Unchaine‪d‬ Laura Shin

Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Avanti Financial Group, talks about the issues plaguing the current state of technology in traditional finance and how her background as a 22-year Wall Street veteran, gubernatorial appointee to the Wyoming Blockchain Task Force, and crypto pioneer is helping her shape Avanti into a bridge between conventional banking and crypto. Tune in to hear Caitlin discuss:
the current state of crypto adoption on Wall Street (1:09) how her entrepreneurial spirit galvanized a career spanning Wall Street, the Wyoming Legislature, and, now, crypto banking (2:07) why Caitlin fell in love with Bitcoin (4:57) fractional reserves and why the current financial system is a “violation of property rights” (7:00) how stablecoin technology will change banking leverage and what effects faster settlement times will have on inflation (11:30) why corporate treasurers have been using BTC since 2014 in foreign exchange transactions (17:14) what issues Wyoming is trying to solve through crypto legislation and why banks might be closing down customer accounts linked to crypto exchanges (19:18) a proposed Wyoming bill that would prohibit judges from disclosing private cryptographic keys (28:32) where the idea for Avanti came from and how it will be different than other banks (32:50) existing problems with stablecoin regulation and a deep-dive into GAAP accounting for crypto (46:51) why Wall Street’s accounting system is to blame for the GameStop and Robinhood situation (52:32) whether or not a blockchain could work for settling securities (52:32) her thoughts on pension funds and endowments directly owning crypto (59:54) what it is going to take for Avanti to successfully bridge the gap between traditional finance and crypto (1:02:38)  
Thank you to our sponsors! 
Crypto.com: https://bit.ly/3jzkTAD
Download the Crypto.com app here: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/laurashinpodcasttesla
 
Square: http://square.com/go/unchained
 
Episode links: 
Caitlin Long
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_ 
Personal website: https://caitlin-long.com/ 
CoinDesk profile: https://www.coindesk.com/most-influential/2019/caitlin-long 
 
Avanti
Website:  https://avantibank.com/ 
Twitter announcement: https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1231958552790482950 
Avit: https://www.coindesk.com/unpacking-the-avit-avanti-banks-new-digital-asset-being-built-with-blockstream 
Banking charter: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeldelcastillo/2020/10/28/avanti-unanimously-wins-bitcoin-banking-charter/?sh=50db610816aa 
Wyoming and blockchain: https://www.coindesk.com/haven-blockchain-case-wyoming
GAAP accounting and crypto: https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1356759511856410624 
Trust charter vs. SPDI: https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1349850451374587907 
Special purpose depository institutions: https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1194022779730968577 
Bailment: https://www.forbes.com/sites/andreatinianow/2019/03/07/a-split-emerges-in-blockchain-law-wyomings-approach-versus-the-supplemental-act/?sh=49635109719a 
Caitlin on GameStop:
https://www.coindesk.com/first-mover-crypto-gamestop-bitcoin-dogecoin 
 
Previous Episodes
 
On How 'Utility Tokens' Are Now Legal in Wyoming, 2018
Why the ICE/BAKKT News Makes Some Crypto Investors Nervous, 2018
How Avanti Will Be a 'Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins' Bank, Feb 2020

Jeff Roberts, executive editor at Decrypt and author of “King of Crypto: One Startup’s Quest to take Cryptocurrency Out of Silicon Valley and Onto Wall Street” talks about Coinbase going public. In this episode we discuss:
Jeff's biggest takeaways from Coinbase’s S-1 filing (0:56) why institutions are choosing Coinbase (2:42) how Coinbase going public feels like validation for bitcoiners (4:37) issues Coinbase may face as a business that currently generates 96% of revenue through transaction fees (6:25) Why Surojit Chatterjee has so much equity in Coinbase (11:29) why Coinbase has only invested $130 million in crypto through its corporate treasury (12:26) whether or not decentralized exchanges like Uniswap pose a threat to Coinbase, and whether unregulated centralized exchanges might squeeze them from the other end (15:41) challenges Coinbase will face going forward (19:13) how well the stock will do once it's listed (20:05) Crypto News Recap (20:59)   
Thank you to our sponsor!
Crypto.com: https://bit.ly/3jzkTAD 
Download the Crypto.com app here: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/laurashinpodcasttesla
 
Episode Links
Jeff Roberts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeffjohnroberts
Personal Website: https://jeffjohnroberts.com/ 
Decrypt: https://decrypt.co
Kings of Crypto: https://store.hbr.org/product/kings-of-crypto-one-startup-s-quest-to-take-cryptocurrency-out-of-silicon-valley-and-onto-wall-street/10436
 
Coinbase S-1 Filing Information
S-1 Form: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1679788/000162828021003168/coinbaseglobalincs-1.htm
Coinbase Profit: https://decrypt.co/59347/coinbase-big-profit-for-2020-ahead-of-milestone-ipo-direct-listing
S-1 Deep Dive: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/95921/coinbases-s-1-public-filing-is-now-public-setting-stage-for-a-direct-listing-on-nasdaq
Sending to Satoshi Nakamoto: https://decrypt.co/59509/coinbase-s-1-filing-bitcoin-satoshi-nakamoto + https://twitter.com/laurashin/status/1364954956571279369 
Share Distribution: https://decrypt.co/59439/coinbase-insiders-very-rich-goes-public
Pre-IPO Shares: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/96057/coinbase-pre-ipo-shares-ftx-s1 
Armstrong Income: https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-sec-form-s-1 
Balance Sheet: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/96021/coinbase-says-holds-bitcoin-btc-on-balance-sheet 
Transaction Revenue: https://twitter.com/lawmaster/status/1364972834167148548
 
Link to the Crypto News Recap:
https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-one-figure-in-the-coinbase-s-1/

In this episode of Unchained, Charles Cascarilla, CEO and cofounder of Paxos, explains how the 2008 financial crisis led him to crypto, what financial plumbing has to do with GameStop, and how Paxos is leveraging blockchain technology to change financial services. In this episode Charles discusses:
his work experience prior to Paxos and how the financial crisis in 2008 opened his eyes to Bitcoin and blockchain (01:07) what it was like to work in Bitcoin during the early days compared to now (4:02a) why Paxos decided to focus on building solutions for institutions rather than targeting the retail market like Coinbase (11:38) the relationship between Paxos and PayPal + why PayPal customers can’t send crypto directly to their wallets or crypto addresses yet (19:37) how Microstrategy and Tesla are bringing Bitcoin mainstream (25:31) what really happened with GameStop and Robinhood and why financial plumbing matters (30:34) how the Paxos Settlement Service is bringing greater transparency to financial markets by using blockchain technology (39:02) what other assets he thinks will be tokenized (50:32) stablecoin regulation and why this might be as good as it gets for Tether (58:36) why Paxos chose to pursue a New York State trust company charter instead of a BitLicense (1:06:15) what changes he would make to crypto regulation for 2021 and beyond (1:09:28) what’s next for Paxos (1:15:12)  
Thank you to our sponsors! 
Crypto.com: https://bit.ly/3jzkTAD
Download the Crypto.com app here: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/laurashinpodcasttesla
Square: https://square.com/go/unchained
 
Episode links: 
Charles Cascarilla
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlescascarilla/ 
Coindesk Profile: https://www.coindesk.com/charles-cascarilla-most-influential-2020
Previous interview with Laura: https://unchainedpodcast.com/chad-cascarilla-on-paxoss-partnership-with-paypal/
Presentation at Microstrategy’s Bitcoin for Corporation’s conference: https://www.microstrategy.com/en/bitcoin/videos/paxos
Blog post on the GameStop saga: https://www.paxos.com/what-lehman-brothers-gamestop-and-the-next-financial-crisis-have-in-common/
Interview with Frank Chaparro: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/61823/the-scoop-paxos-cascarilla-coronavirus 
 
Paxos
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PaxosGlobal + https://twitter.com/PaxosStandard 
Paxos Settlement Service: https://www.paxos.com/securities/ + https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currencies-paxos/paxos-to-launch-settlement-of-u-s-listed-equities-after-secs-no-action-letter-idUSKBN1X727M
Series C Fundraising: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/88133/142-million-series-c-paxos-crypto-stablecoins 
Wall Street Journal write-up: https://www.wsj.com/articles/blockchain-makes-inroads-into-the-stock-markets-1-trillion-plumbing-system-11573131600
Plans to tokenize precious metals: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/15413/paxos-plans-to-put-precious-metals-on-the-blockchain
 
Other Links
Paypal’s crypto-focused business unit: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/93668/paypal-crypto-business-unit-earnings-2021
Paypal’s Q4 earnings: https://www.coindesk.com/paypal-2020-results-outstanding-finish-to-a-record-year 
Stablecoin rankings: https://stablecoinstats.com/
Tether whitepaper: https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TetherWhitePaper.pdf
BitLicense: https://www.dfs.ny.gov/apps_and_licensing/virtual_currency_businesses/regulation_history

Lea Thompson, aka Girl Gone Crypto, talks about what goes into producing her popular “The Crypto Minute” vlog, what initially got her into crypto, and her recent decision to quit her day job and go full time crypto. In this episode we discuss:
what “The Crypto Minute” is all about, and all the crypto video content she produces (2:37) how Lea comes up with creative content such as wearing a whale costume to portray Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor (5:04) how long it actually takes to create “The Crypto Minute” (6:36) what goes into producing “The Crypto Minute” and which family member is behind the camera (7:05) the biggest challenges Lea faces when creating her videos and how she decides which stories make the final cut (8:56) Lea’s favorite bloopers including, but not limited to, rug pulls, sushi, an Amazon money printer, and a few fake $100 bills (10:28) how Girl Gone Crypto fell down the crypto rabbit hole and why her ukulele skills were instrumental to her crypto journey (12:54) the time when JK Rowling tweeted about Bitcoin, resulting in Lea’s viral “A Muggle’s Guide to Bitcoin” video (17:31) what type of crypto content works best on different social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok  (20:00) when Girl Gone Crypto stopped being a hobby and how it is going now that Lea is full-time crypto (21:46) how Lea is trying to educate people about crypto in a simple and approachable way… one ninja suit at time (22:34) Crypto News Recap (26:12)  
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com: https://bit.ly/3jzkTAD
Download the Crypto.com app here: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/laurashinpodcasttesla
The Sun Exchange: http://thesunexchange.com/unconfirmed
 
Episode links:
Lea Thompson: https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto
Her YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GirlGoneCrypto
Her TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@girlgone_crypto?source=h5_m
Lea's personal website: https://www.lealovescrypto.com/
 
Video Examples
2020 Year in Review… News Vlog Style: https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto/status/1344384717466914817?s=20 
A Muggle’s Guide to Bitcoin: https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto/status/1261445010832015361?s=20
Hardware Wallets Explained: https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto/status/1329580439820849153?s=20
 
Miscellaneous Information
Fair Use: https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html
Money Printer: https://www.amazon.com/Printing-Machine-Magician-Close-Up-Accessories/dp/B07XRBDCL8
 
Link to the Crypto News Recap:
https://unchainedpodcast.com/a-300k-btc-by-eoy/
 

Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave, comes onto the show to discuss the lending protocol and second-biggest DeFi project by total value locked. Here are some of the highlights: 
How Stani’s background studying law and his passion for fintech led him to the world of smart contracts (1:53) Why he decided to transition ETHLend to Aave, and how that eliminated the “meme” narrative (5:55) How Stani would explain Aave to a five-year-old, or your normie friend (9:04) What new features were released in Aave v2 (15:54) reducing overall gas costs aTokens swapping collateral debt tokens What Aavenomics is and how the “safety module” attempts to keep the protocol secure (20:39) How AAVE works as a governance token Active versus passive risk in governance staking How Aave is transitioning from a centralized to a decentralized protocol (25:01) what he's finding difficult about this process issues with voting and an over-reliance on the Aave team delegating voting power to what he calls “protocol politicians” and whether this is good or bad for DeFi Who is using Aave and how they are using it? (37:27) what OpenLaw is and how OpenLaw contracts work how credit delegation, or unsecured loans enforced by law, differ in v2 vs V1 how people could use lending protocols to build credit What Aave plans to do with the E-Money (EMI) license it obtained in the UK (50:51) Since Aave was a pioneer in flash loans, which are responsible for the majority of DeFi attacks, whether Stani would do anything differently (53:12) Aave’s partnership with tokenized real estate project RealT and how Aave manages it given that, in the US, RealT tokens are securities and can only be sold to accredited investors (58:42) How Aave has been thinking about scaling given the high fees on Ethereum (1:03:57) Why building a moat in DeFi is impossible (1:07:16) What is next for Aave (1:11:40)  
Thank you to our sponsors! 
Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/
 
Episode links: 
Stani Kulechov: https://twitter.com/StaniKulechov
Aave: https://aave.com
Aave stats: https://aavewatch.com
 
Protocols mentioned
ETHLend: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ethlend-announces-launch-of-new-parent-company-aave-300713825.html Aavegotchi: https://www.coindesk.com/defi-game-aavegotchi-preps-for-jan-4-mainnet-launch-with-nft-auctions RealT: https://medium.com/aave/realt-market-coming-to-the-aave-protocol-da4499a1e965 Yearn: https://yearn.finance/ Uniswap: https://uniswap.org/ Sushiswap: https://sushiswap.fi/ Kyber: http://kyber.network/ Balancer: https://balancer.finance/ $LINK: https://chain.link/ Aavenomics
Aave’s documentation: https://docs.aave.com/aavenomics/ Safety Module: https://docs.aave.com/aavenomics/safety-module Summary: https://aave.com/aavenomics/ More background: https://defirate.com/aavenomics-upgrade/ Decentralization concepts
Handing off admin keys: https://decrypt.co/46544/aave-officially-hands-over-governance-keys-to-defi-community + https://medium.com/aave/aave-admin-key-handover-3e09e603d348 OpenLaw: https://www.openlaw.io/ Protocol Governance: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/73336/defi-lending-aave-token + https://docs.aave.com/developers/protocol-governance/governance Other topics
Electronic Money Licence: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/75845/aave-uk-fca-emi-license-defi Unsecured Loans: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/70678/aave-launches-new-service-for-unsecured-peer-to-peer-loans-on-ethereum Flash Loans: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/93740/flash-loans-as-a-capital-boost-tool Aave Version 2: https://medium.com/aave/the-aave-protocol-v2-f06f299cee04 + https://github.com/aave/protocol-v2/blob/master/aave-v2-whitepaper.pdf

Lyn Alden, CEO and founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategies, and Raoul Pal, CEO & cofounder  of Real Vision Group & Global Macro Investor, explain their thinking about Ethereum and its native token, and talk about their perspective on GameStop. In this episode, we discuss:
why Raoul views ether as similar to bitcoin at a macro level (1:25) why Lyn decided ETH was not currently investable (5:06) an analysis of utility protocols (John Pfeffer’s paper) (6:55) counterarguments to John Pfeffer’s paper (9:31) how to allocate between BTC and ETH (11:22) why Raoul also invested in other coins beyond BTC and ETH (11:47)  whether Metcalfe's law applies equally to all kinds of networks (13:35) why Lyn views Ethereum’s use case as circular, and why that makes it less investable (15:09) whether Ethereum 2.0 and Ethereum Improvement Proposal 1559, and whether that could make ETH more investable (21:20) the impact of fees on the value of Ethereum (23:36) Raoul's views on what S-Curves and the Lindy Effect indicate about the development of a currency (25:22) how high fees make DApps less attractive, while low fees potentially decrease demand for ETH (27:06) how Lyn believes demand for DeFi is to circumvent compliance and know-your-customer processes, and she doesn't also see that as a downside for Bitcoin (33:10) how the regulators are behind innovation in cryptocurrencies, particularly around taxation (36:32) Raoul's and Lyn's predictions for the ETH price by end of 2021 (41:45) what GameStop says about the democratization of financial information (45:32) whether smart contracts could play in preventing situations similar to what happened with GameStop and/or Robinhood (49:03) how blockchain technology could be used to prevent a situation in which the hedge funds could short more shares than existed (54:03) how the GameStop/Robinhood saga is a giant advertisement for self-custody (54:53) whether r/WallStreetBets' behavior was market manipulation or not (56:53)  
Thank you to our sponsor! 
Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
 
Episode links: 
Lyn Alden: https://twitter.com/LynAldenContact
Lyn Alden Investment: https://www.lynalden.com/
 
Raoul Pal: https://twitter.com/RaoulGMI
Real Vision: https://www.realvision.com/contributor/raoul-pal
Global Macro Investor: https://www.globalmacroinvestor.com
 
Raoul's tweet storm on Ethereum: https://twitter.com/RaoulGMI/status/1347013567799848961?s=20
Lyn Alden’s research paper on Ethereum: https://www.lynalden.com/ethereum-analysis/
Raoul Pal’s tweet: ETH equals BTC: https://twitter.com/raoulgmi/status/1347013567799848961?lang=en
John Pfeffer’s paper: https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/john-pfeffer/An+Investor's+Take+on+Cryptoassets+v6.pdf
Network effects and Metcalfe’s Law: https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_developing-new-products-and-services/s04-12-there-is-power-in-numbers-netw.html
Quantity Theory of Money: https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_economics-theory-through-applications/s30-01-the-quantity-theory-of-money.html
How Will the Government React to GameStop?: https://www.coindesk.com/gamestop-regulators-response
GameStop and Crypto trading: https://cryptonews.com/exclusives/are-gamestop-style-surges-in-crypto-any-different-from-old-p-9151.htm
Robinhood Raises Extra funds: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/93258/report-robinhood-billions-raised-investors-1
Possible role of blockchain in trading: https://cointelegraph.com/news/cardano-foundation-ceo-says-blockchain-could-prevent-gme-type-showdowns
Caitlin Long: https://www.forbes.com/sites/caitlinlong/2019/05/16/naked-shorting-in-the-uber-ipo-it-couldnt-happen-on-a-blockchain/?sh=f2a0dcd4737d