to the responses to his post: https://medium.com/@jimmysong/crypto-keynesian-lunacy-16bb9193a58 Video of Amber Baldet, Joe Lubin and Jimmy's panel at Consensus -- video 31 under Day 1: https://www.coindesk.com/events/consensus-2018/videos/ Thank you to our sponsors! Blockchain Warehouse: https://www.blockchainwarehouse.com Clarity PR: http://clarity.pr Preciate: https://preciate.org/recognize/...more

  Episode

• Live From the World Economic Forum Industry Strategy Meeting: Breaking the Blockchain Hype - Ep.68

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  Jun 20 2018

  This is a live recording from a panel I moderated at the World Economic Forum Industry Strategy Meeting. The speakers included Shwetha Shetty Senior Director, Corporate Strategy Group, of SAP, Adam Ludwin, CEO of Chain, Brian Behlendorf, executive director of HyperLedger the Linux Foundation and Sheila Warren, project head of blockchain and distributed ledger technology at the World Economic Forum.We dive into the pros and cons of using blockchains for elections. which types of problems are best-suited to be solved by blockchain, why B2B applications of blockchain might come before B2C products and what kinds of identity-related data might be safe to put on a blockchain. Plus, Adam reveals some entertaining anecdotes about Silicon Valley safaris and how old World’s Fair tickets could have an analog to blockchain systems today. Episodes I referenced during the discussion in case listeners want to dive more into the elections topic: Tomicah Tillemann episode on the blockchain voting pilot in West Virginia: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/battling-corruption-with-blockchain-technology-tomicah-tillemann-of-the-blockchain-trust-accelerator-ep018 Alex Gladstein episode with more on blockchain-based voting: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/alex-gladstein-of-the-human-rights-foundation-on-the-first-crypto-war-ep021 Tweets about blockchain-based voting: Matt Blaze’s objecton to blockchain-based voting: https://twitter.com/mattblaze/status/1002921011854143488 Vitalik’s response: https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin/status/1004203105611726849 Tomicah Tillemann’s response: https://twitter.com/TomicahTD/status/1004325810252197888 To address the question at the end about blockchain-based passports:  2 Katie Haun episodes on using blockchain-based systems to solve the problems of "breeder documents" and fraud, waste and abuse: Fraud, waste and abuse: http://unchainedpodcast.co/live-from-inforum-at-the-commonwealth-club-blockchain-and-cryptocurrency-the-basics-with-kathryn-haun Breeder documents: http://unchainedpodcast.co/federal-prosecutor-kathryn-haun-on-how-criminals-use-bitcoin-and-how-she-catches-them  Episode with Vinny Lighal, founder of Civic, which is working on a blockchain-based identity solution: http://unchainedpodcast.co/bitcoin-oracle-vinny-lingham-on-why-bitcoin-is-overpriced  Thank you to our sponsor! Blockchain Warehouse: https://www.blockchainwarehouse.com...more

  Episode

• Why ASICs May Be Better Than GPUs Even if They Tend Toward Mining Centralization - Ep.67

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  Jun 19 2018

  David Vorick, CEO of Nebulous, which operates Siacoin and a new subsidiary, Obelisk, describes what he's discovered in his exploration of the mining industry, including why he's decided that specialized chips like ASICs are preferable to generalized chips like GPUs, even if they tend to bring out mining centralization. He also describes Obelisk's new service, Launchpad,which secures exclusive deals to create a custom proof-of-work algorithm for a coin and also the mining equipment for it, in exchange for being the only miner on the market at launch or for a period. He explains why he thinks proof of work is the only really viable type of consensus algorithm and doesn't even see any other potentially workable ones on the horizon. Plus, he has some sharp criticisms of Bitmain and claims that several groups were secretly mining Monero, though he can't reveal how he knows.   David Vorick: https://twitter.com/DavidVorick https://medium.com/@davidvorick Siacoin: http://sia.tech Blog.sia.tech Obelisk: https://obelisk.tech Blog.obelisk.tech David on why Siacoin chose ASICs: https://medium.com/obelisk-blog/choosing-asics-for-sia-4b11695df051 David's long post about the state of cryptocurrency mining: https://blog.sia.tech/the-state-of-cryptocurrency-mining-538004a37f9b Announcement about Obelisk: https://medium.com/obelisk-blog/introducing-obelisk-launchpad-b78756eaa74c Zooko's recap of his conversation with Jihan Wu, CEO of Bitmain: https://forum.z.cash/t/so-i-had-a-videochat-with-jihan-wu/29379 Bitmain's tweets being transparent (account currently disabled): https://twitter.com/BITMAINtech/status/1001376036985028608 Bitmain's blog post about being transparent: https://blog.bitmain.com/en/antiminer-z9-mini-shipments-experiment-radical-transparency/ Thank you to our sponsors! Preciate: https://preciate.org/recognize/ https://www.blockchainwarehouse.com...more

  Episode

• Live From Consensus: What the Media Really Thinks About Crypto - Ep.66

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  Jun 13 2018

  This is a recording of a panel discussion I participated in with a couple other reporters and crypto PR people at Consensus. (It was at the same time as Jack's talk, so it's totally understandable if you missed it. Also, the room was freezing. I was shivering the entire time.) The other panelists were Leigh Cuen of CoinDesk, Avi Salzman of Barron's (and my old classmate from grad school!), Jill Richmond of Spark PR, Trey Ditto of Ditto PR, and the discussion was moderated by Frank Chaparro of Business Insider. We discussed whether or not crypto projects and publications should engage in pay to play (I would have hoped the answer to this would obvious to everyone, but alas), coverage that could cause investors to lose money, whether or not the business model of the media industry drives clickbait headlines and why journalists have a responsibility to include more of the nuances in crypto. We also dish up some practical tips and insider info, like how crypto projects can get media coverage, what factors reporters use in deciding whether or not to write about a project they're pitched, and whether or not crypto teams should hire crypto-specific PR firms. Apologies that there was no mic for the questions from the audience. I've left the questions in, as you can sometimes hear them faintly. I tried my best to have someone or myself recap each question. For the question about our favorite stories, these were the articles we named My favorite of mine: my phone hijacking story: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2016/12/20/hackers-have-stolen-millions-of-dollars-in-bitcoin-using-only-phone-numbers/#464b730d38ba Leigh liked a series I did exposing fake advisors: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/11/01/alex-tapscotts-crypto-vc-firm-going-public-with-100m-cad-falsely-touted-4-blockchain-stars-as-advisors/#483d3ff31b1f https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/11/03/cibc-walks-from-tapscotts-nextblock-global-after-falsehoods-revealed-more-misrepresentations-found/#724de0e13cbf https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/11/05/alex-tapscotts-crypto-vc-firm-aborts-public-listing-will-return-money-after-falsehoods-revealed/#1d4de0a62e27 Leigh's favorite stories: Cryptocurrency in Iran: http://www.ibtimes.com/bitcoin-adoption-rate-iran-surges-despite-censorship-protests-2636607 http://www.ibtimes.com/initial-coin-offerings-are-coming-iran-2653474 Cryptocurrency for sex workers: http://www.ibtimes.com/beyond-bitcoin-blockchain-tokens-sex-industry-2601252 Avi's favorite story: https://www.barrons.com/articles/bitcoin-storms-wall-street-1512188427 Thank you to our sponsors! Keepkey: https://www.keepkey.com Token Agency: https://tokenagency.com...more

  Episode

• Placeholder's Joel Monegro on the Fat Protocols Thesis Today - Ep.65

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  Jun 12 2018

  Joel Monegro, partner at crypto VC firm Placeholder Ventures, describes how well his seminal blog post, "Fat Protocols," is holding up, why he and his partner Chris Burniske opted to found a crypto VC firm as opposed to a hedge fund, and what main factors they think will determine the success of a blockchain. He also describes how crypto and blockchains fit into the evolution of technology, how the business models in the crypto space will be built, and why their first publicly known investment was in Decred. Plus, he reveals why their firm is called Placeholder. Placeholder: https://www.placeholder.vc Joel: https://twitter.com/jmonegro The Placeholder investment thesis: https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmZL4eT1gxnE168Pmw3KyejW6fUfMNzMgeKMgcWJUfYGRj/Placeholder%20Thesis%20Summary.pdf The Fat Protocols Thesis: https://www.usv.com/blog/fat-protocols Decred investment thesis: https://www.placeholder.vc/blog/2018/5/12/decred-investment-thesis Blog post on information technology cycles: https://monegro.org/work/2018/2/20/information-technology-market-cycles-a-brief-history Joel's blog post on the shared data layer of the blockchain application stack: http://joel.mn/post/104755282493/the-shared-data-layer-of-the-blockchain and on the blockchain application stack: http://joel.mn/post/103546215249/the-blockchain-application-stack Two episodes featuring his partner, Chris Burniske: http://unchainedpodcast.co/how-to-valuate-a-crypto-asset-s3e08 http://unchainedpodcast.co/want-higher-returns-invest-in-bitcoin-say-arks-chris-burniske-and-coinbases-adam-white Another episode that I forgot to mention during the show, the interview with Bill Tai, which contains ideas that overlap quite a bit with Joel's: http://unchainedpodcast.co/maitai-globals-bill-tai-on-why-blockchain-is-the-6th-wave-of-technology Thank you to our sponsors! Preciate: https://preciate.org/recognize/ Blockchain Warehouse: https://www.blockchainwarehouse.com...more

  Episode

• From the Oslo Freedom Forum: Blockchain vs. the Surveillance State - Ep.64

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  Jun 06 2018

  This recording is of Blockchain vs. the Surveillance State, a series of talks and a panel from the Oslo Freedom Forum put on by the Human Rights Foundation. In this session, hear presentations from Ryan Shea of decentralized technology platform Blockstack; Galia Benartzi of smart token platform Bancor; Steve Waterhouse of surveillance-free internet project Orchid; and Arthur Breitman from smart contract platform Tezos. Afterward, I moderate a panel among the four speakers that touches on the ways in which blockchains can be used to curb human rights abuses -- but also how bad actors can also use them for nefarious purposes. Oslo Freedom Forum: https://oslofreedomforum.com Human Rights Foundation: https://www.hrf.org The four presentations: Ryan Shea https://twitter.com/ryaneshea of Blockstack: https://blockstack.org (Also check out his interview with cofounder Muneeb Ali on Unchained: http://unchainedpodcast.co/blockstack-on-getting-independence-from-google-facebook-and-amazon) Galia Benartzi https://twitter.com/galiabenartzi of Bancor https://www.bancor.network/discover Steve Waterhouse https://twitter.com/deseventral of https://orchid.com Arthur Breitman https://twitter.com/arthurb of https://tezos.com Be sure also to listen to the Unconfirmed podcast episode with Alex Gladstein of the Human Rights Foundation -- not to be missed if you're interested in the topics discussed during Blockchain vs. the Surveillance State! http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/alex-gladstein-of-the-human-rights-foundation-on-the-first-crypto-war-ep021 Thank you to our sponsors! Blockchain Warehouse: https://www.blockchainwarehouse.com Keepkey: https://www.keepkey.com...more

  Episode

• Arthur Hayes of Bitmex on Why Countries Will Turn to Digital Cash - Ep.63

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  Jun 05 2018

  Arthur Hayes, CEO of Bitmex, describes how traders on his platform can make great gains but experience limited losses, how Asia's crypto markets differ from those in the U.S., and why he makes money whether or not crypto prices go up or down. He also describes why ICOs are crap now but why he fully supports the idea in theory and how they should get back to their roots. He also explains why he believes governments will issue digital cash, and why he believes everyday people will be surveilled through these transactions, but will give up this privacy for the sake of convenience. And where does he see this leaving cryptocurrencies? To become needed to transact privately. Bitmex: https://www.bitmex.com/ Arthur Hayes: https://www.bitmex.com/app/aboutUs Bitmex blog, with detailed research reports: https://blog.bitmex.com/ Arthur's Crypto Trader Digest: https://us3.campaign-archive.com/?u=db45c09bdf20e1866bb32123f&id=ac43da8d18 Thank you to our sponsors! Blockchain Warehouse: https://www.blockchainwarehouse.com/ Preciate: https://preciate.org/recognize/...more

  Episode

• How Chainalysis Helps Solve Crimes: Jonathan Levin Tells All - Ep.62

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  May 29 2018

  Jonathan Levin, cofounder and chief operating officer for blockchain analytics company Chainalysis, describes how the company was born out of questions he had while a grad student, how they began mapping the Bitcoin blockchain to certain entities, and how their customers, which include government agencies such as the FBI, DEA, IRS, Europol and others, use Chainalysis to help solve Bitcoin crimes. He also reveals what level of detail the software tracks, how privacy coins could affect their work, and what new developments in the technology could decrease current crimes, such as physical extortion of crypto holders. Plus, he answers the question of whether or not Chainalysis's work destroys the fungibility of Bitcoin. Chainalysis: http://chainalysis.com/ Jonathan Levin: https://twitter.com/jony_levin Chainalysis report on the changing nature of crypto crime: https://www.chainalysis.com/static/Cryptocrime_Report_V2.pdf Forbes article on Chainalysis: https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2018/04/05/snooping-on-bitcoin-is-big-business/#234e6792d198 Usage of Chainalysis by IRS: https://www.thedailybeast.com/irs-now-has-a-tool-to-unmask-bitcoin-tax-cheats Threats of violence against bitcoin and other crypto holders: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/18/technology/virtual-currency-extortion.html Thank you to our sponsors! Blockchain Warehouse: https://www.blockchainwarehouse.com/ Keepkey: https://www.keepkey.com/ Preciate: https://preciate.org/recognize/...more

  Episode

• Jesse Powell, CEO of Kraken, on Drawing a Line With Regulators - Ep.61

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  May 22 2018

  Jesse Powell, CEO of crypto asset exchange Kraken, explains why he publicly rejected then-Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's request for information from crypto exchanges, why he felt it was a publicity stunt and why Kraken, which stopped serving New York customers after New York's Bitlicense was introduced, doesn't see the market as a top priority. He also talks about why Kraken decided to stop operations in Japan after further regulations were imposed and discusses Kraken's $1 million donation to Coin Center (and its $1 million match). Plus, he gets into why he named the exchange after a Norse sea monster, the dangers of the exchange's margin trading product, and what steps he recommends everyone in crypto take to keep their tokens safe. Jesse Powell: https://twitter.com/jespow Kraken: https://www.kraken.com/ Past Unchained episode with Brock Pierce who also had a pre-Bitcoin career involving video game currency (Jesse and Brock were competitors): http://unchainedpodcast.co/this-vc-is-sure-venture-capital-is-about-to-be-disrupted Kraken's position on regulation (discussion of New York AG request and Japan + guidance for regulators): https://blog.kraken.com/post/1561/krakens-position-on-regulation/ Kraken donation to Coin Center: https://blog.kraken.com/post/1591/kraken-donates-1m-to-coin-center-with-an-additional-1m-matching-during-may/ Kraken down for 40 hours: http://fortune.com/2018/01/12/bitcoin-price-ripple-kraken-down/ Past Unchained episode on taxation of crypto: http://unchainedpodcast.co/the-tax-rules-that-have-crypto-users-aghast Kraken blog post on phone numbers being hijacked: https://blog.kraken.com/post/219/security-advisory-mobile-phones/ My article on the same topic: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2016/12/20/hackers-have-stolen-millions-of-dollars-in-bitcoin-using-only-phone-numbers/#1d79923338ba Thank you to our sponsors! Keepkey: https://www.keepkey.com/ Preciate: https://preciate.org/recognize/ Token Agency: https://tokenagency.com/...more

  Episode

• Live From Ethereal: Eep! How Should Ethereum Be Governed? - Ep.60

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  May 20 2018

  This recording of a panel I moderated at Ethereal with Ethereum researcher Vlad Zamfir and GovernX founder Nick Dodson covered the topic that it seems everyone in crypto is discussing these days: governance. We talk about how the community should decide whether or not to unlock the funds frozen by bugs, on-chain governance, what role the Ethereum Foundation plays and what it means that nearly all the people who write Ethereum's code are men. Nick Dodson: https://twitter.com/iamnickdodson Vlad Zamfir: https://twitter.com/VladZamfir If you liked this discussion, also be sure to check out my recent episode with Aya Miyaguchi, executive director of the Ethereum Foundation: http://unchainedpodcast.co/aya-miyaguchi-of-the-ethereum-foundation-on-who-makes-the-final-call-ep59 And this Unconfirmed episode on blockchain ethics with Cara LaPointe of Georgetown: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/from-the-bellagio-blockchain-summit-blockchain-ethics-with-georgetowns-cara-lapointe-ep016 Thank you to Ethereal for hosting a great event! https://etherealsummit.com/ And thank you to our sponsors! Keepkey: https://www.keepkey.com/ Preciate: https://preciate.org/recognize/ Token Agency: https://tokenagency.com/...more

  Episode

• Aya Miyaguchi, of the Ethereum Foundation, on Who Makes the Final Call - Ep.59

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  May 15 2018

  The newly appointed head of the Ethereum Foundation, Aya Miyaguchi, talks about her background as a teacher, at Kraken, helping the Mt. Gox trustee unwind that mess, and the closed process by which she was plucked for her current role. She also describes her goals with the Ethereum Foundation, how the EF believes the Ethereum community should make decisions, how it defines community and more. She also talks about how she hopes to push more financial inclusion with Ethereum, and what she thinks needs to be done to get more women involved in crypto. Aya Miyaguchi: https://twitter.com/mi_ayako Ethereum Foundation: https://www.ethereum.org/foundation Thank you to our sponsors! Keepkey: https://www.keepkey.com/ Preciate: https://preciate.org/recognize/ Token Agency: http://tokenagency.com/...more

  Episode

• Ripple's XRP: Why Its Chances of Success Are Low - Ep.58

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  May 08 2018

  In this show, recorded without the participation of Ripple (explanation included in the show), Ryan Selkis, CEO and founder of Messari and Matt Leising, Bloomberg reporter, discuss Ripple's XRP, the third-largest coin by market cap. We go over whether or not it plays an essential role in Ripple's products, why banks are unlikely to adopt it, and why it's centralized. We also discuss whether or not it's an unregistered security (although the class-action lawsuit alleging XRP is an unregistered security being sold in a "never-ending ICO" came out after we recorded -- link below). We also discuss recent attempts by XRP to get it listed on top crypto exchanges, and how, as Selkis puts it, there's a fine line between some of its business activity and bribes. We also ponder the question: If XRP is meant for banks and financial institutions, why should everyday people own XRP? Ryan Selkis: https://messari.io/ https://twitter.com/twobitidiot Matt Leising: https://twitter.com/mattleising https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/AGfq0QVqo0I/matthew-leising Full text of class-action lawsuit against Ripple: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5938711a9de4bb74f63b4059/t/5aebc4112b6a28e0ef4a0381/1525400594617/Coffey+v+Ripple+Labs+Complaint.pdf Bloomberg article on lawsuit: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-04/ripple-hit-with-class-action-suit-over-never-ending-ico Matt's article on why big banks have no interest in using XRP: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-25/ripple-wants-xrp-to-be-bitcoin-for-banks-if-only-the-banks-wanted-it How Ripple tried to buy its way onto crypto exchanges: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-04/ripple-is-said-to-struggle-to-buy-u-s-listing-for-popular-coin Ryan's post on XRP: https://medium.com/@twobitidiot/i-still-see-you-xrp-815369a539ea Izabella Kaminska's article on XRP: https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2018/01/05/2197220/the-ripple-effect/ CoinDesk article on XRP: https://www.coindesk.com/ripples-xrp-giving-third-largest-cryptocurrency-second-look/ XRP chat post by David Schwartz: https://www.xrpchat.com/topic/5280-valuation-models-xrp-the-digital-currency-vs-ripple-the-company/?tab=comments#comment-50182  Another post by David Schwartz on how XRP is not required: https://www.quora.com/Is-XRP-not-required-for-the-Ripple-Swift-replacement/answer/David-Schwartz-9 Bitmex post on XRP: https://blog.bitmex.com/the-ripple-story/ The dueling lawsuits between Ripple and R3 over XRP: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/09/08/blockchain-enterprise-firms-r3-and-ripple-sue-each-other-over-1-billion-of-cryptocurrency/ Thank you to our sponsors! Bitwise: https://www.bitwiseinvestments.com/unchained Keepkey: https://www.keepkey.com/  Preciate: https://preciate.org/recognize/...more

  Episode

• How Institutional Investors Can Do Due Diligence in the Crypto Space - Ep.57

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  May 06 2018

  Here is the second special episode from the Time Summit, a Bridge Alternatives event, on how institutional investors can do operational due diligence. Suna Said, founder and CEO of family office Nima Capital, Eddie Duszlak of Texas Children's Hospital, and Joel Gantcher of Gantcher Family Partners discuss how they invest in the nascent Web 3.0. They discuss why a year of experience in crypto is so valuable, how they determine who the serious players are in the space and why the speed of disruption from the internet revolution gives them motivation to get into the crypto markets. Thank you to the Time Summit, a Bridge Alternatives event! https://timesummit.org/ http://bridgealternatives.com/ Suna Said: https://timesummit.org/2018/04/18/suna-said/ Eddie Duszlak: https://timesummit.org/2018/03/06/eddie-duszlak/ Joel Gantcher: https://timesummit.org/2018/04/19/joel-gantcher/ Thank you to our sponsors! Ethereal Summit: https://etherealsummit.com/ Use code Unchained10 for 10% off! Quantstamp: https://quantstamp.com/...more

  Episode

• What Will Make Institutional Players Comfortable Entering Crypto? - Ep.56

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  May 05 2018

  This talk is from a panel I led on infrastructure in the crypto space at the Time Summit, by Bridge Alternatives, featuring Kayvon Pirestani of director of institutional sales at GDAX, Tim McCourt, CME Group’s managing director and global head of equity products and alternative investments, Michael Moro, CEO of Genesis Trading and Genesis Capital, and Hu Liang, founder and CEO of Omniex. We discussed what infrastructure tools need to be built to get institutional players comfortable with the space, how custodying a digital asset differs from custodying a traditional asset, why they can see institutional players dealing in stablecoins and trading on decentralized exchanges at some point in the future, and what needs to be built out in terms of trading infrastructure for institutional players. (Hint: it turns out Excel and Google Sheets are the biggest competitors for crypto trading infrastructure services.) We also talk about the challenges of building out infrastructure for trading that can suddenly double or quadruple in volume and for a market that runs 24/7/365. Thank you to Bridge Alternatives and the Time Summit for the panel! https://www.bridgealternatives.com/ https://timesummit.org/ Kayvon Pirestani: https://timesummit.org/2018/03/19/kayvon-pirestani/ Michael Moro: https://timesummit.org/2018/04/21/michael-moro/ Tim McCourt: https://timesummit.org/2018/03/15/tim-mccourt/ Hu Liang: https://timesummit.org/2018/03/23/hu-liang/ The episode with Mike Belshe where we discuss custodying digital assets and qualified custodians: http://unchainedpodcast.co/mike-belshe-on-what-bitgos-kingdom-trust-acquisition-means-for-crypto-and-how-security-will-develop-in-the-future Thank you to our sponsors! Quantstamp: https://quantstamp.com/ Ethereal Summit: https://etherealsummit.com/...more

  Episode

• Multicoin on the 1 Thing Crypto Teams Miss in Their Quests for Success

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  May 01 2018

  Kyle Samani and Tushar Jain, cofounders of Multicoin Capital, dive deeply into their sometimes controversial and unpopular opinions on how the crypto revolution will play out. They describe why they don't think the technology that a team develops early on will play nearly as big a role as some think, why there will be a spectrum of blockchains offering different features with different tradeoffs, and why they're bearish on stablecoins. They discuss why they disagree on whether or not the Lightning Network is revolutionary (and therefore why they disagree on whether Bitcoin is failing). Samani and Jain also explain how they decide whether or not to invest in a token, their strategies for trading and why they don't have to be invested in a project to help out. Multicoin: https://multicoin.capital/ Kyle Samani: @KyleSamani Tushar Jain: @TusharJain_ A blog post that came out after we recorded in which Kyle expands on his contention that technical features will matter less in the long-term success of a network than people think: https://multicoin.capital/2018/04/25/good-artists-copy-great-artists-steal/ Kyle's post on the outlook for coins for store of value, utility tokens and stablecoins: https://multicoin.capital/2018/03/15/paths-to-tens-of-trillions/ More Multicoin thinking around stablecoins: https://multicoin.capital/2018/01/17/an-overview-of-stablecoins/ Previous Unchained episode: Why It's So Hard to Keep Stablecoins Stable: http://unchainedpodcast.co/why-its-so-hard-to-keep-stablecoins-stable Thank you to our sponsors: Bitwise: https://www.bitwiseinvestments.com/unchained Keepkey: https://www.keepkey.com/ Preciate: https://preciate.org/recognize...more

  Episode

• Paul Walsh of MetaCert on How Not to Get Scammed Out of Your Crypto

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  Apr 24 2018

  Paul Walsh had long ago predicted that internet scams would migrate from email to private messaging platforms, but it wasn't until crypto mania took off that his thesis was proved right -- in a big way. In the summer of 2017, the founder and CEO of MetaCert discovered many crypto Slack channels were being overrun by scammers capitalizing on FOMO to get people to inadvertently give them their ether and other tokens. Now, the company has several products to help prevent crypto enthusiasts from being scammed and it also decentralizing its work so the whole world can help classify bad links and proven others from being scammed. In this talk, he describes how the scams work, how Metacert tries to keep people from falling victim, and how best you can protect your own crypto. MetaCert the company: https://metacert.com MetaCert the protocol: http://metacertprotocol.com/  Story on phone hijackings: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2016/12/20/hackers-have-stolen-millions-of-dollars-in-bitcoin-using-only-phone-numbers/#7125f2f738ba Link to episode where Mike Belshe and I discuss physical crimes against crypto people: http://unchainedpodcast.co/mike-belshe-on-what-bitgos-kingdom-trust-acquisition-means-for-crypto-and-how-security-will-develop-in-the-future Thank you to our sponsors! Bitwise: https://www.bitwiseinvestments.com/unchained Keepkey: https://www.keepkey.com Preciate: https://preciate.org, which is taking suggestions for new people to appreciate at https://preciate.org/recognize...more

  Episode

• Trends in Crypto: Marco Santori, Michael Sonnenshein and Barbara Minuzzi on 2017 and What's Next

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  Apr 22 2018

  In this live recording of a panel discussion at the CoinAlts Fund Symposium, Marco Santori, president and chief legal officer of Blockchain, managing director at Grayscale Investments, and Barbara Minuzzi, cofounder and managing partner of Ausum Ventures take stock of the 2017 year and discuss a range of trends they're seeing in the industry. Santori describes what the ICO wave was like from his seat as one of the most in-demand lawyers for ICOs, and why he doesn't actually think that securities (such as a SAFT) can later transform into something that is a non-security. He also talks about how big corporations are thinking about use blockchain technology -- and why we haven't yet seen much activity on that front in the market. We talk about the current clouds over the industry -- custody and regulation -- and Sonnenshein explains why investors choose Grayscale's investment products, such as the Bitcoin Investment Trust, rather that investing in the coin directly, and  Blockchain.info: https://blockchain.info Grayscale Investments: https://grayscale.co Ausum Ventures: https://www.ausum.vc Thank you to the CoinAlts Fund Symposium for hosting the panel: https://www.coinaltsfundsymposium.com For more on regulatory issues, check out these past episodes: Perianne Boring and Amy Kim of the Chamber of Digital Commerce on crypto regulation: http://unchainedpodcast.co/the-chamber-of-digital-commerces-perianne-boring-and-amy-kim-on-why-us-crypto-regulation-is-complicated-and-confusing The Tax Rules That Have Crypto Investors Aghast: http://unchainedpodcast.co/the-tax-rules-that-have-crypto-users-aghast How Crypto and Blockchain Technology Should Be Regulated: http://unchainedpodcast.co/how-crypto-and-blockchain-technology-should-be-regulated Jerry Brito and Peter Van Valkenburgh of Coin Center: http://unchainedpodcast.co/how-coin-center-is-helping-define-the-big-fuzzy-gray-area-of-blockchain-and-cryptocurrency-law Caitlin Long on How 'Utility Tokens' Are Now Legal in Wyoming: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/caitlin-long-on-how-utility-tokens-are-now-legal-in-wyoming Former DOJ Prosecutor Kathryn Haun on What the SEC Subpoenas and FinCen Letter Likely Mean: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/sxsw-episode-former-doj-prosecutor-kathryn-haun-on-what-the-sec-subpoenas-and-fincen-letter-likely-mean For more on custody issues, check out the episode with Mike Belshe of BitGo and its acquisition of Kingdom Trust: http://unchainedpodcast.co/mike-belshe-on-what-bitgos-kingdom-trust-acquisition-means-for-crypto-and-how-security-will-develop-in-the-future Thank you to our sponsors! Ethereal Summit: https://etherealsummit.com Quantstamp: https://www.quantstamp.com StartEngine: https://www.startengine.com/unchained...more

  Episode

• The Chamber of Digital Commerce's Perianne Boring and Amy Kim on Why U.S. Crypto Regulation Is Complicated and Confusing

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  Apr 17 2018

  If U.S. crypto regulation seems incredibly convoluted, this is the episode for you. Perianne Boring, the founder and president of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, and its global policy director and general counsel Amy Kim, discuss why U.S. regulation calls crypto assets currency, property, commodities and securities, and how that results in agencies enforcing their own laws without a higher level understanding of the technology. They also discuss what they call the "failure" of the regulatory regime that requires certain types of crypto companies to get licenses from 53 different states and territories and why no firms have so far even gotten close. They also advocate for the technology to be taxed more like currency than property, claiming that the current classification stifles usage of cryptocurrencies as currencies. We also dive into juicy questions like whether ether, which was sold in what we would now call an initial coin offering, is a security and what self-regulation of the crypto space could look like. Chamber of Digital Commerce: https://digitalchamber.org/ Token Alliance: https://digitalchamber.org/initiatives/token-alliance/ Previous episodes on Unchained and Unconfirmed that touched on regulation: Live from SXSW: Michael Casey and Paul Vigna, Co-Authors of The Truth Machine, on Why the SEC Has Issued Subpoenas to ICOs http://unchainedpodcast.co/live-from-sxsw-michael-casey-and-paul-vigna-co-authors-of-the-truth-machine-on-why-the-sec-has-issued-subpoenas-to-icos Caitlin Long on How 'Utility Tokens' Are Now Legal In Wyoming http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/caitlin-long-on-how-utility-tokens-are-now-legal-in-wyoming SXSW Episode: Former DOJ Prosecutor Kathryn Haun on What the SEC Subpoenas and FinCen Letter Likely Mean http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/sxsw-episode-former-doj-prosecutor-kathryn-haun-on-what-the-sec-subpoenas-and-fincen-letter-likely-mean The Tax Rules That Have Crypto Users Aghast http://unchainedpodcast.co/the-tax-rules-that-have-crypto-users-aghast How Crypto And Blockchain Technology Should Be Regulated http://unchainedpodcast.co/how-crypto-and-blockchain-technology-should-be-regulated Is The IRS Justified In Demanding Information On Millions Of Bitcoin Users? http://unchainedpodcast.co/is-the-irs-justified-in-demanding-information-on-millions-of-bitcoin-users Federal Prosecutor Kathryn Haun On How Criminals Use Bitcoin -- And How She Catches Them: http://unchainedpodcast.co/federal-prosecutor-kathryn-haun-on-how-criminals-use-bitcoin-and-how-she-catches-them How Coin Center Is Helping Define The 'Big Fuzzy Gray Area' Of Blockchain And Cryptocurrency Law http://unchainedpodcast.co/how-coin-center-is-helping-define-the-big-fuzzy-gray-area-of-blockchain-and-cryptocurrency-law Thank you to our sponsors! Bitwise: https://www.bitwiseinvestments.com/unchained Keepkey: https://www.keepkey.com/  Preciate: https://preciate.org/, make a suggestion for who to recognize in a future episode at https://preciate.org/recognize/     ...more

  Episode

• Live From Inforum at the Commonwealth Club: Blockchain and Cryptocurrency: The Basics, With Kathryn Haun

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  Apr 15 2018

  Through Inforum at the Commonwealth Club, I recently moderated a sold-out discussion on the basics of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. My guest was Kathryn Haun, a former federal prosecutor who is now teaching a class on cryptocurrency at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and serves on the boards of Coinbase and Hacker One. We go through all the elementary questions most newbies have: what is bitcoin, what is a blockchain, what is Ethereum, what is mining, etc., and give real examples of how this technology could be used. I think it's a perfect primer for people new to crypto -- whether you're listening for tips on how to explain these concepts to your friends and family, or you're a newbie yourself and want a dead-simple explainer. This is the first in a series of talks with Inforum on blockchain and crypto, so stay tuned for future events. Kathryn Haun: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/kathryn-haun Inforum at the Commonwealth Club: http://inforumsf.org/ http://inforumsf.org/upcoming-events/2018/4/12/blockchain-and-cryptocurrency-the-basics Thank you to our sponsors! Quantstamp: https://quantstamp.com/ Ethereal Summit: https://etherealsummit.com/ enter the code Unchained10 for 10% off And StartEngine: https://www.startengine.com/unchained for a 20% discount...more

  Episode

• Bitfury on the Ways It Collaborates With Governments and Why It's Partnered With a Public Company

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  Apr 10 2018

  Valery Vavilov and George Kikvadze of Bitcoin mining and blockchain software company Bitfury discuss why the firm has partnered with the publicly traded Hut 8, how it plans to branch out into mining other crypto assets, and how it chooses where to open mining operations. They also explain how low the bitcoin price can go before mining will be unprofitable for them, what their new blockchain analytics tools Crystal can do, and why they often choose people outside the blockchain/crypto industry to attend the Blockchain Summit they co-host on Richard Branson's Necker Island. Vavilov also tells the story of a childhood experience that has influenced Bitfury's decision to work so much with governments and regulators, and he and Kikvadze describe the company's new blockchain analytics tool, Crystal, plus its hand in launching other blockchain-and-government-focused organizations such as the Blockchain Alliance and the Blockchain Trust Accelerator. Bitfury: http://bitfury.com/ Bitfury's origin story as told by Bill Tai: http://unchainedpodcast.co/maitai-globals-bill-tai-on-why-blockchain-is-the-6th-wave-of-technology  Hut 8: https://www.hut8mining.com/ Exonum: https://exonum.com/ Necker Blockchain Summit: http://www.neckerblockchainsummit.com/ Blockchain Alliance: http://blockchainalliance.org/ Blockchain Alliance on Unchained:  http://unchainedpodcast.co/how-the-blockchain-alliance-helps-law-enforcement-with-bitcoin-crime-and-developments-like-the-dao Crystal: https://crystalblockchain.com/ Blockchain Trust Accelerator: https://trustaccelerator.org/ Pilot with Coca-Cola and State Department: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-blockchain-coca-cola-labor/coca-cola-u-s-state-dept-to-use-blockchain-to-combat-forced-labor-idUSKCN1GS2PY Emercoin: https://emercoin.com/en Thank you to our sponsors! Bitwise: https://www.bitwiseinvestments.com/unchained Preciate, at https://preciate.org/. To recognize someone for a future ad spot, go to https://preciate.org/recognize/ Keepkey: https://www.keepkey.com/  ...more

  Episode

• All Things Cryptoeconomics, Pt. 1, With Olaf Carlson-Wee and Ryan Zurrer of Polychain Capital

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  Apr 03 2018

  In an intermittent series on cryptoeconomics, Olaf Carlson-Wee and Ryan Zurrer of crypto hedge fund Polychain Capital describe what cryptoeconomics is, what goals it typically helps networks accomplish and what behaviors token systems might someday incentivize. We discuss when cryptoeconomic models don't make sense, how the type of consensus algorithms a blockchain chooses can affect behavior in that system and which consensus mechanisms excite them now. We also dive into whether or not it's desirable for a cryptoeconomic system to depend on a small number of knowledgeable participants, how to manage on-chain governance so networks don't vote themselves into a "black hole," and what disciplines are helpful in designing smart cryptoeconomic systems. Polychain Capital http://polychain.capital/ Thank you to our sponsors: Preciate: Recognize someone with a shout out: https://preciate.org/recognize/ Bitwise Asset Management: https://www.bitwiseinvestments.com/unchained Keepkey: https://www.keepkey.com/...more

  Episode

• Zcash's Zooko Wilcox on Why He Believes Privacy Coins Will Be Used More for Good Than Bad

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  Mar 27 2018

  Zooko Wilcox, the founder and CEO of the Zcash company, explains why he wanted to create the privacy coin Zcash, why he believes privacy is essential to decentralization, and how encryption is the way censorship-resistance can be created on a technical level. We talk about the revelation that the NSA was targeting Bitcoin users by gathering details on their devices and how even Zcash users could be targeted the same way, but why Zooko believes most people are more concerned about other threats. We also delve into the Facebook/Cambridge Analytics news and why people don't see to care about privacy and why so few people choose to transact privately in Zcash. He also describes he would feel if he knew that criminals were using Zcash for horrible crimes. Zcash company: https://z.cash/ Matthew Green's bitter tweet about Cryptokitties raising $12 million when he had to beg VCs to give Zcash a fraction of that amount: https://twitter.com/matthew_d_green/status/976298627759972353 The transaction that Zooko and I dissect during the episode: https://explorer.zcha.in/transactions/eed1d3993e52863fd33f9961672a22d016ca2a63f1e452b7d27fc41f5a2f2664 The Intercept article about the NSA tracking Bitcoin users: https://theintercept.com/2018/03/20/the-nsa-worked-to-track-down-bitcoin-users-snowden-documents-reveal/ Thank you to our sponsors: Preciate: https://preciate.org/; nominate someone to be recognized in a future spot at https://preciate.org/recognize/ Bitwise: https://www.bitwiseinvestments.com/unchained StartEngine: https://www.startenginesummit.com...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed - Ep.008 - Arianna Simpson of Autonomous Partners on Privacy, Cryptokitties and Crypto Regulation

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  Mar 23 2018

  Arianna Simpson, managing partner of investment firm Autonomous Partners, discusses this week's news that Cambridge Analytica had used data from Facebook to perhaps manipulate the 2016 election and whether that could create an opening for blockchain-based decentralized social networks. We also cover the announcement that Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures and top individual investors invested $12 million in Cryptokitties and why Simpson thinks the area of digital collectibles could take off. The Facebook/Cambridge Analytica story: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/17/us/politics/cambridge-analytica-trump-campaign.html Cryptokitties: https://www.coindesk.com/a16z-leads-12-million-funding-for-ethereum-app-cryptokitties/ Why Arianna isn't worried about the downturn: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-smart-money-isnt-worried-about-the-bitcoin-selloff-2018-03-19?siteid=rss Thank you to the sponsors of today's episode: Preciate: ​​​​https://preciate.org/ and https://preciate.org/recognize/ Quantstamp: https://quantstamp.com/...more

  Episode

• Mike Belshe on What BitGo's Kingdom Trust Acquisition Means for Crypto and How Security Will Develop in the Future

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  Mar 20 2018

  Mike Belshe, the founder and CEO of BitGo, talks about one of the biggest problems facing crypto today: security. We discuss some of the ways BitGo has resolved this issue, whether that still leads to single points of failure, and what the company's recent acquisition of Kingdom Trust (a "qualified custodian" as defined by the 1940 Investment Company Act) means for the space -- hint, it may have to do with ETFs. We also discuss the recent violent crimes against people in crypto and how everyday people should go about protecting their funds. Mike Belshe: https://twitter.com/mikebelshe BitGo: https://www.bitgo.com/ A Wired article on the BitGo acquisition of Kingdom Trust: https://www.wired.com/story/why-a-tiny-kentucky-firm-rules-a-corner-of-the-crypto-market/ New York Times article on crimes against crypto holders: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/18/technology/virtual-currency-extortion.html Thank you to our sponsors: Preciate: https://preciate.org/, which is taking suggestion for new people to recognize at https://preciate.org/recognize/ Bitwise: https://www.bitwiseinvestments.com/unchained StartEngine:https://www.startenginesummit.com/  ...more

  Episode

• Live from SXSW: Michael Casey and Paul Vigna, Co-Authors of The Truth Machine, on Why the SEC Has Issued Subpoenas to ICOs

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  Mar 18 2018

  At the Founders Organization's Initial Taco Offering, an unofficial SXSW event, the co-authors of the recently released Truth Machine, talked about a wide range of regulatory issues from what the SEC subpoenas mean to whether or not the SEC is investigating the SAFT to whether or not the regulators should address crypto on a federal level. We also discuss central bank cryptocurrencies, how the dollar could be knocked off world reserve currency status, rogue governments issuing cryptocurrencies, the Telegram ICO, ways in which blockchain can be applied to problems such as climate change and how the media is covering crypto. The Truth Machine: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250304964 Michael Casey: http://www.michaeljcasey.com/ Paul Vigna: https://twitter.com/paulvigna Paul's article on SEC subpoenas: https://www.wsj.com/articles/sec-launches-cryptocurrency-probe-1519856266 Michael's essay on China's desire to end the dollar's global dominance: https://www.coindesk.com/political-china-hates-bitcoin-loves-blockchain/ Thank you to our sponsors: Preciate: https://preciate.org/, to recognize someone in a future episode, go to https://preciate.org/recognize/   and Quantstamp: https://quantstamp.com/...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: Caitlin Long on How 'Utility Tokens' Are Now Legal In Wyoming

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  Mar 16 2018

  Wyoming now has five blockchain-specific laws. Caitlin Long, cofounder of the Wyoming Blockchain Coalition, describes what these laws are, what they mean, and how our least populous state became a crypto leader. The former chairman and president of Symbiont explains what this could mean for any project that aims to launch a utility token, whether or not ICOs held in Wyoming would only be available to Wyoming residents, and what big issue she thinks remains for the SEC to address. Caitlin Long: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlin-long-/ To read the laws: https://legiscan.com/WY/bill/HB0070/2018 An op-ed Caitlin co-authored with WY House Rep. Tyler Lindholm: https://www.coindesk.com/haven-blockchain-case-wyoming/ Thank you to our sponsors, Onramp http://www.thinkonramp.com/ and Quantstamp: https://quantstamp.com/...more

  Episode

• SXSW Episode: Amber Baldet, Blockchain Program Lead at JPMorgan, on the Potential Clash Between Blockchains and the Right to Be Forgotten

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  Mar 15 2018

  Amber Baldet, JPMorgan Chase blockchain program lead, talks about what she was discussing at SXSW with Hyperledger executive director Brian Behlendorf and what themes she heard at the Ethereum Community Conference in Paris. She talks about privacy in financial transactions, how "immutable" blockchains might conflict with a new EU privacy law granting people the "right to be forgotten." And we briefly touch on her work with Jalak Jobanputra's new diversity-focused group Collective Future.  Privacy on Ethereum: https://www.coindesk.com/progress-hot-ethereum-privacy-projects-cooling-off/ The Collective Future: https://www.wired.com/story/for-women-in-cryptocurrency-a-new-effort-to-grow-their-ranks/ https://iapp.org/news/a/blockchain-technology-is-on-a-collision-course-with-eu-privacy-law/ Thank you to our sponsors: Preciate https://preciate.org/ which is seeking suggestions for who to appreciate at https://preciate.org/recognize/ and Quantstamp: https://quantstamp.com/ ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: SXSW Episode: Former DOJ Prosecutor Kathryn Haun on What the SEC Subpoenas and FinCen Letter Likely Mean

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  Mar 14 2018

  As a former government official, current board member of Coinbase and professor at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Kathryn Haun has a unique and varied view of the crypto space. She doesn't necessarily see the SEC subpoenas as a reason to be alarmed and compares it to her work as a federal prosecutor. We also discuss the FinCen letter and why her take is different from the fear we've seen in the marketplace. SEC issues 80 subpoeast: https://www.wsj.com/articles/sec-launches-cryptocurrency-probe-1519856266?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1 The FinCen letter: https://coincenter.org/link/fincen-raises-major-licensing-problem-for-icos-in-new-letter-to-congress Thank you to our sponsors: Preciate https://preciate.org/ which is seeking suggestions for who to appreciate at https://preciate.org/recognize/ and Quantstamp: https://quantstamp.com/ ...more

  Episode

• The Skeptics' Episode: Preston Byrne and Angela Walch on What the Industry and Regulators Get Wrong in Crypto

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  Mar 13 2018

  Preston Byrne, an independent consultant and English lawyer, and Angela Walch, an associate professor at St. Mary’s University School of Law who focuses on blockchain technology, both explain their criticisms of the crypto space, give grades to regulators on their job so far, and how they think major players in the space can improve. They discuss what systemic risks they believe crypto could pose to the wider financial system, how the current activity in the space is accruing "legal debt," and what it's like being a critic in a land of believers. Preston Byrne: https://prestonbyrne.com/ Angela Walch: https://law.stmarytx.edu/academics/faculty/angela-walch/ Sponsored by Preciate: https://preciate.org/ for https://preciate.org/recognize/ and StartEngine: http://startengine.com/ for https://www.startengine.com/pages/summit  ...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed: Spencer Bogart on Bitcoin's Maturation and the SEC Overhang on Crypto

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  Mar 09 2018

  Spencer Bogart, partner at Blockchain Capital, discusses why he think Bitcoin's growing pains are a sign of success, how the SEC regulatory gloom could affect the development of crypto and how a liquidity crunch could affect crypto hedge funds. We also take a peek at the coming platform wars. Blockchain Capital: http://blockchain.capital/ New crypto hedge funds: https://hackernoon.com/the-fate-of-crypto-hedge-funds-ca5850e8421c

  Episode

• Will Warren of 0x on Why Decentralized Exchanges Are the Future

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  Mar 06 2018

  Will Warren, cofounder of decentralized exchange protocol 0x, was working on building tokenized derivatives for Ethereum when he and his cofounder realized there would be no place to trade them. They ended up pivoting to create a decentralized exchange protocol, 0x, that enables companies to use that infrastructure to direct fulfill trade orders without worrying about a Mt. Gox- or Bitfinex-type hacking situation, as users would still retain control of their funds. In this conversation, he talks about the problems with centralized exchanges and how decentralized exchanges can overcome some of their own obstacles including liquidity and problems with front running. He also gives answers to some of the criticisms of the 0x project, including why it needs its own token (ZRX) and what the token's purpose is....more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed - Ep.003 - The Gender Imbalance in Crypto: Jalak Jobanputra on Why It's a Problem and Her Effort to Fix It

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  Mar 02 2018

  Future Perfect Ventures' founder and managing partner Jalak Jobanputra and I discuss the New York Times article earlier this week about how few women there are in crypto. We discuss some of the surprising comments we saw from women in the space who wish the story hadn't been written and Jobanputra's new effort to increase diversity in crypto, The Collective Future. The New York Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/25/business/cryptocurrency-women-blockchain-bros.html Jutta Steiner's tweet: https://twitter.com/jutta_steiner/status/968158503096471553 Meltem Dermirors' tweet: https://twitter.com/Melt_Dem/status/967983438945968130 Elizabeth Stark's tweet: https://twitter.com/starkness/status/968307972597272576 Wired article about The Collective Future: https://www.wired.com/story/for-women-in-cryptocurrency-a-new-effort-to-grow-their-ranks/...more

  Episode

• Why It's so Hard to Keep Stablecoins Stable

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  Feb 27 2018

  Rune Christensen of MakerDAO and Philip Rosedale, founder of Second Life and High Fidelity, discuss why stablecoins are called crypto's holy grail, why they may be what's necessary for mainstream adoption, and all the ways a stablecoin can be constructed. Philip brings in his experience with Second Life's Linden dollars, often called the first true virtual currency, to describe how it was constructed and how he's planning to disseminate the cryptocurrency of his new virtual world, High Fidelity. Plus, we talk about why a digital USD wouldn't be a threat to stablecoins and whether collateralized stablecoins resemble fractional reserve banking or not. Maker DAO: https://makerdao.com/ High Fidelity: https://highfidelity.com/ HFC: https://docs.highfidelity.com/high-fidelity-commerce/basics/hfc More info on Linden dollars: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Second_Life The Hacker Noon post by Haseeb Qureshi: https://hackernoon.com/stablecoins-designing-a-price-stable-cryptocurrency-6bf24e2689e5 IMF SDRs: http://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2016/08/01/14/51/Special-Drawing-Right-SDR Episode with Bill Tai: http://unchainedpodcast.co/maitai-globals-bill-tai-on-why-blockchain-is-the-6th-wave-of-technology Vitalik's post on collateralized debt obligations for issuer-backed tokens: https://ethresear.ch/t/collateralized-debt-obligations-for-issuer-backed-tokens/525 Other stablecoins: Tether: https://tether.to/ Basecoin: http://www.getbasecoin.com/ Havven: https://havven.io/...more

  Episode

• Introducing Unconfirmed - Brian Kelly on Token-Curated Registries, Robinhood Crypto Trading and the Petro - Ep.002

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  Feb 23 2018

  Subscribe to my new show, Unconfirmed! Here's a sample: Brian Kelly of BKCM talks about token-curated registries, such as the proposal for Messari, by Ryan Selkis, formerly of Digital Currency Group and CoinDesk, and why such TCRs are probably a good idea, but what pitfalls they may face. We also discuss the highly anticipated launch of crypto trading on Robinhood and look behind the scenes at Venezuela's new crypto offering, the petro. Token curated registries: Proposal for Messari: https://medium.com/@twobitidiot/a-token-to-self-regulate-tokens-but-really-a61da77e6a7b TCRs generally: https://medium.com/@ilovebagels/token-curated-registries-1-0-61a232f8dac7 A curated list of resources on TCRs: https://medium.com/@tokencuratedregistry/the-token-curated-registry-whitepaper-bd2fb29299d6 Robinhood launches crypto trading: http://blog.robinhood.com/news/2018/2/21/robinhood-crypto-trading-is-here https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/22/free-crypto-trading/ Petro: A good tweet storm on some of the issues surrounding the petro's launch: https://twitter.com/alemacgo/status/966072887319973891 Some meeting having to do with the petro that Laura found amusing -- the guy's smiles begin around 00:25: https://twitter.com/infrabolivar/status/965777624516759552...more

  Episode

• MyCrypto's Taylor Monahan on Why She's Not a Fan of ICOs

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  Feb 20 2018

  The cofounder of MyEtherWallet and CEO of newly launched MyCrypto walks us through the nuts and bolts of how MyCrypto works, how it differs from a company like Coinbase, why the keys you get from the site even enable to work offline -- and how the company makes money. She also describes how the crypto community changed in 2017, her crazy sleeping schedule during that year, and how she responds when users ask questions like whether or not an initial coin offering will really deliver on the returns promised. We also cover what it's like being a CEO when running a company was never in her game plan, how she got into crypto after starting off in film school and what her tips are for not losing your crypto. https://mycrypto.com/...more

  Episode

• Unconfirmed's First Episode: Olaf Carlson-Wee of Polychain Capital on Governance

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  Feb 18 2018

  Check out the first episode of Unconfirmed, in which Olaf Carlson-Wee, CEO and founder of Polychain Capital, discusses why an issue facing the Ethereum community right now has him thinking about on-chain governance. If you enjoy the episode, subscribe to Unconfirmed today!

  Episode

• Go Check Out My New Podcast, Unconfirmed!

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  Feb 16 2018

  Unconfirmed: Insights and Analysis From the Top Minds in Crypto drops today! The first guest is Olaf Carlson-Wee, CEO and founder of crypto hedge fund Polychain Capital. We discuss the week's news and what is on Olaf's mind these days. It's available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Soundcloud, Spotify, TuneIn and wherever you get your podcasts. Check it out and subscribe today! Online at: www.unconfirmedpodcast.com

  Episode

• Shapeshift's Erik Voorhees on How Crypto Will Separate Money and State

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  Feb 13 2018

  Erik Voorhees says the greatest scam perpetrated on mankind is currency debasement -- and that crypto will change all that. In this wide-ranging interview, the CEO of crypto-to-crypto exchange Shapeshift talks about how crypto will take away power from central banks, why he believes "maximalists" -- those who believe one crypto asset will rule them all -- are wrong, and why someday we will look back and see the intertwining of money and state as barbaric and unjust, just as we now see the intertwining of church and state. We also discuss the prospects for Bitcoin in the face of high fees, how regulation will affect the development of crypto and why 2017 was the kind of year he hoped for when he got involved in Bitcoin in 2011. Shapeshift's products: https://shapeshift.io/#/coins https://prism.exchange/ https://www.keepkey.com/ http://coincap.io/ Erik's blog: http://moneyandstate.com/ His blog post addressing maximalism: http://moneyandstate.com/no-non-bitcoin-blockchains-are-not-disrespectful-to-satoshi/...more

  Episode

• Xapo's Wences Casares on How Bitcoin Makes a Fairer World

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  Feb 06 2018

  Love Unchained? Please take this extremely brief survey to help us find more sponsors: https://survey.libsyn.com/unchained Growing up in Argentina, Wences Casares saw his family lose all their money three times due to actions by the government. The so-called "patient zero" of Bitcoin in Silicon Valley explains why he believes that experience predisposed him to seeing the potential in Bitcoin earlier than most people, why it's so hard to explain Bitcoin to Americans and why the company he founded, Xapo, isn't just a Bitcoin vault and wallet company but his best effort at helping to ensure that Bitcoin succeeds. He talks about why he isn't scared of all the new competitors to his service, including Coinbase Custody, why Xapo hasn't branched out into any other crypto assets, and why he believes there's a more than 50% chance that Bitcoin is worth $1 million in five to ten years. Additionally, he still believes the attempt to accommodate more transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain with the SegWit2x fork, which he backed, was wrong -- even though the fees after its failure skyrocketed to as high as $60. Plus -- he reveals what it would look like if Bitcoin became a global standard of value, and why that vision doesn't threaten governments. Xapo: https://xapo.com/ Wences's Facebook Live with Dan Schulman of PayPal: https://www.facebook.com/DanSchulmanPayPal/videos/1419329821528449/...more

  Episode

• The Tax Rules That Have Crypto Users Aghast

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  Jan 23 2018

  Love Unchained? Please take this extremely brief survey to help us obtain more sponsors: https://survey.libsyn.com/unchained Tax attorney Tyson Cross and CPA Jason Tyra discuss all things crypto and taxes, including what types of crypto transactions are taxable events, how you'll be taxed on hard forks -- relevant for those who owned Bitcoin last August 1! -- and whether you can deduct a loss if you lose your private keys or exchange loses your coins. Plus, they reveal the top question they get from crypto enthusiasts and their top recommendations for people who love crypto but want to minimize their tax headache. Tyson Cross: https://www.bitcointaxsolutions.com/ Jason Tyra: https://www.tyracpa.com/ Show notes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2018/01/23/the-tax-rules-that-have-crypto-users-aghast/...more

  Episode

• Vitalik Buterin, Creator Of Ethereum, On The Big Guy Vs. The Little Guy

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  Jan 09 2018

  Love Unchained? Please take this extremely brief survey to help us obtain more sponsors: https://survey.libsyn.com/unchained The 23-year-old whiz dives into who blockchains will someday help, how we transition from Ethereum for digital cats to higher social impact, and why even big companies like JPMorgan, Microsoft and BP are using Ethereum. He also walks through some important technical challenges Ethereum faces with scaling and the shift from a proof-of-work consensus algorithm to proof of stake. And he reveals why he isn't a big believer in on-chain governance. Plus, he talks about his worries and gives us his predictions for 2018. Show notes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2018/01/09/vitalik-buterin-creator-of-ethereum-on-the-big-guy-vs-the-little-guy/ Some of Vitalik's blog posts that we discussed: On token sales: http://vitalik.ca/general/2017/06/09/sales.html Interactive coin offerings: https://people.cs.uchicago.edu/~teutsch/papers/ico.pdf Blockchain governance: http://vitalik.ca/general/2017/12/17/voting.html...more

  Episode

• Crypto 101: Everything You Need To Know About Bitcoin, Ethereum, Blockchains, ICOs, And More

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  Dec 26 2017

  Love Unchained? Please take this extremely brief survey to help us obtain more sponsors: https://survey.libsyn.com/unchained  In this special bonus episode, Laura cover all your basic questions about crypto. What is Bitcoin? What is Ethereum? What is a blockchain? Share this episode with friends, family and anyone who is new to the crypto space and wants to understand what it's all about. Thanks to Elaine Zelby for conducting the interview! No show notes for this show, but some helpful links: Phone hijackings: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2016/12/20/hackers-have-stolen-millions-of-dollars-in-bitcoin-using-only-phone-numbers/#1b2acf5a38ba Bitcoin -- these links are old but the information mostly still applies: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2015/12/11/should-you-invest-in-bitcoin-10-arguments-in-favor-as-of-december-2015/#34fbc792df28 https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2015/12/28/should-you-invest-in-bitcoin-10-arguments-against-as-of-december-2015/#117fcfe43895 https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2015/12/16/bitcoin-at-tax-time-what-you-need-to-know-about-trading-tipping-mining-and-more/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2015/12/31/want-to-own-bitcoin-heres-how-to-buy-invest-in-and-store-it/#792fd9d5b9ef ICOs: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/07/10/the-emperors-new-coins-how-initial-coin-offerings-fueled-a-100-billion-crypto-bubble/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/07/17/how-to-speculate-in-icos-10-practical-financial-tips/#3b8ca6ff5378 https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/07/18/how-to-speculate-in-icos-and-buy-tokens-an-easy-step-by-step-guide/#376caf8c743a...more

  Episode

• How Crypto And Blockchain Technology Should Be Regulated

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  Dec 12 2017

  Love Unchained? Please take this extremely brief survey to help us obtain more sponsors: https://survey.libsyn.com/unchained Marco Santori, who leads the blockchain technology team at Cooley, and Joshua Ashley Klayman, who leads the blockchain and smart contracts group at Morrisson and Forrester, explain why they disagree on how to ensure a token sale won't run afoul of securities laws, how they think regulation around crypto will likely be formed and why the Bitcliense has made New York a crypto innovation backwater. Show notes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/12/12/how-crypto-and-blockchain-technology-should-be-regulated/ Marco Santori: https://www.cooley.com/people/marco-santori Joshua Ashley Klayman: https://www.mofo.com/people/joshua-klayman.html The SAFT white paper: https://saftproject.com/ The Cardozo Blockchain Project SAFT response, "Not So Fast": https://cardozo.yu.edu/sites/default/files/Cardozo%20Blockchain%20Project%20-%20Not%20So%20Fast%20-%20SAFT%20Response_final.pdf Are ICOs For Utility Tokens Selling Securities? Prominent Crypto Players Say Yes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/10/02/are-icos-for-utility-tokens-selling-securities-prominent-crypto-players-say-yes/#107e96e34fa4 IRS Nabs Big Win Over Coinbase In Bid For Bitcoin Customer Data: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2017/11/29/irs-nabs-big-win-over-coinbase-in-bid-for-bitcoin-customer-data/...more

  Episode

• Naval Ravikant On How Crypto Is Squeezing VCs, Hindering Regulators And Bringing Users Choice

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  Nov 28 2017

  Love Unchained? Please take this extremely brief survey to help us obtain more sponsors: https://survey.libsyn.com/unchained The executive chairman of AngelList and partner at crypto hedge fund MetaStable explains how blockchains are changing the entrepreneurship model, his philosophy for crypto investing, and what kind of threat crypto could someday pose to governments. We also dive into why blockchains represent a new form of governance, his philosophy for investing in tokens and why he believes there will only be five or fewer winners among the money-like tokens. Show notes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/11/28/naval-ravikant-on-how-crypto-is-squeezing-vcs-hindering-regulators-and-bringing-users-choice/ AngelList: https://angel.co/ MetaStable: http://metastablecapital.com/ CoinList: https://coinlist.co/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/05/18/want-to-hold-an-ico-coinlist-makes-it-easy-and-legal/ Zcash: https://z.cash/ BlockStack: https://blockstack.org/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/09/05/blockstack-on-how-to-take-control-from-google-facebook-and-amazon/ Bitwise Hold 10: https://www.bitwiseinvestments.com/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/10/02/new-crypto-index-fund-to-launch-with-backing-from-naval-ravikant/    ...more

  Episode

• What Bitcoin's History Says About Its Future

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  Nov 14 2017

  Love Unchained? Please take this extremely brief survey to help us obtain more sponsors: https://survey.libsyn.com/unchained Days after the SegWit2x fork was called off, Nathaniel Popper, New York Times tech reporter and author of the book Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money, put this latest suspenseful chapter in Bitcoin's history into context. He discusses why he thinks Bitcoin has become such a vicious, polarized community, why so many of the early Bitcoiners ended up becoming supporters of big blocks, and what could happen to Bitcoin now that new money is entering the system but transactions are expensive and often backlogged. We also dive into who Satoshi Nakamoto might be, whether there are any viable Bitcoin businesses other than ones buying and selling Bitcoin and where regulation of the space is likely to go. Show notes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/11/14/what-bitcoins-history-says-about-its-future/ Digital Gold: https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062362490/digital-gold Nathaniel's story on ICOs: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/27/technology/how-floyd-mayweather-helped-two-young-guys-from-miami-get-rich.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fnathaniel-popper His story on who Satoshi Nakamoto may be: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/17/business/decoding-the-enigma-of-satoshi-nakamoto-and-the-birth-of-bitcoin.html?_r=0...more

  Episode

• What Will Happen At The Time Of The Bitcoin Hard Fork?

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  Oct 31 2017

  As Bitcoin faces the biggest test in its nine-year history, two players on opposing sides -- Mike Belshe of BitGo and Bitcoin protocol developer Matt Corallo -- debate how the community got here and what the definition of Bitcoin is -- whether the white paper or price determines it. We also look at how the upcoming hard fork could affect Bitcoin Cash, and debate whether or not censorship on the Bitcoin subreddits has influenced people’s views on the block size debate. Plus, they give their best post-hard fork predictions. For reference: Will This Battle For the Soul of Bitcoin Destroy It? https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/10/23/will-this-battle-for-the-soul-of-bitcoin-destroy-it/ Show notes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/10/31/what-will-happen-at-the-time-of-the-bitcoin-hard-fork/...more

  Episode

• How To Value A Crypto Asset

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  Oct 17 2017

  Love Unchained? Please take this extremely brief survey to help us obtain more sponsors: https://survey.libsyn.com/unchained Chris Burniske of Placeholder Ventures has recently come out with a new book, "Cryptoassets: The Innovative Investors' Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond" that dives into what crypto assets are, what makes them a new asset class, and how you calculate a valuation for such a network. He applies what is known as the equation of exchange (MV = PQ) to crypto assets and describes why the velocity of crypto assets -- the frequency with which they change hands during a particular time frame -- is likely to be much higher than for traditional assets, and discusses why he gives crypto assets much higher discount rates, which are used to determine what you should pay now for something will be worth more later. Plus, we talk about why the financial incumbents are in for a rude awakening from public blockchains. Show notes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/10/17/how-to-value-a-crypto-asset/ Book: https://www.bitcoinandbeyond.com/ Chris's Medium post on crypto asset valuations: https://medium.com/@cburniske/cryptoasset-valuations-ac83479ffca7...more

  Episode

• How To Explain Cryptocurrencies And Blockchains To The Average Person

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  Oct 03 2017

  Love Unchained? Please take this extremely brief survey to help us obtain more sponsors: https://survey.libsyn.com/unchained Tired of having your friends and family say cryptocurrencies are a Ponzi scheme, nothing backs them, they're in a bubble and only criminals use them? In this episode, Amanda Gutterman, chief marketing officer of ConsenSys, and Jamie Smith, global chief communications officer of Bitfury, tackle every common misconception of Bitcoin, Ethereum and cryptocurrencies. This is an episode you'll want your friends and family to listen to. Plus: Gutterman and Smith talk about how they did the seemingly impossible: create gender-balanced crypto conferences....more

  Episode

• From Blockchains To Mooncakes: Two Chinese Crypto Founders On The ICO And Bitcoin Exchanges Ban

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  Sep 19 2017

  Da Hongfei of NEO and Patrick Dai of Qtum tell us just how crazy China's ICO craze was getting, with mooncake companies, celebs and Ponzi schemers all jumping on the blockchain train. They also explain what the reaction was to the ICO and bitcoin exchanges ban, how they're refunding investors (if the investors want to be refunded -- a big if) and what the future of crypto is in China. Show notes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/09/19/from-blockchains-to-mooncakes-two-chinese-crypto-founders-on-the-ico-and-bitcoin-exchanges-ban/ Qtum: https://qtum.org/ NEO: https://neo.org/ Previous episodes mentioned in the podcast: Interview with Smith & Crown: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/08/22/the-high-speed-world-of-icos-smith-and-crown-discuss-cryptoeconomics-and-the-future-of-tokens/ Interview with Bobby Lee: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/03/21/bobby-lee-ceo-of-btcc-on-why-the-chinese-probably-arent-using-bitcoin-to-evade-capital-controls/...more

  Episode

• Blockstack On Getting Independence From Google, Facebook And Amazon

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  Sep 05 2017

  Ryan Shea and Muneeb Ali, the cofounders of Blockstack, on how their tools enable users to control their own data, why the internet should have universal usernames but no company should control that, and why Blockstack’s storage system still allows users to choose centralized options  like Google Drive and Dropbox. They also talk about how other blockchain systems are thinking about scaling wrong, why they launched a developer fund, and why a developer would choose Blockstack over Ethereum. Show notes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/09/05/blockstack-on-how-to-take-control-from-google-facebook-and-amazon/ BlockStack: https://blockstack.org/...more

  Episode

• The High-Speed World Of ICOs: Smith and Crown Discuss Cryptoeconomics And The Future Of Tokens

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  Aug 22 2017

  Brian Lio, CEO of cryptofinance research site Smith and Crown, and head of research Matt Chwierut discuss how they do their research, how they decide which projects to cover in-depth rather than just list and when they provide advisory services for teams. They also discuss how they think the blockchain and crypto space will develop, the best structures for token sales, and why they joke that financial institutions haven't heard anything Smith and Crown has said. Smith and Crown: https://www.smithandcrown.com/ Show notes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/08/22/the-high-speed-world-of-icos-smith-and-crown-discuss-cryptoeconomics-and-the-future-of-tokens/...more

  Episode

• How Bitcoin Solved This Serial Entrepreneur's Problems

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  Aug 08 2017

  Afghan entrepreneur Roya Mahboob has launched numerous companies, but it was a blogging platform that presented her with the problem of how to pay her (mostly female) users, 99% of whom did not have bank accounts. And even if they did get paid, their families would often confiscate the money. She found her solution in Bitcoin, and later launched a new startup, Digital Citizen Fund, that trains girls in blockchain technology and Bitcoin. Mahboob, named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2013, funded the Afghan girls' robotics team that made news recently, and describes what went on behind-the-scenes. She also tells us about her other ventures, EdyEdy, her coffee/tea venture Digital Citizen Brew, and the marketplace for Afghan goods that she is launching -- which will accept Bitcoin or perhaps its own token.   Show notes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/08/08/how-bitcoin-solved-this-serial-entrepreneurs-problems/   Digital Citizen Fund: http://digitalcitizenfund.org/ Roya's Time 100 description, written by Sheryl Sandberg: http://time100.time.com/2013/04/18/time-100/slide/roya-mahboob/...more

  Episode

• Why November Will Be The Real Test For Bitcoin

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  Jul 25 2017

  Bitcoin core developer Eric Lombrozo and OB1 CEO Brian Hoffman debate whether SegWit2x is the best path forward, discuss who supported it and why, and whether the potential for a hard fork harms the price. They also discuss what happens to the power of core developers now that a change they didn’t support might get pushed through, what their ideal solutions for increasing transactions on the network are, and how much power miners should have. Show notes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/07/25/why-november-will-be-the-real-test-for-bitcoin/ Back story referenced in this episode: The different sides in Bitcoin threatening to cut each other out: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/03/21/is-this-massive-power-struggle-about-to-blow-up-bitcoin/#33e4c5047325 New York agreement: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/05/23/bitcoin-agreement-promises-to-resolve-years-long-impasse/#6ed7d8dd448d Economic activity moving to other blockchains: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/06/07/bitcoin-is-at-an-all-time-high-but-is-it-about-to-self-destruct/#2c563f8dcb31 Brian's company: https://ob1.io/ Eric's company: https://ciphrex.com/...more

  Episode

• Listener Qs: Laura On Ponzi Schemes, Bubbles, Greed And More

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  Jul 11 2017

  In this episode, coming one day after the release of my Forbes cover story online, I answer listener questions, starting with my background, the history of the podcast, whether or not I trade or invest in crypto, and what tokens I think have the strongest real-world application. If you haven't read the cover package, I highly recommend you do so now: Cover story: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/07/10/the-emperors-new-coins-how-initial-coin-offerings-fueled-a-100-billion-crypto-bubble/ Sidebars: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/07/10/return-of-the-day-traders/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/07/10/how-crypto-tokens-work-a-close-look-at-golem/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/07/10/not-so-tiny-bubbles-the-top-25-crypto-assets/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/07/10/cryptos-in-wonderland-12-of-the-weirdest-wackiest-coins/ And if you haven't listened to the episode with Olaf Carlson-Wee, I strongly suggest you check that out now as well: iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/why-the-first-employee-of-coinbase-launched-a-hedge-fund/id1123922160?i=1000382301347&mt=2 Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/Dg3qrzci54ppzevdqvztwap2yiu?t=Why_The_First_Employee_Of_Coinbase_Launched_A_Hedge_Fund-Unchained_Big_Ideas_From_The_Worlds_Of_Bloc I also get philosophical, fielding listener questions about whether blockchain is a Ponzi scheme, whether greed will undercut the democratic possibilities offered by blockchain and whether this isn't really a bubble but just a new form of exponential growth. I also cover security in this episode, and would like to point readers to this story that explains the phone hijacking situation: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2016/12/20/hackers-have-stolen-millions-of-dollars-in-bitcoin-using-only-phone-numbers/ Some tips on how to protect yourself: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2016/12/21/hackers-are-hijacking-phone-numbers-and-breaking-into-email-and-bank-accounts-how-to-protect-yourself/#720a302f4e1b Other episodes referenced in this podcast are the ones with Coin Center, Kathryn Haun, Michael Casey, Elizabeth Rossiello and Matt Roszak. Please give a listen to those as well if you haven't!...more

  Episode

• Why Digital Currency Group's Meltem Demirors Is Concerned About The ICO Craze

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  Jun 13 2017

  The DCG director of development talks about why she thinks identity will be the first tangible application of blockchain technology that consumers experience, why DCG supports Ethereum Classic as an investment vehicle and yet still supports Ethereum as a protocol, and how bitcoin itself as a global currency hasn't taken off as much as she thought when she first got into the industry. She also explains what the top regulatory issue is for blockchain startups and projects -- it's a lot more mundane than you might expect -- and why she doesn't, at this point, have a lot of confidence in crypto hedge funds. Plus, she makes suggestions on how ICOs could improve and reveals her top picks for new tokens.   Show notes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/06/13/why-digital-currency-groups-meltem-demirors-is-concerned-about-the-ico-craze/ The phone hijacking article referenced in the episode: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2016/12/20/hackers-have-stolen-millions-of-dollars-in-bitcoin-using-only-phone-numbers/ DCG: http://dcg.co/ Ethereum Classic Investment Trust: https://grayscale.co/ethereum-classic-investment-trust/  ...more

  Episode

• 'Bitcoin Oracle' Vinny Lingham On Why Bitcoin Is Overpriced

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  May 30 2017

  The Civic CEO and cofounder explains how his upbringing in South Africa and his experience at former company Gyft led him to launch a startup focused on identity. It was also at Gyft that he realized how enthusiastic the bitcoin and cryptocurrency crowd is and how a business could harness that enthusiasm to grow its user base. We discuss why the ICO craze has only just gotten started and how cultural differences could make the scams and speculation worse than in previous bubbles. Plus, Lingham explains what risks in bitcoin investors aren't pricing in and why he believes the odds of a split in bitcoin are currently greater than 50%. Don't forget to take the Unchained podcast survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/unchained Civic: https://www.civic.com/ Show notes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/05/30/bitcoin-oracle-vinny-lingham-on-why-bitcoin-is-overpriced/ More on ICOs: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/05/16/icos-why-people-are-investing-in-this-380-million-phenomenon/#ff1983411a18 The risks of a split in Bitcoin: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/03/21/is-this-massive-power-struggle-about-to-blow-up-bitcoin/#5c5658677325...more

  Episode

• ICOs: Why People Are Investing In This $380 Million Phenomenon

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  May 16 2017

  Don't forget to take the Unchained podcast survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/unchained Developers of new cryptocurrencies are raising gobs of money with little more than a white paper. Though real advances are likely to emerge from the trend, the bubble could get worse before it gets better. William Mougayar, organizer of the upcoming Token Summit, and Nick Tomaino, cohost, discuss where ICOs are going wrong now, what best practices would help the space mature, and how to separate ICO wheat and chaff.   Show notes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/05/16/icos-why-people-are-investing-in-this-380-million-phenomenon/   Links: Token Summit: http://tokensummit.com/ The Business Blockchain: http://thebusinessblockchain.com/ Startup Mangement: http://startupmanagement.org/ The Control: https://thecontrol.co/ Runa Capital: http://www.runacap.com/ Episodes referenced: Brock Pierce of Blockchain Capital and Stan Miroshnik of The Argon Group: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/04/18/this-vc-is-sure-venture-capital-is-about-to-be-disrupted/ Olaf Carlson-Wee of Polychain Capital: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/03/07/why-this-hedge-fund-ceo-once-put-most-of-my-meager-life-savings-into-bitcoin/#6c20ccd14e15 Jerry Brito and Peter Van Valkenburgh of Coin Center: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2016/10/18/how-coin-center-is-helping-define-the-big-fuzzy-gray-area-of-blockchain-and-cryptocurrency-law/#11112aa960e6...more

  Episode

• IBM's Jerry Cuomo On Everything From Blockchain Security To Hyperledger To The Internet Of Things

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  May 02 2017

  Thanks to all the listeners who've let me know what you want to hear more of, what you like about the show, and who you want to see as guests. If you haven't yet, have a say in the direction of the show -- tell me what you like, what the podcast could do better, and who you are: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/unchained Jerry Cuomo has been at IBM his whole career and says that the emergence of blockchain technology is the second time in his career he has seen a breakthrough that will affect the lives of everyday people. IBM's VP of blockchain technologies talks about the company's work in areas as diverse as food safety in its project with Walmart, how blockchains will interact with Internet of Things devices and how it's approaching its identity work. Plus, he dives into what security for a permissioned blockchain looks like, whether IBM will lock its clients into its software, and what exactly its role is with the Hyperledger Foundation. Show notes are available here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/05/02/ibms-jerry-cuomo-on-everything-from-blockchain-security-to-hyperledger-to-the-internet-of-things/ IBM blockchain: https://www.ibm.com/blockchain/ We also reference my interview with Kathryn Haun of the Department of Justice: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2016/11/01/federal-prosecutor-kathryn-haun-on-how-criminals-use-bitcoin-and-how-she-catches-them/...more

  Episode

• This VC Is Sure Venture Capital Is About To Be Disrupted

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  Apr 18 2017

  Don't forget to take the Unchained Podcast survey! http://surveymonkey.com/r/unchained  Blockchain Capital's recent BCAP token offering is a harbinger of things to come in venture capital and private equity, says the firm's managing director Brock Pierce. And Stan Misohnik, the CEO and cofounder of a new investment bank focused on cryptocurrency called The Argon Group, seconds that. Pierce talks about how his career in cryptocurrency started with video games, how Blockchain Capital's three funds have evolved over time, why he is taking the step to disrupt himself, and why his phone number is being handled by the office of T-Mobile's president. And Miroshnik explains how his background in capital markets helped him see the business opportunity and why the BCAP token issuer was based in Singapore. Show notes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/04/18/this-vc-is-sure-venture-capital-is-about-to-be-disrupted/ Blockchain Capital: http://blockchain.capital/ The Argon Group: https://argongroup.com/ Blockchain Capital III Digital Liquid Venture Fund: https://blockchaincapital.tokenhub.com/ The phone hijacking article Brock and I reference: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2016/12/20/hackers-have-stolen-millions-of-dollars-in-bitcoin-using-only-phone-numbers/ The episode with Jerry Brito and Peter Van Valkenburgh of Coin Center: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2016/10/18/how-coin-center-is-helping-define-the-big-fuzzy-gray-area-of-blockchain-and-cryptocurrency-law/  ...more

  Episode

• Why Bitcoin May Split In Two And How To Prevent It

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  Apr 04 2017

  Please take the Unchained podcast survey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/unchained The bitcoin community is mired in a civil war. In this episode of the Unchained podcast, supporters of opposing sides -- former Bitcoin Core developer Jeff Garzik and Litecoin creator Charlie Lee -- explain why nuclear options are on the table. The discussion touches on whether high transaction fees are bad for the network or a necessary evil, which would be considered the "true" bitcoin if the currency split in two, and whether the cryptocurrency is already centralized, or controlled by a few. We also discuss why bitcoin can't just look at the playbook of other open source projects to get past this stalemate. And they give advice to current bitcoin owners wondering whether to sell or hold through this bitcoin game of chicken. Show notes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/04/04/why-bitcoin-may-split-in-two-and-how-to-prevent-it/   Other links: Bloq: http://bloq.com/ Coinbase: https://www.coinbase.com/ Litecoin: https://litecoin.org/ This episode was sponsored by OnRamp: http://www.thinkonramp.com/...more

  Episode

• Bobby Lee, CEO Of BTCC, On Why The Chinese Probably Aren't Using Bitcoin To Evade Capital Controls

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  Mar 21 2017

  Bobby Lee, CEO of BTCC, one of the world's longest-running cryptocurrency exchanges, talks about whether Chinese people are using bitcoin to evade capital controls, how bitcoin trading in China has changed since a government crackdown in early January, and how he came up with the idea for no-fee trading in the early days of bitcoin. Read the show notes. Other links: BTCC Mobi Bitcoin Foundation This episode was sponsored by OnRamp.

  Episode

• Why The First Employee Of Coinbase Launched A Hedge Fund

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  Mar 07 2017

  Olaf Carlson-Wee is the founder of Polychain Capital, a hedge fund that has invested $15 million into digital assets and has gotten backing from storied venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures. In this episode, Carlson-Wee recounts war stories from the early days of bitcoin, including how he learned about bitcoin before his computer science professors, bought bitcoins with cash and created “the Bitcoin SAT” to make hires at Coinbase. He also describes how to separate cryptocurrency scams from legitimate ventures, how he plays blackjack against a smart contract and why launching a digital asset hedge fund means he can no longer earn and spend mostly in bitcoin. Read the show notes.  Other links: Polychain Capital Coinbase Golem Tezos This episode was sponsored by Onramp....more

  Episode

• Why Nasdaq Is Even More Optimistic About Blockchain Than It Was 3 Years Ago

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  Feb 21 2017

  Fredrik Voss, Nasdaq's head of blockchain initiatives, discusses what the company has accomplished with the technology and how his firm evaluates whether potential projects could benefit from a blockchain solution. He also reveals what is likely to really slow adoption of distributed ledgers (hint: not the tech itself) and gives advice to other companies looking to incorporate it. Read the show notes and my magazine story on Chain and its work with Nasdaq.  This episode was sponsored by Onramp....more

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• With Deadline Looming, Will The SEC Approve A Bitcoin ETF?

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  Feb 07 2017

  The SEC will make a decision on a proposed bitcoin ETF by March 11. Will it approve? An optimist and pessimist weigh in, touching upon bitcoin’s liquidity, the impact recent events in China have had on its trading, as well as proposals for bitcoin ETFs by other companies. Plus, they reveal what impact an ETF could have on the bitcoin market. Read the show notes. Other links:  Needham & Company Global Advisors Gemini This episode was sponsored by Onramp.  

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• Is The IRS Justified In Demanding Information On Millions Of Bitcoin Users?

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  Jan 24 2017

  The IRS found three entities using bitcoin to evade taxes and has now demanded the records of millions of users at Coinbase, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange. An accountant and an attorney specializing in cryptocurrency discuss whether the IRS is overreaching, how this "unprecedented" case differs from previous ones pursued by the IRS, and what they think the ultimate outcome will be. Read the show notes. Other links: Coinbase Berns Weiss LLP Global Tax Accountants Brian Armstrong's response on Medium My magazine feature on Coinbase This episode was sponsored by Onramp....more

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• What Is One Of The World's Largest Derivatives Exchanges Doing With Bitcoin?

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  Jan 10 2017

  CME Group handles three billion contracts worth about $1 quadrillion annually. So why is it making a foray into bitcoin, whose market capitalization is a mere $16 billion? Sandra Ro, CME's head of digitization, explains its first cryptocurrency products, the Bitcoin Reference Rate and the Bitcoin Real-Time Index, as well as a forthcoming blockchain-based product, Royal Mint Gold. She also reveals which other cryptocurrencies have piqued her interest and which other physical world assets she thinks could be traded by blockchain.   Read the show notes.   Other links: CME's Bitcoin Reference Rate Bitcoin Real-Time Index Royal Mint Gold ...more

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• Federal Prosecutor Kathryn Haun On How Criminals Use Bitcoin -- And How She Catches Them

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  Nov 01 2016

  Kathryn Haun put away the DEA and Secret Service agents who tried to make off with more than $800,000 in stolen bitcoin while investigating the darknet Silk Road marketplace. She talks about how the blockchain technology underlying Bitcoin made it possible to uncover their theft, why she believes blockchain will create a lot of good, and what she does when the very people behind tumblers and mixers -- technology that makes her work more difficult -- turn to her when they are the victims of crimes. Along the way, we learn about the habits of cryptocurrency criminals and get a fascinating view into the world of "breeder documents."...more

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• How Coin Center Is Helping Define The 'Big Fuzzy Gray Area' Of Blockchain And Cryptocurrency Law

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  Oct 18 2016

  As blockchains and cryptocurrencies evolve, there are times when the technology outpaces the law. That's when Coin Center steps in. The non-profit, which represents the technology, not the industry, and aims for regulators to keep a mostly hands-off attitude, has already helped shape questions around which types of Bitcoin wallet providers are financial institutions and whether new coins being offered represent securities. And answering these questions has drawn it back into previous cases involving everything from Florida orange groves to Manhattan co-ops to golf club memberships....more

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• What Does Cornell’s Emin Gun Sirer See As The Main Security Threats In Cryptocurrency? ‘Everything’

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  Oct 04 2016

  Cornell University computer science professor Emin Gun Sirer, an influential figure in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space, describes his ideas for improving security in the space, his skepticism about how to scale these networks, and how the last time financial institutions invested in their systems appears to be for Y2K. He also tells us how growing up in an environment where he saw a lot of scams helps him find problems in code, explains why Bitcoin is the “universal bug bounty,” and reveals how two high school students saved burgeoning cryptocurrency network Ethereum “like in the movies — just before the clock was going to expire.”...more

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• Why A Wall Street Journal Currency Reporter Didn't Understand Money Until He Learned About Bitcoin

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  Sep 20 2016

  Michael Casey, senior advisor at MIT's Media Lab and author of the Age of Cryptocurrency, spent 18 years at the Wall Street Journal -- a good portion of that covering currency markets. But he says it wasn't until he learned about Bitcoin that he really understood what money was. In this episode of Unchained, he explains why, plus discusses why he thinks China will play a key role in moving the world to a cryptocurrency- or blockchain-based trade settlement system, what that could mean for the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency and what he thinks is the most cutting-edge work being done in blockchain....more

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• Why Tyler And Cameron Winklevoss Fell In Love With Bitcoin

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  Sep 06 2016

  Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, CEO and President, respectively, of cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, talk about the importance of regulation in a sector once associated in popular culture with illicit activity. The twin brothers, who were the first to file with the SEC for a Bitcoin ETF, recount how they went from competing in the Olympics to launching a cryptocurrency company, explain why they believe private blockchains are really just distributed databases, and discuss why we've seen so many hacks of Bitcoin exchanges. They also touch on an emerging trend, app-coins or new cryptographic tokens being used to run, say, peer-to-peer versions of Dropbox or Reddit....more

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• Blockchain 101 With Andreas Antonopoulos: How Bitcoin Makes Each Of Us As Powerful As A Bank

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  Aug 23 2016

  “Shifting from a perspective of 'only humans control money' to 'machines and software control money' is really radical and it changes a lot of things,” says the popular blockchain and Bitcoin author and speaker Andreas Antonopoulos. Antonopoulos discusses why the real magic of blockchain is decentralization, why criticisms that Bitcoin is a waste of energy are wrong, and why he now charges a 20% premium to be paid by wire transfer instead of bitcoin. And if you're amazed by the idea of a self-driving car, wait until you hear his description of how the taxis of the future might operate.   Read the show notes....more

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• How The Blockchain Alliance Helps Law Enforcement With Bitcoin Crime And Developments Like The DAO

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  Aug 09 2016

  Jason Weinstein and Alan Cohn, partner and of counsel, respectively at law firm Steptoe & Johnson, discuss their work with the Blockchain Alliance, a coalition of both blockchain and cryptocurrency companies as well as law enforcement agencies including Interpol, the FBI, the SEC, Europol and others. Find out how crime in Bitcoin is similar to all types of crime, what genuinely new questions are being raised, and how various law enforcement agencies might think about even recent developments like the emergence of the DAO and the subsequent DAO hack....more

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• Chain's Adam Ludwin On Who Is Best Poised To Benefit From Blockchain Technology

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  Jul 26 2016

  As blockchain technology remakes financial services, some companies will be better positioned than others, says Adam Ludwin, CEO of Chain, which has partnered with incumbents like Visa, Citi and Nasdaq. Ludwin describes which types of firms will emerge winners and the mindset of the executives who really get it. He also explains why he is certain central banks will one day issue digital currency.

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• Want to Diversify Your Portfolio? Try Bitcoin, Say ARK's Chris Burniske And Coinbase's Adam White

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  Jul 12 2016

  Invest in oil and gold? In this episode, the co-authors of a compelling white paper explain the four reasons why they believe you may soon be investing in digital oil and digital gold instead. Find out why their analysis prompted Burniske to say of bitcoin, "That's an investor's dream," why White mentioned the saying, "On the blockchain, no one knows you're a refrigerator," and how well ARK's investment in bitcoin has performed.

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• MaiTai Global's Bill Tai On Why Blockchain Is The 6th Wave Of Technology

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  Jun 28 2016

  Bill Tai, a venture capitalist who got his start as a computer chip designer in the 1980s, places blockchain in the context of the broader technological revolution of the last three decades. He also reveals how Bitfury, a company in which he's an investor and board member, built a more efficient chip though the designers had never been formally trained; what blockchain advocacy group was founded in Sir Richard Branson's hot tub; and how he formed MaiTai Global, a series of kiteboarding-and-tech events in some of the most glamorous destinations around the world....more

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• Bloq's Matt Roszak on Necker Island: Connecting Multiple Blockchains, China and Tech Cooperatives

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  Jun 14 2016

  Matt Roszak, a venture capitalist for 20 years, discusses how his new company Bloq, cofounded with former Bitcoin core developer Jeff Garzik (from talks they began on Necker Island last year), serves enterprise clients and envisions a multi-chain future in which different blockchains can connect with each other. He also gives his thoughts on business models in a decentralized future and the influence China will play on the development of Bitcoin and blockchain technology. Plus, we find out what happened in his tennis game against Sir Richard Branson....more

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• BitPesa's Elizabeth Rossiello on Necker Island

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  Jun 14 2016

  Elizabeth Rossiello talks about how she went from being a credit ratings analyst for microfinance investors to heading up an "international mobile money" company for sub-Saharan Africa that uses Bitcoin's rails. Along the way she reveals how convoluted, expensive and unreliable the movement of money into and out of Africa can be -- many people sending money in envelopes via regional buses and even traditional banks having to send money from Africa to Asia via North America. With BitPesa's fast and inexpensive international solution, companies are opening up new markets and people sending remittances no longer have to pay exorbitant charges....more

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