Hyperliquid Saved Itself a $15 Million Loss, but Sparked Criticism - Ep. 807

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 squad is joined by Rebecca Rettig, Polygon’s Chief Legal & Policy Officer, to dissect the SEC's impact on the crypto landscape, particularly focusing on OpenSea's Wells notice and impending legal challenges.  They discuss the arrest of Pavel Durov, Telegram's founder, analyzing the political and cybersecurity ramifications. The conversation shifts to the internal frictions within the Ethereum Foundation and Vitalik Buterin's criticism of DeFi, reflecting the community's mixed reactions. The broader implications for the crypto industry, privacy, and regulatory clarity are highlighted with special insights from guest Rebecca Rettig, who adds depth on the legal and historical context. Wrapping up, they anticipate future challenges and emphasize staying informed. Show highlights 🔹 Arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov in France sparks global free speech and encryption debates. 🔹 Impact of Pavel Durov's charges on Telegram's role in global communication and crypto communities. 🔹 DeFi protocols face challenges with decentralization, privacy, and regulatory pressures. 🔹 OpenSea receives a Wells notice from the SEC, raising concerns about NFT marketplaces and royalty enforcement. 🔹 Ethereum Foundation's spending and Vitalik Buterin's critical comments on DeFi stir community debate. 🔹 Tension between public goods and financial services in Ethereum's future development. 🔹 Real-World Assets (RWAs) and their controversial role in Ethereum's ecosystem. 🔹 Speculation on future Ethereum protocol changes and their impact on network efficiency and user experience. 🔹 Broader implications of the SEC's aggressive stance towards crypto exchanges and NFT platforms. Hosts ⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly  ⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly  ⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures Special Guest  ⭐️Rebecca Rettig, Chief Legal & Policy Officer at Polygon Labs Disclosures Links Plurality philosophy in an incredibly oversized nutshell by Vitalik: https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2024/08/21/plurality.html  OpenSea’s response to SEC Wells notice “Taking a stand for a better internet” by Devin Finzer https://opensea.io/blog/articles/taking-a-stand-for-a-better-internet Timestamps 00:00 Intro  01:24 Telegram’s Pavel Durov’s Arrest 05:12 Free Speech/Encryption in the Crypto World 09:26 Policy Implications for Tech Platforms 13:57 France's Role and International Reactions 27:49 SEC Targets OpenSea 36:35 SEC’s Jurisdictional Strategies 40:29 Good vs. Bad Actors 45:16 Ethereum Foundation: Public Good or DeFi? 56:43 Vitalik vs. Crypto Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

31 Aug 20241h 3min

The SEC’s latest enforcement action is targeting NFTs, and OpenSea is in the crosshairs. In this episode, crypto lawyer Preston Byrne joins to unpack the implications of the SEC's Wells Notice to OpenSea and what it might mean for the platform and the broader NFT market. Could Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provide a unique defense for OpenSea? Preston also dives into other recent SEC moves, including cases against Stoner Cats, Impact Theory, and more.  Lastly, with the 2024 elections looming and political divides sharpening, is the SEC overreaching in its approach to crypto? Show highlights: Why Preston believes that the SEC will go after OpenSea for being an unregistered securities exchange What the Stoner Cats case was about and why it was not a strong enforcement action, according to Preston Why OpenSea's defense against the SEC may hinge on Section 230 protections for user-generated content, setting it apart from traditional exchanges like Coinbase or Binance How the clear-cut promises made by Impact Theory about potential returns made their NFTs resemble securities, unlike the typical art-focused NFTs on OpenSea Why Nate Chastain’s NFT insider trading case is unlikely to impact the SEC’s potential lawsuit against OpenSea Whether the $4 million settlement by Dapper Labs over NBA Top Shot NFTs likely represents little relevance to OpenSea's SEC issues What a Wells notice signals about the SEC's likelihood of suing OpenSea and why they might feel confident about winning this case How Jonathan Mann and Brian Frye's lawsuit for clarity on NFTs as securities highlights the SEC's potentially overreaching stance in its possible case against OpenSea How Trump's careful language around his NFT collection likely minimizes SEC risk by avoiding investment promises and focusing on their use as digital collectibles Whether the SEC's actions could reinforce the divide among crypto voters, with Trump promising a crypto-friendly stance and Harris likely continuing a more adversarial approach 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 Mantle’s FBTC Gemini Guest Preston Byrne, Managing Partner at Byrne & Storm Links Wells notice Original announcement by X by OpenSea’s CEO Devin Finzer Unchained: OpenSea's Wells Notice From the SEC Could Prove ‘Disastrous’ Recent cases Unchained: Are NFTs Securities Offerings? Two Artists Sue the SEC to Find Out The Defiant: NFTs Are Securities? All Eyes Turn to Top Shot Case Reuters:  US regulator fines Stoner Cats creator for offering NFTs Ex-OpenSea manager sentenced to 3 months in prison for NFT insider trading Hester Peirce’s dissent on the Stoner Cats case Others Paper: The Economic Reality of NFT Securities. Mondaq: Defining NFTs: Property, Securities, Or Commodities? National Post: Trump’s newest NFTs show him as superhero, boxer and motorcyclist Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 02:11 - SEC targets OpenSea: Unregistered exchange? 03:58 - Stoner Cats case: Weak for SEC? 07:42 - OpenSea's defense: Section 230 protections 13:15 - Impact Theory's promises vs. OpenSea's NFTs 15:34 - Nate Chastain's case 17:15 - Dapper Labs settlement: Relevance to OpenSea 18:56 - Wells notice: SEC's confidence to sue 19:48 - Mann & Frye's lawsuit: SEC overreach? 22:39 - Trump’s NFT strategy: Minimizing SEC risk 24:53 - What this Wells notice says about the presidential election 58:25 - News Recap Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Aug 202436min

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