Jeremy Rubin, a Bitcoin Core contributor and founder of Judica, a Bitcoin R&amp;D Lab, joins Unchained from the Miami Bitcoin Conference (2021) to discuss all things Taproot. Show highlights:  a general update on the Miami Bitcoin Conference&nbsp; what Taproot will do for the Bitcoin network how Taproot will make Bitcoin transactions more private what effect Taproot might have on on-chain analytics companies what parts of Bitcoin transactions will be public if/when Taproot goes live what new wallet features Taproot will unlock for Bitcoin how Bitcoin vaults might work a user-friendly definition of MASTs (Merklized Abstract Syntax Tree) how Taproot signaling works when/if Taproot will lock-in why network updates strain the relationship between miners and users  &nbsp; Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: &nbsp; Tezos: &nbsp; NEAR: &nbsp; &nbsp; Episode Links:&nbsp; Jeremy Rubin  Twitter: &nbsp; Judica: &nbsp; Personal website: &nbsp;  &nbsp; Taproot  Signaling status of Taproot: &nbsp; Bitcoin Magazine on Taproot: &nbsp; Why Taproot matters: &nbsp; Marathon lifts block mining censorship: &nbsp;  MASTs:

Unconfirmed: How Taproot Could Improve Bitcoin -- If It Gets Adopted - Ep.243

Fereshteh Forough is the founder and CEO of Code to Inspire, a coding school for girls in Afghanistan. She discusses her background as a refugee, how she uses crypto to fund the school and pay students, and how the US military’s departure has affected student life. Topics include:  Fereshteh’s journey from refugee to computer science professor to founder and CEO of Code to Inspire what Code to Inspire offers to young Afghan women and what risks they take by getting an education how Code to Inspire success stories are changing the attitudes of student’s families and communities the importance of Afghan Hero Girl, a video game created by Code to Inspire students why crypto payments are a better alternative to PayPal and Western Union for Code to Inspire and its students how Code to Inspire and its students exchange crypto to fiat what the perception of crypto is in Afghanistan how the Taliban is stifling the education of women and how Code to Inspire is attempting to continue its curriculum how crypto companies can offer assistance to Code to Inspire what features and products Fereshteh thinks would the crypto industry actually bank the unbanked how listeners can help Code to Inspire and where to find more information on Fereshteh    Thank you to our sponsors! &nbsp; Ledger: ​&nbsp; Crypto.com: &nbsp;&nbsp; Digital Asset Research: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Episode Links &nbsp; Fereshteh Forough  Twitter:  LinkedIn: &nbsp;  &nbsp; Code to Inspire  Instagram:  Twitter: &nbsp; Website: &nbsp; Donating crypto: &nbsp; Services offered:   &nbsp;    &nbsp; Code to Inspire Coverage  Forbes      The Giving Block      Code to Inspire students are coding at home   &nbsp;   CoinDesk on Code to Inspire + ETH   &nbsp;   Coinbase      Inverse      Afghan Hero Girls       &nbsp; US Military leaving Afghanistan   &nbsp;

Crypto Actually Fixes This: How Code to Inspire Uses Crypto in Afghanistan - Ep.276

On Unchained, two co-founders of Solana Labs, Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal, dive deeply into the Solana ecosystem, discussing everything from the price of SOL to the Solana network outage to the competition between Ethereum and Solana. Show highlights:  why Raj thinks SOL’s market cap grew from $86 million to $68 billion in less than a year Anatoly’s and Raj’s background and how they found themselves working together to build Solana why Anatoly thinks Solana will be a general-purpose blockchain rather than specializing in gaming or high frequency trading Anatoly’s goal to make Solana the first billion-user blockchain why Raj thinks NFTs on Solana have been so popular why, in the opinion of Raj and Anatoly, Solana’s purpose has shifted away from high-frequency trading how NFTs could replace ads why “everything is DeFi” how Solana Labs plans to allocate the recent $314 million funding round it raised what lessons Anatoly learned from the 18-hour September network outage technically speaking, what happened to cause Solana’s network outage why Anatoly believes that outages, at this stage, aren’t necessarily a bad thing whether “trading mercenaries” dominated at Solana Breakpoint why developers are interested in building on Solana how Solana and Ethereum compare as execution and settlement layers why Raj doesn’t like framing competition between Solana and Ethereum as a fight how Anatoly views the competition between Ethereum and Solana whether the arrival of Neon Labs, which is bringing EVM to Solana, could lead to developers leaving Ethereum how NFTs and Phantom wallets are bringing in new users for Solana whether Raj and Anatoly would roll back Solana if something like Ethereum’s DAO hack were to occur why Solana has the competitive advantage in throughput, according to Anatoly what would happen if FTX cofounder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried gave up on Solana their predictions for Solana five years from now  &nbsp; Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Nodle: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Brave:  &nbsp; Episode Links: &nbsp; Anatoly Yakovenko  &nbsp;  &nbsp; Raj Gokal  &nbsp;  &nbsp; Solana News  Anatoly Yakovenko -- ​​ It ‘doesn’t really matter’ if the network goes down again   &nbsp;   Neon Labs      Aave + SushiSwap going to Solanas through Neon Labs   &nbsp;       Solana + Brave integration   &nbsp;   ATH at $260   &nbsp;   Solana Breakpoint   &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;   FTX US + Solana NFTs   &nbsp;   Solana Outage   The Block’s coverage   &nbsp; &nbsp;   Why the mainnet went down   &nbsp;&nbsp;   Potential ramifications   &nbsp;   Anatoly Yakovenko Solana outage tweets       &nbsp;     Solana $314M Fundraise   &nbsp;    &nbsp; Solana Topics  Raj thinks Ethereum cannot be killed      NFT Growth   &nbsp; &nbsp; Pplpleasr   &nbsp;     Investment in gaming   Forte   &nbsp;   Alexis Ohanian investment   &nbsp;   FTX + Solana   &nbsp;     Phantom wallet hits 1M+ users       &nbsp; Solana Basics  CoinMonk: &nbsp; Solana Labs: &nbsp; The Tie: &nbsp; Binance.Research: &nbsp; Genesis Block: &nbsp; Block Explorers:  +  + &nbsp; Messari:

Will Solana Be the Execution Layer and Ethereum the Settlement Layer? - Ep.294

During my research for The Cryptopians, I found information that I believe identifies the perpetrator behind The DAO hack on Ethereum. Three founding members of The DAO and  (Christoph Jentzsch, Lefteris Karapetsas, Griff Green) discuss how and why they created The DAO, how they helped save the funds being siphoned off by black hat hackers, their personal feelings about The DAO, along with their reaction to the news about who I believe was The DAO attacker. Show topics: &nbsp; Part 1: Background on The DAO  Christoph, Lefteris, and Griff’s background and how they came to  what  was and why the  team decided to create The DAO what The DAO has to do with venture capital funding why the  team did not cap The DAO sale what made The DAO such a popular investment vehicle why The DAO developers were scared at the amount of money they raised  &nbsp; Part 2:&nbsp;  what Christoph, Lefteris, and Griff’s initial reaction to The DAO was saving funds from The DAO via a hard fork versus white hat hacking whether they thought Ethereum Classic would survive a hard fork how the Ethereum community has treated Christoph, Griff, and Lefteris in the wake of The DAO attack  &nbsp; Part 3:  why they disagree on whether code is law their reaction to my naming Toby Hoenisch as The DAO attacker which actor would play them in a movie about The DAO attack  Come to My In-Person Book Signings and Events! New York:&nbsp; Wednesday, March 2, at 7pm At The Strand Bookstore Moderated by CoinDesk’s Christine Lee  &nbsp; Bay Area:&nbsp; Tuesday March 8, 6pm San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club&nbsp; Moderated by The Information’s Kate Clark  &nbsp; Seattle:&nbsp; Wednesday March 9, at 7:30pm The Forum Moderated by Steve Scher, of Town Hall Seattle.&nbsp;    Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Beefy Finance: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Cross River Bank: &nbsp; &nbsp; Episode Links &nbsp; Guests  Christoph Jentzsch   ​​   Griff Green   &nbsp;   Lefteris Karapetsas   &nbsp;  &nbsp; DAO Hacker Reveal:&nbsp;  Forbes:  Unchained: &nbsp; Medium:  Bulletin:  Forbes on YouTube: ​&nbsp; Daily Tech News Show: &nbsp;  &nbsp; The Cryptopians  &nbsp; On Amazon:  On Barnes. &amp;. Noble: &nbsp; On :&nbsp;  Unchained: &nbsp;  &nbsp; The DAO Hack

Is Code Law? Should the Hacker Be Punished? The DAO Creators Disagree - Ep.325

The Chopping Block: Why Solana’s Frequent Downtime Doesn't Bother Kyle Samani- Ep. 362

Hasu, strategic advisor to Lido, and Tarun Chitra, founder of Gauntlet, explain everything about staked ETH, aka stETH, how it should be priced, Lido’s market dominance, and much more. Show highlights:  the role of Lido, what stETH is, and what its benefits are whether Ethereum’s lack of delegated proof of stake contributes to the need for stETH why stETH is not mispriced and why it doesn’t necessarily have to be worth 1 ETH the inherent risks associated with stETH how there was not enough liquidity to handle all the liquidations caused by liquidations, especially in automated vaults on, for instance, Instadapp&nbsp; how automated market makers work and what Curve’s amplification factor is whether 3AC and Celsius had a significant impact on the stETH/ETH “de-peg” how does the Merge affect the liquidity of stETH Hasu’s and Tarun’s level of confidence that the Merge will happen this year and whether it will be a success what will happen to the price of stETH after the redemptions are enabled why Lido has achieved such a level of dominance how Lido decreases the cost of staking and helps improve the security of the Ethereum blockchain whether there is going to be a “winner take all” in the liquid staking derivatives market how liquidity fragmentation can cause the system to blow up why LDO tokenholders might not have the same incentives as ETH tokenholders what is the new Lido’s dual governance model and what is it trying to achieve whether Lido should self limit its market dominance how Lido coordinates validators and the role of the LDO token in this coordination what are the lessons to be learned from the stETH situation how governance is a liability to DeFi protocols  &nbsp; Thank you to our sponsors! &nbsp; :  Ava Labs:  Oasis: &nbsp; &nbsp; EPISODE LINKS &nbsp; Hasu:&nbsp;  Twitter:  Uncommon Core Podcast:   Tarun:&nbsp;  Twitter:   &nbsp; stETH &nbsp;  Lido’s explanation:  Lido’s explanation #2:  Hasu’s thread #1:  Hasu’s thread #2:  Tarun’s take:  Tarun’s paper: Why Stake when you can borrow:   &nbsp; Lido  Self-limit?:  Hasu on Lido’s dual governance proposal:  Lido’s two phase voting scheme : Previous Unchained Coverage on DAO governance: Solend and Bancor Drama: Did These DAOs Violate the Ethos of Crypto?:     Bear Market:  Insolvency of crypto lenders:   3AC:  Celsius:  Celsius possible bankruptcy:    Previous Unchained Coverage:   &nbsp;Why Possible Insolvencies by Celsius and 3AC Could Spell Disaster for Crypto:  Cobie and Chris Burniske on How to Navigate a Crypto Bear Market:     &nbsp;

In the Recent Crypto Market Meltdown, What Role Did Lido's stETH Play? - Ep. 370

Arthur Hayes, cofounder of BitMex, discusses how he’s trading the Merge, the impact of macroeconomic policy in the markets, his career as a writer, and much more.&nbsp; &nbsp; Show highlights:  how crypto is reconfiguring how humans do finance over the internet why Arthur initially thought Ethereum was worthless&nbsp; how NFTs allow users to trade human culture and will unlock trillions of dollars of value why Ethereum doesn’t even need to be deflationary whether other layer 1s can take some market cap from Ethereum why Arthur thinks that a successful Merge is understated and why this is a valid reason for hedging why he thinks an Ethereum proof of work chain won’t succeed and how Arthur will trade ETHPoW why LDO, Lido’s token, is a riskier bet but has more potential gains how he believes the Shanghai upgrade will impact ETH’s price whether the Merge affects BTC’s narrative as digital gold and whether the inflation hedge theory of Bitcoin still holds why Bitcoin is a measure of USD liquidity and why the Fed rates don’t matter as much as everyone thinks whether hedge funds and institutional investors would want to invest in crypto given the high correlation with traditional markets what Arthur believes the impact of a potential US recession would be on the crypto markets&nbsp; why he believes the real economy is not relevant to the financial markets whether algorithmic stablecoins are doomed to fail how the credit cycle works and how it repeats again and again Arthur’s method for identifying good projects to invest in how Arthur became such a good writer whether BTC is money and the religious aspect of the Bitcoin culture  Thank you to our sponsors!    &nbsp; Arthur:   &nbsp;  &nbsp; Episode Links &nbsp; Previous Coverage on Unchained:        Arthur’s posts discussed during the show:     (on USD liquidity and Macroeconomics)  &nbsp; Macroeconomics:  Adam Cochran  Pantera Capital’s   &nbsp; ETH Trade:  Whether Ethereum’s Merge  Gauntlet’s    &nbsp; ETH Post-Merge Dynamics:  Cumberland on the &nbsp; Miles Suter on

Arthur Hayes, Former Ethereum Skeptic, on Why the Merge Makes Him Bullish on ETH - Ep. 393

Welcome to The Chopping Block! Crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra were joined by Laura Shin to chop it up about the latest news in the digital asset industry.&nbsp; &nbsp; Show topics:  Whether crypto optimism is different in Asia than in the United States How Sam Bankman-Fried has been doing some work with US regulators How the CFTC lawsuit against Ooki DAO changed people’s perspectives about the regulator Whether the lawsuit could make all DeFi illegal and the role of DAOs to coordinate governance The SEC settlement with Kim Kardashian for $1.26 million, Gensler’s video explaining the case and whether it was a publicity stunt Why Tarun would fire almost everyone at the CFTC and the SEC to hire more technical people How the NFT QQL collection censored a marketplace in its code What the whole purpose of NFTs is, according to Haseeb The debate around NFT royalties and their enforcement How a huge portion of the blocks in Ethereum are generated by Flashbots and whether it represents a centralizing force&nbsp; Whether MEV should be stopped or accelerated&nbsp;  &nbsp; Hosts  , managing partner at Dragonfly Capital , managing partner at Robot Ventures , general partner at Dragonfly Capital  &nbsp; Guest , author, and host of Unchained &nbsp; Episode Links &nbsp; The lawsuit against Ooki DAO  Previous Coverage of Unchained on Ooki DAO:         CFTC  $250,000  Nik’s  CFTC Commissioner Summer Mersinger’s dissenting  CFTC  the members of the Ooki DAO via their forum Tim Copeland’s  on what’s next for DAOs   A federal court  that the CFTC legally served Ooki DAO through a website help bot. The LeXpunK Army  a motion for amicus status in the SEC case against bZx/Ooki DAO. Crypto group DeFi Education Fund  that the CFTC should properly serve Ooki DAO’s actual members, not just the DAO at large.  &nbsp; NFT Royalties  Tyler Hobbs’ QQL $17 million  QQL  NFT platform  Previous  of The Chopping Block debating NFT Royalties Article:  Article:   &nbsp; SEC charges against Kim Kardashian  The SEC  reality TV star Kim Kardashian $1.26 million for promoting a crypto security without proper disclosure.  on the Kim Kardashian settlement as publicity stunt eMax  Gary Gensler’s   &nbsp; Flashbots and MEV    :&nbsp;   Previous Coverage of Unchained on MEV:

The Chopping Block: Was This Gary Gensler's Most Liked Tweet? - Ep. 405

Zaki Manian, cofounder of Sommelier Protocol and cofounder of Iqlusion and Jack Zampolin, founder of Strangelove Ventures, discuss everything about Cosmos, the new white paper, and how to improve MEV capture for ATOM holders. &nbsp; &nbsp;Show highlights:  how Jack and Zaki got involved with crypto and Cosmos what the Sommelier protocol is, the role of Iqlusion, and what Strange Love does the basics of Cosmos and application-specific blockchains (ASB) why would a project choose to be an ASB rather than an application on a blockchain whether Cosmos can achieve network effects the reasons behind launching a new white paper for Cosmos why the team decided to pursue interchain security whether there would be an increase in fees with so many chains relying on the Cosmos Hub for security how much economic value the Cosmos Hub will end up securing if the proposal gets passed how the Cosmos Treasury could be used to fund development the role of the Interchain Scheduler to capture MEV whether centralized exchanges are going to start trading against the customers the new issuance model proposed for ATOM the role of an active governance community to make Cosmos more decentralized what problems Liquid staking solves how USDC will launch on a consumer chain  &nbsp; Thank you to our sponsors!      Jack:    Zaki:    &nbsp; Episode Links &nbsp; Previous Coverage of Unchained on Cosmos:    &nbsp; New white paper     &nbsp; Interchain security   The Block  The DeFi investor   &nbsp; ATOM 2.0      &nbsp; Other articles  Vaneck’s : Why we are bullish on Atom Alex Valaitis : A deep dive into Cosmos    &nbsp;

Zaki Manian and Jack Zampolin on Why ATOM Is 'Dogecoin for Academics' - Ep. 406

Peter Van Valkenburgh, director of research at Coin Center, comes to talk about the SEC probe into Yuga Labs, how to determine whether something is a security, and Coin Center’s lawsuit against the US Treasury over the sanctions on Tornado Cash.&nbsp; &nbsp; Show highlights:  whether there’s an over-reliance on the Howey Test and how a token being non-fungible doesn’t mean it’s not a security what constitutes an investment contract and how it works in the Metaverse the consequences for NFT holders and issuers if the NFTs are considered securities why Coin Center is suing the US Treasury over the Tornado Cash sanctions Who the plaintiffs are whether this lawsuit differs from the one Coinbase is supporting how to solve the issue of bad actors like North Korea using tools such as Tornado Cash to launder money the remedy Coin Center is looking for in the lawsuit against the Treasury&nbsp; how long the lawsuit could take to be resolved  &nbsp; Thank you to our sponsors! &nbsp;  &nbsp; Peter &nbsp; &nbsp; SEC probe into Yuga Labs  Unchained  CrypTones  on land sales  Coin Center lawsuit over Tornado Cash sanctions  Coin Center  and  Unchained &nbsp;    on the sanctions Previous coverage of the Tornado Cash sanctions on Unchained:   &nbsp;

Why the SEC Is Probing Yuga Labs and Coin Center Is Suing Treasury - Ep. 407

Do Kwon, cofounder of Terraform Labs, discusses the charges against him, gives a message to Terra victims, answers allegations about potential fraud and non-transparent business practices, and much more. Show highlights:  whether Do finds the charges based on the Capital Markets Act legitimate&nbsp; why he doesn’t want to discuss his location whether the South Korean government is lying about the accusations against him what happened with the BTC held by the Luna Foundation Guard whether Do regrets being so arrogant in his tweets what he would say to the people who lost huge amounts of money in Terra or family members of people who committed suicide due to its collapse the decision to set Anchor’s yield near 20%&nbsp; why Terra had a large SDT pre-mine that was not proactively disclosed whether Do’s actions show he didn’t think that the algorithmic mechanism was sufficient to keep UST pegged to the dollar whether Terraform Labs cashed out $2.7 billion using Degenbox why there were no disclosures about Chai terminating its agreement with Terra why the Terra blockchain went through a hard fork without a public discussion the failure of the basis cash stablecoin, also worked on by Do Kwon whether an algorithmic stablecoin can work the week of the UST depeg and what happened to the funds held by LFG where the 3 million Luna unlocked per month by Project Dawn went when the LFG will return funds to UST holders what Do would do differently if he had the chance to go back  &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Thank you to our sponsors!    &nbsp; Episode Links Do Kwon:    &nbsp; Previous Coverage of Unchained on Do Kwon and Terra:         &nbsp; Devastating Stories   Fat Man Terra’s  with several stories  &nbsp; SDT pre-mine  CoinDesk Korea   Anchor yield  JTBC  reporting core devs wanted a lower yield  &nbsp; Chai&nbsp;  WSJ  Do’s tweets about Chai:     2021  2021 #2     &nbsp; Abracadabra Degenbox    on Dune  &nbsp; Project Dawn   The Defiant   &nbsp; Basis Cash  CoinDesk   &nbsp; Luna Foundation Guard      &nbsp; Allegations against Do Kwon   Do moved funds to the Virgin Islands. Seoul Police Probe  of Embezzlement by Terraform Staff South Korea Launches  into Company Behind Luna Crypto Crash  Was LUNA a ?      Kwon’s   &nbsp; SEC Actions Against Terra  SEC  UST Stablecoin Blowup in Fresh Threat to Terra Terraform Labs  US Appeal over SEC Subpoena

Do Kwon of Terra: 'It Was Never Really About Money or Fame or Success' - Ep. 408

Welcome to The Chopping Block! Host Haseeb Qureshi partnered with Zhuoxun Yin, cofounder of Magic Eden, to debate Unchained host Laura Shin and Li Jin, cofounder at Variant Fund, on the topic of NFT Royalties.&nbsp; &nbsp; Show highlights:  What NFT royalties are Why Laura believes zero NFT royalties is a bad business decision prioritizing short-term needs over long-term ones and that it will turn creators off from the industry How charging no royalties is not sustainable, according to Haseeb Why royalties are the best mechanism to align incentives between creators and holders, according to Li The technical limitations of NFT royalties on a general-purpose blockchain like Ethereum or Solana How to align incentives between NFT creators and holders Why the prices of NFTs would go up if royalties are not enforced Whether the NFT market will change in the future Whether it is possible to create a standard that enforces royalties in a smart contract The creators’ reaction to Magic Eden moving to optional royalties The possibility of a bifurcation of the NFT market  &nbsp; Hosts  , managing partner at Dragonfly&nbsp;  &nbsp; Guests , author, and host of Unchained , cofounder of Magic Eden , cofounder of Variant &nbsp; Episode Links  Magic Eden Optional Royalties - &nbsp; Post-debate      by Li Jin    Previous episodes of The Chopping Block debating NFT Royalties       Article:   Article:

The Chopping Block: Two on Two Debate: NFT Royalty Throwdown! - Ep. 409

Fat Man Terra, the anonymous Twitter account dedicated to bringing Do Kwon to justice, reacts to my recent interview with Do Kwon and says what he thinks it revealed about his personality.&nbsp; &nbsp; Show highlights:  why Fat Man Terra created the Twitter account whether Terra was used to enrich insiders how Fat Man believes Do Kwon evaded questions in the interview with Laura whether Do lied about Chai to misrepresent the success of UST and LUNA why Fat Man believes some people will never admit wrongdoing what he thinks of Do’s response to the stories of people losing everything and whether he is actually sorry what he calls Do’s lack of transparency about his history what he believes is the need to make an example out of the collapse of Terra and the Do’s failure  &nbsp; Thank you to our sponsors!  &nbsp; Fat Man Terra &nbsp; &nbsp;  &nbsp; Other Coverage of Unchained on Do Kwon and Terra:         &nbsp; Fat Man Terra’s  with several devastating stories related to the collapse of Terra &nbsp; SDT pre-mine  CoinDesk Korea   &nbsp; Chai&nbsp;  WSJ  Do’s tweets about Chai:     2021  2021 #2     &nbsp; Abracadabra Degenbox    on Dune  &nbsp; Basis Cash  CoinDesk   &nbsp; Luna Foundation Guard      &nbsp; Allegations against Do Kwon   Do moved funds to the Virgin Islands Seoul Police Probe  of Embezzlement by Terraform Staff South Korea Launches  into Company Behind Luna Crypto Crash        Kwon’s

Fat Man Terra Speaks: Do Kwon Is a ‘Sociopath’ and a ‘Charismatic Manipulator’ - Ep. 410

Welcome to The Chopping Block! Crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Robert Leshner, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra chop it up about the latest news in the digital asset industry.&nbsp; Show topics: &nbsp;  Everyone’s impression of Laura’s interview with Do Kwon The importance to differentiate failure and fraud The Mango Markets hack and whether code is law What happened with the BNB hack and the concerns it raised about decentralization Magic Eden’s decision to enable optional royalties and the debate about NFT royalties How creators are going to find a way around the royalties, according to Robert Whether NFTs should be treated as securities    Hosts  , managing partner at Dragonfly Capital , managing partner at Robot Ventures , founder of Compound&nbsp; , general partner at Dragonfly Capital    Episode Links &nbsp; Laura’s interview with Do Kwon:  &nbsp; Hacks &nbsp;  Mango Markets  &nbsp;       &nbsp; &nbsp;  BNB  &nbsp;     &nbsp; NFT Royalties  Magic Eden       Tom’s : “turns out people don’t want to pay royalties” Robert’s  for a startup   Previous episodes of The Chopping Block debating NFT Royalties:

The Chopping Block: 'Code Is Law' Is 'Obviously Not How Anything Works Ever' - Ep. 411

Eric Wall, crypto blogger and investor, and Udi Wertheimer, a recovering Bitcoin maxi, discuss everything about Bitcoin Maximalism, whether BTC can survive, and whether Ethereum constitutes a threat for Bitcoin.&nbsp; &nbsp; Show highlights:  how Eric and Udi got involved with Bitcoin what Bitcoin was like in the first days how Bitcoin maxis appear to have a script to engage in discussions the philosophy behind Bitcoin maximalism why Eric believes Bitcoin maximalism is like a “weird cult” how Eric thinks that the BTC community has an unspoken rule forbidding criticisms whether Bitcoin has lost intellectual power why people have recently been turning away from Bitcoin maximalism why the poor Bitcoin culture doesn't mean it's the end for Bitcoin, according to Eric the perception of the Lightning network and how people are not interested in faster blockchains whether Bitcoin should increase the use cases of the blockchain, like DeFi, NFTs, and stablecoins El Salvador's adoption of BTC and whether it had an impact what happens to internet subcultures and how the behavior of Bitcoiners could be predicted whether Ethereum is a threat to Bitcoin  Thank you to our sponsors!    &nbsp; &nbsp; Udi:    Eric:     &nbsp; Episode Links &nbsp; Previous Coverage of Unchained:   &nbsp;     &nbsp; Bitcoin Culture and Security   by Paul J. Dylan-Ennis  by David Chapman  by Peter Todd  on BTC security model   &nbsp;  &nbsp; El Salvador:  Previous Coverage of Unchained:   by Nelson Rauda  &nbsp; &nbsp;

Eric Wall and Udi Wertheimer on Why Bitcoin Maximalism Is 'Like a Shitcoin Community' - Ep. 412

Avraham Eisenberg, blogger at DeepFi Value – more commonly known as the Mango Markets attacker – shared his insights about the exploitation of code, his personal story, and why there’s hatred directed towards profitable traders.&nbsp; &nbsp; Show highlights:  Laura’s description of the Mango Markets exploit the way in which code gets used in a different way from the original intention why Avi decided to return part of the funds he got from exploiting Mango Markets Avi’s clarification of a misconception regarding the bad debt of Mango Markets the difference between arbitrage trades and exploits why people making profitable strategies are hated, according to Avi how Avi got into crypto and the story of his failed online business&nbsp; whether it is possible to run non-zero-sum games what he thinks of Compound’s decision to pause activity on illiquid assets  &nbsp; &nbsp; Thank you to our sponsors!  Ava Labs &nbsp; Avi     &nbsp; Mango Markets exploit        Previous discussion of Mango Markets on Unchained:       &nbsp;  &nbsp;  &nbsp;

The Mango Markets Attacker on Whether His 'Trade' Was Ethical or Not - Ep. 413

Sterling Crispin, artist and software developer and Holly Herndon, host of the Interdependence podcast, talk about the problems that creators face, some potential solutions, and the debate over creator royalties.&nbsp; &nbsp; Show highlights:  how Holly and Sterling got into crypto how Holly used the Holly Plus Project to pay royalties how NFTs change the economic experience of being a creator how creators make money and why it is so difficult for most of them whether NFT royalties are necessary for artists why creators are the ones that should decide to charge royalties or not how the enforcement of royalties also occurs in the traditional art world whether NFT royalties only benefit big players vs. smaller creators what shifts could make paying royalties a norm, the way paying for music streaming became a norm over piracy other solutions to helping creators earn from their work besides NFT royalties whether NFT creators should use blocklists whether people objecting to blocklists can be hypocritical about decentralization&nbsp; whether creators can build their own marketplaces how a profit-sharing model among creators could work  &nbsp; Thank you to our sponsors!    &nbsp; Sterling:    Blog post:   &nbsp; Holly:        Episode Links  Previous episodes of The Chopping Block debating NFT Royalties:         &nbsp; NFT Royalties  Magic Eden             Galaxy Digital report  that Nike and Yuga Labs earned the most in NFT royalties.    by   by foobar Kyle Samani  on verticalization    Potential solutions  Collector Royalties       Profit Sharing     &nbsp;  &nbsp;  &nbsp;

Are NFT Royalties the Way? How to Build a Sustainable Creator Economy - Ep. 414

The 23-year-old whiz dives into who blockchains will someday help, how we transition from Ethereum for digital cats to higher social impact, and why even big companies like JPMorgan, Microsoft and BP are using Ethereum. He also walks through some important technical challenges Ethereum faces with scaling and the shift from a proof-of-work consensus algorithm to proof of stake. And he reveals why he isn't a big believer in on-chain governance. Plus, he talks about his worries and gives us his predictions for 2018. Show notes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2018/01/09/vitalik-buterin-creator-of-ethereum-on-the-big-guy-vs-the-little-guy/ Some of Vitalik's blog posts that we discussed: On token sales: http://vitalik.ca/general/2017/06/09/sales.html Interactive coin offerings:  https://people.cs.uchicago.edu/~teutsch/papers/ico.pdf Blockchain governance: http://vitalik.ca/general/2017/12/17/voting.html

Vitalik Buterin, Creator Of Ethereum, On The Big Guy Vs. The Little Guy

Love Unchained? Please take this extremely brief survey to help us find more sponsors:&nbsp;https://survey.libsyn.com/unchained Growing up in Argentina, Wences Casares saw his family lose all their money three times due to actions by the government. The so-called "patient zero" of Bitcoin in Silicon Valley explains why he believes that experience predisposed him to seeing the potential in Bitcoin earlier than most people, why it's so hard to explain Bitcoin to Americans and why the company he founded, Xapo, isn't just a Bitcoin vault and wallet company but his best effort at helping to ensure that Bitcoin succeeds. He talks about why he isn't scared of all the new competitors to his service, including Coinbase Custody, why Xapo hasn't branched out into any other crypto assets, and why he believes there's a more than 50% chance that Bitcoin is worth $1 million in five to ten years. Additionally, he still believes the attempt to accommodate more transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain with the SegWit2x fork, which he backed, was wrong -- even though the fees after its failure skyrocketed to as high as $60. Plus -- he reveals what it would look like if Bitcoin became a global standard of value, and why that vision doesn't threaten governments. Xapo: https://xapo.com/ Wences's Facebook Live with Dan Schulman of PayPal:  https://www.facebook.com/DanSchulmanPayPal/videos/1419329821528449/

Xapo's Wences Casares on How Bitcoin Makes a Fairer World

Erik Voorhees says the greatest scam perpetrated on mankind is currency debasement -- and that crypto will change all that. In this wide-ranging interview, the CEO of crypto-to-crypto exchange Shapeshift talks about how crypto will take away power from central banks, why he believes "maximalists" -- those who believe one crypto asset will rule them all -- are wrong, and why someday we will look back and see the intertwining of money and state as barbaric and unjust, just as we now see the intertwining of church and state. We also discuss the prospects for Bitcoin in the face of high fees, how regulation will affect the development of crypto and why 2017 was the kind of year he hoped for when he got involved in Bitcoin in 2011. Shapeshift's products: https://shapeshift.io/#/coins https://prism.exchange/ https://www.keepkey.com/ http://coincap.io/ Erik's blog: http://moneyandstate.com/ His blog post addressing maximalism:  http://moneyandstate.com/no-non-bitcoin-blockchains-are-not-disrespectful-to-satoshi/

Shapeshift's Erik Voorhees on How Crypto Will Separate Money and State

Spencer Bogart, partner at Blockchain Capital, discusses why he think Bitcoin's growing pains are a sign of success, how the SEC regulatory gloom could affect the development of crypto and how a liquidity crunch could affect crypto hedge funds. We also take a peek at the coming platform wars. Blockchain Capital: http://blockchain.capital/ New crypto hedge funds:  https://hackernoon.com/the-fate-of-crypto-hedge-funds-ca5850e8421c

Unconfirmed: Spencer Bogart on Bitcoin's Maturation and the SEC Overhang on Crypto

In an intermittent series on cryptoeconomics, Olaf Carlson-Wee and Ryan Zurrer of crypto hedge fund Polychain Capital describe what cryptoeconomics is, what goals it typically helps networks accomplish and what behaviors token systems might someday incentivize. We discuss when cryptoeconomic models don't make sense, how the type of consensus algorithms a blockchain chooses can affect behavior in that system and which consensus mechanisms excite them now. We also dive into whether or not it's desirable for a cryptoeconomic system to depend on a small number of knowledgeable participants, how to manage on-chain governance so networks don't vote themselves into a "black hole," and what disciplines are helpful in designing smart cryptoeconomic systems. Polychain Capital http://polychain.capital/ Thank you to our sponsors: Preciate: Recognize someone with a shout out: https://preciate.org/recognize/ Bitwise Asset Management: https://www.bitwiseinvestments.com/unchained Keepkey: https://www.keepkey.com/

All Things Cryptoeconomics, Pt. 1, With Olaf Carlson-Wee and Ryan Zurrer of Polychain Capital

The newly appointed head of the Ethereum Foundation, Aya Miyaguchi, talks about her background as a teacher, at Kraken, helping the Mt. Gox trustee unwind that mess, and the closed process by which she was plucked for her current role. She also describes her goals with the Ethereum Foundation, how the EF believes the Ethereum community should make decisions, how it defines community and more. She also talks about how she hopes to push more financial inclusion with Ethereum, and what she thinks needs to be done to get more women involved in crypto. Aya Miyaguchi: https://twitter.com/mi_ayako Ethereum Foundation: https://www.ethereum.org/foundation Thank you to our sponsors! Keepkey: https://www.keepkey.com/ Preciate: https://preciate.org/recognize/ Token Agency: http://tokenagency.com/

Aya Miyaguchi, of the Ethereum Foundation, on Who Makes the Final Call - Ep.59

Jeremy Allaire, cofounder and CEO of Circle, and Sean Neville, cofounder and president, discuss why they think the internet of value will be even bigger than the internet of information and how all assets will be tokenized. They also talk about why they're launching a stable coin, how their services in payments, exchange and investing will compete against decentralized versions of the same, and how they chose the assets for Circle Invest -- and why XRP didn't make the cut. They also address the investor presentation circulated that claimed the SEC would not pursue enforcement against Poloniex for prior activity and explain why Circle took investment from Bitmain despite negative sentiment against the mining equipment manufacturer. And they explain how Circle could compete once Wall Street incumbents begin to offer competitive services in crypto. Thank you to our sponsors! Clarity PR: http://clarity.pr Preciate: https://preciate.org/recognize/ Links: Circle.com: https://www.circle.com/en/ Circle's plans around a federal banking license and brokerage and trading registration:  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-06/circle-in-talks-with-u-s-to-become-licensed-bank-trading-venue Acquisition of Poloniex:  https://blog.circle.com/2018/02/26/circle-acquires-poloniex/ XRP in a screenshot of Circle Invest, but offered after launch:  https://www.coindesk.com/circle-adds-monero-crypto-investment-app/ The Circle Asset Framework:  https://www.circle.com/marketing/pdfs/en/circle-asset-framework.pdf Nathaniel Popper's tweet showing the Circle investor deck indicating the SEC won't pursue action against Poloniex:  https://twitter.com/nathanielpopper/status/968202570719117313?lang=en Circle's stable coins + Bitmain investment:  https://blog.circle.com/2018/05/15/circle-announces-usd-coin-bitmain-partnership-and-new-strategic-financing/ Unchained episode on stable coins:  http://unchainedpodcast.co/why-its-so-hard-to-keep-stablecoins-stable Unchained episode with David Vorick, which includes some comments on Bitmain:  http://unchainedpodcast.co/why-asics-may-be-better-than-gpus-even-if-they-tend-toward-mining-centralization-ep67

Circle's Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville on Why Crypto Will Be Bigger Than the Web - Ep.71

Nadav, founder of Dharma protocol, explains how it enables the borrowing and lending of crypto assets, what would happen in the case of default, and why it would make sense to do it in a decentralized fashion rather than using one of the many fintech companies in the lending space. He talks about what effect he thinks decentralized credit markets could have on the market capitalization of all debt, why it will likely enable forms of debt currently unimaginable, and who could benefit most from this protocol. He also dives into why Dharma doesn't currently have a token, how or whether it could work on a non-Ethereum blockchain and ways the for-profit company could someday make money. Thank you to our sponsors! StartEngine: https://www.startengine.com/unchained The Sun Exchange: https://thesunexchange.com Episode links: Nadav Hollander: https://twitter.com/NadavAHollander Dharma protocol: https://dharma.io The Dharma white paper:  https://github.com/dharmaprotocol/WhitePaper/blob/master/DharmaWhitepaper.pdf To understand the similarities with Dharma, check out the 0x interview with Will Warren:  http://unchainedpodcast.co/will-warren-of-0x-on-why-decentralized-exchanges-are-the-future New types of debt possible with Dharma:  https://twitter.com/NadavAHollander/status/1032754247341756416

Nadav Hollander on How Dharma Could Create New Forms of Debt - Ep.80

This episode is the first in a series, Why Bitcoin Now, that takes a deeper dive into Bitcoin and the history of money in the macroeconomic environment of the coronavirus. Mike Novogratz, founder, CEO and chairman of Galaxy Digital, and Raoul Pal, founder and CEO of Global Macro Investor and Real Vision Group, tell us where they think Bitcoin is going amidst this macro uncertainty and the global crisis due to the coronavirus. We discuss:&nbsp;  why Bitcoin’s price hasn't risen in price due to the global turmoil, and instead fell with the rest of the market on Black Thursday&nbsp; why quantitative easing is the catalyst for institutional investors to turn to Bitcoin, but why that takes time, and why registered investment advisors may be on the cusp why they think retail investors will continue to buy Bitcoin despite record unemployment why Bitcoin will benefit from social unrest why any particular country's success in dealing with the coronavirus won’t really lessen the economic impact there whether China's first-mover advantage with the DCEP and its comprehensive enterprise blockchain initiatives will undermine the global dominance of the US dollar&nbsp; why they believe there will ultimately be a dollar-based stablecoin&nbsp; why they believe Libra will be a strong player in the future of stablecoins&nbsp; how election outcomes, and in particular a potential movement to break up Big Tech, could affect Bitcoin and the vision for Web3 whether Ethereum, and staking, will see more adoption from institutional investors&nbsp; why they believe yield farming is ultimately not sustainable, but still profitable the impact the Bitcoin halving will have in this macroeconomic environment  Unchained is hiring!&nbsp; Check out our job listing for a remote editorial assistant ! Thank you to our sponsors!&nbsp; :  Kelman Law: &nbsp; Stellar: &nbsp; Episode links:&nbsp; Mike Novogratz:  Galaxy Digital:  Raoul Pal:  Real Vision:  Unchained interview with Kyle Samani on what happened in the crypto markets on Black Thursday:  Unconfirmed interview with Antoine Le Calvez on what happened on BitMEX during Black thursday:  Unchained interview with Chamath Palihapitiya on Bitcoin:  Brian Armstrong tweet about deposits to Coinbase the same size as the $1,200 stimulus check:  China's DCEP and blockchain initiative:  Unchained interview on Libra:  Unconfirmed interview with the Libra Association's Dante Disparte:  Unconfirmed interview with Michael Casey on why it would it would be good if Libra rivaled the USD:  Christopher Giancarlo's digital dollar project:  Ethereum 2.0 staking:  Unconfirmed with Kain Warwick on COMP's launch:  Unconfirmed interview with Tony Sheng on yield farming:

Why Bitcoin Now: Mike Novogratz and Raoul Pal on 'the Single Greatest Brand' of the Last 10 Years - Ep.179

In this seventh installment of the Why Bitcoin Now series, Meltem Demirors, the chief strategy officer at Coinshares, and Lyn Alden, the founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategy, discuss the state of Bitcoin since June, amidst the presidential election – which takes place on the date of publication of the show -- and a global pandemic. Topics discussed include:  the significance of bitcoin staying above $10k for over three months why the pandemic has created the conditions for which Bitcoin was designed how the markets may react to a Trump or Biden win why they believe, no matter which party wins, there will be massive deficits and a money-printing debt spiral why other countries see opportunities to erode the supremacy of the US dollar why Bitcoin has shown that it’s possible to have money without state how the current record unemployment and massive stimulus efforts during the pandemic have impacted Bitcoin the increasing interest in Bitcoin from traditional investors the IMF’s recent call for a “New Bretton Woods moment”&nbsp; and how it may impact crypto China’s DCEP central bank digital currency and the effects it may have on increasing China’s trade leverage why the pandemic has made clear the importance of bringing more Bitcoin mining onshore whether or not Bitcoin will be able to remedy growing wealth inequality why privacy/encryption will be the main issue Bitcoiners need to watch from the coming administration  &nbsp; Thank you to our sponsors!&nbsp; :  &nbsp; Episode links:&nbsp; Lyn Alden:  Lyn Alden Investment Strategy:  Meltem Demirors:  Coinshares:  &nbsp; Lyn’s post on how the economy and stock market perform under Democratic vs. Republican presidents:  &nbsp; US stimulus spending:  &nbsp; IMF New Bretton Woods speech:  &nbsp; Stocks in a bubble:  &nbsp; Meltem on the financialization of internet infrastructure:  &nbsp; BitOoda report on Bitcoin mining:  &nbsp; Bloomberg wealth report:  &nbsp; Cash app’s Bitcoin sales:  &nbsp; JPMorgan research note on Bitcoin:    Forbes interview with Daniel Masters of Coinshares:

Why Bitcoin Now: Meltem Demirors and Lyn Alden on the Perfect Conditions for Bitcoin - Ep.197

Michael Saylor, CEO and founder of Microstrategy, explains how he decided the publicly traded business data firm needed to put its excess cash in bitcoin and what happened afterward. In this episode, we discuss:&nbsp;  why Microstrategy decided to buy Bitcoin, and how the pandemic spurred that whether his previous experience with Microstrategy stock imploding after accounting irregularities were revealed had any bearing on the company's decision to buy bitcoin the reactions of the officers and board members to his suggestion to invest in bitcoin why they put all the excess cash into bitcoin as opposed to some percentage what parts of the bitcoin industry could be improved to better serve corporate interests whether Microstrategy intends to take any money off the table at the top of any future bubbles and reinvest when the price hits a new low whether it hurts Microstrategy that GAAP rules require the company to mark Bitcoin down to the lowest price it traded at during the quarter how his life has changed since Microstrategy bought bitcoin what he thought of Citi downgrading Microstrategy stock what he thinks of Renaissance Technology being the third-largest buyer of Microstrategy stock since the summer what will happen to Microstrategy stock in a bitcoin bear market whether or not there was any further conversation after his tweets with Elon Musk what types of companies, and how many, have been talking with him, expressing interest in buying bitcoin what will happen at the Bitcoin for Companies conference what type of bitcoin data products they are contemplating offering what he thinks will happen to the USD’s global reserve currency status what it would take for him to sell any bitcoin  &nbsp; Thank you to our sponsors!&nbsp; :  1inch:  &nbsp; Episode links:&nbsp; Michael Saylor:  Microstrategy:  Bitcoin for Corporations:  &nbsp; Microstrategy purchases an additional $10 million in bitcoin: &nbsp;   &nbsp; Unchained interview with Saifedean Ammous:  &nbsp; August 11, 2020: Microstrategy adopts Bitcoin as its primary reserve asset:  &nbsp; August 11, 2020: Microstrategy makes tender offer to purchase up to $250 million of its common stock:  &nbsp; September 11, 2020: Microstrategy to purchase $60.5 million of common stock:  &nbsp; Plan to offer $550 million in convertible notes:  &nbsp; Microstrategy announces over $1 billion in Bitcoin purchases in 2020:  &nbsp; Michael Saylor’s 2013 tweet on Bitcoin:  &nbsp; Forbes expose on unusual accounting practices by Microstrategy back in 2000:  April 2000 profile of Michael in The New Yorker:  SEC enforcement action against Microstrategy:  Forbes profile after the SEC enforcement action:  Forbes announcing Microstrategy would restate earnings after its expose:  Summary of SEC action:  &nbsp; Citi downgrading MSTR:  &nbsp; Renaissance Technologies has been third-largest buyer of Microstrategy’s stock since the summer: &nbsp;  Microstrategy contemplating bitcoin data products:

Why Bitcoin Now: Michael Saylor on the Best Way for Companies to Buy Bitcoin - Ep.209

Lyn Alden, CEO and founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategies, and Raoul Pal, CEO &amp; cofounder&nbsp; of Real Vision Group &amp; Global Macro Investor, explain their thinking about Ethereum and its native token, and talk about their perspective on GameStop. In this episode, we discuss:  why Raoul views ether as similar to bitcoin at a macro level (1:25) why Lyn decided ETH was not currently investable (5:06) an analysis of utility protocols (John Pfeffer’s paper) (6:55) counterarguments to John Pfeffer’s paper (9:31) how to allocate between BTC and ETH (11:22) why Raoul also invested in other coins beyond BTC and ETH (11:47)&nbsp; whether Metcalfe's law applies equally to all kinds of networks (13:35) why Lyn views Ethereum’s use case as circular, and why that makes it less investable (15:09) whether Ethereum 2.0 and Ethereum Improvement Proposal 1559, and whether that could make ETH more investable (21:20) the impact of fees on the value of Ethereum (23:36) Raoul's views on what S-Curves and the Lindy Effect indicate about the development of a currency (25:22) how high fees make DApps less attractive, while low fees potentially decrease demand for ETH (27:06) how Lyn believes demand for DeFi is to circumvent compliance and know-your-customer processes, and she doesn't also see that as a downside for Bitcoin (33:10) how the regulators are behind innovation in cryptocurrencies, particularly around taxation (36:32) Raoul's and Lyn's predictions for the ETH price by end of 2021 (41:45) what GameStop says about the democratization of financial information (45:32) whether smart contracts could play in preventing situations similar to what happened with GameStop and/or Robinhood (49:03) how blockchain technology could be used to prevent a situation in which the hedge funds could short more shares than existed (54:03) how the GameStop/Robinhood saga is a giant advertisement for self-custody (54:53) whether r/WallStreetBets' behavior was market manipulation or not (56:53)  &nbsp; Thank you to our sponsor!&nbsp; :  &nbsp; Episode links:&nbsp; Lyn Alden:  Lyn Alden Investment:  &nbsp; Raoul Pal:  Real Vision:  Global Macro Investor:  &nbsp; Raoul's tweet storm on Ethereum:  Lyn Alden’s research paper on Ethereum:  Raoul Pal’s tweet: ETH equals BTC:  John Pfeffer’s paper:  Network effects and Metcalfe’s Law:  Quantity Theory of Money:  How Will the Government React to GameStop?:  GameStop and Crypto trading:  Robinhood Raises Extra funds:  Possible role of blockchain in trading:  Caitlin Long:

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