Unchained

Willy Woo, on-chain Bitcoin analyst and writer of the Bitcoin Forecast, a market intelligence newsletter, and Rafael Schultze-Kraft, co-founder and CTO of Glassnode, discuss Bitcoin and what the on-chain metrics tell us about the price. Here to discuss is. Episode highlights:

• what factors pushed the price of BTC down in May
• why Elon’s Twitter account hold so much sway over the market
• why Willy believes Bitcoin is good for renewable energy
• who sold during the last month
• which type of BTC investors stopped purchasing in Feb/March
• what trends Willy and Rafael have noticed from coins moving to/from exchanges
• their thoughts on exchange-traded products, like GBTC and Canadian ETFs
• how derivatives trading has played a role in Bitcoin’s price
• why stablecoins were trading above their peg in the months leading up to the Coinbase direct listing
• how Willy values Bitcoin (specifically using NVT ratio)
• whether the trend of corporate treasuries investing in Bitcoin will continue
• how they expect Ethereum's adoption of a deflationary monetary policy to impact the price of Bitcoin
• when the market could turn bullish once again and predictions for the rest of the year

Thank you to our sponsors!

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Episode Links

Willy Woo

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/woonomic
• Substack: https://willywoo.substack.com/
• Charts: http://charts.woobull.com/ 

Rafael Schultze-Kraft

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/n3ocortex 
• Glassnode Blog: https://insights.glassnode.com/author/rafael/
• Medium (no posts in 2021): https://medium.com/@neocortex 

Glassnode

• Website: https://glassnode.com/ 
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/glassnode 
• Crunchbase: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/glassnode 

Willy on BTC trends:

• NVT 2021 re-hash: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1399644889596370950 
• User growth on BTC network: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1396716391940575232 
• Exchange flows are bullish: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1395350421187690500 
• The movement to strong holders is unprecedented: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1391209800252358658 
• BTC undervaluation: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1389145220432859144 

Rafael on BTC trends:

• Investors becoming fearful: https://twitter.com/n3ocortex/status/1394922200923312132
• Bear market?: https://twitter.com/n3ocortex/status/1394312942678679559
• Why on-chain exchange metrics are difficult to analyze: https://insights.glassnode.com/exchange-metrics/ 
• BTC ownership is not highly concentrated: https://insights.glassnode.com/bitcoin-supply-distribution/ 
• BTC illiquidity: https://insights.glassnode.com/bitcoin-liquid-supply/ 

Glassnode on BTC trends:

• May 31 recap: https://insights.glassnode.com/the-week-on-chain-week-22-2021/ 
• May 24 recap: https://insights.glassnode.com/the-week-on-chain-week-21-2021/ 
• December buyers approaching cost basis: https://twitter.com/glassnode/status/1399757635512066052 
• Battle of Bulls vs. Bears: https://twitter.com/glassnode/status/1399231089764360192 
• Grayscale discount: https://twitter.com/glassnode/status/1397059742019686400

Deleveraging futures market: https://twitter.com/glassnode/status/1395771367958581251

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Jeremy Rubin, a Bitcoin Core contributor and founder of Judica, a Bitcoin R&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 
• 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

Thank you to our sponsors!

Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021 

Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero 

NEAR: https://near.org 

Episode Links: 

Jeremy Rubin

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeremyRubin 
• Judica: https://judica.org/ 
• Personal website: https://rubin.io/ 

Taproot

• Signaling status of Taproot: https://taproot.watch/ 
• Bitcoin Magazine on Taproot: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/taproot-coming-what-it-and-how-it-will-benefit-bitcoin 
• Why Taproot matters: https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoins-privacy-and-scaling-tech-upgrade-taproot-just-took-a-big-step-forward 
• Marathon lifts block mining censorship: https://www.coindesk.com/marathon-wont-censor-bitcoin-transactions-says-mining-ceo 

MASTs: https://bitcointechtalk.com/what-is-a-bitcoin-merklized-abstract-syntax-tree-mast-33fdf2da5e2f

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Nick Tomaino, general partner of 1confirmation, discusses his firm’s recently announced third fund of $125 million and gives his perspective on many hot crypto topics, such as NFTs, Layer 2 solutions, Polkadot, DAOs, and more. Show highlights:

• why Nick became interested in crypto and his background
• what drives 1confirmation’s investment thesis
• why he Nick believes NFTs have taken off in popularity this year
• why NFTs are currently in a bubble
• what we might do with NFTs in the future
• how competition between different NFT marketplaces will shake out
• how music NFTs could work
• the feasibility of charging royalties in the secondary sale of NFTs
• why environmental concerns over crypto mining to only be a short-term issue
• why Nick is not an Ethereum maxi and how he feels about the fragmentation of Layer 2 solutions on ETH
• why Polkadot is such an exciting project
• whether, as an early Coinbase employee, he would say the fat protocols thesis is true
• what new trend Nick is keeping an eye on for 2021 and beyond

Thank you to our sponsors!

E&Y: https://ey.com/globalblockchainsummit 

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Episode Links

Nick Tomaino

Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/NTmoney 

Recommended Content:

• Writing
• • Introducing 1confirmation Fund 3
  • • https://thecontrol.co/1confirmation-fund-iii-4633d18273e 
  • NFTs + Mimetic Desire
  • • https://thecontrol.co/stories-scarcity-and-mimetic-desire-c4a344fa74e1 
• Twitter Threads
• • Has crypto “earned it?” 
  • • https://twitter.com/NTmoney/status/1391782884202061824
  • Ethereum + decentralized identity
  • • https://twitter.com/NTmoney/status/1389608747924742157
  • WSB optimism
  • • https://twitter.com/NTmoney/status/1356036385287720960
  • The crypto perfect storm
  • • https://twitter.com/NTmoney/status/1352301464060760064 
  • His journey from Coinbase to 1confirmation 
  • • https://twitter.com/NTmoney/status/1353405899990155264 
• Guest Appearances/Quotes
• • “Digital art has a chance to exceed $3 trillion in total value and flip traditional art”
  • • https://fortune.com/2021/03/30/nft-crypto-superrare-art-market/
  • “It's not going to look the same as the crypto booms and busts, but there are going to be a lot of these sales that maybe don't have buyers in the future”
  • • https://cheddar.com/media/nfts-facing-bubble-but-crypto-art-platforms-see-long-term
  • “It's clear we're in some type of NFT bubble”
  • • https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/25/technology/cryptocurrency-mainstream.html 
• Old Unchained Appearances
• • https://unchainedpodcast.com/nick-tomaino-on-why-he-is-skeptical-libra-will-be-significant/
  • https://unchainedpodcast.com/icos-why-people-are-investing-in-this-380-million-phenomenon/ 

1confirmation

Basics

• Website/Portfolio
• • https://www.1confirmation.com/portfolio 
• Twitter
• • https://twitter.com/1confirmation 
• Recently announced fund
• • https://thecontrol.co/1confirmation-fund-iii-4633d18273e 

Recently, 1confirmation has funded...

•  Notional Finance
• • https://www.coindesk.com/notional-raises-10m-to-grow-defi-lending-protocol-with-real-world-potential 
• SuperRare series A
• • https://decrypt.co/63295/nft-marketplace-superrare-9m-funding-mark-cuban
• Nexus Mutual
• • https://decrypt.co/57844/vc-firms-invest-2-7-million-in-defi-insurer-nexus-mutual
• dYdX series B
• • https://integral.dydx.exchange/dydx-closes-10m-series-b-investment/ 
• Acala
• • https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/76313/polkadot-based-defi-project-acala-raises-7-million-saft 

Miscellaneous

• Meebits
  • https://meebits.larvalabs.com/
• Polkadot governance
  • https://polkadot.network/polkadot-governance/
• Unchained podcast discussing the petrodollar
  • https://unchainedpodcast.com/bitcoin-vs-the-petrodollar-which-is-more-environmentally-friendly/
• Fat Thesis
  • https://www.usv.com/writing/2016/08/fat-protocols/ 
• ZED Run
  • https://zed.run/

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House Representative Tom Emmer, of Minnesota, is one of the most active voice for crypto and blockchain in the US government. In this episode, he discusses:

• what book made Tom fall down the crypto rabbit hole 
• why Tom believes the Financial Accounting Standards Board needs to set clear accounting standards for cryptocurrencies
• why the current way of accounting for Bitcoin on balance sheets may be a detriment to companies in the future
• how he feels about the acting head of the OCC putting together a “sprint team” of federal regulators to establish overarching crypto standards
• why he is fighting to change tax rules for forked coins
• what problems the Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act might solve
• why he is so passionate about the Securities Clarity Act, which would explicitly separate digital tokens from securities
• how DeFi should be regulated and why he is not a fan of FATF’s recently proposed guidance
• Tom’s prediction for when these bills may actually become law 

Thank you to our sponsors!

Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021 

Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero  

NEAR: https://near.org 

Episode Links

Tom Emmer

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/RepTomEmmer 
• Website: https://emmer.house.gov/ 

Documents Mentioned

• FASB letter
• • https://emmer.house.gov/2021/5/emmer-urges-fasb-to-issue-clear-accounting-standards-for-virtual-currencies
• Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act
• • https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbrett/2021/04/22/us-house-passes-bill-to-create-first-crypto-task-force-on-digital-assets/
• Safe Harbor for Taxpayers with Forked Assets Act
• • https://emmer.house.gov/2021/5/emmer-introduces-legislation-to-protect-taxpayers-with-digital-assets-pending-further-irs-guidance
• Securities Clarity Act
• • https://emmer.house.gov/2020/9/emmer-introduces-legislation-to-provide-clarity-for-digital-assets-under-securities-law
• Proposed FATF Guidance (quick breakdown)
• • https://www.coincenter.org/a-quick-analysis-of-fatfs-2021-draft-cryptocurrency-guidance/ 

Miscellaneous

• Congressional Blockchain Caucus
• • https://congressionalblockchaincaucus-schweikert.house.gov/members
• US Regulatory “sprint”
• • https://decrypt.co/71975/us-agencies-sprint-align-on-bitcoin-regulations 
• Michael Saylor episode
• • https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-michael-saylor-on-the-best-way-for-companies-to-buy-bitcoin/
• Age of Cryptocurrency
• • https://www.amazon.com/The-Age-of-Cryptocurrency

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Kain Warwick, founder of Synthetix, and Kyle Samani, managing partner at Multicoin Capital, debate the merits of Ethereum, Solana, and Binance Smart Chain. In this episode, they discuss:

• why Ethereum is losing market share to Solana and BSC
• whether decentralization matters and at what point decentralization becomes redundant
• why they think Solana and Binance Smart Chain need to be taken seriously as competitors to EThereum
• whether BSC or Solana is the bigger long-term threat to Ethereum
• the biggest obstacle to Ethereum’s success (and it’s not gas fees)
• how Ethereum will navigate fragmented Layer 2 solutions
• Solana and its lack of developers
• what differentiates DeFi from CeFi
• why Solana has an edge on Ethereum in terms of composability 
• how Ethereum will onboard new users
• why Kain is such an ardent backer of Ethereum
• why both Kyle and Kain think EIP 1559 and the potential for higher ETH prices is bad for Ethereum
• if Synthetix would ever consider launching a cross-chain product
• the viability of a multi-chain world
• why Kyle believes the future holds a winner-take-most blockchain ecosystem

Thank you to our sponsors!

E&Y: https://ey.com/globalblockchainsummit 

Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2 

Kyber Network: Dmm.exchange 

Episode Links

People

Kyle Samani

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/KyleSamani 
• Multicoin Capital: https://multicoin.capital/ 

Kain Warwick

• Twitter:  https://twitter.com/kaiynne
• Synthetix: https://synthetix.io/ 

Content

Kain’s tweet that instigated this pod:

• https://twitter.com/kaiynne/status/1387266949302734852

Multicoin Blogs:

• New $100m fund focused on Solana
• • https://multicoin.capital/2021/05/04/announcing-venture-fund-ii/ 
• BNB Investment + valuation
• • https://multicoin.capital/2019/02/19/binance-coin-analysis-and-valuation/ 
• Investment in Solana
• • https://multicoin.capital/2019/07/30/the-world-computer-should-be-logically-centralized/ 
• Ethereum analysis
• • https://multicoin.capital/2019/05/24/the-unbundling-of-ethereum/

• Value Capture at Layers 1 and 2
• • https://multicoin.capital/2019/03/14/on-value-capture-at-layers-1-and-2/ 

Kain Warwick and Sam Bankman Fried podcast

• https://www.cryptonotes.org/2020/10/sbf-kain-blockcrunch-117/ 

Comparing AMMs on different blockchains

• https://www.coindesk.com/pancakeswap-uniswap-sushiswap-crypto-defi-exchange 

BSC and Solana NFT platforms

• https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/102959/binance-is-launching-its-own-nft-marketplace-in-june
• https://www.coindesk.com/banksy-burners-raise-3m-to-build-nft-platform-on-solana 

Overview of Layer 2 solutions on Ethereum

• https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/scaling/layer-2-rollups/

Binance Smart Chain guide

• https://defiprime.com/binance-smart-chain

Solana guide

https://thedefiant.io/solana-defi-ecosystem-overview/

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Mike Novogratz, founder, CEO, and chairman of Galaxy Digital, digs into the drivers behind this week’s market selloff. Show highlights:

• the five factors Mike believes led to this week’s dip 
• what Mike thinks about the environmental concerns surrounding Bitcoin
• how Ethereum will perform in 2021
• whether centralized blockchains will survive regulatory scrutiny
• why Galaxy Digital made its $1 billion acquisition of BitGo
• what sort of projects Galaxy Digital is mulling in the DeFi space
• when Mike thinks a bitcoin ETF could be approved
• Mike’s 2021 bitcoin price prediction

Thank you to our sponsors!

Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021 

Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero 

NEAR: https://near.org 

Episode Links

Mike Novogratz: https://twitter.com/novogratz 

Galaxy Digital: https://www.galaxydigital.io 

Recommend Reads: 

• Galaxy Digital BitGo purchase
• • https://www.coindesk.com/galaxy-digital-to-buy-bitgo-for-about-1-2-billion-in-stock-cash
• SEC skepticism regarding bitcoin ETF
• • https://www.coindesk.com/sec-warns-mutual-fund-investors-of-bitcoin-futures-risks
• Galaxy Digital 2021 Q1 results
• • https://www.coindesk.com/galaxy-digital-q1-aum-rose-58-net-comprehensive-income-more-than-doubles
• Galaxy Digital bitcoin ETF
• • https://www.coindesk.com/galaxy-digital-files-for-us-bitcoin-etf 
• Youtube energy consumption
• • https://www.iea.org/commentaries/the-carbon-footprint-of-streaming-video-fact-checking-the-headlines 
  • https://thefactsource.com/how-much-electricity-does-youtube-use/
• Dapper Labs lawsuit

https://www.forbes.com/sites/andreatinianow/2021/05/17/no-slam-dunk-for-plaintiffs-in-nba-top-shot-moments-class-action-lawsuit/?sh=be89ec3df3da

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Last week, Tesla announced they will no longer accept Bitcoin as payment for vehicles. In a timely episode, Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation, and James McGinniss, CEO and co-founder of David Energy, come onto the show to discuss Bitcoin, the petrodollar, and how to contextualize the energy usage of the first cryptocurrency (BTC) versus the leading fiat currency (USD). Show highlights:

• their backgrounds and how they became interested in the intersection of currency and energy usage
• why Alex and James really think Tesla stopped accepting BTC as payment
• why James thinks Bitcoin’s energy intensity is a “feature, not a bug” 
• Alex on the history of the petrodollar and how the USD in recent decades has been tied to fossil fuel production
• comparing the carbon cost of a dollar to Bitcoin’s energy consumption
• what both James and Alex think of the Square and Ark Invest research paper saying renewable energy production could be tied with Bitcoin mining
• why measuring Bitcoin’s energy usage is difficult
• how Bitcoin mining in China is changing for the better
• how the Biden administration might impact Bitcoin
• where to find more information on Bitcoin and energy consumption

Thank you to our sponsors!

E&Y: https://ey.com/globalblockchainsummit 

Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2 

Kyber Network: Dmm.exchange 

Episode Links

People:

• Alex Gladstein
• • Twitter: https://twitter.com/gladstein
  • Human Rights Foundation: https://hrf.org/ 
• James McGinniss
• • Twitter: https://twitter.com/James_McGinniss
  • David Energy: https://www.davidenergy.com/ 

Recommended Reads:

• “Uncovering the Hidden Cost of the Petrodollar” by Alex Gladstein
• • https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/the-hidden-costs-of-the-petrodollar 
• “Think BTC is a Dirty Business? Consider the Carbon Cost of a Dollar” by Susan Su
• • https://susanfsu.medium.com/think-btc-is-a-dirty-business-consider-the-carbon-cost-of-a-dollar-c38122fb55c5 
• “Bitcoin is Key to an Abundant, Clean Energy Future” by Square and Ark Invest
• • https://assets.ctfassets.net/2d5q1td6cyxq/2D2BnksJjavw4a6SUvAPwZ/c42a9e3a520b0cc3b230cda3b43eead5/BCEI_White_Paper_.pdf 

• Elisabeth Steyn thread on Tesla and energy credits
• • https://twitter.com/Elisabeth_Steyn/status/1392799067986554880
• “Tesla seeks entry into U.S. renewable fuel credit market” by Reuters
• • https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/exclusive-tesla-seeks-entry-into-us-renewable-fuel-credit-market-sources-2021-05-12/
• “Debt” by David Graeber
• • https://www.amazon.com/Debt-First-5-000-Years/dp/1612191290 
• Others:
• • Bitcoin energy consumption index
  • • https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption/
  • Cambridge study on cryptoassets
  • • https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2021-ccaf-3rd-global-cryptoasset-benchmarking-study.pdf
  • Triffin Dilemma
  • • https://dailyreckoning.com/the-triffin-dilemma/

Alex Gladstein’s Recommended Follows:

• Nic Carter
  • https://twitter.com/nic__carter
• Lyn Alden
  • https://twitter.com/LynAldenContact
• Susan Su
  • https://twitter.com/susanfsu
• Luke Gromen
  • https://twitter.com/LukeGromen
• Michael Hudson
  • https://twitter.com/michaelwhudson

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Jeff Dorman, the chief investment officer at Arca, comes on the show to give a macro perspective on the crypto environment. In this episode, he discusses:

• how economic data and real-world events have affected digital assets
• how Jeff classifies the different types of assets within crypto
• what market forces have pushed ETH to new all-time highs above $4k
• whether EIP 1559 will have the same effect on ether price as the Bitcoin halving has on BTC price
• what is happening with Dogecoin and other meme-coins
• why the market’s reaction to Tesla’s halt of BTC vehicle purchases was healthy
• whether environmental concerns surrounding Bitcoin will have long-term consequences on crypto as an asset class

Thank you to our sponsors!

Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021 

Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero 

NEAR: https://near.org 

Episode Links

Jeff Dorman

• Twitter
• •  https://twitter.com/jdorman81
• Arca
• • https://www.ar.ca/
• Blog post titled “How Economic Data Affects Digital Assets”
• • https://www.ar.ca/blog/crypto-market-recap-05-10-21 
• Blog post titled “The Four Types of Digital Assets”
• • https://www.ar.ca/blog/crypto-market-recap-06-29-20 

Miscellaneous Links

• Dogecoin SNL clip
• • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5RCfQyTDFI
• SHIB token + dog meme-coins
• • https://decrypt.co/70587/shiba-inu-shib-what-why-price-dogecoin
  • https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/104676/vitalik-buterin-donates-more-than-60m-to-charity-after-selling-meme-tokens-including-shiba-inu 
  • https://twitter.com/lawmaster/status/1392533724814876680/photo/1 
• Nic Carter on Bitcoin mining
• • https://www.coindesk.com/the-last-word-on-bitcoins-energy-consumption
• Tesla’s announcement on halting BTC vehicle purchases
• • https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1392602041025843203

Link to the Crypto News Recap:

https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-an-elon-tweet-sent-bitcoin-below-50k/

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In this discussion I moderated for Paxos, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev and Paxos CEO Charles Cascarilla discuss GameStop, the broken traditional financial infrastructure, and how blockchain technology may change the future of settlements. Show highlights:

• why Robinhood stopped trading on GameStop and AMC stock earlier this year
• what both Charles and Vlad think the feasibility of T+0 settlements versus Citadel’s and the DTCC’s aim of T+1 settlements 
• how the GameStop scenario would have been different in a T+0 environment 
• what it would look like if certain markets used T+0 settlements while others still settled on T+1
• why Robinhood decided to add crypto back in early 2018
• how Robinhood’s crypto operations work on the back end
• why Robinhood does not allow users to move crypto off-platform
• whether securities trading or crypto will be a larger portion of both Paxos’ and Robinhood’s business model
• what Paxos and Robinhood have planned for the near future

Thank you to our sponsors!

E&Y: https://ey.com/globalblockchainsummit 

Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2  

Kyber Network: Dmm.exchange  

Episode Links:

People:

Charles Cascarilla

Linkedin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlescascarilla/ 

Coindesk Profile

https://www.coindesk.com/charles-cascarilla-most-influential-2020 

Previous interview with Laura

https://unchainedpodcast.com/chad-cascarilla-on-paxoss-partnership-with-paypal/ 

Blog post on the GameStop saga 

https://www.paxos.com/what-lehman-brothers-gamestop-and-the-next-financial-crisis-have-in-common/ 

Vlad Tenev

Twitter

https://twitter.com/vladtenev 

CNN Article

https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/01/investing/robinhood-gamestop-vlad-tenev/index.html 

Tweet Thread on T+2

https://twitter.com/vladtenev/status/1356687248746455041 

Companies:

Paxos

Twitter

https://twitter.com/PaxosGlobal

Paxos Settlement Service

https://www.paxos.com/securities/

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currencies-paxos/paxos-to-launch-settlement-of-u-s-listed-equities-after-secs-no-action-letter-idUSKBN1X727M

Wall Street Journal write-up

https://www.wsj.com/articles/blockchain-makes-inroads-into-the-stock-markets-1-trillion-plumbing-system-11573131600 

Robinhood

Twitter

https://twitter.com/RobinhoodApp

Robinhood Crypto

https://robinhood.com/us/en/about/crypto/

Public offering

https://blog.robinhood.com/news/2021/3/23/robinhood-markets-inc-confidentially-submits-draft-registration-statement 

Miscellaneous Links

Citadel on settlements

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/95326/citadel-robinhood-shorter-settlements-congress

DTCC on settlements

https://www.dtcc.com/news/2021/february/24/dtcc-proposes-approach-to-shortening-us-settlement-cycle-to-t1-within-two-years 

Other:

Caitlin Long Unchained episode:

https://unchainedpodcast.com/caitlin-long-why-avanti-will-be-a-new-kind-of-crypto-bank/ 

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Reshma Patel, a Democratic candidate for New York City’s Comptroller position, talks about her “future proof” plan for the city, which centers on investing in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. In this episode, she discusses:

• what duties the New York City Controller performs
• how Reshma thinks crypto and blockchain tech can help New York City, which she calls her “future proof” plan
• how a city comptroller would go about investing 1%-3% of the city’s pension funds into crypto
• what type of crypto investment vehicles would be appropriate for the city to invest in 
• why Reshma became interested in crypto in the first place 
• what sort of real-world issues blockchain technology could solve in NYC, particularly in its procurement system
• whether Reshma envisions an NYC blockchain solution for its procurement system being on a private or public blockchain 
• how the Comptroller could influence the state of New York to make the BitLicense more accessible for entrepreneurs 
• why NYC must compete in the blockchain/crypto space with Miami and Wyoming 
• how crypto could help NYC recover post-COVID 
• what comes next for Reshma’s campaign and why she is not allowed to receive crypto donations 

Thank you to our sponsors!

Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021 

Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero 

NEAR: https://near.org 

Episode Links

Reshma Patel

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/reshmapatelnyc?lang=en 
• Blockchain campaign: https://www.reshma2021.com/blockchain 
• CoinDesk profile: https://www.coindesk.com/city-comptroller-candidate-says-blockchain-is-in-new-yorks-future 
• The Block article: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/102122/candidate-nyc-comptroller-crypto-blockchain

Miscellaneous Links

• BitLicense
• • https://ciphertrace.com/new-york-bitlicense/
  • https://www.coindesk.com/bitlicense-timeline 
• Duties of NYC Comptroller
• • https://comptroller.nyc.gov/about/duties-of-the-comptroller/ 

Link to the Crypto News Recap:

https://unchainedpodcast.com/doge-up-13000-ytd/

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Crypto sits at the intersection of two male-dominated industries: tech and finance. I was asked to moderate a panel for the Amber Group with four leading women in crypto to discuss the role of gender in the crypto industry and what can be done to bring more women into the space. Panelists include Mia Deng, partner at Dragonfly Capital; Amy Zhang, vice president of sales at Fireblocks; Alexis Gauba, cofounder at Opyn; and Annabelle Huang, partner at Amber Group. Show highlights:

• how each panelist got into crypto, what it is they do, and which company they work for
• why women have been somewhat reluctant to speak on crypto gender disparity in public
• what the main obstacles to bringing about better gender diversity in crypto
• whether the crypto space is harder to break into than traditional finance for women
• how gender issues in the U.S. are different than in Asia
• why more women have begun trading cryptocurrencies and how to increase that interest
• which crypto explanations are most effective for female friends
• why there are so few female crypto co-founders
• good hiring practices for bringing more women into the space
• advice for women trying to break into crypto 

Thank you to our sponsors!

E&Y: https://ey.com/globalblockchainsummit 

Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2 

Kyber Network: Dmm.exchange 

Episode Links

Panelists

Mia Deng

• Crypto career
• • cofounder at TR Lab ---- NFT Platform (2021)
  • partner at Dragonfly Capital - https://medium.com/dragonfly-research 
  • Head of biz Development + Venture partner @ Amber Group - https://www.ambergroup.io/about 
• Social link
• • https://twitter.com/miagegedeng?lang=en

Amy Zhang

• Crypto career
• • vice president of sales at Fireblocks - https://www.fireblocks.com/ 
  • head of sales/investor relations at Diginex - https://www.diginex.com/ 
• Social link
• • https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyzwzhang/?originalSubdomain=hk 

Alexis Gauba

• Crypto career
• • cofounder at Opyn - https://www.opyn.co/#/ 
  • cofounder at she256 - https://she256.org/ 
• Social link
• • https://twitter.com/AlexisGauba

Annabelle Huang

• Crypto career
• • partner at Amber Group  - https://www.ambergroup.io/about 
  • founding member at KeeperDAO - https://twitter.com/Keeper_DAO 
  • risk lead at AirSwap - https://www.airswap.io/ 

• Social Link

https://twitter.com/_annabellehuang?lang=en

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Dan Finlay, co-founder of MetaMask, talks about the meteoric growth of monthly active users of the crypto wallet, which has quintupled in the past seven months. In this episode, he discusses:

• which crypto use case drove MetaMask’s active user base to grow 5x in under a year
• what types of scaling solutions are drawing users to MetaMask
• how MetaMask works
• what kind of customers are using MetaMask 
• how MetaMask has grown without targeted marketing 
• whether the type of crypto usage in developing nations differed from developed nations
• which feature MetaMask released in 2020 that is bringing in revenue
• what pivotal moments in crypto over the past six years have brought new users to MetaMask
• why scalability and security are the most important challenges facing MetaMask in the short term 
• how MetaMask is trying to make online wallets more secure 
• how much volume users have traded via MetaMask's new swap feature 
• what new features are coming up for MetaMask wallets 

Thank you to our sponsors!

Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021 

InterPop: https://hellointerpop.io/?utm_source=Unchained&utm_medium=episode-sponsorship&utm_campaign=interpop-launch&utm_content=interpop 

NEAR: https://near.org 

Episode Links

MetaMask

Dan Finlay: https://twitter.com/danfinlay

MetaMask: https://metamask.io/

$5 Million Monthly Active Users: https://consensys.net/blog/metamask/metamask-surpasses-5-million-monthly-active-users/

MetaMask in Emerging Markets: https://twitter.com/MetaMask/status/1387114770923466755

Filecoin in MetaMask: https://medium.com/metamask/developer-preview-metamask-snap-for-filecoin-c28b01dfdcb 

Miscellaneous

Robbie Ferguson on Unchained: https://unchainedpodcast.com/this-layer-2-solution-processed-more-nft-trades-in-24-hours-than-ethereum-did-in-1-week/

Marguerite deCourcelle on Unchained: https://unchainedpodcast.com/all-the-ways-crypto-can-make-gaming-more-fun/

Charles Cascarilla + Vlad Tenev conversation: https://t.co/2AG0y5j36B?amp=1

Link to the Crypto News Recap:

https://unchainedpodcast.com/a-bitcoin-standard/

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Devin Finzer, co-founder and CEO of NFT marketplace OpenSea, talks all things non-fungible. Check out the whole show to hear Devin answer the following questions:

First Half: Breaking Down NFTs

• Why did he become so interested in NFTs ? 
• What is an NFT? Why have NFTs become so popular recently? 
• Who is creating NFTs? Who is purchasing NFTs? 
• Are we in an NFT bubble? 
• How is the NFT ecosystem going to evolve over the next few years? 
• What are people purchasing when they buy an NFT? 

Second Half: OpenSea Q+A

• What is OpenSea? 
• How will OpenSea maintain its competitive advantage in the open-source blockchain ecosystem? 
• How does OpenSea make money? 
• Are artists making money on OpenSea? 
• How is OpenSea planning on integrating with layer 2 solutions on Ethereum and other blockchains? 
• How do royalties work on OpenSea? Why are they hard to enforce? 
• What can be done about content being minted on OpenSea without an artist’s permission? 
• What issues in the NFT world still need to be resolved? 
• How is OpenSea handling the environmental concerns surrounding NFTs? 
• What’s next for OpenSea? 

Thank you to our sponsors!

E&Y: https://ey.com/globalblockchainsummit

Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2 

Kyber Network: Dmm.exchange

Episode Links

Basic Links

• Devin’s Twitter
• • https://twitter.com/dfinzer?lang=en 
• OpenSea
• • https://opensea.io/ 

Devin Finzer

Content

• Podcast appearances
• • https://www.owltail.com/people/YzIoa-devin-finzer/appearances 
• The NFT Bible
• • https://opensea.io/blog/guides/non-fungible-tokens/

• Blockchain gaming (2018)
• • https://www.coindesk.com/the-emerging-trends-in-the-blockchain-gaming-world 

OpenSea

• Profiles
• • Fortune
  • • https://fortune.com/2021/03/18/nft-art-crypto-marketplace-opensea-amazon/
  • CoinDesk 50 for 2020 (#47)
  • • https://www.coindesk.com/the-coindesk-50 
• Recent announcements
• • scaling solution w/ Immutable X (Mar 31)
  • • https://www.coindesk.com/nft-opensea-immutable-layer-2-protocol-ethereum 
    • https://decrypt.co/65828/immutable-x-ethereum-nft-gods-unchained 
  • A16z investment (Mar 18th)
  • • https://a16z.com/2021/03/18/investing-in-opensea/ 
  • updating terms of service (Mar 13)
  • • https://twitter.com/opensea/status/1370895902068637697 
  • taking down the hacker NFT (Mar 9)
  • • https://www.coindesk.com/hacker-selling-cybersecurity-exploit-nft
  • unlockable content (early March)
  • • https://twitter.com/opensea/status/1366780226416631817 
  • Tezos collab (Feb 10)
  • • https://twitter.com/opensea/status/1359519631275352064 
  • creating NFTs for free (Dec 29)
  • • https://opensea.io/blog/announcements/introducing-the-collection-manager/ 
    • https://twitter.com/xanderatallah/status/1358848443356221445 
  • recent usage:
  • • https://duneanalytics.com/rchen8/opensea
• 2018 investing round
• • https://www.coindesk.com/ebay-cryptokitties-raises-2-million-star-vcs 
  • https://opensea.io/blog/announcements/opensea-raises-2-million/ 

Other

• Terms of service talk
• • https://www.reddit.com/r/opensea/comments/m12uh4/do_i_keep_the_rights_to_any_nft_i_sell_on_opensea/
• Stats
• • https://www.forbes.com/sites/youngjoseph/2021/03/29/nft-market-rages-on-nfts-market-cap-grow-1785-in-2021-as-demand-explodes/?sh=2974862a7fdc 
  • https://duneanalytics.com/rchen8/opensea

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Robbie Ferguson, co-founder and president of Immutable, talks about how Immutable is transforming the NFT industry through its layer 2 solution, Immutable X, which just launched April 8. In this episode, he discusses: 

• what sort of problems Immutable is solving by creating a layer 2 solution (1:21)
• why scalability is especially an issue for NFTs in gaming (1:59)
• how Immutable X, built with partner Starkware, addresses the problems with scaling NFTs (3:28)
• how Immutable is scaling Ethereum and the definition of a layer 2 solution (5:46)
• the Immutable business model and how the company makes money (6:40)
• how validity proofs like ZK-rollups differ from fraud proofs like Optimistic rollups (7:52)
• how Gods Unchained has performed since the April 8th launch of Immutable X (8:27)
• why building on Ethereum is so important to Immutable (10:54)
• why Immutable is obsessed with bringing liquidity to NFTs (14:54)
• what sort of partners Immutable is looking to attract and how Immutable X is different from a traditional marketplace (18:00)
• why Immutable decided to purchase carbon credits to offset the gas the protocol consumes on Ethereum (21:33)
• what we might see from Gods Unchained, Immutable X, and NFT gaming in general by the end of this  year (23:32 )
• weekly news recap (26:22)

Thank you to our sponsors!

Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021 

InterPop: https://hellointerpop.io/?utm_source=Unchained&utm_medium=episode-sponsorship&utm_campaign=interpop-launch&utm_content=interpop 

NEAR: https://near.org 

Episode Links

Robbie Ferguson

https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbieferguson/?originalSubdomain=au

Immutable

• Twitter: 
• • https://twitter.com/Immutable?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor 
• Website for Immutable X
• • https://market.x.immutable.com/assets/0xacb3c6a43d15b907e8433077b6d38ae40936fe2c 
• Layer 2
• • https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/101092/ethereum-startup-immutable-aims-to-cut-nft-costs-with-new-layer-2-scaling-protocol
  • https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/100084/opensea-nft-layer-2-immutable-x
  • https://twitter.com/Immutable/status/1385263903450484741 
• Gods Unchained
• • https://www.coindesk.com/james-ferguson-on-decentralized-gamings-next-moves
  • https://decrypt.co/65828/immutable-x-ethereum-nft-gods-unchained
  • Previous Unconfirmed interview: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-the-hong-kong-protests-gave-a-boost-to-gods-unchained/

Miscellaneous Links

• Hearthstone link
• • https://decrypt.co/48379/gods-unchained-review-and-beginners-guide 
• Carbon Credits
• • https://twitter.com/immutable/status/1377099577178779659?lang=en 
• StarkWare relationship
• • https://medium.com/starkware/starkware-immutable-8896aabab4e5
  • StarkWare’s recent Unchained appearance
  • • https://unchainedpodcast.com/can-dydx-become-a-decentralized-bitmex-how-it-is-scaling-with-starkware/ 

Link to the Crypto News Recap:

https://unchainedpodcast.com/2600-eth/

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In a fun change of pace, I was interviewed by the On Deck Podcaster Fellowship about the origins of Unchained pod, how my background as a journalist prepared me for podcasting, and tips for aspiring creators. Episode highlights:

• why I believe the Unchained podcast has been successful and how my penchant for asking tough questions came about (1:48)
• how my background in journalism prepared me for hosting a podcast (6:35)
• how I choose guests for the show and how they feel about being asked difficult questions (9:10)
• why I feel my background in traditional media is so important (15:46)
• whether my podcast helped me land a book deal (20:35)
• the Unchained podcast origin story (26:37)
• how I’ve brought my sense of journalistic integrity and ethics to podcasting (33:56)
• the top tips for choosing a good podcast title (41:58)
• advice for aspiring podcasters on sifting through BS answers and warming up shy guests (48:19)
• who I look up to in the podcast space (53:25)
• what future creators and podcasters from underrepresented backgrounds can learn from my experience breaking into the world of finance and technology (57:33)

Thank you to our sponsors:

E&Y: https://ey.com/globalblockchainsummit

Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2 

Kyber Network: Dmm.exchange

Episode Links

On Deck:

https://www.beondeck.com/ 

Laura Shin:

https://twitter.com/laurashin 

Unchained Podcast:

https://twitter.com/Unchained_pod

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Gil Luria, director of research at D.A. Davidson, talks about Coinbase’s performance on its first day as a public company. In this episode, Gil discusses:

• the significance of Coinbase going public (1:05)
• why doing a direct listing was a risky move (1:31)
• why he revised his price target for COIN from $440 to $650 (3:17)
• how investing in COIN as a “pure play” crypto company compares to buying stock in companies like MicroStrategy and Square (5:06)
• why some people are disrupting Coinbase’s actual market cap (7:11)
• whether Coinbase can smooth out revenue over the long term and not be so correlated to the crypto markets themselves(10:45)
• what sort of statistics Gil is looking for in valuing Coinbase (13:08)
• why Gil thinks Coinbase can meet its goal of growing non-transaction revenue from 4% to 50% in five to ten years (15:32)
• how Coinbase could navigate the compression of fees that will occur as competition increases among exchanges (17:33)
• whether Coinbase’s stance as an apolitical company could affect the stock price in an era in which companies are getting involved in issues like voting rights (19:45)
• whether the Bitcoin price and COIN stock price will always be highly correlated (21:18)
• which other crypto companies are good candidates for going public as well (22:35)
• weekly news recap (24:03)

Thank you to our sponsors!

Download the Crypto.com app and get $25 with the code “Laura”: 

https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021 

Check out InterPop, a superteam redefining the future of NFTs and fandom!

https://hellointerpop.io/?utm_source=Unchained&utm_medium=episode-sponsorship&utm_campaign=interpop-launch&utm_content=interpop 

Episode links:

Gil Luria

• Twitter profile: https://twitter.com/gilluria  
• Introducing Crypto’s Amazon Moment (written by Gil): https://unchainedpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/DA-Davidson-Coinbase-Initiation-20210302.pdf 
• 2013 Quote from Gil on Bitcoin: https://www.streetinsider.com/Analyst+Comments/Bitcoin+Could+Be+Worth+10-100x+Current+Price+-+Analyst/8936836.html
• Previous Unchained Appearance: https://unchainedpodcast.com/is-coinbase-stock-a-good-buy-this-analyst-says-yes/ 

Related Content

• Ellie Frost Blog:
• • https://frostbyte.substack.com/p/coinbase-earnings-some-less-obvious 
  • https://frostbyte.substack.com/p/coinbase-earnings-will-blow-you-away
• Tweet Thread on Market Cap Discrepancy w/ Comment From Jeff Dorman
• • https://twitter.com/laurashin/status/1382746574577668111
  • https://twitter.com/jdorman81/status/1382749674105237507
• Forbes Coverage of Coinbase Direct Listing:
• • https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2021/04/14/coinbase-skyrockets-in-nasdaq-listing-landing-105-billion-valuation-on-first-day-of-trading/?sh=3afb44928dc1 
  • https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2021/04/14/coinbases-ipo-creates-a-multibillion-dollar-windfall-for-founders-now-it-faces-five-big-threats/?sh=13405d8e61ff 
• Brian Armstrong CNBC Interview on Transaction Fees:
• • https://twitter.com/SquawkCNBC/status/1382279472599162880?s=20

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In an interview I moderated at Real Vision’s “Crypto Gathering,” Peter L Brandt, veteran trader and publisher of the Factor Report, and Willy Woo, prominent on-chain Bitcoin analyst and author of the “The Bitcoin Forecast,” a market intelligence newsletter, discuss Bitcoin charts, trading, and how Bitcoin is evolving as an asset. They cover:

• why Peter believes that, with Bitcoin, we are watching history in the making and what a “parabolic advance” has to do with that belief (2:02)
• the differences in trading Bitcoin, which trades 24/7/365, in comparison to a normal asset -- like a stock or commodity (6:36 )
• Willy’s price target for the top of this bull run (8:37)
• why Willy thinks there is a Bitcoin supply shock (12:12)
• the reason Peter does not think Bitcoin is a bubble (15:09)
• why Willy believes we are witnessing the birth of a new monetary system (17:23)
• the state of Bitcoin adoption and how fast adoption will grow (21:24)
• Peter’s crypto journey and why he measures wealth in Bitcoin instead of dollars (27:02 )
• why Peter thinks we are prisoners of war to the fiat system and how Bitcoin fixes this (31:33)
• what sort of volatility both Peter and Willy expect going forward from Bitcoin (33:43)
• how Peter feels about the laser eyes trend on Crypto Twitter (39:35)
• tips for aspiring chartists and traders (41:33)

Thank you to our sponsors!

Download the Crypto.com app and get $25 with the code “Laura”: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2 

Indexed Finance: https://indexed.finance/ 

Kyber Network: Dmm.exchange

Episode Links

Willy Woo

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/woonomic
• Website: http://charts.woobull.com/ 
• Content
• • Unchained podcast appearances
  • • https://unchainedpodcast.com/willy-woo-on-why-its-an-extremely-great-time-to-buy-bitcoin/
    • https://unchainedpodcast.com/willy-woo-how-bitcoin-reaches-up-to-300000-by-end-of-year/
  • Tweets
  • • https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1347127159538688002?s=20
    • https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1345221723751206912?s=20 
    • https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1346827893322616833 
    • https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1356310219215699968 
    • https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1379804421823942656 

Peter L. Brandt

• Twitter https://twitter.com/PeterLBrandt
• Website: https://www.peterlbrandt.com/about-us/ 
• Content
• • Book
  • • https://www.amazon.com/Trading-Commodity-Futures-Classical-Patterns/
  • Tweets
  • • BTC
    • • https://twitter.com/PeterLBrandt/status/1372380949695053824
      • https://twitter.com/PeterLBrandt/status/1374816381837799424
      • https://twitter.com/PeterLBrandt/status/1368593967059767297 
    • Crypto
    • • https://twitter.com/PeterLBrandt/status/1366810037084020736 
    • USD
    • • https://twitter.com/PeterLBrandt/status/1368903818201600009
      • https://twitter.com/PeterLBrandt/status/1368383829098913795

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Larry Cermak, director of research at The Block, discusses the upcoming Coinbase direct listing in light of the exchange’s recently released Q1 revenue hitting an impressive $1.8 billion. In this episode, Larry talks about:

• significant takeaways from Coinbase’s Q1 results (1:04)
• how Coinbase was able to increase its non-transaction revenue in Q1 and why he thinks the exchange gets away with charging higher fees than its competitors (4:14)
• why retail consumers are investing in crypto at such a high clip (8:36)
• how Coinbase compares to its competition -- and why competition will drive transaction fees down (11:23)
• whether it matters that Coinbase has so little Bitcoin on its balance sheet (14:52)
• what he still wants to know about Coinbase after its S-1 filing and Q1 results 15:36)
• products and services that Coinbase should acquire to round out its crypto offering (17:10)
• his expectations for Coinbase’s stock performance (17:50)
• why investors may not be interested in NFTs (19:37)
• how the crypto markets will perform in 2021 and how that might affect the COIN price (20:43)
• Crypto New Recap (22:40) 

Thank you to our sponsors!

Download the Crypto.com app and get $25 with the code “Laura”: 

https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021

Check out InterPop, a superteam redefining the future of NFTs and fandom!

https://hellointerpop.io/?utm_source=Unchained&utm_medium=episode-sponsorship&utm_campaign=interpop-launch&utm_content=interpop

Episode links:

Larry Cermak

https://twitter.com/lawmaster

Coinbase Q1 Results

• Coinbase Details
• • https://investor.coinbase.com/news/news-details/2021/Coinbase-Announces-First-Quarter-2021-Estimated-Results-and-Full-Year-2021-Outlook/default.aspx 
• Larry Cermak Analysis
• • https://twitter.com/lawmaster/status/1379527265021743110 
• The Block
• • https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/100749/final-notes-ahead-of-the-coinbase-direct-listing?utm_source=research&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2021-04-08
• John Street Capital
• • https://twitter.com/JohnStCapital/status/1379526362692788227

Direct Listing Information

• https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/01/coinbase-direct-listing-set-for-april-14-after-sec-approval.html
• https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-sec-form-s-1

Related Podcasts

• Gil Luria
• • https://unchainedpodcast.com/is-coinbase-stock-a-good-buy-this-analyst-says-yes/
• Jeff Roberts
• • https://unchainedpodcast.com/coinbases-s-1-the-number-that-may-make-the-exchange-nervous/

Link to the Crypto News Recap:

https://unchainedpodcast.com/happy-birthday-satoshi1/

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Mark Cuban -- billionaire investor, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and Shark Tank “shark” -- shares his thoughts on the Ethereum vs. BTC debate, issues with DeFi, and how NFTs could change content distribution. Tune in to hear Mark talk about...

• why ETH is a better store of value than BTC (1:08)
• why bitcoin as an inflation hedge is a bananas narrative 6:29)
• his opinion on EIP-1159 and the idea of proof of stake mining (9:06)
• why minting an NFT was a crypto-lightbulb moment for him (11:36)
• how his background in technology prepared him to invest in crypto (13:55)
• the main problem with the DeFi user experience and his advice for new DeFi users (16:34)
• what might happen to the centralized banking system if DeFi becomes the norm (20:46)
• how putting private data on a blockchain could work (25:53)
• why CBDC’s make “perfect sense” (32:11)
• how he evaluates decentralized business models and governance structures (41:13)
• his NFT investment thesis (47:09)
• who he believes will be the NFT winners in the long term (52:09)
• why Mavs tickets are a perfect example for how NFTs may be used in the future (54:55)
• industries that are ripe for NFT disruption (59:45)
• the many use cases for NFTs (1:01:48)
• why he is advising against minting social tokens (1:04:15)

Thank you to our sponsors! 

Download the Crypto.com app and get $25 with the code “Laura”: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2 

Indexed Finance: https://indexed.finance/ 

Kyber Network: Dmm.exchange

Episode Links

Mark Cuban

• Personal website: https://markcubancompanies.com/marks-bio/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mcuban 

NFT Investment

• Lazy.com
• • https://lazy.com/ 
  • https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/98974/mark-cuban-digital-art-gallery-nft
• Mintable
• • https://cryptoslate.com/mark-cuban-invests-undisclosed-sum-in-nft-platform-mintable/
• Esprezzo
• • https://blog.esprezzo.io/esprezzo-raises-round-to-bring-no-code-automation-to-crypto-investors-nft-creators-collectors-defi-users
• OpenSea
• • https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/18/nft-marketplace-opensea-raises-23-million-from-a16z/ 
• SuperRare
• • https://www.coindesk.com/cuban-chamath-back-nft-marketplace-superrares-9m-series-a
• Other
• • https://markcubancompanies.com/blockchain/

Other Links

• Defiant Podcast (“ETH Has An Advantage Over Bitcoin”) 
• • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdGseBuuq_I
• Why DeFi is the Future | Mark Cuban on the Bankless Podcast
• • https://shows.banklesshq.com/p/-why-defi-is-the-future-mark-cuban
• Mark Cuban: The Billionaire Crypto Degen on the Delphi Podcast
• • https://www.delphidigital.io/reports/mark-cuban-the-billionaire-crypto-degen/
• NFTs as ticketing disruptor
• • https://cryptoslate.com/forget-overvalued-artwork-mark-cuban-sees-nft-ticketing-as-the-mass-market-disruptor/
• Bananas video (2:16-3:49)
• • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWBlN9o6Azc 
• CoinDesk interview
• • https://www.coindesk.com/mark-cuban-bitcoin-nfts-blockchain-dallas-mavericks

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Dave Jevans, CEO of Cipher Trace, talks about what the new draft guidance from the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) means for DeFi, NFTs, and crypto in general. In this show, he breaks down:

• the six main areas the draft guidance covers, including the expansion of KYC regulatory standards into DeFi (1:07)
• how a dex like Uniswap would operate under the proposed draft guidance, and which types of companies or services providers would have to take identifying customer information (3:54)
• why DeFi applications might start requiring customers to create an account to use their platforms (7:03)
• how the crypto community has reacted to the FATF draft guidance (8:59)
• whether NFTs are affected by the proposed draft guidance (11:01)
• who the FATF recommendations apply to (13:54)
• how to reach out to FATF to comment on the draft guidance (15:32)
• the nuances of the travel rule and how DeFi developers may now be forced to include KYC mechanisms in their applications (17:29)
• how the crypto community would likely want to tweak the guidance to align the philosophy of DeFi (21:27)
• Crypto News Recap (23:42) 

Thank you to our sponsors!

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Check out InterPop, a superteam redefining the future of NFTs and fandom!

https://hellointerpop.io/?utm_source=Unchained&utm_medium=episode-sponsorship&utm_campaign=interpop-launch&utm_content=interpop

Episode Links

Dave Jevans

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/davejevans
• Cipher Trace: https://ciphertrace.com/
• Previous Unchained episode: 
• • https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-the-travel-rule-is-one-of-the-most-significant-regulations-in-crypto/

FATF

• Website: https://www.fatf-gafi.org/
• Updated FATF draft guidance: http://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/recommendations/March%202021%20-%20VA%20Guidance%20update%20-%20Sixth%20draft%20-%20Public%20consultation.pdf
• Analysis of draft guidance:
• • CoinDesk: https://www.coindesk.com/fatfs-new-guidance
  • Decrypt: https://decrypt.co/62600/fatf-money-laundering-rules-defi-nfts
  • Coin Center: https://www.coincenter.org/a-quick-analysis-of-fatfs-2021-draft-cryptocurrency-guidance/
  • Cipher Trace: https://ciphertrace.com/analysis-proposed-fatf-guidance-for-virtual-assets-and-vasps/ 

Miscellaneous Links

• Travel Rule: https://www.coindesk.com/is-the-travel-rule-good-or-bad-for-crypto-both
• FinCEN: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/fincen-looks-to-rein-in-cryptocurrency-6821323/ 

Link to the Crypto News Recap:

https://unchainedpodcast.com/michael-jordans-nft-investment/

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Olta Andoni, fintech and IP Attorney at Zlatkin Wong and adjunct professor at Chicago Kent College of Law, Tonya Evans, visiting Full Professor of Law at Penn State Dickinson Law School and host of the podcast Tech Intersect, and Stuart Levi, co-head of the Intellectual Property and Technology practice at Skadden Arps and coordinator of the firm's Blockchain and Digital Asset practice, break down the legal issues surrounding NFTs. In this episode, they discuss:

• how the law looks at non-fungible tokens (1:25)
• why owning an NFT is different from owning the rights to the underlying asset making up the NFT (3:12)
• problems that blockchain solves for creators  (5:09)
• how corporations (aka content intermediaries) are handling NFTs (6:53)
• what rights the purchase of an NFT gives a buyer (11:51)
• derivative artwork, the fair use copyright law, moral rights, and how U.S. law views NFTs (15:53)
• how to determine the jurisdiction of an NFT (25:00)
• what type of legal recourse is available to artists whose art has been stolen and redistributed as an NFT (32:37)
• the differences in the terms of services between NFT marketplaces  (36:26)
• why the first sale doctrine may not apply to digital assets (43:16)
• what a buyer is getting when purchasing a blockchain license (46:12)
• how NFT creators should protect their work (51:43)
• whether a fractionalized NFT is a security (55:25)
• how NFTs will change the business of content creation (58:44)

Thank you to our sponsors! 

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Episode Links

People

Tonya Evans

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/IPProfEvans
• Penn State Dickinson Law: https://dickinsonlaw.psu.edu/tonya-m-evans 
• Relevant content:
• • https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-intersect-59-ping-prof-2-non-fungible-tokens-nfts/id1493143898?i=1000512485580
  • https://clarivate.com/darts-ip/blog/copyright-blockchain/ 
  • https://clarivate.com/darts-ip/blog/intro-to-ip-and-blockchain/ 

Olta Andoni

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndoniOlta?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
• Zlatkin Wong: https://zlatkinwong.com/en/ 
• Relevant content:
• • https://www.coindesk.com/stop-tokenizing-art-you-dont-own 

Stuart Levi

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartlevi/
• Skadden: https://www.skadden.com/ 
• Relevant content: 
• • https://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/fin-tech/799182/emerging-discovery-issues-in-blockchain-litigation 

Legal Links

• Fair Use Doctrine:
• • https://pitt.libguides.com/copyright/fairuse#:~:text=The%20doctrine%20of%20Fair%20Use,teaching%2C%20scholarship%2C%20and%20research.
• First Sale Doctrine:
• • https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-1854-copyright-infringement-first-sale-doctrine#:~:text=The%20first%20sale%20doctrine%2C%20codified,interests%20of%20the%20copyright%20owner
• Moral Rights:
• • https://www.copyright.gov/policy/moralrights/
• Digital Millennium Copyright Act
• • https://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf 
• Visual Artists Rights Act
• • http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/martin/art_law/esworthy.htm 

Miscellaneous Links

• Banksy
• • https://www.cbsnews.com/news/banksy-nft-injective-destroy-art-digital-token/
• Fractionalized NFTs
• • https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/sec-crypto-mom-hester-peirce-selling-nft-fragments-illegal-2021-3-1030250153
• Dapper Labs License
• • https://medium.com/dapperlabs/nft-license-2-0-why-a-nft-can-do-what-mickey-mouse-never-could-27673d5f29aa 
• TechnoLlama Blog

https://www.technollama.co.uk/can-copyright-teach-us-anything-about-nfts

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Miami Mayor Francis Suarez talks about how Miami plans to be the crypto capital of the world. In this show, he discusses:

• what Miami is doing to become the crypto capital of the world (1:40)
• why he feels so strongly about bringing crypto to Miami (3:09)
• the relationship between cryptocurrencies and government (4:08)
• why he believes that, in the future, governments will transaction in crypto, not fiat currency (5:26)
• his feelings about the FTX sponsorship proposal and how he convinced city officials to move past crypto’s tumultuous past (6:51)
• whether city of Miami employees have expressed interest in being paid in bitcoin (10:06)
• what needs to happen for Miami to be able to hold BTC in its treasury (11:25)
• how Mayor Suarez balances his interest in Bitcoin against his interest in mitigating the effects of climate change on Miami (14:24)
• Crypto News Recap (18:00)

Thank you to our sponsors! 

Download the Crypto.com app and get $25 with the code “Laura”: 

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Check out InterPop, a superteam redefining the future of NTFs and fandom!

https://hellointerpop.io/?utm_source=Unchained&utm_medium=episode-sponsorship&utm_campaign=interpop-launch&utm_content=interpop

Episode Links:

Francis Suarez - Mayor of Miami

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/FrancisSuarez 

Miami and Crypto 

• Overview
• • New York Times: https://www.nytimes3xbfgragh.onion/2021/03/23/business/dealbook/miami-suarez-crypto.html 
  • CNBC interview: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/02/17/miami-mayor-francis-suarez-on-push-to-accept-bitcoin-attract-big-tech.html 
  • Forbes Coverage:
  • • https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerhuang/2021/02/01/miamis-mayor-leads-the-charge-to-bring-bitcoin-to-americas-largest-cities/?sh=5bbbbf68c6c9
    • https://www.forbes.com/sites/leeorshimron/2021/02/07/miami-mayor-francis-suarez-talks-bitcoin--building-a-tech-innovation-hub/?sh=1d1c40691a53 
• FTX Naming Rights
• • Press Release: https://www.miamidade.gov/releases/2021-03-23-mayor-arena-agreement.asp 
  • The Block: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/99134/report-ftx-miami-heat-stadium-vote 
• Bitcoin
• • paying employees in BTC + investing treasury in BTC:

https://twitter.com/francissuarez/status/1360069847971954690?lang=en

Link to the Crypto News Recap:

https://unchainedpodcast.com/tesla-is-a-hodler/

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Ric Edelman, founder of Edelman Financial Engines, and Matthew Kolesky, president at Arbor Capital, discuss the state of Bitcoin adoption amongst financial advisors, who control $5 trillion in investor wealth. In this episode, they talk about:

• their background and why they got into crypto (1:25)
• how most RIAs (registered investment advisors) view digital assets and the hassle of buying crypto on a client’s behalf (8:59)
• what percentage of financial advisors have already invested in bitcoin and how many more will come into the space by next year (18:20)
• how RIADAC -- the RIA Digital Assets Council -- is educating financial advisors about crypto (21:59)
• their favorite methods to explain Bitcoin and other digital assets (25:22)
• the different ways financial advisors are getting bitcoin/crypto exposure for their clients (35:32)
• why RIAs use investment vehicles to purchase Bitcoin rather than spot-buying the actual asset (39:58)
• why GBTC is trading at a deficit to the bitcoin price and their thoughts on a bitcoin ETF (44:40)
• the percent allocation to crypto they feel comfortable with for their clients (54:26)
• how they rebalance crypto holdings, whether they use yield-bearing crypto products yet, and projections for 2021 (57:35)

Thank you to our sponsors! 

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Indexed Finance: https://indexed.finance/ 

Episode links:

Ric Edelman

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ricedelman?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
• RIADAC: https://riadac.com/

Matt Kolesky

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mkolesky 
• Arbor Capital: https://www.acminc.com/ + https://digital.arbor.capital/ 

Helpful Links:

• Bitwise ETF Trends + Survey of Financial Advisors
  • https://static.bitwiseinvestments.com/Research/Bitwise-2021-Benchmark-Survey-Financial-Advisor-Attitudes-Toward-Cryptoassets.pdf
• Fidelity’s Bitcoin Investment Thesis
  • https://www.fidelitydigitalassets.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/FDAS/bitcoin-alternative-investment.pdf 
• RIADAC’s 12 Predictions for 2021
  • https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2021/01/07/ric-edelman-12-predictions-for-bitcoin-other-cryptos-in-2021/
• RIADAC 1% Allocation strategy
  • https://riadac.com/digital-assets-are-now-mainstream/its-still-early-with-tremendous-upside-potential/
• Arbor Capital’s “True Digital Asset SMA”
  • https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arbor-digital-and-blockchange-partner-on-digital-asset-sma-for-registered-investment-advisors-301219459.html 
• Grayscale BTC Premium Flips Negative
  • https://www.coindesk.com/grayscale-negative-premium-bitcoin
• Blockchange
  • https://blockchange.ai/

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MetaKovan, the pseudonymous buyer of Beeple’s Everydays NFT and founder of MetaPurse, talks about his recent $69 million purchase. In this episode, he discusses:

• why he bought Everydays: The First 5000 Days for $69 million (1:57)
• Beeple’s 13-year “proof of effort” process of creating art and why Beeple has the potential to become a generational artist (4:38)
• why he believes NFTs are “10x” better than physical art (9:40)
• his vision of the metaverse (13:57)
• the reasons for hiding his identity behind the Metakovan avatar (17:09)
• how he made his fortune in crypto and why he felt comfortable spending $69 million on something that might be a fad (19:12)
• why he started Metapurse and how its native B20 token works (24:31)
• crypto news recap (28:57)

Thank you to our sponsor!

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Episode Links

MetaKovan:

https://twitter.com/metakovan?lang=en

Metapurse: 

https://metapurse.fund/

Everydays: The First 5000 Days Purchase:

https://www.coindesk.com/metakovan-buyer-of-record-setting-beeple-nft-explains-why-he-spent-69-3m

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/12/arts/beeple-nft-buyer-ether.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/12/buyer-of-69-million-beeple-nft-is-a-crypto-investo-metakovan.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/03/17/nft-beeple-metakovan-christies/

https://slate.com/technology/2021/03/metakovan-beeple-christies-auction-nfts.html 

B20 Tokens:

https://www.playtoearn.online/2021/01/13/metapurse-to-share-ownership-beeple-collection/

https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/21/03/20195109/69m-beeple-nft-artwork-may-have-been-used-to-pump-b-20-token-price-by-6200-reports-suggest

Link to the Crypto News Recap:

https://unchainedpodcast.com/3-publicly-traded-crypto-exchanges/

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Jamie Burke, CEO of Outlier Ventures, and Mason Nystrom, a research analyst at Messari, discuss the NFT craze that has enveloped the crypto world over the past few weeks. In this episode, they talk about:

• their backgrounds, and how they became involved in crypto (1:19)
• the major catalysts -- specifically Beeple and NBA Top Shot -- that have brought NFTs into the mainstream (5:29)
• why NFTs are a “megatrend” and not just another ICO-like bubble (13:35)
• how to explain non-fungible tokens to normies (18:06)
• what someone is actually purchasing when they buy an NFT (24:46)
• the reasons behind NBA Top Shot's success and why it is so difficult to withdraw money from its platform (36:27)
• the best way to scale NFTs and why Ethereum, despite severe storage limitations, will most likely remain the most popular blockchain on which to mint NFTs (41:44)
• why the gaming, fashion, and music industries will be disrupted by NFTs (49:37)
• when the current subscription-based business model for content creators will transition to the ownership economy (55:10)
• the differences between the marketplaces and platforms that make up the NFT economy (57:06)
• whether NFT valuations will go to zero and the challenges of appraising digital art (1:03:39)
• their predictions for the market capitalization of NFTs by the end of 2021 (1:15:23)

Thank you to our sponsors! 

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Episode Links: 

Jamie Burke

• Twitter:
• • https://twitter.com/jamie247 
• Outlier Ventures:
• • https://twitter.com/OVioHQ 
• Content:
• • the open metaverse: https://outlierventures.io/research/the-open-metaverse-os/ 
  • 100xARt: https://art.art/blog/jamie-burke-and-100xart-a-true-story-of-the-rising-art-order 
  • podcast: https://outlierventures.io/podcasts/ 

Mason Nystrom

• Twitter: 
• • https://twitter.com/masonnystrom 
• Messari:
• • https://messari.io/ 
• Content:
• • NFTs as an investment strategy: https://twitter.com/masonnystrom/status/1310942572429312010 
  • evolution of content: https://twitter.com/masonnystrom/status/1361692703025729536 
  • psychology of crypto art collecting: https://twitter.com/masonnystrom/status/1365028848509870080 
  • the current state of NFTs: https://twitter.com/masonnystrom/status/1363283887691038720 

NFT Sales Mentioned

• Beeple: https://www.cnn.com/style/article/beeple-first-nft-artwork-at-auction-sale-buyer-intl-scli/index.html 
• Previous Unconfirmed interview with Beeple: https://unchainedpodcast.com/beeple-on-how-and-why-he-raked-in-3-5-million/
• Taco Bell: https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/8/22319868/taco-bell-nfts-gif-tacos-sell 
• 3LAU: https://edm.com/gear-tech/3lau-record-breaking-nft-sale 
• Jack Dorsey Tweet: https://v.cent.co/tweet/20 
• Kings of Leon album: https://www.maxim.com/entertainment/kings-of-leon-releases-album-in-nft 
• NBA Top Shot: https://www.actionnetwork.com/news/nba-top-shot-blockchain-nba-highlight-marketplace 

NFT Guides

• New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/22/business/nft-nba-top-shot-crypto.html?utm_source=morning_brew 
• DappRadar: https://dappradar.com/blog/what-are-non-fungible-tokens-nfts 
• Andrew Steinwold: https://andrewsteinwold.substack.com/p/-quick-overview-of-the-nft-ecosystem 
• Decrypt: https://decrypt.co/resources/non-fungible-tokens-nfts-explained-guide-learn-blockchain
• CoinDesk: https://www.coindesk.com/nfts-became-art-everything-nft 

Miscellaneous Links: 

• Chris Dixon blog: https://a16z.com/2021/02/27/nfts-and-a-thousand-true-fans/ 
• NFT market cap: https://nonfungible.com/market/history 
• Outlier Ventures decentralized accelerator program: https://outlierventures.io/base-camp/ 
• Top NFT marketplaces (DappRadar): https://decrypt.co/resources/non-fungible-tokens-nfts-explained-guide-learn-blockchain 
• Jesse Walden’s “Ownership Economy”: https://variant.mirror.xyz/T8kdtZRIgy_srXB5B06L8vBqFHYlEBcv6ae2zR6Y_eo 

Flow blockchain: https://www.onflow.org/primer

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Brendan McGill, co-founder of Offsetra and Carbon.fyi, a company focused on reducing carbon emissions, talks about the environmental impact of NFTs. In this episode, Brendan discusses:

• his career as an environmentalist and how his sites intersect with crypto (1:07)
• why online art platform ArtStation canceled its plans to create an NFT program (3:21)
• what the environmental impact of NFTs actually is and why minting and transacting with NFTs has a greater environmental impact than for normal Ethereum transactions (5:21)
• misconceptions surrounding the environmental impact of NFT minting and why he believes artists should not be blamed for the carbon footprint calculated by Offsetra (6:57)
• what accounts for the emissions in NFT transactions and why it’s hard to calculate the exact environmental impact of any specific NFT, and why minting NFTs doesn’t necessarily increase emissions (7:32) 
• why NFTs aren’t really responsible for the bulk of emissions from Ethereum and why Brendan thinks the backlash against NFT creators for the environmental impact is unfair (12:02)
• how Offsetra and Carbon.fyi attempt to calculate the amount of ‘clean’ energy vs. fossil fuels used in PoW mining and what assumptions they use (13:59)
• the methods (and blockchains) artists are using to create “clean NFTs” (16:17)
• Crypto New Recap (16:17)

Thank you to our sponsor! 

Download the Crypto.com app and get $25 with the code “Laura”: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2021

Episode links:

Brendan McGill: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanmc6/

Offsetra: 

• website: https://offsetra.com/
• Ethereum CO2 footprint calculator: https://carbon.fyi/
• carbon.fyi methodology: https://carbon.fyi/learn 

Reading Material:

• guide to ecofriendly NFTs
• • https://github.com/memo/eco-nft
• fixing NFTs’ carbon pollution problem
• • https://earther.gizmodo.com/how-to-fix-crypto-art-nfts-carbon-pollution-problem-1846440312

Other:

• statement from ArtStation
• • https://magazine.artstation.com/2021/03/a-statement-from-artstation/
• CryptoArt.wtf
• • http://cryptoart.wtf/

Link to the Crypto News Recap:

https://unchainedpodcast.com/a-69-million-nft/

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Antonio Juliano, founder of the decentralized exchange dYdX, and Eli Ben-Sasson, cofounder of StarkWare, discuss the recent launch of dYdX on Ethereum layer 2 using StarkWare’s scaling technology. In this episode, they cover:

• what cross-margin perpetual trading is and why dYdX chose StarkWare to be its scaling partner (1:13)
• ZK rollups and how they contrast with optimistic rollups (8:49)
• how many transactions per second StarkWare can handle through its layer 2 solution (16:57)
• lessons learned and critical takeaways from their six months spent working together (20:15)
• the similarities between Ethereum and StarkNet (26:07)
• why Antonio believes that scalability is more important than composability (27:30)
• the benefits of decentralized exchanges and how dYdX fits into the dex marketplace (31:54)
• why dYdX chose Chainlink as its oracle provider, and how it got oracle prices onto layer 2, which previously had none (38:11)
• why Cairo, StarkWare’s Turing-complete programming language and platform, can be the “one verifier to rule them all” (42:10)
• what it was like for StarkWare to compete in the Great Reddit Scaling Bake-Off (45:41)
• whether or not DeFi could handle a GameStop/Robinhood situation (48:56)
• fair launch tokens versus VC tokens (54:12)
• the likelihood of dYdX and StarkWare each creating a token (58:19)
• upcoming developments and projects for both companies (1:02:14)

Thank you to our sponsors! 

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Episode Links:

Antonio Juliano

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/AntonioMJuliano 

Eli Ben-Sasson

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/EliBenSasson 

dYdX

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/dydxprotocol
• Website: https://dydx.exchange/ 
• Exchange: https://alpha.dydx.exchange/trade/BTC-USD 
• Reading Material
• Recent funding: https://www.coindesk.com/big-guns-back-10m-investment-in-defis-dydx 
• 2020 in review: https://dydx.exchange/2020.pdf 
• Decrypt profile: https://decrypt.co/resources/dydx-ethereum-margin-trading-platform-explained-learn 
• Medium post: https://medium.com/dydxderivatives/introducing-dydx-2d0f0f326fd

StarkWare

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/StarkWareLtd 
• Website: https://starkware.co/ 
• Reading Material:
• ZK roll-up explainer: https://medium.com/starkware/on-the-road-to-starknet-a-permissionless-stark-powered-l2-zk-rollup-83be53640880 
• Understanding Cairo: https://medium.com/starkware/hello-cairo-3cb43b13b209 
• Funding: https://www.coindesk.com/paradigm-leads-30-million-funding-for-crypto-privacy-startup-starkware

dYdX and StarkWare Relationship

• Original Twitter announcement (2020): 
• https://twitter.com/dydxprotocol/status/1295791012552597507?s=20 
• The Block’s original coverage: 
• https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/75209/dex-dydx-starkware-layer-2 
• Layer 2 is live announcement: 
• https://twitter.com/dydxprotocol/status/1364591430447091719 
• Blog post on why dYdX is moving to Layer 2 (2021):
•  https://dydx.exchange/blog/alpha 
• CoinDesk’s coverage: 
• https://www.coindesk.com/defi-tech-cefi-speed-dydx-touts-new-starkware-integration 

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Gil Luria, director of research at D.A. Davidson, talks about the upcoming Coinbase direct listing and his recent research note, “Introducing Crypto’s Amazon Moment.” In this episode, Gil discusses:

• his crypto background, including his experience as the first Wall Street analyst to cover Bitcoin back in 2013 (1:27)
• why the Coinbase IPO is going to be an inflection point for the crypto industry (3:02)
• why he gave Coinbase's upcoming stock a “buy” rating (4:14)
• who Coinbase's biggest competitors are (5:13)
• why Gil believes Coinbase is the “gold standard” in crypto (6:29)
• how investing in Coinbase stock compares to investing in actual crypto assets (8:13)
• how he came to $195 price target for COIN (10:39)
• why a $2 billion revenue estimate for Coinbase in 2021 might be conservative (12:01)
• how Coinbase is generating money outside of transaction fees (14:19)
• whether he expects the institutional adoption trend to grow (15:49)
• what his expectations are for the price of COIN on the day it opens (17:20)
• why GBTC is no longer trading at a premium to the spot price of bitcoin (18:20)
• whether Gil will continue to cover crypto (20:05)
• crypto News Recap (20:53) 

Thank you to our sponsor!

Crypto.com: https://bit.ly/3jzkTAD 

Download the Crypto.com app here: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/laurashinpodcasttesla

Episode links:

Gil Luria’s Twitter profile: https://twitter.com/gilluria 

Crypto’s Amazon Moment: https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/coinbase-direct-listing-public-coverage-stock-price-amazon-cryptocurrency-dadavidson-2021-3-1030150896 

Introducing Crypto’s Amazon Moment: https://unchainedpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/DA-Davidson-Coinbase-Initiation-20210302.pdf

Coinbase S-1 Filing: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1679788/000162828021003168/coinbaseglobalincs-1.htm 

2013 Quote from Gil on Bitcoin: https://www.streetinsider.com/Analyst+Comments/Bitcoin+Could+Be+Worth+10-100x+Current+Price+-+Analyst/8936836.html 

Link to the Crypto News Recap:

https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-irs-clarifies-its-position-on-crypto-purchases/

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Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Avanti Financial Group, talks about the issues plaguing the current state of technology in traditional finance and how her background as a 22-year Wall Street veteran, gubernatorial appointee to the Wyoming Blockchain Task Force, and crypto pioneer is helping her shape Avanti into a bridge between conventional banking and crypto. Tune in to hear Caitlin discuss:

• the current state of crypto adoption on Wall Street (1:09)
• how her entrepreneurial spirit galvanized a career spanning Wall Street, the Wyoming Legislature, and, now, crypto banking (2:07)
• why Caitlin fell in love with Bitcoin (4:57)
• fractional reserves and why the current financial system is a “violation of property rights” (7:00)
• how stablecoin technology will change banking leverage and what effects faster settlement times will have on inflation (11:30)
• why corporate treasurers have been using BTC since 2014 in foreign exchange transactions (17:14)
• what issues Wyoming is trying to solve through crypto legislation and why banks might be closing down customer accounts linked to crypto exchanges (19:18)
• a proposed Wyoming bill that would prohibit judges from disclosing private cryptographic keys (28:32)
• where the idea for Avanti came from and how it will be different than other banks (32:50)
• existing problems with stablecoin regulation and a deep-dive into GAAP accounting for crypto (46:51)
• why Wall Street’s accounting system is to blame for the GameStop and Robinhood situation (52:32)
• whether or not a blockchain could work for settling securities (52:32)
• her thoughts on pension funds and endowments directly owning crypto (59:54)
• what it is going to take for Avanti to successfully bridge the gap between traditional finance and crypto (1:02:38)

Thank you to our sponsors! 

Crypto.com: https://bit.ly/3jzkTAD

Download the Crypto.com app here: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/laurashinpodcasttesla

Square: http://square.com/go/unchained

Episode links: 

Caitlin Long

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_ 

Personal website: https://caitlin-long.com/ 

CoinDesk profile: https://www.coindesk.com/most-influential/2019/caitlin-long 

Avanti

Website:  https://avantibank.com/ 

Twitter announcement: https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1231958552790482950 

Avit: https://www.coindesk.com/unpacking-the-avit-avanti-banks-new-digital-asset-being-built-with-blockstream 

Banking charter: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeldelcastillo/2020/10/28/avanti-unanimously-wins-bitcoin-banking-charter/?sh=50db610816aa 

Wyoming and blockchain: https://www.coindesk.com/haven-blockchain-case-wyoming

GAAP accounting and crypto: https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1356759511856410624 

Trust charter vs. SPDI: https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1349850451374587907 

Special purpose depository institutions: https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1194022779730968577 

Bailment: https://www.forbes.com/sites/andreatinianow/2019/03/07/a-split-emerges-in-blockchain-law-wyomings-approach-versus-the-supplemental-act/?sh=49635109719a 

Caitlin on GameStop:

https://www.coindesk.com/first-mover-crypto-gamestop-bitcoin-dogecoin 

Previous Episodes

On How 'Utility Tokens' Are Now Legal in Wyoming, 2018

Why the ICE/BAKKT News Makes Some Crypto Investors Nervous, 2018

How Avanti Will Be a 'Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins' Bank, Feb 2020

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Jeff Roberts, executive editor at Decrypt and author of “King of Crypto: One Startup’s Quest to take Cryptocurrency Out of Silicon Valley and Onto Wall Street” talks about Coinbase going public. In this episode we discuss:

• Jeff's biggest takeaways from Coinbase’s S-1 filing (0:56)
• why institutions are choosing Coinbase (2:42)
• how Coinbase going public feels like validation for bitcoiners (4:37)
• issues Coinbase may face as a business that currently generates 96% of revenue through transaction fees (6:25)
• Why Surojit Chatterjee has so much equity in Coinbase (11:29)
• why Coinbase has only invested $130 million in crypto through its corporate treasury (12:26)
• whether or not decentralized exchanges like Uniswap pose a threat to Coinbase, and whether unregulated centralized exchanges might squeeze them from the other end (15:41)
• challenges Coinbase will face going forward (19:13)
• how well the stock will do once it's listed (20:05)
• Crypto News Recap (20:59) 

Thank you to our sponsor!

Crypto.com: https://bit.ly/3jzkTAD 

Download the Crypto.com app here: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/laurashinpodcasttesla

Episode Links

Jeff Roberts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeffjohnroberts

Personal Website: https://jeffjohnroberts.com/ 

Decrypt: https://decrypt.co

Kings of Crypto: https://store.hbr.org/product/kings-of-crypto-one-startup-s-quest-to-take-cryptocurrency-out-of-silicon-valley-and-onto-wall-street/10436

Coinbase S-1 Filing Information

S-1 Form: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1679788/000162828021003168/coinbaseglobalincs-1.htm

Coinbase Profit: https://decrypt.co/59347/coinbase-big-profit-for-2020-ahead-of-milestone-ipo-direct-listing

S-1 Deep Dive: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/95921/coinbases-s-1-public-filing-is-now-public-setting-stage-for-a-direct-listing-on-nasdaq

Sending to Satoshi Nakamoto: https://decrypt.co/59509/coinbase-s-1-filing-bitcoin-satoshi-nakamoto + https://twitter.com/laurashin/status/1364954956571279369 

Share Distribution: https://decrypt.co/59439/coinbase-insiders-very-rich-goes-public

Pre-IPO Shares: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/96057/coinbase-pre-ipo-shares-ftx-s1 

Armstrong Income: https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-sec-form-s-1 

Balance Sheet: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/96021/coinbase-says-holds-bitcoin-btc-on-balance-sheet 

Transaction Revenue: https://twitter.com/lawmaster/status/1364972834167148548

Link to the Crypto News Recap:

https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-one-figure-in-the-coinbase-s-1/

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In this episode of Unchained, Charles Cascarilla, CEO and cofounder of Paxos, explains how the 2008 financial crisis led him to crypto, what financial plumbing has to do with GameStop, and how Paxos is leveraging blockchain technology to change financial services. In this episode Charles discusses:

• his work experience prior to Paxos and how the financial crisis in 2008 opened his eyes to Bitcoin and blockchain (01:07)
• what it was like to work in Bitcoin during the early days compared to now (4:02a)
• why Paxos decided to focus on building solutions for institutions rather than targeting the retail market like Coinbase (11:38)
• the relationship between Paxos and PayPal + why PayPal customers can’t send crypto directly to their wallets or crypto addresses yet (19:37)
• how Microstrategy and Tesla are bringing Bitcoin mainstream (25:31)
• what really happened with GameStop and Robinhood and why financial plumbing matters (30:34)
• how the Paxos Settlement Service is bringing greater transparency to financial markets by using blockchain technology (39:02)
• what other assets he thinks will be tokenized (50:32)
• stablecoin regulation and why this might be as good as it gets for Tether (58:36)
• why Paxos chose to pursue a New York State trust company charter instead of a BitLicense (1:06:15)
• what changes he would make to crypto regulation for 2021 and beyond (1:09:28)
• what’s next for Paxos (1:15:12)

Thank you to our sponsors! 

Crypto.com: https://bit.ly/3jzkTAD

Download the Crypto.com app here: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/laurashinpodcasttesla

Square: https://square.com/go/unchained

Episode links: 

Charles Cascarilla

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlescascarilla/ 

Coindesk Profile: https://www.coindesk.com/charles-cascarilla-most-influential-2020

Previous interview with Laura: https://unchainedpodcast.com/chad-cascarilla-on-paxoss-partnership-with-paypal/

Presentation at Microstrategy’s Bitcoin for Corporation’s conference: https://www.microstrategy.com/en/bitcoin/videos/paxos

Blog post on the GameStop saga: https://www.paxos.com/what-lehman-brothers-gamestop-and-the-next-financial-crisis-have-in-common/

Interview with Frank Chaparro: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/61823/the-scoop-paxos-cascarilla-coronavirus 

Paxos

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PaxosGlobal + https://twitter.com/PaxosStandard 

Paxos Settlement Service: https://www.paxos.com/securities/ + https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currencies-paxos/paxos-to-launch-settlement-of-u-s-listed-equities-after-secs-no-action-letter-idUSKBN1X727M

Series C Fundraising: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/88133/142-million-series-c-paxos-crypto-stablecoins 

Wall Street Journal write-up: https://www.wsj.com/articles/blockchain-makes-inroads-into-the-stock-markets-1-trillion-plumbing-system-11573131600

Plans to tokenize precious metals: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/15413/paxos-plans-to-put-precious-metals-on-the-blockchain

Other Links

Paypal’s crypto-focused business unit: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/93668/paypal-crypto-business-unit-earnings-2021

Paypal’s Q4 earnings: https://www.coindesk.com/paypal-2020-results-outstanding-finish-to-a-record-year 

Stablecoin rankings: https://stablecoinstats.com/

Tether whitepaper: https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TetherWhitePaper.pdf

BitLicense: https://www.dfs.ny.gov/apps_and_licensing/virtual_currency_businesses/regulation_history

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Lea Thompson, aka Girl Gone Crypto, talks about what goes into producing her popular “The Crypto Minute” vlog, what initially got her into crypto, and her recent decision to quit her day job and go full time crypto. In this episode we discuss:

• what “The Crypto Minute” is all about, and all the crypto video content she produces (2:37)
• how Lea comes up with creative content such as wearing a whale costume to portray Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor (5:04)
• how long it actually takes to create “The Crypto Minute” (6:36)
• what goes into producing “The Crypto Minute” and which family member is behind the camera (7:05)
• the biggest challenges Lea faces when creating her videos and how she decides which stories make the final cut (8:56)
• Lea’s favorite bloopers including, but not limited to, rug pulls, sushi, an Amazon money printer, and a few fake $100 bills (10:28)
• how Girl Gone Crypto fell down the crypto rabbit hole and why her ukulele skills were instrumental to her crypto journey (12:54)
• the time when JK Rowling tweeted about Bitcoin, resulting in Lea’s viral “A Muggle’s Guide to Bitcoin” video (17:31)
• what type of crypto content works best on different social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok  (20:00)
• when Girl Gone Crypto stopped being a hobby and how it is going now that Lea is full-time crypto (21:46)
• how Lea is trying to educate people about crypto in a simple and approachable way… one ninja suit at time (22:34)
• Crypto News Recap (26:12)

Thank you to our sponsors!

Crypto.com: https://bit.ly/3jzkTAD

Download the Crypto.com app here: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/laurashinpodcasttesla

The Sun Exchange: http://thesunexchange.com/unconfirmed

Episode links:

Lea Thompson: https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto

Her YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GirlGoneCrypto

Her TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@girlgone_crypto?source=h5_m

Lea's personal website: https://www.lealovescrypto.com/

Video Examples

2020 Year in Review… News Vlog Style: https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto/status/1344384717466914817?s=20 

A Muggle’s Guide to Bitcoin: https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto/status/1261445010832015361?s=20

Hardware Wallets Explained: https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto/status/1329580439820849153?s=20

Miscellaneous Information

Fair Use: https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html

Money Printer: https://www.amazon.com/Printing-Machine-Magician-Close-Up-Accessories/dp/B07XRBDCL8

Link to the Crypto News Recap:

https://unchainedpodcast.com/a-300k-btc-by-eoy/

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Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave, comes onto the show to discuss the lending protocol and second-biggest DeFi project by total value locked. Here are some of the highlights: 

• How Stani’s background studying law and his passion for fintech led him to the world of smart contracts (1:53)
• Why he decided to transition ETHLend to Aave, and how that eliminated the “meme” narrative (5:55)
• How Stani would explain Aave to a five-year-old, or your normie friend (9:04)
• What new features were released in Aave v2 (15:54)
• • reducing overall gas costs
  • aTokens
  • swapping collateral
  • debt tokens
• What Aavenomics is and how the “safety module” attempts to keep the protocol secure (20:39)
• • How AAVE works as a governance token
  • Active versus passive risk in governance staking
• How Aave is transitioning from a centralized to a decentralized protocol (25:01)
• • what he's finding difficult about this process
  • issues with voting and an over-reliance on the Aave team
  • delegating voting power to what he calls “protocol politicians” and whether this is good or bad for DeFi
• Who is using Aave and how they are using it? (37:27)
• • what OpenLaw is and how OpenLaw contracts work
  • how credit delegation, or unsecured loans enforced by law, differ in v2 vs V1
  • how people could use lending protocols to build credit
• What Aave plans to do with the E-Money (EMI) license it obtained in the UK (50:51)
• Since Aave was a pioneer in flash loans, which are responsible for the majority of DeFi attacks, whether Stani would do anything differently (53:12)
• Aave’s partnership with tokenized real estate project RealT and how Aave manages it given that, in the US, RealT tokens are securities and can only be sold to accredited investors (58:42)
• How Aave has been thinking about scaling given the high fees on Ethereum (1:03:57)
• Why building a moat in DeFi is impossible (1:07:16)
• What is next for Aave (1:11:40)

Thank you to our sponsors! 

Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/

Episode links: 

Stani Kulechov: https://twitter.com/StaniKulechov

Aave: https://aave.com

Aave stats: https://aavewatch.com

Protocols mentioned

• ETHLend: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ethlend-announces-launch-of-new-parent-company-aave-300713825.html
• Aavegotchi: https://www.coindesk.com/defi-game-aavegotchi-preps-for-jan-4-mainnet-launch-with-nft-auctions
• RealT: https://medium.com/aave/realt-market-coming-to-the-aave-protocol-da4499a1e965
• Yearn: https://yearn.finance/
• Uniswap: https://uniswap.org/
• Sushiswap: https://sushiswap.fi/
• Kyber: http://kyber.network/
• Balancer: https://balancer.finance/
• $LINK: https://chain.link/

Aavenomics

• Aave’s documentation: https://docs.aave.com/aavenomics/
• Safety Module: https://docs.aave.com/aavenomics/safety-module
• Summary: https://aave.com/aavenomics/
• More background: https://defirate.com/aavenomics-upgrade/

Decentralization concepts

• Handing off admin keys: https://decrypt.co/46544/aave-officially-hands-over-governance-keys-to-defi-community + https://medium.com/aave/aave-admin-key-handover-3e09e603d348
• OpenLaw: https://www.openlaw.io/
• Protocol Governance: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/73336/defi-lending-aave-token + https://docs.aave.com/developers/protocol-governance/governance

Other topics

• Electronic Money Licence: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/75845/aave-uk-fca-emi-license-defi
• Unsecured Loans: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/70678/aave-launches-new-service-for-unsecured-peer-to-peer-loans-on-ethereum
• Flash Loans: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/93740/flash-loans-as-a-capital-boost-tool

Aave Version 2: https://medium.com/aave/the-aave-protocol-v2-f06f299cee04 + https://github.com/aave/protocol-v2/blob/master/aave-v2-whitepaper.pdf

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Lyn Alden, CEO and founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategies, and Raoul Pal, CEO & cofounder  of Real Vision Group & 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) 
• 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)

Thank you to our sponsor! 

Crypto.com: http://crypto.com

Episode links: 

Lyn Alden: https://twitter.com/LynAldenContact

Lyn Alden Investment: https://www.lynalden.com/

Raoul Pal: https://twitter.com/RaoulGMI

Real Vision: https://www.realvision.com/contributor/raoul-pal

Global Macro Investor: https://www.globalmacroinvestor.com

Raoul's tweet storm on Ethereum: https://twitter.com/RaoulGMI/status/1347013567799848961?s=20

Lyn Alden’s research paper on Ethereum: https://www.lynalden.com/ethereum-analysis/

Raoul Pal’s tweet: ETH equals BTC: https://twitter.com/raoulgmi/status/1347013567799848961?lang=en

John Pfeffer’s paper: https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/john-pfeffer/An+Investor's+Take+on+Cryptoassets+v6.pdf

Network effects and Metcalfe’s Law: https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_developing-new-products-and-services/s04-12-there-is-power-in-numbers-netw.html

Quantity Theory of Money: https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_economics-theory-through-applications/s30-01-the-quantity-theory-of-money.html

How Will the Government React to GameStop?: https://www.coindesk.com/gamestop-regulators-response

GameStop and Crypto trading: https://cryptonews.com/exclusives/are-gamestop-style-surges-in-crypto-any-different-from-old-p-9151.htm

Robinhood Raises Extra funds: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/93258/report-robinhood-billions-raised-investors-1

Possible role of blockchain in trading: https://cointelegraph.com/news/cardano-foundation-ceo-says-blockchain-could-prevent-gme-type-showdowns

Caitlin Long: https://www.forbes.com/sites/caitlinlong/2019/05/16/naked-shorting-in-the-uber-ipo-it-couldnt-happen-on-a-blockchain/?sh=f2a0dcd4737d

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In this episode, Shehan Chandrasekara, head of strategy at CoinTracker, and Dan Hannum COO at Zen Ledger, take a deep dive into the world of crypto taxes. Over an hour and fifteen minutes they tackle a bevy of topics ranging from why the IRS is asking about your crypto history to explaining the proper way of reporting yield farming income. Shehan and Dan give up their hard-earned tax secrets and tips learned through building their respective cutting-edge crypto tax software. Here is a list of talking points covered in the discussion:

• how the IRS is handling crypto this year (1:20)
• where to start with reporting crypto and what constitutes a taxable event (5:59)
• bitcoin corner cases:
• • mining, with a description of calculating cost basis (19:48) 
  • wages (27:01)
  • peer-to-peer transactions outside of exchanges (28:23)
• defi and taxes:
• • yield farming — and how it's like Russian nesting dolls (31:45)
  • how the IRS taxes earned interest (36:32)
  • airdrops (40:15)
• crypto transactions that are not taxable: purchases, withdrawals, and stablecoins (46:28)
• navigating tax documents (51:24-58-10)
• NFT’s and social tokens (57:14)
• tax loss harvesting (1:03:09)
• how having coins on platforms like Robinhood and Paypal can have an effect on your taxes (1:05:05)
• proposed tax changes (1:06:50)
• crypto tax software and tips for the upcoming year (1:10:29)

Thank you to our sponsor! 

Crypto.com: http://crypto.com

Episode links: 

Guests

• Shehan Chandrasekara: https://twitter.com/TheCryptoCPA
• Dan Hannum: https://twitter.com/DHannum8 

Software

• CoinTracker: cointracker.io
• ZenLedger: zenledger.io

Accounting

• LIFO, HIFO, FIFO: https://www.forbes.com/sites/shehanchandrasekera/2020/09/17/what-crypto-taxpayers-need-to-know-about-fifo-lifo-hifo-specific-id/?sh=7077f8e936aa (written by Shehan)
• 1040 Question: https://fortune.com/2020/09/28/the-irs-is-adding-a-cryptocurrency-question-to-form-1040-for-2020/
• 1099 Misc: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1099msc.pdf
• 1099 B: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1099-b

Regulatory research:

• 2014 IRS Tax Guidance: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-14-21.pdf
• IRS Virtual Currency page: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/virtual-currencies
• IRS gains and losses: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p550.pdf
• Equipment write-offs: https://www.section179.org/section_179_deduction/
• IRS sues Coinbase: https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/29/16717416/us-coinbase-irs-records
• How holding crypto at PayPal or Robinhood or any platform that does not allow you to transfer to an address off-platform could affect your taxes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/shehanchandrasekera/2021/01/28/exiting-robinhood-could-create-a-tax-nightmare-for-crypto-users/?sh=106b74a84ad6
• De minimis exemption: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/09/series63-050509.asp#:~:text='The%20De%20Minimis'%20exemption%20means,period%20with%20a%20physical%20address.
• FinCEN intends to apply FBAR to cryptocurrency held offshore: https://www.coindesk.com/fincen-foreign-crypto-exchange-disclosure-rule

Backstory:

• Bitcoin Cash Fork: https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-cash-has-split-into-two-new-blockchains-again

Yield farming and social tokens:

• https://decrypt.co/resources/what-is-yield-farming-beginners-guide
• https://www.cointracker.io/blog/defi-yield-farming-crypto-tax-guide (written by Shehan)
• Alex Masmej: https://www.coindesk.com/man-who-sells-himself-now-wants-buyers-to-control-his-life

Crypto tax guides

• BlockFi: https://blockfi.com/crypto-tax-laws
• Coinbase: https://www.coinbase.com/learn/tips-and-tutorials/crypto-and-bitcoin-taxes-US

Nerd Wallet: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/bitcoin-taxes

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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: 

• 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

Thank you to our sponsors! 

Crypto.com: http://crypto.com

1inch: http://1inch.exchange

Episode links: 

Michael Saylor: https://twitter.com/michael_saylor

Microstrategy: https://www.microstrategy.com/en

Bitcoin for Corporations: https://www.microstrategy.com/en/resources/events/world-2021/bitcoin-summit

Microstrategy purchases an additional $10 million in bitcoin:

https://www.microstrategy.com/content/dam/website-assets/collateral/financial-

documents/financial-document-archive/Form-8-K_jan-22-2021.pdf

Unchained interview with Saifedean Ammous:

August 11, 2020: Microstrategy adopts Bitcoin as its primary reserve asset:

August 11, 2020: Microstrategy makes tender offer to purchase up to $250 million of its common stock:

September 11, 2020: Microstrategy to purchase $60.5 million of common stock:

Plan to offer $550 million in convertible notes: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/87120/microstrategy-550m-convertible-notes-bitcoin

Microstrategy announces over $1 billion in Bitcoin purchases in 2020:

Michael Saylor’s 2013 tweet on Bitcoin: https://twitter.com/michael_saylor/status/413478389329428480?s=20

Forbes expose on unusual accounting practices by Microstrategy back in 2000: https://www.forbes.com/global/2000/0306/0305024a.html?sh=46312df01674

April 2000 profile of Michael in The New Yorker: https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/2000-04-03/flipbook/034/

SEC enforcement action against Microstrategy: https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/34-43724.htm

Forbes profile after the SEC enforcement action: https://www.forbes.com/2000/12/18/1218faces.html?sh=523061e03bf9

Forbes announcing Microstrategy would restate earnings after its expose: https://www.forbes.com/2000/03/20/mu3.html?sh=21efe89d1ee6

Summary of SEC action:

Citi downgrading MSTR:

Renaissance Technologies has been third-largest buyer of Microstrategy’s stock since the summer: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/87194/renaissance-technologies-microstrategy-bitcoin 

Microstrategy contemplating bitcoin data products: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/85310/microstrategy-bitcoin-data-products

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Stephen Palley, partner at Anderson Kill. and Gabriel Shapiro, partner at BSV Law, discuss the SEC's lawsuit against Ripple and two executives, Chris Larsen and Bard Garlinghouse. In this episode, they explain:

• what was so "egregious" that the SEC went after two executives, Chris Larsen and Brad Garlinghouse, were charged 
• why their sales showed an information asymmetry, and why that matters
• why the complaint comes close to being a fraud case, but why the SEC didn't charge them with fraud
• why the idea that XRP is a currency and therefore cannot be a security will likely not fly
• why it's unlikely the case will go to the Supreme Court
• the SEC's case for why XRP is a security, and Ripple's role in it
• how even on a technical level, the XRP network is centralized
• how strong the SEC's case is against Larsen and Garlinghouse
• Stephen's and Gabriel's predictions on how the lawsuit will play out
• how this will likely impact XRP investors
• whether or not Ripple could become an SEC-reporting company and XRP a security
• what happened with Ripple's lead investor in its most recent fundraising round
• whether or not the SEC might go after exchanges or other players who made money off XRP or collaborated with Ripple around XRP trading
• what this means for Coinbase, in particular, because it's going public later this year
• what Ripple's defense, in its summarized Wells submission, was 
• how this case compares to some of the other big SEC/crypto securities cases, Kik/Kin and Telegram
• whether there might ever be a digital token that is determined to be a security for specific transactions but not others
• what the wider implications of the case are for the rest of the crypto industry 

Thank you to our sponsors! 

Crypto.com: http://crypto.com

1inch: https://1inch.exchange

Episode links: 

Stephen Palley: https://twitter.com/stephendpalley

Gabriel Shapiro: https://twitter.com/lex_node

SEC lawsuit against Ripple: https://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2020/comp-pr2020-338.pdf

SEC lawsuit against Ripple being close to a fraud case: https://twitter.com/stephendpalley/status/1341523294344896515?s=20

Former SEC commissioner Joe Grundefest on the case: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/89164/former-sec-commissioner-says-ripple-lawsuit-will-cause-multi-billion-dollar-losses-to-innocent-third-parties

Other lawsuit against Ripple: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.334410/gov.uscourts.cand.334410.115.0.pdf

Technical assessment of Ripple network: https://cryptobern.github.io/noconsensusripple/

Tetragon’s case against Ripple: https://twitter.com/stephendpalley/status/1346531087971999749?s=20

What the case means for exchanges: https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-delist-xrp-exchanges-dilemma

Coinbase suspends trading in XRP: https://blog.coinbase.com/coinbase-will-suspend-trading-in-xrp-on-january-19-2e09652dbf57

https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-suspends-xrp-trading

Lawsuit against Coinbase: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-30/coinbase-sued-over-xrp-commissions-after-sec-pursues-ripple?sref=m9L277rN

https://twitter.com/stephendpalley/status/1344352455895691269?s=20

People in the industry thinking for a while that XRP is a security: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/57366/xrp-is-probably-a-security-dont-at-me

Mary Jo White: https://www.coindesk.com/former-sec-chair-represents-ripple-xrp-lawsuit

Ripple’s Wells submission: https://ripple.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Ripple-Wells-Submission-Summary.pdf

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Willy Woo, a prominent on-chain Bitcoin analyst and author of the “The Bitcoin Forecast,” a market intelligence newsletter, explains the parabolic activity of Bitcoin in the past month. We cover: 

• why he thinks Bitcoin has more than doubled in the last month
• what the "double pump" market is and why Bitcoin may see two rallies this cycle
• what stage of the Bitcoin bull market we are currently in
• who is buying, and how they've differed from previous investors
• who still is yet to buy this cycle
• why Bitcoin hitting new all-time highs mean that we're in "uncharted price discovery"
• how his "top cap model" shows Bitcoin could be around $95k by end of year
• and how if certain trends accelerate, it could reach $200,000-$300,000 by year's end
• how the pandemic impacted Bitcoin’s price
• what on-chain movements he's seeing that make him call the current cycle of Bitcoin "whale spawning season” 
• how to gauge the increasingly rapid investor activity 
• what to expect from Bitcoin and Ethereum in 2021

Thank you to our sponsors!

Crypto.com: http://crypto.com

1inch: http://1inch.exchange 

Episode links: 

Willy Woo: https://twitter.com/woonomic

Woobull.com: http://charts.woobull.com

Willy on Unconfirmed: https://unchainedpodcast.com/willy-woo-on-why-its-an-extremely-great-time-to-buy-bitcoin/

Fibonacci traces tweet: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1347433551906500614?s=20

Bitcoin reflexivity: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1344189627997949952/photo/1

Who has been buying recently: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1347127159538688002?s=20

Double pump bull market: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1346889817792004096?s=20

Buying by long-term holders: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1346827893322616833/photo/1

What percentage of the Bitcoin supply is liquid: https://insights.glassnode.com/bitcoin-liquid-supply/

Premium above NVT Price: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1346797291668029440/photo/1

Accumulation of BTC before the OCC announcement: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1346296294797582336/photo/1

Will never see a $20k BTC again: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1345660018541019138?s=20

Bitcoin as investment vs. tech: https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1345221723751206912?s=20

NVT Ratio: http://charts.woobull.com/bitcoin-nvt-ratio/

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This panel, from a panel for the fifth anniversary of Hyperledger, features Rob Palatnick, managing director of global head of technology research and innovation at the DTCC and chairman of the Hyperledger board, Matthieu Saint Olive, Codefi payments product manager and CBDC advisor at ConsenSys, and Robert Bench, assistant vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. In this discussion on the current outlook on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), they cover: 

• what main problems CBDCs can solve
• whether CBDCs should be open sourced
• why building a new technology for CBDCs is preferred over using existing tech
• how concerns over CBDCs and their privacy implications differ across countries
• what possible pain points or opportunities CBDCs pose for central banks
• whether CBDCs should be blockchain-based
• to what extent CBDCs will be distributed and open networks, and whether fees would be charged for transactions
• how central banks are thinking about methods of adoption, like whether they will bank directly with retail customers or still use commercial banks 
• how developers balance the drawbacks and benefits of blockchain-based CBDCs with different stakeholders
• whether stable coins will be replaced by or coexist with CBDCs
• and what the future holds for the continued development of CBDCs

Thank you to our sponsors!

Crypto.com: http://crypto.com

1inch: http://1inch.exchange 

Episode links: 

Rob Palatnick: https://www.dtcc.com/our-experts/robert-palatnick

Brian Behlendorf: https://twitter.com/brianbehlendorf?lang=en 

Matthieu Saint Olive: https://twitter.com/msaintolive?lang=en 

Robert Bench: https://www.bostonfed.org/home/people/bank/robert-bench.aspx

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Host Laura Shin recaps the biggest stories of the year in crypto, with clips from shows throughout the year. In this episode, we cover how the pandemic drove Bitcoin to new all-time highs, how regulation began to come for the crypto space in a big way, plus new trends in DeFi, corporate structures, and how ETH will change as an asset. 

Thank you to our sponsors! 

Crypto.com: http://crypto.com

1inch: https://1inch.exchange

Episode links: 

Meltem Demirors on Bitcoin’s behavior during the recession https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-meltem-demirors-and-lyn-alden-on-the-perfect-conditions-for-bitcoin/

Mike Novogratz and Raoul Pal on Bitcoin’s relation to fiat https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-mike-novogratz-and-raoul-pal-on-the-single-greatest-brand-of-the-last-10-years/

Chamath Palihapitiya on Bitcoin as a financial hedge https://unchainedpodcast.com/chamath-palihapitiya-why-bitcoin-will-be-the-category-winner/

Cathie Wood and Dan Tapiero on corporate adoption of Bitcoin https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-bitcoin-under-a-biden-administration/

Dave Jevans and Siân Jones on regulation and VASPs https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-the-travel-rule-is-one-of-the-most-significant-regulations-in-crypto/ 

Jake Chervinsky and Kristin Smith on the Swiss Rule and self-hosted wallets https://unchainedpodcast.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-looming-battle-over-privacy-in-crypto/

Jeremy Allaire and Kristin Smith on Mnuchin’s proposed FinCEN rule https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-is-the-proposed-fincen-rule-for-unhosted-wallets-being-pushed-so-quickly/

Jessi Brooks and Zia Faruqui on cryptocurrencies facilitating illicit activity https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-this-doj-strike-force-hunts-down-cryptocurrency-criminals/ 

Brian Brooks on Americans accepting more privacy restrictions https://unchainedpodcast.com/acting-comptroller-of-the-currency-brian-brooks-on-crypto-banks/

Meltem Demirors on privacy being under attack https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-meltem-demirors-and-lyn-alden-on-the-perfect-conditions-for-bitcoin/

Haseeb Qureshi on the maturation of DeFi https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-decentralized-trading-has-10xed-in-a-few-months/ 

Vitalik Buterin on risks that still exist in DeFi https://unchainedpodcast.com/vitalik-buterin-on-ethereums-five-year-anniversary/

Taylor Monahan and Dan Guido on DeFi security https://unchainedpodcast.com/defi-security-with-so-many-hacks-will-it-ever-be-safe/ 

Vitalik Buterin reflecting on the last five years of Ethereum https://unchainedpodcast.com/vitalik-buterin-on-ethereums-five-year-anniversary/ 

Ryan Watkins on Ethereum 2.0 https://unchainedpodcast.com/ethereum-2-0-what-you-need-to-know/ 

Olaf Carlson-Wee on DeFi impacting the traditional corporate structure https://unchainedpodcast.com/olaf-carlson-wee-if-there-is-a-money-losing-exploit-the-money-is-gone/

Andrew Cronje on shifting corporate structures https://unchainedpodcast.com/andre-cronje-of-yearn-finance-on-yfi-and-the-fair-launch-im-lazy/

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Jeremy Allaire of Circle Pay and Kristin Smith of the Blockchain Association explain the impact of and motivation behind Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s proposed FinCEN rule that targets “unhosted” wallets. In this episode, they cover:

• what the new FinCEN rule says, and how it would impact unhosted or self-hosted wallets, as well as crypto businesses
• why they believe this is really politically motivated and unilateral midnight rule making by Secretary Mnuchin 
• what other bureaucrats and policymakers think should be done instead 
• whether the rule only affects businesses rather than individuals 
• what information will be recorded according to the rule
• ways to circumvent compliance 
• how the rule affects DeFi and Web3
• the procedural hurdles Mnuchin took to propose the rule, and what they recommend the crypto community to do try to stop the implementation of the rule 
• how the rule comports with European GDPR regulations 
• which government entities will be tasked with making the regulatory changes the space needs 
• why President-Elect Joe Biden’s administration may be more favorable for the space

Thank you to our sponsors! 

Crypto.com: http://crypto.com

1inch: http://1inch.exchange 

Episode links: 

Jeremy Allaire: https://twitter.com/jerallaire 

Kristin Smith: https://twitter.com/kmsmithdc

Circle: https://www.circle.com/en/

The Blockchain Association: https://theblockchainassociation.org

Stories on proposed rule: 

https://www.coindesk.com/fincen-proposes-kyc-rules-for-crypto-wallets

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/88347/treasury-crypto-wallets-reporting-rule

Effect on DeFi: https://twitter.com/jerallaire/status/1340060806088671232?s=20

https://twitter.com/jchervinsky/status/1340050400871911424?s=20

Coin Center response: https://www.coincenter.org/a-midnight-rule-for-cryptocurrency-transaction-reports/

Brian Armstrong’s earlier tweet thread: https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1331745196887867393

Collins Belton’s tweet thread: https://twitter.com/collins_belton/status/1340051986008350721?s=20

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Marguerite deCourcelle is co-founder and CEO of Blockade Games, which is releasing the role-playing game game Neon District the day this episode comes out. She discusses her background in art, how her love of video games led her to discover Bitcoin in the early days of the cryptocurrency, and how she helps create the next phase of web 3.0 content creation and distribution. Topics include:

• how Marguerite became involved in crypto and what led her to co-found Blockade Games
• her work on Pineapple Arcade and Plasma Bears
• the problems she sees with gaming and how blockchain technology can solve them
• how Blockade Games is utilizing blockchain tech
• Neon District, a blockchain-based RPG game with active gameplay and animation that uses NFTs and farming
• the difference between ERC-721 and ERC-1155 tokens and how each is utilized in Neon District
• how they have been marrying NFTs with DeFi through the NIFTEX exchange
• how an open economy challenges the dynamics of gameplay and how they account for this in their game design
• why a decentralized profile can be so powerful in gaming
• the types of users Blockade Games hopes to attract with Neon District
• why they are using the Matic Network
• how blockchain tech within a game changes the business model for Blockade as opposed to a traditional gaming company
• whether she thinks conventional gaming companies will be disrupted by blockchain technology
• the problems in content creation business models and distribution and how she thinks blockchain can solve them
• her personal token, COIN, how it is connected to CRED and how the two work together and people earn them
• what Coin Artist Liquidity Mining is and how it works

Thank you to our sponsors! 

Crypto.com: http://crypto.com

1inch: http://1inch.exchange

Episode links: 

Marguerite: https://twitter.com/coin_artist

Coin Artist: https://coinartist.io

Yield farming NFTs: https://www.coindesk.com/nfts-yield-farming-defi-buzz-explained

Crypto puzzles: https://www.coindesk.com/theres-more-money-to-win-in-the-310-bitcoin-challenge-heres-some-hints

Blockade Games's seed round: https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-puzzle-artists-blockchain-gaming-startup-valued-at-13-million

CoinDesk podcast network with Marguerite: https://www.coindesk.com/what-artists-love-about-crypto

Delphi Digital podcast with Marguerite: https://www.delphidigital.io/podcasts/marguerite-decourcelle-building-towards-a-neon-future/

Delphi Digital report on Coin's E-den syndicate: https://www.delphidigital.io/reports/social-tokens-the-rise-of-the-coins-e-den-syndicate/

OpenSea store for Alex Botez chess pieces: https://opensea.io/collection/get-pwnd

Blog post about the Alexandra Botez collaboration: https://coin-artist.medium.com/bringing-chess-to-ethereum-5969d9cfa07a

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Gavin Wood, founder of Polkadot, Kusama, and Parity, discusses what he calls the "meta-protocol," Polkadot. In this episode, he talks about:

• his vision for Polkadot and the problems he set out to solve when conceiving it
• why he considers Polkadot a meta-protocol
• the implementation of parachains and parathreads, how they are defined and how they differ
• parachain auctions and candle auctions
• how DDoS attacks can be prevented on parachains
• initial parachain offerings and how they differ from initial coin offerings and avoid the regulatory problems that were so common with ICOs
• on-chain governance on Polkadot and how it works
• how immediate implementation of proposals that pass consensus will prevent forks
• his answer to those who point to Parity's history with security lapses as cause for concern about Polkadot's security
• how he sees Polkadot co-existing with Ethereum
• whether Polkadot is working toward composability
• how the Web3 Foundation and Parity plan to use their collective stake of DOTs within the network
• how he plans to address the possibility that DOT could be labeled a security
• how he imagines Polkadot will serve the enterprise world and how Polkadot will benefit enterprise blockchains

Thank you to our sponsors! 

1inch: https://1inch.exchange

Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com

Episode links: 

Gavin Wood: https://twitter.com/gavofyork

Polkadot: https://polkadot.network

Kusama: https://kusama.network

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Ryan Watkins and Wilson Withiam, senior research analysts at Messari, explain the nuts and bolts of Ethereum 2.0, including how it will transform ETH as an asset and why they believe it will be Ethereum’s most ambitious upgrade yet. Topics include:

• the different phases of Ethereum 2.0 and the functions they serve
• the problems Ethereum hopes to solve with this upgrade
• the technical requirements needed to ensure the launch can happen
• the new proof of stake consensus and why Ethereum is leaving proof of work behind
• the requirements necessary to maintain a validator node on the Ethereum 2.0 network
• why users won’t be able to use their ETH once it is staked on Ethereum 2.0
• the incentives and services that will allow users staking on Ethereum 2.0 to continue using their ETH on Ethereum 1.0
• whether the appeal of DeFi is a threat to Ethereum 2.0 staking
• how Ethereum 2.0 incentivizes client diversity
• the monetary policy of “minimum necessary issuance” that supports Ethereum 2.0
• how Ethereum 2.0 will allow ETH to achieve the unprecedented combination of a store of value, a capital asset, and a commodity
• what will be done in the short term to help ease the scaling problem while ETH 2.0 is being built
• whether scalability can be efficiently addressed in time to prevent migrations to other blockchains
• and the most significant risks Ethereum 2.0 is facing

Thank you to our sponsor!

Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com

Episode links:

Ryan Watkins: https://twitter.com/RyanWatkins_

Wilson Withiam: https://twitter.com/wilsonwithiam

Messari Crypto: https://messari.io/

Messari report on Ethereum 2:0: https://messari.io/road-to-eth2  

Amount of ETH in the Ethereum 2.0 Deposit Contract: https://etherscan.io/address/0x00000000219ab540356cBB839Cbe05303d7705Fa#analytics

https://www.stakingrewards.com/earn/ethereum-2-0

ETH issuance based on amount staked: https://docs.ethhub.io/ethereum-basics/monetary-policy/#proof-of-stake-impact

Dan Elitzer article on DETH: https://medium.com/ideo-colab/the-deth-of-ethereum-98553866e81b

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Christine Sandler, head of sales and marketing at Fidelity Digital Assets, talks about how 30 years in traditional finance and an early retirement led her to Coinbase, and, eventually, Fidelity Digital Assets. She discusses the history of Fidelity's involvement in crypto, how they became one of the first to enter the space, and what the future holds. Topics include:

• what Fidelity Digital Assets is and Christine's role there
• Christine's background in traditional finance, how she was drawn into the world of cryptocurrencies, eventually working at Coinbase, and how she found her way to Fidelity Digital Assets
• the role Fidelity sees itself playing in the digital asset space
• how the client base for digital assets has changed over time
• how Fidelity approaches the difficulties around explaining what bitcoin and crypto is, and the most common questions they receive
• how the pandemic has changed the conversation around digital currencies
• the types of services and products Fidelity is considering for the future
• the differences Fidelity sees in how international investors are approaching digital currency
• Fidelity's plans for a Bitcoin index fund and whether they are considering offering futures
• how financial institutions and institutional investors fit into a world of decentralized finance founded with the ethos of excluding them
• the regulatory improvements Fidelity is hoping to see
• what a Bitcoin ETF would mean for Fidelity
• how Fidelity might use a central bank digital currency in its business
• Fidelity's thoughts on offering proof of stake services
• whether a more deflationary Ethereum might attract more institutional investors
• and whether Fidelity will offer Ethereum in the future

Thank you to our sponsor! 

Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com

Episode links: 

Christine Sandler: https://twitter.com/shoegalnyc

Fidelity Digital Assets: https://www.fidelitydigitalassets.com/overview

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DigitalAssets

Christine leaves Coinbase for FDAS: https://www.coindesk.com/fidelity-poaches-coinbase-institutional-sales-head-christine-sandler

Fidelity Center for Applied Technology: https://fcatalyst.com/overview

Fidelity Digital Assets looking to become prime broker: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/daily/68920/fidelity-digital-assets-eyes-service-for-introducing-crypto-funds-to-big-investors

How the client profile has changed: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/daily/42342/the-client-profile-is-changing-fidelity-digital-assets-exec-says-new-players-are-entering-the-crypto-fold

How to Explain Cryptocurrencies and Blockchains to the Average Person

Unchained episode: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-to-explain-cryptocurrencies-and-blockchains-to-the-average-person/

Fidelity expands crypto business to Europe: https://www.coindesk.com/fidelity-to-expand-institutional-crypto-business-to-europe

Fidelity obtains New York Trust Charter: https://www.coindesk.com/fidelity-gets-a-new-york-trust-charter-to-custody-bitcoin-for-institutions

Bitcoin Index Fund: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeldelcastillo/2020/08/26/fidelity-president-files-for-new-bitcoin-fund/?sh=13aa335445c9

Fidelity survey of 800 institutional investors: https://www.fidelitydigitalassets.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/FDAS/institutional-investor-study.pdf

FDAS hiring: https://www.fidelitydigitalassets.com/articles/engineering-hiring-initiative?ccmedia=owned&ccchannel=social&cccampaign=hiring_blog&cctactics=twitter

Kingdom Trust: 

https://www.coindesk.com/fidelity-digital-assets-to-custody-bitcoin-in-kingdom-trust-retirement-accounts

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Jake Chervinsky, general counsel at Compound Labs, and Kristin Smith, executive director of The Blockchain Association, talk about the storm brewing in the cryptosphere involving self-custody and privacy. In this episode, they cover:

• the differences between hosted and self-hosted wallets and how transactions between them differ
• why the ability to transact from self-hosted wallets is so important
• compliance and regulation in the traditional financial world and how it could affect self-custody
• the “Swiss rule” and what it could mean for the rest of the world
• the proposal by FinCEN to lower the threshold for collecting data on transactions from $3,000 to $250
• how regulators might achieve their goals without “dragnet” surveillance
• how the amount of crime and money laundering in the traditional financial system compares to that in the crypto world
• why OTC brokers are considered the most significant money laundering risk in crypto, and how that risk might be mitigated
• how different political environments can influence the value of peer to peer transactions
• whether Americans should be willing to give up some of their financial privacy in favor of security
• what the recent statement by the DOJ's cryptocurrency enforcement framework labeling anonymous transactions as "high-risk activity indicative of possible criminal conduct" could mean for privacy coins like Monero and Zcash
• Gary Gensler's appointment as head of Biden's financial policy transition team and whether to view it as a positive or negative for crypto
• whether they think the incoming Congress will be in favor of more surveillance or more privacy
• whether there might eventually be regulations for developers who write code for self-hosted wallets
• how potential rules regarding self-custody could affect non-monetary items like NFTs
• and the next big developments they are watching out for regarding this issue

Thank you to our sponsor! 

Crypto.com: http://crypto.com

Episode links: 

Jake Chervinsky: https://twitter.com/jchervinsky

Compound Labs: https://compound.finance

Kristin Smith: https://twitter.com/kmsmithdc

The Blockchain Association: https://theblockchainassociation.org/

https://twitter.com/BlockchainAssn

FinCen NPRM: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/10/27/2020-23756/threshold-for-the-requirement-to-collect-retain-and-transmit-information-on-funds-transfers-and

Coin Center commentary on lowering FinCEN threshold: https://www.coincenter.org/app/uploads/2020/10/Coin-Center-Comment-FinCEN-FRB-250-threshold.pdf 

Unchained episode about the FATF travel rule: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-the-travel-rule-is-one-of-the-most-significant-regulations-in-crypto/ 

The choice of Gary Gensler to lead the financial policy transition team: 

https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/trump-biden-election-day-2020/card/peMRHGPJasECSPLezSFx

https://www.coindesk.com/biden-confirms-gary-gensler-will-lead-financial-policy-transition-team

Shapeshift delists Zcash: https://www.coindesk.com/shapeshift-delists-privacy-coin-zcash-over-regulatory-concerns

Jessie Liu interview on Unchained: https://unchainedpodcast.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-dojs-cryptocurrency-enforcement-framework/

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In this episode, Dan Tapiero, founder of 10T Holdings and Gold Bullion International, and Cathie Wood, CEO and CIO at ARK Invest, discuss the long election week in the U.S. and how they believe Bitcoin will behave in a post-election world. They also talk about:

• how a changeover from a Trump to a Biden administration could affect Bitcoin
• how the prospect of legal challenges from the Trump administration might affect Bitcoin
• whether they think the presidential election influenced Bitcoin’s precipitous price jump in the first week of November
• what it takes to change the mind of a Bitcoin skeptic in the investment world
• whether gold investors are becoming more resistant or more embracing of Bitcoin
• whether Democratic control of the Senate would affect Bitcoin
• how they expect the new wave of rising coronavirus cases and lockdowns to affect economies and Bitcoin
• the new inflation policy introduced by Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell and how it will affect Bitcoin
• the recent Bitcoin halving and how they expect Bitcoin to perform over the next year
• how banking will change over the next few years and how that will affect Bitcoin
• their thoughts on central bank digital currencies and how an increase in CBDCs might affect Bitcoin
• what factors they are looking at right now when thinking about what could happen with Bitcoin over the next year

Thank you to our sponsor! 

Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com

Episode links: 

Cathie Wood: https://twitter.com/cathiedwood

Ark Invest: https://ark-invest.com/

Yassine Elmandjra: https://twitter.com/yassineARK

Dan Tapiero: https://twitter.com/DTAPCAP

10T Holdings: https://10tfund.com/

Gold Bullion International: https://bullioninternational.com/

Unchained with Brian Brooks: https://unchainedpodcast.com/acting-comptroller-of-the-currency-brian-brooks-on-crypto-banks/

Jerome Powell speech on targeting inflation of 2%: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/27/powell-announces-new-fed-approach-to-inflation-that-could-keep-rates-lower-for-longer.html

Bitcoin-gold correlation: https://coinmetrics.io/correlation-charts/#assets=btc-gld

Bitcoin-S&P 500 correlation: https://coinmetrics.io/correlation-charts/#assets=btc-s&p

Forbes profile on Cathie Wood: https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoinegara/2020/10/05/how-cathie-wood-beat-wall-street-by-betting-tesla-is-worth-more-than-1-trillion/?sh=12d44f813d45

ARK Invest Bitcoin white papers: https://ark-invest.com/white-papers/bitcoin-part-one/

https://ark-invest.com/white-papers/bitcoin-part-two/

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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”  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

Thank you to our sponsors! 

Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com

Episode links: 

Lyn Alden: https://twitter.com/LynAldenContact

Lyn Alden Investment Strategy: lynalden.com

Meltem Demirors: https://twitter.com/Melt_Dem

Coinshares: https://www.coinshares.com/

Lyn’s post on how the economy and stock market perform under Democratic vs. Republican presidents: https://www.lynalden.com/presidential-elections/

US stimulus spending: https://datalab.usaspending.gov/federal-covid-funding/#section-tracking

IMF New Bretton Woods speech: https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/10/15/sp101520-a-new-bretton-woods-moment

Stocks in a bubble: https://www.longtermtrends.net/sp500-price-earnings-shiller-pe-ratio/

Meltem on the financialization of internet infrastructure: https://medium.com/coinshares/the-financialization-of-compute-connectivity-66beaffe7501

BitOoda report on Bitcoin mining: https://bitooda.medium.com/bitcoin-mining-hashrate-and-power-analysis-bitooda-research-ebc25f5650bf

Bloomberg wealth report: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-08/top-50-richest-people-in-the-us-are-worth-as-much-as-poorest-165-million

Cash app’s Bitcoin sales: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/74001/square-q2-bitcoin-cash-app

JPMorgan research note on Bitcoin: https://fortune.com/2020/10/26/jp-morgan-chase-bitcoin-predictions-analyst-jpm-cryptocurrency/

https://twitter.com/DTAPCAP/status/1319703750450302980?s=20

Forbes interview with Daniel Masters of Coinshares: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeldelcastillo/2020/10/24/jp-morgan-veteran-daniel-masters-explains-how-blockchain-will-end-commercial-banks/#77ec4f6a6bdd

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Brian Brooks got his start in traditional finance before joining Coinbase in 2018 and is currently the acting comptroller of the currency. In this episode, he discusses:

• how his background in traditional financial services led him to take a position at Coinbase
• whether the role blockchain and crypto will likely play in the financial future is being recognized at the federal level
• whether or not banks have always had the authority to custody crypto for their customers
• how he expects things to unfold in the coming years as banks begin to become more involved in crypto custody
• his thoughts on Kraken and others launching crypto banks and whether it will lead to the founding of other crypto banks
• how his office is pushing for a national fintech charter, and how it could affect less crypto-friendly states
• whether banks that work with crypto companies supporting unhosted wallets are prohibited from holding stablecoin reserves
• whether or not OCC regulations cover DeFi, and the regulatory challenges that open source protocols present
• whether he sees a time when governments and regulators participate in the governance of crypto platforms
• what roles he thinks public and private sectors, as well as commercial banks, should play in the creation of a central bank digital currency
• what stance the OCC might take around privacy in blockchain transactions
• how U.S. regulators can offer more clarity to the crypto industry
• and how he thinks the pandemic, its effect on the economy, and the government’s response through stimulus will affect the crypto industry

Thank you to our sponsor!

Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com

Episode links: 

Brian Brooks: https://twitter.com/BrianBrooksOCC

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency: https://www.occ.gov

Letter to authorize banks to provide crypto custody services for customers: https://www.occ.gov/topics/charters-and-licensing/interpretations-and-actions/2020/int1170.pdf

The significance of the letter for banks and crypto companies: https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthougan/2020/07/27/the-occs-notice-on-crypto-is-a-really-big-deal/#13aad8806301

The OCC’s statement on federally chartered banks and crypto custody: https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2020/nr-occ-2020-98.html

His support for a federal licensing framework for crypto companies: https://www.coindesk.com/us-banking-regulator-suggests-federal-licensing-framework-for-crypto-firms

Questions about the OCC’s stablecoin guidance

https://www.coindesk.com/questions-occ-first-guidance-stablecoins

CSBS “One Company, One Exam” policy: https://www.coindesk.com/csbs-firms-explained

Battle with states over federal licensing program: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/31/currency-comptroller-reshape-banking-406393 

FinCEN’s 2019 Regulatory Guidance: https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/new-fincen-guidance-affirms-its-longstanding-regulatory-framework-virtual

Federal Reserve says it is exploring a central bank digital currency: https://www.coindesk.com/fed-reserve-evaluating-digital-dollar-but-benefits-still-unclear-says-chairman 

His view that a CBDC should be designed by the private sector: 

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/69216/heres-how-brian-brooks-disagrees-with-fed-chair-jerome-powell-on-the-digital-dollar

The OCC’s Financial Inclusion Project: https://www.occ.gov/topics/consumers-and-communities/minority-outreach/project-reach.html

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Magistrate judge Zia Faruqui, and Jessi Brooks, assistant U.S. attorney in the national security section at the United States Attorney’s Office, have prosecuted several cryptocurrency-related cases, many of them amongst the most well-known. In this episode, they talk about:

• how they came to be involved in the prosecution of so many cases involving cryptocurrency
• the nature of civil forfeiture cases
• the Al-Qassam Brigades case, which led to the largest ever seizure of a terrorist organization’s cryptocurrency accounts, and the terrorist organization’s use of dynamic addresses in an attempt to elude detection by authorities.
• how Al Qaeda used Telegram to pursue cryptocurrency donations
• the case involving ISIS and counterfeit PPE for COVID
• the process of seizing funds from unhosted wallets
• the North Korean affiliated Lazarus Group, and how they were able to amass $2580 million worth of cryptocurrency
• the methods hackers will use to cash out stolen crypto funds to fiat
• how different government agencies in the U.S., as well as in other countries, are coordinated when tackling these cases
• the Welcome to Video case and how they went about prosecuting a person in a foreign country
• how they’ve seen the use of cryptocurrencies by criminals evolve over time
• and whether or not they think decentralized exchanges will make it easier for criminals and hackers to cash out

Thank you to our sponsor! 

Crypto.com: https://www.crypto.com

Episode links: 

Jessi Brooks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-brooks-8289ab32/

Zia’s Faruqui: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zia-faruqui-a73ba11a5/

Three terror-finance cybercrime cases: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/global-disruption-three-terror-finance-cyber-enabled-campaigns

The Al-Qassam Brigades case: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/global-disruption-three-terror-finance-cyber-enabled-campaigns

Scam PPE site: https://www.wired.com/story/isis-allegedly-ran-a-covid-19-ppe-scam-site/

Civil forfeiture complaint against North Korea-affiliated hackers, Lazarus Group: 

https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/united-states-files-complaint-forfeit-280-cryptocurrency-accounts-tied-hacks-two

https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/press-release/file/1310411/download

https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/lazarus-group-north-korea-doj-complaint-august-2020

Welcome to Video indictment: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/south-korean-national-and-hundreds-others-charged-worldwide-takedown-largest-darknet-child

Dark Scandals: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2020/03/13/dark-deja-vu-irs-announces-charges-in-takedown-of-multi-million-dollar-child-exploitation-website-funded-by-bitcoin/#4a09b2ac28ae

https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/press-release/file/1257581/download

Jonathan Levin from Chainalysis on Unchained: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-bitcoin-led-to-the-demise-of-the-largest-child-porn-site/

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