Unchained

In this episode of Bits + Bips, hosts James Seyffart, Alex Kruger, and Joe McCann welcome venture capitalist Rennick Palley to explore the implications of Fed chair Jerome Powell's recent shift from focusing on inflation to employment, analyzing how it might influence crypto and global markets.  Palley also shares some incisive analysis for why he thinks blue-chip DeFi projects might be overvalued, and both McCann and Palley highlight why they are still bullish on memecoins. Finally, the gang discusses the growing political influence of the crypto industry, the potential impact of Kamala Harris presidential run on future regulations, and whether Justin Sun is using Tron as his “personal piggy bank.” Plus, what’s the latest with bitcoin ETF option applications, and what Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s arrest means. Show highlights: 00:00 Intro 02:41 How Powell's speech signaled a shift from a focus on inflation to employment and what that means for crypto markets  10:25 Why the Fed's proactive stance on the labor market could cement Powell's legacy, and how cutting rates amid high real rates might prevent long-term economic damage 23:47 How a significant payroll revision caused a brief panic, yet the markets dismissed it as noise due to its lagging nature 27:21 What the absence of crypto in the DNC's platform means for the industry, and how Kamala Harris’ presidential run could impact future regulations 34:12 How the surge in crypto contributions to political campaigns highlights the industry's growing influence 37:00 How the growing narrative around undervalued DeFi tokens could play out under a Trump administration, given the perception of Republican support for crypto 43:15 Why blue-chip DeFi projects, despite their dominant market share and attractive business models, may be overvalued, according to Rennick 53:44 Whether Justin Sun uses Tron as his “personal piggy bank” 58:52 Whether investing in memecoins is a good strategy and how to construct a portfolio around them 1:12:59 Why James says that the withdrawal and refiling of bitcoin ETF options applications signals potential progress, and how the SEC’s ongoing review could lead to approval by early 2025 1:19:43 Pavel Durov’s arrest and why Alex believes TON might be a good asset to buy Hosts: James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence Alex Kruger, Founder of Asgard Joe McCann, Founder, CEO, and CIO of Asymmetric Guest: Rennick Palley, Czar of Speed, Protector of the Hat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

28 Aug 20241h 27min

In this episode of Unchained, Keone Hon of Monad Labs, Jay Jog of Sei Labs, and Vijay Chetty of Eclipse Labs share insights on their distinct approaches to scalability and performance in high-throughput blockchains. They discuss the technical advantages of parallelized EVMs, the strategic decisions behind blockchain architecture, and the innovations driving the next generation of high-speed chains.  Show highlights: 00:00 Intro 02:02 How Monad got started and its mission from the very beginning 03:46 The features that enable Monad to be a high-throughput blockchain 07:32 Why Monad chose to make a new blockchain instead of an L2 08:36 Why Keone believes that Monad offers the best experience for developers and why he doesn’t like the ‘Ethereum killer’ description 15:48 Monad’s big venture capital raise and how they’ll use the money 17:30 Monad’s strong community  19:21 The next steps for Monad and whether we’ll see a token soon 20:02 What Sei is and the role of the GameStop saga in the creation of it 21:31 Why Jay believes the EVM developer ecosystem is so strong  25:45 Why Sei pivoted from Cosmos to the EVM that led to the launch of its v2 27:14 What allows Sei to be “the fastest chain, even faster than Solana” 33:03 How Sei DB works, and why Jay says that the monolithic approach has many advantages to the modular one 45:35 How Eclipse works by combining Ethereum, Solana, and Cosmos 53:22 How Eclipse deals with the complexities of its modular architecture 54:54 What ways there are to transact in SOL on Eclipse 55:44 Vijay’s reaction to how Eclipse Labs has responded to the allegations against its founder and former CEO Neel Somani 57:21 How Eclipse aims to attract developers  1:01:15 What areas within crypto Vijay expects will flourish on Eclipse 1:03:49 The next steps for Eclipse and when the mainnet could launch Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! Polkadot Token 2049 Mantle Guests: Keone Hon, Co-founder and CEO at Monad Labs.  Jay Jog, Co-founder of Sei Labs. Vijay Chetty, CEO of Eclipse Labs.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

27 Aug 20241h 9min

Pendle Finance, an innovative protocol that lets users trade yield, surged in popularity earlier this year but is now grappling with a downturn in usage.  In this episode, founder TN Lee shares insights into Pendle's approach, the factors behind its recent success, and the challenges it faces in recovering user engagement and TVL. Plus, since Pendle’s rise was driven by the points narrative, TN talks about how the protocol can keep growing.  Show highlights: 00:00 Intro 01:24 What Pendle is, how the idea for it was born, and how it works 05:06 Why Pendle has exploded this year, even though it launched years ago 12:01 Whether Pendle is an app for sophisticated traders and the most common strategies in the protocol 15:46 How users are able to leverage their earned points in several protocols 19:20 Besides market risks, what the risks are of trading in Pendle and how they try to mitigate them 20:57 Pendle’s recent significant drop in TVL and plans to recover 24:13 If the points narrative ends, will Pendle remain relevant? 27:31 Crypto 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! iTrustCapital Polkadot Token 2049 Guestl TN Lee, Founder of Pendle Finance Links Previous coverage of Unchained on Pendle: DeFi Protocol Pendle Reaches All-Time High as Total Value Locked Tops $5.78 Billion Background Information on Pendle Introduction  Glossary Minting Advanced Yield Trading Strategies vePENDLE DeSpread Research report (Sept 2023) Cointelegraph Research: Deciphering Pendle Finance’s surge  Others: Crypto News: Major Changes Ahead: Pendle Ends Earn UI, Focuses on V3 Pendle reached its second largest maturity event on July 25 DeFi Llama: Pendle’s TVL Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

23 Aug 202440min

Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest news. This week, the boys discuss Ethereum's current standing in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, comparing it to the United States regarding capital concentration despite fewer users.  They also dive into the dynamics of prediction markets, focusing on Polymarket's role in predicting election outcomes. The conversation evolves into an analysis of potential changes to the Ethereum mainnet, driven by competition from Solana and other factors, including block time reductions and gas limit increases. The episode concludes with predictions about Ethereum's possible upgrades in the next six months and a bet among the hosts about the outcome. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights 🔹 A focused discussion on the utility and accuracy of polls versus prediction markets, particularly highlighting the insights from prediction market platforms like Polymarket. 🔹Exploration of Nate Silver's analytical methods and their application to understanding market dynamics and voter behavior forecasts in the crypto context. 🔹Examination of liquidity issues in crypto prediction markets, referencing platforms like Drift Protocol and their impact on market behavior and reliability. 🔹Analysis of how Solana’s advancements are pushing Ethereum to evolve, particularly in the areas of Layer 1 and Layer 2 scaling solutions. 🔹Discussion on the economic strengths and potential vulnerabilities of Ethereum, likened to the Dutch Disease, where reliance on a dominant resource can lead to broader economic issues. 🔹Speculative insights into the possible future changes in Ethereum’s protocol, including adjustments to block times and gas limits, and their potential impact on the network’s efficiency and user experience. Hosts ⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly  ⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate ⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures Disclosures Links On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything a Book by Nate Silver: https://www.amazon.com/Edge-Art-Risking-Everything/dp/1594204128  0:00 Intro 01:52 Polls vs. Prediction Markets 08:04 Nate Silver's On the Edge 15:37 Prediction Markets and Liquidity 22:31 Solana's Influence on Ethereum 25:32 L1 vs. L2s Updates 32:13 Ethereum has Dutch Disease 44:12 Predictions for Ethereum Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

22 Aug 202449min

In this episode, Reed Werbitt, US CEO of Flowdesk, and Hanson Birringer, Head of US OTC Sales, delve into the intricacies of launching a token and the evolving landscape of over-the-counter markets. They discuss what factors teams should consider when choosing market makers and exchanges, how the launch of bitcoin and ether ETFs has impacted the markets, and the role of points systems in attracting users to tokens. The conversation also covers the challenges faced by Bitcoin miners amid recent market developments and the opportunities presented by solving fragmentation. Show highlights: 00:00 Intro 01:53 Reed’s and Hanson’s backgrounds and what Flowdesk aims to do 05:52 How market makers work with token issuers 11:55 How a token issuer decides where to launch their tokens and what market maker to choose  17:53 Why Binance and OKX are the most desirable exchanges on which to list a token 18:38 Whether the crypto markets have changed with the launch of spot ETFs 19:36 The ideal ways to launch a token, and why it’s important to analyze the type of token  21:55 How points systems have affected the go-to-market strategies 25:38 How the low float/high FDV coins have affected whether Flowdesk engages with a new project 30:29 The benefits of OTC trading and how crypto OTC differs from TradFi OTC 41:54 The challenge of having multiple banking relationships 43:21 How this year’s developments, such as the ETFs and Trump’s promises, have changed the landscape for Flowdesk 46:00 Why solving fragmentation is the next big opportunity, according to Hanson 47:46 Whether the result of the U.S. elections will affect Flowdesk’s business 54:04 How the halving and bitcoin ETFs have affected miners 55:56 The significant differences between the prices of locked tokens vs. their market price Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! Polkadot Guests: Reed Werbitt, US CEO of Flowdesk and  Hanson Birringer, Head of OTC Sales of Flowdesk Links Bloomberg: Crypto Token Listings on Major Exchanges Top Last Year’s Total Already,  Bitget Research & Nansen Research: Discovering Token Potential for Trading & Exchange Listing Hack VC: 10 Things to Consider When Preparing for your Token Generation Event (TGE), FlowDesk: How Projects Can Select the Right Market-Making Model a16zcrypto:  Operational guidelines for token launches, from creation to custody 5 rules for token launches Keyrock: Crypto Market Making: Basics, Benchmarks, and More,  Openware: Strategies for Effective Crypto Market Making Token listing issues Unchained: Who’s to Blame for the Underperformance of Low Float, High FDV Tokens? New launches (part 1) - private capture, phantom pricing, by Cobie Why are all these low float / high FDV coins down bad?, by Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi Chainalysis: 54% of ERC-20 Tokens Listed on DEXes in 2023 Display Patterns That May Be Suggestive of Pump and Dump Schemes, but Represent just 1.3% of DEX Trading Volume Market making DL News: Crypto market makers rake in cash shorting their customers’ tokens. One firm is calling for more transparency Archeron Trading: Case Study: Chainflip, Demystifying Effective Pre-Market Orderbook Structuring Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

20 Aug 202459min

In this episode, Aki Balogh, CEO of dlcBTC, explores how Discreet Log Contracts (DLC) can change how Bitcoin works in DeFi by creating a self-sovereign Wrapped Bitcoin. He delves into the mechanics of dlcBTC, its security features, and how it aims to be more decentralized than existing Wrapped Bitcoin solutions like WBTC. Aki also shares future plans for dlcBTC, including integration with Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions and expansion to various blockchain ecosystems. Show highlights: 00:00 Intro 01:48 Aki’s background and how he got into crypto 04:14 What Discreet Log Contracts (DLC) are and why they are relevant for Bitcoin 07:56 How dlcBTC leverages these types of contracts to build a self-sovereign Wrapped Bitcoin and the differences with the current WBTC 15:41 Aki’s reaction to the news that WBTC will soon be handled by a joint venture between BitGo, Justin Sun and the Tron ecosystem 19:27 The role of attesters in making dlcBTC secure 23:26 How redemptions work in this kind of setup 27:31 Whether dlcBTC is more decentralized than WBTC  28:15 How many attesters the protocol should have to make it more safe and secure 30:05 How dlcBTC, the company, makes money with this product 31:11 Whether dlcBTC will be used in Bitcoin L2s, not just in the Ethereum ecosystem 34:47 What the future plans are for dlcBTC Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! iTrustCapital Polkadot Token 2049 Guest Aki Balogh, CEO of dlcBTC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 Aug 202450min

Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and chop it up about the latest news. This week, the gang is joined by Shuyao, cofounder of MegaETH Labs and founder of hotpot DAO.  They dive into the unfolding drama surrounding WBTC and BitGo's strategic shift towards multi-jurisdictional custody in Hong Kong. They also explore the growing buzz around decentralized AI, sparked by Haseeb’s newfound role as an “influencer” in the space, and debate whether these projects can truly succeed.  Moreover, with the SEC reportedly issuing subpoenas to crypto VCs, the discussion turns to the potential implications for token investments and regulatory scrutiny. Lastly, is this cycle lacking a zero-to-one innovation? Show highlights:  ➡️ 02:22 What MegaETH is and how hotpot DAO was born ➡️ 07:09 Reflections on the Science Blockchain Conference and its academic rebranding across major universities ➡️ 16:55 How Haseeb became an “influencer for decentralized AI” and whether decentralized AI projects will succeed ➡️ 25:45 What BitGo's move to multi-jurisdictional custody with Justin Sun-linked company BitGlobal in Hong Kong means for the future of WBTC ➡️ 40:33 What the SEC's rumored subpoenas to crypto VCs might mean for the future of token investments and underwriter laws ➡️ 48:28 How the current crypto cycle's lack of a "0 to 1" innovation reflects the industry's momentum and sentiment Hosts Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly  Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly  Tarun Chitra, managing partner at Robot Ventures Guest: Shuyao, cofounder of MegaETH Labs and founder of hotpot DAO Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

14 Aug 20241h 1min

In this episode of Bits + Bips, hosts James Seyffart, Alex Kruger, and Joe McCann sit down with Chris Cecere of crypto investment firm Asymmetric to make sense of the latest market volatility and the factors driving it.  From the impact of the yen carry trade and the Fed’s controversial decisions on interest rates, to the potential signals coming out of Jackson Hole, the discussion cuts to the heart of what’s moving the markets. The group also dives into the SEC’s crackdown on Ripple, the ongoing drama surrounding wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) custody, and whether the Biden-Harris administration is genuinely considering a “crypto reset” or if it’s just political posturing. Show highlights: 00:00 Intro 02:05 Whether the yen carry trade is to blame for the recent market sell-off and the concept of Value at Risk (VAR) 09:25 How Asymmetric handled the volatility of the sell-off using a strategy called “delta replacement” 14:17 Why the Volatility Index (VIX) spiked and whether it could do so again 22:21 Why Alex thinks that unemployment numbers started a panic and what the Sahm rule is 27:24 What might have triggered Jump Trading's sudden liquidation during a massive market sell-off, and whether more funds will face similar pressures 31:15 Why the market and major banks like J.P. Morgan agreed that the Fed missed the mark by not cutting rates in July 41:36 What key signals the Fed might send at Jackson Hole about the future of interest rates and the winding down of quantitative easing 45:40 How significant the timing of the first rate cut is in determining whether it will be bullish or bearish for the markets 53:45 What Ripple's lawsuit settlement and the SEC’s subpoenas to VCs mean for the broader crypto industry 58:13 Whether Harris will actually do a “crypto reset” 1:03:04 The drama surrounding the custody of wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) Hosts: James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence Alex Kruger, Founder of Asgard Joe McCann, Founder, CEO, and CIO of Asymmetric Guest: Chris Cecere, GP and Head of global macro and trading at Asymmetric Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

14 Aug 20241h 6min