Bits + Bips

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Exploring how crypto and macro collide one basis point at a time. Hosted by Ram Ahluwalia, Austin Campbell and Chris Perkins. Livestream: Every Monday at 4:30 pm ET.

  1. 17 hr ago

    How China May Be Interfering in Local US Politics to Block AI Data Center Progress

    Sam Lyman says a Shanghai-based network is quietly blocking billions in AI data centers. Austin, Ram, and Chris also debate Clarity odds and stablecoins. --- Thank you to our sponsors: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Cape⁠⁠⁠⁠: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at cape.co/unchained (use code: UNCHAINED). Heads up! If you haven't yet, be sure to subscribe to Bits + Bips on its dedicated channels. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, X, Unchained and wherever you get your podcasts. 🔥 Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bits-bips/id1827931786 🔥 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuKiSkbYrUOOEEiYQEVPniQ 🔥 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6aSBMrOyi33aVDCULJ9mjN?si=NTLk-jl5QGeytA6-2kxMVQ&nd=1&dlsi=42f0b13dd53c4ba0 🔥X - https://x.com/bitsandbips 🔥 Unchained - https://unchainedcrypto.com/bitsandbips/ ---- A political network based in Shanghai has helped block or delay $24 billion in US AI data center construction, according to new research from the Bitcoin Policy Institute. Sam Lyman, head of research at BPI, joins Austin Campbell, Ram Ahluwalia, and Chris Perkins to walk through 21 case studies of Marxist-Leninist activists organizing town hall showdowns, sometimes bused in from out of state, while separating that inorganic pressure from the genuine local concern over water and power that also exists. The hosts press him on the mechanics, then turn to whether the Clarity Act survives the Senate before August recess. Lyman puts the odds at 70%, helped by senator Ron Wyden's surprise endorsement of BRCA. Austin argues age, not party, is the real predictor of political support, and later makes the case that Jamie Dimon has stablecoins backwards. The through line: money moves policy long before votes do, in Shanghai and on Wall Street alike. Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Austin Campbell⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Host of Bits + Bips, Founder of Zero Knowledge Group, and Adjunct Professor at NYU Stern ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ram Ahluwalia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Co-Host, CEO of Lumida ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chris Perkins⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Co-Host, Head of Franklin Crypto Guest: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sam Lyman - Head of Research at the Bitcoin Policy Institute Timestamps 🗺️ 02:20 BPI's report: the Singham network's $24B block on US AI data centers 🏛️ 07:34 Astroturfing 101: town halls, busing, and the PSL playbook ⚛️ 20:41 Why the AI backlash echoes the mistakes made on nuclear power 📜 25:49 Sam's odds: Clarity passes in the next few weeks at 70% 📣 29:31 Cape: Get 33% off your first six months with code UNCHAINED at https://cape.co/unchained 🤝 30:31 Wyden's surprise break: why a key Democrat just backed BRCA 🎂 37:51 Austin's heuristic: age, not party, predicts crypto and AI support 🛢️ 43:18 Why the market is really pricing Iran tail risk, not a rate hike 🏦 48:57 Dimon's blind spot: why JPMorgan may be stablecoins' biggest winner 🎟️ 53:22 Interchange as a tax: Ram's coupons fix for merchants and consumers 💰 58:04 Franklin's Benji tech and the case for tokenized money funds

  2. 4 days ago

    Why Any DeFi Protocol 'Lives and Dies by Its Oracle' and How to Strengthen Them

    From inventing DeFi's first oracle at MakerDAO to auditing BlackRock's tokenized billions, Niklas Kunkel maps the hidden plumbing behind the RWA boom. Sponsors Cape: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at⁠⁠⁠ https://cape.co/unchained⁠⁠⁠ (use code: UNCHAINED). Investors who bought pre-IPO SpaceX exposure through tokenized markets this year found out the hard way that some wrappers were an SPV stacked inside another SPV, and the shares were never there when it came time to redeem. Niklas Kunkel, founder and CEO of Chronicle Labs and a founding member of MakerDAO, joins Steven Ehrlich to argue that catching failures like that is the entire point of an oracle. Chronicle rebuilds a fund from its underlying collateral instead of taking an issuer's word, a discipline traced back to inventing DeFi's first oracle while building Maker from scratch. He details how that model verifies BlackRock's BUIDL fund and the crypto collateral behind Galaxy's first tokenized CLO, then revisits the KelpDAO exploit that froze Aave, calling a compromised bridge an oracle under a different name. Ten years after Chronicle's first oracle went live without a hack, Kunkel says that rigor decides which parts of the RWA market survive. Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Steven Ehrlich⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Head of Research, SharpLink Guest: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Niklas Kunkel - Founder and CEO of Chronicle Labs Timestamps 🎙️ 00:41 Niklas Kunkel on what actually separates the oracle providers, and why most people get it wrong 🛠️ 02:39 The origin story: why building MakerDAO forced Niklas to invent the oracle from scratch ⚠️ 06:35 The hidden single point of failure lurking inside every DeFi protocol 🏦 11:07 Chronicle's bet: from pricing tokens to verifying the real collateral behind tokenized RWAs 🧾 15:30 Don't trust, verify: how Chronicle rebuilds BlackRock's BUIDL fund from scratch, independently 📣 24:50 Cape: Get 33% off your first six months with code unchained at https://cape.co/unchained 📈 27:07 The hottest RWA trade nobody's talking about: why CLOs like Galaxy's new tokenized credit product are taking off 🚀 32:36 The SpaceX pre-IPO token mess: buyers paid up, then never got their shares 🌉 36:21 The KelpDAO exploit and the uncomfortable truth: every bridge is just an oracle in disguise 📊 42:28 Chronicle's next growth wave: tokenized equities and the redemption gap that could break them ⛓️ 48:15 The counterintuitive one: why even fully onchain-issued funds still can't skip proof of asset

  3. 6 days ago

    Strategy Sells $216M in Bitcoin. Is Saylor a Buyer or a Seller Now?: Bits + Bips

    Strategy sold $216M more Bitcoin. Ram, Austin, and Chris ask if Saylor's now a recurring seller, and whether tokens can ever coexist with equity. Plus: the stablecoin wars get real. --- Thank you to our sponsors: ⁠⁠⁠Cape⁠⁠⁠: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at cape.co/unchained (use code: UNCHAINED). Heads up! If you haven't yet, be sure to subscribe to Bits + Bips on its dedicated channels. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, X, Unchained and wherever you get your podcasts. 🔥 Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bits-bips/id1827931786 🔥 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuKiSkbYrUOOEEiYQEVPniQ 🔥 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6aSBMrOyi33aVDCULJ9mjN?si=NTLk-jl5QGeytA6-2kxMVQ&nd=1&dlsi=42f0b13dd53c4ba0 🔥X - https://x.com/bitsandbips 🔥 Unchained - https://unchainedcrypto.com/bitsandbips/ ---- Strategy sold $216 million worth of Bitcoin this week, its largest single sale yet, raising the question of whether Michael Saylor's company has quietly flipped from Bitcoin buyer to seller.Ram Ahluwalia, Austin Campbell, and Chris Perkins dig into the mechanics behind the sale, the STRC preferred dividend Strategy is racing to protect, and a bigger structural fight over whether tokens can ever function alongside equity in a company's capital stack without one cannibalizing the other. They also cover the widening stablecoin wars: Robinhood's new USDG yield product running through Morpho vaults, Tether's retreat from a MiCA-regulated Europe, and the backlash after Global Dollar Network's OUSD launch named partners who say they were never consulted. The hosts weigh which banks, from JPMorgan to Europe's regional lenders, are positioned to win as deposits migrate onchain, and why Securitize's freshly public stock is already trading like a call option. Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Austin Campbell⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Host of Bits + Bips, Zero Knowledge Consulting ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ram Ahluwalia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Co-Host, CEO of Lumida ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chris Perkins⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Co-Host, President of CoinFund Timestamps 💰 02:10 Strategy sells $216M more Bitcoin: is Saylor now a recurring seller? ⚖️ 09:55 Why Ram says there's no room for a third category beyond debt and equity 🪙 22:41 Ram: could up to 99% of today's tokens end up worthless? 📣 28:52 Cape: Use code UNCHAINED for 33% off your first six months at https://cape.co/unchained 🌍 29:51 Robinhood's USDG yield, Tether's Europe exit, and the OUSD backlash 🏦 42:44 Why Austin says the banks that ignored stablecoins risk becoming Borders 📈 50:12 Securitize goes public: why Austin says the stock trades like a call option 🤖 53:59 Why quality stocks are clawing back share from the AI and semis rally

  4. 3 Jul

    Anchorage’s David Lawant Explains Why Bitcoin's Options Market Isn't Panicking: Bits + Bips

    Fear and greed says panic. The options market says something else. David Lawant of Anchorage Digital walks through the signals that matter right now. Sponsors Fidelity: Fidelity has been building in crypto and DeFi since 2014 — now they're hiring. Explore career opportunities at one of the most forward-thinking names in finance here: ⁠⁠https://crypto.fidelitycareers.com⁠⁠. Cape: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at⁠⁠ https://cape.co/unchained⁠⁠ (use code: UNCHAINED). Bitcoin has been stuck near $60,000, more than 50% off its November 2024 highs, and Strategy's STRC preferred stock was sinking hard enough to spook the market before a sweeping 8-K aimed at stabilizing it. David Lawant, Head of Research at Anchorage Digital, joins Steven Ehrlich to argue that the panic in STRC's price and in crypto's fear and greed index is not showing up in the options market, where he says the real signals live. Lawant walks through Strategy's $1.15 billion ATM raise, why Bitcoin's options open interest has topped $60 billion and now exceeds futures, what the MSTR risk reversal revealed about tail risk during the selloff, and why Bitcoin's volatility term structure has stayed inverted for months. He also maps who trades these options, from retail call buyers to Anchorage's OTC desk, and argues real relief needs looser Fed policy and Bitcoin clawing attention back from the AI trade, which could take six to nine months. Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Steven Ehrlich⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Head of Research, SharpLink Guest: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠David Lawant - Head of Research at Anchorage Digital Timestamps 🏛️ 01:46 Inside Strategy's high-stakes gambit to rescue its sinking STRC stock 📉 09:06 Bitcoin has no native yield, and that gap is quietly forcing Strategy to rewrite its entire playbook 📊 16:05 David reveals the moment Bitcoin's options market quietly overtook its futures market 💙 23:43 Cape: Get 33% off your first six months with code unchained at https://cape.co/unchained 💼 24:37 Fidelity: Explore crypto careers that could change your future at https://crypto.fidelitycareers.com 🌐 25:21 What Bitcoin's inverted volatility curve secretly tells you about who's really trading these options 🔮 36:00 Why alts refuse to trade like MSTR, and the exact signals David is tracking right now 🎯 41:45 David's blunt call: six to nine months of chop before the next leg up

  5. 1 Jul

    Why Bitcoin May Not Run Until Saylor "Gets Blown Up": Bits + Bips

    Bitcoin logged its worst ETF month on record, and the hosts debate whether Strategy has become the marginal seller dragging the whole market down. --- Thank you to our sponsors: ⁠⁠⁠Fidelity⁠⁠⁠: Fidelity has been building in crypto and DeFi since 2014 — now they're hiring. Explore career opportunities at one of the most forward-thinking names in finance here: ⁠⁠⁠crypto.fidelitycareers.com⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠Cape⁠⁠⁠: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at cape.co/unchained (use code: UNCHAINED). Heads up! If you haven't yet, be sure to subscribe to Bits + Bips on its dedicated channels. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, X, Unchained and wherever you get your podcasts. 🔥 Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bits-bips/id1827931786 🔥 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuKiSkbYrUOOEEiYQEVPniQ 🔥 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6aSBMrOyi33aVDCULJ9mjN?si=NTLk-jl5QGeytA6-2kxMVQ&nd=1&dlsi=42f0b13dd53c4ba0 🔥X - https://x.com/bitsandbips 🔥 Unchained - https://unchainedcrypto.com/bitsandbips/ ---- Bitcoin slid to roughly $58,000 over the weekend, its lowest level in years, capping the worst month on record for spot Bitcoin ETFs as billions flowed out of funds like IBIT. Austin Campbell, Ram Ahluwalia, and Chris Perkins debate whether Strategy has shifted from Bitcoin’s marginal buyer to its marginal seller, and whether the market can move higher while Michael Saylor remains the main character. Laura Shin opens with a more immediate and personal risk: a spear-phishing attempt that convinced her to run a terminal command before she caught it. From there the hosts handicap the Clarity Act's odds before the August recess, why a Supreme Court geofencing ruling could gut the Bank Secrecy Act, and why community banks are dying. Ram makes the case that crypto's real unlock is community lending and capital formation, not tokenizing Wall Street, and that fighting BlackRock was always an act of hubris. Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Austin Campbell⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Host of Bits + Bips, Zero Knowledge Consulting ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ram Ahluwalia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Co-Host, CEO of Lumida ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chris Perkins⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Co-Host, President of CoinFund Timestamps 🎣 02:43 How Laura Shin got spear-phished by a fake podcast invite 🛡️ 07:09 Austin's rules for beating social engineering when the pressure is on 🏦 09:18 The security case for holding crypto in ETFs over self-custody 📉 15:59 Bitcoin's worst ETF month on record and a $58K weekend low 🪙 17:36 Why Ram says any Bitcoin call has to start with Strategy 🎯 22:20 The hedge fund take: Bitcoin may not run until Saylor gets blown up 🤖 27:06 AI, quantum, and where crypto's real utility actually shows up 💙 33:09 Fidelity: Explore crypto careers that could change your future at https://crypto.fidelitycareers.com 📱 33:51 Cape: Get 33% off your first six months with code unchained at https://cape.co/unchained 🏛️ 34:49 The Clarity Act push: can market structure pass before the recess? ⚖️ 40:28 How a Supreme Court ruling could gut the Bank Secrecy Act 🏘️ 47:02 Why community lending, not tokenizing Wall Street, is crypto's real unlock

  6. 27 Jun

    Why a Perp Exchange Asked Carmen Li to Make a Market in Her Own Index

    Carmen Li is bringing GPU futures to the CME while crypto perp venues court her index. She lays out which financial wrappers actually fit which assets. Sponsors Fidelity: Fidelity has been building in crypto and DeFi since 2014 — now they're hiring. Explore career opportunities at one of the most forward-thinking names in finance here: ⁠https://crypto.fidelitycareers.com⁠. Cape: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at⁠ https://cape.co/unchained⁠ (use code: UNCHAINED). A perpetual futures marketplace asked Carmen Li to become the market maker for her own index, and could not believe the question was serious. Li, CEO of Silicon Data and Compute Exchange, sits down with Steven Ehrlich to explain why that request exposes a conflict of interest crypto has normalized. A former DRW options trader and Bloomberg data executive, she is building the price discovery layer for compute, the commodity she argues will soon be the largest on earth. The conversation traces how you index a market where no two GPUs are alike, why a $600 billion buildout implies a derivatives market between $6 trillion and $30 trillion, what launching cash-settled futures on the CME takes, and why 200 data sources make manipulation harder than transaction-only feeds. They also weigh stablecoin payments and miners pivoting to AI. As GPU futures move onshore and offshore perp venues circle her benchmark, the question becomes who gets to set the price. Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Steven Ehrlich⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Head of Research, SharpLink Guest: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Carmen Li - CEO of Silicon Data and Compute Exchange Timestamps 💡 02:54 The elevator pitch: what Silicon Data and Compute Exchange are really building 🧮 04:37 No two GPUs are alike. So how do you build an index that tracks them all? 📈 07:37 The numbers that stop you cold: 1,000% month over month growth into a market worth $6T to $30T 🏛️ 10:15 Inside the CFTC: Carmen on Mike Selig and the race to put cash settled GPU futures on the CME 🔗 13:06 Why every perp marketplace and DEX suddenly wants her GPU index ⛏️ 15:28 The great pivot: Bitcoin miners walking away from mining for long term AI compute ⚠️ 25:06 The request that set off alarm bells: be the market maker of your own index 🛡️ 33:21 The manipulation defense: why 200 data sources crush transaction only feeds 💵 36:19 Billion dollar deals in stablecoins? Why Compute Exchange is saying yes 🌐 39:34 A bifurcating economy and the trillion dollar question: can crypto ride AI's wave

  7. 24 Jun

    Why You No Longer Have to Choose Between TradFi and Crypto

    Coinbase is tokenizing US stocks for the rest of the world — but what makes a token 'real,' and who owns it? Plus: the AI trade wobbles and the CME sues its own regulator. --- Thank you to our sponsors: ⁠⁠Fidelity⁠⁠: Fidelity has been building in crypto and DeFi since 2014 — now they're hiring. Explore career opportunities at one of the most forward-thinking names in finance here: ⁠⁠crypto.fidelitycareers.com⁠⁠. ⁠⁠Cape⁠⁠: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at cape.co/unchained (use code: UNCHAINED). Heads up! If you haven't yet, be sure to subscribe to Bits + Bips on its dedicated channels. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, X, Unchained and wherever you get your podcasts. 🔥 Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bits-bips/id1827931786 🔥 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuKiSkbYrUOOEEiYQEVPniQ 🔥 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6aSBMrOyi33aVDCULJ9mjN?si=NTLk-jl5QGeytA6-2kxMVQ&nd=1&dlsi=42f0b13dd53c4ba0 🔥X - https://x.com/bitsandbips 🔥 Unchained - https://unchainedcrypto.com/bitsandbips/ ---- Chris Perkins just took the helm of Franklin Crypto, and he arrives with a thesis: the old choice between TradFi and crypto has collapsed. What does it look like when the two finally stop competing and start absorbing each other's tools? Austin, Ram, and Chris map the messy middle of tokenization, from yield-bearing money market funds that could undercut stablecoins to Coinbase's push to put US stocks in the hands of everyone but Americans. Which models are real, and which try to spin gold from bronze? Then they dig into whether the AI trade is quietly rolling over — weighing data-center cancellations, a Mythos national-security scare, and why the CME is picking a fight with the very regulator that approved its rivals. The conversation covers Coinbase's tokenized stocks, whether tokenized money funds could disintermediate stablecoins, the AI trade, and the CME's lawsuit against the CFTC. Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Austin Campbell⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Host of Bits + Bips, Zero Knowledge Consulting ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ram Ahluwalia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Co-Host, CEO of Lumida ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chris Perkins⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Co-Host, President of CoinFund Timestamps 🏛️ 02:17 Chris on Franklin Crypto, and why you no longer have to choose TradFi or crypto 💵 05:57 Austin: why would a TradFi player adopt stablecoins and give up its own margin? 🔁 09:13 Could yield-bearing tokenized money market funds disintermediate stablecoins? 📈 22:21 What 'real' tokenization means, and who Coinbase's stock tokens are really for 📣 34:09 Cape: Get 33% off your first six months with code unchained at https://cape.co/unchained 🤖 35:31 Is the AI trade rolling over? The one number Ram says decides the market 🔓 42:09 How real is the Mythos 'classified systems' breach claim? ⚖️ 47:19 Why the CME is suing its own regulator over Bitcoin perpetuals

  8. 19 Jun

    The Fed Is Turning Hawkish. What Does That Mean for Bitcoin and Strategy?

    The Fed dropped its easing bias and half the FOMC penciled in rate hikes. Zach Pandl on what Kevin Warsh's first meeting means for Bitcoin, gold, and Strategy. Sponsors Fidelity: Fidelity has been building in crypto and DeFi since 2014 — now they're hiring. Explore career opportunities at one of the most forward-thinking names in finance here: https://crypto.fidelitycareers.com. Cape: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at https://cape.co/unchained (use code: UNCHAINED). Kevin Warsh held rates steady at his first FOMC meeting but removed the committee's easing bias — and nine of eighteen participating members wrote down a rate hike for 2026, a bigger shift than markets expected. Zach Pandl, Head of Research at Grayscale Investments and a former Goldman Sachs economist, joins Steven Ehrlich to discuss. Pandl argues that rising real rates are a constraint equity markets are not pricing correctly, and that AI euphoria makes the downside case, not blunts it. The conversation covers the SpaceX IPO's low-float mechanics, why perpetual futures outperformed tokenized stocks around the IPO, Strategy's preferred equity cracking below $90, and why speculative flows explain gold and Bitcoin's recent turbulence better than fundamentals. Pandl closes with a buy-the-dip case for both stores of value and argues the DeFi revenue story, anchored in Hyperliquid and Aave, will define the second half of 2026. Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Steven Ehrlich⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Head of Research, SharpLink Guest: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Zach Pandl - Head of Research at Grayscale Investments Timestamps 🏛️ 02:32 The Warsh era begins: what the Fed just signaled without saying it 📈 14:39 Rising rates and irrational markets: where this breaks down 💹 16:47 The SpaceX IPO and a crypto déjà vu moment 🎓 22:56 Fidelity's message to crypto's next generation 🏆 25:55 Perpetual futures just proved something important about the SpaceX test ❄️ 27:27 Pandl just made the crypto winter official—here's why ⚠️ 31:30 The problem with Bitcoin as collateral (and no one's talking about it) 🥇 37:03 Gold and Bitcoin diverge: what the Iran conflict reveals 💰 40:01 The DeFi revenue shift nobody saw coming

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About

Exploring how crypto and macro collide one basis point at a time. Hosted by Ram Ahluwalia, Austin Campbell and Chris Perkins. Livestream: Every Monday at 4:30 pm ET.

Information

  • Creator
    Unchained
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    48
  • Show Website
    Bits + Bips

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