Unchained

In this first episode of Uneasy Money, hosts Luca Netz, Kain Warwick, and Taylor Monahan dig into the Balancer hack, Berachain’s centralized response, the sudden return of ICO-style distribution, and why some new drops give away so little. Luca explains why he thinks generous airdrops are essential for building a real “army,” Taylor breaks down MetaMask’s own thinking on token incentives, and Kain questions whether any of these models still make sense in a sentiment-driven market. Plus, Uniswap’s fee switch proposal and the tea on Velodrome and Aerodrome. Hosts: Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security at MetaMask Timestamps: 👏 0:00 Intro 🛑 1:23 The Balancer hack—and why we need more guardrails beyond audits 🐻 10:18 How Berachain’s centralized response raised deeper questions 🚀 19:19 The return of the ICO meta 💰 21:26 Why Luca says big airdrops are essential to building an “army” 🐧 24:24 How Luca designed the PENGU airdrop—including the goal of surpassing DOGE 📉 37:11 What’s the point of airdrops if everyone just dumps? ⚖️ 39:50 Are ICOs actually better than airdrops? 🦊 43:41 How MetaMask designed its rewards system—and what Taylor thinks about incentives 🦄 47:19 Uniswap’s UNIFICATION proposal and what it showed about what drives prices 🔀 49:42 Velodrome + Aerodrome merge—and why Kain says the move is “weird” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Josh Swihart, CEO of the Electric Coin Company, which created Zcash, and Harry Halpin, co-founder of Nym, join Laura to delve into why privacy coins have taken off, and why technology is suddenly at the center of conversations involving governments, financial institutions, and national security officials. They discuss what’s actually driving the privacy coin renaissance, why transparent ledgers create risks far beyond user behavior, and how technologies like zero-knowledge proofs and mixnets are reshaping what’s possible onchain. Josh and Harry also break down exchange support, institutional interest, the Zcash DAT, upcoming Zcash upgrades, and whether Ethereum or Solana (or others) can realistically add privacy to chains that were never designed for it. Thank you to our sponsors! Mantle Uniswap Guests: Josh Swihart, CEO of the Electric Coin Company Harry Halpin, CEO and Co-founder of Nym Technologies Timestamps: 🎬 0:00 Teaser Clip 🎙️ 1:14 Introduction 🌅 1:29 The reasons why Harry and Josh say we’re in a privacy “renaissance” 🛡️ 11:00 Why privacy matters, and how Harry first got pulled into the space 🔐 15:59 How zero-knowledge proofs and other privacy technologies actually work ⚡ 21:12 Why Josh started Zcash and what his long-term vision looks like 📊 24:48 The real-world ways Zcash is being used 💸 28:40 How the Winklevoss brothers are backing the new wave of privacy projects 🏛️ 30:12 How centralized exchanges should support privacy 🕵️ 35:56 Why financial institutions are suddenly interested in privacy and why governments see it as a national-security issue 🌐 38:42 How Nym aims to protect metadata and network-level privacy 🪙 44:47 Why Nym has a token and what role it plays 🔭 49:53 What’s coming next for privacy tech and for Zcash 🧱 54:55 Whether Ethereum, Solana, or other L1s can realistically add privacy to chains that weren’t designed for it Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this first episode of DEX in the City, hosts Jessi Brooks of Ribbit Capital, Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos of StarkWare, and Vy Le of Veda dig into the questions that DeFi keeps forcing the industry to confront. They debate how projects should respond after exploits like the recent Balancer hack, what “programmable risk management” could look like in practice, and why the idea of “pure DeFi” might be more myth than model. They also cover the MIT Brothers trial (and what its mistrial revealed about the law’s limits in crypto) and end with why the long-awaited crypto market structure bill still isn’t close to the finish line. Hosts: Jessi Brooks, Ribbit Capital Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos, General Counsel at StarkWare Vy Le, General Counsel at Veda Links: Paper: Trust Without Intermediaries: A Programmable Risk Management Framework for the Future by Jessi Brooks and Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos Paper: Blockchain May Offer The Investor Protection SEC Seeks By Tuongvy Le Timestamps: 👏 0:00 Introduction 🌆 0:43 Welcome to DEX in the City — meet the hosts and the mission ⚙️ 6:16 What “programmable risk management” could mean for DeFi’s future 💥 10:38 How the Balancer hack exposed huge differences in how projects respond to exploits 🧩 17:48 Can “pure DeFi” really exist, or is it just a myth? ⚖️ 22:23 The MIT Brothers trial: why no one paid attention and why it matters 🏛️ 28:26 Inside the Senate’s new crypto market structure bill draft 🕒 33:13 Vy’s prediction on when (or if) the bill finally passes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Follow Unchained On Air on X or YouTube! https://x.com/Unchained_pod https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWiiMnsnw5Isc2PP1to9nNw Check out our sponsor Walrus! https://www.walrus.xyz/ The government’s about to reopen, but the economic cracks aren’t healing. From runaway debt to DATs trading below NAV, markets are feeling the strain of unsolved macro problems. In this week’s Bits + Bips, hosts Austin Campbell and Chris Perkins are joined by Matt Zhang of Hivemind Capital and Felix Jauvin, head of content at Blockworks and host of Forward Guidance, to unpack what happens when policy meets reality. They discuss why a $2,000 “tariff dividend” could ignite inflation, how America’s ballooning debt is constructive for crypto, and why DATs could still have plenty of potential, despite already showing cracks. Plus: the Bank of England’s £20K stablecoin proposal, whether $3 trillion is too low a target for the sector, and a final provocation: is XRP worth more than Ripple equity? Hosts: Austin Campbell, NYU Stern professor and founder and managing partner of Zero Knowledge Consulting Christopher Perkins, Managing Partner and President of CoinFund Guests: Felix Jauvin, Head of Content at Blockworks and Host of the Forward Guidance Podcast Matt Zhang, Founder & Managing Partner at Hivemind Capital Links: CNN: Trump’s shutdown win just landed Republicans with a huge political headache Forbes: A $2,000 Tariff Dividend? Trump’s New Pitch Raises Tax Concerns BeInCrypto: Digital Asset Treasuries Are Collapsing: Lost Confidence Triggers Market Sell-Off FT: Bank of England dilutes planned rules for UK stablecoins CoinDesk: U.S. Fed's Miran Says Policy Needs to Adjust to Stablecoin Boom That Could Reach $3T Timestamps: 🎬 0:00 Intro 🏛️ 2:33 The U.S. government will reopen—but the economic damage lingers 💸 11:02 Could Trump’s proposed $2,000 “tariff dividend” spark inflation? 🧩 16:18 Why no one is fixing America’s long-term fiscal problems 🪙 18:59 How runaway debt should be bullish for crypto 📈 20:52 Finding the “true” risk-free rate 💥 23:00 Why DATs are trading below NAV, and if staking ETFs are the better bet ✅ 31:09 The five ingredients of a successful DAT 📉 38:39 Are DATs fairly priced? 💷 42:45 Why the Bank of England wants to cap stablecoin holdings at £20K per user 🌐 50:45 Is $3 trillion too conservative a forecast for stablecoin growth? ⚖️ 57:41 What’s worth more: XRP or Ripple equity? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to the Bits + Bips newsletter: https://unchainedcrypto.com/newsletters/ Check out our sponsor Mantle! As profitability tightens and competition soars, many Bitcoin mining companies are turning to artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC) to stay relevant. In this week’s Bits + Bips, host Steve Ehrlich sits down with John Todaro, Managing Director, Crypto & HPC/AI Equity Research at Needham & Company, and Kevin Dede, Senior Research Analyst at H.C. Wainwright, to unpack the pivot that’s reshaping an entire corner of the crypto industry. They discuss how miners are courting AI clients, why Wall Street is suddenly valuing them like data infrastructure plays, and what this means for Bitcoin’s long-term security model. The conversation dives deep into hashprice trends, investor signals, power constraints, and whether these companies can truly deliver on the AI promise — or risk stretching too thin. Guests: Kevin Dede, Senior Research AnalystManaging Director of Equity Research at H.C. Wainwright John Todaro, Managing Director, Crypto & HPC/AI Equity Research at Needham & CompanySenior Research Analyst at Needham & Company Timestamps: 💡 0:00 Introduction 🏗️ 3:23 Why investors suddenly care about miners’ HPC capacity 📈 9:08 Why the Bitcoin Mining Index is outperforming BTC itself 🤖 12:49 Can AI demand really live up to the hype? ⚠️ 16:31 The red flags investors should be watching 💰 20:50 Why debt levels could make or break mining firms 🔄 23:14 Can miners truly pivot and deliver on the AI promise? 📊 29:42 Why hashprice is falling even as hashrate rises 🚀 34:02 The long-term potential for Bitcoin mining operations 🏦 42:07 Bitcoin miners vs. holding BTC on balance sheets 🇺🇸 51:10 The future of Bitcoin mining in the United States 🔁 57:08 Could miners pivot to securing other assets? 🧠 59:22 Should the U.S. government buy a stake in Bitcoin miners? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to Unchained Daily: https://unchainedcrypto.com/newsletters/ Check out our sponsor Mantle! Most new blockchains promise to scale. MegaETH promises to feel instant. Fresh off its public sale, for which allocations were revealed on Thursday, the team behind MegaETH joins Unchained to explain why they’re calling it the world’s first real-time blockchain. Co-founder Shuyao Kong and ecosystem lead Amir Almaimani walk through their decision to build as a layer 2 on Ethereum, not a competing layer 1, and why they think the real opportunity is creating onchain experiences that feel like Web2 apps. The pair also dive deep into the tokenomics behind $MEGA, from sequencer rotation to proximity markets, and defend their choice to skip an airdrop in favor of “skin-in-the-game” token distribution. Guests: Shuyao Kong, Co-founder of MegaETH Amir Almaimani, Head of Ecosystem at MegaETH Links: Unchained: Why Protocol-Native Stablecoins May Be Crypto’s Next Big Thing MegaETH Public Allocation Strategy by MegaETH’s CSO Namik Murodoglu Timestamps: 🚀 0:00 Introduction 🧱 1:47 Why MegaETH chose to build as an Ethereum layer 2, not a new layer 1 ⚡ 5:10 How it plans to stand out from Arbitrum, Base, and other successful L2s 🔓 9:53 Why Shuyao says many L2s are actually more decentralized than L1s 🧩 11:16 Whether MegaETH plans to decentralize its sequencer 💰 13:43 The utility of the $MEGA token—and how Tesla and Ethereum inspired it 📍 16:58 How “proximity markets” work ⛽ 18:09 How MegaETH designed its gas model and tokenomics 🎯 21:28 The philosophy behind the public sales 😬 25:13 Why Shuyao says the soulbound NFT sale didn’t go as planned 📊 27:29 How MegaETH decided allocations in its latest sale 🙅‍♂️ 30:39 Why the team rejected the airdrop model entirely 🤝 32:00 How early community members earned 25% of the sale allocation 🕵️‍♀️ 34:46 How MegaETH scored onchain users and detected Sybil clusters 💳 39:36 Why MegaETH has its own native stablecoin, USDm 👷 41:34 How the project hopes to attract the best builders 🔥 46:00 The kinds of apps that are “only possible” on MegaETH 🎯 50:35 What’s next for MegaETH Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to The Chopping Block — where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, the crew breaks down DeFi’s Black Friday: a brutal week that saw the $120 million Balancer v2 hack, the collapse of Stream Finance, and a market-wide panic that reminded everyone — nothing in crypto is risk-free. They dive into how one of DeFi’s oldest, most audited contracts failed, why smaller chains froze or rolled back transactions, and what it means for decentralization as Berachain, Sonic, and Polygon took emergency action. The panel debates whether the Balancer attacker used an AI “vibe-coded” exploit, how Ethereum might one day face its own rollback dilemma, and why privacy chains like Zcash may be the last true cypherpunk strongholds. In the second half, they unpack the off-chain losses behind Stream Finance’s XUSD blow-up, the contagion risk across Euler, Silo, and Morpho, and the hard lessons for “yield-chasing” DeFi vaults. The gang closes with advice for founders weathering the storm — from Tarun’s “cockroach mindset” to Haseeb’s reminder that crypto’s long-term fundamentals haven’t changed. Whether you’re building in DeFi, securing smart contracts, or surviving the next credit unwind, this episode lays bare the harsh truths — and enduring resilience — of crypto’s frontier markets. Show highlights 🔹 Market Meltdown Post-“10/10” — The crew dissects October 10’s liquidation shock, lingering rumors about blown-up market makers, and why confidence cratered despite steady fundamentals. 🔹 ADL & Forced Sellers — What auto-deleverage events signaled about thin liquidity and whale-driven order books across perps venues. 🔹 “Nothing Is Risk-Free” — Haseeb’s reminder that there is no crypto “risk-free rate”; even delta-neutral and staking carry hidden smart-contract and market risks. 🔹 Balancer v2 Hack, Explained — Why an OG, heavily-audited E-Pool contract still failed; $120M+ impact across chains and the psychological hit to DeFi’s “battle-tested” narrative. 🔹 AI “Vibe-Coded” Exploit? — The team debates whether attacker logs hint at LLM-assisted discovery vs. expert-guided coding—and why the doomsday “one-shot” scenario isn’t here yet. 🔹 Freeze/Rollback Firestorm — Berachain halted, Sonic froze the attacker, Polygon censored transfers; the panel weighs user protection vs. decentralization purity. 🔹 When Would Ethereum Roll Back? — A thought experiment: is there a loss threshold (e.g., LST or validator-level failure) where even ETH would contemplate extraordinary action? 🔹 Privacy Chains as Last Bastion — Why true no-rollback, censorship-resistant values may persist most credibly on privacy smart-contract chains. 🔹 Builder Mindset in a Doom Cycle — “Be a cockroach”: ignore price, conserve runway, keep shipping; sentiment flips in crypto faster than in any other industry. Hosts ⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate ⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures ⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:01 Market Carnage & Sentiment 04:42 Speculations & Rumors: Wintermute vs. Binance 08:34 Builders’ Advice: Survive & Ship 23:11 Balancer V2 Hack: Berachain & Sonic Labs 28:28 Defi Confidence Shaken Hard 33:26 AI “Vibe-Coded” Exploit Debate 36:18 Rollbacks, Freezes, & Chain Ethics 40:13 Future of Decentralization 48:55 Stream Finance & XUSD Collapse Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crypto’s most controversial trading product might be Wall Street’s next obsession. In this interview, Brett Harrison, former president of FTX.US and founder of Architect Financial Technologies, joins to explain how he’s aiming to take perpetual futures — crypto’s 24/7 leveraged trading engine — to traditional markets like stocks, commodities, and FX. Will this be the next big shift in global finance? Thank you to our sponsors! Mantle Guest: Brett Harrison, Founder & CEO of Architect Financial Technologies Links: The Defiant: Former FTX US President Brett Harrison to Launch Perpetuals Exchange Timestamps: 💡 0:00 Introduction 🏗️ 1:43 What problems Architect is trying to solve 📜 4:27 The two licenses Architect holds — with the SEC and CFTC ⚖️ 6:18 The key difference between CFDs and perpetual futures 🌐 8:15 Who Architect’s products are designed for 💥10:02 What crypto learned the hard way from the Oct. 10 liquidation event 📊 15:25 Why reputable benchmarks are critical for pricing assets 💰 18:02 How leverage actually works in these new exchanges 🛡️ 22:03 How Architect’s insurance fund is built 🎯 22:46 Whether prediction markets will ever offer leverage 💵 24:35 Why Architect includes interest rate swaps 🔗 25:27 How tokenization could affect the derivatives trading space 🚀 28:50 How Architect plans to attract users and market makers 🔥 31:50 What Brett is most excited about next Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bitcoin’s bleeding again and sentiment is collapsing. But if you’ve been around for a few cycles, this kind of pain might look familiar. In this episode of Unchained, Laura sits down with Yann Allemann, Co-founder of Swissblock, and Joe Vezzani, CEO of LunarCrush, to unpack the latest market wipeout, and whether it’s a signal of exhaustion or opportunity. From retail’s record-breaking bearishness to the unwinding of crypto’s DAT mania, they explore why the market feels bearish and what that might mean for what’s coming next. They also dive into the likelihood of a blow-off top, the resurgence of privacy coins, the risk in digital asset treasury companies, and even why some think we could see new all-time highs before the year ends. Thank you to our sponsors! Mantle Guests: Yann Allemann, Co-founder and Chairman of Swissblock Joe Vezzani, Co-founder and CEO of LunarCrush Timestamps: 🎬 0:00 Intro 📉 2:13 Why Bitcoin’s crashing again and whether DATs are to blame 💥 10:43 The consequences of the October 10 liquidation wave 🔄 18:48 Is the four-year crypto cycle finally dead? 📊 25:00 The unraveling of the DAT trend: end of the mania or just a pause? 😶 29:32 Why markets feel eerily quiet and deeply bearish 🐻 32:55 How this became the “most bearish bull market” ever 🥇 40:49 If Bitcoin is digital gold, why hasn’t it followed gold’s rally? 🎯 47:09 Are prediction markets stealing attention from crypto? 🚀 53:30 Why Yann thinks a blow-off top is still coming 🕵️‍♂️ 55:51 The privacy coin comeback led by Zcash 💫 1:02:00 Why ETH’s relative strength could surprise the market ⚠️ 1:07:36 Why Yann says there’s “no reason to hold speculative assets” 💰 1:12:59 Bitcoin price predictions and what smart money’s really doing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bitcoin has fallen below $102,000. “Uptober” ended in blood. But while retail traders are terrified, institutional conversations are heating up. In this episode of Bits + Bips, hosts Austin Campbell, Ram Ahluwalia, and Chris Perkins are joined by Teddy Fusaro, President of Bitwise, to unpack the week’s market turmoil. They dig into why institutions are finally comfortable allocating to bitcoin, how Ripple is building an ecosystem that can’t be ignored, and whether Tether’s staggering $500 billion valuation makes sense. Plus: the shrinking odds of the CLARITY Act, the merging of TradFi and crypto rails, and why the competition in the payments space is so hot. Sponsors: Binance Mantle Hosts: Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida Austin Campbell, NYU Stern professor and founder and managing partner of Zero Knowledge Consulting Christopher Perkins, Managing Partner and President of CoinFund Guest: Teddy Fusaro, President of Bitwise Links: Unchained: Ripple Hits $4B Investment Milestone With Palisade Deal Extreme Fear Returns to Market as Bitcoin Breaks $104k Support Solana ETFs Draw $44 Million as Bitcoin Funds Bleed $191 Million Stablecoin Volume on Ethereum Breaks $2.8 Trillion Record in October Bitcoin ETFs Record $470 Million Outflows Amid Fed Rate Decision DL News: Clarity Act has 80% chance of passing by 2026: Bitwise The Block: Tether's annual profits top $10 billion as Treasury holdings swell Timestamps: 🎬 0:00 Intro 📈 3:03 Why Ram is still bullish on markets despite recent carnage 💧 6:03 Why a slingshot economy will soon send liquidity back into risk assets 🏦 9:18 How institutional sentiment now differs sharply from crypto Twitter 🚀 16:43 Inside Bitwise’s clever move to launch BSOL 🌊 21:20 Why Chris says “you can’t sleep on Ripple” 🔗 25:28 How TradFi and crypto rails are starting to merge 💳 29:38 Why every company suddenly wants to own the payments layer 💣 30:53 Exlporing Tether’s biggest challenge —and whether it’s worth $500B 📊 39:52 ETFs vs. digital asset treasuries: Teddy’s take ⚖️ 46:48 Why the CLARITY Act is unlikely to pass in 2025 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to The Chopping Block — where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, Kaledora Linn, Co-founder and “Empress of RWAs” at Ostium, joins to break down the rise of on-chain equity perps, the funding-rate chaos that hit 365%, and why she believes the next wave of tokenized assets won’t come from exchanges—but from structured liquidity markets. We dive deep into Ostium’s hybrid CFD model that blends TradFi mechanics with on-chain transparency, explore why most retail traders can’t stomach perp carry costs, and debate what “safe leverage” could look like in an RWA world. The panel also touches on CZ’s presidential pardon and Coinbase’s new Echo platform, connecting the dots between political optics, capital formation, and how crypto’s product design is evolving beyond speculation. Whether you’re building perpetual DEXs, tokenizing RWAs, or just trying to survive the next funding-rate spike, this episode unpacks how market design, UX, and regulation will shape crypto’s next trillion-dollar frontier. Show highlights 🔹 Equity Perps, ADL, and UX Reality — Why funding swings as high as 365 percent make traditional perps unusable for mainstream traders, even if they work for short-term speculators. 🔹 Inside Ostium’s RWA Derivatives Model — Kaledora Linn explains how Ostium re-engineered perps into a CFD-style liquidity system to stabilize funding and attract institutional flow. 🔹 CFDs vs. Options — Why trillions in CFD volume dominate global retail markets and how a linear, simple payoff structure beats the complexity of options. 🔹 Market Microstructure and Path Dependence — How thin liquidity and whale-driven order books make on-chain equity markets fragile in early growth stages. 🔹 Funding-Rate Distortions — Tarun breaks down why “delta-neutral” strategies blow up when funding turns asymmetric and leverage resets too quickly. 🔹 From Perps to Products People Actually Use — Haseeb and Kaledora debate how to make RWAs tradeable without the hidden costs of perps. 🔹 Leveraged ETF Paradox — Despite structural decay, leverage products remain popular because of UX, accessibility, and clear narratives—lessons for on-chain builders. 🔹 Predictable Costs Win Power Users — Why whales and market makers prefer stable, knowable carry over yield-chasing chaos. 🔹 CZ Pardon and Optics — The panel dissects political fallout, public perception, and what “clemency for founders” means for crypto’s reputation. 🔹 Coinbase Echo Launch — A new experiment in on-chain crowd sales, retail capital formation, and the post-airdrop meta. 🔹 From Airdrops to Allocations — Why curated, paid token sales may replace “free money” farming to create long-term aligned communities. 🔹 MegaETH and Luxury Distribution Models — The “sorting hat” approach to allocation mirrors art galleries and luxury brands—scarcity and provenance as value signals. 🔹 Go-to-Market Over Purity — Tom and Robert argue that product distribution and user education matter more than perfect decentralization in early RWA markets. Hosts: ⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate ⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures ⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly Guest ⭐️ Kaledora, Co-founder at Ostium Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:39 Kaldora’s Crypto Twitter Controversy 03:43 Debate on Perpetuals & Equities 07:20 Funding Rates & Market Dynamics 16:09 CFDs vs. Perpetuals 29:31 CZ's Pardon & Political Backlash 37:42 Trump's Pardon: Optics and Implications 39:06 Crypto's Midterm Impact 41:50 Echo Acquisition by Coinbase 46:11 Crowdfunding Platforms & MegaETH 55:36 Luxury Goods & Token Sales Analogy Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Unchained, Laura is joined by Rob Hadick, General Partner at Dragonfly, and Sam MacPherson, Co-founder and CEO of Phoenix Labs, to break down the fast-moving world of stablecoins and stablechains. They discuss Ethena’s USDe $5 billion drop, the rise of “stablecoin-as-a-service” models, the emergence of payment-focused blockchains like Tempo and Codex, and the return of TradFi heavyweights like Visa, Mastercard, and Western Union to the digital dollar race. From liquidity challenges to regulatory shakeups and tokenized deposits, the conversation explores what it really takes to win the stablecoin wars, and, importantly, whether any of these players can even make a scratch to king Tether. Thank you to our sponsors! Binance Guests: Rob Hadick, General Partner at Dragonfly Sam MacPherson, Co-founder and CEO of Phoenix Labs Links: Previous coverage on Unchained: Stablecoins Are Popping Up Everywhere. What’s the End Game? Why Every Chain Suddenly Wants Its OWN Stablecoin - The Chopping Block Timestamps: 🎬 0:00 Intro and ads: Binance 📉 1:09 Why Ethena’s USDe plunged from $15B to $10B 🔮 5:34 Rob’s view on the future of Ethena 💸 7:06 Why Spark exited Ethena despite being an early believer ⚔️ 11:32 Protocol-native stablecoins—and why Rob and Sam disagree about the trend 💡 21:03 What it really takes to win the stablecoin wars + what makes Tempo's strategy “interesting” 💳 32:11 Tether’s USAT launch: can it succeed? 🏦 36:27 How Tether and Ripple are using the same acquisition playbook 🔥 39:40 Plasma’s emissions strategy and whether it’s sustainable 🏛️ 44:10 Inside Circle’s Arc testnet and its 100+ institutional partners ⛓️ 51:08 Codex and the debate: should stablechains be L1s or L2s? 💵 56:42 How Spark aims to stand out in the new wave of stablecoin competition 🏢 1:00:04 Why TradFi players are entering the space with so much strength 🚀 1:06:04 Why Rob remains so bullish on the future of stablecoins Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gold may have history, but does it have a future? Former Citi Chief Economist Willem Buiter joins Unchained Executive Editor Steve Ehrlich to argue that gold’s “6,000-year bubble” is long overdue to burst. He explains why he thinks central banks should dump their bullion, why Bitcoin isn’t a reliable store of value, and why fully backed stablecoins and central-bank digital currencies could define the next era of money. He also touches on Trump’s influence on the Fed, tokenized deposits and the future of stablecoins. Thank you to our sponsors! Binance Guest: Willem Buiter, Independent Economic Advisor, Previously Global Chief Economist at Citigroup Timestamps: 💰 0:00 Introduction 🏺 0:28 Is gold really in a 6,000-year bubble? 🫧 4:33 Why Willem says some bubbles can last forever 💵 7:16 What to make of the dollar’s debasement and why other currencies aren’t better 🚫 11:56 Why Willem doesn’t believe in Bitcoin as a store of value 🪙 16:32 Why he says fully backed stablecoins could define the future of money 🏦 19:10 Are tokenized deposits a breakthrough or a threat to the monetary system? 🌐 22:36 Why Willem supports central bank digital currencies 🔢 27:51 Will the world end up with hundreds of stablecoins? 📊 31:23 Is the Fed quietly shifting its inflation target to 3%? ⚖️ 33:57 How Trump’s pressure could undermine Fed independence 🚀 37:39 Why Willem is bullish on tokenized assets Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Bits + Bips, former BlackRock executive and SharpLink co-CEO Joseph Chalom joins hosts Austin Campbell, Chris Perkins, and Ram Ahluwalia to discuss why the Federal Reserve may move to ease rates despite a “Goldilocks” economy, the growing role of stablecoins in foreign exchange and settlement, and how major banks like JPMorgan and Citi are expanding their use of blockchain. The conversation also explores Japan’s first yen-backed stablecoin, the implications of AI for the labor market, and the generational shift that could make crypto wallets the default interface for finance. Plus, the implications of CZ’s pardon and why it’s “bullish” to have Mike Selig chairing the CFTC. Sponsors: Binance Mantle Hosts: Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida Austin Campbell, NYU Stern professor and founder and managing partner of Zero Knowledge Consulting Christopher Perkins, Managing Partner and President of CoinFund Guest: Joseph Chalom, Co-CEO of SharpLink Gaming, Inc. Links: Reuters: Fed poised to cut rates this week, with more easing likely on tap WSJ: Trump Considers Fed Chair Selection by Year-End From Slate of Five Finalists CoinDesk: Gov. Waller: U.S. Fed to 'Embrace Disruption,' Pitches 'Skinny' Master Account Idea Reuters: World's first yen-pegged stablecoin debuts in Japan EF: ERC-8004: Trustless Agents Bloomberg: JPMorgan to Allow Bitcoin, Ether as Collateral in Crypto Push Unchained: Trump Pardons Binance Founder CZ CNBC: Trump names Michael Selig to chair CFTC; Selig cites crypto capital goal Timestamps: 🎬 0:00 Intro 💸 3:23 Why the Fed will likely still cut rates despite a “Goldilocks” economy 👷‍♂️ 6:47 Why Joseph says the labor market is at a “moment that matters” as Amazon cuts 30,000 jobs 🏛️ 8:26 What Chris shockingly heard at a recent Fed conference ⚖️ 10:15 What could force the Fed to become hawkish 🚀 12:33 How the Fed is “frontrunning innovation” 💴 14:46 Why Japan’s first fully yen-backed stablecoin, JPYC, is significant 🌍 17:36 Why Chris is so excited about stablecoins disrupting FX markets 🔗 22:55 Why L1 tokens may be the next “strategic commodity” 🏦 26:25 How major banks are joining the stablecoin race 👛 31:33 Why retail adoption could explode in the coming years 🤖 33:37 How AI agents could soon manage our payments 💡 36:34 Why JPMorgan decided to accept bitcoin and ether as collateral ⚖️ 44:04 Was CZ’s pardon fair, and what about “pay to play” concerns 🐂 54:55 Why having Mike Selig chair the CFTC is “bullish” for crypto Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As crypto markets mature, Kraken is transforming from a trading venue into a multi-asset infrastructure platform. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi joins to break down the exchange’s expansive strategy: building a vertically integrated derivatives business, pioneering tokenized equities with xStocks, and launching a purpose-built layer 2 chain, Ink, to bridge regulated finance and open DeFi. Sethi also explains how Kraken responded to the Black Friday crash, the firm’s ADL and margin policies, and what Kraken wants from U.S. policymakers in 2025. Plus: how Kraken's acquisitions of NinjaTrader and Small Exchange could reshape U.S. derivatives, and why this time, tokenization may finally deliver. Thank you to our sponsors! Mantle https://www.mantle.xyz/ Guest: Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Kraken Timestamps: 👍 0:00 Intro ⚡️ 0:15 Kraken’s experience on “Black Friday” and how the team handled the chaos 👥 3:52 Why Kraken uses a co-CEO model and how it works in practice 🧩 7:50 How Arjun and his team kept calm and supported the broader ecosystem during the crash 📈 9:25 What the derivatives boom means for Kraken’s long-term strategy 🛡️ 14:55 Why customer trust and fair risk management are core to Kraken’s DNA 🏛️ 20:26 How the Small Exchange and NinjaTrader deals fit into Kraken’s U.S. expansion plan 🔗 31:44 Why tokenization is finally real this time and how Kraken plans to lead it ⚖️ 53:24 What Kraken hopes to achieve in Washington and what’s next for the company Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crypto has spent years obsessing over tokens, airdrops, and speculation. But what about the unsexy businesses actually making money? Arthur Hayes and Adam Schlegel join Laura Shin to talk about Maelstrom's $250M private equity fund targeting crypto's most profitable, yet overlooked, companies, $50M revenue businesses with 50% margins that VCs can't touch and exchanges won't pay cash for. But while everyone frames this as just another fund, Hayes and Schlegel argue it's actually the missing piece in crypto's maturation: a cash buyer for founders who've done their time and want out without four-year earnouts. Plus: Why Asian crypto companies with monster margins get ignored by Western capital. Thank you to our sponsors! Binance Guests: Arthur Hayes, Co-Founder of BitMEX & CIO at Maelstrom Adam Schlegel, Head of Private Equity at Maelstrom Links: Previous appearances on Unchained: The Chopping Block: Arthur Hayes & Tom Lee; Hyperliquid vs Aster, DATs & ETH Arthur Hayes and Hanson Birringer on Hyperliquid’s Success (And What Could Stop It) Bloomberg: Arthur Hayes’ Family Office Seeks $250M for Buyout Fund Coindesk: Arthur Hayes’ Maelstrom Seeks $250M Private Equity Fund to Acquire Crypto Firms: Bloomberg Akshat’s tweet announcing the fund Timestamps: 🎬 0:00 Intro 📰 1:08 Maelstrom’s $250M private equity fund to buy crypto firms 👤 1:42 Adam’s background and path from Morgan Stanley to Haveli to Maelstrom 💼 3:51 Why Maelstrom believes the next crypto boom is in private equity 📈 4:42 Arthur on how crypto investing evolved from beta → VC → PE 🌏 10:05 Geographic focus: Asia and LatAm’s overlooked crypto firms 🧭 11:49 How Maelstrom evaluates targets and performs due diligence 🛠️ 17:02 Inside Maelstrom’s $250M anchor fund and LP co-invest model 👀 26:01 The types of companies Maelstrom is targeting ⚙️ 30:16 Fund structure and Arthur’s role in Maelstrom PE 📊 36:05 “The four-year cycle is dead”: Arthur on today’s crypto market 💰 39:18 Investor requirements and $5M minimum commitment 🏦 42:09 Coinbase’s Echo acquisition and what it means for exchanges ⚔️ 47:59 The perps war, how DEXs are forcing CEXs toward zero-fee trading 💥 52:18 Binance, ADL liquidations, and leverage risk 🔮 56:27 Prediction markets: Polymarket vs Kalshi vs Limitless 💵 59:06 Stablecoins and rates, why Tether and Circle could lose to Ethena 📈 1:04:15 Who wins the next phase of crypto’s evolution 🔚 1:08:14 Closing thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This special two-part episode brings together two very different conversations. In part one, investment manager Lawrence Lepard lays out why he believes the fiat monetary system is structurally unsustainable, what role inflation plays in that system, and how Bitcoin could be the exit ramp, not just from fiat, but from war, debt, and economic manipulation. He discusses gold, stocks, silver, the real estate market, and why he’s betting heavily on Bitcoin. In part two, I speak with filmmaker James Craig, director of the new documentary Code Is Law, which traces the evolution of the phrase from a meme into a legal defense for some of the most infamous smart contract exploits in crypto. From the DAO to Indexed Finance, Mango Markets and KyberSwap, the film explores whether exploiting code is legitimate — or just theft with better PR. Thank you to our sponsor, ⁠Binance⁠! Guests: Lawrence Lepard, Investment Manager at Equity Management Associates, LLC James Craig, Founder, Director and Producer at Encrypted Films Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Neobanks changed how fintech thinks about money. Now, crypto builders want to do the same, without custody. In this episode, Itamar Lesuisse, CEO of Ready, and Mike Silagadze, CEO of EtherFi, argue the real shift isn't about "crypto cards," it's about who controls your assets. EtherFi’s and Ready’s self-custodial apps merge saving, spending, and investing. The result: faster settlement, lower fees, and more transparency, but also new challenges around compliance, credit, and security. Itamar Lesuisse and Mike Silagadze explain how layer 2 networks made crypto cards economically viable after years of failed attempts and how Africa’s FX markets could become the breakthrough use case for crypto banking. Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! Mantle Binance Guests: Itamar Lesuisse, Co-founder and CEO of Ready (formerly Argent) Mike Silagadze, Founder and CEO of EtherFi, and Founder of Top Hat Links: The Block: Best crypto cards with token rewards in 2025 Bitcoin Starknet Staking Post by Ready (Formerly Argent) Timestamps: 🎬 0:00 Intro 💳 1:57 What crypto neobanks are, and why they’re suddenly booming ⚖️ 6:19 Custody as the real divide between traditional and crypto banking 🏦 8:07 From Argent to Ready, turning wallets into full neobanks 💳 10:05 Why early crypto cards failed, and how L2 settlement fixed them 💰 18:49 Credit without credit scores: the rise of collateralized cards 🔒 32:52 How smart accounts and recovery improve wallet security 🌍 44:29 Onchain FX and the next profit frontier for crypto banks 🚀 55:36 How self-custody could reach mass adoption 🔚 58:19 Closing thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to The Chopping Block — where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, Helius’s Mert returns to defend Zcash’s ~400% run and the “encrypted Bitcoin” framing, digging into anonymity sets, privacy UX, and why Bitcoiners are so riled up. We then tackle the Tempo bombshell — a ~$500M raise at a ~$5B pre, Stripe/Paradigm ties, Dankrad’s move from the EF — alongside Péter Szilágyi’s letter on EF culture and compensation: public goods priesthood vs. market incentives. Next up: Mert’s “USD Manlet” rethink (why coordinating Solana around one stable is hard, and why pushing USDT to compete with USDC may be the sharper play) plus a gripe-fueled tour of today’s DeFi trading UX. Finally, an AWS-outage autopsy: Coinbase downtime, Base sequencer hiccups, Infura/MetaMask ripple effects, and the case for multi-region/multi-cloud redundancy when real money — and sometimes safety — are on the line. And no, despite the memes, Mert is not launching a DEX. For more links and Show Hilights - https://unchainedcrypto.com/podcast-chopping-block/the-chopping-block-zcash-400-tempos-500m-shock-ef-pay-firestorm-aws-base-meltdown-feat-mert/ ⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate ⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly Guest ⭐️ Mert, Co-founder & CEO at Helius Hosts ⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly Guest ⭐️ Mert, Co-founder & CEO at Helius “One Long Memo” [A Letter To The EF] by Péter Szilágyi https://gist.github.com/karalabe/a2bc53436f29e0711fe680d59e180f6c Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:22 Mert a Madman of Solana and now Zcash 05:20 Bitcoin vs. Zcash: A Philosophical Clash 14:35 Tempo Fundraise and Ethereum's Talent Exodus 33:05 Ethereum's Social Layer & Public Goods 34:45 The Importance of Religious Priesthood in Crypto 41:01 The USD Manlet Proposal & Stablecoin Coordination 49:32 AWS Outage & Its Impact on Crypto Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Bits + Bips, hosts Austin Campbell, Ram Ahluwalia, and Chris Perkins tackle a packed agenda: from the fairness of Binance’s listing fees to the ways in which DeFi didn’t perform well during the “Black Friday” crash, why Tempo’s $500 million raise might have been a political ploy, and the growing war over stablecoin dominance. The trio debates whether Bitcoin is undervalued compared to gold, why Ethereum’s 10-year track record gives it an edge, and whether today’s Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs) are just froth, or the permanent backbone of institutional crypto. Plus: Austin makes a bold prediction about the stablecoin that will dominate by 2040. Sponsors: Mantle Hosts: Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida Austin Campbell, NYU Stern professor and founder and managing partner of Zero Knowledge Consulting Christopher Perkins, Managing Partner and President of CoinFund Links: Binance Listing Fee Drama Unchained: Binance Listing Fee Fight: What’s a Fair Price to List on the Top Crypto Exchange? Binance Claims It Does Not Profit From Token Listings Jesse Pollak (Base) chimes in Tempo & Dankrad Fortune: Exclusive: Stripe-backed blockchain startup Tempo raises $500 million round led by Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital and Greenoaks Ethereum core dev Dankrad Feist joins Tempo Reactions: Ryan Adams (Bankless): Tempo will optimize for itself, not ETH. Nick Almond: Not a death sentence for ETH Breadguy: Big loss. Dankrad was a major L1 scaling advocate. Black Friday Dan Wilson: 3 big lessons post-crash Gold vs. BTC GOLD/BTC up ‎23.5% in past month Bitcoin Is Undervalued vs. Gold DATs Bloomberg: Huobi Founder Li Lin Set To Launch $1 Billion Ether Accumulator - Bloomberg CoinDesk: Ripple Set to Enter Corporate Treasury Business With $1B Acquisition of GTreasury Timestamps: 🎬 0:00 Intro 💸 3:39 Binance listing fees — fair price for distribution or pay-to-play? 🏛️ 10:19 What is the best way to go public? ⚔️ 11:57 How exchanges really compete behind the scenes 💥 15:00 “Black Friday”: why Chris calls it catastrophic — but with a silver lining 🧱 24:52 What the industry must fix to prevent another meltdown 💵 30:15 How Tempo’s $500M raise represents peak frothiness 🚨 39:12 Is Dankrad’s exit from the Ethereum Foundation a red alarm for ETH? 🔮 43:07 Austin’s bold prediction: which stablecoin wins by 2040 🥇 46:17 Is Bitcoin undervalued compared to gold? 🏗️ 52:21 Why DATs are here to stay despite the market carnage Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices