Unchained

Latest Episodes:

The Chopping Block: ETH Denver, EF Silviculture Society, Lazarus Group Has Skills - Ep. 792 Mar 02, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner break down the biggest stories in crypto. This week: Recapping how Bybit lost $1.5B to North Korea’s Lazarus Group—how did it happen, and why did they use THORChain to launder the money? Meanwhile, Ethereum is facing an identity crisis at ETH Denver, with the Foundation’s bizarre “Silviculture Society” raising eyebrows across the ecosystem. And if that wasn’t enough, memecoins are in freefall, with Hayden Adams admitting the game was rigged all along. It’s a wild week—let’s break it all down.

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

Show highlights

🔹 Bybit’s $1.5B Hack – Largest crypto heist ever, pulled off by North Korea’s Lazarus Group. Attack exploited Gnosis Safe’s front end, not Bybit itself.

🔹 THORChain: The New Laundromat? – Lazarus Group uses THORChain to launder stolen funds, sparking backlash. Some THORChain members celebrated the volume spike.

🔹 Memecoins Declared ‘Collectibles’ – SEC says memecoins aren’t securities—right as the bubble bursts. New token launches are down 60%, and pump.fun is drying up.

🔹 InfoWars Bought With a Memecoin?! – Alex Jones supporters use Wars token to outbid The Onion for InfoWars.com in a bankruptcy auction.

🔹 Ethereum’s Cultural Crisis – EF’s ‘Silviculture Society’ announcement triggers community backlash. Hayden Adams calls it “peak Ethereum dysfunction.”

🔹 SEC’s Crypto Pivot – Enforcement shift: Uniswap, OpenSea, and Consensys investigations dropped. Is the SEC losing its war on crypto?

🔹 Richard Heart’s Case Dismissed – The SEC’s lawsuit against the HEX founder gets tossed on procedural grounds, but the agency has a chance to refile.

🔹 The Hyperliquid Question – Is Hyperliquid the next frontier for crypto liquidity, or a regulatory time bomb waiting to go off?

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

Timestamps

00:00 Intro
00:48 ETH Denver
06:16 Bybit Hack & Its Aftermath
14:52 Lazarus Group Has Skills
16:52 THORChain and Ethics of Decentralization
24:49 Role of KYT Services in Crypto Security
28:40 SEC's Stance on Memecoins
37:19 EF Silviculture Society
46:43 Ethereum Scaling Bet

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How the $1.5 Billion Bybit Hack Could Have Been Prevented - Ep. 791 Feb 28, 2025

Show notes

Crypto derivatives exchange Bybit just became the latest victim of North Korea’s elite hacking unit, the Lazarus Group. They didn’t brute-force their way in. They didn’t exploit some obscure vulnerability. Instead, they tricked a trusted developer, slipped in malicious code, and took off with a fortune.

How did this happen? Why was $1.5 billion sitting in a single wallet? What mistakes did Bybit and Safe make? And, more importantly, what needs to change to stop this from happening again?

This week, Mudit Gupta, chief information security officer at Polygon, joins Unchained to expose the security failures, the sophisticated tactics Lazarus used, and why crypto still hasn’t learned its lesson.

Show highlights:

2:11 Mudit’s experience with North Korea’s Lazarus
3:24 How Lazarus perpetrated the $1.5 billion hack
5:55 Why Lazarus relies on social engineering over technical exploits
7:34 Why Bybit was so specifically targeted by the hackers
10:02 What Bybit should have done to prevent the exploit
13:12 Why Mudit believes there was “no reason” to hold so much ETH in one single wallet
15:57 Who should be a signer in multisigs
17:46 How to prevent using a malicious website
19:13 Why Safe should have done things differently, according to Mudit
19:55 How Bybit and Safe handled crisis communication
24:20 Mudit’s must-know security tips for protecting your crypto

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

Guest

Mudit Gupta, Chief Information Security Officer at Polygon

Links

Recent coverage of Unchained on the Bybit hack:
North Korean Hackers Are Winning. Is the Crypto Industry Ready to Stop Them?
The Chopping Block: Crypto’s Worst Week? Bybit Hack, Libra Scandal, & The Memecoin Reckoning
Bits + Bips: Markets Are Down Bad. When Will Crypto Recover?
Unchained: Bybit Flows Return to ‘Normal’ After Biggest-Ever Crypto Hack
Bybit Hack Forensics Report
"Safe{Wallet} Statement on Targeted Attack on Bybit "

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Bits + Bips: Markets Are Down Bad. When Will Crypto Recover? - Ep. 790 Feb 26, 2025

Show notes

Crypto markets are down bad—but is this just a rough patch, or are we looking at something bigger?

After a brutal sell-off in Solana, the $1.5 billion Bybit hack, and macro uncertainty weighing on Bitcoin, investors are searching for answers. Some think the worst is over, while others believe more pain is coming before the market turns around.

In this episode of Bits + Bips, Noelle Acheson, Alex Kruger, and Ram Ahluwalia are joined by Eliézer Ndinga of 21Shares to break it all down. They discuss how institutions are approaching this downturn, why Solana has been hit harder than the rest, and what catalysts could bring crypto back to life.

Is this the start of a new accumulation phase, or are we in for another leg down?

Show highlights:

2:36 How the ByBit team responded so well to the hack
17:43 Why the market selloff was not specific to crypto
29:09 How institutions have become more sophisticated about crypto
31:10 Why SOL has been down so much and whether it has bottomed
34:37 Whether tariffs keep having an effect on the markets
37:23 Why the state of the markets makes Eliézer think the crypto asset class has matured
41:27 Whether bitcoin can be a safe haven and the role of diversification
45:26 What the next catalysts for crypto are
49:33 Why Eliézer is so optimistic about the long-term outlook of crypto
53:33 Alex’s spicy opinion on DOGE and Elon Musk

Sponsors:

Hosts:

Noelle Acheson, Author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” Newsletter
Alex Kruger, Founder of Asgard
Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida

Guest:

Eliézer Ndinga, Head of Strategy and Business Development at 21.co; the parent company of 21Shares

Links

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North Korean Hackers Are Winning. Is the Crypto Industry Ready to Stop Them? - Ep. 789 Feb 25, 2025

Show notes

$1.5 billion gone in an instant. And what’s worse, to fund a nuclear weapons program.

The largest crypto hack in history just hit Bybit, and the culprit is the infamous North Korean hacking group, Lazarus. Known for some of the most sophisticated cyber heists ever, they often use social engineering tactics and start by tricking low level employees. Although they can often wait to launder funds, in the case of Bybit they started right away.

How did this happen? Could it have been prevented? And what does this mean for the security of the entire crypto industry?

Taylor Monahan, security at MetaMask, and Jonty, a senior investigator at zeroShadow, talk all about it.

Show highlights:

2:53 Taylor’s and Jonty’s backgrounds and why they are relevant to this discussion
6:06 What the mechanics of the hack were
13:03 How Lazarus usually operates and the tactic of blind signing
17:11 Jonty’s important tips for people handling large amounts of crypto
23:45 How Bybit was able to say almost immediately that their other assets were secure
29:02 How much exchanges typically hold in each cold wallet
32:00 Why the evidence of the hack points to North Korean group Lazarus
41:01 Why North Korean hackers don’t care if their attack is linked to them
49:30 How Lazarus typically social engineers its hacks
53:48 Why Jonty thinks the industry needs a serious upgrade in terms of security
58:08 How the funds get laundered in such cases and what the industry can do
1:09:54 The chances Lazarus actually makes money from the hack
1:15:34 How DeFi protocols should approach this problem

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

Thank you to our sponsors!

Guests:

Taylor Monahan, Security at MetaMask
Jonty, a senior investigator at zeroShadow

Links

Previous coverage on Unchained about North Korean hackers:
How North Koreans Infiltrated the Crypto Industry to Fund the Regime
Why North Korea Is Interested in Cryptocurrency
Yeonmi Park on Why Doing Business With North Korea Is Like Buying a Ticket to a Concentration Camp
GitHub - pcaversaccio/safe-tx-hashes-util: bash script that checks that the Safe transaction that you are signing is the one that you intend to sign
Cointelegraph: Crypto exchange eXch denies laundering Bybit’s hacked funds

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The Chopping Block: Crypto’s Worst Week? Bybit Hack, Libra Scandal, & The Memecoin Reckoning - Ep. 788 Feb 23, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner break down the biggest stories in crypto. This week: Bybit’s $1.5B hack, likely by North Korea’s Lazarus Group, and the Libra scandal, where Hayden Davis exposes the memecoin playbook. Meanwhile, Dave Portnoy rugs Greed and Greed 2, Kanye’s YZY token leaks, and the LA Vape Cabal collapses. But crypto markets hold strong, and the SEC just dropped its lawsuit against Coinbase. Is this the end of the memecoin era? We break it all down.

Show highlights

🔹 Bybit’s $1.5B Hack – Largest crypto hack in history, linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. CEO Ben Zhou handled it masterfully, securing a bridge loan to cover outflows.

🔹 Hayden Davis & the Memecoin Playbook – Argentina’s Libra token scandal exposed the insider trading behind celeb-backed coins. Hayden Davis spills the playbook on Coffeezilla.

🔹 Portnoy’s Pump & Dump – Barstool’s Dave Portnoy rugs his own followers with Greed and Greed 2, then mocks them.

🔹 The Memecoin Bubble is Popping – Sentiment shift: retail realizes the game is rigged. Memecoins may finally be out of steam.

🔹 Kanye’s YZY Coin? – West’s team accidentally leaks a memecoin plan. Will it even launch, or is it DOA after the Libra scandal?

🔹 The LA Vape Cabal Collapses – Once a driving force in memecoins, this underground group falls apart after links to Kelsier Ventures are exposed.

🔹 Regulatory Winds Shift – SEC drops its lawsuit against Coinbase. Crypto enforcement pivots from good actors to actual fraud.

🔹 Crypto Holds Up – Despite chaos, the market remains resilient. Infrastructure tokens are seeing renewed interest.

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

Timestamps

00:00 Intro
01:41 The Largest Crypto Hack in History
03:03 Bybit's Response and Industry Reactions
04:51 North Korea's Involvement and the Aftermath
18:06 Hayden Davis & LIBRA
30:50 Meteora & the Solana Universe
33:34 Downfall of Memecoins
39:58 Hypocrisy of Celeb Coins
47:00 Regulatory Changes and the Future of Crypto

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Why Would Argentine President Javier Milei Protect Kelsier's Hayden Davis? - Ep. 787 Feb 21, 2025

Show notes

What started as another scammy memecoin launch has spiraled into one of Argentina’s biggest political scandals.

The $LIBRA token, promoted by President Javier Milei and tied to Hayden Davis of Kelsier Ventures, is now at the center of multiple investigations—with allegations of bribery, insider trading, and political corruption. Some are calling it “CryptoGate.”

Did Davis really have influence over Milei? Was the president’s sister involved in pay-to-play politics? Could Davis and Milei face legal action?

This week, Danny Nelson, managing editor for data & tokens at CoinDesk, joins to reveal what his reporting uncovered, from secret deals to political fallout—and why this scandal could change how people see memecoins forever.

Show highlights:

1:47 How Hayden Davis was bragging about his connection to the Argentine presidency
9:15 Why Karina Milei holds the keys to her brother
11:31 Whether Milei is trying to protect Davis
16:22 Whether Milei was an ignorant victim or a more knowledgeable participant in $LIBRA
18:46 What charges Davis could face in the U.S.
22:00 Why Danny thinks Jupiter is taking the right step
24:34 Whether a memecoin such as $LIBRA could be considered a security
29:32 What Davis should do with the $100 million in his possession
33:40 Whether memecoins are now dead
38:41 What the future of Pump.fun looks like

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

Guest

Danny Nelson, Managing Editor for Data & Tokens at CoinDesk

Links

Previous coverage of Unchained on the LIBRA scandal:
How the Libra Scandal Exposed Memecoin Insider Trading on the World Stage
Bits + Bips: Could the LIBRA Scandal End the Memecoin Craze?
Unchained:
LIBRA Insider and Argentinian President Holding Secret Calls
Meteora Co-Founder Resigns Amid LIBRA Scandal
Are Memecoins Collapsing? These 8 Charts May Be Signaling Yes
CoinDesk: Libra Token's Hayden Davis Bragged of Influence Over Argentina's Milei
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s post on memecoins

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Bits + Bips: Could the LIBRA Scandal End the Memecoin Craze? - Ep. 786 Feb 19, 2025

Show notes

The $LIBRA token launch was a disaster—insider trading, price manipulation, and yet another memecoin scandal. But does this mean the memecoin era is over?

This week, James Seyffart, Joe McCann, Ram Ahluwalia, and Noelle Acheson break down the fallout from the $LIBRA launch, what it means for Solana and the broader market, and whether the crypto community is finally waking up to the risks of insider-driven tokens.

They also dig into macro trends impacting crypto—including whether institutions are secretly loading up on bitcoin, the role of DOGE in the broader market, and why some traders are starting to position for a bounce.

Plus, what’s next for SOL after weeks of bleeding?

Show highlights:

2:45 - How everyone was so surprised by the $LIBRA scandal
10:40 - Why the likes of Hayden Davis are admitting to fraud
12:47 - Why Joe thinks that Solana is not affected by these debacles
15:26 - What Davis should do with the $100M in his power
20:21 - Whether the memecoin cycle is over
25:48 - The irony of people who now want regulations
33:31 - How big institutions have been loading up on bitcoin ETFs
38:20 - Why the U.S. government should modernize its technology
44:39 - Whether DOGE will have a big impact on macro
51:24 - What the Fed will do in the near future
55:29 - Why ETH outperformed this week and why the broader market tanked
1:04:33 - Why Ram believes that Solana will have to get through the “psychological damage”

Sponsors:

Bitwise

Hosts:

James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence
Joe McCann, Founder, CEO, and CIO of Asymmetric
Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida
Noelle Acheson, Author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” Newsletter

Links

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How the Libra Scandal Exposed Memecoin Insider Trading on the World Stage - Ep. 785 Feb 18, 2025

Show notes

Was Argentina’s president used to pump a memecoin? The launch of $LIBRA has turned into a political and financial scandal, with accusations of insider trading, bribes, price manipulation, and government ties to crypto influencers.

In this episode, Diogenes Casares, a crypto trader with deep connections in both memecoins and Argentina’s crypto scene, exposes what really happened behind the scenes. He details how a network of market makers, influencers, and political insiders orchestrated the launch, how the price was manipulated from the start, and why he believes the entire operation was illegal.

Casares also explains the potential legal consequences for those involved, the impact on President Javier Milei’s administration, and what all this means for the future of Solana memecoins.

Show highlights:

3:06 How Dio heard about the launch of an Argentina-related memecoin two weeks in advance
8:09 Whether Argentines were the ones who actually lost money on the coin
40:50 How Kelsier Ventures’ Hayden Davis crashed the price of the token
14:51 How the story is being perceived in Argentina
16:38 Why Dio believes Argentine President Javier Milei was naive
22:38 Who the insiders were and what role they played
26:56 Why Dio says that insider trading is illegal even in crypto
30:31 How some of the insiders are “pathological liars,” according to Dio
34:57 Why Dio doesn’t believe Jupiter’s statement and is skeptical about the Meteora founder’s statement
40:50 Why Dio says Davis’ “strategy” was actually price manipulation
44:32 What should be done with the $100 million that Davis holds
45:24 How Milei could suffer politically because of the situation
51:48 What Dio thinks about Dave Portnoy’s refund
57:09 How it was disappointing that this scandal happened in a place with so much crypto adoption
1:00:53 What’s next for Milei and whether he’ll go through impeachment

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:

Diogenes Casares, a crypto trader from Argentina

Links

Unchained: Crypto Community Incensed by Insider Activity on LIBRA Memecoin Promoted by Argentina’s President
Coffeezilla interview: Argentina’s memecoin creator interview (LIBRA)
Bribes, Insiders and a Manipulated President | What Really Happened with $LIBRA by Diogenes Casares
Jupiter Exchange’s statement
Meteora’s Ben Chow’s statement

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Crypto Sentiment Is Down Bad. But Is It Time to Go All In? - Ep. 784 Feb 14, 2025

Show notes

Crypto sentiment is extremely low, but is the market completely wrong? While X is flooded with doomsday takes, Jeff Dorman, CIO of Arca, argues that the real fundamentals of crypto are stronger than ever.

In this episode, Jeff breaks down why investors are overlooking key signals—like growing regulatory clarity, the tokenization of real-world assets, and institutional interest—and how memecoins have hijacked the broader market narrative. He pushes back on claims that there are no fresh narratives and explains why the current climate reminds him of previous market mispricings that turned into massive opportunities.

He also dives into the potential of tokenized assets, why crypto adoption is way ahead of where people think, and why he believes the industry keeps making the same mistakes when it comes to marketing its breakthroughs.

Show highlights:

2:03 - How dishonest takes are flooding the crypto sentiment, according to Jeff
4:04 - Why he pushes back against the sentiment that there are no fresh narratives
6:13 - Whether memecoins are to blame for the poor market sentiment
13:17 - Why Jeff feels that the crypto investment thesis is still very strong
19:23 - Why Jeff says that the launch of $TRUMP and $MELANIA was a good thing for the industry
26:55 - Why layer 1s are very hard to invest in
30:57 - Laura and Jeff’s disagreement about what would it take for a blockchain to win

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

Thank you to our sponsors!

Somnia Network

Guest

Jeff Dorman, Chief Investment Officer and Co-Founder at Arca
Previous appearance on Unchained: Crypto Prices Are Way Down. Is It Time to Buy the Dip?

Links

Unchained:
Arca: “That’s Our Two Satoshis” - I’m Fed Up with the Misinformation by Jeff Dorman, CFA

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The Chopping Block: Berachain’s Hype, Portnoy vs. Cramer, & Negative Market Sentiment - Ep. 783 Feb 13, 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, we’re joined by Laura Shin, host of the Unchained Podcast, for a no-holds-barred discussion on the current state of the crypto landscape. We dive into Berachain’s shaky launch, dissecting its tokenomics, insider allocations, and why the hype didn’t hold. Then we uncover the rise of celebrity memecoin scams—how influencers are cashing in while their followers get rugged. Finally, we tackle the Ethereum vs. Solana debate: is Ethereum losing its edge, or is Solana’s growth just a speculative bubble? It’s an episode full of bold takes and sharp insights you won’t want to miss.

Show highlights

🔹 Berachain’s Big Faceplant: Launched with $10B hype, now scraping $2.5B FDV. There are too many VCs and not enough vibes to keep it afloat.

🔹 Memecoin Madness: Celebs faking hacks to rug followers? The dark side of crypto grifts gets exposed.

🔹 Is Ethereum Lost? Once the king of culture, it is now weighed down by L2 sprawl and fading relevance. Has Solana stolen the spotlight?

🔹 Solana’s Winning the Youth Vote: Fast, fun, and flooded with memecoins—exactly what Gen Z craves.

🔹 Peak Memecoin Energy: When the scams get this blatant, are we hitting the top—or just getting started?

🔹 Cramer vs. Meme Lords: Who’s worse for your wallet—a clueless TV pundit or a shameless influencer?

🔹 Regulators, Where You At? Chasing good actors while real frauds run wild. Classic crypto chaos.

Hosts

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate

⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

⭐️Laura Shin, Journalist, Author of ‘The Cryptopians,’ Founder and CEO of Unchained

Disclosures

Timestamps

00:00 Intro
01:53 Berachain Launch and Community Sentiment
05:23 Market Sentiment and Crypto Cycles
18:03 Kanye West Leaks Scam Playbook
32:17 Cramer’s Curse vs. Portnoy’s Pump
39:23 Ethereum & Solana Drama
49:06 Ethereum's Existential Crisis (Again?)

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