Unchained

Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. In this episode, the crew is joined by special guest Rebecca Rettig, Chief Legal Officer at Jito Labs, to unpack the biggest legislative week in crypto history. The Clarity Act, Genius Act, and Anti-CBDC Act all pass Congress, ushering in what some are calling a regulatory renaissance — or at least, the first real rules of the road. Bitcoin breaks $120K, memecoins rip, and Crypto Week sends shockwaves through Washington. But is the Clarity Act really the win the industry’s been waiting for? Rebecca breaks down the legal nuance, Tarun questions the economic reality, and Haseeb points out Ethereum’s bizarre silence during the biggest policy shift of the decade. Has crypto finally grown up — or just gotten better at playing the game? The gang dissects the laws, the loopholes, and the market’s reaction to it all.

Show highlights

🔹 Clarity Act Passes the House – Landmark crypto bill advances with bipartisan support, aiming to limit SEC power and define digital asset classifications.

🔹 Stablecoins Get a Path Forward – The Genius Act passes alongside Clarity, offering long-awaited regulatory rails for U.S. stablecoin issuers.

🔹 Congress Goes Full Crypto – Three major bills pass the House in one week, marking a historic show of political support for the industry.

🔹 Rebecca Rettig Returns – Jito Labs Chief Legal Officer breaks down what the legislation really means — and what still isn’t clear.

🔹 SEC in the Hot Seat – With CFTC gaining ground, the SEC’s regulatory grip is questioned across policy circles and crypto Twitter.

🔹 Bitcoin Breaks $120K – Markets rally on regulatory momentum and renewed optimism, with BTC setting a new local high.

🔹 Altcoins Catch Fire – SOL, PENGU, and meme tokens explode as traders rotate into risk-on narratives post-legislation.

🔹 Ethereum’s Silence Raises Eyebrows – Despite being at the heart of stablecoin infrastructure, Ethereum’s core voices stay unusually quiet.

🔹 DeFi’s Legal Gray Zone Remains – Tarun argues the bills may shift political winds, but don’t resolve the underlying protocol risk or enforcement ambiguity.

🔹 Crypto Week Becomes a Real Thing – What started as a Trump slogan turns into one of the most consequential weeks in U.S. crypto history.

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate

⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

Guest

⭐️ Rebecca Rettig, Jurisprudential Genius at Jito Labs

Disclosures

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

01:06 The Genius Act

04:38 Tech Companies & Stablecoins

08:38 Predictions for the Future of Stablecoins

26:25 The Clarity Act Breakdown

32:27 Important Definitions

34:38 New Exemptions for Token Sales

41:12 Mature Blockchain Certification Process

45:27 Defi Activity Exemptions & Regulations

48:03 New Categories for Spot Crypto Registrants

55:52 Solana's Block Assembly Marketplace (BAM)

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Last week, the U.S. passed its first major piece of crypto legislation. Stablecoins now have a legal home, and that could open the floodgates for adoption, disruption, and regulation.

But is this just the beginning?

In this episode of Bits + Bips, Ram Ahluwalia, Noelle Acheson, Steve Ehrlich, and guest Cosmo Jiang of Pantera dive into what the stablecoin law actually means, who it helps, who it threatens, and why Wall Street and crypto startups alike are positioning fast.

They also cover Ethereum’s rally, what’s fueling it, and whether the boom in digital asset treasury companies is sustainable. Plus, they unpack Trump’s latest threats against the Fed and what it means for markets, inflation, and interest rates.

Sponsors:

• Bitwise

• Mantle

  
  Hosts:

• Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida

• Noelle Acheson, Author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” Newsletter 

• Steve Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained

Guest:

• Cosmo Jiang, General Partner and Portfolio Manager for Liquid Strategies at Pantera Capital

Links

Stablecoins

• Unchained: 

• GENIUS Act Passes: Who Are the Winners, Losers, and What Comes Next?

• House Passes Landmark Crypto Legislation: GENIUS Act and Digital Asset Bills

• Trump to Unblock Crypto Access in America’s $9 Trillion 401(k) Market: Report

• The Block: GENIUS Act is helping Ethereum ‘have its moment,’ Bernstein says

• WSJ: Why Banks Are on High Alert About Stablecoins

Digital Asset Treasuries

• WSJ: Blank-Check Company Strikes Cryptocurrency Deal
• Unchained: SBET to Raise Additional $5B to Grow ETH Position
• Bloomberg: Trump Media Buys $2 Billion in Bitcoin for Crypto Treasury Plan
• CoinDesk: DeFi Development Nears $200M Solana Treasury
• DeFi Dev Corp Press release: DeFi Dev Corp. Announces Global Expansion Through Strategic Treasury Franchising Model
• TLGY Acquisition Corp Press release: TLGY Acquisition Corp. Announces Business Combination and Approximately $360 Million PIPE Financing to Form StablecoinX, an Ethena Stablecoin-Focused Treasury Company
• The Block: Nasdaq-listed Sonnet BioTherapeutics agrees to $888 million merger to become Hyperliquid Strategies, launch HYPE treasury

Timestamps:

🎬 0:00 Intro

🚀 3:01 Why Noelle believes the stablecoin law is just the beginning

😒 5:25 How Ram explains his disappointment with the market’s reaction

💳 11:31 Whether Visa and Mastercard survive the stablecoin disruption

🏆 17:00 Who stands to gain the most from the new stablecoin law

🏦 20:08 How tokenization could hurt investment banking

📉 22:26 Whether regional banks are on the brink

📈 27:42 What’s fueling ETH’s latest rally

🧠 31:08 Why Cosmo credits the Ethereum Foundation’s leadership for the momentum

💥 36:14 Where markets are heading as retail FOMO ramps up

💼 37:56 How Cosmo is evaluating the surge in digital asset treasury companies

🥱 43:52 Why Ram is spotting signs of market fatigue

📊 45:15 Whether upcoming crypto IPOs can match early successes

💸 47:21 Why VC activity is still lagging despite bullish narratives

🧨 51:03 How Trump’s threat to fire Powell is shaking macro sentiment

🧃 58:08 Everyone’s unexpected or contrarian take this week

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Bitcoin is up over 25% year-to-date, but what if this is still the beginning?

Udi Wertheimer joins the show to share a thesis that’s grabbing attention across crypto: that we’re entering a generational Bitcoin rotation, where old holders are out, new institutional buyers are in, and price targets like $400K may arrive faster than anyone expects.

He explains why the emergence of “forced buyers” like Michael Saylor’s Strategy changes everything, why he thinks the altcoin cycle is already lost, and how the biggest mistake Crypto Twitter is making today is thinking this is the top.

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

• Xapo Bank

• Ledn

• Mantle

• Udi Wertheimer, long‑time Bitcoin advocate and customer support intern at Taproot Wizards

• Udi’s article: This Bitcoin Thesis Will Retire Your Bloodline

• Unchained: Bitcoin Sets New All-Time High, But Eyes Even Bigger Gains

Timestamps:

🎬 0:00 Intro

🐶 5:19 How Dogecoin’s 2021 run mirrors what could happen with Bitcoin today

🧠 21:31 Why Udi says most people misunderstood the rise of DATs

📈 30:38 Where bitcoin could be headed next, and how fast it might reach $400K

🏦 33:49 What makes this new wave of BTC buyers so different

⚠️ 39:52 Whether bitcoin-holding companies pose hidden risks

🪦 45:06 Why Udi believes altcoins, including ETH, may be finished this cycle

⏳ 51:50 Why Udi thinks Bitcoin’s next runup is “imminent”

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After years of hostility toward crypto, the U.S. passed its first-ever federal law regarding the industry.

The GENIUS Act, stablecoin legislation backed by both parties, was signed by President Trump’s desk after a last-minute showdown in Congress. Despite being seen as a sure thing, the bill’s path turned turbulent this week, with objections from Democrats over Trump’s crypto ties, and a sudden revolt from the Freedom Caucus around anti-CBDC language.

Now that it’s through, what will this law actually do? And who stands to benefit—or lose?

In this episode, Dante Disparte, Circle’s chief strategy officer and one of the key players behind the legislation, joins Unchained to explain:

• How the bill won bipartisan support despite political tensions

• Why banks may think twice before issuing stablecoins

• And why Circle is applying for a national trust bank charter

Plus, the battle over interest-bearing stablecoins, how this bill fits into the broader financial regulatory landscape, and whether U.S. consumers and the dollar come out ahead.

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

• Xapo Bank

• FalconX

• Dante Disparte, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy and Operations at Circle

• Unchained: 

• GENIUS Act Passes: Who Are the Winners, Losers, and What Comes Next?

• ​​House Passes Landmark Crypto Legislation: GENIUS Act and Digital Asset Bills

• Circle Seeks U.S. Banking License to Directly Custody Billions in USDC Reserves

• Fortune: JPMorgan Chase’s new fees for data could ‘cripple’ crypto and fintech startups, executives warn

• Reuters: Some big US banks plan to launch stablecoins, expecting crypto-friendly regulations

Timestamps:

🎬0:00 Intro

🇺🇸 2:23 Why Dante says this “crypto week” went better than anyone expected

🤝 3:44 How the GENIUS Act won bipartisan support despite major political friction

📜 6:10 Why Dante believes the bill is bigger than just crypto

🏦 9:02 How Circle plans to compete with the banking giants

🪪 15:22 What Circle hopes to achieve with its national trust bank application

🔐 18:28 Why financial privacy matters so much in the U.S. system

💵 19:34 How deposit tokens differ from stablecoins

📈 22:34 What Circle might do when interest-bearing stablecoins are finally allowed

👛 27:43 How this new law could impact everyday Americans and their money

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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. In this episode, the crew breaks down the return of the ICO — but with a twist. Pump.fun’s $500 million token sale sells out in 12 minutes, sparking a heated debate about forward markets, new market structure design, and whether we’ve entered a smarter, more institutionalized fundraising era—or just rebranded 2017 chaos. Hyperliquid becomes the surprise king of pre-launch liquidity, exchanges buckle under demand, and a new class of crypto treasury vehicles raises eyebrows (and capital). Meanwhile, Trump declares “Crypto Week” as Congress moves forward with the most sweeping legislation the industry’s seen in years. Is crypto finally growing up—or just getting better at dumping on retail? The gang dissects the narratives, the numbers, and the fallout.

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

Show highlights

🔹 Pump.fun’s ICO Raises $500M in 12 Minutes – The largest token sale in recent memory, with 25,000+ KYC’d participants and CEX/DEX syndication.

🔹 Forward Markets & Hedging Games – Kraken and Bybit face issues as sophisticated traders attempt to arb between ICO allocations and perps.

🔹 New Market Design – Pump introduces a novel multi-venue, API-synced launch structure; future ICOs may follow suit.

🔹 CT Has Negative Alpha – Crypto Twitter sentiment was wildly bearish… right before the most oversubscribed sale in years.

🔹 Hyperliquid Hits $11.5B OI – Becomes the dominant venue for pump trading, eclipsing even CEXs; pre-launch volume milestone.

🔹 Treasury Vehicle Controversy – $888M raised for hype via a new structure; Tarun questions whether it’s a liquidity gateway or retail dump machine.

🔹 Trump Declares Crypto Week – Genius Act (stablecoins), Clarity Act (market structure), and Anti-CBDC Act all hit the House floor.

🔹 Polymarket Vindicated – DOJ and CFTC drop their probe into Shane Coplan’s prediction market platform.

🔹 Altcoin Momentum Returns – $PENGU +270%, $SUI +60%, $UNI +43%; narrative shifts from “revenue meta” to “meme meta.”

🔹 Solana vs. Hyperliquid – Hype replaces SOL as the go-to high-beta asset? The team debates competing ecosystems.

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

01:18 Pump ICO Breakdown

06:54 Pump's Unique Market Design

10:57 Future of ICOs and Market Trends

21:36 Hyperliquid's Role in Pump Launch

32:26 Crypto Week and Legislative Updates

41:23 Polymarket Investigation Dropped

47:29 Altcoin Rally and Market Sentiment

Disclosures

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Bitcoin broke its all-time high. Meanwhile, stablecoin legislation is about to pass. And the macro picture is a powder keg.

In this episode of Bits + Bips, Steve Ehrlich, Ram Ahluwalia, and Noelle Acheson are joined by Austin Campbell to break down what’s really driving markets, and what could break them. From the GENIUS Act reshaping stablecoins to tariffs putting pressure on the Fed, to the Pump.fun ICO and memecoin mania, nothing is off limits.

And with crypto ripping, is it time to ride the rally, or take some risk off the table?

Thank you to our sponsor!

• Bitwise
  

• Steve Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained

• Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida

• Noelle Acheson, Author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” Newsletter 

Guest:

• Austin Campbell, founder and managing partner of Zero Knowledge Consulting

• Unchained: 

• Bitcoin Sets New All-Time High, But Eyes Even Bigger Gains

• PUMP Traders Make Big Options Bets on the Token Surging Past Its ICO Price

• Grayscale Files Confidential IPO Paperwork

Timestamps:

🎬 0:00 Intro

🚀 2:22 Why bitcoin is hitting new highs and what’s really driving it

🧘‍♀️ 5:29 Why Noelle says market complacency can’t last forever

🌍 9:06 The surprising way bitcoin looks when you stop measuring it in USD

⚖️ 11:49 Whether this is the moment to de-risk your crypto exposure

⛏️ 16:50 How bitcoin mining stocks are made to be traded, not held, according to Ram

📜 18:57 Austin’s thoughts on the odds of crypto legislation passing this summer

🏆 20:48 Who the winners and losers will be if the GENIUS Act becomes law

💳 24:51 Whether payment giants like Visa are under threat from stablecoins

🚧 29:15 What kinds of firms could actually disrupt the U.S. financial system

💰 34:00 The pros and cons of deposit tokens compared to stablecoins

🌐 37:06 How stablecoin legislation could reshape global macro and finance

🧪 44:32Whether Pump.fun’s ICO was extractive or necessary

🏛️ 56:55 Why Grayscale wants to go public and what that move could unlock

🏦 1:04:15 Whether traditional banks have the talent to win the stablecoin race

🌠 1:08:15 Why Stellar might be the blockchain dark horse in this cycle

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The weeks leading up to Pump.fun’s ICO were contentious: accusations that it was extractive, debates over decentralization, and outrage over allocations. 

In the end, the company pulled off the third-largest ICO in crypto history, raising $600 million in 12 minutes.

The day of, Solana barely flinched under the load, and onchain platforms like Hyperliquid and Raydium left CEXes looking outdated.

In this episode of Unchained, Haseeb Qureshi of Dragonfly and Joe McCann of Asymmetric join Laura to break down:

• Whether this marks the return of ICOs

• The objections to the small ($10 million) airdrop to creators

• How Pump.fun’s ambitions could reshape memecoins, and maybe Solana itself

• And why TikTok might not need to worry just yet

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

• Xapo Bank

• Ledn

• Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner of Dragonfly

• Joe McCann, Founder, CEO & CIO of Asymmetric

• Previous coverage on the ICO: Pump.fun’s $1 Billion ICO Has Caused Controversy. Can It Succeed?

• Unchained:

• Pump.fun Becomes Third Largest ICO, Raises $600M in 12 Minutes 

• PUMP Traders Make Big Options Bets on the Token Surging Past Its ICO Price

• Pump.fun Draws Backlash After Confirming PUMP ICO

• SolanaFloor’s tweet on LetsBonk’s stats

• The Block: Pump.fun makes first acquisition, purchases Solana-based copy-trading wallet tracker Kolscan

• Dune Analytics Twitter thread on the PUMP ICO stats

Timestamps:

🎬 0:00 Intro

🚀 3:43 Why Joe says Pump.fun is one of the best crypto businesses he’s seen

📈 6:04 Whether this heralds the return of ICO mania

😤 7:11 Why the raise triggered backlash from parts of the crypto community

💸 8:32 Whether PUMP’s valuation can really be justified

⚙️ 12:10 How the exchange-first design created issues—and why others may copy it

📊 16:15 Whether PUMP’s distribution model helped or hurt its credibility

⏳ 21:43 Why the decision to have no token lockups sparked debate

👾 24:40 What kind of traders actually bought into the ICO

⚡ 32:56 Whether Solana’s performance makes it the new home for ICOs

🏦 37:50 Why Coinbase sat this one out

🔮 44:07 Where PUMP’s price might be headed in the medium term

📉 48:37 How Pump.fun lost some momentum—and what that says about the space

🧠 55:14 How Pump.fun plans to spend its $600 million war chest

📵 57:21 Whether Pump.fun can really take on Facebook

🔥 1:01:46 Why Joe still believes memecoins are just getting started

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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. In this episode, the gang is joined by Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase, for a wide-ranging conversation on crypto’s next big frontier: tokenized stocks. From Robinhood’s controversial attempt to tokenize SpaceX and OpenAI shares to the legal and structural hurdles around pre-IPO derivatives, the crew dives deep into what it really takes to bring Wall Street on-chain. They also unpack the regulatory momentum behind the Genius and Clarity Acts, the return of ICO mania with Pump.fun’s $1B token raise, and the absurdly viral drama of Suitgate on Polymarket. Is this a new era of regulated innovation—or are we just recreating old problems on new rails? Tune in for sharp takes, legal insight, and a few laughs along the way.

Show highlights

🔹 Tokenized Stocks Take Center Stage – Robinhood, SoFi, and Republic dive into pre-IPO trading; is this a financial revolution or regulatory chaos?

🔹 Coinbase’s Legal Strategy – Paul Grewal reflects on Coinbase’s battles with the SEC and what it took to survive crypto’s darkest legal hour

🔹 Pre-IPO Derivatives vs. Real Ownership – The crew debates whether retail is getting access or getting played

🔹 Robinhood vs. OpenAI – The tokenized equity stunt that triggered a corporate backlash and raised eyebrows across the industry

🔹 24/7 Markets, Finally? – Why crypto-native trading hours could break traditional finance

🔹 Pump.fun’s $1B ICO – The return of ICO mania? The team dissects crypto’s most profitable meme machine

🔹 Are Tokenized Stocks Useful Yet? – Tarun challenges the hype: where’s the real utility?

🔹 The Clarity & Genius Acts – Crypto legislation heats up in Washington—can the industry lock in meaningful reform?

🔹 Suitgate Explained – Zelensky’s outfit spawns a scandal on Polymarket: was it a suit or not?

🔹 Market Manipulation, Oracles & Meme Justice – Prediction markets meet internet chaos in the wildest crypto dispute of the week

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

Special Guest

⭐️Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase

Timestamps

00:00 Intro feat. Paul Grewal

01:23 How Coinbase Beat the SEC

04:49 Robinhood, OpenAI & the Pre-IPO Stock Craze

19:38 Crypto Regulation in 2025: Clarity & Genius Act

24:39 Why the Clarity Act Could Define Crypto’s Next Decade

27:10 Pump.fun’s ICO: Memecoin Mania or Market Maturity?

32:25 Suitgate on Polymarket: A Wild Crypto Scandal

39:19 The Future of Prediction Markets

Disclosures

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In the first half of this dual episode, Phantom co-founder Brandon Millman joins Unchained to break down why his Solana-first wallet is launching perpetual swaps, and why it chose to integrate with Hyperliquid over any Solana-native option.

Then, Bit Digital’s Sam Tabar explains why the public company ditched its profitable Bitcoin mining business, went all-in on ETH, and what happened when he told Michael Saylor.

• FalconX

• Sam Tabar, Chief Executive Officer of Bit Digital, Inc

• Brandon Millman, CEO and co-founder of Phantom

Phantom

Unchained: Phantom Wallet Launches Direct Perpetual Trading With Hyperliquid

Phantom blog post: Introducing Phantom Perps

Dragonfly’s Austin Marrazza tweet

Bit Digital

The Block: Bit Digital swaps entire treasury into Ethereum, says it's now a top public ETH holder after a $173 million splurge

Treasury companies

• Unchained: 

• These 4 Crypto Treasury Companies Are Primed for a Price Crash

• BitMine Crashes 39% After It Files to Raise $2 Billion for More ETH

Timestamps: Phantom

• 🎬 0:00 Intro

• ⚡ 1:36 Why Phantom is launching perps—and why now was the moment to do it

• 💥 6:08 How they landed on 40x leverage

• 💸 7:48 How Phantom plans to make money from its new trading product

• 🚫 8:50 Why U.S. users are left out (for now)

• 🔗 10:36 Why Hyperliquid won out over Solana-native DEXes

• ⚔️ 12:55 Whether wallets and dapps are headed for a showdown

• 🪪 17:22 Why Brandon believes wallets will be the new gateway to crypto

• 📱 18:45 How social features could redefine the wallet experience

• 🌅 22:45 What Brandon hopes Phantom becomes over the next five years

Timestamps: Bit Digital

• 💥 26:35 Why Bit Digital ditched Bitcoin for Ethereum—and how Gary Gensler played a role

• 💰 28:31 How they walked away from a profitable BTC mining business

• 🪙 32:58 Why Sam says there’s no better home for stablecoins than Ethereum

• 🗣️ 34:09 What came out of Sam’s surprising conversation with Michael Saylor about crypto treasuries

• 🤔 37:10 Whether ETH’s value accrual model needs a fundamental rethink

• 📈 42:21 How Bit Digital plans to ramp up its ETH accumulation

• 🧠 44:40 What their new AI venture is really aiming to do

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In this episode of Bits + Bips, we examine how rising global trade tensions could impact macro conditions, the Fed’s next move, and market stability. We also explore how investors should position themselves with inflation cooling and an uncertain policy path at the Fed.

We then look at what’s happening on the crypto side: volume shifting to tokenized public equities, the growing number of corporate stablecoin plans, and whether the promise of tokenization is matched by meaningful traction.

Joining hosts Joe McCann, Ram Ahluwalia, and Steve Ehrlich is Rob Hadick of Dragonfly, who shares his perspective on product-market fit in crypto, shifting market structure, and where real adoption may emerge.

Sponsor:

• Bitwise
  

• Joe McCann, Founder, CEO, and CIO of Asymmetric

• Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida

• Steve Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained

• Rob Hadick, General Partner at Dragonfly

  
  

  LINKS:

• WSJ:

• Trump Faces Crucial Week for Reaching Trade Deals

• EU Still Hopes for Initial U.S. Trade Deal Before Deadline

• Reuters: Japan, South Korea face 25% tariffs as Trump ramps up trade war in letters to 14 nations

• CNN: Trump announces new tariffs of up to 40% on a growing number of countries

• University of Washington: OBBB Signed Into Law

• Unchained: 

• OpenAI Says Robinhood’s Stock Tokens Are Not Equity

• Tron Is Now More Expensive Than Ethereum. Will That Hurt Justin Sun’s New Company?

• AI Crypto Tokens Swoon as Nvidia Reaches a New All-Time High

• CoinDesk: CoreWeave to Acquire Core Scientific in $9B All-Stock Deal

• The Block: Bit Digital swaps entire treasury into Ethereum, says it's now a top public ETH holder after a $173 million splurge

  
  

  
  

• Timestamps:

• 🎬 0:00 Intro

• 🎭 2:05 Why Ram sees the tariff drama as more theater than substance

• 🎌 7:09 Whether Trump is leveraging tariffs ahead of Japan’s elections

• 📉 8:17 How low inflation is pressuring Jerome Powell and the Fed’s next move

• ⚠️ 12:06 Why Rob says the market feels “fragile” right now

• 🪙 14:52 Whether bitcoin has truly matured into a macro asset

• 🛡️ 22:16 How to hedge in an uncertain landscape, and what to make of Elon’s political pivot

• 💵 30:05 Whether Elon Musk is preparing to launch a stablecoin on X

• 📊 32:26 Why digital asset treasury companies are so volatile, and how these deals really work

• 🧱 39:44 How the tokenization race is unfolding, and whether innovation is keeping up

• 🧠 47:47 How to think about investing in the tokenized assets and stablecoin narrative

• 🕳️ 1:01:47 Whether tokenized equities have any real killer use

• ⛏️ 1:03:54 What the CoreWeave-Core Scientific deal signals for bitcoin mining

• 📈 1:13:08 Whether we’re still in a bull market, and if now’s the time to take advantage of dip opportunities

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The race to bring users onchain is heating up, but the competitors couldn’t be more different.

Coinbase, a crypto-native giant with deep infrastructure and institutional partnerships, is going head-to-head with Robinhood, a retail-focused fintech now making aggressive moves into tokenized assets and blockchain rails.

Their visions overlap (tokenized stocks, perpetuals, custom chains) but the strategies, philosophies, and user bases differ sharply.

In this episode, Laura speaks with Diogenes Casares (Klyra Protocol) and Ryan Yi (ex-Coinbase Ventures, CoinFund) to unpack:

• How these two companies will compete

• What levers they have to increase their profits

• How Base became a liquidity black hole for Ethereum

• Why Coinbase may have already won the “flows” game

• And how stablecoins, social, and tokenization could decide the winner

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

• Bitwise

• Ledn

• Diogenes Casares, founder of Klyra Protocol and advisor at Patagon Management

• Ryan Yi, ex Coinbase, Coinbase Ventures, and CoinFund

• Unchained:

• Hyperliquid Reignited Interest in Crypto Perps. Can Coinbase and Robinhood Capitalize?

• Robinhood Is Building Its Own Layer 2 Blockchain

• Why the Arbitrum Stack Won in the Race to Support Robinhood Chain

• Why Perps Will 'Eat the World' + Tokenized Stocks - Bits + Bips

Timestamps:

🎬 0:00 Intro

🏦 4:17 What really separates Coinbase and Robinhood’s strategies

🛠️ 6:43 How Robinhood’s new chain should try to compete with Base

🔥 14:49 Why the competition between Robinhood and Coinbase is heating up fast in the U.S.

🤔 16:44 Whether Robinhood can catch up to Base’s head start and network effects

🧱 23:48 Why both companies chose to build on Ethereum—and what that signals

📉 36:04 How launching perps in the U.S. could reshape the landscape for both companies

🎮 44:43 How social features and gamification could give one app an edge

🎯 51:31 Why Robinhood is already working with prediction markets and Coinbase isn’t

💰 55:40 How their product differences impact profits and positioning

🤝 1:05:11 Why Ryan believes Coinbase should’ve acquired Circle

🔌 1:10:48 Why Stripe might be eyeing a crypto integration

📊 1:13:57 How Base benefits with small-cap tokens

🚀 1:18:46 Why Ryan says we’re at a real inflection point for crypto

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Today, we’ve got two very different stories in one episode.

First, Steven Goldfeder, co-founder of Offchain Labs, joins Unchained to explain why Robinhood is rebuilding its product on the Arbitrum tech stack, what it says about crypto’s evolution, and how this could finally bridge Web2 and Web3.

Then, Calvin Hamilton breaks down the bizarre $59 million bet on whether President Zelensky wore a suit — and why vague rules, a fateful tweet, and one protocol’s vote could damage Polymarket’s reputation.

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

• Focal by FalconX

• Ledn

• Steven Goldfeder, co-founder and CEO of Offchain Labs

• Calvin Hamilton, Polymarket bettor on the ‘yes’ of the Zelensky dispute.

• Unchained: Robinhood Is Building Its Own Layer 2 Blockchain

• Robinhood’s presentation at ETHcc: To Catch A Token

• Rob Hadick’s tweet on tokenized stocks 

Timestamps:

🎬 0:00 Intro

🚀 1:44 Why Robinhood chose Arbitrum and how much control they really have

🧑‍💻 6:38 How Arbitrum Stylus could power better UX for Robinhood and beyond

🌊 10:26 Why liquidity fragmentation is still a major unsolved problem

🧲 11:41 What makes MEV capture so attractive to big players like Robinhood

🏆 13:48 Why tokenized stocks might be the “big prize” on Arbitrum

🌐 16:12 What it means to be part of the Arbitrum ecosystem

📊 18:02 How tokenized equities could change investing and what the risks are

🏛️ 21:11 Why the Arbitrum DAO stands to gain from this partnership

🔧 22:17 How Steven thinks fragmentation can be fixed more easily than most believe

🌉 25:52 Where the crypto-TradFi convergence is headed next

💬 29:40 Why Steven defends Ethereum and calls out the critics of L2s

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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, we’re joined by Jon Charbonneau and Ryan Watkins to unpack the bombshell news of Robinhood Chain—an Arbitrum-based network debuting tokenized U.S. stocks, 3× crypto perps, and that head-scratching $500 K liquidity cap. From riffing on whether proof-of-stake yields are just “money in a box,” to debating Solana’s first U.S. staked ETF, to sizing up the looming perp wars between Robinhood and Coinbase, the crew maps a common thread: corporate chains and regulatory work-arounds are colliding with crypto’s decentralization ideals, forcing builders, traders, and even ETF hawks to rethink where real security, fairness, and opportunity will live next.

Show highlights

🔹 Robinhood Chain Revealed – Why the trading-app giant paid up to launch an Arbitrum-based “Robinhood Chain,” starting with 24/5 perpetuals and tokenized U.S. stocks, plus a rumored $500 K–liquidity cap that has Crypto Twitter howling.

🔹 Tokenized-Stock Gold Rush – From Tesla and SpaceX pre-IPO shares to on-chain S&P stalwarts: does 24/7 trading finally make equity tokens stick, or is it just another CFD in disguise?

🔹 Perps Arms Race – Coinbase’s 5-year “quasi-perp” futures vs. Robinhood’s 3×-leverage launch vs. Hyperliquid’s 20× turbo deck—who wins the battle for retail flow?

🔹 Solana ETF First-Mover – RexShares files a staked-SOL C-Corp ETF, beating BlackRock to the punch and testing Wall Street’s appetite after ETH’s lukewarm debut.

🔹 Proof-of-Stake Reality Check – The crew dismantles the “economic security” myth, asks whether validator cartels make inflation rewards pointless, and floats proof-of-governance as the next model.

🔹 Hyperliquid vs. The World – Why a single Tokyo data center is eating CLOB volume, what zk-rollup challengers are planning, and how latency games redefine “decentralized exchange.”

🔹 $2 B Prediction-Market Beef – Paradigm-backed Kalshi clashes with PolyMarket after a viral “little rats” tweet; inside the influencer war and the CFTC license flex.

🔹 Conference FOMO No More – New-York-privileged hosts roast ETH CC in Cannes and declare the age of fly-to-France crypto tourism officially over.

🔹 Reg-Tech vs. Fin-Tech – From transfer agents to T+1 settlement: why outdated TradFi plumbing, not blockchains, still blocks global access to U.S. securities.

🔹 Super-App Skepticism – The panel pokes holes in “super-app” buzzwords and explains why sequencing—product-first, chain-later—matters more than catchy slogans.

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

Guests

⭐️ Ryan Watkins, Co-Founder of Syncracy Capital

⭐️ Jon Charbonneau, Co-founder & General Partner at DBA

Timestamps

0:00 Intro

02:59 Robinhood Chain

15:05 Debate on Tokenized Stocks

27:18 Perpetuals (Perps) in the Crypto Market

37:15 Robinhood's New Crypto Traders

39:26 The Solana ETF Approval

41:17 Understanding Staking and ETFs

43:36 The Future of Proof of Stake

46:20 Governance in Ethereum and Other Chains

56:26 Corporate Chains and Validator Selection

01:04:31 Polymarket vs. Kalshi

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Crypto is bleeding into traditional finance faster than anyone expected.

In this episode of Bits + Bips, the hosts dig into Robinhood’s move into tokenized stocks and perps, what’s actually holding back tokenized equities, and why perps might “eat the world.” 

Plus, they talk crypto ETFs, altcoin summer, and whether staking in ETFs is the next big unlock.

Sponsors:

• Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida

• Noelle Acheson, Author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” Newsletter 

Timestamps

🎬 0:00 Intro

👔 2:25 Tom’s path from Jane Street to crypto 

💸 5:50 Why Jito’s yield model works + the importance of market makers

📊 12:47 Whether tokenized U.S. stocks actually solve anything for investors

🌍 31:47 Why Tom says “perps are going to eat the world”

🏦 39:25 How perps could sneak their way into traditional finance

📉 41:43 Whether perps are a better instrument than futures

🧠 50:51 Why James thinks we’re heading into an altcoin ETF summer

📥 56:01 How liquid staking is critical in the context of ETFs with staking

📈 1:05:06 Why the S&P 500 keeps hitting all-time highs

⚠️ 1:07:43 Ram lays out the risks of 1% interest rates

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Fill out our short Unchained survey and earn a chance to win a FREE one-year subscription to Bits + Bips Premium 😏

-------------------------------------------------

Lido just rolled out one of the most ambitious governance overhauls in DeFi: a dual governance system designed to give power back to stakers—and make it harder for malicious proposals to pass.

But what does it actually do?

And could it make Lido the safest place to stake ETH?

Hasu, a strategic advisor at Lido, and Lido co-founder Vasiliy Shapovalov join Unchained to break it all down.

• How the dual governance model works

• Whether this dilutes LDO token value

• What this means for DeFi, and if others will follow

• Whether this might get institutions off the sidelines

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

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Bitwise

  Guests:

• Hasu, Strategic advisor to Lido and Strategy lead at Flashbots.

• Vasiliy Shapovalov, Co-founder of Lido

• Unchained: Lido DAO Enables Dual Governance, stETH Holders Can Trigger ‘Rage-Quit’ Mode

• Learn more about the topics discussed:

• How Liquid Staking Works

• What Are Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs) in Ethereum?

• What Is Multi-Party Computation (MPC) and How Does It Work on Blockchains?

• What Is Distributed Validator Technology?

Timestamps:

🎬 0:00 Intro

🧩 2:07 What problem Lido’s new governance model is actually solving

⚙️ 7:33 How dual governance works—and why it’s such a big shift

🚀 15:32 Why Hasu says this changes everything for Lido

🧠 22:20 What the team had to weigh when designing the system

🛡️ 30:26 How Lido built in resistance to attacks

📉 32:02 Whether this system weakens the value of the LDO token

🗳️ 38:58 How they’re thinking about fixing DeFi’s voter apathy problem

🏦 45:29 Whether institutions will see this as a positive sign and embrace stETH

🌐 48:01 How this compares to Sky’s “emergency shutdown”—and whether DeFi will follow suit

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Win a free one-year subscription to Bits + Bips Premium by completing our survey! 

The state of Texas just passed a law that creates a $10 million strategic Bitcoin reserve.

Laura talks to Lee Bratcher, president of the Texas Blockchain Council, who helped drive this new law. He explains how bipartisan support made it possible, why this might be the start of a broader trend, and what’s next for public Bitcoin ownership in the U.S.

We get into:

• The logic behind the $10 million number

• Why custody and compliance are key

• Whether California or Illinois could ever do something similar

• And how other states are reacting

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

Thank you to our sponsors!

• FalconX

• Ledn

  Guest:

• Texas Blockchain Council

• Bloomberg: Texas Gov. Abbott Signs Bill to Create State Bitcoin Reserve

• Unchained: Senator Cynthia Lummis on Why Crypto Now Has Bipartisan Support

Timestamps:

🎬0:00 Intro

🏛️ 2:12 How the idea for a $10M strategic Bitcoin reserve became law in Texas

💰 5:42 Why lawmakers settled on $10 million—and what that number really means

🔐 8:59 How Texas plans to custody its bitcoin, and why it matters

📉 10:59 Why the bill includes language about using derivatives for BTC

🏦 12:12 What exchange the state might use to actually buy the bitcoin

🗳️ 14:59 Who owns crypto in Texas—and whether politics play a role

🤝 18:05 Why Bitcoin isn’t such a partisan issue in the Lone Star State

🧡 22:20 How Lee Bratcher got orange-pilled into Bitcoin

📜 24:38 Why Lee thinks the Lummis-Gillibrand bill could pass, and the future of bitcoin bonds

🌎 27:45 Which state might be next to adopt a Bitcoin reserve law

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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, we’re joined by Vlad, the leverage legend behind Lighter, a zk-powered DEX taking aim at Hyperliquid in the rising CLOB wars. We unpack the new Token Transparency Framework from Blockworks and whether self-regulation can fix crypto’s disclosure problem. Should VC wallets be public? Are market-making deals legally risky? And why do most projects still say nothing?

Plus: Vlad explains how Lighter uses zero-knowledge proofs to enforce fairness and fight toxic flow—without harming retail. And Circle’s stock goes full meme mode, TikTok retail piles in, and Robert reveals he’s short. Is crypto finally growing up—or just evolving its chaos?

Show highlights

🔹 Token Transparency Framework Debated – Blockworks’ 40-point voluntary disclosure system sparks industry-wide discussion on what teams and investors should reveal

🔹 Disclosures vs. Reality – Most projects don’t lie—they just don’t publish. The real problem isn’t fraud, it’s silence

🔹 VC Wallets Stay Dark – Debate over whether investor wallet addresses and cost bases should be disclosed; consensus: team vesting should be public, investor holdings still a gray area

🔹 Exchange Listings & Disclosures – Exchanges are considering using the transparency framework to prioritize listings, creating pressure for teams to comply

🔹 CLOB Wars Continue – Lighter joins the battle against Hyperliquid with zk-proven verifiability and zero-fee trading for retail

🔹 Lighter’s Architecture Edge – Built as a ZK L2 on Ethereum, Lighter pitches composability + security vs. Hyperliquid’s standalone stack

🔹 Fighting Toxic Flow – Instead of cancel-order tricks, Lighter adds subtle latency and fee mechanics to penalize HFT bots without harming retail

🔹 Dark Pools for DeFi? – Vlad teases ZK-based private order flow as a future feature, merging institutional behavior with onchain guarantees

🔹 DEX Future = Specialization – Vlad predicts no single winner: future DEXs will specialize in niches—memecoins, structured products, prediction markets

🔹 Circle Becomes a Meme Stock – Robert discloses his short position as retail pumps Circle to an $80B FDV off TikTok hype and the Genius Act tailwinds

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

Guest

⭐️ Vladimir Novakovski, CEO & Founder of Lighter

Token Transparency by Blockworks: https://blockworks.co/token-transparency 

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

01:49 Token Transparency Report by Blockworks

04:17 Token Disclosures

08:52 Challenges and Future of Token Transparency

23:22 Circle Mania Continues

25:06 Circle Valuation and Market Reactions

30:15 CLOB Wars

36:52 Technical Architecture and Verifiability

47:04 Market Structure and Future of DeFi

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As tensions flare between Iran and Israel, investors are watching oil, gold, and, of course, crypto. In this episode of Bits + Bips, the panel digs into the market response to war risk, the chances the Fed will actually cut rates, and how Circle’s IPO is being treated more like a meme stock than a fintech play.

Plus:

• Why Scaramucci says we’re all living in a surveillance state 

• Whether stablecoins are being kneecapped by U.S. regulation 

• When altcoin ETFs are coming

• And what BlackRock’s Larry Fink secretly told Scaramucci about Bitcoin in 2021 👀
  

Sponsor:

• Bitwise

• James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence

• Alex Kruger, Founder of Asgard

• Noelle Acheson, Author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” Newsletter 

• Anthony Scaramucci, Founder of SkyBridge

US-Iran-Israel war

• Unchained: Bitcoin Dips Below $100K as U.S.–Iran Tensions Trigger $627M in Liquidations

• Polymarket: Will Iran close the Strait of Hormuz before July?

• WSJ: What Israel’s Soaring Markets Are Saying About the Iran War

Macro

• WSJ: Fed’s Bowman Says She Could Support a July Interest-Rate Cut

• CNBC: Fed Governor Waller says central bank could cut rates as early as July

• FT: Jay Powell to push back on calls for Federal Reserve rate cuts as soon as July

Stablecoins

• WSJ: Stablecoin World Opens Up to Main Street Banks

• The Block: Circle's post-IPO stock surge pushes market cap near Coinbase and USDC

ETFs

• James upped the odds on a bunch of altcoin spot ETFs

Timestamps:

• 🎬 0:00 Intro

• 🌍 2:51 Are there lessons in how the markets shrugged off the Iran-Israel conflict?

• 🔥 9:37 What flashpoints in the Middle East could ignite next

• 🛢️ 14:40 Will oil supplies remain safe?

• 💸 22:13 Are cracks finally forming in the Fed’s resistance to rate cuts?

• 📉 28:08 Why Anthony believes that Fed Chair Powell is playing politics with rates

• 🇺🇸 33:55 Whether TACO Trump or tough Trump will show up on tariff day

• 🎯 36:26 What Anthony says that people get wrong about Trump’s economic strategy

• 🏦 43:52 Why Circle’s IPO feels more meme than fintech and what Larry Fink once secretly told Anthony about bitcoin 👀

• 🚫 50:27 One thing that Anthony HATES about the GENIUS Act

• 📊 56:17 Why James is upping his odds on a wave of altcoin ETFs, but doesn’t expect many to be successful products

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Take the Unchained 2025 survey! unchainedcrypto.com/survey

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Cross-border payments. Mobile money. Stablecoins. Crypto.

Elizabeth Rossiello has lived through every cycle, not from a trading desk, but the front lines of African markets.

Now, the founder of AZA Finance is selling her company to global fintech giant dLocal, a signal that the line between crypto and traditional finance is blurring fast.

In this episode, she talks about:

• How stablecoins are powering 24/7 commerce in emerging markets

• Why new entrants keep failing to gain traction

• And how liquidity, not tech, will determine who wins this new game

All that, plus the inside story of AZA’s journey from a Nairobi-based Bitcoin exchange to one of the most important fintech players in Africa.

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

• Bitwise

• Human Rights Foundation

• Xapo Bank

• Bloomberg: Uruguay’s DLocal to Buy AZA Finance in Africa Push

• American Banker: What experienced payment execs can pass to a new generation

• The Startup Leap: Building A Remittance App for Africa’s $1tr Market | Elizabeth Rossiello | Aza Finance
• Jack Zhang of Airwallex tweet saying he doesn’t see “a single use case” for crypto

Timestamps:

• 🎬0:00 Intro

• 🌍 3:30 What Africa’s early payments scene looked like and how Elizabeth launched the first Bitcoin exchange there

• 📲 10:54 How the continent’s payment rails evolved

• 🔥 16:15 How Western Union dropped its pricing after her company launched

• 💸 20:42 Why stablecoins became a game-changer for cross-border payments

• 📊 25:24 What the real volume drivers are

• 🌐 28:53 How crypto adoption in Africa shifted post-COVID

• 🤝 37:00 Why AZA decided to acquire two companies

• ⚠️ 38:46 How the FTX partnership hurt AZA

• 💼 41:37 How the dLocal deal came together behind the scenes

• 🔄 45:08 Why crypto and fintech are on a fast path to convergence

• 🏁 50:58 Which players Elizabeth thinks will win in the new payments race

• 📵 53:47 Why “mobile money” is still tough competition for crypto

• 💥 56:48 How USDT has an edge in emerging markets

• 🇨🇳 58:50 How China’s deep ties to Africa have shaped the game

• 🚀 1:01:37 What it’s been like to build AZA as a young woman founder in crypto

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On Tuesday, JPMorgan announced that its blockchain unit is launching JPMD, a USD deposit token for institutional clients, on Base. That’s right: the world’s biggest bank by assets and the 12th largest company by market cap is putting real dollars onchain.

JPMD isn’t quite a stablecoin, but it’s close. It represents actual dollar deposits at JPMorgan and will be used by institutional clients for blockchain-based transactions. The bank plans to run a pilot over the coming months and eventually expand it to other user groups and currencies, pending regulatory approval.

To understand what this means for the broader crypto ecosystem (and why JPMorgan chose Base), we brought on Jesse Pollak, head of Base and Coinbase Wallet. In this episode, Jesse explains:

• Why JPMorgan (and Shopify) chose Base

• What deposit tokens are, and how they differ from stablecoins

• Why infrastructure is finally “ready” for institutions

• How Base scaled from 2.5 million to 35 million gas/sec

• What’s next for Coinbase users who’ll have one-tap access to onchain assets

• And Jesse’s response to the critics who said that Coinbase doesn’t give enough credit to Ethereum

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

• Ledn

• FalconX

• Jesse Pollak, Head of Base and Coinbase Wallet

• Unchained: 

• JPMorgan to Pilot ‘JPMD’ Token on Base

• Coinbase and Amex Team Up on Bitcoin Card as Exchange Reveals Broad Expansion Plans

• Comments on Bloomberg by Naveen Mallela, global co-head of the bank's blockchain division Kinexys by JPMorgan

Timestamps:

🎬 0:00 Intro

🏦 1:49 What JPMD actually is

🔧 4:26 Why Jesse believes infrastructure is finally ready for institutional adoption

📊 7:03 Whether Base can handle global scale

💵 9:24 How JPMorgan plans to use deposit tokens in real-world blockchain transactions

⚖️ 11:22 Whether deposit tokens are a better model than stablecoins

🛠️ 16:59 Why JPMorgan chose to launch on Base instead of other chains

📉 19:00 How recent events served as a wake-up call for fintech and commerce

📲 22:22 Why Jesse is hyped about seamless access to onchain assets inside Coinbase

📈 25:47 How Coinbase plans to manage the chaos of token pumps and dumps

🌐 27:54 Jesse’s take on the criticism that Coinbase doesn’t show Ethereum enough love

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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, we’re joined by Hyperliquid founder Jeff Yan, the quiet powerhouse behind DeFi’s fastest-growing exchange. With 75% of onchain perp volume, no VC money, and a $1B airdrop, Hyperliquid is rewriting what crypto protocols can be. We dive into Jeff’s minimalist strategy, the cancel wars with toxic flow, and the JellyJelly controversy that sparked a feud with CZ. Plus: HIP-3 and the future of permissionless perps, SPAC-style hype vehicles taking over Wall Street, and why stablecoin regulation just triggered a 40% rally in Circle stock. Is crypto evolving—or just getting financialized to death?

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

Show highlights

🔹 Jeff’s $1B Airdrop Playbook – How Hyperliquid bootstrapped dominance with no VC, no marketing, and the most beloved founder in crypto

🔹 75% of Onchain Perps? – Hyperliquid now controls 3/4 of all perp volume across chains—Jeff explains how they did it

🔹 Cancel Wars & Toxic Flow – The inside logic behind prioritizing cancels over taker orders—and why HFTs are mad about it

🔹 CZ vs. Jeff – JellyJelly drama, transparency debates, and a subtle protocol war with Binance

🔹 HIP-3 and the Future of Markets – Perps on anything? Jeff breaks down why HIP-3 is the biggest unlock yet for Hyperliquid

🔹 “We Don’t Track KPIs” – Jeff’s radical philosophy on metrics, token price, and building products without back-propping for growth

🔹 Real Users vs. Predators – Who Jeff thinks actually matters onchain—and why some flow shouldn’t be welcome

🔹 Crypto SPAC Mania Begins – Tron, Tether, and Trump-adjacent vehicles bring public market chaos to token land

🔹 Genius Act Passes, Stocks Explode – Coinbase +20%, Circle +40%—but crypto tokens barely move: Why is Wall Street frothier than DeFi?

🔹 Are Perps the New Casino? – The crew debates why people love zero-DTE options, and if perps can replicate the lottery thrill

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

Guest

⭐️ Jeff Yan, CEO and co-founder of Hyperliquid

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

02:51 Hyperliquid's Market Dominance

05:14 The Philosophy Behind Hyperliquid's Success

07:44 Challenges with Decentralized Exchanges

09:34 Metrics and Success in Hyperliquid

12:59 Addressing Market Dynamics and User Types

22:50 Competitive Pressures and System Resilience

25:28 Exploring Hyperliquid's Future and HIP 3

36:08 Complexity in Zero-Day Options

38:40 Perpetual Contracts vs. Options

41:24 The Role of User Interfaces in Trading

45:08 Crypto SPACs and Market Trends

57:21 The Genius Act and Market Reactions

Hosts
Disclosures

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In this week’s episode of Bits + Bips, the panel digs into why Tron’s rumored IPO is more than a headline, what Wall Street’s quiet shift into stablecoins signals, and how exchanges are racing to control token flow, even as regulation hangs in the balance.

They also explore:

• What the Israel–Iran conflict means for global markets, oil prices, and crypto positioning

• Whether banks can adopt stablecoins without threatening their own deposits

• If regulatory clarity will come fast enough to shape the next crypto phase

• How to tell if ETH’s revival has staying power

Sponsors:

• Bitwise

  
  

  Hosts:

• Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida

• Steve Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained

Guests:

• Christopher Perkins, President of CoinFund

• • Vishal Gupta, Cofounder and CEO of True Markets.

  
  

  Links

Tron and Justin Sun

• FT: Crypto group Tron to go public after US pauses probe into billionaire founder

• Unchained: Eric Trump Claims No Public Involvement in Tron’s Nasdaq Entity

• The Guardian: Crypto entrepreneur eats banana art he bought for $6.2m

Israel - Iran

• WSJ: 

• Israel Takes Control of Iran’s Skies—a Feat That Still Eludes Russia in Ukraine

• How Israel’s Mossad Smuggled Drone Parts to Attack Iran From Within

Stablecoins and TradFi

• Unchained: 

• JPMorgan Files ‘JPMD’ Trademark, Hints at Bigger Crypto Offering

• Coinbase and Amex Team Up on Bitcoin Card as Exchange Reveals Broad Expansion Plans

• Bloomberg: Bessent Says $2 Trillion Reasonable for Dollar Stablecoin Market.

• WSJ: Walmart and Amazon are considering launching U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins 

• Reuters: French Societe Generale became the first major bank to launch a dollar-pegged stablecoin

• The Information: Financial markets giant DTCC is exploring a stablecoin, according to The Information

Regulation

• Unchained: White House Rejects Ban on Conflicts of Interest in Crypto’s CLARITY Act

Timestamps:

🎬 0:00 Intro

📰 4:18 Why Tron’s potential IPO creates a dilemma for investors, and how Justin Sun’s Trump ties play into it

🛡️ 15:58 Should exchanges like Coinbase let investors trade whatever they want?

🏦 20:47 The reason why crypto treasury companies even exist

📊 25:59 What is driving the fierce competition among exchanges

💵 34:18 Can JPMorgan, Bank of America, and other TradFi giants succeed with stablecoins?

🤔 37:58 Will stablecoins cannibalize banks’ own deposit bases?

🌍 45:51 How the Iran–Israel conflict could shake macro markets and crypto sentiment

🚀 55:37 Why Ram and Chris are calling for an ETH breakout

📜 57:47 What are the risks if crypto regulation fails?

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Hyperliquid is one of the most talked-about platforms in crypto right now.

It’s an onchain perpetuals exchange that sidestepped VCs, built a deeply loyal user base, and launched with transparency most rivals avoid. But it’s also staring down some massive challenges—from incoming competitors like Coinbase and Robinhood, to the technical hurdles of decentralizing its core exchange engine.

Arthur Hayes, CIO of Maelstrom and one of crypto’s most iconic traders, and Hanson Birringer of Flowdesk discuss:

• What actually drove Hyperliquid’s success

• How a user-first approach is outpacing venture-backed models

• Whether the James Wynn saga was legit

• Why the HIP-3 proposal could be the “holy grail” for DEXes

• And whether Hyperliquid can survive its next big test: the entrance of giants

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

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Xapo Bank

• Bitwise

  
  

  Guests:

• Arthur Hayes, CIO of Maelstrom

• Hanson Birringer, Head of US Sales at Flowdesk

Links

Stats:

• CoinGlass: Total BTC Futures Open Interest

• Hyperliquid Stats

James Wynn

• Unchained: Hyperliquid Trader Makes $87M in 70 Days, Loses It In Five

• James Wynn’s address 

Transparency

• Hyperliquid’s founder’s post on X saying that he felt like transparency results in better execution for whales compared to on private venues.

Hyperliquid vs Binance:

• Unchained: Hyperliquid Saved Itself a $15 Million Loss, but Sparked Criticism

• Arthur Hayes’ tweet on whether $HYPE perp volumes will flip Binance’s this cycle.

• CZ’s tweet on dark pool DEXs

• Cointelegraph: Binance co-founder CZ proposes dark pool DEXs to tackle manipulation

Tokenomics:

• DL News: Hyperliquid’s token buyback machine just hit $1b — is it sustainable?

HIP-3:

• Hyperliquid Docs: HIP-3: Builder-Deployed Perpetuals

Timestamps:

🎬 0:00 Intro

🔥 3:25 Why Arthur says the future of perps is onchain—and what that changes

🚀 6:58 How Hyperliquid managed to climb the ranks without VCs

🧱 9:45 Whether being its own L1 gives Hyperliquid an edge

🔍 12:44 How Hanson adapts market making in a fully transparent environment

🕵️‍♂️ 16:40 Why Arthur doesn’t buy the James Wynn story

💸 20:56 Whether the types of traders on Hyperliquid are different than on other venues

⚔️ 22:14 How Hyperliquid could defend itself when Coinbase and Robinhood enter the arena

🔐 26:18 What Arthur and Hanson think about Jeff Yan’s post saying transparency benefits users

🐙 32:59 Did Binance and OKX try to sabotage Hyperliquid during the $JELLY event?

📊 38:24 Arthur answers his own question of whether Hyperliquid takes on Binance’s trading volume

🌘 42:20 Whether dark pool DEXes can fix transparency without killing decentralization

🔧 47:15 Why Hanson thinks the security FUD around Hyperliquid is overblown

🌏 50:20 Whether Asia’s crypto communities care less about decentralization

🧠 52:34 How Hyperliquid’s ecosystem play with HyperEVM could reshape its future

🏆 55:52 Why Arthur calls HIP-3 the “holy grail” for DEXes

🪙 1:00:01 Whether the HYPE buyback program is a good idea

📈 1:02:49 What Hyperliquid must get right as Coinbase and Robinhood show up

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Stablecoins are having a moment.

From Stripe’s acquisition of crypto wallet startup Privy, to Shopify integrating USDC, to Plasma raising $500 million for its stablecoin-optimized sidechain, stablecoins are having a moment. And at the center of it all is Circle, which had one of the most successful IPOs in decades.

But what’s really happening under the surface? And who’s best positioned as stablecoins go mainstream?

Vicky Fu, co-founder at Yala and former engineering director at Circle, joins Unchained to explain:

• How she saw Circle as deeply undervalued before the IPO buzz

• What Stripe’s crypto moves signal for the broader market

• Why retail payments could become stablecoins’ breakout use case

• How network effects give Circle a serious edge, even as banks circle the space

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

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Ledn

• FalconX

• Human Rights Foundation

  
  

  Guest

• Vicky Fu, co-founder at Yala 

  Links

• Unchained: GENIUS Stablecoin Bill Advances in U.S. Senate

• Bloomberg: Bessent Says $2 Trillion Reasonable for Dollar Stablecoin

  The Block: Payment giant Stripe to buy crypto wallet firm PrivyMarket

• Payment giant Stripe to buy crypto wallet firm Privy

• CoinDesk: Crypto startup Plasma’s XPL Token Sale Hits $500M as Investors Chase Stablecoin Plays

• The Block: Plasma doubles its deposit cap, clarifies it is eyeing $50M public sale at $500M FDV

• Reuters: Societe Generale becomes first major bank to launch dollar-pegged stablecoin

• The Information: Financial Markets Giant DTCC Explores a Stablecoin 

Timestamps:

🎬 0:00 Intro

🔍 2:40 Why Vicky believed Circle was deeply mispriced BEFORE the IPO hype

🏗️ 11:336 How Circle’s quiet infrastructure play is more powerful than it looks

🛒 17:40 Why the Shopify–USDC integration could be a turning point

💼 19:14 What Stripe’s acquisition of Privy signals

🔥 23:42 What the Plasma ICO reveals about surging interest in the sector

🏦 29:50 Whether crypto-native issuers can really compete with banks entering the stablecoin race

📰 34:10 Weekly News Recap

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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, we’re joined by a special guest: Laura Shin, host of Unchained! The crew unpacks Circle’s explosive IPO, Tether’s threat to exit the U.S., and the meme-stock logic powering the rise of “crypto treasury companies.” From Coinbase’s grip on USDC to Wall Street’s sudden enthusiasm for stablecoins, we explore how public markets are reshaping crypto’s power centers. Is Circle overvalued—or the last compliant winner left? And are ICOs really back? We debate whether crypto’s just maturing—or if it’s being hijacked by the suits.

Show highlights

🔹 Circle’s IPO Shocks Wall Street – One of the biggest two-day pops in IPO history: Did bankers misprice, or did crypto just break TradFi?

🔹 Stablecoin Season or Meme Stock Mania? – Circle hits 160x earnings, 15x revenue—Tarun calls it “CoreWeave for finance”

🔹 Tether Threatens U.S. Exit – New regulation looms: Will Circle rule America while Tether dominates abroad?

🔹 The Coinbase Cut – Why Coinbase might be the real winner behind USDC—and the hidden economics of stablecoin margins

🔹 Banking Consortium Incoming? – JPMorgan and Wells reportedly plotting their own stablecoin play. Is Circle racing against the banks?

🔹 The Rise of Treasury Tokens – From MicroStrategy to Solana clones: Are “crypto holding companies” the new ETF?

🔹 Copycats or Cult Leaders? – Why everyone wants to be Saylor—and why most won’t survive

🔹 Are These Companies Just Meme Stocks? – Laura and Tarun debate whether tradable crypto firms have real value—or just vibes

🔹 The Return of the ICO – Plasma raises $500M on Sonar, sparking a new wave of pre-token speculation

🔹 Is This Financial Innovation or Regulatory Theater? – Haseeb asks: Are we maturing—or just dressing TradFi in crypto clothes?

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate

⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

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

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

01:25 Circle's IPO: A Historic Event

03:16 Market Reactions & Implications

06:49 Stablecoin Legislation & Tether's Response

08:56 Circle's Market Position & Future

23:12 Crypto Treasury Companies: The New Trend

32:09 Understanding Convertible Arbitrage in Crypto

37:02 Potential Risks and Market Dynamics

41:36 The Influence of Michael Saylor

43:57 The Need for Charismatic Leaders in Crypto

50:07 The Rise of ICOs and Market Trends

55:04 Concluding Thoughts on ICOs

HostsDisclosures

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This week on Bits + Bips, the panel tackles the biggest themes driving crypto: Circle’s triumphant IPO, ETH’s institutional tailwinds, and the fast-shrinking Bitcoin supply on exchanges. Plus, what Gemini’s IPO ambitions tell us about the state of exchanges, and whether Ram’s call for a BTC breakout is about to hit.

Also on the docket:

• Is Circle really worth its sky-high valuation?

• Why exchange fees are stuck in the 1970s

• ETH: the quiet trade that might be heating up

Oh, and yes, they talk about the Trump–Elon feud too 😅

Sponsors:

• Bitwise
  

• James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence

• Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida

• Steve Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained

Guest:

• Sal Ternullo, Managing Partner at A100x Ventures

• The Conversation: The blow-up between Elon Musk and Donald Trump has been entertaining, but how did things go so bad, so fast?

• Unchained:

• Stablecoin Giant Circle Raises $1.1 Billion in Its IPO

• Early Circle Backer Slams IPO in Expletive-Filled Letter 

• BlackRock’s IBIT Becomes Fastest-Ever ETF to Top $70B 

• Blockworks: Gemini files confidential S-1 with SEC in road to IPO

• The Block: 

• Trump’s Truth Social files S-1 with SEC for Bitcoin ETF

• 15-day streak brings Ethereum ETFs to record high cumulative inflow value

• Metaplanet unveils $5.4B equity raise plan to accelerate bitcoin accumulation

• Cointelegraph: Bitcoin supply shock? Percentage of BTC on exchanges nears 2018 levels

• CoinDesk: 

• MSTR Boosts Stack Again

• Strategy to Raise Nearly $1B With STRD Preferred Stock Offering to Accumulate BTC

• Bloomberg: Metaplanet’s shares surged 22% after unveiling a record-setting $5.4 billion stock rights program aimed at growing its bitcoin holdings.

Timestamps:

• 👋 0:00 Intro

• 🧠 1:28 Why the market is ignoring the Trump-Elon “break up” 

• 📈 16:47 Is there a reason for Circle’s eye-watering valuation? (And what it means for  crypto VC)

• 🏦 30:25 Why Circle may struggle to compete with traditional banks

• 🚀 38:34 Why exchanges should rush to go public

• 🌐 46:40 Why Ram thinks that the market is immune from more bad news

• 🔥 57:16 The secret signs of a coming bitcoin supply shock

• 🧾 1:03:58 What’s behind the bitcoin and ether ETFs’ recent momentum and if it will last

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In part 2 of Jeff Park’s interview with Unchained, he describes ways that both everyday investors and the U.S. government can use various crypto assets to come out on top as old models and strategies become outdated. 

He reveals the three personal stories that led him to develop his radical portfolio theory, puts himself in the shoes of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and explains why Japan is the linchpin in the transition to this new world order.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why Jeff believes the future belongs to wholecoiners

• The social mission behind owning bitcoin

• How the U.S. could leverage stablecoins to maintain global dominance

• Why the new American dream might not involve a house at all

And why, in Jeff’s words, we may already be “living in a Bitcoin-only world.”

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

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Xapo Bank

• Bitwise

  Guest:

• Jeff Park, Head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise

• Part 1 of Jeff on Unchained: Jeff Park Says the 60/40 Portfolio May Be Dead. Here’s His Radical Fix 

Timestamps:

• 👋 0:00 Intro

• 📌 3:14 The 3 life events that shaped Jeff’s radical portfolio vision

• 🌍 7:58 Why crypto’s value is clearer outside privileged financial systems

• 🚀 15:18 Why Jeff is so bullish on STRK and what it represents

• 🌐 20:56 What it means to be “living in a Bitcoin-only world”

• 💥 27:42 Why the U.S. is vulnerable and what’s the new American Dream

• 🤝 32:36 What Jeff would do if he were in Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s position 

• 🇯🇵 39:16 Why Jeff sees Japan as a critical piece of the global financial order

• 💵 48:36 Why stablecoins could be the U.S.’s most powerful financial weapon

• 🤔 54:50 Why Jeff is skeptical about a U.S. bitcoin reserve

• 🏛️ 59:14 Whether Bitcoin treasury companies are here to stay

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On Tuesday, a pseudonymous X account claimed that Pump.fun, Solana’s breakout memecoin launchpad, would raise $1 billion via an ICO at a $4 billion valuation. The potential deal? Multiple CEX listings, a 10% community airdrop, and maybe even a launch by the end of the month.

The community reaction? Not great.

In this episode, Syncracy Capital’s Ryan Watkins joins to break down the backlash, whether the raise makes sense, and what this kind of fundraising says about the current state of crypto.

He discusses:

• Whether Pump needs $1 billion and what they’d even do with it

• Why some people are furious, even as Pump prints revenue

• If this is bullish or bearish for Solana

• Why an airdrop was not pursued

• Whether the $4 billion valuation makes sense

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

• Ledn

• FalconX

• Human Rights Foundation

• Ryan Watkins, Co-founder of Syncracy Capital

• Unchained: Pump.fun Mulls $1B Token Sale

• Nextfckingthing’s tweet breaking the news 

• Ansem’s tweet on “pump fun raising $1B at $4B after Trumpcoin launch is like the second plane hitting the towers”

• Ansem’s poll

• Ryan’s tweet on “Pump anger” 

• Solojay tweet on Pump’s top 25 wallets

• Mosi’s tweet on why “Pump's ICO seems like an asymmetric bet (skewed to the downside)”

Timestamps:

👋 0:00 Intro

🤔 4:03 Why skepticism around Pump.fun’s $1B raise is valid

💰 7:06 What Pump would even do with $1 billion

📈 21:17 Whether a $4B valuation actually holds up

🔥 24:08 Will this ICO hurt SOL?

🎁 27:05 Why Pump chose not to do a big airdrop

📱 28:56 Whether Pump.fun can hold its ground as SocialFi competition heats up

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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. In this episode, the crew tackles a triple-header of crypto’s growing pains: the bizarre saga of James Wynn—a memecoin gambler whose billion-dollar positions on Hyperliquid ended in public ruin; the Ethereum Foundation’s surprise rebrand into “Protocol” and its sudden embrace of hierarchy; and a bold manifesto from Miles Jennings calling for the end of crypto foundations as we know them. Is radical transparency a feature or a trap? Is Ethereum finally prioritizing execution over vibes? And are foundations just offshore theater—or necessary guardians of decentralization? The gang debates all this and more in a conversation that asks: who’s really in control of crypto—and should they be?

Show highlights

🔹 James Wynn: From $1B to $16 – The infamous Hyperliquid trader wipes out, then begs for donations… and opens new positions days later

🔹 Liquidation Theater – Was Wynn’s downfall market manipulation, a psyop, or just crypto doing what it always does?

🔹 Hyperliquid Transparency Debate – CZ, Jump, and Hyperliquid clash over whether radical openness helps or harms

🔹 Stop-Hunting Season – Tarun explains why onchain liquidation is more deterministic—but not necessarily more malicious

🔹 Ethereum Foundation Rebrands – Meet “Protocol”: a new structure, a new strategy, and maybe… a new hierarchy

🔹 The End of Purge & Surge – Is Ethereum finally abandoning the meme roadmap and focusing on shipping?

🔹 Tim Beiko’s New Role – A surprising centralization of coordination—and why the ETH community seems to like it

🔹 DUCS vs. DUNA – The crew proposes a new Ethereum acronym—and debates Miles Jennings’ push to end the foundation model

🔹 Are Foundations Just Offshore Theater? – Haseeb argues it’s time to kill the Cayman entity and rethink DAO legal structures

🔹 The Legal Marketing Wars – Tarun and Tom debate whether crypto’s governance evolution is genuine—or just “intellectual shilling”

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

The end of the foundation era in crypto by Miles Jenningshttps://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/end-foundation-era-crypto/

Announcing Protocol by Barnabé Monnot, Tim Beiko, Alex Stokes

https://blog.ethereum.org/2025/06/02/announcing-protocol

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

02:12 The Saga of James Wynn

06:20 Market Manipulation vs. Transparency

17:37 57, Tarun’s Favorite Number

20:12 EF's “Protocol”

33:45 DUCS! Decentralization, UX, Censorship Resistance, and Scaling

36:55 The End of the Foundation Era

45:04 The Role of Legal Structures in Crypto

52:49 Final Thoughts and Wrap-Up

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The Bitcoin Conference in Vegas is getting more political. Crypto treasury companies are exploding across the globe. And macro markets are flashing mixed signals, with geopolitics entering the chat.

In this episode of Bits + Bips, the panel dives into:

• Key takeaways from Bitcoin 2025

• The possible bubble forming around Bitcoin treasuries

• How the SEC is fighting back against staking in ETFs

• Whether Ethereum is finally catching up

• How Ukraine just redefined trade risks

• Why ETFs have seen so much inflows since the market bottom

• How AI will impact growth and the job market

• And … why James hates Las Vegas 😀

Thank you to our sponsor!

• Bitwise

• James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence

• Joe McCann, Founder, CEO, and CIO of Asymmetric

• Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida

• Noelle Acheson, Author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” Newsletter 

• WSJ: Bitcoin Goes All In on MAGA, Shedding Its Antigovernment Slant

• Unchained: 

• Pakistan Sets up Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

• Crypto Treasury Companies Are All the Rage. Could They Cause an Industry Collapse?

• Decrypt: Another Bitcoin Buyer? Nasdaq-Listed Reitar Logtech Plans $1.5 Billion BTC Purchase

• The Defiant: Trump Media Closes Roughly $2.4 Billion Financing to Establish Corporate Bitcoin Treasury

• Bloomberg: SEC Flags Concerns on Crypto ETFs Offering Staking Rewards

• The Guardian: Ukraine launches major drone attack on Russian bombers, security official says

Timestamps:

0:00 👋 Intro

2:02 🎰 - Why James hates Vegas, but was impressed with Bitcoin 2025

4:48 🐘 - Has bitcoin moved too far right politically?

10:02 📈📉 - If bitcoin treasuries are all the rage, why isn’t the price moving?

13:26 🌍 - One big reason why the treasury bubble differs from SPACs

18:26 📉 - Are these companies destined to implode?

22:55 🤔 - One big (but hidden) opportunity to profit from this market

34:23 🏦 - How some ETF issuers tried (and failed) to pull one over on the SEC

43:19 🤐 - Why James sees one quiet, but bullish, trend in ETF flows

47:48 🌎 - Why Noelle thinks that numbers don’t matter - it's all about geopolitics

58:10 🐂 - Ram sees a secretly bullish setup. Here’s how he says to play it

1:07:33 💻 - How AI is going to eat the world, and turn markets upside down

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Jeff Park thinks the most popular investing strategy of the last decades — the 60/40 portfolio — is dead.

Jeff has spent his early career inside the traditional system. But now, after two years in finance, he’s calling for a full rethink of the modern portfolio: from what counts as “safe” to how inflation actually works to why Bitcoin may be the real anchor asset in a world that’s spinning off its axis.

In this episode, the first in a two-part series, he and Laura dig into:

• Why the 60/40 portfolio is quietly failing

• What the rise of “resistance” assets says about trust in institutions

• Why STRK and BTC are the distillation of Jeff’s radical portfolio

• How traditional finance may be more correlated to crypto than you think

• Why “time is liquid energy” and bitcoin is so valuable

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

• Xapo Bank

• Bitwise

• Jeff Park, Head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise

• The Radical Portfolio Theory by Jeff Park

• Unchained: DeFi Leverage on Apollo’s $1.3 Billion Credit Fund

Timestamps:

👋 0:00 Intro

🧠 2:19 How entering the workforce in 2008 pushed Jeff to question everything, even the dollar

🏛️ 14:31 Jeff’s role as head of alpha strategies at Bitwise

📉 17:27 Why the classic 60/40 portfolio may be dead

🌍 34:10 How crypto fits into the new financial world

⚡ 40:58 Why “time is liquid energy” and bitcoin captures it best

📊 41:52 The core of Jeff’s radical portfolio theory

🛡️ 54:44 What goes into the “resistance” asset bucket

🎯 59:00 Why prediction markets could diversify your income

💎 1:09:52 Why Jeff is betting big on Strategy’s STRK and BTC

👑 1:14:31 The rise of crypto treasury companies and whether they pose systemic risk

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Public crypto treasury companies are in the news right now.

Just this week, Sharplink Gaming announced a $425 million raise to create an Ethereum treasury vehicle, backed by Consensys. Meanwhile, Trump Media said it will buy $2.5 billion worth of bitcoin. And in a headline grab, GameStop revealed a $500 million Bitcoin purchase. There’s even a newly launched XRP treasury company backed by Saudi royal capital.

But why are these vehicles suddenly the structure of choice for accessing crypto exposure? What kinds of assets are best suited for them? And are they safe or a ticking time bomb?

Pantera Capital’s Cosmo Jiang joins Unchained to unpack:

• The structures and strategies behind these companies

• Why Solana is appearing more than Ethereum (and what that says)

• How XRP’s brand power could matter more than its adoption

• The risks these vehicles pose to investors and to markets

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

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Bitkey: Use code UNCHAINED for 20% off

• Focal by FalconX

  Guest

• Cosmo Jiang, General Partner and Portfolio Manager for Liquid Strategies at Pantera Capital

  Links

• Previous coverage of Unchained on bitcoin treasury companies:

• Why Twenty One Capital Is More About Volatility Than Bitcoin

• Twenty One Aims to Buy as Much Bitcoin as Possible. Can It Succeed?

• Unchained: 

• Trump Media Confirms $2.5B Capital Raise to Buy Bitcoin

• Consensys Leads $425M Raise for SharpLink Gaming’s ETH Treasury Plans

• The Block: GameStop buys 4,710 bitcoin for corporate treasury: filing

• CoinDesk: VivoPower Raises $121M to Launch XRP Treasury Strategy With Saudi Royal Backing

• Bloomberg: 

• Cantor’s $2 Billion Bitcoin-Backed Lending Arm Makes First Deals

• The Stock Market Loves Bitcoin

Timestamps:

• 
  

  • 👋 0:00 Intro

  • 📈 1:57 Why crypto treasury companies are suddenly everywhere

  • 🏗️ 5:03 How these vehicles are structured to raise and deploy capital

  • 🎲 8:36 Which strategies carry more risk for investors

  • 🔍 9:57 Pure-play crypto vs. operational businesses: what works better

  • 💰 12:40 Why these companies often trade at a premium to their crypto

  • 🔥 16:56 Why there’s more buzz around SOL than ETH in these structures

  • 📣 19:44 How XRP treasury plays are unique … but tied to marketing, not tech

  • 🙋‍♂️ 21:31 Why some investors prefer these stocks over holding actual tokens

  • ⚠️ 24:12 Could these companies pose systemic risks to crypto markets?

  • 📊 27:58 The key metrics to watch when valuing crypto treasury companies

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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. In this episode, the gang reunites to confront a troubling pattern: we’re making the same mistakes all over again. From the $223 million Sui hack and validator-led censorship to Coinbase’s insider data breach and the Trump token dinner spectacle, this week feels like a remix of the industry’s most painful lessons. The crew reflects on how decentralization is being quietly redefined, why newer chains ignore crypto’s origin story, and what it means when memecoins are the new access pass to political influence. Also: James Wynn’s billion-dollar trades, fading cypherpunk values, and a creeping sense that the crypto future looks a lot like its past.

Show highlights

🔹 Sui’s Ethereum Classic Moment – Why freezing a hacker’s funds reopened an old decentralization wound

🔹 The Same Mistake Again – Tarun and Robert reflect on the crypto industry’s short memory and long consequences

🔹 Coinbase’s KYC Breach – How bribed support agents exposed a broken identity system

🔹 The Trump Token Dinner – Steak, disappointment, and the illusion of access in crypto’s weirdest political stunt

🔹 The Death of Cypherpunk Values – Haseeb asks: are decentralization and censorship-resistance just legacy slogans now?

🔹 Validator Power Creep – The panel debates whether emerging L1s are becoming de facto states

🔹 James Wynn’s Trading Circus – A $1.25B long, 40x leverage, and the thin line between marketing and madness

🔹 Hyperliquid Stress Test – Robert wonders: is Wynn just a trader, or a protocol’s canary in the coal mine?

🔹 The KYC Iceberg – Why crypto keeps leaking private data—and why nobody’s fixing it

🔹 Chopping Boomers Mode – When no one gets your Ethereum Classic jokes, maybe the revolution’s over

Hosts

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate

⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

Timestamps

00:00 Intro 

01:15 Cetus x Sui Hack

07:56 Ethereum Classic & Crypto History

21:37 Trump Token Dinner Controversy

29:56 Coinbase Ransom Hack

33:49 KYC Data Vulnerabilities

43:02 James Wynn's High-Stakes Trading

Disclosures

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A debate has been heating up on crypto Twitter about Real Economic Value (REV) — a metric meant to measure the value blockchains accrue from user activity. REV includes transaction fees and MEV tips, but excludes issuance — the inflationary rewards paid to validators. Some say it’s the clearest window into genuine usage. Others argue it’s a flawed and misleading proxy.

So we brought the argument to Unchained. Tom Dunleavy, Head of Venture at Varys Capital, says fees are headed to zero, and blockchains shouldn’t be valued like companies. Meanwhile, Austin Federa, Co-founder of DoubleZero, believes REV offers a real lens on activity, maturity, and demand.

The conversation covers:

• Whether REV is a meaningful metric (and how to game it)

• Whether L2 tokens are fundamentally broken

• What happens to security when fees (and MEV) go to zero

• If high REV signals product-market fit or just economic noise

• How to value blockchains, if not with REV

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

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Bitwise

  Guests:

• Tom Dunleavy, Head of Venture at Varys Capital

• Austin Federa, Co-founder of DoubleZero

Timestamps:

👋 0:00 Intro

📊 2:50 What REV actually measures and why it’s sparking so much debate

💸 4:33 Why fees that don’t go to the protocol are included in this metric

🪙 14:43 Whether L2 tokens are fundamentally worthless

🧮 15:53 How to factor Ethereum L2s into the REV equation

📉 18:15 Why Tom thinks all fees are going to zero and what that means for value accrual

📈 34:06 Austin defends REV and explains why it reflects real user demand

⚠️ 37:07 MEV debate: is it a feature or a flaw?

🔀 42:59 Why Solana might not follow Ethereum’s REV path

🛡️ 44:18 Who secures the network when MEV goes to zero

🤔 53:46 Whether high REV means success

🚫 59:46 Why Austin calls out Jesse Pollak’s “no sandwiching” claim on Base

🌄 1:02:30 Whether Solana’s Alpenglow proposal could reshape MEV

🔄 1:03:43 How REV might rise even as MEV declines

👑 1:07:11 Why Bitcoin lives in its own reality when it comes to metrics

🎮 1:09:57 How protocols can game the REV metric

📐 1:15:19 What other metrics matter when valuing blockchains

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Yield-bearing stablecoins have had decent growth, now topping $6 billion in supply and paying out nearly $600 million to users, according to data from Stablewatch. But just as these products go mainstream, the U.S. Senate is moving forward with a stablecoin bill that could ban them outright in America.

In this episode, NYU professor and Zero Knowledge Consulting founder Austin Campbell joins Laura to break down:

• Why yield-bearing stablecoins are under fire in Washington

• Why Dems are pushing for the ban and who stands to benefit

• How this bill could give foreign issuers an edge over U.S. ones

• Whether yield-bearing stablecoins are securities under U.S. law

• And what the future holds for projects like Ethena, Sky, and others

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

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Bitkey: Use code UNCHAINED for 20% off

• Focal by FalconX

• Austin Campbell, NYU Stern professor and founder and managing partner of Zero Knowledge Consulting

• Unchained: 

• How the Senate Stablecoin Bill Enriches Corporations at the Expense of Consumers

• Stablecoin Bill Passes Key Hurdle: Dems Join GOP to Deliver a Crypto Win

• Tether in the Clear? Yes, Under This New Republican-Led Senate Stablecoin Bill

• Stablecoin Bill Stalls in Senate as GOP Cries Foul Over Dem Resistance

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction

💣 1:29 Why the new stablecoin bill takes direct aim at yield-bearing stablecoins

🗳️ 3:36 How Democrats are driving the push for a ban and what their motivations might be

🏦 6:28 Why calling stablecoins “banks” leads to major policy confusion

🌍 13:49 How the bill could hand an advantage to offshore stablecoin issuers

🎒 19:31 Whether Tether is warning about risk or just protecting its own interests

⚖️ 21:09 Are yield-bearing stablecoins actually securities under U.S. law?

💰 23:40 What real benefits yield-bearing stablecoins offer to users

🚫 29:54 Why Austin opposes the proposed 10% interest cap

📚 32:04 Why Ethena would likely be regulated under market structure rules instead

📰 35:04 Weekly News Recap

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U.S. credit got downgraded. Fed policy expectations are flipping. And Coinbase hit the S&P 500 (while also being extorted).

But what does all of this mean for crypto?

On this week’s Bits + Bips, James Seyffart, Alex Kruger, Ram Ahluwalia, and Noelle Acheson break down:

• Why the Moody’s downgrade doesn’t mean much for markets

• Whether Fed rate cuts are now further off than expected

• Why Alex says Coinbase is a “horrible product” despite S&P inclusion

• How stablecoins tie into U.S. geopolitical strategy

• Whether Circle should sell to Coinbase

• And what the altcoin ETF delay really tells us

Plus: unemployment, yield curve control, the “Consensus vibes,” and Ram’s wild anecdote about workers gaming unemployment benefits.

• Bitwise

• James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence

• Alex Kruger, Founder of Asgard

• Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida

• Noelle Acheson, Author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” Newsletter 

Macro

• Reuters: Moody's downgrade intensifies investor worry about US fiscal path

• USNews: Trump Tells Walmart to 'Eat the Tariffs' Instead of Raising Prices

Coinbase

• Unchained: How the Attack on Coinbase Shows the Dangers of Centralized Exchanges

• Fortune: Circle pursues IPO—but talks with Coinbase and Ripple could mean a sale, sources say

• CNBC: Coinbase joining S&P 500, replacing Discover Financial

Stablecoin bill

• Unchained: Stablecoin Bill Passes Key Hurdle: Dems Join GOP to Deliver a Crypto Win

Timestamps:

👋 0:00 Intro

💳 2:18 A big reason why the U.S. credit downgrade matters for investors

📉 7:49 Contrarian take: why souring U.S. debt could also hurt crypto

🛡️ 15:30 Do tariffs work against the U.S. military and national security? 

🔁 20:14 Why the crew flipped on Fed rate cut expectations

📊 28:35 Is the U.S. about to introduce yield curve control?

🧾 35:04 Are the Mag7 stocks the new safe havens in a recession?

📈 38:54 What if the “Goldilocks” scenario is priced in, and it's wrong?

💼 44:26 Why hedge funds are secretly in a vulnerable position

🫱 49:15 What the “vibes” at Consensus 2025 revealed

💵🇨🇳 50:44 A secret threat that the stablecoin bill poses to China?

📈 57:43 What Coinbase’s S&P 500 inclusion means and why Robinhood is its biggest threat

🌀 1:07:17 Should Coinbase acquire Circle? Here’s what the panel thinks

⏳ 1:13:38 Why altcoin ETF approvals are delayed and wen staking in ETFs?

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Legacy social media platforms lock you in, control your audience, and exploit your data.

Farcaster aims to fix those problems. But how can it attract developers and users in an already saturated media environment? 

Developer Ecosystem Lead Linda Xie joined the show to explain:

• How Farcaster addresses social media’s structural flaws

• How Farcaster’s mini-app ecosystem is helping to grow the user base

• The most popular apps taking off on the platform

• How the whole crypto community could benefit from gathering on Farcaster

• Why she believes crypto communities belong on open, portable networks

• And why her family’s history helped her grasp the significance of Bitcoin in 2011

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

• Bitwise

• Linda Xie, Developer Ecosystem Lead at Farcaster

• Previous coverage of Unchained on Farcaster and social media:

• Farcaster Wants to Win Over Crypto. Here’s How It’s Different From ‘Crypto Twitter’

• Ethereum Accounts to Post on Social Media More After Criticism

• How Decentralized Social Network Farcaster Hopes to Eventually Get to One Billion Users

• What is Warpcast Wallet?

• Farcaster’s Snapchain

• Farcaster’s mini-apps

• Understanding Farcaster: A Sufficiently Decentralized Social Graph Protocol

Timestamps:

🤝 0:00 Introduction

🤯 3:55 How an unusual situation in her family got Linda crypto-pilled

⚖️ 7:57 How building legitimacy at Coinbase was crucial for the industry

🪜 10:20 Xie’s journey from VC to founder

🌐 13:04 How crypto’s adoption has evolved around the world

🔍 16:44 Why Linda decided to build and focus on Farcaster

🔧 23:31 How Farcaster addresses social media’s structural flaws

👀 31:14 How mini-apps build Farcaster’s user base

💲 37:32 Why Warpcast Wallet is a “game changer,” according to Linda

❓ 40:19 How Snapchain is used for storing data

👷 44:29 What types of developers the Farcaster ecosystem attracts

💡 45:20 How Linda aims to make Farcaster easy to understand

✨ 49:50 Linda’s favorite Farcaster mini-apps

😀 55:10 Attracting the whole crypto community to Farcaster

Thank you to our sponsors!Guest:
Links

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Coinbase revealed on Thursday that cybercriminals bribed overseas customer support contractors to steal sensitive customer data as part of a $20 million extortion scheme. While no funds or private keys were compromised, customer names, addresses, and ID documents were exposed for nearly 1% of the company’s 8+ million “monthly transacting users,” according to a blog post.

The story raises tough questions for the entire industry. Is KYC making users more vulnerable? Can human error ever be fully eliminated? And is crypto’s real security problem… people?

Security experts Jameson Lopp, James Wester and Alexander Leishman delve into:

• What went wrong at Coinbase

• Why human vulnerabilities are still crypto’s biggest risk

• Whether KYC makes the problem worse

• What companies should do next to protect their users

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

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Focal by FalconX

• Bitkey: Use code UNCHAINED for 20% off

• Mantle

  Guests

• Jameson Lopp, Co-founder and CTO at CASA

• James Wester, Research Director at Javelin

• Alexander Leishman, CEO and CTO at River

  
  

  Links

• Coinbase’s blog post: Protecting Our Customers - Standing Up to Extortionists

• Coinbase’s SEC filing

• Commentary: 

• Vance Spencer’s tweet

• Armani Ferrante’s tweet

Timestamps:

🎙️ 0:00 Introduction and ads

🔓 2:30 How hackers tricked Coinbase’s offshore support and why humans remain security’s weakest link

🗂️ 6:49 What customer data was leaked and how hackers use it

🎯 13:14 How attackers prey on targets at weak moments

🌍 20:47 Should Coinbase move customer support back to the U.S.?

🛑 26:35 Why KYC protocols might be making users more vulnerable, not safer

🛡️ 28:48 The best defenses companies can implement to protect users

📰33:49 Weekly News Recap

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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Robert Leshner, and Tarun Chitra break down the biggest stories in crypto. This week, we’re joined by one of the most iconic anons on Crypto Twitter: Mosi, aka @vanacharma. Known for calling out sketchy tokenomics and vaporware valuations, Mosi joins the crew for a ruthless teardown of market maker games, OTC dumps, and the “hallucination yield” driving this cycle’s worst bets. From the $60M Movement Labs fiasco to OTC pump schemes and the collapse of community trust, the gang goes deep on why crypto’s market structure is broken—and what it’ll take to fix it. If you’ve ever wondered how the sausage gets made in crypto token launches, this one’s for you.

Show highlights

🔹 $60M Movement Meltdown – How a token deal gone wrong became crypto’s latest fiasco and dragged down one of the cycle’s most hyped L1s.

🔹 Anon vs. Everyone – Iconic CT anon @vanacharma breaks down the float games, OTC dumps, and tokenomics illusions plaguing the industry.

🔹 Market Makers or Middlemen? – When is liquidity real, and when is it just backdoor exits? We unpack how MM incentives are getting abused.

🔹 Hallucination Yield & Vapor Valuations – Why funds chase tokens with the fakest traction — and what happens when reality hits.

🔹 Are VCs to Blame? – The crew debates whether investors are complicit in these token games or just bad at picking founders.

🔹 Pump, Dump, Repeat – How OTC discounts, fake float, and circular trading fuel a Ponzi-like system hiding in plain sight.

🔹 Why Retail Gets Burned – Most people never stood a chance. We walk through how asymmetric info and hidden unlocks wreck public buyers.

🔹 Can This Be Fixed? – Haseeb and Mosi clash on the path forward: enforceable disclosures, exchange oversight, or do-nothing chaos?

🔹 Self-Regulation Is the Only Way Out – Before the SEC nukes everything, the industry must grow up. Here’s where that starts.

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

Guest

⭐️ Mosi, Just a Kid from Africa

Timestamps 

00:00 Intro

01:22 Mosi’s Crypto Philosophy

03:13 Market Structure Issues in Crypto

08:07 OTC Deals & Market Manipulation

15:36 Fixing the Market Structure

23:56 Self-Correcting Market Dynamics

29:19 VC Incentives and Market Impact

36:08 Retail vs. Institutional Investors

52:26 Superstate's Vision for Onchain Equities

Hosts
Disclosures

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After the U.S. and China announced a 90-day pause on tariffs, signaling a massive de-escalation of the trade wars, markets rallied. 

In this week’s Bits + Bips, the panel covers the biggest macro and crypto forces in motion right now:

• Will US-China tariff reset reshape the global economy, or just kick the can down the road?

• America’s ballooning deficit and why politicians are spending like it’s wartime.

• Why some think ETH has a unique lane to outperform.

• How policymakers ignore the power of the crypto community at their own risk.

• Plus: Saylor copycats, Solana’s risk-reward balance, and whether stagflation or recession is still in the cards.

Sponsors:

• Bitwise
  

• Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida

• Steve Ehrlich, Executive editor at Unchained

Guests:

• Peter Tchir, Head of Macro Strategy at Academy Securities

• Zach Pandl, Head of research at Grayscale

• POLITICO: Trump: The EU is ‘nastier than China’

• David Bailey and Bitcoin-Native Holding Company Nakamoto Announce Merger with KindlyMD® to Establish Bitcoin Treasury

• Unchained: Michael Saylor Copycats Rush to Win the Solana Rat Race. Can Lightning Strike Twice?

• Reuters: Brokerages Scale Back Recession Odds After U.S.-China Trade Truce

• White House: Joint Statement on U.S.-China Economic and Trade Meeting in Geneva

• McKinsey: Chinese Consumption Amid the New Reality

• CBS: U.S. Could Face Default by August if Congress Doesn't Address Debt Ceiling, Bessent Says

Stablecoin bill drama

• Unchained:

• Why the Senate Stablecoin Bill Stalled & What It Means for Crypto

• Tether in the Clear? Yes, Under This New Republican-Led Senate Stablecoin Bill 

• Stablecoin Bill Stalls in Senate as GOP Cries Foul Over Dem Resistance

• A House Hearing on Crypto? More Like a Big, Partisan Fight

Timestamps:

👋 0:00 Intro

🇨🇳🇺🇲 3:27 The significance of the U.S.-China tariff pause

🌎 8:55 Is this a global economic reset or just kicking the can down the road?

🧑‍💼 20:23 Has Bessent beaten Navarro in the Trump trade tug of war?

💔 23:11 Whether the U.S.-China relationship is heading for a permanent split

🏦 30:22 Is the U.S. heading for a debt default in August?

🎭 38:37 Why more are copying Strategy’s bitcoin playbook

🚀 44:53 ETH’s explosive short squeeze caught traders off guard. Can it continue?

🏛️ 52:47 How stablecoin policy suddenly became major political battleground

⚠️ 1:00:20 Are there still stagflation and recession risks?

Hosts:Links

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The Movement Labs scandal exposed more than just one bad deal –  it pulled back the curtain on a widespread problem in crypto: how some market makers, founders, and VCs play games to make money — whether the project succeeds or not.

In this episode, Laura speaks with José Macedo of Delphi Labs, Omar Shakeeb of SecondLane, and Taran Sabharwal of STIX to explain:

• How market makers are supposed to work, and how they operate in crypto

• Why insider selling is more common than you think

• How projects like Movement, Mantra, and others exploit launch day hype

• Whether VCs often enable this behavior with side deals that retail never hears about

• And what the industry needs to do to fix this broken system

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

• Bitwise

• José Macedo, founder at Delphi Labs

• Omar Shakeeb, cofounder of SecondLane

• Taran Sabharwal, founder and CEO of STIX.

Movement Labs:

• Unchained: How MOVE’s Contracts Put a Pump and Dump Into a Legal Agreement

• CoinDesk: Inside Movement’s Token-Dump Scandal: Secret Contracts, Shadow Advisers and Hidden Middlemen

Market making:

• The Chopping Block: Can Crypto Clean Itself Up? Market Structure, Trust, and Regulation 

• Mantra Founder Is Burning 150 Million Tokens. Would He Try to Get Them Returned?

• ZachXBT Ties REEF Founders to OM Token Crash

Timestamps:

👋 0:00 Intro

🤝 1:51 What Omar’s and Taran’s companies do

🎭 3:40 How market making works and how crypto twists the model

⚠️ 9:35 Why crypto’s market maker incentives are broken by design

🛠️ 16:25 What it would take to fix shady market maker behavior

🚩 26:20 How some founders exploit launch day hype to dump on retail

🧠 38:11 Did Mantra’s JP pull off a “genius” move or manipulate the market?

🔍 42:22 Whether crypto traders do any research before apeing in

💸 52:48 How founders are incentivized to dump their own tokens

🏦 59:09 Why VCs may be fueling this problem with insider deals

📉 1:02:37 What crypto needs to learn from traditional finance

✅ 1:06:13 The biggest fixes the industry must prioritize to stop these scams

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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Robert Leshner, and special guest Evgeny Gaevoy of Wintermute break down the biggest stories in crypto. This week: the $38M Move token dump exposes the shady side of market making, with shocking incentives that blurred the line between liquidity support and pure exit liquidity. We dig into what really happened, why major VCs looked the other way, and how the entire token launch playbook might be broken. Evgeny joins to give the market maker’s perspective — and to answer the question: how many more of these sh*t shows are still lurking beneath the surface?

Show highlights

🔹 $38M Token Dump Exposed – How Movement Labs’ shady deal with Web3Port revealed the dark side of crypto market making.

🔹 Market Makers or Exit Liquidity? – Inside the incentive structure that let a market maker dump tokens and split profits with the foundation.

🔹 VCs Looked the Other Way – Why top investors backed Movement Labs despite red flags — and what it says about crypto due diligence.

🔹 Rushi Gets Fired – The Movement Labs CEO is out after weeks of denial. But was the rest of the team complicit too?

🔹 Wintermute’s Evgeny Speaks Out – The biggest market maker in crypto weighs in on shady deals, dump mechanics, and transparency failures.

🔹 Airdrops, Float Games, and Retail Rugging – We dissect how token launches get manipulated behind the scenes — and who really pays.

🔹 The Case for Disclosure – Why Haseeb argues crypto needs mandatory public disclosures for market making agreements — before regulators step in.

🔹 Self-Regulation or SEC Crackdown? – Can the industry grow up on its own… or are we begging for another wave of securities enforcement?

🔹 Crypto’s Trust Crisis – Without transparency, the entire token model risks collapse. This episode lays out how to fix it.

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

Guest

⭐️ Evgeny Gaevoy, Founder and CEO at Wintermute

Inside Movement’s Token-Dump Scandal: Secret Contracts, Shadow Advisers and Hidden Middlemen by Sam Kessler 

🔗https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2025/04/30/inside-movement-s-token-dump-scandal-secret-contracts-shadow-advisors-and-hidden-middlemen 

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

01:19 Movement Labs Scandal: Inside the Market Maker Mess

06:26 How Crypto Market Making Really Works

10:54 Rigged from the Start?

17:25 Who Knew What? Movement Labs and the Industry Fallout

25:57 Why Crypto Needs a Market Maker Disclosure

34:45 Transparency vs. Manipulation

38:02 Do Market Makers Control Token Prices?

51:51 The Crypto Market Structure Bill: What’s at Stake

59:18 Can We Fix Crypto Before It Breaks?

Hosts
DisclosuresLinks

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The crypto industry is fixated on the U.S. Senate.

On Thursday, lawmakers failed to advance the GENIUS Act, the most significant federal stablecoin bill to date. But the story isn’t over. 

Behind the process is a drama about potential presidential conflicts, shifting political alliances, and unresolved policy questions.

In this episode, Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association and Amanda Tuminelli, executive director and CLO of the DeFi Education Fund, break down:

• Why the bill stalled but isn’t dead yet

• The role Trump’s crypto ties are playing

• Whether Democrats who once backed crypto are turning away

• Why advocates are still pushing for a deal this year

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

• FalconX

• Bitkey: Use code UNCHAINED for 20% off

• Mantle

• Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association

• Amanda Tuminelli, executive director and CLO of the DeFi Education Fund

Timestamps:

• 👋 0:00 Intro

• 📉 2:01 Why the Senate blocked the vote but the bill isn’t dead yet

• 🔄 5:17 Why some pro-crypto Democrats suddenly flipped

• ⚖️ 8:08 Key differences between the two competing GENIUS Act proposals

• 🔄 14:18 Whether lawmakers are starting to shift their crypto stances

• 🤝 16:05 Can the Senate overcome divisions and get this across the finish line?

• 🏛️ 18:14 How Trump’s crypto ties are shaping the legislative battle

• ⏳ 20:46 Is the August deadline already slipping out of reach

• 📝 22:39 Combining stablecoin and market structure bills 

• 🎉 25:59 Why Kristin says it’s a relief not to have to deal with Gensler anymore

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On Thursday, Coinbase announced its acquisition of Deribit in a $2.9 billion deal, the largest merger in the crypto industry to date.

In this episode, Owen Lau, executive director and senior analyst at Oppenheimer, delves into why Deribit was such a coveted prize, what this deal means for the global derivatives landscape, and how Coinbase is using its position as a public company to cement its dominance.

Plus:

• The importance of Coinbase paying mostly in stock and barely touching its cash

• How the derivatives market dwarfs spot trading, and is only getting bigger

• What this means for CME and smaller crypto exchanges

• And how Base, Coinbase’s L2, fits into the long game
  

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

Thank you to our sponsors!

• FalconX

• Bitkey: Use code UNCHAINED for 20% off

• Mantle

• Guest

  • Owen Lau, Executive Director and Senior Analyst at Oppenheimer

Timestamps:

👋 0:00 Intro

📢 2:26 What this record-breaking $2.9B deal really means for crypto

🔥 4:39 Why Deribit was the most sought - after acquisition target in the space

📊 5:59 How the derivatives market became bigger than spot — and what’s next

⚔️ 10:16 What this move signals for CME and how the competitive landscape shifts

🛡️ 12:08 Will this deal make crypto safer for everyone?

💸 16:28 Why Coinbase used mostly stock and why that matters

📈 18:59 How the deal changes Coinbase’s revenue outlook going forward

🚀 22:15 Whether Coinbase is building the “WeChat of the U.S.” financial system

🔗 24:32 The role of Base in Coinbase’s future 

🤝 25:48 Why M&A is heating up across crypto right now

⚖️ 27:35 How ongoing regulatory uncertainty still casts a shadow

🧠 28:12 What investors should keep in mind when evaluating the risks and rewards

📰 30:40  Crypto News Recap

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Crypto doesn’t reward fundamentals. It rewards attention. So what does that say about how investors, like Warren Buffett, would fare today?

In this week’s Bits + Bips, the crew dissects what’s really behind this rally, why Ethereum’s sentiment problem may run deeper than roadmap delays, and how the stablecoin bill turned into a political tug of war.

Plus:

• Apple and NFTs: why this matters more than people think

• Whether tariffs are about politics or actual policy

• Why Bessent is “the best” in the Trump administration

• And why Buffett’s era may be ending, with Portnoy rising in his place 😬

Sponsor:

• Bitwise

• James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence

• Alex Kruger, Founder of Asgard

• Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida

• Katalin Tischhauser, Head of Research at Sygnum Bank

Macro 

• Bloomberg: Trump Suggests Some Trade Deals May Come as Soon as This Week - 

• Asymmetric Market Update™️ #29

• May 2025 Newsletter: A Trade Breakdown - Lyn Alden

• Stagflation bears are wrong?

• Reuters: Dollar slips as Taiwan dollar surge sparks revaluation talk

• WSJ: 

• Tariffs Threaten Semiconductor Supply Chains, Chip-Equipment Maker Warns

• Bessent’s oped: Trump’s Three Steps to Economic Growth

• Buffett on Tariffs

• Buffet: The Natural Course of Government is to make Currency worth less overtime

ETH pivot

• Unchained: 

• Ethereum Gave Away Too Much for Too Long. Will Its Pivot Be Enough?

• Ethereum Ecosystem Shifts Toward User Focus

• Ethereum Developers Vote EOF Out of Fusaka Hard Fork

• Vitalik Buterin Proposes Replacing Ethereum Virtual Machine

• The Block: 

• Vitalik and new Ethereum Foundation co-executive directors outline updated board structure, mission

• Vitalik Buterin- and StarkWare-backed Kakarot reveals alternative Ethereum ZK stack, targeting real-time STARK proofs on Layer 1 by end of 2025

• CoinDesk: Ethereum Could Supercharge Transaction Speed to 2,000 TPS Thanks to Bold New Proposal

• Simplifying the L1 by Vitalik Buterin

Stablecoin bill:

• POLITICO: Why the Senate crypto bill is in turmoil

• Latest on the Senate's "GENIUS Act" by Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy 

Timestamps:

🚪 0:00 Intro

👋 1:01 Katalin’s background

📦 3:40 The real motive behind tariffs, according to Katalin

😬 11:43 What the market is forgetting to price in

🇪🇺  18:57 How Europe views Trump’s trade moves

🤝 21:33 Trump thinking that U.S. companies are cutting bad deals with China

🧠 26:04 Why Bessent’s op-ed made waves, and why Alex calls him the smartest in Trump’s crew

📉 29:13 The collapse in U.S. manufacturing employment, despite a surge in production

🧓 33:12 Buffett’s exit and his old-school take on tariffs in a new-school market

🌀 39:46 Will Ethereum’s pivot actually improve the price?

⚖️ 51:28 The impact of the political mess around the stablecoin bill

💸 53:53 Ripple’s attempted Circle acquisition and why Ram wouldn’t touch XRP

🍎 1:00:43 Importance of Apple quietly opening the door to NFTs and crypto sales

💱 1:03:34 What’s up with the Taiwanese dollar

💻 1:06:05 Why adding tariffs to chips could backfire big time

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After years of underperformance, Ethereum is trying to change course, from scaling the layer 1 to potentially dumping the EVM. In this episode, Tarun Chitra and Max Resnick break down each of these new changes, analyzing the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

Is this a reset that can save Ethereum’s market position and price? Or has the protocol given away too much for too long?

They dive into:

• Whether the gas limit increase changes everything

• What went wrong with Ethereum’s economics and solo staking politics

• Max’s view on “the single most important” change Ethereum needs to make

• How ETH could claw back value from layer 2s

• What Max would do if he ran Ethereum

• Whether this pivot is too little, too late
  

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

Bitwise https://bitwiseinvestments.com/ciomemo

• 
  

  Tarun Chitra, CEO and Co-Founder of Gauntlet

• Max Resnick, Lead economist at Anza

• Unchained: 

• Ethereum Ecosystem Shifts Toward User Focus

• Ethereum Developers Vote EOF Out of Fusaka Hard Fork

• Vitalik Buterin Proposes Replacing Ethereum Virtual Machine

• The Block: 

• Vitalik and new Ethereum Foundation co-executive directors outline updated board structure, mission

• Vitalik Buterin- and StarkWare-backed Kakarot reveals alternative Ethereum ZK stack, targeting real-time STARK proofs on Layer 1 by end of 2025

• CoinDesk: Ethereum Could Supercharge Transaction Speed to 2,000 TPS Thanks to Bold New Proposal

• Simplifying the L1 by Vitalik Buterin

Timestamps:

• 👋 0:00 Introduction

• 🛠️ 2:05 Why Ethereum had to pivot and what triggered the urgency

• 📈 7:16 Why raising the gas limit could actually be a big deal

• 💻 9:12 Whether Ethereum devs are too idealistic

• ⚡ 19:02 How Solana managed to outperform Ethereum at the base layer

• 👨‍🏫 24:09 Why Max feels Vitalik’s proposals focus on outdated technology 

• 🔧 27:57 The growing gap between Ethereum research and its execution clients

• 👍 35:02 The ONE thing Max thinks Ethereum is doing well

• ⚖️ 40:38 Did “credible neutrality” push Ethereum down the wrong path?

• 🌀 48:23 Will the new Ethereum R1 rollup succeed? 

• 🔀 52:53 What the new updates mean for layer 2s and their value proposition

• 📉 1:02:58 Whether ETH is finally due for a price reversal

• 🎯 1:09:12 Why Ethereum should take a page from Trump’s strategy playbook

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The MOVE token collapse sparked one of the most damning investigations in the industry this year.

In this episode of Unchained, investigative journalist Sam Kessler joins Laura Shin to walk through the contracts, questionable market-making deals, and finger pointing inside Movement Labs. From Binance’s ban to a Trump-affiliated crypto deal, this story unearths how the MOVE token collapse was the product of what looks like a pump-and-dump plan written out in legal contracts.

Plus:

• How insiders structured deals to profit from artificial price spikes

• How this could have happened with a project backed by some of crypto’s most reputable VCs

• What this saga says about token launches, regulation, and market integrity

• And whether Movement Labs can (or should) be trusted to investigate itself

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

• FalconX

• Bitkey: Use code UNCHAINED for 20% off

• Mantle

• Sam Kessler, Deputy Managing Editor for Tech and Protocols at CoinDesk

• CoinDesk: Inside Movement’s Token-Dump Scandal: Secret Contracts, Shadow Advisers and Hidden Middlemen

• Trading for MOVE will be suspended on Coinbase

Timestamps:

👋 0:00 Introduction

🕵️‍♀️ 1:52 Initial details of the scandal

⚖️ 6:20 Conflicts of interest at Movement Labs and who knew what

💥 8:42 Why 5% of tokens = 50% of supply and why that’s wild

🧾 13:14 How a lawyer called the deal “the worst agreement I’ve ever seen”

🚫 18:41 Why Binance banned Web3Port after suspicious trading

🧩 20:38 The web of key players: founders, shadow advisors, and middlemen

🧠 25:51 A theory on treasury selling and token price manipulation

🔍 27:49 Can Movement Labs investigate itself, and will anyone trust the outcome?

📉 29:39 Why Coinbase is suspending MOVE and what that signals

🇺🇸 30:47 How Trump’s crypto arm is tangled up in the MOVE ecosystem

📰34:15 News Recap

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While it’s been a calmer week in the markets (thank God!), there’s a lot to talk about!

This week on Bits + Bips, hosts James Seyffart, Ram Ahluwalia, and Steven Ehrlich, along with guest Charles Edwards of Capriole Investments, dive into:

• Whether it’s time to be bullish on all crypto assets

• Whether a Trump put actually exists

• The risks behind bitcoin treasury companies like the new Twenty One Capital

• Why Solana ETFs might not be the smash success people expect

• The controversial invite to the White House for $TRUMP holders

• Why there’s a big disconnect in the markets

• Bitwise

• James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence

• Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida

• Steven Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained

Guest:

• Charles Edwards, Founder of Capriole Investments

Twenty One:

• Recent coverage of Unchained on Twenty One: 

• Why Twenty One Capital Is More About Volatility Than Bitcoin

• Twenty One Aims to Buy as Much Bitcoin as Possible. Can It Succeed?

• Press Release: Tether, SoftBank Group, and Jack Mallers Launch Twenty One, a Bitcoin-native Company, Through a Business Combination With Cantor Equity Partners

Does The Market Still Control Trump?

• Donald Trump’s chaos has left investors with frayed nerves

4 of the Mag7 Reporting This Week

• Big Tech’s Earnings Problem Is Estimates May Be Way Too High

$TRUMP

• Trump's Meme Coin Dinner Contest Earns Insiders $900,000 in Two Days

Other: 

• ​​Apollo slides

Timestamps:

• 👋 0:00 Introductions

• 🧠 3:22 Is the market controlling Trump or is Trump controlling the market?

• 📈 8:51 Can investors trust it if there’s a positive earnings season?

• 🚚 14:13 How tariffs are hitting supply chains and consumer goods

• 🏛️ 19:25 Is Twenty One Capital a threat to MicroStrategy?

• ⛏️ 31:19 What is the future of bitcoin miners?

• ⚡ 34:42 Will the Bitcoin corporate flywheel eventually break?

• 🔥 43:31 Can Solana holding companies follow MSTR? 

• 🇨🇦 48:19 Wen Solana ETFs? \Poor early trading trends in Canada

• 🤔 53:50 Is there a silver lining to $TRUMP?

• 📊 1:06:30 Bitcoin strength: time to be bullish?

• 🌍 1:14:24 Macro wrap-up with tariffs, rate cuts, and global market risks

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The race for Bitcoin supremacy just got more complicated.

Twenty One Capital, backed by Tether, SoftBank, and Cantor Fitzgerald, plans to stack as much BTC as it possibly can. 

But is this new venture really about Bitcoin … or about creating a hyper-volatile stock to play market cycles?

This week on Unchained, Jeff Park of Bitwise and Mark Palmer of Benchmark join to discuss:

• Why SoftBank and Tether are a “perfect match”—and why they turned to Bitcoin

• How volatility, not bitcoin itself, might be the real asset investors are buying

• What Cantor’s involvement says about Wall Street’s readiness for crypto

• Why the launch timing matters

• Whether Twenty One could repeat MicroStrategy’s mistakes

• Whether these new Bitcoin vehicles are better bets than spot bitcoin or ETFs

Plus, is SoftBank getting into crypto a top signal? 👀

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

• Bitwise

• Jeff Park, Head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise

• Mark Palmer, Senior Analyst at Benchmark

• Recent coverage of Unchained on Twenty One: Twenty One Aims to Buy as Much Bitcoin as Possible. Can It Succeed?

• Press Release: Tether, SoftBank Group, and Jack Mallers Launch Twenty One, a Bitcoin-native Company, Through a Business Combination With Cantor Equity Partners

• Jeff Park’s post on X

Timestamps:

📰 0:00 Introduction

🚀 2:07 Why Jeff sees the Twenty One Capital launch as a huge development

🧠 6:09 How Twenty One might learn from MicroStrategy’s playbook

🏦 11:59 Risks of turning into the next Celsius, Voyager or Genesis

💸 18:52 Why Bitcoin needs income-generating activities to evolve

📊 21:17 How metrics like bitcoin per share bridge crypto and TradFi 

🤝 30:16 Whether Tether’s participation makes sense

💍 34:18 Why Jeff thinks SoftBank and Tether are “a perfect match”

🚩 42:29 Is SoftBank entering crypto a top signal?

🏛️ 46:32 Why Cantor’s involvement shows Wall Street is serious

📈 50:24 Why bitcoin vehicle stocks trade at a premium

🗓️ 55:48 Why timing matters compared to MicroStrategy’s 2020 debut

🧮 1:00:06 How to decide between investing in vehicles, spot bitcoin, or ETFs

🌊 1:08:52 Whether SOL investment vehicles will have the same success as bitcoin ones

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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and special guest David Hoffman break down the biggest stories in crypto. This week: MicroStrategy clones are popping up, with Bitcoin-backed SPACs trying to replay Saylor’s playbook. Meanwhile, Trump launches a memecoin for dinner invites, Zora kicks off a new era of “content coins,” and Ethereum faces an existential pivot. David Hoffman joins the crew to debate whether crypto’s future is real innovation—or just financial theater.

Show highlights

🔹 Bitcoin vs Ethereum: Who Wins the Future? – Breaking down why Bitcoin could outgrow Ethereum… or why Ethereum might still be crypto’s last hope.

🔹 Can Content Coins Save Crypto? – Zora’s pivot and the rise of “content coins” spark a full-blown identity crisis for the industry.

🔹 Are We Just Rebranding Memecoins? – The crew debates whether “content coins” are innovation… or just the same casino with better UX.

🔹 The Culture Clash – Why crypto’s new apps feel like they’re built for millennials — and why Gen Z might just not care.

🔹 SoftBank, SPACs, and the Top Signal – 21Capital’s Bitcoin MicroStrategy clone is here. Are we seeing the beginning of the end… again?

🔹 Vitalik’s Existential Pivot – Ethereum is trying to save itself. But can it change fast enough to stay relevant?

🔹 Bitcoin’s Macro Moment – In a world of tariffs, inflation, and chaos, Bitcoin might accidentally become the next Federal Reserve.

🔹 Crypto’s Morality Crisis – Vitalik’s attack on “bad apps” raises a deeper question: what should crypto even be building anymore?

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

Guest

⭐️ David Hoffman, Co-owner at Bankless  

Hosts
Disclosures

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

01:55 MicroStrategy Clones and Market Impact

13:40 Trump Coin and Its Controversies

20:35 Zora’s Content Coin vs. Jesse's Coining Controversy

26:56 Zora’s Market Position

32:29 Generational Divide in Crypto

39:32 Ethereum's Strategic Pivot

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