Unchained

Bits + Bips: Where Is the Most Wealth to Be Made in Crypto: DeFi or CeFi?

Crypto’s bull run may be far from over, but the battleground is shifting. 

On this week’s Bits + Bips, Bill Barhydt of Abra and Robert Leshner of Superstate join Ram Ahluwalia and Steven Ehrlich to debate: 

  • The current state of the markets with a looming government shutdown 

  • SWIFT’s move to build on Linea, an Ethereum layer 2

  • Hyperliquid vs Aster

  • The future of perps vs. spot 

  • Why some DATs are starting to look like grifts 

  • Whether DeFi billionaires will ultimately eclipse their CeFi predecessors 

Plus: Binance’s and Tether’s valuation, CZ as the entrepreneur of the decade, and why the industry may be entering an era of “perpification.”

Thank you to Xapo for sponsoring this episode!

Hosts:

  • Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida

  • Steven Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained

Guests: 

  • Bill Barhydt, Founder and CEO of Abra

  • Robert Leshner, Co-founder & CEO of Superstate

    Links:

Steve’s story on the DAT that claimed it raised much more than it actually did

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Timestamps:

  • 🎬0:00 Intro

  • 📈 3:26 Why Bill believes the bull run is far from over

  • 🧐 5:10 Why Ram is pushing back on market FUD

  • 🏛️ 9:10 Will a government shutdown impact markets?

  • 🌐 12:48 Why SWIFT building on Ethereum’s Linea layer 2 is such a big deal

  • 🏦 22:15 Whether it even matters if banks embrace crypto

  • ⚠️ 27:50 How one DAT may have been the “ultimate grift”

  • ⚔️ 35:58 Inside the DEX perps wars: Hyperliquid vs Aster

  • 👑 40:32 How valuable Binance and CZ really are to the industry

  • 🚀 50:39 What advantages make Hyperliquid stand out in the perp battle

  • 🤔 53:14 Why picking winners in trading isn’t so simple

  • 🔄 57:29 Winners in stablecoin race plus why perps are better than spot

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