Unchained

Welcome to “The Chopping Block” – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner, chop it up about the latest news. In this episode, the Blockchain Association’s Jake Chervinsky breaks down the cases against Binance and Coinbase – and how they are different from FTX – what it means for the crypto industry, and who may be next. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights:  Why Jake believes that the Binance lawsuit didn’t present major surprises Whether the SEC is trying to ban the crypto industry by enforcement How Binance has been allegedly doing a huge amount of wash trading Whether Gemini is next on the SEC’s enforcement action list How CZ and Coinbase CEOs have responded to the complaints How the market reacted to the lawsuits What the differences are between the Binance case and FTX Why the SEC is alleging that Coinbase is operating as an unregistered broker, exchange, and clearing agency Whether token issuers can bring action against the SEC for harming their business or reputation Whether the crypto industry doesn’t take the SEC seriously Whether the EOS settlement in 2019 shows how inconsistent the SEC has been in its crypto enforcement actions  Whether these cases will have an impact in Congress and accelerate legislation  What would happen if Gary Gensler stops being the chair of the SEC Hosts Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly  Robert Leshner, founder of Compound Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly  Tarun Chitra, managing partner at Robot Ventures Guest Jake Chervinsky, chief policy officer at the Blockchain Association Previous Unchained Appearances: Can Crypto Be a Force in the Midterms? Yes, Say Kristin Smith and Jake Chervinsky Everything You Need to Know About the Looming Battle Over Privacy in Crypto All Things Crypto Regulation With Jake Chervinsky Disclosures Links Unchained: SEC Sues Coinbase for Breaking Securities Laws SEC Files Motion to Freeze Binance’s Assets, Asks for ‘Sworn Accounting’ SEC Files 13 Charges Against Binance Including the Mishandling of Funds, Sale of Unregistered Securities SEC Calls Solana, Polygon, Algorand and Other Tokens Securities but Misses Ether in Binance Lawsuit US House Republicans Propose Bill That May Give Crypto Assets a Path to Becoming Commodities Fortune: Former Coinbase employee and his brother settle with the SEC, which again dodges proving whether cryptocurrencies are securities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

8 Jun 20231h 8min

Wallet security was in the spotlight after the announcement of Ledger Recover, but the crypto community doesn’t need to “freak out,” according to Itai Turbahn, co-founder and CEO of Dynamic Labs, and Ouriel Ohayon, CEO of ZenGo. The two CEOs join the show to talk about the challenges of bringing self-custody to the masses. For many, “not your keys, not your coins” is actually “your keys, your problem.”   Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights: the problems that may arise when managing your own keys the misconceptions that people have about hardware wallets why Ouriel says that Ledger is going in the right direction but made a major mistake how multi-party computation can be a solution to the problem of securing your own keys what are other ways to solve it, such as Shamir’s secret sharing (SSS) and multisigs the tradeoffs between security and user experience how Dynamic Wallet works by linking multiple wallets to a single account whether “passwordless authentication” is the future of security how can users protect themselves from “bad transactions” and what are companies doing to help whether open source contributes to more security in the wallet landscape how account abstraction will change the user experience whether security is the key to the future of crypto   Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com Guests: Itai Turbahn, cofounder and CEO of Dynamic Labs Ouriel Ohayon, CEO of ZenGo Previous appearance on Unchained: ZenGo: A Self-Custodial Wallet Minus the Risk of Losing Your Keys Previous coverage of Unchained on wallets: The Ugly Tradeoffs of Ledger’s New Recovery Service Links What is ZenGo Recovery Kit? Cointelegraph: Multiparty computation could offer increased protection for crypto wallets I run a Ledger competitor — But I support it in blow-up over keys Unchained: ‘Backdoor’ for Seed Phrases? Ledger’s New Recovery Feature Spooks Users Tweet from Ouriel that explains the differences between ZenGo and Ledger Solving the crypto adoption problem: making crypto *actually* usable Multi-Party Computation (MPC) Technology Can Ensure Effective Fraud Detection | Nasdaq Web3 Auth 101: What is wallet-based authentication?   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 Jun 20231h 7min

Welcome to “The Chopping Block” – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner, chop it up about the latest news. In this episode, the gang answers audience questions, digs into the discourse around rollups, and debates whether modular blockchains will vanquish existing monoliths. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights:  How someone asked people to just give them money, and raised over $1 million Answering audience questions from Twitter, including ‘what’s Tarun’s favorite drug?’ Whether there’s tension between Haseeb and Tarun How the incoming generations of crypto people (e.g. “Class of 2017”) have changed over the cycles The five-level explainer on what a rollup is  Why everyone’s debating the ontology of rollups and why Haseeb still thinks blockchains are like religions Tarun’s take on the modular blockchain thesis and why Haseeb is skeptical Whether app chains like the ones in Cosmos will become dominant Whether one of the top 4 chains will be modular in the next five to 10 years Hosts Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly  Robert Leshner, founder of Compound Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly  Tarun Chitra, managing partner at Robot Ventures Disclosures Links Binance Feed: Bored Ape NFT Holder Ben.eth Launches Third Crusade of Memecoin Psychopathy Rollups, Rigor, and Reality by Kelvin Fichter Rollups Are L1s (& L2s) a.k.a. How Rollups *Actually Actually Actually* Work by Jon Charbonneau Haseeb’s question on Twitter Previous episode of The Chopping Block on the L1 debate: Why Are We Still Building Layer 1s? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3 Jun 20231h 3min

If a year in crypto is like a decade in other industries, then Laura Shin has seen a lot. To commemorate the 500th episode of “Unchained” (actually, there’s about 150 more under a different brand name), Laura hops on the other side of the microphone to field questions from Unchained Contributing Editor Zack Seward about standout moments dating back to 2018. From the early rise of Binance to a charged interview with Terra founder Do Kwon, Shin takes you behind the scenes for rare insights into her process, her favorite moments, and how key episodes have aged. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Highlighted episodes: Sept. 25, 2018: How Binance Became the Most Popular Crypto Exchange in 5 Months March 26, 2019: Vitalik Buterin on Whether or Not Ethereum Is ‘Blowing It’ April 8, 2022: Here’s Why USDN De-Pegged From the Dollar – And Why UST Might Too Dec. 23, 2022: Martin Shkreli Explains Why Sam Bankman-Fried Got Lucky With His Judge Aug. 3, 2021: Can a DeFi Smart Contract Be Regulated? Two CFTC Commissioners Discuss May 23, 2023: Ex-CFTC Commissioner Berkovitz Says ‘DeFi Should Be Regulated’ – But How? March 18, 2022: Punk6529 on the Significance of Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks Oct. 18, 2022: Do Kwon of Terra: ‘It Was Never Really About Money or Fame or Success’ July 31, 2018: Meltem Demirors and Jill Carlson on the Shitcoin Waterfall Aug. 10, 2021: Is ETH on Its Way to Becoming Ultra-Sound Money? Yes, Says Justin Drake Dec. 28, 2021: Why NFT OG Mitchell Chan Has Released Just One Project This Year Oct. 28, 2022: The Mango Markets Attacker on Whether His ‘Trade’ Was Ethical or Not Feb. 7, 2018: Xapo’s Wences Casares on How Bitcoin Makes a Fairer World Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com Copilot Money Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Jun 20231h 18min

“Lack of regulatory clarity” is the catchall complaint levied against U.S. regulators by most major players in the crypto industry. But the founders of Bosonic and Prometheum disagree. Both firms have spent years chasing the necessary regulatory approvals to compliantly trade digital assets, including those seen as securities. Last week, Prometheum secured a potentially landmark approval to operate as a special purpose broker-dealer for digital asset securities. Prometheum co-founder Aaron Kaplan and Rosario Ingargiola, founder of Bosonic, which earlier secured a similar approval, discuss why big players like Coinbase need to quit carping in the court of public opinion and do the hard work of getting approved. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights: what Bosonic and Prometheum Capital do  how Aaron and Rosario started working in crypto what it means to be a special purpose broker-dealer what the three-step letter from the SEC is and why it's relevant for scaling a digital asset business how exchanges work in traditional finance and how crypto differs why Aaron believes there’s a “pathway forward for crypto in the U.S.” whether the argument that there’s a lack of regulatory clarity is convenient for crypto incumbents  why Aaron agrees with SEC Chair Gary Gensler on his stance that everything except BTC is a security how a token registration would work and what the nuances would be why Coinbase’s approval to be a publicly traded company does not mean that the SEC is in line with the business whether ETH is a security, with Aaron arguing it is and Rosario saying it’s a commodity what the different requirements are for national securities exchanges and alternative trading systems what Aaron and Rosario would tell existing crypto companies as it relates to compliance whether regulation kills innovation Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com Guests: Aaron Kaplan, co-CEO and co-founder of Prometheum Rosario Ingargiola, Founder and CEO of Bosonic Previous coverage of Unchained on crypto regulation:  Ex-CFTC Commissioner Berkovitz Says ‘DeFi Should Be Regulated’ – But How? ‘Is ETH a Security?’ Why Gary Gensler Couldn’t Give Congress a Straight Answer Coinbase's Legal Action Against the SEC: How It Will Likely Unfold Rep. Emmer on Why He Believes Gary Gensler Is a ‘Bad-Faith Regulator’ Is the Government Trying to Kill Off Crypto in the US? Coinbase’s Top Lawyer Calls SEC Wells Notice a ‘Massive Overreach’ Links CoinDesk:  SEC Proposal Could Bar Investment Advisers From Keeping Assets at Crypto Firms U.S. SEC Moves Toward DeFi Oversight as It Reopens Proposed Regulations Prepared Remarks of Gary Gensler On Crypto Markets Penn Law Capital Markets Association Annual Conference SEC Issues Investigative Report Concluding DAO Tokens, a Digital Asset, Were Securities Unchained:  SEC Chair Gary Gensler Avoids Question: ‘Is Ethereum a Security?’ Coinbase Seeks to Compel SEC Response to Rulemaking Petition SEC Asks Court to Deny Coinbase Demand for Crypto Rules Financial Institutions Hub: SEC Proposal Targets Crypto Exchanges, Trading Platforms, and Brokers Emmer and Soto Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Provide Regulatory Clarity for Digital Assets Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Mai 20231h 18min

It’s in the name: mint.fun. Co-founder Luke Miles joins the show to talk about his platform’s efforts to make NFTs more discoverable, accessible and fun. He also shares his on-the-ground perspectives on emerging trends in the NFT space – everything from Bitcoin Ordinals to the rise of Ethereum L2s as NFT hot spots. With last cycle’s NFT mania in the rearview, what’s next? Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights: what mint.fun is and what problems it solves for NFT users how it is different from popular NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea and Blur why mint.fun is also launching on Ethereum layer 2s Luke’s thoughts on the current state of the NFT market  why the narrative has shifted from PFP projects delivering a roadmap to the ‘single creator narrative’ the difference between open-edition mints and limited editions why NFTs on layer 2s are “about to have a moment,” according to Luke whether mint.fun will launch on other blockchains what Luke thinks of Ordinals and the BRC-20 mania Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com Stader Labs Guest Luke Miles, CEO of mint.fun Links Dune dashboard Fundrop Recent coverage on BRC-20s: Bitcoin’s BRC-20 Mania: Is It Sustainable? Unchained: What Is NFT Farming? A Beginner's Guide Music NFTs: What Are They & How Do They Work? A Guide to Yuga Labs: The Most Important NFT Company Exploring the NFT blue chips What Is an NFT Marketplace? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

26 Mai 202342min

Welcome to “The Chopping Block” – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner, chop it up about the latest news. In this episode, EigenLayer founder Sreeram Kannan explains his vision for providing “decentralized trust” to new projects on Ethereum. Was Vitalik Buterin’s recent “re-staking” post a shot across EigenLayer’s bow? Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights:  how Sreeram has transitioned from academia into the world of crypto why he believes that crypto is the “coordination highway” what EigenLayer is – explained to a five-year-old, a high schooler, a day trader, a developer, and a crypto professor how middleware enables technology innovation where the value accrues if there’s no token for securing a blockchain whether Vitalik is right in being concerned about the risk of corrupting validators what EigenLayer did to minimize risks and externalities to Ethereum whether protocols and applications will fork if they get hacked and whether Ethereum will “bail them out” Hosts Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly  Robert Leshner, founder of Compound Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly  Tarun Chitra, managing partner at Robot Ventures Guest Sreeram Kannan, founder of EigenLayer Previous appearances on Unchained:  Do You Need to Think Twice Before Restaking Your Assets? Disclosures Links Don't overload Ethereum's consensus by Vitalik Buterin Previous coverage of Unchained on Ethereum staking:  Shapella in the Rearview: After Major Upgrade, What’s Next for Ethereum? How Will ETH React to Ethereum’s Shanghai Upgrade? Post-Merge, If Lido Becomes Dominant, What Does That Mean for Ethereum? In the Recent Crypto Market Meltdown, What Role Did Lido’s stETH Play? Is ETH on Its Way to Becoming Ultra-Sound Money? Yes, Says Justin Drake Learn more: How Liquid Staking Works A Guide to Ethereum’s Shanghai Upgrade How to Stake Ethereum With Liquid Staking Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 Mai 202358min

In the SEC’s push to rein in the crypto sector, one question looms large: Is ETH a security? Dan Berkovitz, a former CFTC commissioner and SEC general counsel, and Colin Lloyd, a partner at law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, assess the current state of the regulatory turf war in the U.S., shedding light on some of Washington’s unanswered questions.  Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights: how an asset can be both a commodity and a security what it means that bitcoin and ether were listed as non-security futures whether The Merge may have changed regulators’ views on the classification of ETH who would be responsible for determining that ETH is a security what Colin and Dan say about ETH being a security or not what would happen if any regulator, be it the CFTC or SEC, determined that ETH is a security how and whether DeFi applications should be regulated why it is important to consider the “human initiative” behind DeFi platforms the implications of having a technology that allows for the sale of securities without an intermediary the implications of the SEC’s proposal to change the definition of an exchange how new technologies were integrated with the regulatory system in the past and how that differs from the current approach of the SEC the problems of trying to regulate a technology that’s changing so fast how other jurisdictions have been taking a more proactive approach to regulating digital assets Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com Guests: Dan Berkovitz, former General Counsel at the SEC and former Commissioner at the CFTC. Previous appearance on Unchained: Can a DeFi Smart Contract Be Regulated? Two CFTC Commissioners Discuss Colin Lloyd, partner at Sullivan & Cromwell Previous coverage of Unchained on crypto regulation:  ‘Is ETH a Security?’ Why Gary Gensler Couldn’t Give Congress a Straight Answer Coinbase's Legal Action Against the SEC: How It Will Likely Unfold Rep. Emmer on Why He Believes Gary Gensler Is a ‘Bad-Faith Regulator’ Is the Government Trying to Kill Off Crypto in the US? Coinbase’s Top Lawyer Calls SEC Wells Notice a ‘Massive Overreach’ Links CoinDesk:  U.S. SEC Moves Toward DeFi Oversight as It Reopens Proposed Regulations SEC Chair Gensler Declines to Say if Ether Is a Security in Contentious Congressional Hearing Bloomberg: CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam on the Fight to Regulate Crypto Unchained:  SEC Chair Gary Gensler Avoids Question: ‘Is Ethereum a Security?’ SEC Sues Bittrex, Names Dash, Algorand and Other Tokens ‘Crypto Asset Securities’ Coinbase Seeks to Compel SEC Response to Rulemaking Petition SEC Asks Court to Deny Coinbase Demand for Crypto Rules Financial Institutions Hub: SEC Proposal Targets Crypto Exchanges, Trading Platforms, and Brokers Emmer and Soto Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Provide Regulatory Clarity for Digital Assets Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

23 Mai 20231h 22min