Unchained

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**Unchained**

Crypto assets and blockchain technology are about to transform every trust-based interaction of our lives, from financial services to identity to the Internet of Things. In this podcast, host Laura Shin, an independent journalist covering all things crypto, talks with industry pioneers about how crypto assets and blockchains will change the way we earn, spend and invest our money. Tune in to find out how Web 3.0, the decentralized web, will revolutionize our world.

Latest Episodes:

Bits + Bips: Why Investors Are Looking at the Jobs Data All Wrong - Ep. 882 Aug 06, 2025

Show notes

Subscribe to the new Bits + Bips channels!

📺 YouTube

🎧 Podcast → Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Fountain🐦 X / Twitter

Last week’s macroeconomic data came with a twist: a massive job downward revision from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But is it a recession signal, or just statistical noise?

In this episode of Bits + Bips, Ben Werkman, chief investment officer at Swan Bitcoin, joins hosts Ram Ahluwalia, Noelle Acheson, and Steve Ehrlich to examine why markets shrugged off the data, and what it means for crypto. The panel also discusses:

Whether markets are mispricing macro risk
How Strategy’s latest capital raise may reflect rising treasury company risk
The future of tokenized equity and how Coinbase could unlock private market value
New regulatory signals suggesting the U.S. may allow banks to hold crypto
The rise of “super apps” blending payments, trading, and custody

Thank you to our sponsor!

Mantle

Hosts:

Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida
Noelle Acheson, Author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” Newsletter
Steve Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained

Guest:

Ben Werkman, Chief Investment Officer at Swan Bitcoin

Links:

Macro

BLS Drama

PCE

Reuters: US inflation warms up in June as tariffs boost some goods prices

Tariffs

Coverage of $COIN and $MSRT on Bits + Bips:

Unchained articles:

Timestamps:

🎬 0:00 Intro

📉 4:25 Why Noelle thinks we’re looking at the job numbers all wrong

🍔 16:23 Whether the BLS revision is actually a nothing burger

🧊 19:33 How investors are managing to shrug off all the macro noise

🏢 32:37 What surprised Ben about corporate bitcoin adoption and how earnings are shifting the narrative

💰 37:57 Why Strategy is raising capital at sky-high premiums

📊 44:40 How Robinhood and Coinbase stack up by the numbers

📜 51:11 What new signals reveal about the U.S. rewriting financial rules

📱 57:43 How “super apps” are changing the game for crypto and TradFi

📈 1:05:18 Where the panel sees markets heading next

🏛️ 1:13:17 What it might take for governments to start holding crypto

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Jim Bianco on Why 0% Interest Rates and Money Printing Are Gone for Good - Ep. 881 Aug 05, 2025

Show notes

Subscribe to the new Bits + Bips channels!

📺 YouTube
🎧 Podcast → Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Fountain
🐦 X / Twitter

Has the Fed entered a new era?

In this episode of Unchained, macro strategist Jim Bianco of Bianco Research lays out why the current economic cycle is fundamentally different from what came before. He explains the implications of sticky inflation, why 0% interest rates and money printing may be relics of the past, and how the COVID-era economy created lasting structural shifts.

Bianco also gives his candid take on how retail investors have changed markets, why the payments system is still stuck in the 1950s, and how stablecoins and tokenized assets could fix that—if regulators allow it. He breaks down the threats facing major players like Coinbase and Robinhood, and shares a bold theory on what really happened during the GameStop short squeeze.

Bianco also assesses what could happen if the Fed is politicized — and whether Chair Powell is likely to be replaced.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Guest:
- Jim Bianco, President and Macro Strategist at Bianco Research, L.L.C.

Timestamps:

🎬 0:00 Intro

📉 3:36 Why Jim called the latest economic revisions “extraordinary”

🔥11:56 Whether we’ve entered a post-COVID “new normal” of sticky inflation

👔 18:14 Could Trump really fire Powell — and what would that mean for the Fed?

📉 23:36 What happens to markets if Trump pushes through aggressive rate cuts

🛍️ 29:45 How retail investors flipped the power dynamic on Wall Street

💳 26:04 Why Jim says outdated payment rails are holding back stablecoins

🧩 46:17 Jim’s bold theory on how the GameStop halt was really about saving Schwab

🚫 50:12 Why he’s skeptical of the SEC’s “Project Crypto”

⚔️ 57:17 Why Coinbase and Robinhood are bracing for a new wave of challengers

⚠️ 59:28 What could happen to crypto treasury companies in a bear market

🏛️1:01:43 What’s still broken in tokenized stocks — and how to fix it

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The Chopping Block: Tornado Cash on Trial, Crypto Privacy in Crisis, and Robert’s LQR House Takeover - Ep. 880 Aug 02, 2025

Show notes

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. In this episode, things get personal as Haseeb and Tom break their silence on the DOJ’s shocking threat to criminally charge Dragonfly over its early investment in Tornado Cash. With Roman Storm’s trial nearing its conclusion, the crew unpacks the unprecedented legal risks facing developers, investors, and privacy protocols and what it means for the future of crypto in the U.S.

As Ethereum celebrates its 10th anniversary, a storm brews in court: Samourai Wallet founders plead guilty, the DOJ backpedals on Dragonfly, and Roman Storm faces decades behind bars for writing code. Robert recounts his short-lived microcap M&A adventure (aka the Liquor Store Fiasco), and the gang reacts to a dramatic regulatory about-face from the SEC’s new crypto-friendly regime.

Is financial privacy now a crime? Will U.S. law catch up with crypto code? And what happens when TradFi tries to CT a public company? This episode hits hard — and nothing is off limits.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Show highlights

🔹 Dragonfly Named in Court – Haseeb and Tom break their silence after the DOJ threatens criminal charges over Dragonfly’s Tornado Cash investment.

🔹 Roman Storm on Trial – The Tornado Cash co-founder faces up to 45 years as the government tests the limits of crypto developer liability.

🔹 DOJ Walks It Back – After a media firestorm, prosecutors publicly reverse course and say Dragonfly is not a target.

🔹 Samourai Wallet Pleads Guilty – Another privacy project folds under pressure — and possibly to bolster the Tornado Cash case.

🔹 Privacy Protocols Under Siege – The crew asks: Is building immutable software now a criminal act in the U.S.?

🔹 Tarun Breaks Down Autonomous Code – Why the government’s case against smart contracts reveals a deep misunderstanding of how DeFi works.

🔹 Robert’s Liquor Store Saga – CT’s favorite meme investor explains how he tried to take over a public company… and got mega-diluted.

🔹 SEC’s Project Crypto Leaks – Paul Atkins lays out a sweeping vision for crypto-friendly regulation and software protections.

🔹 Crypto’s Legal Future Hangs in the Balance – From subpoenas to policy pivots, this episode explores what’s next for developers, investors, and privacy itself.

Hosts:

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate

⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly

⁠Disclosures⁠

Links:

American Leadership in the Digital Finance Revolution, by Paul S. Atkins, SEC Chairman

https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/atkins-digital-finance-revolution-073125

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

01:58 Background on Tornado Cash

03:50 Legal Challenges & Sanctions

06:36 DOJ's Actions & Dragonfly's Response

11:25 Implications for Privacy & Crypto

27:06 Samourai Case & Broader Implications

33:37 Robert's Liquor Store Saga

37:17 LQR House Challenges & Legal Issues

46:05 Lessons Learned from the LQR House

50:01 SEC's New Crypto Policy

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In Q2 Earnings, MSTR Surges, and Coinbase Stumbles. But What's Next? - Ep. 879 Aug 02, 2025

Show notes

Strategy posted a record $10 billion in net income. Coinbase missed estimates and stock dropped. But analysts say both tell a deeper story about how crypto companies are adapting.

It’s earnings season in crypto—and the stories couldn’t be more different.

Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) just posted $10 billion in net income, boosted by Bitcoin’s price and new fair value accounting rules. But can the company keep this up?

Coinbase missed Q2 estimates, sending its stock down. Yet Owen Lau of Oppenheimer says the long-term setup may be more bullish than the market thinks.

In this double interview, Unchained’s Steven Ehrlich sits down with:

Lance Vitanza from TD Cowen to break down Strategy’s accounting shift, capital markets evolution, and whether its growing BTC pile presents systemic risks
Owen Lau from Oppenheimer to unpack Coinbase’s earnings miss, how new bank partnerships may remake it as a TradFi infrastructure provider, and why Q3 may tell a different story

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

Thank you to our sponsors!

Mantle
FalconX

Guests:

Lance Vitanza, Lance Vitanza, Managing Director & Director of Equity Research at TD Cowen
Owen Lau, Executive Director and Senior Analyst in the equity research department of Oppenheimer & Co

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10 Years In, Here's Why Aave's Founder Isn’t Done Betting on Ethereum - Ep. 878 Aug 01, 2025

Show notes

Ethereum just turned 10, and Stani Kulechov, founder of Aave, one of the earliest and most influential lending protocols in DeFi, is more bullish on the OG layer 1 blockchain than ever.

In this wide-ranging interview, he reflects on Ethereum’s resilience, explains why Aave is still laser-focused on it despite the rise of competitors like Solana, and gives us a preview of Aave V4 and its institutional play, Horizon.

If you want to understand where DeFi is going, you’ll want to hear what Stani has to say.

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

Thank you to our sponsors!

Guest:

Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave and ETHLend

Links:

Recent episode of Unchained with EF’s co-ED Tomasz: As Ethereum Turns 10, Where Is the Foundation Focused Next?
Unchained: Aave Labs Unveils V4 Upgrade Proposal, Introducing a Unified Liquidity Layer and 'Fuzzy' Rates
DefiLlama: Aave stats
Reuters: JPMorgan considers offering loans backed by clients' cryptocurrency holdings

Timestamps:

🎬 0:00 Intro

🎉 4:58 What Ethereum’s 10-year milestone means to Stani

🏗️ 9:09 How Aave became the top lending protocol on Ethereum

🧐 13:02 Why Stani has been critical of the Ethereum Foundation

🏦 17:16 How TradFi institutions could quietly run on Aave infrastructure

💸 25:08 What Stani thinks about the complaints over Ethereum revenues and fees

🌉 30:27 Why Aave hasn’t launched on Solana

💼 35:32 How Ethereum treasury companies are putting Aave to work

🔧 41:15 What Aave V4 is bringing to the protocol and why it matters

🌍 48:18 How Horizon could bridge DeFi and real-world assets

🤝 50:43 Why DeFi might thrive even as TradFi and fintech move onchain

🗳️ 57:57 Whether DAO governance is fundamentally flawed

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As Ethereum Turns 10, Where Is the Foundation Focused Next? - Ep. 877 Jul 31, 2025

Show notes

Subscribe to the new Bits + Bips channels!

📺 YouTube

🎧 Podcast → Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Fountain🐦 X / Twitter

Ethereum turned 10 on Wednesday, capping off a decade of trials and travails — but also triumphs. After years of being the heart of crypto’s onchain economy, Ethereum stalled last year, losing mindshare and market share to Bitcoin and Solana. During that time, some long-time supporters publicly aired frustrations with the Ethereum Foundation.

Now, there’s a palpable shift in energy.

In this episode, Tomasz Stanczak, the co-executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, reflects on the 10-year anniversary and talks about what’s ahead.

From internal strategy overhauls to his plans to tackle Ethereum’s UX and developer experience, Tomasz shares how the Foundation is trying to re-center Ethereum — and why he’s betting on it for the next decade.

He also lays out what he calls a “secondary roadmap,” including bold ambitions like building Ethereum into a platform for AI, machines, and even a new kind of open-source society.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Ledn
Mantle

Guest:

Tomasz K. Stańczak, Co-Executive Director at the Ethereum Foundation and Founder of Nethermind

Links:

Unchained: Ethereum Turns 10 Years Old
Tomasz’s tweet about the roadmap

Timestamps:

🎬 0:00 Intro

🎉 7:46 How Tomasz is reflecting on Ethereum’s 10th birthday and its recent struggles

🧠 10:41 What Ethereum means to Tomasz and how he explains it to the normies

🏗️ 17:28 Why the Ethereum Foundation plays a different kind of role in crypto development

👔 22:59 How Tomasz ended up as co-executive director of the EF

🗣️ 27:25 What he learned from hundreds of conversations about how Ethereum could improve

🎯 29:47 Why the Foundation is now focused on three core goals

💼 36:34 How and why the EF is also embracing business development

🪙 42:40 Why Tomasz wants people minting directly on Ethereum Layer 1

📣 46:14 How the Foundation’s communication strategy has changed and why it matters

📉 52:48 Why the EF isn’t focused on ETH’s price—at least not directly

🧾 57:50 Whether the Foundation is worried about Ether’s shifting asset narrative

🔗 1:03:34 How the EF is working to fix interoperability issues within Ethereum

🏦 1:05:59 Why the Foundation sold ETH to SBET and how its treasury strategy is evolving

🏛️ 1:14:09 How Ethereum became the chain of choice for institutions

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Bits + Bips: ETH Makes a Comeback While Crypto’s Animal Spirits Revive - Ep. 876 Jul 29, 2025

Show notes

What’s fueling crypto’s market surge?

This week on Bits + Bips, Ethereum’s rally has reignited market energy, triggering fresh questions about the return of alt season, and whether Bitcoin’s dominance will continue to fall.

With special guests Katalin Tischhauser from Sygnum Bank and Wintermute’s Jake Ostrovskis, we dive deep into how corporate treasuries, tokenized assets, and shifting ETF flows are reshaping crypto’s microstructure.

Plus, we dissect the macro impact of rising tariffs, the Fed’s delicate dance with Trump, and whether tokenization could breathe new life into the US dollar.

Check out the sponsors who make this show possible!

Hosts:
- Steve Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained

Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida

Guests:

Katalin Tischhauser, Head of Research at Sygnum Bank
Jake Ostrovskis, Head of Sales Trading (OTC) at Wintermute

Links

Markets:

Unchained: Spot Ether ETFs Extend 16-Day Inflow Streak With $453 Million

DATs:

Cointelegraph: Tron Inc. seeks $1B to grow TRX holdings as stock rallies
CoinDesk: Crypto Treasury Fever Spreads to Ethena as $360M SPAC Deal Targets ENA Accumulation
CEA Industries Inc. Press Release: CEA Industries and 10X Capital, with the support of YZi Labs, announce $500 Million Private Placement to Establish Largest Publicly-Listed $BNB Treasury Company in the World
The Block: Specialty finance company Mill City announces $450 million offering to establish corporate Sui treasury
Barron's: MicroStrategy to Offer Preferred Stock With a Twist That Could Yield 10%

Trump and Powell

Timestamps:

🎬0:00 Intro

🔥 6:03 Why ETH’s comeback is reigniting crypto markets

🧠 11:23 Why Ram says “animal spirits are back”

💸 15:06 When tariffs could finally start pushing prices higher

📉 18:06 Whether BTC dominance is fading—and if alt season is finally here

🏭 22:27 How tariffs are already hurting some businesses

⚖️ 27:49 Whether Strategy’s new preferred share class adds risky complexity

🏚️ 32:32 Why many new treasury-backed projects might not survive

📊 38:29 Whether these digital asset treasuries (DATs) are trading at unsustainable premiums

🔮 51:28 What the real endgame is for all these DATs

⚔️ 59:00 How the Powell-Trump tension could shake up markets

🔗 1:12:44 Why tokenization is gaining momentum across finance

📈 1:18:55 Whether stablecoins could revive global demand for the US dollar

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The Price of PUMP Is at Its Lowest Since the ICO. Will It Recover? - Ep. 875 Jul 25, 2025

Show notes

Pump raised $600 million in 12 minutes. Then the token crashed… and sentiment with it.

In this episode, Delphi’s Yan Liberman, Jason Pagoulatos, and Simon Smockey unpack what really happened, from the lack of investor lockups to the underwhelming post-ICO communication, and what Pump must do now to win back the market.

We also get into whether the “everything app” strategy still makes sense, what decentralization means after this cycle, and what tokens can learn from equity markets.

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

Thank you to our sponsors!

Xapo Bank
Focal by FalconX

Guests:

Simon Smockey, Researcher at Delphi Digital
Yan Liberman, Co-Founder of Delphi Digital and Managing Partner of Delphi Ventures
Jason Pagoulatos, Head of Markets at Delphi

Previous coverage on the ICO:

Unchained:

TG Podcast: Alon: Raising $1B, $PUMP Token, Airdrop, and More

Timestamps:

🎬 0:00 Intro

💥 2:53 How Pump’s months-long hype set the stage, and why it may have backfired

🔓 11:07 Whether the lack of investor lockups hurt confidence in the token

😬 17:13 Why Jason found Alon’s post-ICO interview with Threadguy underwhelming

📉 22:52 Why Yan still sees strong risk-reward in PUMP despite the crash

🔥 24:29 What Pumpfun can do now to reignite interest and rebuild momentum

💸 34:19 Whether buybacks or business reinvestment is the better path forward

📱 36:37 How realistic the “everything app” vision is, and whether M&As can save it

🌍 47:16 What strategies could finally bring normies onchain

🧵 53:22 Whether the PUMP launch proves that decentralization is dead

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The Chopping Block: The Clarity Act, Stablecoins, and a $120K Bitcoin Boom - Ep. 874 Jul 24, 2025

Show notes

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. In this episode, the crew is joined by special guest Rebecca Rettig, Chief Legal Officer at Jito Labs, to unpack the biggest legislative week in crypto history. The Clarity Act, Genius Act, and Anti-CBDC Act all pass Congress, ushering in what some are calling a regulatory renaissance — or at least, the first real rules of the road. Bitcoin breaks $120K, memecoins rip, and Crypto Week sends shockwaves through Washington. But is the Clarity Act really the win the industry’s been waiting for? Rebecca breaks down the legal nuance, Tarun questions the economic reality, and Haseeb points out Ethereum’s bizarre silence during the biggest policy shift of the decade. Has crypto finally grown up — or just gotten better at playing the game? The gang dissects the laws, the loopholes, and the market’s reaction to it all.

Show highlights

🔹 Clarity Act Passes the House – Landmark crypto bill advances with bipartisan support, aiming to limit SEC power and define digital asset classifications.

🔹 Stablecoins Get a Path Forward – The Genius Act passes alongside Clarity, offering long-awaited regulatory rails for U.S. stablecoin issuers.

🔹 Congress Goes Full Crypto – Three major bills pass the House in one week, marking a historic show of political support for the industry.

🔹 Rebecca Rettig Returns – Jito Labs Chief Legal Officer breaks down what the legislation really means — and what still isn’t clear.

🔹 SEC in the Hot Seat – With CFTC gaining ground, the SEC’s regulatory grip is questioned across policy circles and crypto Twitter.

🔹 Bitcoin Breaks $120K – Markets rally on regulatory momentum and renewed optimism, with BTC setting a new local high.

🔹 Altcoins Catch Fire – SOL, PENGU, and meme tokens explode as traders rotate into risk-on narratives post-legislation.

🔹 Ethereum’s Silence Raises Eyebrows – Despite being at the heart of stablecoin infrastructure, Ethereum’s core voices stay unusually quiet.

🔹 DeFi’s Legal Gray Zone Remains – Tarun argues the bills may shift political winds, but don’t resolve the underlying protocol risk or enforcement ambiguity.

🔹 Crypto Week Becomes a Real Thing – What started as a Trump slogan turns into one of the most consequential weeks in U.S. crypto history.

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate

⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly

Guest

⭐️ Rebecca Rettig, Jurisprudential Genius at Jito Labs

Disclosures

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

01:06 The Genius Act

04:38 Tech Companies & Stablecoins

08:38 Predictions for the Future of Stablecoins

26:25 The Clarity Act Breakdown

32:27 Important Definitions

34:38 New Exemptions for Token Sales

41:12 Mature Blockchain Certification Process

45:27 Defi Activity Exemptions & Regulations

48:03 New Categories for Spot Crypto Registrants

55:52 Solana's Block Assembly Marketplace (BAM)

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Bits + Bips: Stablecoins Just Went Legit, but That’s Only the First Step - Ep. 873 Jul 23, 2025

Show notes

Last week, the U.S. passed its first major piece of crypto legislation. Stablecoins now have a legal home, and that could open the floodgates for adoption, disruption, and regulation.

But is this just the beginning?

In this episode of Bits + Bips, Ram Ahluwalia, Noelle Acheson, Steve Ehrlich, and guest Cosmo Jiang of Pantera dive into what the stablecoin law actually means, who it helps, who it threatens, and why Wall Street and crypto startups alike are positioning fast.

They also cover Ethereum’s rally, what’s fueling it, and whether the boom in digital asset treasury companies is sustainable. Plus, they unpack Trump’s latest threats against the Fed and what it means for markets, inflation, and interest rates.

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