Unchained

Laura Shin
Unchained

Crypto assets and blockchain technology are about to transform every trust-based interaction of our lives, from financial services to identity to the Internet of Things. In this podcast, host Laura Shin, an independent journalist covering all things crypto, talks with industry pioneers about how crypto assets and blockchains will change the way we earn, spend and invest our money. Tune in to find out how Web 3.0, the decentralized web, will revolutionize our world. Disclosure: I'm a nocoiner.

  1. VOR 2 TAGEN

    Which Crypto Assets Belong in a Reserve? This VC Says Not XRP and ADA

    Trump’s latest crypto moves have sent the market on a rollercoaster. First, he posted on Truth Social that a U.S. crypto reserve would include XRP, Solana, and Cardano. A couple hours later, he had to clarify that Bitcoin and Ethereum would also be included. The market jumped 12%—only to crash the next day. Meanwhile, the White House crypto summit is happening Friday, and not everyone is happy with the guest list. Some say it’s a step toward real regulation, while others argue that without DeFi voices, it’s just a meeting of centralized players. So what does it all mean? David Nage, VC at Arca, joins Unchained to talk about: 4:55 Why David is unfazed by crypto’s swings around Trump’s reserve posts 9:03 David’s take on Cardano and XRP being named for the crypto reserve list 18:11 Why he thinks Bitcoin is a strong candidate for a national reserve asset 22:52 Why David isn’t impressed with the guest list at the White House Crypto Summit 26:26 Why the markets have been struggling—and what could finally turn things around 28:52 News Recap Will real crypto policy changes emerge from this? Or is this just another distraction in a year full of big promises? 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 Mantle Guest David Nage, VC Portfolio Manager at Arca Links Unchained:  Why Trump May Have Chosen This Week to Announce a Strategic Crypto Reserve Cardano Founder Charles Hoskinson Is Not Invited to White House Crypto Summit How Did Ripple Sell Trump on XRP in a Crypto Reserve? By Pushing for Solana Trump Is Having Second Thoughts About His Crypto Council David’s tweet on Cardano and Ripple Eleanor Terrett’s tweet with the Crypto Summit guest list  David Sacks’ tweet saying that the government lost almost $17 billion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    44 Min.
  2. VOR 3 TAGEN

    The Chopping Block: Crypto Strategic Reserve, Trump vs. Crypto, Bitcoin’s Future

    Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner break down the biggest stories in crypto. This week, we’re joined by special guest Laura Shin to dissect Trump’s Strategic Crypto Reserve fiasco. Why did he name-drop XRP and Cardano first? Was this real policy or just a market pump? Meanwhile, Crypto Twitter is melting down over Trump’s crypto summit guest list—who made the cut, and who got snubbed? Plus, another SEC lawsuit bites the dust, and memecoins look deader than ever. Let’s get into it. Show highlights 🔹 Trump’s Crypto Reserve Announcement – Trump proposes a U.S. Crypto Strategic Reserve, initially boosting XRP, ADA, SOL, BTC, and ETH—only for markets to fully reverse in 48 hours. 🔹 Who Picked These Coins? – XRP & ADA make the list despite having lower adoption than SOL or ETH. Was this a serious policy move or just pay-to-play politics? 🔹 Trump’s 5D Chess or Just a Meme? – Did the Trump team just pick random coins off CoinMarketCap? Or was this an orchestrated move to pay back donors? 🔹 The Crypto Council Drama – Trump’s Crypto Council implodes before launch due to infighting over seats. First summit features Ripple’s Garlinghouse, Michael Saylor, Chainlink’s Nazarov, Brian Armstrong, and Jesse Powell—but no actual protocol founders. 🔹 Is Crypto Being Used for Politics? – Nic Carter calls the plan a grift, saying the U.S. government should not buy altcoins with taxpayer money. Even Bitcoin maxis are skeptical. 🔹 Trump’s Obsession With Bitcoin Prices – Reports claim Trump personally tracks Bitcoin price movements and wants BTC to hit $150K during his presidency—is he manipulating markets? 🔹 The SEC Softens on Crypto? – Enforcement pivots as the SEC drops cases against Cumberland and Kraken. Will the Coinbase lawsuit be next? 🔹 Market Exhaustion Sets In – Despite the noise, traders are tired. The market isn’t buying into Trump’s crypto plans—was this just another empty promise? Hosts ⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures ⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly  ⭐️Laura Shin, Journalist, Author of ‘The Cryptopians,’ Founder and CEO of Unchained Disclosures Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:05 Market Reactions to Trump's Announcement 03:25 Skepticism of the Crypto Reserve 07:02 Strategic Value of Crypto Reserve 11:11 Political and Market Implications 18:52 Security Concerns & Future Speculations 31:30 Government Control of Crypto 39:50 Potential Forks & Government Influence 45:37 Crypto Summit & Council  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    58 Min.
  3. VOR 4 TAGEN

    Bits + Bips: Why a US Strategic Crypto Reserve Doesn’t Even Make Sense

    A strategic crypto reserve for the U.S. economy? That’s Trump’s latest proposal (or directive?)—and the reaction from the industry has been… let’s just say, mixed. Would it even work? And does it create more problems than it solves? Meanwhile, the White House is hosting a crypto roundtable—but not everyone is convinced it’s going to be productive. Who will be in the room, what will actually be discussed, and will it help or hurt the industry? On this episode of Bits + Bips, hosts James Seyffart and Noelle Acheson together with guests Steve Hou and Steven Ehrlich break it all down. Will tariffs and macro factors keep weighing on crypto? What’s driving the explosion in new ETFs? And what happens if banks start issuing their own stablecoins? Plus: What could be the real next catalyst for the crypto market. Show highlights: 6:13 - Whether a strategic crypto reserve makes sense for the U.S. 14:50 - How this reserve could actually give people outside of crypto second thoughts 24:37 - What the Crypto Roundtable will be about and whether it’s what the industry wanted 27:32 - Whether David Sacks is directing the reserve allocations so as to personally benefit 32:07 - Why Noelle was surprised after the SEC stated memecoins are not securities 42:22 - James’ insights into the avalanche of altcoin ETFs 47:10 - The significance of BlackRock adding IBIT to its model portfolio 54:02 - How macro news drove risk assets to such a selloff on Monday 58:12 - Why the 10YT is such a significant chart to watch 1:10:21 - Whether the war in Ukraine is coming to an end 1:16:20 - What the next catalyst for crypto is 1:19:07 - Whether stablecoins are a good business for banks Thank you to our sponsors! RockWallet Bitwise Hosts: James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence Noelle Acheson, Author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” Newsletter  Guests: Steve Hou, Quantitative Researcher at Bloomberg LP  Steven Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained Links Crypto reserve: Unchained: Why Trump May Have Chosen This Week to Announce a Strategic Crypto Reserve Bloomberg: Bitcoin Reserve Is Likely to Come First From States, Senator Lummis Says Crypto roundtable:  CoinDesk: Trump to Host First Crypto Roundtable at White House Next Week Crypto Czar David Sacks says he sold crypto holdings before administration began Memecoins: SEC: Staff Statement on Meme Coins ETFs:  SOL: CME Group to launch Solana futures on March 17 as ETF momentum builds BlackRock Adds Its Bitcoin ETF to Model Portfolio for First Time  Macro: Trump’s tariff post on Truth Social ​​Atlanta’s negative 2.8% GDP projection CNBC: 10-year Treasury yield falls to lowest since December on latest signs of slowing economy Reuters:  Inflation, growth may be in conflict but Fed seen restarting cuts in June US weekly jobless claims post largest gain in five months; weather blamed Stablecoins: CoinDesk: Bank of America CEO Says Bank Will Likely Launch Its Own Stablecoin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1 Std. 27 Min.
  4. VOR 5 TAGEN

    How Berachain Became One of the Most Popular Blockchains

    A new consensus model. A bear-themed brand. And one of the most debated token launches in recent memory. Berachain is trying something radically different. Instead of just rewarding validators, it pays liquidity providers—turning the traditional blockchain incentive model on its head. But not everyone is convinced. Some critics say too much of the token supply went to VCs. Others question whether “proof of liquidity” can actually work at scale. In this episode, Smokey, Chief Smokey Officer at Berachain, joins Unchained to break it all down. Why did Berachain choose to make itself EVM-identical? What really happened with the token launch? And what’s next? Show highlights: 1:47 How Smokey got into crypto and how that led to the founding of Berachain 7:24 What proof of liquidity is and what problems it solves 12:06 Whether there’s an incentive problem in how BGT and BERA are designed 16:03 Why Smokey believes the EVM has the “largest capital base” 21:12 How Berachain leveraged culture to accrue network effects 26:23 How Berachain achieved so much TVL growth 30:01 What Smokey thinks about the big allocation of BERA to VCs 35:38 How the bear-themed NFTs were born 39:26 How the project was able to buy back a portion of the tokens sold to VCs 40:58 Whether Smokey should have done things differently when launching the token 43:21 Smokey’s response to the criticism of private participants staking BERA 46:57 Why Smokey believes that the inflation will be useful for ecosystem growth 52:23 What’s next in Berachain’s roadmap 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 Guest: Smokey the Bera, Chief Smokey Officer at Berachain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1 Std. 1 Min.
  5. 2. MÄRZ

    The Chopping Block: ETH Denver, EF Silviculture Society, Lazarus Group Has Skills

    Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner break down the biggest stories in crypto. This week: Recapping how Bybit lost $1.5B to North Korea’s Lazarus Group—how did it happen, and why did they use THORChain to launder the money? Meanwhile, Ethereum is facing an identity crisis at ETH Denver, with the Foundation’s bizarre “Silviculture Society” raising eyebrows across the ecosystem. And if that wasn’t enough, memecoins are in freefall, with Hayden Adams admitting the game was rigged all along. It’s a wild week—let’s break it all down. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights 🔹 Bybit’s $1.5B Hack – Largest crypto heist ever, pulled off by North Korea’s Lazarus Group. Attack exploited Gnosis Safe’s front end, not Bybit itself. 🔹 THORChain: The New Laundromat? – Lazarus Group uses THORChain to launder stolen funds, sparking backlash. Some THORChain members celebrated the volume spike. 🔹 Memecoins Declared ‘Collectibles’ – SEC says memecoins aren’t securities—right as the bubble bursts. New token launches are down 60%, and pump.fun is drying up. 🔹 InfoWars Bought With a Memecoin?! – Alex Jones supporters use Wars token to outbid The Onion for InfoWars.com in a bankruptcy auction. 🔹 Ethereum’s Cultural Crisis – EF’s ‘Silviculture Society’ announcement triggers community backlash. Hayden Adams calls it “peak Ethereum dysfunction.” 🔹 SEC’s Crypto Pivot – Enforcement shift: Uniswap, OpenSea, and Consensys investigations dropped. Is the SEC losing its war on crypto? 🔹 Richard Heart’s Case Dismissed – The SEC’s lawsuit against the HEX founder gets tossed on procedural grounds, but the agency has a chance to refile. 🔹 The Hyperliquid Question – Is Hyperliquid the next frontier for crypto liquidity, or a regulatory time bomb waiting to go off? 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  Disclosures Timestamps  00:00 Intro 00:48 ETH Denver 06:16 Bybit Hack & Its Aftermath 14:52 Lazarus Group Has Skills 16:52 THORChain and Ethics of Decentralization 24:49 Role of KYT Services in Crypto Security 28:40 SEC's Stance on Memecoins 37:19 EF Silviculture Society 46:43 Ethereum Scaling Bet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    51 Min.
  6. 28. FEB.

    How the $1.5 Billion Bybit Hack Could Have Been Prevented

    Crypto derivatives exchange Bybit just became the latest victim of North Korea’s elite hacking unit, the Lazarus Group. They didn’t brute-force their way in. They didn’t exploit some obscure vulnerability. Instead, they tricked a trusted developer, slipped in malicious code, and took off with a fortune. How did this happen? Why was $1.5 billion sitting in a single wallet? What mistakes did Bybit and Safe make? And, more importantly, what needs to change to stop this from happening again? This week, Mudit Gupta, chief information security officer at Polygon, joins Unchained to expose the security failures, the sophisticated tactics Lazarus used, and why crypto still hasn’t learned its lesson. Show highlights: 2:11 Mudit’s experience with North Korea’s Lazarus 3:24 How Lazarus perpetrated the $1.5 billion hack 5:55 Why Lazarus relies on social engineering over technical exploits 7:34 Why Bybit was so specifically targeted by the hackers 10:02 What Bybit should have done to prevent the exploit 13:12 Why Mudit believes there was “no reason” to hold so much ETH in one single wallet 15:57 Who should be a signer in multisigs 17:46 How to prevent using a malicious website 19:13 Why Safe should have done things differently, according to Mudit 19:55 How Bybit and Safe handled crisis communication 24:20 Mudit’s must-know security tips for protecting your crypto Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! Mantle Guest Mudit Gupta, Chief Information Security Officer at Polygon Links Recent coverage of Unchained on the Bybit hack: North Korean Hackers Are Winning. Is the Crypto Industry Ready to Stop Them? The Chopping Block: Crypto’s Worst Week? Bybit Hack, Libra Scandal, & The Memecoin Reckoning Bits + Bips: Markets Are Down Bad. When Will Crypto Recover? Unchained: Bybit Flows Return to ‘Normal’ After Biggest-Ever Crypto Hack Bybit Hack Forensics Report  "Safe{Wallet} Statement on Targeted Attack on Bybit " Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    44 Min.
  7. 26. FEB.

    Bits + Bips: Markets Are Down Bad. When Will Crypto Recover?

    Crypto markets are down bad—but is this just a rough patch, or are we looking at something bigger? After a brutal sell-off in Solana, the $1.5 billion Bybit hack, and macro uncertainty weighing on Bitcoin, investors are searching for answers. Some think the worst is over, while others believe more pain is coming before the market turns around. In this episode of Bits + Bips, Noelle Acheson, Alex Kruger, and Ram Ahluwalia are joined by Eliézer Ndinga of 21Shares to break it all down. They discuss how institutions are approaching this downturn, why Solana has been hit harder than the rest, and what catalysts could bring crypto back to life. Is this the start of a new accumulation phase, or are we in for another leg down? Show highlights: 2:36 How the ByBit team responded so well to the hack 17:43 Why the market selloff was not specific to crypto 29:09 How institutions have become more sophisticated about crypto 31:10 Why SOL has been down so much and whether it has bottomed 34:37 Whether tariffs keep having an effect on the markets 37:23 Why the state of the markets makes Eliézer think the crypto asset class has matured 41:27 Whether bitcoin can be a safe haven and the role of diversification 45:26 What the next catalysts for crypto are 49:33 Why Eliézer is so optimistic about the long-term outlook of crypto 53:33 Alex’s spicy opinion on DOGE and Elon Musk Sponsors: Somnia Network RockWallet Bitwise Hosts: Noelle Acheson, Author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” Newsletter  Alex Kruger, Founder of Asgard Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida Guest:  Eliézer Ndinga, Head of Strategy and Business Development at 21.co; the parent company of 21Shares Links Unchained: North Korean Hackers Are Winning. Is the Crypto Industry Ready to Stop Them? Reuters: Trump says Canada, Mexico tariffs on schedule despite border, fentanyl efforts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1 Std.
  8. 25. FEB.

    North Korean Hackers Are Winning. Is the Crypto Industry Ready to Stop Them?

    $1.5 billion gone in an instant. And what’s worse, to fund a nuclear weapons program. The largest crypto hack in history just hit Bybit, and the culprit is the infamous North Korean hacking group, Lazarus. Known for some of the most sophisticated cyber heists ever, they often use social engineering tactics and start by tricking low level employees. Although they can often wait to launder funds, in the case of Bybit they started right away. How did this happen? Could it have been prevented? And what does this mean for the security of the entire crypto industry? Taylor Monahan, security at MetaMask, and Jonty, a senior investigator at zeroShadow, talk all about it. Show highlights: 2:53 Taylor’s and Jonty’s backgrounds and why they are relevant to this discussion 6:06 What the mechanics of the hack were 13:03 How Lazarus usually operates and the tactic of blind signing 17:11 Jonty’s important tips for people handling large amounts of crypto 23:45 How Bybit was able to say almost immediately that their other assets were secure 29:02 How much exchanges typically hold in each cold wallet 32:00 Why the evidence of the hack points to North Korean group Lazarus 41:01 Why North Korean hackers don’t care if their attack is linked to them 49:30 How Lazarus typically social engineers its hacks 53:48 Why Jonty thinks the industry needs a serious upgrade in terms of security 58:08 How the funds get laundered in such cases and what the industry can do 1:09:54 The chances Lazarus actually makes money from the hack 1:15:34 How DeFi protocols should approach this problem Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! Mantle Bitwise Guests: Taylor Monahan, Security at MetaMask Jonty, a senior investigator at zeroShadow Links Previous coverage on Unchained about North Korean hackers: How North Koreans Infiltrated the Crypto Industry to Fund the Regime Why North Korea Is Interested in Cryptocurrency Yeonmi Park on Why Doing Business With North Korea Is Like Buying a Ticket to a Concentration Camp GitHub - pcaversaccio/safe-tx-hashes-util: bash script that checks that the Safe transaction that you are signing is the one that you intend to sign Cointelegraph: Crypto exchange eXch denies laundering Bybit’s hacked funds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1 Std. 27 Min.
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Crypto assets and blockchain technology are about to transform every trust-based interaction of our lives, from financial services to identity to the Internet of Things. In this podcast, host Laura Shin, an independent journalist covering all things crypto, talks with industry pioneers about how crypto assets and blockchains will change the way we earn, spend and invest our money. Tune in to find out how Web 3.0, the decentralized web, will revolutionize our world. Disclosure: I'm a nocoiner.

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