Chain Reaction

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Amid the OpenAI chaos, here's a refresher on Sam Altman's crypto project: Worldcoin Nov 23, 2023

Show notes

For this week’s episode, we're re-sharing Jacquelyn's conversation with Tiago Sada, head of product for Tools for Humanity and core contributor to Worldcoin, at TechCrunch’s Disrupt 2023 in San Francisco. The saga behind Sam Altman’s departure from OpenAI has been a whirlwind, but his involvement in his crypto project Tools for Humanity, the team building Worldcoin, is uninterrupted, a source close to the matter told TechCrunch. Given that OpenAI is the talk of the town this week — we thought it would be a great idea to resurface this episode to give listeners a refresher on Worldcoin.

In this conversation we cover we talk about Tools for Humanity, which is the team building Worldcoin, raised $115 million in a Series C round back in May with investors like Blockchain Capital, a16z, Bain Capital Crypto and Distributed Global. In March 2022, Worldcoin raised $100 million at a $3 billion valuation.

The project was co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman with a three part mission to create a global ID, a global currency and an app that enables payments, purchases and transfers with its token.

Worldcoin has been on a world tour since April, hitting major cities like Tokyo, Miami, New York City and San Francisco. It has also set up shop in major cities in countries like Kenya, India and China.

We dive into why someone would scan their eyes, alternate options and privacy concerns some skeptics have about the project.

We also talked about:

Global adoption of Worldcoin
Kenya 'indefinitely’’ pausing Worldcoin iris scans
Projects’ biggest challenges for growth
How AI can fit into Worldcoin
Future opportunities and roadmaps

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Exclusive: Aave Companies rebrands to Avara and acquires crypto wallet (w/ Stani Kulechov) Nov 16, 2023

Show notes

For this week’s episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Stani Kulechov, the founder of Avara, formerly known as Aave Companies.

The company is probably best known for Aave protocol, its platform-focused stablecoin GHO and its social network protocol Lens.

The web3-focused software technology company announced exclusively on our podcast their rebranding as well as a strategic acquisition of an Ethereum-based crypto wallet. The name Aave will still exist, but through Aave Protocol and Aave Labs, two organizations’ under Avara’s umbrella brand.

We discussed the rebrand, acquisition, changes to projects under the Avara umbrella and content creator monetization on decentralized social media platforms and what it can look like.

We also talked about:

Lens transitioning out of beta phase
Decentralized versus mainstream social media
The future of social networks
What’s next for Avara

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Former SDNY prosecutor talks about what’s next for SBF post-trial (w/ Brendan Quigley) Nov 09, 2023

Show notes

For this week’s episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Brendan Quigley, partner at Baker Botts law firm.

Quigley is a former U.S. Marine, now attorney who represents clients on matters related to white-collar government investigations and commercial disputes. Previously, he was a former federal prosecutor as an Assistant U.S Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, which we call SDNY. If that rings a bell it’s because one of our other guests, Josh Naftalis also had that role. Brendan has tried over 12 cases that were brought to verdicts and was a senior member of the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Unit.

We talked about SBF’s verdict and future sentencing as well as how his March 2024 trial for additional charges will pan out.

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on

Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

SBF testifies and closing arguments are made as his trial comes to an end (w/ Alex Wilhelm) Nov 02, 2023

Show notes

For this week’s episode, Jacquelyn is joined by TechCrunch+ Editor in Chief, Alex Wilhelm, to discuss the end of the trial for Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX, who is facing seven charges related to fraud and money laundering.

They talked about:

SBF’s testimony
The prosecution’s closing arguments
The defense’s closing arguments
Key points in the case
What’s next for the trial

Keep up to date with Jacquie's coverage at techcrunch.com

Here are some articles to keep you up to date:

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotif or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

SBF finally takes the stand at his trial (w/ Alex Wilhelm) Oct 28, 2023

Show notes

For this bonus episode of Chain Reaction, Jacquie is joined by TechCrunch+ Editor in Chief, Alex Wilhelm, go over the FTX/Sam Bankman-Fried trial before getting into his testimony from Thursday and Friday. They talked about:

Why the judge had the jury leave the courthouse for SBF’s testimony Thursday
The general feeling of the courthouse on the fourth week of the trial
A possible timeline for next week and what to look out for as the prosecution gets a chance to cross-examine SBF

Join us next week for another trial recap

Keep up to date with Jacquie's coverage at techcrunch.com

Join us next week for another trial recap.

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Former SDNY prosecutor shares what the internet is getting wrong for SBF’s trial (w/ Josh Naftalis) Oct 24, 2023

Show notes

For this week’s episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Josh Naftalis, partner at law firm Pallas Partners.

He’s a long time attorney who represents companies, boards and executives in cases for white collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement matters, internal investigations, crisis management and more.

Prior to Pallas Partners, Josh was a federal prosecutor and served over a decade as assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. While at the SDNY he led a number of government white collar prosecutions and trials and as a senior member of SDNY’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Josh handled situations ranging from cryptocurrency to inside trading and market manipulation to corporate and accounting fraud. His work also involved coordination with other agencies like the SEC, CFTC, and FBI.

While at the SDNY, Josh secured convictions in every federal criminal trial that he led as an assistant U.S. attorney. So we saw him as the perfect person to dive into the eye grabbing trial of Sam Bankman-Fried who is fighting seven charges related to money laundering and fraud. SBF’s trial is also taking place at SDNY where Josh worked.

We talked about all the nitty gritty details of SBF’s trial: the prosecution's strategy, the defense’s strategy, how this case compares to ones that Josh previously led and how likely it is that jurors will reach a guilty verdict.

We also talked about:

How many years SBF could face
Importance of jurors
Best witness testimonies so far
Sentencing for other FTX execs
Why he thinks SBF will testify

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

FTX collapse and SEC oversteps point to greater need for U.S. crypto regulation (w/ Katherine Dowling) Oct 19, 2023

Show notes

For this week’s episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Katherine Dowling, the general counsel and chief compliance officer at Bitwise Asset Management.

Bitwise is a crypto asset manager that is known for creating the world’s largest crypto index fund. The firm also filed for a bitcoin spot ETF in the U.S., making it one of a number of firms whose applications are pending after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delayed its decisions.

Katherine previously has worked in compliance at True Capital Management and Luminate Capital Partners. Before that, she spent a decade as assistant U.S. attorney, most recently in the economic crimes unit of the U.S. attorney's office for the Northern District of California.

We talked about the status of Bitwise’s bitcoin spot ETF application and how recent developments with other firms’ similar applications may bring on the momentum needed for the financial vehicle to be approved.

We also talked about:

How regulatory legal procedures affect legislation
Easiest places to start for crypto regulation
Key factors for crypto companies’ compliance
FTX trial being ‘baked in’ for regulators

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

The FTX co-founder and Alameda CEO didn’t hold back at SBF’s trial (w/ Alex Wilhelm) Oct 13, 2023

Show notes

This week, we have a bonus mini episode where Jacquelyn talks with TechCrunch+ editor-in-chief Alex Wilhelm to dive back into the Sam Bankman-Fried trial and what has transpired in its second week.

Major witnesses who were involved in the downfall of FTX and its sister company Alameda testified like Gary Wang, CTO and cofounder of FTX, and Caroline Ellison, CEO of Alameda.

The two of them plead guilty to a number of charges and could face maximum sentences of 50 to 110 years, respectively. It’s also worth noting Wang and Ellison testified as part of a cooperation agreement for pleading guilty.

Jacquelyn and Alex talk about key points from the trial, anecdotes that you can’t read on a transcript and what she anticipates from both the prosecutors and defense going forward.

Want more? Here’s the latest on the SBF trial:

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on

Apple Podcasts,

Spotify

or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Using blockchain tech to scale businesses and social impact projects (w/ Grace Torrellas) Oct 12, 2023

Show notes

For this week’s episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Grace Torrellas, Polygon Labs’ VP of product and zkEVM product lead and co-founder and executive director of Blockchain for Humanity, at TechCrunch’s Disrupt 2023 in San Francisco.

Blockchain for Humanity aims to use Bitcoin and blockchain technology to help social impact projects.

Separately, Polygon Labs is focused on the Ethereum blockchain through its own scaling protocols to make the web3 ecosystem more “affordable, secure and sustainable.” The chain also aims to grow the zero-knowledge ethereum virtual machine (zkEVM) space.

Breaking it down for you: zkEVM is just fancy jargon for scalable smart contracts that are compatible with Ethereum and supports a type of computation known as “zero-knowledge proofs,” that verify each transaction.

Polygon Labs has over 2.9 billion total transactions since inception in 2017. The Polygon network works with web3 organizations like Aave, Uniswap and OpenSea as well as big name brands like Disney and Starbucks.

We talked about her work at both Polygon and Blockchain for humanity and how humanitarian work can be advanced in the web3 space.

We also discussed:

Scaling businesses with blockchain tech
‘Aha’ moments in web3
Opportunities in social impact
Polygon’s ecosystem growth

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

SBF's trial has started, and here's what you missed (Chain Reaction x Equity Crossover) Oct 05, 2023

Show notes

For this week’s episode, Chain Reaction (and Jacquelyn) did a crossover episode with Alex Wilhelm, editor in chief of TechCrunch+ and co-host of Equity, TechCrunch’s podcast focused on the business of startups.

The highly anticipated criminal trial for Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, started on Tuesday to determine whether he’s guilty of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy.

Jacquelyn has been on the ground at the Southern District of New York court house, listening in to the trial in the same room as Bankman-Fried, so there was lots to talk about.

We dove deep into what transpired the first two days of Bankman-Fried’s trial, as well as who the jurors are, the first two witnesses and who else is expected to speak. We also got into the nitty gritty details, which you can’t read about on a transcript.

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on

Apple Podcasts,

Spotify

or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

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