Unchained: Big Ideas From The Worlds Of Blockchain

Nick Almond and Proph3t on ENS's treasury fight, the BonkDAO heist, and why Proph3t would not touch Venice's VVV token. ======================================================== Thank you to our sponsor! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Cape⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at cape.co/unchained (use code: UNCHAINED). ======================================================== Nick Johnson, the founder of ENS Labs, used his own tokens to kill a vote renewing ENS DAO's Security Council, potentially clearing the way for a foundation to take over a treasury worth more than $100 million. Nick Almond, head of governance at the Jito Foundation, and Proph3t, cofounder of MetaDAO, join Laura Shin to untangle what that move reveals about who should control a DAO's money, and whether voting was ever the right way to decide it. They trace ENS cofounder Jeff Lau's warning that the treasury became a honeypot with zero accountability, and the collapsing voter turnout that let a 3% token stake decide the DAO's fate. Proph3t makes the case for MetaDAO's decision markets over voting entirely, while Nick argues curated delegates solve the same capture problem without giving up the vote. They also cover the $20 million BonkDAO heist, pulled off with one proposal and seven votes, and the backlash over Dragonfly's investment in Venice's VVV token. Both guests agree DAOs are near a bottom. What comes next depends on whether anyone tries something new. Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Laura Shin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Host / Unchained Guests: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Nick Almond - Head of Governance at the Jito Foundation ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Proph3t - Co-founder of MetaDAO Timestamps 🏛️ 01:06 Laura frames the DAO reckoning: disbandments, low turnout, and the Venice fight 📉 08:26 How ENS DAO's collapsing voter turnout let a 3% stake decide its fate ⚖️ 12:55 Proph3t on why voting is a cost, and how a 51% attack captures a DAO 🏦 19:11 Nick maps DAOs' next phase: substructures picked for expertise, not popularity 🍯 24:09 Why Jeff Lau called ENS's treasury plan a honeypot with zero accountability 📣 28:50 Cape: Get 33% off six months of privacy first mobile service at https://cape.co/unchained 🏗️ 29:49 Why founders like Nick Johnson get vilified for wanting DAOs to run efficiently 🗳️ 36:35 Why Nick Johnson's silent vote against ENS's Security Council reads as an attack 💰 41:34 How BonkDAO lost $20 million to one proposal backed by just seven votes 🧩 46:22 Why Proph3t would not buy Venice's VVV token despite defending its disclosures 🔮 56:45 Proph3t on MetaDAO's origin story: pro oversight, not pro governance Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court just made it easier to fire SEC and CFTC commissioners. Katherine, Jessi, and Vy on why that could reset who controls crypto policy. Plus, the UK's new rulebook. ======================================================== Thank you to our sponsor! ⁠⁠Cape⁠⁠: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at https://cape.co/unchained (use code: UNCHAINED). ======================================================== The Supreme Court just tore up a 90-year-old precedent that kept independent-agency commissioners safe from a president's whims, and almost no one in crypto is talking about what it means for the SEC and the CFTC. Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos, Jessi Brooks, and Vy Le trace how the ruling in Trump v. Slaughter changes who actually controls financial regulation. Then they cross the Atlantic to the UK's sweeping new crypto rulebook and the European Commission's move to expand MiCA just as its first version fully takes effect. They also dig into a Cambridge report showing fighters from one of the world's most brutal terror groups using chatbots to troubleshoot weapons and plan attacks, and ask why there's no Section 230 for crypto or AI, only a growing pile of civil lawsuits testing where liability lands. Jessi Brooks argues crypto's decade of learning to police neutral technology might be the only playbook AI has left to borrow. Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, General Counsel. Previously held senior legal roles across DeFi and centralized exchanges. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessi Brooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, General Counsel at Ribbit Capital⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Vy Le⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Co-host of DEX in the City and General Counsel of Veda Timestamps 💙 00:28 Cape: Get 33% off your first six months of privacy-first mobile service at⁠ https://cape.co/unchained⁠ 🇬🇧 01:05 Why the UK just published a crypto rulebook few even noticed 🇪🇺 13:15 Why Brussels wants to expand MiCA to cover tokenized assets and stablecoins ⚖️ 24:57 How the Supreme Court handed presidents new power over the SEC and CFTC 🏛️ 33:47 The legal reasoning behind the ruling, and why the Fed board was spared 🤖 39:37 The AI segment: a Cambridge report on Boko Haram's chatbot fueled weapons unit ⚖️ 47:58 Why crypto and AI both lack a Section 230, and who ends up getting sued 🦎 52:20 The good news: how TRM traced $15 million in crypto tied to wildlife trafficking Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Austin Campbell draws a parallel between the AI data center backlash and the decades-long collapse of US nuclear power, then Sam Lyman of the Bitcoin Policy Institute puts real odds on whether the Clarity Act passes the Senate before August recess. Hosts: Austin Campbell, Host of Bits + Bips, Founder of Zero Knowledge Group, and Adjunct Professor at NYU Stern Ram Ahluwalia, Co-host of Bits + Bips and CEO of Lumida Chris Perkins, Co-host of Bits + Bips and Head of Franklin Crypto Guest: Sam Lyman - Head of Research at the Bitcoin Policy Institute This clip is from a longer conversation on foreign funded opposition to AI data centers and the odds of the Clarity Act passing. Full episode here: https://youtu.be/-xbSniveaQU  We go live every Monday - subscribe to catch it live. Sponsor Cape: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at https://cape.co/unchained  (use code: UNCHAINED). Chapters: 🏗️ 00:00 Austin compares the AI backlash to nuclear power's collapse, citing Indian Point 🧭 01:21 Sam calls nuclear the ideal analogy: a problem we solved, then banned 🏠 02:10 Why Sam says AI's real opposition comes from inside the house 👷 02:37 The blue-collar AI boom: construction jobs, electricians, and data centers 🗳️ 04:07 Ram says political leadership, not just technology, has to show up 🎯 05:15 Sam puts Clarity's odds at 70% before August recess ⏳ 06:55 Why the August recess deadline is the real driver of momentum 📉 07:38 Sam's odds drop to 35 to 40% if Congress doesn't act in the next few weeks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Niklas Kunkel maps where the RWA market is heading next, from Centrifuge and Apollo's CLOs to Galaxy's first tokenized credit product, then turns to a cautionary tale: some SpaceX pre-IPO token buyers never actually owned the shares they thought they had. Host: Steven Ehrlich - Host of Bits + Bips and Head of Research at Sharplink Guest: Niklas Kunkel - Founder and CEO of Chronicle Labs This clip is from a longer conversation on crypto oracles, tokenized real-world assets, and Chronicle Labs' work verifying them. Full episode here: https://youtu.be/HW9Cu_E8DnU  We go live every week - subscribe to catch it live. Cape: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at https://cape.co/unchained (use code: UNCHAINED). Chapters 🌍 00:00 Where the RWA market goes next, from the man building its plumbing: Niklas Kunkel 💰 00:44 The yield trade heating up: why CLOs like Centrifuge's JAAA and Apollo's Acred are suddenly everywhere 🌌 01:14 Galaxy's first tokenized CLO, and why it's a far bigger deal than it looks 🔍 01:56 Trust no one: how Chronicle checks Galaxy's loan book against its own custodian 🔁 03:04 The looping trick that turns a 7% CLO yield into 14% or 21%, and the risk hiding inside it 🏢 03:27 What's coming next: tokenized REITs and equities 🚀 05:28 The SpaceX pre-IPO token question Niklas keeps getting asked 📉 06:06 The catch nobody mentioned: why SpaceX token buyers never actually owned their shares Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robinhood Chain perps now run on Lighter. Vlad Novakovski maps the revenue split, the USDG collateral risk, and the race for a US perps license. ======================================================== Thank you to our sponsor! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fidelity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Fidelity has been building in crypto and DeFi since 2014 — now they're hiring. Explore career opportunities at one of the most forward-thinking names in finance here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠crypto.fidelitycareers.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Cape⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at cape.co/unchained (use code: UNCHAINED). ======================================================== Robinhood Chain went live last week, and the perpetual futures powering it are from Lighter, the onchain exchange Robinhood backed before Lighter launched its token. Vlad Novakovski, founder and CEO of Lighter, joins Laura Shin to unpack a partnership he says has been building since he and the Robinhood founder were high school classmates. He details a 50/50 revenue split, why USDG as collateral creates friction for market makers, and how a pending CFTC license would cover Robinhood's own front-end too. Novakovski also addresses the crowded field forming around US perps, from Kalshi and Coinbase to Kraken and dYdX, and makes the case that onchain volume keeps gaining share even as crypto native tokens lag real world asset perps. His new seat on the CFTC Innovation Advisory Committee puts him in the room as regulators decide what a DEX has to look like to operate onshore. Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Laura Shin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Host / Unchained Guests: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Vlad Novakovski - Founder and CEO of Lighter Timestamps 🤝 01:28 Why Vlad calls the Robinhood Chain deal "12 years in the making" and how the revenue is split 🤓 03:40 How Robinhood perps differs from Lighter's own app 💸 05:03 What if means if USDG is the quote asset on Robinhood's perps and USDC is the quote asset on Lighter 💬 11:04 Novakovski on Lighter's Telegram Wallet deal vs Hyperliquid's builder codes 📣 12:50 Cape: Get 33% off six months of privacy first mobile service at https://cape.co/unchained 💼 13:44 Fidelity: Explore crypto and DeFi careers at https://crypto.fidelitycareers.com 📉 14:31 Why RWA perps are hitting highs while crypto native perp volume cools ⚠️ 18:00 How Lighter prices liquidation risk when tokenized stocks are collateral 🏛️ 21:14 Novakovski on the regulatory pathway DEXs need to move onshore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Austin Griffith joins Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan to unpack  BonkDAO's $20M governance heist, and Kain's case for giving founders more control. ======================================================== Thank you to our sponsors! ⁠⁠Cape⁠: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at ⁠https://cape.co/unchained⁠ (use code: UNCHAINED). ======================================================== A single wallet spent $4.4 million buying up Bonk tokens, then used that stake to push through a governance proposal that legally emptied BonkDAO's roughly $20 million treasury a week later, with almost no one watching the vote. Austin Griffith, Ethereum Foundation developer and creator of Scaffold-ETH and founder of BuidlGuidl, joins Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan to use the heist as a jumping-off point for Kain's real target: ENS. Kain argues founder Nick Johnson should retake control over building and product from the DAO, and makes the case that founder-led execution beats decentralized governance almost every time. They also cover Vitalik's Lean Ethereum overhaul and why Austin says it will barely change what he builds, the $1 AI audit he launched as a meme for x402 agent payments, Robinhood's new chain and the pay-to-play deals behind it, and why Kain now argues tokens are the wrong way to raise money. If a founder with total conviction can outperform a DAO built to stop exactly that, the DAO experiment may be further from finished than anyone wants to admit. Hosts: ⁠⁠Kain Warwick⁠⁠ - Host of Uneasy Money and Founder of Infinex and Synthetix ⁠⁠Taylor Monahan⁠⁠ - Co-host of Uneasy Money and Security Expert Guests: ⁠Austin Griffith - Ethereum Foundation developer and creator of Scaffold-ETH and SpeedRun Ethereum, and founder of BuidlGuidl Timestamps 🛠️ 01:32 Why Austin says Vitalik's Lean Ethereum overhaul barely changes his job 📅 08:21 Taylor on why the EF ships huge roadmaps but too little in the short term 🪓 12:56 Austin on surviving the EF's leaner reorg and the wave of departures 💵 15:43 How Austin turned a serious auditing tool into a viral meme 🤝 18:48 x402 skill files: why agents will soon pay other agents for on-tap skills 💙 25:44 Cape: Get 33% off your first six months of privacy first mobile service at https://cape.co/unchained 🚨 26:41 How one wallet legally voted its way to BonkDAO's $20M treasury ⚖️ 32:57 Why Kain thinks Nick Johnson and ENS should take power back from the DAO 🤖 55:29 Robinhood's new chain and Kain's take on crypto's pay-to-play problem 🪙 58:29 Why Kain says tokens are now the wrong tool to raise money Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vladimir Novakovski of Lighter joins the Chopping Block crew to untangle one of crypto's oldest debates: what happens when tokens and equity coexist. The gang digs into the Venice/VVV controversy, breaks down Lighter's new Perps integration with Robinhood Chain and the fragmentation questions it raises, dissects the wild BonkDAO governance exploit, and reacts to the eye-popping $2.4 billion in crypto income disclosed in Trump's financial filings. 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, joined this week by special guest Vladimir Novakovski of Lighter. The crew dives deep into the resurfaced tokens-versus-equity debate sparked by Dragonfly's investment in Venice and its VVV token, with Haseeb making the case that Venice is fundamentally different from Uniswap Labs style structures. Vlad explains how Lighter has approached the same dilemma through programmatic buybacks and a single C corp structure, and the group debates fiduciary duties, Delaware law, and what a merged DeFi/TradFi future for equity and tokens might look like. From there, they unpack Lighter's big Robinhood Chain announcement, including Lighter's new role as the native Perps engine inside Robinhood Wallet, and whether running a separate instance fragments liquidity. The episode wraps with a breakdown of the BonkDAO governance exploit that let an attacker vote themselves $20 million in tokens, and a reaction to Trump's staggering $2.4 billion in pre-tax crypto income revealed in his latest financial disclosure. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights 🔹 Haseeb breaks down why Venice's VVV token is not equity and not a Uniswap style governance token in disguise 🔹 Vlad explains how Lighter's programmatic buybacks and single C corp structure align token holders and equity holders 🔹 The gang debates Delaware fiduciary law, shareholder primacy, and what happens when buyback capital runs dry 🔹 Vlad lays out the vision of tokenized equity merging with crypto tokens into a single on-chain asset 🔹 Lighter's Robinhood Chain deal goes live with Lighter powering native Perps trading inside Robinhood Wallet 🔹 Vlad addresses concerns about liquidity fragmentation across separate Lighter instances 🔹 BonkDAO gets exploited as an attacker buys governance tokens and votes themselves $20 million 🔹 Robert compares the Bonk exploit to the infamous Beanstalk and Compound Humpty governance attacks 🔹 Trump's financial disclosure reveals $2.4 billion in pre-tax crypto income, sparking a debate on crypto's political future Hosts ⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Robert Leshner, Founder & CEO of Superstate Guest ⭐️Vladimir Novakovski, Founder of Lighter Timestamps 00:00 Intro 03:40 Tokens vs equity: the Venice VVV debate begins 06:12 Fiduciary duty, Delaware law, and Lighter's C corp structure 08:00 What happens when buyback capital runs out 12:42 Why Venice launched a token in the first place 19:18 Comparing VVV to BNB and overloaded crypto assets 25:28 Lighter's Robinhood Chain deal and native Perps launch 37:02 BonkDAO governance exploit and the $20M vote 44:02 Lessons from Beanstalk and Compound's Humpty saga 47:09 Trump's $2.4B crypto income disclosure reactions Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For years, Michael Saylor's Strategy was the market's most dependable Bitcoin buyer. Recently, it has done the opposite. Strategy just sold 3,588 Bitcoin for roughly $216 million, its largest single tranche yet, deepening the question of whether Michael Saylor has become a structural seller instead of a buyer. Ram Ahluwalia, Austin Campbell, and Chris Perkins break down the STRC dividend mechanics behind the sale, the bull case for a catch-up trade, and the bear case if Bitcoin never rallies back. Hosts: Austin Campbell, Host of Bits + Bips, Founder of Zero Knowledge Group, and Adjunct Professor at NYU Stern Ram Ahluwalia, Co-host of Bits + Bips and CEO of Lumida Chris Perkins, Co-host of Bits + Bips and Head of Franklin Crypto This clip is from a longer conversation on Strategy's Bitcoin sale, the stablecoin wars, and the token versus equity debate. Full episode here: https://youtube.com/live/H3z68SYty0k  We go live every Monday at 4:30pm ET. Subscribe to catch it live. Sponsor: 👉 Cape: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at https://cape.co/unchained  (use code: UNCHAINED). Chapters: 💰 00:00 Strategy's record $216M Bitcoin sale: the numbers behind the disclosure 📉 01:14 mNAV falls below 1 for the first time, and the STRC dividend framework 🔁 02:31 Why Ram says selling Bitcoin beats issuing more MSTR shares ⚖️ 04:21 The bear case: what happens if Bitcoin doesn't rally from here ✈️ 05:24 Chris on Saylor's three-body problem after a week of conferences in London Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Strategy sold $260M of Bitcoin at a loss to fund dividends. Parker White of Apyx makes the case that it is smarter than it sounds. ======================================================== Thank you to our sponsor! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fidelity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Fidelity has been building in crypto and DeFi since 2014 — now they're hiring. Explore career opportunities at one of the most forward-thinking names in finance here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠crypto.fidelitycareers.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Cape⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at cape.co/unchained (use code: UNCHAINED). ======================================================== Strategy just made its largest Bitcoin sale ever, offloading 3,588 BTC for $260 million at a loss to fund preferred dividends. Days earlier it unveiled a digital capital framework: a 12-month coverage rule, a hiked STRC dividend, and a $10 billion buyback plan. Markets calmed, but the moves raise a question: has Strategy stopped being a Bitcoin company? Parker White, CFA, founding contributor and chief investment/operating officer at Apyx, pushes back on claims that funding dollar dividends with Bitcoin sales betrays Bitcoin's ethos, framing it as smart capital management. Shin presses him on whether investors now bet on Strategy's team, not Bitcoin. They unpack short sellers' calculus, the 2027-2029 convertible cliff Matt Walsh pegs near $6.7 billion, and Apyx's apxUSD, a tokenized yield wrapper around STRC and SATA that depegged to 72 cents in the turmoil. White defends Apyx 2.0's redemption model against 'free put option' critics and responds to critic’s contention that Strategy resembles Terra/ Luna or FTX. Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Laura Shin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Host / Unchained Guests: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Parker White - CFA, Founding Contributor and Chief Investment/Operating Officer at Apyx Timestamps 🏛️ 02:03 Parker on why Strategy's record Bitcoin sale to fund dividends is smart, not desperate 📋 06:24 How Strategy's new digital capital framework tries to calm the market's nerves ⚠️ 09:59 Laura and Parker spar over whether shorts or Strategy's own missteps sparked the selloff 💵 21:27 Whether prioritizing USD over Bitcoin marks a philosophical flip for Strategy 📣 26:28 Fidelity: Explore crypto careers at Fidelity today at https://crypto.fidelitycareers.com 🔐 27:10 Cape: Get 33% off your first six months with code UNCHAINED at https://cape.co/unchained ⏳ 28:09 Why Parker isn't worried about Strategy's looming $6.7 billion convert cliff 🧩 34:56 Parker on how Apyx wraps STRC and SATA into a yield bearing onchain asset 📉 36:38 What caused apxUSD's drop to as low as 72 cents and the liquidity pull 🛡️ 41:10 Parker defends Apyx 2.0's redemption rules against the free put option critics 🔄 47:53 Parker on why comparing Strategy to Terra Luna or GBTC misreads the risk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ari Redbord sits down with Katherine, Jessi, and Vy to talk about SEC clarity, the onshore perps boom, and DeFi's opsec problem — plus why the U.S. should hack North Korea back. Thank you to our sponsor! Cape: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at https://cape.co/unchained (use code: UNCHAINED). The hosts of DEX in the City spend every week breaking down crypto's legal fights. This time, they're the ones answering the questions. Ari Redbord, Global Head of Policy at TRM Labs, sits down with Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos, Jessi Brooks, and Vy Le for a wide-ranging conversation on where crypto's regulatory and security battles are actually headed. Vy traces her path from SEC enforcement to her case for "tech-neutral" rules: regulators should regulate outcomes, not technology. Katherine explains why DCMs have become crypto's hottest acronym, as true perps and prediction markets move onshore. And Jessi makes her push to stop calling North Korea's hacks "illicit finance" and start naming them a national security threat: Pyongyang, she notes, is funding a weapons program with stolen crypto. Ari goes further — if North Korea can steal hundreds of millions from DeFi, the U.S. should steal it back. Vy pushes back on the panic over the recent hacks: most, she argues, weren't broken smart contracts at all, just sloppy operational security. The conversation covers SEC clarity, the CFTC's moment, DeFi security, on-chain privacy, and what it really takes to keep the ecosystem safe. Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ari Redbord - Global Head of Policy at TRM Labs and Host of TRM Talks Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, General Counsel. Previously held senior legal roles across DeFi and centralized exchanges. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessi Brooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, General Counsel at Ribbit Capital⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Vy Le⁠⁠⁠ - Co-host of DEX in the City and General Counsel of Veda Timestamps 🛡️ 02:29 OFAC's first IRGC-linked exchange sanctions on Zedcex and Zedxion 🧭 05:20 How Vy, Katherine, and Jessi went from the SEC, BigLaw, and DOJ into crypto 🎙️ 14:10 The origin story behind the DEX in the City name and its all-women cast 🏛️ 18:25 Vy on the SEC trading ambiguity for rules, and "tech-neutral" regulation 📈 22:36 Katherine on why DCMs are suddenly crypto's hottest acronym 💙 25:38 Cape: Get 33% off your first six months with code unchained at https://cape.co/unchained 🩹 26:12 Jessi on reframing illicit finance around victims, not just enforcement 🔐 30:03 Jessi and Vy on Drift, Kelp, and why the recent hacks were ops failures 🕵️ 34:52 Katherine on why privacy is necessary for on-chain markets 🔮 40:04 Lightning round: Jessi on agentic finance, Katherine on perps, Vy on vaults Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joseph Chalom lays out why Ethereum Institutional exists, how it differs from Etherealize, and why he thinks Michael Saylor is in a pickle. ======================================================== Thank you to our sponsor! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fidelity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Fidelity has been building in crypto and DeFi since 2014 — now they're hiring. Explore career opportunities at one of the most forward-thinking names in finance here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠crypto.fidelitycareers.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Cape⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at cape.co/unchained (use code: UNCHAINED). ======================================================== Sharplink, BitMine, and Joe Lubin spent the past ten days launching two new organizations aimed at convincing Wall Street to build on Ethereum, backing them with commitments from more than fifty institutional supporters. Joseph Chalom, CEO of Sharplink and a board member of the new Ethereum Institutional, joins Laura Shin to make the case that Ethereum's real competition isn't Solana or Canton. It's inertia: the reluctance of the world's largest institutions to touch financial rails they don't already trust. Chalom walks through how Ethereum Institutional differs from Etherealize and the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, why Robinhood building on Arbitrum still counts as a win for Ethereum, and what it would take for ETH to capture the value flowing through the network as tokenized real-world assets grow past $31 billion. He pushes back on claims that the Ethereum Foundation's culture is broken, then turns to Strategy's preferred stock drama and says plainly that Michael Saylor is in a pickle. Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Laura Shin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Host / Unchained Guests: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Joseph Chalom - CEO of Sharplink Timestamps 🚀 01:33 Why Sharplink, BitMine, and Joe Lubin launched Ethereum Institutional 🧭 05:51 How Ethereum Institutional differs from Etherealize and the EEA 🃏 10:15 Chalom says institutional inertia, not Solana, is Ethereum's real threat 💙 14:40 Cape: Get 33% off your first six months with code unchained at https://cape.co/unchained 💼 15:34 Fidelity: Explore crypto careers that could change your future at https://crypto.fidelitycareers.com 🧩 16:20 Why Chalom says Robinhood building on Arbitrum is still a win for Ethereum ⚡ 20:54 Does value actually flow back to ETH the token 🏛️ 24:33 Chalom pushes back on the idea that Ethereum's culture is broken 🤝 29:01 Why Chalom says Sharplink's shareholders and Ethereum's ecosystem are aligned 📉 32:18 Chalom says Michael Saylor is in a pickle over Strategy's preferred stock drama Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nick Johnson's ENS vote sparked days of backlash. He and co-founder Alex Van de Sande join Uneasy Money to explain what actually happened. ======================================================== Thank you to our sponsors! ⁠Cape: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at ⁠https://cape.co/unchained⁠ (use code: UNCHAINED). ======================================================== A routine two year renewal for the ENS DAO's Security Council failed on chain this week, and Nick Johnson, founder and CEO of ENS Labs, voted against it with roughly 50% of the active supply. Some users on X have since cast him as the villain seizing a $130 million treasury. ENS co-founders Nick Johnson and Alex Van de Sande join Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan to untangle what the vote means, and to defend a new proposal handing day-to-day treasury and protocol decisions to a foundation instead of the DAO. They trace how ENS's governance fight mirrors Aave's, why its treasury has trailed a savings account, why Johnson never trusted ETH-weighted voting, and why his conviction in token governance has weakened. The conversation lands on the question hanging over every well-funded DAO: once a protocol accumulates enough money to matter, can any voting mechanism decide who controls it? Hosts: ⁠Kain Warwick⁠ - Host of Uneasy Money and Founder of Infinex and Synthetix ⁠Taylor Monahan⁠ - Co-host of Uneasy Money and Security Expert Guests: Nick Johnson - Founder and CEO of ENS Labs Alex Van de Sande - Cofounder of ENS Timestamps 🗳️ 02:14 Kain unpacks whether Nick really controls the ENS Security Council vote 🔥 06:37 Taylor pushes back: is the pile-on on Nick actually fair? ⚔️ 11:30 Kain calls it a DAO governance proxy war, echoing Aave's Stani fight 🍯 15:00 Nick on why a DAO treasury becomes a honeypot for capital allocation 🪙 28:01 Nick on why ETH-weighted voting would have left ENS open to a takeover ⚖️ 32:47 Nick clarifies what the ENS Labs proposal actually changes at the DAO 🏛️ 40:27 Nick argues the DAO should stop trying to run ENS day-to-day 📣 52:04 Cape: Get 33% off your first six months with code unchained at https://cape.co/unchained 🍴 58:56 Could a fork let Nick walk off with ENS's treasury? Alex says no 🎤 01:13:31 Taylor asks Nick and Alex point blank: why are you still here? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Lawant, Head of Research at Anchorage Digital, breaks down why Bitcoin's lack of native yield puts constant pressure on treasury companies, and makes the case that Michael Saylor's playbook is evolving rather than breaking. Host: Steven Ehrlich, Host of Bits + Bips: The Interview and Head of Research at Sharplink Guest: David Lawant, Head of Research at Anchorage Digital This clip is from a longer conversation on Strategy's Stretch rescue plan and Bitcoin's options market. Full episode here: https://youtube.com/live/VwBxQTcJeXc  New Bits + Bips interviews are posted regularly - subscribe to catch the next one. Sponsor: 👉 Cape: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at https://cape.co/unchained (use code: UNCHAINED). Chapters: 🎙️ 00:00 A new Citi report reveals why retail's crypto excitement has quietly collapsed 📉 00:17 Retail's bet on the Mag Seven just hit a multiyear low 😨 01:15 The unsettling reason retail fears Saylor becoming Bitcoin's buyer of last resort 🃏 01:44 Revisiting Saylor's infamous "sell your organs before your Bitcoin" line 🪙 02:34 The yield problem: why Bitcoin generates nothing, while Ethereum and Solana pay 📈 03:06 David on covered calls and the fast rise of synthetic yield strategies 🏛️ 04:39 Saylor, the OG who wrote the playbook on institutional Bitcoin accumulation ⚓ 06:28 Why David says Strategy is quietly weathering the storm better than anyone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Regulators try to freeze illicit stablecoins, but the money's usually gone before the freeze lands. The hosts on why crypto sanctions keep failing. Thanks to our sponsor! 👉 Cape: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at⁠⁠ https://cape.co/unchained⁠⁠ (use code: UNCHAINED). A new academic paper from researchers across several Chinese universities makes a striking claim: a stablecoin freeze isn't really a freeze until the transaction lands in a block — which means the freeze itself can be front-run, and sanctions enforcement becomes a market-structure problem. Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos, Jessi Brooks, and Vy Le — three general counsels who live where law meets code — work through what it means that Tether and Circle now do much of the government's freezing onchain. The paper's numbers unsettle them: by its count, across eight years only nine freezes caught the money midway. From there the hosts widen out: the SEC and CFTC's joint push to harmonize margin rules, your ChatGPT logs turning up as evidence in the courtroom, the Legion lawsuit testing whether export law can govern who logs in to an AI model, and the Bernstein ruling that made code protected speech. They close with a sober CLARITY Act update, a new CBDC-ban roadblock tangled in an unrelated veto fight, and why the end of MiCA's transition period in Europe might be the week's real good news. Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, General Counsel. Previously held senior legal roles across DeFi and centralized exchanges. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessi Brooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, General Counsel at Ribbit Capital⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Vy Le⁠⁠ - Co-host of DEX in the City and General Counsel of Veda Timestamps 🏛️ 02:32 KK on why the SEC and CFTC margin harmonization matters for crypto perps 🧊 11:39 Vy on ordering power as sanctioning power and the paper behind it ⚡ 14:43 Why a stablecoin freeze can itself be front run ⚖️ 22:09 The third party doctrine and the risk of deputizing crypto's neutral actors 📣 26:40 Cape: Get 33% off your first six months at https://cape.co/unchained 💻 27:36 Jessi on why AI in the courtroom is really a software control story 🚪 30:13 The Legion lawsuit, export law, and the Bernstein code-as-speech fight 🔒 37:14 ChatGPT logs as courtroom evidence and why your AI chats aren't private 🏔️ 42:20 The CLARITY Act update: why KK is even more bearish on passage 🇪🇺 47:48 Why MiCA's transition deadline is the week's crypto good news Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The crew is joined by Selini Capital’s Jordi Alexander to break down Open USD, the no-fee stablecoin from a 140-firm consortium spanning Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock, Google and Coinbase, all aimed at the Circle and Tether duopoly. Plus Saylor’s new Digital Credit framework for MicroStrategy, the Ansem-fueled memecoin comeback, and ENS reigniting the “DAOs are fake” debate. 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. Joining the panel “at the moment of max pain” is Jordi Alexander, CIO of Selini Capital. First up: MicroStrategy in crisis, with MSTR down about 30% in five days and STRC hitting $71, and Saylor’s answer, a new Digital Credit framework with an 18-month cash cushion and a jumbo dividend hike to 12%. Then the headline story, Open USD: a no-fee stablecoin from a 140-member consortium including Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock, Google and Coinbase, built to break the Circle and Tether duopoly. The back half covers the memecoin comeback around the Ansem coin, and ENS reigniting the “DAOs are fake” debate after Nick Johnson single-handedly blocked a governance vote, before the crew debates whether consortia are just DAOs in a suit. Let’s get into it. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights 🔹 MSTR falls about 30% in five days and STRC hits $71. Saylor answers with a new “Digital Credit” framework, an 18-month cash cushion, and a jumbo dividend hike to 12% 🔹 Jordi calls the death-spiral panic overblown: “Luna was worthless; you cannot print Bitcoin” 🔹 Tarun stands by “Luna for suits,” comparing STRC’s marketing to Anchor, right down to the AI ad of Saylor escaping the Titanic 🔹 Open USD launches: a no-fee, no-cap stablecoin backed by 140 firms including Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock, Google and Coinbase, aimed at the Circle and Tether duopoly 🔹 Circle drops about 7 to 8% on the news, and Tether’s Paolo Ardoino “welcomes” a real competitor, the same bit he ran on Libra 🔹 Haseeb’s take: a 140-member consortium is “a signed petition,” good for expanding the market but not for taking Tether’s or Circle’s turf 🔹 Tarun says it all comes down to the revenue share. Set the wrong rules and someone just farms the rake 🔹 The Ansem coin sparks a memecoin revival, a roughly $100M cap the market hasn’t seen in a long time 🔹 ENS reignites the DAO debate as Nick Johnson blocks a treasury restructuring with about 50% of the vote. Are consortia just DAOs in a suit? Hosts ⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly  ⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly  ⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures Guest ⭐️Jordi Alexander, CEO of Selini Capital Disclosures Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:07 The DeSci beef and Tarun’s Ponzi crusade 03:30 MicroStrategy in crisis: Saylor’s Digital Credit reset 09:34 Is STRC still “Luna for suits”? 19:24 Open USD: 140 firms take on Circle and Tether 29:42 Why a 140-member consortium is just a “signed petition” 42:13 Coinbase’s two masters: USDC vs Open USD 47:01 The memecoin comeback and the Ansem coin 51:57 ENS blows up the DAO: Nick Johnson blocks the vote 57:26 DAOs vs consortia, and can AI save governance? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Laura Shin has reported on crypto scams since the early days and wrote one of the first stories on sim swaps. That did not stop a spear-phishing attempt from getting her to download software and run a terminal command before she caught it. Austin Campbell, Ram Ahluwalia, and Chris Perkins turn her near miss into a practical defense playbook, then debate whether self-custody still makes sense for anyone with a public crypto profile. Hosts: Austin Campbell, Host of Bits + Bips, Founder of Zero Knowledge Group, and Adjunct Professor at NYU Stern Ram Ahluwalia, Co-host of Bits + Bips and CEO of Lumida Chris Perkins, Co-host of Bits + Bips and Head of Franklin Crypto Guest: Laura Shin - Founder and Host of Unchained This clip is from a longer conversation on crypto security and social engineering. Full episode here: https://youtube.com/live/yKHaE6xMZsE  We go live every Monday - subscribe to catch it live. Sponsors: 👉 Cape: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at https://cape.co/unchained   (use code: UNCHAINED). Chapters: 🎣 00:00 The fake podcast invite that nearly caught Laura Shin 💻 00:26 How far it went: a download, then a terminal command 🛡️ 05:02 Austin's hard rules for when someone puts time pressure on you 🏦 06:36 Why Ram says ETFs now beat self-custody for public figures 🥷 07:39 Chris on getting hacked and losing his Snoop Dogg NFT 🤖 10:41 Why the same playbook is coming for banks via AI voice clones 🦅 11:33 Chris on letting the private sector recover stolen crypto Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is it Ethereum or bust? Ansgar Dietrichs makes the case that only Ethereum can anchor the financial system, and admits ETH still lacks a clear value story. ======================================================== Thank you to our sponsor! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fidelity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Fidelity has been building in crypto and DeFi since 2014 — now they're hiring. Explore career opportunities at one of the most forward-thinking names in finance here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠crypto.fidelitycareers.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Cape⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at cape.co/unchained (use code: UNCHAINED). ======================================================== The Ethereum Foundation is deliberately shrinking its role, and five former researchers have launched Ethlabs to take over the work they worry will otherwise go undone. Ansgar Dietrichs, co-founder of Ethlabs, joins Laura Shin to lay out the split: the Foundation will protect what should not change, while Ethlabs pushes the parts of Ethereum that must evolve. He makes the case that the global economy is moving onchain, and that Ethereum is the only candidate to sit at the center of it, or no one will. The conversation traces why ETH the asset has been stuck between $1,000 and $5,000 for five years, why Dietrichs thinks EIP-1559 and cheap blockspace were never intentional choices, how Ethlabs divides labor with the Foundation, Etherealize, and Consensys, and what DeFi founders like Uniswap's Hayden Adams actually need. The throughline is a single missing ingredient he keeps returning to: intentionality about what ETH is actually for. Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Laura Shin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Host / Unchained Guests: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ansgar Dietrichs - Co-founder of Ethlabs Timestamps 🏛️ 01:26 Why the Ethereum Foundation is stepping back and the gap Ethlabs fills 🌐 04:00 What Ethereum would look like if Ethlabs succeeds 🧱 07:56 Why Ethlabs is scaling the L1 and fixing interop at the same time 🤝 10:48 How Ethlabs divides labor with the EF, Etherealize, and Consensys 📣 18:34 Fidelity: Explore crypto careers that could shape the future of finance at https://crypto.fidelitycareers.com 🔐 19:16 Cape: Get 33% off your first six months with code unchained at https://cape.co/unchained 💸 20:15 Why ETH has been stuck waiting five years for its next act 🔗 24:24 Does L1 activity still drive ETH's value, and why ETH's interop lags 🔥 27:25 Why Ansgar says cheap blockspace and EIP-1559 were never intentional 🪙 33:27 Why being an Ethereum L2 isn't yet the superpower it should be 🦄 36:17 The culture at the EF and what kind of culture Ethlabs will have 🏢 39:41 The accountability loop: a two to three year runway and who Ethlabs serves 🛠️ 45:33 What DeFi founders actually need from Ethereum, per Hayden and others Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Carmen Li thought it was a joke when a perpetual futures marketplace asked her to become the market maker for her own index. It wasn't. In this segment from Bits + Bips: The Interview, she walks Steven Ehrlich through the requests that alarmed her, a daughter analogy for why trading your own benchmark destroys neutrality, the manipulation risks she sees in crypto's index practices, and why she insists any perp venue on her index be regulated and guardrailed. Host: Steven Ehrlich - Host of Bits + Bips and Head of Research at Sharplink Guest: Carmen Li - CEO of Silicon Data and Compute Exchange This clip is from a longer conversation on GPUs, compute markets, and crypto. Full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/live/rYDiPneJv20?si=fjS7bSd-bJ6c6tYb  We go live every Monday - subscribe to catch it live. Sponsors Cape: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at https://cape.co/unchained (use code: UNCHAINED). Chapters 🤝 00:00 The perp venues circling her index, and the request that immediately felt off 🚩 01:27 The ask she thought had to be a joke: become the market maker of your own index 👧 02:47 Carmen's daughter analogy that nails why trading your own index breaks neutrality 🛡️ 04:47 The guardrails that keep it honest: external audits and hard internal trading rules 🔀 05:36 Why you can't just swap one index for another and keep on trading ⚖️ 06:26 Her one demand for any perp venue building on her index: regulated and ring fenced Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A regulated exchange suing its own regulator almost never happens. The hosts trace why CME did it, and why the CFTC may have better odds than crypto Twitter thinks. Thanks to our sponsor! 👉 Fidelity: Fidelity has been building in crypto and DeFi since 2014 — now they're hiring. Explore career opportunities at one of the most forward-thinking names in finance here: ⁠https://crypto.fidelitycareers.com⁠. 👉 Cape: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at⁠ https://cape.co/unchained⁠ (use code: UNCHAINED). CME has sued the CFTC, its own primary regulator, a rare move for a regulated exchange, landing the day after longtime CEO Terry Duffy announced he would step down. The trigger: the CFTC's approval of a narrowly tailored Kalshi Bitcoin perpetual, the first true perp cleared onshore. Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos, Jessi Brooks, and Vy Le untangle CME's two arguments, that perps are swaps rather than futures, and that the agency acted arbitrarily by skipping notice and comment and reversing its own prior position in a single day. They weigh whether the case can win, and why the process may matter more than the outcome. From there, the panel digs into Cboe's prediction-style S&P 500 contracts headed to Schwab's customers and the binary-option-versus-swap line. With a recent poll finding 43% of Americans believe AI could "literally end the human race," Jessi argues crypto can't afford to dismiss the people who become its juries, judges, and voters. The conversation covers the CME lawsuit, prediction markets arriving on Wall Street, a viral $1 to $5 million crypto legal job, and the growing public backlash against AI. Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, General Counsel at StarkWare. Previously held senior legal roles across DeFi and centralized exchanges. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessi Brooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, General Counsel at Ribbit Capital⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Vy Le⁠ - Co-host of DEX in the City and General Counsel of Veda Timestamps 🏛️ 01:59 Why a regulated exchange suing its own regulator almost never happens ⚖️ 04:38 CME's two arguments, and why "future delivery" could reach the Supreme Court 🧠 12:51 Why process and durability may matter more than the outcome 🚪 19:54 How the Kalshi order opened the floodgates for self-certified perps 📊 23:48 Cboe's S&P 500 prediction contracts head to Schwab, and the binary-option-versus-swap line 🛡️ 33:27 Cape: Stop SIM swaps and get 33% off your first six months with code unchained at https://cape.co/unchained 💙 34:22 Fidelity: Explore crypto careers that could change your future at https://crypto.fidelitycareers.com 💼 35:05 The Pump.fun chief legal officer job and its $1 to $5 million salary 🤖 37:02 Why the AI vibe check has turned bleak and why crypto should care 🐶 47:10 This week's good news: the Marlins hunt for the hot dog meme Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vinny Lingham warned 18 months ago that Michael Saylor would harm Bitcoin more than FTX. Now he maps how the Strategy empire breaks and the one move that could slow the bleed. ======================================================== Thank you to our sponsor! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fidelity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Fidelity has been building in crypto and DeFi since 2014 — now they're hiring. Explore career opportunities at one of the most forward-thinking names in finance here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠crypto.fidelitycareers.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Cape⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at cape.co/unchained (use code: UNCHAINED). ======================================================== Strategy's stock has fallen over 80% from its November 2024 high, its STRC preferred trades well below par, and a fresh $335 million raise has done nothing to restore confidence. Vinny Lingham, co-founder of Praxos Capital, tweeted in October 2024 that Michael Saylor would do more damage to Bitcoin than FTX. On Unchained, he argues the collapse was always predictable, and that this is not a Ponzi but what he calls a 'Saylor scheme.' Lingham maps how the empire breaks once MSTR trades at a discount to mNAV, why the 32-Bitcoin sale and the $1.5 billion buyback of 2029 converts blew Saylor's runway, and why $6.7 billion in convertible notes raises default risk by 2028. He also weighs a Soros-style attack theory and the switch to bimonthly dividends. His fix is the one thing Saylor won't do: stop buying, stop diluting, wait it out. The question is who removes the biggest buyer of Bitcoin, him or the market. Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Laura Shin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Host / Unchained Guests: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Vinny Lingham - Co-founder of Praxos Capital Timestamps 📉 01:11 Strategy in free fall: why Vinny says the collapse was always coming 🪤 06:24 Why buying back 2029 debt blew Saylor's runway ₿ 07:36 The '32 years of dividends' claim and what a deeper bear market does to it 🏚️ 10:23 How the MSTR empire actually breaks: the discount-to-mNAV trap 🎯 13:35 Why is Strategy faltering? Is it leverage or a Soros-style attack on MSTR? 💙 16:38 Cape: Get 33% off your first six months with code unchained at https://cape.co/unchained 💚 17:32 Fidelity: Explore crypto careers that could change your future at https://crypto.fidelitycareers.com 📆 18:15 Why switching to bimonthly dividends makes the problem worse ⏳ 19:29 The $6.7B convertible-note overhang and the 2028 default risk 🛟 22:07 Can MSTR be saved, and the most likely outcome from here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices