Vitalik Buterin Aped Into the Social Media App Anoncast. What's It About? - Ep. 741

Ethereum has had a tough year, losing ground to Solana in price performance, developer activity and as the home to the latest crypto trends. Yet, Vivek Raman, founder and CEO of Etherealize, is doubling down on Ethereum’s future. In this episode, Vivek explains how Etherealize, a “marketing arm for the ETH ecosystem,” was in the works long before the current criticisms of the Ethereum Foundation’s marketing, and how it got funding from Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin and the foundation. He discusses why he believes layer 2 solutions make Ethereum a better fit for Wall Street than Solana. Plus, Vivek shares his thoughts on Ethereum’s value accrual, the state of its ecosystem, and how Etherealize plans to bridge the gap between Wall Street and Web3. Show highlights: 2:50 Why Vivek thinks that it’s an opportune time to launch Etherealize 7:32 How the project has been in the works for longer than people might think 13:28 How Etherealize secured funding from Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation 15:11 Why Vivek says they got “lucky” with the timing of the announcement 19:03 How Vivek plans to drive the narrative of ETH as an asset 22:17 Why he believes corporations will launch their own L2s on Ethereum 29:13 How he pitches Ethereum to TradFi 31:42 Why Vivek believes Ethereum is better suited for Wall Street than Solana  34:08 What he has to say about L2s being centralized 38:24 News Recap Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! Quai Network Polkadot Guest Vivek Raman, founder and CEO of Etherealize  Links Etheralize’s announcement Unchained:  Lido Founder Says No ‘Second Foundation’ Exists Yet 2024 Was Solana's Best Year Yet. Can It Sustain the Momentum in 2025? 2025 Will Be a Year of Crypto Competition. Can ETH Make a Comeback? Ethereum Foundation to Fund New DeFi MultiSig Wallet With 50,000 ETH The Block: Vitalik Buterin details 'large changes' to Ethereum Foundation leadership amid calls for new leadership  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

24 Tammi 52min

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. In this episode, we dive into one of the wildest weeks in crypto history, unpacking the unprecedented launch of Trump’s memecoin and its explosive $70 billion valuation. We discuss how it broke every record imaginable, the fallout from Melania’s token, and the chaos it unleashed across the Solana network. From the ethics of a sitting president launching a coin to the implications for retail investors and the future of memecoins, we’re covering it all. Plus, we debate whether this marks a new chapter for crypto adoption or a troubling precedent for political grift. Stay tuned for this jam-packed emergency episode! Show highlights 🔹 Trump’s Memecoin Craze: Breaking down the historic launch of $Trump, its unprecedented $70B valuation, and how it shattered every record in crypto history. 🔹 Melania’s Memecoin Fallout: What went wrong with the $Melania token launch? Exploring its disastrous impact on the market and $Trump coin’s rapid crash. 🔹 DeFi’s Ultimate Stress Test: How Solana infrastructure held up against unprecedented volumes, Moonshot’s rise to the top, and why this reshaped the memecoin landscape. 🔹 Retail FOMO vs. Institutional Doubts: Examining retail’s overwhelming rush to $Trump coin and why some insiders remain skeptical of its long-term implications. 🔹 Crypto Meets Politics: The ethics and implications of a sitting president launching a memecoin—and how it could distort the future of crypto regulation and perception. 🔹 The Memecoin Economy Evolves: Could Trump and Melania coins signify the end—or a new era—of memecoins? A debate on the future of speculative tokens. 🔹 Solana’s Big Moment: Why Trump coin positioned Solana as the go-to chain for memecoins, and how it outperformed competitors during this chaos. 🔹 On-Chain Innovation or Grift? Is this a turning point for crypto adoption, or just the latest example of right-wing opportunism? The crew debates the broader implications. 🔹 Adversarial Predictions: What happens when other world leaders witness Trump’s success? The panel speculates on who could be next in the memecoin race. 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  Disclosures Timestamps -  00:00 Intro  02:23 The Crypto Ball 07:11 Trump's Memecoin: $TRUMP 13:21 Market Reactions & Infrastructure Challenges 26:25 Melania Token: $MELANIA 38:52 Solana's User Surge, Start of Ethereum Civil War? 45:12 Speculation: Crypto's Killer Use Case 49:59 Partisan Divide in Crypto 54:22 Trump's Crypto Strategy 01:07:32 Crypto's Social and Political Implications Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

22 Tammi 1h 15min

This week, Trump’s memecoin launch had everyone talking—and scrambling for Phantom wallets. But was it a strategic masterstroke or just another speculative frenzy? On this episode of Bits + Bips, the hosts unpack the wild moments of the Crypto Ball, where $TRUMP made its surprise debut. They discuss how Bitcoin maxis were forced to embrace Solana wallets, why Multicoin Capital emerged as the biggest winner, and whether the memecoin launch signals a local market top. Plus, they debate whether Trump’s crypto-friendly stance could shape policy in 2025, why Litecoin might beat Solana to a spot ETF, and what Trump’s inauguration speech reveals about his crypto game plan. Show highlights: 0:58 What Ram can tell us about his experience at the Crypto Ball  3:39 How Ram was so surprised when the $TRUMP coin dropped in the middle of the event 7:51 What will happen with the 80% of $TRUMP that Trump holds 8:51 Why Ram believes Multicoin Capital was the biggest winner of $TRUMP dropping 10:14 Whether the coin was “gift or grift” 17:07 How the $Melania coin was the Trumps shooting themselves in the foot 19:37 How the launch of the coin is a “major win” for Solana 22:49 Whether ETH can have a comeback as the “TradFi chain” 35:28 How the market would react to the lack of a strategic bitcoin reserve mention 43:28 What executive orders Trump could deliver for the crypto industry 48:47 Alex’s experience with the pump and dump of a fake Barron Trump memecoin 53:41 What was notable from Trump’s inauguration speech 56:28 Whether rate cuts in December were a mistake and whether more are coming 1:05:51 Why James believes that Litecoin has more chances than Solana for a spot ETF 1:08:41 Whether the launch of $TRUMP will mark a local top for the markets Hosts: James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence Alex Kruger, Founder of Asgard Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida Noelle Acheson, Author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” Newsletter  Links Saylor’s parody account’s tweet recounted by Alex  Meme recounted by Noelle Vitalik on changing the EF leadership Josh Stark’s tweet on how the EF “uses Ethereum” Paper on DeFi that Alex talked about: Christopher J Waller: Centralized and decentralized finance - substitutes or complements? Polymarket: Will Trump create Bitcoin reserve in first 100 days? Unchained:  Trump Appoints Crypto-Friendly Mark Uyeda as Acting SEC Chair Trump-Backed World Liberty Financial Goes on Token Buying Spree Trump Picks Pham as Acting CFTC Chair Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

22 Tammi 1h 17min

The crypto world was shaken this weekend when Donald Trump and Melania Trump launched their own memecoins, ahead of Trump’s inauguration as president.  Financial analyst Lyn Alden joins Laura to explain why she’s not a fan of memecoins, neutral on a U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve, and doubtful the U.S. can disrupt itself even as Bitcoin, crypto and blockchain technology hold the possibilities of upending the geopolitical world order. Discussing everything from rising tariffs to reshoring strategies, Lyn offers a sharp analysis of the U.S. fiscal and monetary outlook and explains why she believes fiscal policy now overshadows monetary policy. Plus, hear her take on the TikTok ban debate, her skepticism that Bitcoin’s future security could be at risk as the block subsidy decreases, and her Bitcoin projection for 2025. Show highlights: 02:13 Why Lyn is not supportive of the launch of Trump’s and Melania’s memecoins 10:01 Whether Trump should airdrop his memecoin to U.S. citizens 11:47 Why a U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve sparks debate over its potential to devalue the dollar, reshape trade deficits, and challenge the global reserve currency system 25:09 How bitcoin’s rise as a neutral reserve asset could shape a multi-polar world 27:23 Why she thinks addressing U.S. fiscal issues may require the reshoring of industry and rethinking the dollar system 31:22Why Lyn thinks rising tariffs could disrupt global trade, but might also make the government less able to rely on taxation in a world of portable capital and growing privacy tools 35:16 Whether DOGE will be bearish for bitcoin 39:39 Why Lyn feels that Scott Bessent’s “3-3-3 Plan” faces challenges 42:29 Why fiscal policy now overshadows monetary policy, according to Lyn 48:21 What the TikTok ban debate reveals to Lyn about government control and the push for decentralized social media 52:31 Lyn’s take on MSTR’s plan to increase the number of shares 54:56 Lyn’s view on OP_CAT and bitcoin soft forks 57:20 Why Lyn doesn’t think that declining subsidies pose a problem for bitcoin’s security 1:05:59 Why Lyn doesn’t see value in other sectors of crypto, such as DeFi, aside from Bitcoin and stablecoins 1:09:15 Lyn’s projection for the price of bitcoin in 2025 Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! Somnia Network Polkadot Guest: Lyn Alden, founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategy Previous appearances on Unchained: Does Maximalism Help or Hurt Bitcoin? Lyn Alden and Udi Wertheimer Debate How Will Inflation Impact Crypto? Is Ethereum a Good Investment?  Why Bitcoin Now: Meltem Demirors and Lyn Alden on the Perfect Conditions for Bitcoin Links Trump’s announcement of a memecoin  Unchained: TRUMP Memecoin Soars Then Sinks as MELANIA Launches Balaji’s tweet on the proposal of airdropping $TRUMP Unchained: A Bitcoin Strategic Reserve for the U.S.? Senator Cynthia Lummis Reveals Her Bill Bloomberg: MicroStrategy May Soon Rival Amazon, Alphabet in Common Shares -  Unchained: What Is the OP_CAT Bitcoin Improvement Proposal? - Unchained Unchained: Bitcoin Layer 2s Aim to Attract Ethereum-Like Dapps. Will They Succeed? - Ep.638 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

21 Tammi 1h 11min

This week, Sony launched the mainnet for Soneium, its Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain built on the OP Stack from Optimism. Soneium is designed to support creators, developers, and fans through tools like Sony’s NFT-based Fan Marketing Platform and Soneium Spark. However, Soneium’s launch has sparked controversy. Its decision to blacklist some memecoins—over intellectual property concerns—has raised questions about the balance between decentralization and protecting creators’ rights. Even Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin weighed in, highlighting the tradeoffs businesses face in Web3. Sota Watanabe, CEO at Startale, took a quick interview to clear up the misunderstanding about IP infringement. He also explains the vision for the platform and what’s next for Soneium in entertainment and finance. Plus, at the end of the episode, Laura speaks to Ari Gore, head of communications at Zengo Wallet, about protecting your private keys and your cryptocurrencies from natural disasters. Show highlights: 01:52 Why Sony decided to launch a layer 2 on Ethereum 05:39 How Soneium will work with creators to support them 11:29 Sota’s response to the backlash about blacklisting memecoins 18:46 How Soneium’s technical implementation protects IP rights 23:56Why Soneium attracts people from certain demographics 27:05 What the L2 blockchain will focus on next 27:05 Tips to protect your crypto safe from natural disasters 34:47 News Recap Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! Stellar Build Better Quai Network Polkadot Guests Sota Watanabe, CEO at Startale Ari Gore, head of communications at Zengo Wallet Links Soneium Mainnet: Invoking Emotion And Empowering Creativity Tweet by PopPunkOnChain Tweet by 0xKawz Tweet by Vitalik  Tweet by donnoh_eth Soneium's Philosophy for Responsible Innovation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

17 Tammi 48min

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. In this episode, we’re joined by Guy Young, CEO and founder of Ethena Labs, to break down the hard truths behind DeFi’s most recent chaos. We dive into the USD0++ depeg and its ripple effects across the ecosystem, exploring what went wrong and the critical lessons for the future of stable assets. Plus, we discuss Ethena’s meteoric rise, Guy’s vision for synthetic dollars, and how innovative yield strategies are reshaping DeFi. Stay tuned as we debate, analyze, and uncover the hidden forces shaping crypto today. Show highlights 🔹 USD0++ Depeg Drama: A deep dive into what caused the USD0++ depeg, the mechanics behind the chaos, and the broader implications for DeFi. 🔹 Lessons on Risk Transparency: Why sudden rule changes eroded trust and how protocols can improve communication to avoid similar fallout. 🔹 Ethena’s Rise and Vision: Guy Young shares the story of Ethena’s explosive growth, its innovative synthetic dollar model, and its role in DeFi’s evolution. 🔹 The Yield Dilemma: Exploring how Ethena’s yield model works, its appeal, and the risks it carries for users and the ecosystem. 🔹 DeFi’s Distribution Problem: Why centralized exchanges remain the key to scaling synthetic assets and stablecoins like Ethena’s USD. 🔹 Transparency vs. Overconfidence: Drawing lessons from Luna’s downfall and how Ethena’s approach to clear communication sets a new standard. 🔹 Athena’s 2025 Roadmap: From DeFi integrations to TradFi adoption, what’s next for Ethena as it scales synthetic dollars globally. 🔹 Reflections on Building in DeFi: Guy Young opens up about the challenges, surprises, and rewards of leading one of DeFi’s fastest-growing projects. 🔹 2025 Predictions: The crew debates who might become this year’s “main character” in crypto and what that could mean for the market. Hosts ⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate ⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly  Guest ⭐️Guy Young, CEO & Founder of Ethena Labs Disclosures Timestamps  00:00 Intro 01:30 Changes to Usual Money’s Protocol 06:05 Reactions & Analysis 09:12 Lessons from USD0  18:35 Transparency vs. Miscommunication 22:42 Ethena: A DeFi Success Story 32:12 Demand for Stablecoins & Yield 36:40 Custody & Market Structure Post-FTX 43:58 Handling Negative Yields and Market Corrections 48:22 Ethena's Roadmap and Future Plans 55:53 Reflections on Building Ethena Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 Tammi 1h 3min

This week, Bloomberg’s James Seyffart, Lumida’s Ram Ahluwalia, and guest Tom Dunleavy explore whether the “Fed pivot” is officially dead, how AI will impact the job market, and what Tether’s move to El Salvador means for U.S. stablecoin policy. They also debate whether bitcoin could ever be a risk-off asset, how sovereign nations might already be accumulating BTC, and what the Coinbase legal win against the SEC signals for the future. Plus, why volatility is still king in crypto and what lies ahead for the global markets. Show highlights: 02:12 Whether the “Fed pivot” is officially dead and whether rate cuts are coming 08:37 What the impact of AI will be on the jobs market 13:27 Why the markets have been chopping so much and whether it’s the bottom 18:00 What Trump could achieve for the crypto industry in his first 100 days 23:02 Whether the US sold the Silk Road bitcoin 25:27 Why bitcoin will not be a risk-off asset in the near term according to Tom and Ram 31:08 Whether sovereign nations have already started buying bitcoin 36:49 Why Tether moving to El Salvador is a loss to the U.S., according to Ram 40:26 How the L.A. fires will have an impact on the political landscape in the U.S. 52:06 How Coinbase just achieved a “huge win” against the SEC Sponsors: Stellar Build Better Hosts: James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida Guest: Tom Dunleavy, Partner at Master Ventures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15 Tammi 1h 6min

In October, the crypto industry saw a jaw-dropping acquisition: Bridge, a stablecoin-focused company, was bought by Web2 payments giant Stripe for $1.1 billion. Now, three months later, Bridge co-founder Zach Abrams opens up about the wild journey that led to this moment, from navigating collapses like Terra’s UST and USDC’s depegging, to securing compliance and fraud prevention as core priorities. Zach also delves into his vision for the future of stablecoins, whether the U.S. dollar will continue to dominate, and why global financial infrastructure needs an upgrade. Plus, he recounts how timing and resilience helped Bridge stand out amidst massive industry challenges. Show highlights: 01:49The problems of the payments system and how stablecoins could solve them 13:35 What Bridge is, how it works and what types of consumers it serves 19:33 What significant inconveniences Bridge found throughout its journey 25:56 How Zach’s background in Coinbase influenced the launch of Bridge 30:20 Whether there will be multiple stablecoins or just a couple of winners 33:49 How Bridge worked with their customers to improve its product 39:35 The story of how Bridge was acquired by Stripe for $1.1 billion 46:37 Whether its dependence on banks is a problem for Bridge 53:02 How Bridge deals with fraud and compliance  59:50 What Zach thinks about the competition in the stablecoin landscape 1:04:37 Why Zach believes that the fiat infrastructure landscape is still Bridge’s main competitor 1:10:08 Whether the U.S. dollar will remain the overwhelmingly predominant currency in stablecoins Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! Stellar Build Better Polkadot Guest: Zach Abrams, Co-founder of Bridge Links Recent coverage of Unchained on stablecoins: How This Stablecoin Business in Africa Is Taking on SWIFT and Big Banks Why Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev Is Betting Big on Crypto, Stablecoins, and Prediction Markets CNBC: Stripe's $1.1 billion deal for crypto firm Bridge marks much-needed win for VCs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

14 Tammi 1h 15min