Unchained

Latest Episodes:

Is ETH on Its Way to Becoming Ultra-Sound Money? Yes, Says Justin Drake - Ep.262 Aug 10, 2021

Show notes

Ethereum just went through its most complex upgrade ever. Justin Drake, researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, discusses what the upgrade, aka the London hard fork, means for ether’s future as what he calls "ultra-sound money." At the end of the episode, he also drops a few Bitcoin hot takes. Show highlights:

his background and how he got involved in crypto
how EIP 1559 will affect Ethereum now that it is live
why burning ether is good for the Ethereum economy
what two concepts are crucial to understanding money
what three ways ether is used as money
why he believes ether will become “ultra sound money,” when gold and silver are just “sound money”
what the main drivers of ETH’s value are
how the merge from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake will happen for Ethereum
how much more efficient Justin calculates proof-of-stake will be compared to proof-of-work
why people are saying Ethereum is going through a “triple halvening”
what factors influence how much Ethereum is issued and burned
how Ethereum could become deflationary
why net sell pressure is about to decrease
what projects are burning the most ETH now that EIP 1559 is live
why Justin is worried about Bitcoin’s future
what Bitcoin could do to survive once it only subsists on transaction fees
whether Justin considers himself a bitcoiner
how ETH as ultra-sound money is becoming a meme

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Episode Links

Justin Drake

Twitter: https://twitter.com/drakefjustin

Written content

June 23 Ethereum Foundation ETH 2.0 Research AMA (command F for Justin Drake responses)
https://www.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/o4unlp/ama_we_are_the_efs_research_team_pt_6_23_june_2021/
“If capped-supply gold is sound money decreasing-supply ether is ultra sound money”
https://twitter.com/drakefjustin/status/1396796596281614339

Math

Modeling ETH based on EVM fees
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1U9cGxGY3_t7m4MEIpjKWtRcA2zRajywaxMCZYqbF9eI/edit#gid=0
Calculating ETH supply
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZN444__qkPWPjMJQ_t6FfqbhllkWNhHF-06ivRF73nQ/edit#gid=0

Podcast appearances

Bankless “Modeling Ultra Sound Money” (April 28)
https://shows.banklesshq.com/p/-sotn-44-modeling-ultra-sound-money
Bankless “Ultra Sound Money” (Mar 23)
https://twitter.com/drakefjustin/status/1374049775474114562
Bankless “Bull Case for Cryptography” (Jan 25)
https://shows.banklesshq.com/p/-moon-math-the-bull-case-for-cryptography

London/EIP 1559/Ethereum 2.0 Resources

Unchained content

Episodes
Ethereum’s EIP-1559 Will Solve Some Problems But Big Ones Will Remain
https://unchainedpodcast.com/ethereums-eip-1559-will-solve-some-problems-but-big-ones-will-remain/
Ethereum 2.0: What You Need to Know
https://unchainedpodcast.com/ethereum-2-0-what-you-need-to-know/
Why Ethereum 2.0 Could Fail and How It Could Be Fixed
https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-ethereum-2-0-could-fail-and-how-it-could-be-fixed/
Previous resources
EIP 1559 links (Tim Beiko)
https://hackmd.io/@timbeiko/1559-resources
Messari Research
https://messari.io/pdf/messari-report-eth2-the-next-evolution-of-cryptoeconomy.pdf
Staked ETH address
https://etherscan.io/address/0x00000000219ab540356cBB839Cbe05303d7705Fa#analytics
DETH of Ethereum
https://medium.com/ideo-colab/the-deth-of-ethereum-98553866e81b

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Unconfirmed: How Congress Might Pass Laws Bad for Proof-of-Stake and DeFi - Ep.261 Aug 06, 2021

Show notes

Kristin Smith, executive director at the Blockchain Association, discusses the latest news on a provision in the infrastructure bill that seeks to raise $28B from the crypto industry in taxes. Show highlights:

how the original crypto provision within the infrastructure bill came to be
why the expansion of the term “broker” is problematic in the original language of the bill
what the Treasury and the White House have to do with this bill and how they, along with Senator Portman, are resisting change
how Senators Ron Wyden, Pat Toomey, and Cynthia Lummis are attempting to change the language of the provision through an amendment
how the crypto community rallied around Wyden's amendment
why Kristin believes a rival amendment put forward by Senators Warner and Portman and supported by the White House late Thursday is worse than the bill’s original language
when the Senate will be voting on the amendments
how the amendment the White House supports seems harmful to proof-of-stake networks and bad for DeFi
whether this is part of a master plan to regulate crypto in the US
what Kristin hopes happens during the vote
how the crypto community can have its voice heard
how to fix the issues within the crypto policy world so this doesn’t happen again

Thank you to our sponsors!

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Episode Links

Kristin Smith: https://twitter.com/KMSmithDC

Blockchain Association: https://theblockchainassociation.org/

Infrastructure Bill Information

Latest Coverage:

https://decrypt.co/77838/rival-amendment-senate-infrastructure-bill-threatens-proof-stake

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Can a DeFi Smart Contract Be Regulated? Two CFTC Commissioners Discuss - Ep.260 Aug 03, 2021

Show notes

CFTC Commissioners Dan Berkovitz and Brian Quintenz discuss the difficulties of regulating crypto derivatives and DeFi. Show highlights:

their backgrounds
what the CFTC’s duties are regarding crypto
how the CFTC’s jurisdiction has evolved over the years
why Commissioner Quintenz believes SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce’s safe harbor proposal is “brilliant”
what relationship the CFTC and SEC have when making decisions on crypto assets
why the commissioners believe CFTC’s complaints regarding BitMEX are “well-founded”
why formal regulation for crypto derivatives is unlikely to be produced by the CFTC
why leveraged derivatives products are a “concern” to the CFTC
what makes regulating DeFi platforms so difficult
when it comes to DeFi, who is a natural entity for the CFTC to regulate, if any
whether the CFTC would ever go after DeFi "market participants," who the CFTC also regulates
why smart contracts involving futures could be illegal
how the possibility that smart contracts could be illegal squares with the view that software development is a form of free speech
whether the CFTC could prosecute developers who write smart contracts
whether the CFTC needs to re-write its laws in light of DeFi innovation
why Commissioner Berkovitz thinks the DeFi “winners” will be protocols that focus on meeting regulatory requirements
why the CFTC approved Bitcoin futures in 2017 while the SEC has not yet approved a Bitcoin ETF
how a Bitcoin ETF could solve Bitcoin’s accounting issue, which currently gives companies no upside for adding BTC to its balance sheet