Unchained

Latest Episodes:

Why Africa Is Poised to Be the Next Hub for Crypto Development - Ep.162 Mar 10, 2020

Show notes

Soona Amhaz, general partner at Volt Capital, and Yele Bademosi, founder of Microtransaction, explain why they believe Africa is poised to become a hub for crypto development. They give some interesting stats on how crypto is currently used and traded on the continent, plus talk about how these factors interplay with the region’s unique demographics and the status of some of the continent’s fiat currencies to create what could be a unique environment for increased crypto activity. They end with what they think crypto entrepreneurs should be working on to help further that development.

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Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/

Kraken: https://www.kraken.com

Episode links:

Soona Amhaz: https://twitter.com/soonaorlater

Yele Bademosi: https://twitter.com/YeleBademosi

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ETH Denver Fireside Chat With 2 of the Most Crypto-Friendly Governors in the Nation - Ep.161 Mar 03, 2020

Show notes

In this fireside chat from ETH Denver, crypto-friendly governors Jared Polis of Colorado and Mark Gordon of Wyoming discuss how they each became interested in crypto and blockchain, how their states became friendly to the industry and how to resolve some of the thornier problems in crypto regulation, such as the state-by-state money transmission licensing regime. We also dive into the details on some of the regulations in their states, such as the regulations that make it possible to hold state-specific ICOs, what types of companies are taking advantage of those, and whether there's a bipartisan attitude toward crypto regulation.

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CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com

Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/

Kraken: https://www.kraken.com

Episode links:

CO Governor Jared Polis: https://twitter.com/jaredpolis

WY Governor Mark Gordon: https://governor.wyo.gov/

CO Governor Jared Polis’s background:

https://gazette.com/election/profile-entrepreneur-jared-polis-sees-governor-s-race-as-a/article_af2d0222-c1b2-11e8-8b2b-afa916b3b182.html

Governor Polis’s letter to SEC chairman Jay Clayton and then-CFTC chairman Christopher Giancarlo on crypto regulation: https://www.coindesk.com/lawmakers-renew-calls-us-lead-crypto-innovation

Colorado’s Digital Token Act: https://www.coindesk.com/colorado-could-be-next-in-the-race-to-bank-crypto-and-cannabis

https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/2019a_023_signed.pdf

https://thetokenist.io/colorado-signs-digital-token-act-into-law-some-digital-assets-exempt-from-securities-requirements/

Wyoming passes three crypto-friendly laws: https://www.coindesk.com/wyoming-lawmakers-pass-three-bills-in-boost-for-states-crypto-industry

Wyoming laws: https://www.wyoleg.gov/Legislation/2018/HB0070

https://www.forbes.com/sites/caitlinlong/2019/03/04/what-do-wyomings-new-blockchain-laws-mean/amp/

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The bZx Attacks: Unethical or Illegal? 2 Experts Weigh In - Ep.160 Feb 25, 2020

Show notes

Maya Zehavi, blockchain consultant, and Zubin Koticha, cofounder and CEO of Opyn, discuss the two recent bZx attacks, whether they were hacks or arbs and whether they were unethical or illegal. They also look at whether flash loans are to blame, how much transparency DeFi teams should have about vulnerabilities on their platforms, how much bug bounties should be for DeFi, and whether flash loans means the amount of bug bounties should be higher. We also talk about whether DeFi should institute circuit breakers, when those would make sense, and whether these attacks could happen to anybody or whether bZx isn't up to the standards needed in this community. We also cover how bZx should handle the under-collateralized loans left on their platform, whether Chainlink will be a sufficient solution to prevent these attacks in the future, and whether DeFi insurance should cover these kinds of attacks. Plus, Maya and Zubin explains why they're happy the attacks happened and have made them more optimistic. And Maya reveals why she has a pizza slice emoji in her Twitter profile.

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CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com

Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/

Kraken: https://www.kraken.com

Episode links:

Maya Zehavi: https://twitter.com/mayazi

Zubin Koticha: https://twitter.com/snarkyzk

Opyn: https://opyn.co/

Description of first attack: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/56171/bzx-exploit-former-google-engineer-explains-how-an-attacker-made-350k-in-single-transaction

Description of second attack: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/56171/bzx-exploit-former-google-engineer-explains-how-an-attacker-made-350k-in-single-transaction

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/daily/56413/experts-weigh-in-on-bzx-attacks-flash-loans-highlight-the-need-to-improve-defi-security-models

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/56134/defi-lending-protocol-bzx-exploited-a-portion-of-eth-lost

Unconfirmed episode about the attacks: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-2-defi-attacks-made-almost-1-million-in-profit/

1inch.exchange blog post: https://medium.com/@1inch.exchange/yes-we-hacked-bzx-fulcrum-but-one-month-ago-3f7e5c437ee3

1inch exchange-Fulcrum dispute: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/56579/bzx-attacks-and-1inch-exchange-allegations-heres-what-the-teams-have-to-say

Nexus Mutual payouts: https://defirate.com/nexus-mutual-first-payouts/

Nexus Mutual blog post: https://medium.com/nexus-mutual/bzx-flash-loan-event-55753d19e52b

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Democracy in the Age of Cryptography - Ep.159 Feb 18, 2020

Show notes

Santiago Siri, the cofounder and president of Democracy Earth, reads from his essay on how governance and identity change in the age of cryptography.

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Kraken: https://www.kraken.com

CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com

Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/

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Alex Gladstein on a World Without Bitcoin - Ep.158 Feb 11, 2020

Show notes

Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation, reads his essay, A World Without Bitcoin.

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CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com

Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/

Kraken: https://www.kraken.com

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How Memes Can Help Crypto Go Mainstream - Ep.157 Feb 04, 2020

Show notes

Linda Xie, cofounder at Scalar Capital, reads her essay on how the crypto community can successfully use memes to help people understand the technology.

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CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained

Crypto.com: http://crypto.com/

Kraken: http://kraken.com/

Episode links:

Linda Xie: https://twitter.com/ljxie

Scalar Capital: https://scalar.capital/

Read Linda's full essay at: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-memes-can-help-crypto-go-mainstream/

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The Rogue 100: How Cryptocurrency Criminals Cash Out - Ep.156 Jan 28, 2020

Show notes

Jonathan Levin, co-founder and CSO of Chainalysis, and Kim Grauer, head of research, discuss the company's 2020 Crypto Crime Report, which explores how cryptocurrency criminals, who perpetrate hacks and scams and send out ransomware and more, cash out. We cover how criminals are turning their illicit crypto into fiat currency, why exchanges are a prime avenue for money laundering, and how over-the-counter brokers are playing a large role. They talk about a group of OTC brokers they describe as the Rogue 100, what their transactions look like, and what can be done to help stop criminals from cashing out. Jonathan and Kim talk about the PlusToken scam, the largest Ponzi scheme in crypto and how Chainalysis determined that it was likely driving down the price of Bitcoin. They also explain the trends in exchange hacks and how the most prolific hackers have grown more sophisticated, giving some examples of how the Lazarus Group, a cybercriminal syndicate linked to the North Korean government has become more advanced. Finally, we also discuss ransomware and terrorism financing and what trends they are seeing there.

Thank you to our sponsors!

CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/unchained

Kraken: https://www.kraken.com

Crypto.com: https://crypto.com

Episode links:

Chainalysis: https://www.chainalysis.com/

Jonathan Levin: https://twitter.com/jony_levin

Kim Grauer: https://twitter.com/KimberlyGrauer

Previous Unchained interview with Jonathan: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-chainalysis-helps-solve-crimes-jonathan-levin-tells-all-ep-62/

Unconfirmed episode on how Bitcoin led to the demise of the largest child porn site: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-bitcoin-led-to-the-demise-of-the-largest-child-porn-site/

Money laundering report: https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/money-laundering-cryptocurrency-2019

https://fortune.com/2020/01/15/crypto-criminals-brokers-launder-billions/

Exchange hacks report: https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/cryptocurrency-exchange-hacks-2019

Unchained interview with Priscilla Moriuchi on why North Korea is interested in cryptocurrency: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-north-korea-is-interested-in-cryptocurrency/

Plus Token report: https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/plustoken-scam-bitcoin-price

Terrorism financing report: https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/terrorism-financing-cryptocurrency-2019

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Brendan Eich on How Brave Is Working to Decentralize - Ep.155 Jan 21, 2020

Show notes

Brendan Eich, CEO and president of Brave, discusses his history in tech prior to crypto, including working at Netscape, how he created Javascript in 10 days and his short stint as CEO of Mozilla, what problems with ads that Brave is trying to solve, and why Brave needs the Basic Attention Token. He explains why Bitcoin wouldn't work for cryptocurrencies on the platform, why they use BAT over stablecoins, and how Brave strips ads from publishers' webpages, but doesn't from Facebook or Google, and how it causes collateral damage to publishers. He talks about how the browser is a middleman, how Brave works with Uphold and why it doesn't require KYC unless the users wants to cash out on his or her Brave rewards. He also explains why he isn't worried that BAT could meet the four prongs of the Howey test, what it will look like when Basic Attention Token is decentralized and why he doesn't know if publishers are earning back in BAT the ad revenue that Brave blocks.

Thank you to our sponsors!

CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained

Crypto.com: http://crypto.com/

Kraken: https://kraken.com/

Episode links:

Brendan Eich: https://twitter.com/BrendanEich

Brave: https://brave.com/

Basic Attention Token: https://basicattentiontoken.org/

BAT white paper: https://basicattentiontoken.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/BasicAttentionTokenWhitePaper-4.pdf

Brave Rewards: https://support.brave.com/hc/en-us/articles/360027276731-Brave-Rewards-FAQ

Brave privacy policy: https://brave.com/privacy/

https://brave.com/privacy/#dev-detail

BAT Growth: https://batgrowth.com

Publishers on BAT: https://batgrowth.com/publishers/website

Brendan Eich admits Brave is semi-decentralized: https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2018/11/23/brave-blockchain-cryptocurrency-browser/

How Brave hurts publishers: https://practicaltypography.com/the-cowardice-of-brave.html

Publishers send cease and desist to Brave: https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-browser-brave-responds-cease-desist

Whether BAT is necessary for Brave: https://micky.com.au/just-3-9-of-brave-browser-users-have-bat-in-their-wallets/

BAT ICO: https://www.coindesk.com/35-million-30-seconds-token-sale-internet-browser-brave-sells

Vitalik blog post on token sales: https://vitalik.ca/general/2017/06/09/sales.html

BAT roadmap: https://basicattentiontoken.org/bat-roadmap-1-0/

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Why Catherine Coley Isn't Worried About BNB Being a Security - Ep.154 Jan 14, 2020

Show notes

Catherine Coley, the CEO of Binance US, talks about her background as a foreign exchange trader, how and why she made the leap into crypto, and how she became the CEO of Binance US. We discuss how Binance US differs from Binance, who Binance US's target customers are, how Binance decides which coins to list, what's on Catherine's wish list to regulators, and whether Binance US will be connected to or cut off from the global, open financial system Binance is building. We also cover why Binance US launched with Tether as its stablecoin, why the company is also focusing on BUSD, how they became comfortable using BNB token on the exchange, whether or not they worry that BNB could be considered a security. Catherine talks about whether the company will offer leverage, lending, staking, etc., and where Binance US's future revenue could come from as exchange fees trend to zero. We also cover what Catherine has learned from working customer support for Binance US and and how she compares the US and Asian crypto markets.

Thank you to our sponsors!

CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/unchained

Kraken: https://www.kraken.com/

Crypto.com: http://crypto.com/

Episode links:

Catherine Coley: https://twitter.com/cryptocoley

Binance US: https://www.binance.us/en

Binance US on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BinanceAmerica

Binance US blog: https://www.binance.us/en/blog

Crypto Rating Council: https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-led-crypto-ratings-council-draws-skepticism-from-legal-experts

Telegram notice about Grams and Ton: https://telegram.org/blog/ton-gram-notice

CZ’s 2020 New Year’s message: https://www.binance.com/en/amp/blog/419417682154909696/Binance-2020-New-Year-Message-Building-Foundations--

Binance US joins Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee: https://www.binance.us/en/blog/419943835304939520/BinanceUS-Joins-the-Executive-Committee-of-the-Chamber-of-Digital-Commerce

Multicoin Capital report, Binance is Blitzscaling: https://multicoin.capital/2019/11/07/binance-is-blitzscaling/

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Dragonfly Capital on Why Ethereum Is So Far in the Lead - Ep.153 Jan 07, 2020

Show notes

Alex Pack, founding partner of Dragonfly Capital, and Haseeb Qureshi, Dragonfly managing partner, talk about why Dragonfly has a global focus, how they choose investments, and why they try to be as agnostic as possible about asset type. They also discuss why most protocols, including Bitcoin, still look like venture bets, why, at the moment, Bitcoin looks like a better investment than anything built on top of Bitcoin, and why Lightning hasn't yet taken off and why they think it won't. We also cover what the future holds for Bitcoin. They explain what they think will happen in the smart contract platform race, why Ethereum is so far in the lead and whether anything will become an Ethereum killer. We also cover Libra, and how Libra affects their investments in stablecoins, why Xi Jinping's "blockchain, not crypto" emphasis is a dead end, whether blockchain-based identity is an investable area, what they think the killer app is or will be and their predictions for 2020. Also, Haseeb, a former professional poker player, describes how poker playing is similar to crypto trading.

Thank you to our sponsors!

CipherTrace: https://ciphertrace.com/unchained

Kraken: https://kraken.com/

Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/

Episode links:

Alex Pack: https://twitter.com/alpackap

Haseeb Qureshi: https://twitter.com/hosseeb

Dragonfly Capital: https://www.dcp.capital/

Dragonfly Capital’s blog: https://medium.com/dragonfly-research

Forbes on Dragonfly Capital’s $100 million initial raise: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2018/10/09/new-fund-dragonfly-bridges-china-us-crypto/#572aeb953c9a

Venture Beat story: https://venturebeat.com/2018/10/09/dragonfly-capital-partners-scoops-up-100-million-for-cryptocurrency-investments/

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/10/09/1618445/0/en/Dragonfly-Capital-Partners-Unveils-100-Million-Inaugural-Fund-for-Cryptocurrencies-Bridges-Gap-between-East-and-West.html