Unchained

Latest Episodes:

Why Many Democrats, Including the White House, Have Come Around on Crypto - Ep. 652 May 28, 2024

Show notes

Sheila Warren, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, joins Unchained to explore the dramatic shift by Democrats in the last few weeks on crypto. She explains why she believes the overturning of SAB 121 and the House vote for the FIT21 bill were both instrumental to the White House's changing view on crypto and may have played a role in the SEC’s surprising approval of spot ETH ETFs.

Having worked for years on passing crypto legislation and as a lifelong Democrat, Sheila describes what kinds of arguments were persuasive to Democratic members of Congress, addresses some criticisms of the FIT21 bill, and gives her perspective on the debate about single-issue voters.

Show highlights:

The overall attitude toward crypto in Washington going into the House vote on SAB 121 on May 8
The bipartisan votes in the House and Senate to overturn SAB 121
Why, by the time of the Senate vote on FIT21, the White House had had a change of heart about crypto
Why, after the Senate vote to repeal SAB 121, the SEC approved the spot ETH ETFs
Why Sheila is so proud of the passage in the House of the FIT21 bill
How Sheila and CCI approached their discussions with Democrats and what arguments they found effective
Whether the industry has survived the negative image of SBF and FTX
The sea change in the White House between the SAB 121 vote and the FIT21 vote
A high-level description of the FIT21 bill
What kind of authority the bill would give the CFTC over crypto
What the implications of the bill are for launching tokens
FIT21’s approach to regulating DeFi and how the FIT21 bill is "kicking the can" on this topic
The overall political and legislation landscape and the next likely steps for crypto
Whether the ETF approval changes anything about the SEC’s investigation into Ethereum
What Sheila thinks about the 'crypto single-issue voter’ debate

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:

Sheila Warren, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation
Previous appearance on Unchained: Did FTX Ruin Crypto’s Image on Capitol Hill? Two DC Insiders Discuss

Links

Previous coverage on Unchained of the recent shift in the US political landscape:
Senator Cynthia Lummis on Why Crypto Now Has Bipartisan Support in Congress
Bits + Bips: Is US Politics Driving the ETH ETF Approval?
Why Spot Ether ETFs Are Now Likely to Be Approved on Thursday

SAB 121

Bloomberg: As Bitcoin Rallies, Banks Are Pushing US Regulators to Change Crypto Guidance

FIT21

CCI: FIT21 Coalition Support Letter
Unchained: FIT21 Bill Heads to The Senate: Should We Really Be Excited?
Sheila’s op-ed on Fortune: The clock is ticking for Democrats on crypto

Spot Ether ETFs

Unchained: Analysts Up Odds of Spot Ether ETF to 75% as Prometheum Launches Product That Treats ETH as a Security

Ethereum Foundation investigation

Fortune Crypto: SEC probing crypto companies in Ethereum investigation as hopes for ETF dim

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Senator Cynthia Lummis on Why Crypto Now Has Bipartisan Support in Congress - Ep. 651 May 24, 2024

Show notes

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

With crypto becoming more politicized than ever, US Senator from Wyoming Cynthia Lummis came on Unchained to talk about the recent regulatory action in Washington DC.

With crypto becoming more politicized than ever, U.S. Senator from Wyoming Cynthia Lummis came on Unchained to talk about the recent regulatory action in Washington, D.C.

She delves into what led to bipartisan support to repeal SAB 121, and how the strength of the vote there in both the House and Senate may have affected the about-face decision to approve spot ether ETFs. Sen. Lummis also explains why she disagrees with how Gary Gensler’s SEC is handling the industry, how to avoid the next TerraUSD, why she feels Wyoming-chartered Custodia Bank is not being treated fairly, the ban on a Chinese-owned, Wyoming-based Bitcoin mining firm, and what advice she would give to the crypto industry during this election year.

Show highlights:

Why the SAB 121 approval was bipartisan
Whether President Biden will veto the resolution
How it's a "mystery" to Sen. Lummis why the SEC had a change of heart about Ether ETFs
How the SEC's approach to regulating the industry "is not the American way"
Whether there is a bipartisan majority in favor of crypto in Congress
How bitcoin has come a long way in terms of adoption
Sen. Lummis' thoughts on how to regulate the stablecoin industry and avoid a Terra Luna situation
The differences between the Lummis-Gillibrand bill and FIT21
How Sen. Lummis feels about the denial of a master account for Custodia Bank
Whether there's a move against Bitcoin mining companies in the US, given the recent ban of an operation in Wyoming
What Sen. Lummis would advise for the industry to accomplish its goals

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

Senator Cynthia Lummis on Why Crypto Now Has Bipartisan Support in Congress - Ep. 651, U.S. Senator from Wyoming

Links

Ether ETFs

SAB 121

Bloomberg: As Bitcoin Rallies, Banks Are Pushing US Regulators to Change Crypto Guidance

FIT21:

Unchained: FIT21 Bill Heads to The Senate: Should We Really Be Excited?

Open cases:

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction
(02:53) Why the SAB 121 approval was bipartisan
(04:52) Whether President Biden will veto the resolution
(08:40) How it's a "mystery" to Sen. Lummis why the SEC had a change of heart about Ether ETFs
(13:23) Why Senator Lummis believes there is a bipartisan majority in favor of crypto in Congress
(20:19) Sen. Lummis' thoughts on how to regulate the stablecoin industry and avoid a Terra Luna situation
(23:55) The differences between the Lummis-Gillibrand bill and FIT21
(28:59) How Sen. Lummis feels about the denial of a master account for Wyoming-special purpose depository institution Custodia Bank
(30:20) What she thinks about the Biden administration’s ban against a Wyoming-based, Chinese-owned Bitcoin mining company near a nuclear site
(33:44) What Sen. Lummis would advise for the industry to accomplish its goals
(35:04) Weekly Recap

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The Chopping Block: Response to SAB-121, ETH ETF, & More - Ep. 650 May 23, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Robert Leshner, and Tarun Chitra explore the latest trends in crypto. This episode covers the anticipated Ether ETF Approval and its market impact, Biden's evolving crypto policy, and the bipartisan repeal of SAB-121. We debate the controversy around High FDV Low Float Tokens and discuss the DOJ indictment for a $25 million MEV exploit. Tune in for insights on memecoin performance, the role of prediction markets in politics, and the increasing participation of retail investors in the crypto market.

Show highlights

🔹 Crypto Regulation: In-depth discussion on SEC Crypto Guidance, focusing on SAB-121 and its implications for the crypto and banking sectors.

🔹 Ethereum ETF News: Examination of the anticipated Ether ETF Approval, the political motivations behind it, and potential market implications.

🔹 Biden Administration Crypto Stance: Analysis of Biden's evolving crypto policy, bipartisan repeal of SAB-121, and how these shifts might affect the upcoming elections.

🔹 High FDV Low Float Tokens: Debate on the controversy surrounding high FDV low float tokens, recent market downturns, and potential market structure issues.

🔹 MEV Exploit DOJ: Overview of the DOJ indictment of two brothers for a $25 million MEV exploit, exploring the legal and ethical implications.

🔹 Memecoin Performance: Insights into current market trends, including the performance of memecoins versus VC-backed tokens, and predictions on future regulatory impacts.

🔹 Prediction Markets in Politics: Exploration of how prediction markets are influencing political stances, particularly Trump's pro-crypto stance and its effects on voter behavior.

🔹 Impact of Regulation on Crypto: Discussion on the increased participation of retail investors in the crypto market and its broader implications.

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

Haseeb’s “Why are all these low float / high FDV coins down bad?” https://x.com/hosseeb/status/1792257063399403669

Two Brothers Arrested for Attacking Ethereum Blockchain and Stealing $25M in Cryptocurrency:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-brothers-arrested-attacking-ethereum-blockchain-and-stealing-25m-cryptocurrency

Tarun’s Towards a Theory of Maximal Extractable Value I: Constant Function Market Makers:

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2207.11835

Timestamps

(00:00) - Intro

(2:20) - Congressional Response to SAB-121

(12:05) - Are memecoiners activists?

(16:09) - Crypto is a new wedge issue

(19:03) - ETH ETF & Regulation softening

(22:23) - Prediction markets steering politics

(30:22) - Being anti-crypto is stupid

(35:38) - "High FDV, Low Float" tokens

(40:16) - Market structure problems

(49:14) - Market price is not sustainable

(55:38) - DOJ vs. MEV Bot Exploit

(1:01:45) - Crypto-on-crypto crime

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Bits + Bips: Is US Politics Driving the ETH ETF Approval? - Ep. 649 May 21, 2024

Show notes

With ETH spot ETFs now more likely than ever, Bits + Bips hosts James Seyffart, Alex Kruger, and Joe McCann delve into the reasons behind this shift, surmising that the reversal may have come from powers above the SEC—perhaps in the Biden administration.

The three hosts surmise that ETH will likely reach all-time highs, discuss how this changes their election trading strategy and ponder where there is enough institutional demand for ether ETFs. They also look at whether the potential approval could sway the US elections.

Plus, they share insights into stablecoins and how they strengthen the US’s political power globally, dive into the debate on low float/high FDV coins, and also take a peek at what they think could be the potential next crypto spot ETF.

Show highlights:

Why the chances of an ETH ETF suddenly reversed
What the "Coinbase premium" is and how Joe uses it for trading
Why Alex believes that ETH is heading to all-time highs
Whether there's institutional demand for spot ether ETFs
The political pressure that led to this change
Whether the ETH ETF will change the course of the US elections
The broader macroeconomics conditions and how Alex thinks to trade the US elections
How US dollar-pegged stablecoins promote USD hegemony
The debate about high FDV, low float coins, and whether there is a solution
Whether new crypto spot ETFs will be approved

Hosts:

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

Links

Ether ETF approval:

High FDV, low float coins:

Unchained: Who’s to Blame for the Underperformance of Low Float, High FDV Tokens?

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro
(01:40) Why the chances of an ETH ETF suddenly reversed
(09:13) Why Alex believes that ETH is heading to all time highs
(11:22) Whether there's institutional demand for ether
(16:46) The political pressure that led to this change
(28:46) The broader macroeconomics conditions and how Alex thinks he’ll trade the US elections
(35:51) How US dollar-pegged stablecoins promote USD hegemony and mirror the Eurodollars market
(40:01) The debate about high FDV, low float coins, and whether there is a solution
(49:52) Whether there are going to be new crypto spot ETFs being approved

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Why Spot Ether ETFs Are Now Likely to Be Approved on Thursday - Ep. 648 May 21, 2024

Show notes

Just when everyone thought that spot Ether ETFs were going to be denied on Thursday, news broke Monday that they are now likely to be approved, with Bloomberg analysts tripling their odds to a 75% chance of approval.

Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, and Matt Hougan, CIO at Bitwise Asset Management, say this reversal definitely has to do with politics, citing the fight of Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, a rule that was unfriendly to financial institutions wanting to engage with crypto.

Plus, they delve into the reasons why Michael Sonnenshein stepped down as CEO of Grayscale after 10 years (hint: it has to do with GBTC), what the 13F filings revealed about who’s been buying the spot bitcoin ETFs since the beginning of the year, and what Vanguard’s incoming CEO, Salim Ramji, who was instrumental to getting BlackRock to launch its Bitcoin ETF, could mean for crypto’s future at the asset management firm.

Show highlights:

Why Eric believes the ether ETFs will be approved
Why Matt thinks the Bitcoin ETFs set off a "complete sea change in Washington around crypto"
Whether the spot Ether ETFs will be approved with or without staking
Who the authorized participants and other behind-the-scenes players in the ether ETFs will be
When the ETH ETFs could start trading and why Eric believes they won't be as successful as Bitcoin ETFs
What the 13F filings revealed about the spot Bitcoin ETFs buyers and why their identities are "stunning"
Why Michael Sonnenshein stepped down as CEO of Grayscale
Grayscale’s new mini ETF, BTC
Whether Vanguard's new CEO appointment could mean a change in attitude by the asset management firm towards crypto
What a buffered ETF is and why they could be significant
Matt's prediction for the BTC price
Their outlook on the future of ETFs and developments in the space

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:

Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise Asset Management
Previous appearances on Unchained:
How Small Bitcoin ETF Issuers Will Compete With the Likes of BlackRock
Why a Spot Bitcoin ETF Will Probably Launch No Later Than January 10
Eric Balchunas, Senior ETF Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence
Previous appearances on Unchained:
How, in 7 Weeks, Bitcoin ETFs Reached Inflows That Took Gold ETFs 3 Years
Why Spot Bitcoin ETFs Are Likely to Finally Start Trading on Thursday
Will a Spot Bitcoin ETF Finally Get Approved?

Links

Ether ETFs

SAB 121

13F Filings

Unchained: Large Institutions Betting Big on Bitcoin ETFs Revealed in SEC Filings

Leadership changes

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Why the DOJ Doesn’t Want These MEV Exploiters to Get Away With It - Ep. 647 May 17, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Evan Zinaman, founder and principal at Trailbreak, delves into the first-of-its-kind case of the Bueno brothers, who face Department of Justice charges for exploiting Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) in a cryptocurrency scheme. Accused of manipulating transaction ordering to create an arbitrage opportunity, the brothers are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud as well as wire fraud itself.

Zinaman explores the broader implications of MEV exploitation, addresses critics who say that the MEV exploiters just got a taste of their own medicine, and the need for block building participants to consider their legal and compliance responsibilities.

Show highlights:

What the charges against the Bueno brothers are about
How block building works on Ethereum and how the relay was manipulated by the Bueno brothers
The different types of MEV and which ones are acceptable
Why these charges could be seen as a "vanilla fraud," according to Evan
Whether the benefits of MEV outweigh the cons of it
The lack of terms of service in the MEV space
How the regulators' attention to the space has changed over time

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

First Bits + Bips episode: Bits + Bips: Does Macroeconomics Point to a Potential Crypto Supercycle?

Thank you to our sponsors!

Guest

Evan Zinaman, Founder & Principal at Trailbreak
Where the Rubber Meets the Road: A MEV-Aware, Functionalist Review of OFAC Risk "on the Base Layer"

Links

The Case:

Unchained: DOJ Alleges Two Brothers Stole $25 Million From MEV Bots Last Year

Research:

Blockchain Transaction Ordering as Market Manipulation by Mikolaj et al

Learn more:

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The Chopping Block: Crypto in US Politics & Roaring Kitty is back! - Ep. 646 May 16, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Robert Leshner, and special guest Laura Shin explore the latest trends in the crypto world. In this episode, we touch on how Donald Trump's pro-crypto statements influence voter behavior in the upcoming U.S. elections. We ask ourselves, is voting based solely on crypto policy a legitimate strategy? What are the implications of the Biden administration's stance on crypto regulations for future electoral outcomes? Following the political discussion, we unpack the recent GameStop and AMC pump and dissect the viability of their business models. We bring to light the broader implications for memestocks and whether the increased capital really saves these companies. Tune in for a detailed exploration of these critical questions affecting the interplay of politics, finance, and cryptocurrency.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Show highlights

🔹 Crypto's Role in U.S. Politics: Trump's pro-crypto stance at a recent gala and its potential implications for voter behavior are examined.

🔹 Single Issue Voting on Crypto: The legitimacy of voting based solely on crypto policy is debated, with insights into how this could impact the political landscape.

🔹 Opinions on Financial Regulations: The various aspects of financial regulation, including the Biden's administration's stance on crypto, and predictions on how this might influence future electoral outcomes.

🔹 Roaring Kitty’s resurgence and its impact on GameStop's stock prices are discussed, analyzing the ongoing influence of meme stocks in the market.

🔹 Retail's Impact on Financial Markets and the broader implications of retail investment behaviors.

Hosts

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate

⭐️Laura Shin, journalist, author of ‘The Cryptopians,’ founder and CEO of Unchained

Disclosures

Links

Blockworks article: https://blockworks.co/news/only-a-fool-would-vote-on-crypto-alone

Trump’s 2019 Tweet: https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1149472282584072192

SAB121: https://financialservices.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=409250

Roaring Kitty Tweet: https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1789807772542067105

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Erik Voorhees' New Venture: Why AI Desperately Needs Privacy and Uncensorability - Ep. 645 May 14, 2024

Show notes

Erik Voorhees, a crypto OG, has launched Venice, a private, uncensorable, open-source competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claude, powered by a decentralized crypto network.

In the episode, Erik and Venice’s COO Teana Baker-Taylor delve into the problems with censorship and data in current AI agents, including how they create honeypots of information about users’ search history for hackers, or that they can be absurdly politically correct, such as refusing to create images of Caucasian people. As they point out, there’s also the risk that the companies managing them could be censoring the models to please the Chinese government, in order to access the market in that country. They talk about their plan for Venice to gain market share, considering that DuckDuckGo, a privacy-preserving competitor to Google, has a much smaller market share. And they explain why they intend for Venice to eventually use the compute of Morpheus, or other decentralized crypto-powered compute networks.

They also critique the SEC’s current regulatory approach to crypto, calling it “a joke.” Additionally, they explore the concept of AI agents using cryptocurrencies as their primary currency.

Show highlights:

Why Erik decided to move into artificial intelligence and merge it with crypto
What problems decentralized AI would solve and why it's hard to solve sexist and racist views in LLMs
The differences between ChatGPT and other similar products and Venice AI
Why privacy is so important for users, according to Erik, and how Venice doesn't store the users' information
How central governments could manipulate information to their own benefit and how to avoid it
Whether people will shift from using search engines to LLMs
What Morpheus is and its goal to provide decentralized computation for AI
How Erik and Teana believe crypto and AI will continue to work together
Erik's and Teana's thoughts on some of the recent government actions against founders of crypto privacy services such as Samourai Wallet andTornado Cash
Why Erik believes that the SEC has become a joke

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

First Bits + Bips episode: Bits + Bips: Does Macroeconomics Point to a Potential Crypto Supercycle?

Thank you to our sponsors!

Guests:

Erik Voorhees, Founder and CEO of Venice AI
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Erik Voorhees and Cobie on Why FTX Loaned Out Customers’ Assets
Why ShapeShift’s Erik Voorhees Thinks Toxic Bitcoin Maximalism Is Bullshit
Shapeshift’s Erik Voorhees on How Crypto Will Separate Money and State
Teana Baker-Taylor, COO at Venice AI

Links

Previous coverage on Unchained of crypto/AI:

Venice AI:

Erik’s thread announcing Venice
The Separation of Mind and State

Architecture:

About Morpheus.Network
Messari: What is Akash Network?

LLMs:

MIT Technology Review: LLMs become more covertly racist with human intervention
China Talk: Censorship’s Impact on China’s Chatbots - by Nicholas Welch

Recent cases on privacy:

CoinDesk: Samourai Wallet Founders Arrested and Charged With Money Laundering
Cointelegraph: DOJ’s Tornado Cash arguments show ‘obvious disdain for privacy’ — Lawyer
CNBC: North Korea crypto hacking activity soars to record high in 2023, new report shows
Reuters: Exclusive: UN experts investigate 58 cyberattacks worth $3 bln by North Korea
Erik’s post on the right to have privacy

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The Chopping Block: EigenLayer Airdrop, LayerZero's Sybil Strategy, and Robinhood vs. SEC – What’s Shaping Crypto’s Future? - Ep. 644 May 10, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and special guest Avichal Garg from Electric Capital dissect the latest trends in the crypto world. This episode dives deep into the buzz around EigenLayer’s airdrop: What sparked the controversy and how did EigenLayer respond to community backlash? We then explore LayerZero’s unique self-reporting strategy to combat Sybil farmers and analyze Friend.Tech’s bold, no-VC token launch. The discussion heats up with a look at ConsenSys’ proactive lawsuit against the SEC, setting the stage for a showdown over regulatory clarity. We also delve into Robinhood’s decision to challenge the SEC’s Wells Notice amidst soaring earnings, and tackle the ongoing debate between VC-backed tokens and memecoins: Which is captivating the market? Finally, we predict the future of SocialFi and its potential to revolutionize the crypto landscape. Join us for an insightful exploration of these pivotal topics shaping the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Show highlights

🔹 Breaking down the EigenLayer airdrop controversy and its impact on the community.

🔹 Exploring LayerZero's self-reporting mechanism to combat Sybil attacks.

🔹 Assessing Fantasy Top's growth and its significance in the NFT trading landscape.

🔹 Predicting the trajectory of SocialFi and its potential to reshape the crypto landscape.

🔹 Detailing Consensys’ proactive lawsuit against the SEC over regulatory clarity.

🔹 Robinhood's SEC Challenge and analyzing Robinhood's decision to fight the SEC’s Wells Notice amid record earnings.

🔹 VC Coins vs. Memecoins: Exploring the ongoing debate about the dominance and appeal of VC-backed tokens versus memecoins.

🔹 The Future of SocialFi: Predicting the trajectory of SocialFi and its potential to reshape the crypto landscape.

Hosts

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

Guest

⭐️ Avichal Garg, Co-Founder and General Partner at Electric Capital.

Disclosures

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How the Top One-Third of FTX Creditors Are Boosting the Payouts for Everyone Else - Ep. 643 May 10, 2024

Show notes

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

Thomas Braziel, managing partner at 117 Partners, dives into the draft FTX bankruptcy plan, which was praised for paying out at more than 100% in dollar terms, but has a number of intricacies that are drawing criticisms from creditors—including a group that is urging creditors to vote not.

The episode delves into the nuances of the proposed payout, explaining how the estate was able to pay back more than 100% than the dollar value of the claims, why some creditors are being pitted against each other, and why it might get approved even “over the kicking and screaming” of some creditors.

Braziel gives his insights into the the rapid formation of this plan, the controversial role of Sullivan and Cromwell, and the logistical challenges posed by what may end up being paper check payouts.

Show highlights:

Why the plan that was filed this week is such big news
How it was never even possible for creditors to be made whole in crypto asset terms
How the majority of depositors actually had stablecoins on the FTX platform
Why there are “inter-creditor” disputes
What a "cramdown" is and why it's significant in this case
Criticisms of the plan, and why larger investors, especially with crypto holdings, are having their gains socialized
Whether the FTX estate made mistakes by selling some of its positions before they 10x’ed
Why FTX didn't reboot its platform
What conflicts of interest might arise from law firm Sullivan and Cromwell
The tax implications for creditors who are non-US taxpayers
How the claims are going to be distributed
Whether the creditors will favor the proposal and the next steps

Thank you to our sponsors!

Guest

Thomas Braziel, Managing Partner at 117 Partners
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Why FTX Might Try to Claw Back Funds From Retail Customers
Will FTX Reboot? Here’s John Ray’s Internal Deadline for Making a Decision
Will FTX Customers Ever Recover Their Assets? Two Insolvency Experts Weigh In
Will Celsius Survive the Bankruptcy Process?
How Crypto Bankruptcy Claims Buyers Will Profit From the Collapse of FTX

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