Unchained Laura Shin

Welcome to “The Chopping Block!” – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Robert Leshner, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra chop it up about the latest news. This week, they cover:


why Bitcoin maximalists are mad about Bitcoin NFTs

why Robert thinks Bitcoin is not a good blockchain on which to build things

why Canto, a layer 1 blockchain, surged in price and activity and why Haseeb is anti-Canto

how Ethereum will have multi-dimensional fee structures 

what the role of applications in generalized blockchains should be and why they think they shouldn't be enforced at the base layer

the accusations against the LayerZero team and their response

the battle to provide the bridging services to Uniswap


Hosts


Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly Capital


Tarun Chitra, managing partner at Robot Ventures


Robert Leshner, founder of Compound 


Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly Capital


Links
Disclosures

Bitcoin NFTs: 


The Block: What are Bitcoin NFTs Ordinals and how do they work?


BTC: Core On-chain - Glassnode Studio

Bitcoin - The Overview

Ordinals


Canto: 


The Block: Layer 1 blockchain Canto sees surge in trading activity


Canto - Lending


LayerZero controversy:

James Prestwich’s tweet


Bryan Pellegrino’s response



Explanation of the situation by Bartek


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Following the release of Celsius' examiner report, Kadhim Shubber, an investigative reporter at The Financial Times, dives into the controversial business practices of the lender, how the company inflated the CEL token, the use of customers' money, and much more.

Show highlights:

how Celsius used investors’ money to prop up the price of CEL

the reasons why Celsius inflated the CEL token

where the money to pay rewards to investors came from

blatant misstatements from Alex Mashinsky and how his team tried to cover him

how the company leveraged Bitcoin to fill the hole in its balance sheet

who was responsible for Celsius' shady business practices

Celsius' poor investment decisions

whether Mashinsky is at risk of facing criminal charges


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Guest
Kadhim:
Twitter

Links


Final report of Shoba Pillay, examiner


Financial Times: Crypto lender Celsius misused customer funds for years, examiner finds



Unchained: 7 Revelations From Celsius’ Examiner Report



CoinDesk: Celsius Used New Customer Funds to Pay for Withdrawals: Independent Examiner



The Block: Tether denies it borrowed $2B from Celsius, as described in court report



Blockchain News: Celsius' Official Creditor Committee Denies Rejected Bids


Ram Ahluwalia’s take on the Celsius bankruptcy examiner report



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Sheila Warren, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, and Miller Whitehouse-Levine, Policy Director of the DeFi Education Fund, offer insider takes on how lawmakers and regulators are viewing crypto after FTX’s catastrophic failure. Both expect heightened activity in the U.S. from what they’re calling the “Crypto Congress.” Will this be the year for stablecoin regulation? Is DeFi still in the crosshairs? What about Ripple’s fight with the SEC? The two crypto policy experts look to the U.S. and beyond for what regulatory battles lie ahead in 2023.

Show highlights:

why the current environment in Washington makes it difficult to pass new legislation

whether the opinion of members of Congress on crypto has changed in the aftermath of FTX’s alleged fraud

how Elizabeth Warren and others are using the FTX collapse to prove their anti-crypto stance

whether it’s possible to prevent a fallout like FTX from ever happening again

why Miller believes that this year Congress will be “absolutely obsessed” with crypto

what stablecoin legislation would look like, and why stablecoins are more likely to be regulated sooner

why Sheila thinks Ripple could win its case against the SEC

why they believe the SEC’s failure to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF is a logical inconsistency 

why they think it’s not possible to apply TradFi rules to DeFi technology

how more policymaker education needs to be done

how OFAC sanctioning Tornado Cash sparked many conversations among researchers and policymakers

the role of the government in preserving national security

how MiCA took an appropriately slow approach to imposing DeFi regulations

the impact of China and India adopting digital currencies 

why Miller thinks China’s digital yuan is “the apotheosis of a totalitarian technology” 

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FTSE

Links

Previous coverage of Unchained on crypto legislation:

Why Bitcoin Now: Michael Casey and Niall Ferguson on How Bitcoin Fits in the History of Money

Kristin Smith on Why Crypto Legislation Could Be Passed by Year's End

Why Senator Pat Toomey Thinks SEC Chair Gary Gensler Is Wrong About Crypto


Guests:
Sheila:
Twitter
Miller:
LinkedIn

FTX


CoinDesk: 

After FTX: How Congress Is Gearing Up to Regulate Crypto

Congress' FTX Problem: 1 in 3 Members Got Cash From Crypto Exchange's Bosses

After FTX: How Congress Is Gearing Up to Regulate Crypto



CNBC: House Republicans move to regulate crypto industry with a new subcommittee


MiCA


CoinDesk:

Analyzing What's Next for Europe's Markets in Crypto Assets Law

EU’s MiCA Crypto Law Would Have Stopped FTX's Malpractice, Officials Say


Others

Project Hamilton - Building a Hypothetical Central Bank Digital Currency

U.S. Treasury Sanctions Notorious Virtual Currency Mixer Tornado Cash

Tornado Cash is no “golem.” It’s a tool for privacy and free speech. - Coin Center


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Welcome to “The Chopping Block!” – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra chop it up about the latest news. This week, Flashbots co-founder Phil Daian joins the show to go deep on what maximal extractable value (MEV) means and how it’s shaping the Ethereum ecosystem.

Show highlights:

how Phil started working in MEV and why he believes it resembles 'Alice in Wonderland'

Phil's definition of MEV and when he realized this was an actual problem

how Flashbots was born

the story of how Vitalik didn't care about sandwich attacks at the time Uniswap was released

whether it's possible to minimize MEV via more competition

the never-ending debate about whether MEV should be accepted

why Tarun thinks the concept of fair ordering is against nature 

how Bitcoin uses social norms to solve its weaknesses 

how Google is being called out in court for creating auction to front run its customers

how Flashbots worked prior to and after Ethereum's Merge

why Flashbots complies with OFAC sanctions 

what is the Suave project and how it aims to decentralize Flashbots

what the future of MEV looks like




Hosts


Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly Capital


Tarun Chitra, managing partner at Robot Ventures


Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly Capital


Guest:
Phil:
Twitter

Disclosures

Links
The Block: Flashbots seeks up to $50 million at a billion-dollar valuation
CoinDesk: Opinion: Miners, Front-Running-as-a-Service Is Theft
CNN: DOJ sues Google over its dominance in online advertising market
Unchained: 51% of Ethereum Blocks Are OFAC Censored
Given the Sanctions on Tornado Cash, Is Ethereum Censorship Resistant? - Ep. 390

The Cost of Decentralization in 0x and EtherDelta

Previous coverage of Unchained on MEV:
Why Is Ethereum Trying to Maximize Value From Users? Two Sides Debate

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Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of Grayscale Investments, gives an overview of his firm’s case against the SEC, which has denied requests to turn Grayscale’s bitcoin trust into an exchange-traded fund (ETF). With oral arguments kicking off March 7, Sonnenshein lays out what a worst-case “tender offer” would entail and whether DCG CEO Barry Silbert has any say over GBTC’s fate. 

Show highlights:

why Grayscale charges higher fees than, say, the average ETF

what Grayscale will do if it loses its case against the SEC

why Grayscale has not filed for Regulation M relief

Michael's comments on Gemini liquidating 31 million shares of GBTC

the reason behind the October 2022 timing of Grayscale changing GBTC's “authorized participant”

the relationship between Grayscale and DCG, and Barry Silbert's involvement in Grayscale's operations

why the trust agreement of GBTC was changed


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Guest
Michael Sonnenshein:
Twitter

Links


CNBC: Court sets date for oral arguments in Grayscale's challenge of SEC's bitcoin ETF decision


Reuters: 

Grayscale would appeal lawsuit against SEC if court rejects case, CEO says

Ruling in Grayscale-U.S. SEC lawsuit likely within a year


MarketWatch: Grayscale may ‘ultimately’ consider tender offer for bitcoin trust, CEO says



CoinTelegraph: Grayscale terminates Bitcoin trust material agreements with Genesis



CoinDesk: Grayscale Slams SEC's 'Unreasonable' Barring of Spot Bitcoin ETFs



Bloomberg: Hedge Fund Sues Grayscale for Data on Battered Bitcoin Trust



Bitcoinist: Here's What A Reg M Will Entail For Genesis, DCG And Bitcoin


Why Investment Experts Say a Spot Bitcoin ETF Would Be Superior to Bitcoin Futures ETFs by Laura Shin


Andrew Parish’s tweet on the possibility of the case going to the Supreme Court



Grayscale’s End of Year CEO Letter to Investors



Ycharts: GBTC Discount or Premium to NAV




Previous coverage of Unchained on GBTC: 

Bitwise's Latest Plans to Get a Bitcoin ETF Approved

DCG's Dilemma: Should It Sell Its GBTC Holdings to Repay Gemini?

Gemini vs. DCG Is Heating Up. Could Gemini Force Genesis Into Bankruptcy?

‘The Last Big Whale’: Why the Crypto Contagion of 2022 Eventually Hit Genesis


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Welcome to “The Chopping Block!” – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Robert Leshner, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra chop it up about the latest news. This week, they covered:

why the markets were up so much recently

how and why Genesis entered into bankruptcy

why the hole in DCG's financials are potentially much bigger than previously reported

the differences between the bankruptcies of FTX and Genesis

whether 3AC founders Su Zhu and Kyle Davies will find success with their new exchange

what will happen to GTBC now that a huge portion has already been liquidated

whether Tarun is predicting "the start of a new supercycle"

the large percentage of vested SOL held by the FTX estate

how SBF is still trying to win the public 


Hosts


Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly Capital


Tarun Chitra, managing partner at Robot Ventures


Robert Leshner, founder of Compound 


Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly Capital



Links

Disclosures

Genesis: 


Bloomberg: FTX Bankruptcy Judge Backs Company Law Firm, Rejects Last Minute ‘Rumors’


CoinDesk: 

Crypto Lender Genesis Global Capital Is FTX's Largest Unsecured Creditor

Crypto Trading Firm Cumberland DRW Disputes Genesis Exposure

CNBC: 

Crypto firms Genesis and Gemini charged by SEC with selling unregistered securities

Crypto publication CoinDesk hires Lazard to explore sale as crisis deepens at parent company DCG

Unchained: 

Is Genesis’s Prepackaged Bankruptcy The Ultimate Sacrifice? 

Gemini Ends Its Earn Program and Calls for Barry Silbert’s Ouster

DCG Under Investigation by DOJ and SEC: Report

Genesis CEO Says Firm Needs More Time to Find a Solution



FTX:


Unchained: 

SBF Says Excel Spreadsheet Proves FTX US Is Solvent


WSJ: New FTX Chief Says Crypto Exchange Could Restart


The Block: FTX debtors identify $5.5 billion of liquid assets in ’Herculean effort’



3AC/GTX: 

Unchained: 3AC Founders Are Raising $25M for ‘GTX’


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