Unchained

Latest Episodes:

How This Stablecoin Business in Africa Is Taking on SWIFT and Big Banks - Ep. 722 Oct 22, 2024

Show notes

Africa is quickly becoming one of the most dynamic regions for crypto adoption, but the story unfolding there is very different from what many in the West might imagine.

Chris Maurice, co-founder and CEO of Yellow Card, joins the show to share how stablecoins are already transforming businesses across the continent, solving real-world problems, and taking on SWIFT. Plus, he explains why USDT is the stablecoin of choice there.

He also dives into the long-term economic impact of crypto adoption and explains why anyone serious about business should be paying close attention to Africa.

Show highlights:

What Yellow Card is and the focus on U.S. Dollar stablecoins
The complexities of doing business in Africa
Which African countries have the highest rate of adoption
Chris’s background and his fun story of how he got into working in Africa
How operating a company in Africa is different from other places
Why Yellow Card is currently operating with three stablecoins, and the dominance of USDT
Why Yellow Card only offers centralized stablecoins
Why everyone should pay more attention to the continent, according to Chris

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:

Chris Maurice, cofounder and CEO of Yellow Card

Links

Previous coverage of Unchained on stablecoins and emerging markets:
Anita Posch on Why ‘Bitcoin Is a Tool for Freedom’ – Especially in Africa
6 Stablecoins That Are Driving the Sector’s Two-Year High in Market Capitalization
Castle Island Ventures’ report: Stablecoins: The Emerging Market Story

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro
02:03 What Yellow Card is and why it focuses on U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins
04:31 The complexities of doing business in Africa
10:42 Which African countries have the highest crypto adoption
19:17 How Chris got into working in Africa
25:11 How operating in Africa differs from other regions
32:42 Why USDT dominates Yellow Card’s stablecoin business
38:31 Why Yellow Card only uses centralized stablecoins
39:22 Does Africa deserve more attention?

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What's a Fair Value for Crypto Networks Like BTC, ETH and SOL? - Ep. 721 Oct 18, 2024

Show notes

How do you determine the value of decentralized networks like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Solana? It’s not as straightforward as traditional investments.

Jon Charbonneau, general partner at crypto investment firm DBA, joins Unchained after writing a paper that dives deep into the complexities of valuing blockchain networks. He explains why applying traditional equity models to networks such as Bitcoin falls short, how tax inefficiencies in staking rewards impact valuations, and whether Layer 2 solutions like Optimism and Arbitrum are helping or hurting the long-term value of Layer 1 blockchains.

Also, he looks at the big question—are these networks sustainable in the long run?

Show highlights:

What motivated Jon to write the paper
What the main points of the paper are
Why tax inefficiencies in staking rewards are a critical factor in valuing decentralized networks and how they differ from traditional corporate taxes
What makes valuing networks tricky, as Jon explains how proof-of-work vs. proof-of-stake systems differ from traditional equity models
How he thinks about valuing Layer 2s and whether they are parasitic to the L1
Whether blockchains are sustainable in the long term

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

Jon Charbonneau, co-founder and General Partner at DBA
L1 & L2 Token Value Capture

Links

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro
01:25 What sparked Jon's interest in this topic?
03:35 Key takeaways from the paper
08:30 How staking taxes could change the game
13:46 Why traditional models fail for blockchain
20:10 Are Layer 2s helping or hurting Layer 1s?
26:51 Can blockchains survive long term?
29:20 News Recap

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The Chopping Block: Memecoin Frenzy, Unichain Reaction, & Kamala’s Crypto Agenda - Ep. 720 Oct 16, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner slice into the juiciest topics in crypto. In this episode, the crew dives headfirst into the “Memecoin Supercycle,” sparking a debate on whether these wild, meme-powered coins are just a fleeting obsession or a genuine revolution. They then dissect Uniswap’s bold leap to launch its own chain on the Optimism Superchain, asking if this move could steal the spotlight from Ethereum and forever reshape the DeFi landscape. And just when you think it’s all about tech, they dive into Kamala Harris’ latest crypto play, with an eyebrow-raising appeal to memecoin investors. From soaring hype to DeFi drama and political power moves, this episode is packed with hot takes, spicy predictions, and a glimpse at what might lie ahead in the world of crypto.

Show highlights

🔹 “Memecoin Supercycle” and whether memecoins are on track to overtake traditional altcoins as they fuel a new wave of financial speculation.

🔹 Unichain: Uniswap’s bold move to launch its own chain on the Optimism Superchain, questioning whether this could pull DeFi liquidity away from Ethereum and reshape the crypto ecosystem.

🔹 Kamala Harris’ unexpected crypto appeal in her new “opportunity agenda for Black men,” which includes a vague promise for regulatory protection for digital assets.

🔹 Memecoins vs. VC Coins: Murad’s thesis on memecoins outshining VC-backed tokens sparks a heated debate on whether financial nihilism is driving this trend and what it means for the future of crypto investing.

🔹With the new Unichain possibly diverting DeFi liquidity, the crew ponders whether Ethereum is at risk of losing its dominance as the “home of DeFi.”

Hosts

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate

⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

Disclosures

Timestamps

00:00 Intro
2:10 The Memecoin Supercycle
9:13 VC Coins vs. Memecoins
25:30 Unichain: A New Era for Uniswap
31:51 Token Issuance on Ethereum vs. L2s
35:59 Uniswap's Future and Asset Creation
38:30 Predictions for Unichain's Impact
44:11 Retail Flow and MEV Extraction
53:31 Kamala Harris' Crypto Policy
56:05 Trump vs. Harris

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2 Crypto Investors on Why They Believe DeFi Is Poised for a Bull Run - Ep. 719 Oct 15, 2024

Show notes

DeFi tokens have faced significant challenges in recent years. However, are we now on the verge of a new bull market?

Arthur Cheong, founder and CIO of DeFiance Capital, and Jordi Alexander, founder of Selini Capital and chief alchemist at Mantle, join the show to discuss why they believe DeFi is poised for growth. They dive into how DeFi's security and user experience have improved, the impact of Layer 2 solutions on Ethereum, and whether Ethereum or Solana will drive the next bull run. Plus, they discuss whether interest in memecoins takes attention from DeFi, and why sustainable tokenomics matters when it comes to valuing coins.

Are DeFi tokens finally ready to shine again?

Show highlights:

Why they believe that DeFi is poised for a bull cycle
How DeFi's security and UX have improved
Whether DeFi activity can be sustained in the long term
Why Jordi thinks that Layer 2s are not parasitic to ETH but Arthur thinks they are
Whether the DeFi bull case is stronger on Ethereum, Solana or other chains
Whether the Ethereum Foundation and Vitalik Buterin should be more proactive in supporting DeFi
How memecoins reflect a broader societal problem
The importance of tokens that don’t have big unlocks
How the lack of solid frameworks for valuing tokens might be causing capital misallocation in crypto
Whether a liquid venture investing approach is better for crypto
Why Jordi says that there’s a lot of “potential to unlock” with the overlap of Bitcoin and DeFi

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:

Arthur Cheong, founder and CIO of DeFiance Capital
Aave, the Core Pillar of Decentralized Finance and Onchain Economy
Liquid Venture Investing in Crypto
Jordi Alexander, Chief Alchemist at Mantle, Founder of Selini Capital

Links

Previous coverage of Unchained on this cycle & DeFi :Has Decentralized Finance Hit Bottom?
Kain Warwick’s tweet on Vitalik being anti-DeFi
Cointelegraph: Vitalik Buterin responds to criticism that Ethereum ‘doesn’t care’ about DeFi
The great return of DeFi, by @tradetheflow

Bitcoin DeFi

L2s and ETH:

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FTX's Ryan Salame Is Going to Prison. Here’s What He Has to Say - Ep. 718 Oct 11, 2024

Show notes

Ryan Salame, the former CEO of FTX Digital Markets, is headed to prison, but not before sharing his side of the story. Ryan talks candidly about the decisions he made at FTX, why he withdrew millions of dollars worth of assets in the days leading up to its bankruptcy, and the backstory behind the Thai prostitute trading scheme to unfreeze Alameda’s funds in China. He also disputes the claims about his campaign finance violations, while explaining why he thinks Caroline Ellison is “at least as guilty as SBF” and that Nishad Singh lied.

Show highlights:

Ryan’s life pre-FTX and how he got into crypto
His three attempts to quit working at FTX
How Ryan committed campaign finance violations
Why Ryan disputes claims that FTX misled banks and misused customer funds
How Ryan was involved in setting up trading accounts with the identities of Thai prostitutes to unfreeze Alameda’s funds
Whether Ryan was involved in bribing a Chinese official
Why he withdrew millions of dollars worth of assets from his FTX accounts right before its bankruptcy
Why Ryan claims he was cooperative with prosecutors, despite common belief
How he refuses to comment on his wife Michelle Bond's case, but denies wrongdoing
Why Ryan pleaded the Fifth Amendment
His allegations that prosecutors lied to his lawyers about whether they would pursue charges against Michelle
Why he thinks that SBF could have never coerced Caroline Ellison and whether Ellison is “equally guilty” as SBF
Why Ryan believes Nishad Singh lied to save himself and his take on Gary Wang
How, if he didn’t know about the fraud, he could be so certain that Caroline or Nishad lied
Whether the legal advice from FTX’s and Alameda’s lawyers should have been considered in Bankman-Fried's trial
Whether testimony from more employees could have created reasonable doubt in SBF's trial
Why Ryan is going to law school
His plans post-prison
What Ryan learned from the FTX debacle

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:

Ryan Salame, former CEO of FTX Digital Markets

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The Chopping Block w/ Stani Kulechov: Operation Chokepoint 2.0, Ethereum Innovation Push, & Polymarket Whales - Ep. 717 Oct 10, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and special guest Stani Kulechov chop it up about the latest in crypto. In this episode, the crew dives into the latest speculation about Satoshi Nakamoto, spurred by the just-released HBO documentary. They also discuss Ethereum’s big debate over block times and blob storage expansion, exploring whether these changes can keep Ethereum competitive. The conversation gets heated with talk of a Trump whale on PolyMarket, Operation Chokepoint 2.0, and TikTok’s role in onboarding memecoin buyers. Don’t miss this episode packed with crypto conspiracies, performance debates, and insider gossip!

Show highlights

🔹 Who is Satoshi? Speculation about the HBO documentary “Money Electric” possibly revealing Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity.

🔹 Trump Betting Whale on PolyMarket: Discussion about a large whale accumulating Trump shares in Polymarket and addresses conspiracy theories.

🔹 MEV Reduction Through Shorter Block Times: Reducing Ethereum’s block times from 12 seconds to 8 seconds could decrease MEV by making arbitrage harder, with potential UX and cost improvements for Ethereum.

🔹 Blob Space Expansion: Increasing Ethereum’s blob storage for rollups might prevent alternative data availability layers like Celestia from gaining ground, raising whether more blob space is necessary.

🔹 Operation Chokepoint 2.0: New revelations suggest that regulators, possibly spurred by Elizabeth Warren, pressured banks to unbank crypto firms without formal rulemaking, with Tom calling it “shocking” how accurate initial speculations were.

🔹 Ethereum’s Future Performance Debate: Stani suggests Ethereum should continue to innovate and improve Layer 1 performance, advocating for faster block times and more radical changes to maintain its competitive edge.

🔹 DeFi Market Dynamics: The panel dives into how competitive decentralized finance platforms like Aave and Compound maintain resilience in an ever-evolving landscape, with Stani commending Robert’s contributions to the space.

Hosts

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

Guest:

⭐️ Stani Kulechov, Founder & CEO Avara

Disclosures

Timestamps

00:00 Intro
01:09 Mainnet Conference Recap
05:39 HBO & Satoshi Nakamoto
12:55 Election Betting
21:24 World Liberty Financial
31:54 Operation Chokepoint 2.0 Exposed
39:44 Challenges in Crypto Disclosures
50:18 Ethereum's Potential Upgrades
1:03:59 Future of Avara

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Bits + Bips: Why ‘All Assets Will Go Up’ in the Near Future - Ep. 716 Oct 09, 2024

Show notes

As the PBOC and Fed shift their stances on rates and liquidity flows, the macro landscape is evolving rapidly. In this episode of Bits + Bips, we unpack how these policy changes could spark a massive surge across all asset classes—from equities and bonds to Bitcoin and crude oil.

The hosts, joined by Nikos Kargadouris, a seasoned trader, discuss why liquidity is about to flood the markets, why fears of a U.S. recession may be overblown, and how even memecoins could benefit.

Plus, are central banks close to buying bitcoin ETFs?

Show highlights:

How the PBOC's shift in policies impacted the markets and when we’ll see a “bazooka”
How market complacency and short positions on oil amid geopolitical tensions could lead to mispricing and unexpected volatility
How rising crude oil prices could slow the U.S. economy, despite the country being a net oil exporter
How strong payrolls data reduced market expectations of U.S. rate cuts
Why predictions of a U.S. recession might be off
Whether it matters for crypto who wins the elections
The chances of central banks adopting Bitcoin
What the outlook for memecoins looks like in the next months
Whether the HBO documentary about the identify of Satoshi Nakamoto will be a disappointment

Sponsors:

Hosts:

James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence
Alex Kruger, Founder of Asgard
Joe McCann, Founder, CEO, and CIO of Asymmetric

Guest:

Nikos Kargadouris, Chief Investment Officer of a private investment office specializing in cross-asset thematic macro and digital asset strategies.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro
02:09 Impact of the PBOC’s policy shift and timing of the “bazooka”
15:01 Oil mispricing and volatility due to geopolitical tensions
27:30 Rising oil prices and potential U.S. economic slowdown
35:51 Strong payrolls reducing expectations for U.S. rate cuts
44:11 Why U.S. recession predictions might be wrong
50:10 Can prediction markets reflect U.S. election outcomes?
56:05 Does the election winner matter for crypto?
1:04:43 Memecoin outlook for the next months
1:15:34 Will the HBO documentary disappoint?

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How North Koreans Infiltrated the Crypto Industry to Fund the Regime - Ep. 715 Oct 08, 2024

Show notes

The crypto community is facing a new kind of threat—North Korean devs are infiltrating crypto companies to steal millions and funnel funds back to the regime in order to bypass sanctions.

In this episode, Sam Kessler, CoinDesk’s deputy managing editor for tech and protocols, and Taylor Monahan, security at MetaMask, explain how North Korea has embedded its operatives into the crypto space, the red flags companies should watch for, and what these hackers are doing once inside crypto firms.

Plus, they share their most interesting stories about how these hackers have gotten hired at crypto companies and the red flags the industry should know about.

Show highlights:

What Sam found in his investigation about North Koreans infiltrating the industry
How Taylor has found that this is a recurring issue
Why Sam and Taylor refer to these infiltrated workers as ‘IT’ workers
The most interesting stories that Sam and Taylor have discovered
The trends in the hiring process that lead to North Koreans being hired and also what the big red flags are
How “easy it is to de-anonymize” addresses and transactions in blockchains
What assets and networks these workers often use to get paid
How, after infiltrating a company, those projects get hacked
How to deal with a situation in which you’ve already hired North Koreans
How to protect a protocol from another type of North Korean hack: by hacking groups
Whether the industry is getting better at security

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:

Sam Kessler, CoinDesk's deputy managing editor for tech and protocols
CoinDesk: How North Korea Infiltrated the Crypto Industry
Taylor Monahan, Co-Founder of MyEtherWallet
Previous appearances on Unchained:
The QuadrigaCX Case: Taylor Monahan on What We Know From the Blockchain
MyCrypto's Taylor Monahan on Why She's Not a Fan of ICOs

Links

Previous coverage of Unchained on North Korea:
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

Others:

DL News: North Korean hackers are infiltrating crypto job boards in a ‘quiet war’ that rakes in $600m
FBI PSA: North Korea Aggressively Targeting Crypto Industry with Well-Disguised Social Engineering Attacks
Chainalysis:
2024 Crypto Crime Mid-year Update Part 1: Cybercrime Climbs as Exchange Thieves and Ransomware Attackers Grow Bolder
Funds Stolen from Crypto Platforms Fall More Than 50% in 2023, but Hacking Remains a Significant Threat as Number of Incidents Rises
Russian and North Korean Cyberattack Infrastructure Converge: New Hacking Data Raises National Security Concerns
ZachXBT: How Lazarus Group laundered $200M from 25+ crypto hacks to fiat from 2020–2023

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro
01:59 Sam's findings on North Korean workers infiltrating crypto projects
04:04 Taylor on the recurring nature of the issue
09:05 Why they’re referred to as ‘IT’ workers
16:17 Most interesting infiltration stories
34:16 Hiring trends and red flags for North Korean operatives
44:02 How easy it is to de-anonymize blockchain transactions
51:05 Assets and networks used for payment
54:06 How infiltrated companies end up getting hacked
58:36 What to do if you've already hired North Korean operatives
1:00:21 How to protect a protocol from being hacked
1:06:22 Is the industry improving in security?

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The Chopping Block: EigenLayer Launch, Celestia Controversy, and Ethereum’s Future - Ep. 714 Oct 06, 2024

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 dives into Ethereum’s homestaking crisis and its growing competition from high-throughput chains like Solana. They tackle the explosive drama between EigenLayer and Celestia, including the controversial $82 million token sale by VCs. The discussion also covers Ethereum's future, staking rewards, and how restaking could boost its long-term value. Tune in for a deep dive into the challenges and ethical debates shaping the blockchain space right now!

Show highlights

🔹 Total Fees in DA: Data availability (DA) layers generate relatively low fees compared to other blockchain networks.

🔹 EigenLayer Token Launch: EigenLayer launched at a $6 billion valuation, sparking drama with Celestia over DA performance.

🔹 VC Staking Practices: Polychain sold $82 million in Celestia staking rewards, raising ethical concerns about token vesting practices.

🔹 Ethereum Homestaking Debate: Ethereum’s focus on homestaking is being questioned as it faces competition from faster, high-throughput chains.

🔹 Ethereum vs. Solana: Ethereum is urged to take growing competition from Solana seriously to maintain its market dominance.

🔹 Restaking for Monetary Premium: Restaking in EigenLayer could significantly boost Ethereum’s value and long-term sustainability.

🔹 Staking Rewards and Inflation: Staking rewards protect investors but can lead to ethical issues with inflation mechanics.

🔹 Scaling Ethereum: Critics suggest Ethereum should increase bandwidth and capital requirements to enhance scalability and performance.

Hosts

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate

⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

Disclosures

Links

Disclosures Related to Employee and Investor Staking by EigenLayer https://docs.eigenlayer.xyz/eigenlayer/information-and-transparency/disclosures

“Polychain invested around $20mil in the Series A&B round of Celestia and have already sold over $82 million worth of $TIA just from staking rewards” by @gtx360ti

https://x.com/gtx360ti/status/1839553081773560045

“I think there's a sane version of this where we recognize that 32 ETH is much more of a barrier than bandwidth reqs” by @VitalikButerin

https://x.com/VitalikButerin/status/1841756178692358587

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Bitcoin's Price Dropped After Iran's Attack on Israel. Is ‘Uptober’ Canceled? - Ep. 713 Oct 04, 2024

Show notes

October started with hopes for “Uptober”—a positive price trajectory in October—in the Bitcoin community, since, historically, Bitcoin has performed well this month. But things took a turn when geopolitical tensions in the Middle East escalated, raising concerns about how that could affect Bitcoin’s price this month.

In this episode, André Dragosch, European Head of Research at Bitwise, talks about how Bitcoin typically responds to geopolitical shocks, whether this could present a buying opportunity, and how major events like the U.S. elections might shape Bitcoin’s future.

Show highlights:

How Bitcoin’s reacted to the geopolitical escalations
Why André believes this is a buying opportunity
How there was a macro capitulation after the beginning of the unwind of the Japan carry trade in August
Whether Bitcoin can truly act as a safe haven asset
How the clientele of ETFs have changed the market structure for Bitcoin
Whether ‘Uptober’ is canceled
How Andre expects Bitcoin will perform depending on the winner of the U.S. elections

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

André Dragosch, European Head of Research at Bitwise
Bitcoin as a Safe-Haven: Hedging Against Geopolitical Risks

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